All returning students will be able to join Theme, Affinity, Program, and Special Interest (TAPSI) communities through the regular housing selection process for the 2026-2027 school year, one of several changes made to the TAPSI application, creation, and renewal process used in previous years.
Previously, students interested in joining a TAPSI community were asked to fill out a community-specific anonymous application. Then, TAPSI Community Coordinators (CCs) reviewed the applications in collaboration with a Housing committee. If more students were accepted than could live in a community, all accepted students were put into a lottery. Once notified of their acceptance into the TAPSI program, students selected their rooms.
Last year, information about the TAPSI program was removed from the College’s website after the Department of Education threatened to withdraw funding from institutions that employ “race-based programming.”
Assistant Director for Residential Education Zach Cramer believes that including TAPSI communities in the general housing selection process will make them more accessible. “We hope this option reduces barriers for students seeking to join these communities in a supportive capacity,” Cramer wrote in an email to the Record.
With TAPSIs becoming a part of general housing selection, CCs and Housing will no longer have a say in which students enter TAPSIs. Communities will also each only have one CC, down from two in previous years, meaning they will each manage more students. “This is to make sure that Community Coordinators are overseeing a comparable number of students to their [Housing Coordinator] and [Junior Advisor] counterparts,” Cramer wrote.
The applications for proposing a new TAPSI community, renewing an existing one, and becoming a CC all now exist in the same Google Form. According to Cramer, Housing consolidated the process so that students could more easily engage with TAPSIs.
Cramer tabled in Paresky on Feb. 4 to answer questions about the TAPSI program and provide students a link to the CC application, which was due on Feb. 16. “We want the TAPSI process to be clear and understandable to everyone at Williams so that everyone can benefit from this great program,” Cramer wrote.
The changes haven’t been well-received by all TAPSI leaders. Taahira Garnes ’28, a CC for Eban House — the Black cultural affinity TAPSI — thinks that the addition of TAPSIs to the general housing application could dilute their purpose. “I feel like there’s a lack of consideration for minority students and students that search to have a genuine affiliate space,” Garnes wrote in an email to the Record. “My largest concern is that those students [who wouldn’t have otherwise applied to TAPSIs] won’t respect the history of TAPSIs, they’ll see it as a housing option and proceed with it, especially if it’s a better chance for them to get singles.”
Five rooms in Wood, where Eban House is located, will also be non-TAPSI designated next year.
Garnes voiced further concern about the reduction of CC numbers. “Leaving every decision to one person seems unfair and stressful, especially given the rigor of Williams’ academics,” she wrote.
Garnes thinks that each CC needs a partner with whom they can share responsibilities. “Some houses do only need one leader, but they should have someone to support them during hard times … even if they don’t get paid or carry the same responsibility,” she wrote.
To account for the elimination of co-CCs within TAPSI communities, Cramer wants to help CCs of different communities collaborate next year. Cramer imagines pairing CCs up with other CCs within their TAPSI’s area so that they can collaborate more closely. “We’re planning to create monthly meetings so that CCs can connect with each other more frequently,” Cramer wrote.
Cramer also emphasized that Housing will listen to student feedback about the changes and use it to refine the TAPSI system going forward.
Garnes hopes that, no matter what, TAPSIs remain strong communities for students who feel excluded in other places on campus. “[TAPSIs are] truly special, and I hope the rest of campus can acknowledge that minority students need these spaces,” she wrote.
