The Williams Record

Join the Record!

Information for Record Applicants — Spring 2024

Thank you for your interest in joining The Williams Record, the College’s student-run newspaper since 1887! 

Applications are closed for our fall 2023 staff. However, we will open editorial board applications and another round of staff applications for the spring 2024 semester.

Email Izzy Polanco (igp1), Luke Chinman (llc5), or Palvasha Khan (pwk2) with any questions.

————————————

What’s the Record

We’re the College’s student-run newspaper, and our mission is to serve the College community by providing fair and independent reporting on issues and stories that matter. We publish a weekly print and online issue during school weeks, as well as breaking news all year long. We have a lovely office on the second floor of Paresky.

 

Why join the Record

Our reporting serves students, faculty, and staff at the College, as well as alums and members of the Williamstown community. We are the only newspaper specifically covering Williamstown, so many people look to us for their local news. In the past year, we have expanded our reporting to include news about town government and have used our platform to push the College’s administration to make real change regarding issues such as student mental health and divestment. 

Our staff have created fake Tinder accounts, hiked in freezing weather before sunrise, interviewed people including members of Congress, a Grammy and Oscar award winner, Jeopardy! contestants, and more, all in the name of journalism. Recent Record alums have gone on to lead the Federal Trade Commission and work at NPR, Boston Public Radio, and The Berkshire Eagle, among other news outlets. Also, you’ll get to know a great group of people (in our unbiased opinion), develop your writing skills, publish your work, and always stay on top of what’s going on at the College. 

 

What does each section do? 

Please see below for descriptions of each of the sections, as well as a brief overview of the responsibilities that section editors and staff have.

News: 

The news section is dedicated to writing time-sensitive or investigative articles to keep the College community informed. Recent articles have reported on Title IX cases at the College, mental health among students, reproductive health care access at the College, and the working conditions in the dining halls

The news section also covers Williamstown and the Berkshires, including news from the Williamstown Select Board, town manager, and the Williamstown Police Department (WPD). Recent articles have included coverage about a national civil rights group calling for a WPD officer’s removal from the force, the election of North Adams’ first female mayor, and Select Board meeting recaps.

 

Opinions:

The opinions section prints op-eds, letters, and comics from members of the College community, as well as editorials written collectively by the Record board. Recent pieces in the section include an op-ed calling on the College to re-institute last year’s academic flexibility, letters to the editor in support of fossil fuel divestment, and an editorial calling for changes to Campus Safety Services’ patrolling policy. Opinions writers can work with our editors to produce regular columns. 

 

Features:

The features section is a catch-all section for people-centric pieces that aren’t time-sensitive. The features team has covered topics ranging from the College’s history to student research to hidden places on campus. Recent features articles were written about an unofficial “Sasha Student Union” formed by seven Sashas, social media influencers at the College, and a hidden library in a campus dorm.

 

Arts:

The arts section runs articles on anything artsy, from student music performances to local exhibits and movie reviews. This year, arts articles have ranged from the return of in-person performances to the role of art in protest. Recent arts articles include pieces investigating working conditions at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and interviewing acclaimed alum band Darlingside.

 

Sports:

The sports section covers athletic pursuits within the College community. The sports section has written about alums’ athletic achievements, the ways the pandemic affected varsity athletes, e-sports, and much more. Recent articles include investigations of the experiences of Black women on the women’s soccer team, the history of “the Walk” tradition at Homecoming, and funding issues for club sports.

 

Podcast:

The podcast, which comes out every two weeks, tells narrative stories through record interviews, ambient sound, and music. Past episodes have included interviews with students and Integrative Wellbeing Services (IWS) therapists about mental health, a feature on navigating the College as an undocumented student, and segments of professors and chaplains’ thoughts on finding gratitude and mindfulness at the College.

 

Photo:

Photos are an essential part of any newspaper. They can set the scene, convey emotion, and catch readers’ eyes. While most photos in the Record accompany articles, we also run photo series, which can be anything from the changing seasons of the College campus to cute photos of professors’ pets.

 

Graphics:

The graphics team, like the photo team, works to make the Record more visually appealing. The graphics editors and graphics staff create infographics (graphs about enrollment data, diagrams of the cash flows of a secret frat, and so on) and illustrations (a visual representation of a student’s overwhelming coursework, for example) to accompany articles.

 

We hope that you will consider joining the Record team this year. If you have any questions, please feel free to email any of us!

 

Sincerely,

Izzy Polanco (igp1), editor-in-chief

Luke Chinman (llc5), managing editor

Palvasha Khan (pwk2), managing editor