The target size for an incoming class is 550 students, according to Dean of Admissions Liz Creighton ’01 — but the Class of 2026 is currently composed of 577 students, making it the largest first-year class in the College’s history. This increase in first-year students has inevitably affected many aspects of student life, including the entry system, dorm allocation, and EphVentures.
Students living in some of the 155 “flex rooms” on campus comment on living in smaller-than-usual spaces with a roommate and the new housing points pilot program.
On Saturday mornings from May through October, the Spring Street parking lot bustles with chatter and music. The sweet smells of flowers, fresh vegetables, and baked goods surround attendees at the Williamstown Farmers Market.
Williams Outdoor Orientation for Living as First-Years, known more commonly as WOOLF, is the College’s oldest and most popular EphVenture program, typically a backpacking and overnight camping trip through the Berkshires wilderness. Last year, however, the Williams Outing Club (WOC) added a new option to the EphVenture: BASE CAMPus, where students sleep in their dorms and hike with their fellow first-years over four days.
This week, the computer (using a script in R) chose Zoe Hoffmann Kamrat ’25, who discussed her take on the pre-med track, The Catcher in the Rye, and Snar smoothie spills. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
A small cohort of first-years arrived to campus this year with no EphVenture assignment, and a makeshift program — which would lovingly be named “What Am I Doing?” by its leaders and participants — was born.
Instructor Melissa Kate Adams-Silva, who is Deaf, is teaching the College's first introductory ASL course this fall. Her course seeks to not only teach students ASL, but also to raise awareness about Deaf experiences and societal contributions from the Deaf community.
This week, the computer (using a script in R) chose Katharine Cook ’24, who discussed her love for Christmas carols, biology, and life in New York City.
This week in Williams history: The Trustees of the College decided to make daily chapel services voluntary rather than mandatory. Male students reacted to the onset of coeducation. And the newly arrived Class of 1981 returned from trips in the Berkshire, Taconic, and Green Mountains on the first-ever WOOLF trips.
The steam tunnels of the College have been the subject of lore for generations of students. Beyond the campus myths about a secret network of passages under the campus, these tunnels have a much more practical function: heating the water to our showers, warming the radiators in our dorms, and even charging our devices.
The faculty voted at the May 11 faculty meeting to eliminate the swim requirement, which the Committee on Educational Affairs has criticized for having a disparate impact on students from underrepresented minority backgrounds.
How does President Mandel spend her time outside of executive decision-making? To investigate, we shadowed her for a day, joining her for a few of the events on her itinerary.
