“This Week in Williams History” is a column dedicated to looking back at memorable moments in the College’s past through articles in the Record. This week in history, the College dealt with draft deferment, hosted dance marathons, and invested in computer technology.

Professor of Mathematics Chad Topaz and his colleagues at the Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (QSIDE) use quantitative evidence to explore cultural and social issues. QSIDE conducts its research in five main categories: criminal justice, arts and media, education equity, healthcare equity, and environmental justice. 

This week, the computer (using a script in R) chose Shenba Vairavan ’24, who talked about dancing, high school podcasts, and her first snowfall.

The Record has traced several threads of post-1970 fraternity activity, from the relocation of fraternities to Vermont, to the emergence of a fraternity-like club in the 1980s, to the existence of a secret fraternity through perhaps the present day.

Van de Stadt is not alone in her multinational background. Before settling in Massachusetts, many other members of the College’s faculty lived, learned, and worked in countries around the world. 

One month ago, the Record spoke with six formerly remote first-years about their fears, expectations, and hopes about stepping onto campus for the first time. Since then, they’ve adjusted to the rhythm of college life, embracing both the expected and the unexpected as they found how they fit into the College community. 

This week, the computer (using a script in R) chose Riley Galizio ’24, who talked about Taylor Swift, learning Italian, and ice hockey.

This year, the Jewish holiday of Passover (known in Hebrew as Pesach) began on the evening of Saturday, March 27 and lasted until the evening of Sunday, April 4. Students celebrating at the College faced unique challenges in observing the occasion.

Asian Americans have long been subject to racist dehumanization and othering, professors who spoke to the Record say, which expressed itself during the Atlanta shootings. Incidents of racialized violence toward Asians and Asian Americans, especially women, are not uncommon in American history.

Due to this year’s pod system, some JAs chose to pull in non-JA, non-first-year friends to live in their pods. Additionally, other non-JA upperclass students — who were remote in the fall like Karla Mercedes '23 — were able to pick into some unoccupied rooms in Mission.

For three glorious years at the College, I, Joey Fox ’21, got to be unique just like everybody else. Then Joe Fox ’24 arrived.

This week, the computer (using a script in R) chose Andrew Thai ’21, who talked about marimba mishaps, speaking Hungarian, and Legos.