The Williams Record

Both graffitis contained Christian allusions and were spray-painted in red. (Photo courtesy of Kim Rogers.)

Haystack Monument defaced for second time in two weeks, perpetrators unknown

Izzy Polanco May 22, 2023
The Haystack Monument, which commemorates five Williams students’ 1806 formation of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, was spray-painted with allusions to Christianity in red graffiti that resembled the May 13 defacement.
Haystack Monument defaced with graffiti, perpetrators unknown

Haystack Monument defaced with graffiti, perpetrators unknown

Izzy Polanco May 18, 2023
Campus Safety Services (CSS) officers responded to reports that unknown perpetrators defaced the Haystack Monument with spray-painted graffiti, President Maud S. Mandel wrote in a campus-wide email on Monday.
Graduation rates at the College contain racial disparities, but narrower than national averages

Graduation rates at the College contain racial disparities, but narrower than national averages

Cameron Pugh May 10, 2023
A Record investigation found that Black and Hispanic students at the College graduate at lower rates than their white and Asian peers — though the disparities are far smaller at the College than at the national level.
The Honor and Discipline Committee is looking to formalize its internal norms to provide greater consistency. (Samuel Riley/The Williams Record)

Honor and Discipline Committee votes on bylaws to formalize procedures

Past and current members voice broader concerns about lack of sanction consistency
Luke Chinman May 10, 2023
Voting is underway for members of the Honor and Discipline Committee to adopt a set of bylaws intended to formalize the committee’s internal processes. While the committee already follows a set of procedures to enforce the College’s Honor Code, the proposed bylaws will help ensure year-to-year consistency by putting the procedures in writing, said Simon Kent ’23, a member of the Honor and Discipline Committee who spearheaded a working group to write the document. 
College to use Dorm Room Movers, Connors Brothers services for summer storage

College to use Dorm Room Movers, Connors Brothers services for summer storage

Luke Chinman May 10, 2023
The College will partner with Dorm Room Movers to provide storage services for students this summer. Dorm Room Movers — a national company that coordinates storage for students around the country — will contract with the College’s longtime storage partner Connors Brothers to manage moving and storing student possessions on site. Connors Brothers will manage moving and storing items, while Dorm Room Movers will manage customer service and billing, Assistant Director of Housing Operations Heather McCarthy told the Record.
Izzy Polanco/The Williams Record

Record survey finds high approval for faculty, neutrality toward student government

Izzy Polanco and Quinn Casey May 10, 2023
The Record sent its biannual approval rating survey to randomly selected unixes last week to gauge student approval of College institutions and policies. The survey found sustained high approval for the faculty and a drop in approval for the dean’s office.
Upper Lasell gymnasium will close for renovations this summer. (Julia Goldberg/The Williams Record)

Upper Lasell to close for summer renovations

Max Billick May 10, 2023
The Upper Lasell Fitness Center will be renovated over the summer, the College announced on May 1. The renovations will begin June 5 and are anticipated to last until the beginning of the fall 2023 semester. 
Sammy Rae & The Friends was the first visiting artist to headline Spring Fling at the College since Princess Nokia’s 2019 set. (Theo Duarte-Baird/The Williams Record.)

Sammy Rae & The Friends visit College to headline Spring Fling

Izzy Polanco May 3, 2023
Hundreds of students flocked to Science Quad this Saturday to enjoy the food trucks, festivities, and student performances brought to campus by All-Campus Entertainment (ACE) for this year’s Spring Fling last Saturday. Sammy Rae & The Friends headlined the concert, marking the return of a visiting artist at the College for the first time since rapper and songwriter Princess Nokia performed in Towne Field House in 2019.
Photo courtesy of Paul Chouy.

Former Texas Poet Laureate Emmy Pérez presents on collection With the River on Our Face

Inés Garcia May 3, 2023
Former Texas poet laureate Emmy Pérez discussed excerpts from her poetry collection With the River on Our Face in an April 28 talk hosted by the Class of 1960s Scholars and the English department and moderated by Matthew Gonzales, a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Latinx literatures.
Dean of the College Gretchen Long forms ad hoc committee to study academic integrity

Dean of the College Gretchen Long forms ad hoc committee to study academic integrity

Luke Chinman and Julia Goldberg May 3, 2023
Dean of the College Gretchen Long has established a committee that will consider academic integrity at the College. The Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Integrity, which Long will chair, will comprise faculty members from every division. It will convene for the first time in the coming weeks and meet regularly for roughly a year, after which Long expects to share the committee’s findings with the community.
The College will provide more information about department-level changes in the budget at the faculty meeting on May 10. (Olivia Jo/The Williams Record)

Board of Trustees approves budget, operating expenses increase by 3.4 percent

Luke Chinman and Izzy Polanco April 26, 2023
The Board of Trustees approved the College’s budget for the 2024 fiscal year at its quarterly meeting last week, President Maud S. Mandel announced in an email to the College community on Thursday.
Brittany Burdick, who has worked at WCCC for 12 years, stands in her classroom. (Kitt Urdang/The Williams Record)

After reduced hours, WCCC teachers discuss staff shortages, respect for their work

Kitt Urdang and Dylan Mealey April 26, 2023
On March 29, the Williams College Children’s Center (WCCC) began closing an hour earlier than it had previously, necessitating parents to pick up their children by 4:15 p.m. This change was caused by an ongoing teacher shortage at the WCCC and left College faculty and staff scrambling to find child care during the extra hour each day. 
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