Skip to Main Content
The Student-Run Newspaper of Williams College Since 1887

The Williams Record

The Student-Run Newspaper of Williams College Since 1887

The Williams Record

The Student-Run Newspaper of Williams College Since 1887

The Williams Record

Ben Platt

All content by Ben Platt
In Williamstown diners, voters talk politics — or avoid them

In Williamstown diners, voters talk politics — or avoid them

Ben Platt November 2, 2022
As Election Day approaches on Nov. 8, Americans will head to the polls to decide a slew of national, state, and local races. The Record spent a morning with the patrons of the Chef’s Hat and the Moonlight Diner & Grille, and conversations with diners revealed a slice of the electorate with widely varying views on the best path forward for the country. 
Nashville-based Americana string band, Old Crow Medicine Show, headlined the FreshGrass Festival on Friday night. (Sasha Tucker/The Williams Record)

Students attend FreshGrass Festival at MASS MoCA, enjoy bluegrass music

Ben Platt September 28, 2022
FreshGrass Festival took place at MASS MoCA this past weekend.
The Case For Voting

The Case For Voting

Ben Platt October 11, 2020
Voting is the most profound act of civil participation for an American citizen. It actualizes American democracy to a degree that our country’s founders could have barely dreamt of. For many of us this is the first presidential election that we will be eligible to vote in. It’s imperative that we vote in the 2020 general election.
Williamstown without students: Small businesses cautiously reopen, students return

Williamstown without students: Small businesses cautiously reopen, students return

Jack McGovern, Stephanie Teng, and Ben Platt September 13, 2020
When retailers, restaurants and hotels could begin to offer some in-person services again under phase two of the Massachusetts reopening plan in early June, most small business owners were not expecting much from the summer, which is usually their busiest time of the year.

Williamstown without students: Town government weathers budget crisis

Jack McGovern, Stephanie Teng, and Ben Platt September 12, 2020
Having completed the budget for fiscal year 2021 in February, town manager Jason Hoch ’95 had to go back to the drawing board once the effects of the pandemic became clear.
Williamstown without students: Cultural institutions emerge from closure

Williamstown without students: Cultural institutions emerge from closure

Jack McGovern, Stephanie Teng, and Ben Platt September 11, 2020
The Clark and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MOCA) both closed on March 14 and remained shuttered through the spring. The long months without visitors took a heavy toll on both museums.
College towns have struggled. Here’s what Williamstown was like without students.

College towns have struggled. Here’s what Williamstown was like without students.

Jack McGovern, Stephanie Teng, and Ben Platt September 10, 2020
As college towns across the country have reeled from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses, cultural institutions and local government in Williamstown have weathered heavy losses while managing to avoid the absolute worst of the crisis. Still, lasting pain from the spring and deep uncertainty about the future remain.
Load More Stories