The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened an investigation into Smith College on May 4 over its admission of transgender women.
A legal nonprofit filed a federal civil rights complaint against the College this morning on behalf of an anonymous first-year Orthodox Jewish student. The complaint, filed with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, alleges that the College discriminated against the student due to his religion in violation of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act.
After intruders broke into rooms in Williams Hall during the first weekend of spring break, residents returned to find significant property damage and valuable items missing.
The College announced it is canceling a previously-approved plan to increase the share of health insurance costs paid by employees. Employees’ share of costs will return to 20 percent instead of increasing to 25 percent.
Jazz vocalist and composer Cécile McLorin Salvant will deliver the 2026 commencement address on June 7. Dan Harris, an author, podcaster, and former ABC News correspondent, will deliver the College’s baccalaureate address the day prior. Both will receive honorary degrees at commencement.
Williams Amnesty International hung a banner, which reads “ICE OUT, NO MASS DEPORTATIONS,” from the balcony of Sawyer Library yesterday afternoon to protest the Trump administration’s ongoing deportation campaign.
A group of Harvard faculty released a proposal last month that would limit the number of students receiving A grades in undergraduate classes to roughly 20 percent of class enrollment, The Harvard Crimson reported. The full faculty is likely to vote on the proposal at a faculty meeting next month.
Electronic music duo Snow Strippers will headline the Spring Fling concert on April 25, All Campus Entertainment (ACE) announced at the end of last Saturday’s Battle of the Bands. Per tradition, the event was organized by ACE for student bands to compete for the chance to open for the Spring Fling artist.
A small fire in a mailbox in Hollander forced building occupants to evacuate on the evening of Jan. 7. The Williamstown Fire Department and Campus Safety Services responded to the incident.
Claire McDonald ’26 has been awarded the Marshall Scholarship, which fully funds postgraduate study in the United Kingdom. She will pursue two master's degrees, one in political science at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the other in law at University College London.
The Record sent its biannual approval ratings survey to 500 randomly selected students last week. Respondents indicated their approval, disapproval, or neutrality towards 24 campus entities, including Dining Services, the faculty, and the Record.
Steph Gonzalez took over as the College’s director of admission last week, returning to Williams after serving as associate director of admission for diversity recruitment from 2016 to 2021. She is replacing Sulgi Lim, the director of admission since 2018. Gonzalez spoke to the Record about her professional experience, hopes for the role, and perspective on the admissions process.
The Williams Outing Club (WOC) will run fewer ski buses to Jiminy Peak during Winter Study this academic year due to a reduced budget and higher operating costs.
The existing version of Willipedia, the College-specific online encyclopedia, will be taken offline due to security vulnerabilities. Its articles will not automatically transfer to the new Willipedia with updated infrastructure. Special Collections and student volunteers are working to preserve the website’s contents.
The faculty approved a series of motions to remove language from the faculty handbook about the use of race in College’s decision-making on hiring and admissions at the Oct. 7 faculty meeting.
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The College recently restructured the Chaplains’ Office this fall so that the chaplains no longer report directly to the Dean of the College Gretchen Long. For now, the chaplains will report to Senior Associate Dean of Academic Engagement Danielle Carr Ramdath, though this may change in the future.
The College will not alter its policy on lowering the American flag at this time, despite considering a change last week. In an Oct. 1 all-campus email, President of the College Maud S. Mandel wrote that the College will continue to follow all gubernatorial orders to lower the flag.
Renovations to Mission Park Dining Hall and Eco Cafe over the summer added more seats and increased the number of menu items. The college also made changes to Whitmans’ Dining Hall, where to-go containers are now exclusively available at weekday lunches.
From stalking classmates to rating professors to finding love, Williams Students Online (WSO) is integral to the student experience at the College. Though WSO’s analytics report more than 300,000 visits...
The faculty voted last week on whether to amend the faculty handbook to remove language related to diversity, equity, and inclusion that may be deemed noncomplaint with new Trump Administration rules.
The Record sent its biannual approval ratings survey of 500 students last week, with 125 randomly selected from each class year. Respondents indicated their approval, disapproval, or neutrality towards 24 campus institutions, including dining services, the faculty, and the Record.
Hosted on April 26 by the Native American Indigenous Student Alliance (NISA) in collaboration with Native students from Dartmouth, the Northeastern Intertribal Indigenous Community Gathering honored and brought together Indigenous communities from across the country and globe in a day-long reflection and celebration of Native students, Native leaders, Native community members, and Native faculty in the northeast.
Students at the College have faced disruptions to their summer plans, including the cancellation of summer research programs and federal internships, amid a federal hiring freeze and significant cuts to federal funding for research.
The Williamstown Select Board completed voting on its recommendations for Town Meeting warrant articles at its April 14 meeting. At Town Meeting on May 22, voters will decide on the articles.
The College’s comprehensive fee — which encompasses tuition, room and board, and other required charges — will increase 5.7 percent to $90,750 for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Williamstown began reconstructing South Street between the Field Park traffic circle and the Clark Institute of Art on Monday, April 16. The project is expected to conclude in summer 2026.
David Baron ’25 and Asa Quasney Wardat ’25 have won the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which fully funds postgraduate studies at the University of Cambridge. They are two of the 25 Gates Cambridge scholars from the United States this year.
The College intends to repurpose much of Lawrence Hall as an interdisciplinary center for student art following the completion of the Williams College Museum of Art’s (WCMA) new building in 2027.
Two warrant articles drafted by the Planning Board will be voted on at Town Meeting on May 22, after the Williamstown Select Board voted to add them to the Town Meeting warrant on Monday. One measure aims to regulate short-term rentals in the Town, while the other would regulate the installation of geothermal heating wells.
The College will establish the Climate and Community Leaders Initiative in collaboration with Williams-Mystic in fall 2025, Dean of the College Gretchen Long and Executive Director of Williams-Mystic Tom Van Winkle announced in a Feb. 13 email to the classes of 2027 and 2028. According to its website, the program will provide students with specialized climate-focused opportunities throughout their time at the College.
Recent executive orders from President Donald Trump have called into question the security of federal funding for research, including grants from the National Science Foundation. Members of the administration told the Record that they are uncertain how the College would respond to future funding freezes, but remain committed to supporting faculty research.
The Williamstown Planning Board approved Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity’s application to develop a 1.75-acre lot on Summer Street in the Town’s White Oaks neighborhood at its Jan. 14 meeting. Habitat for Humanity is set to acquire the land from the Williamstown Affordable Housing Trust, and the development, which will be called the Meadowlands Subdivision, will comprise four 1,200 square-foot houses for residents earning 30-percent to 60-percent of the Town’s median income.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for Western Massachusetts on Nov. 6, signaling a high risk of brush fire amid unseasonably low humidity, warm temperatures, and strong winds. In response to these conditions — which have created the second driest season in Williamstown since 1982 — more than 200 municipalities across the state, including North Adams, have prohibited all outdoor fires.
