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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

Gabe Miller, Executive Editor for Investigations

Gabe Miller ’25 is an economics and math major from Mamaroneck, N.Y. He is executive editor for investigations.  He previously served as a college news editor and a staff writer for the news section.

Email: [email protected]

All content by Gabe Miller
WSU sees increased voter turnout, all elections contested for first time

WSU sees increased voter turnout, all elections contested for first time

Gabe Miller February 22, 2023
The Williams Student Union (WSU) announced its spring semester representatives on Feb. 16 — the results of the first completely competitive election in its seven-semester-long history. “We’re gratified that students in all class years are passionate about stepping up to advocate for Williams students,” members of WSU wrote in an email to the Record.
Jay Pasachoff saw more eclipses than anyone else. (Photo courtesy of Williams College.)

Famed astronomer and eclipse-chaser Professor Jay Pasachoff dies at 79

Gabe Miller and David Wignall December 7, 2022
Professor of Astronomy Jay Pasachoff died of complications from lung cancer in his Williamstown home on Nov. 20. He was 79. At the time of his death, Pasachoff was the longest-serving faculty member at the College, the chair of the astronomy department, and the director of the Hopkins Observatory. He had also witnessed 74 solar eclipses — more than any human in history. He is fondly remembered by faculty and students alike.
Projessor Bakija competed at a tournament in Sarasota, Fla., earlier this month. (Photo courtesy of Katie Cooper/UltiPhotos.)

Jon Bakija recounts storied ultimate frisbee career

Gabe Miller November 30, 2022
Over the years, Professor and Chair of Economics Jon Bakija has played a lot of ultimate frisbee. Through the sport, he met his wife, fostered a love for athletics, and competed in world championships. This is his ultimate frisbee story.
Goff posted a notice offering a $250 reward for information about the damage. (Gabe Miller/The Williams Record)

Williams Shop damaged over Homecoming

Gabe Miller November 16, 2022
A window of the Williams Shop storefront was broken shortly after 11 p.m. on Nov. 12. Located at 15 Spring St., the Williams Shop — commonly known as “Goff’s” among students — opened as normal on Sunday, and owner Bruce Goff ’83 boarded up the damaged window with removable shed doors.
Approximately 2,130 students are enrolled this semester, a figure 115 students higher than the average fall enrollment between 2016 and 2019. (Sam Riley/The Williams Record)

College to implement stricter COVID-19 policies after Thanksgiving

Gabe Miller November 16, 2022
The College will require masking almost everywhere on campus from Nov. 27 to Dec. 6 and require students to test for COVID-19 once before they return to campus after Thanksgiving Break and twice after they arrive, according to an all-campus email sent on Nov. 14 by Chief Communications Officer Jim Reische.
(Angela Gui/The Williams Record)

Inflation spurs College to cut managers’ budgets by 15 percent and student employment spending by 33 percent

Max Billick and Gabe Miller November 9, 2022
The College will cut managers’ budgets by approximately 15 percent and the student employment budget by 33 percent for the 2024 fiscal year, following last year’s 15 percent increase in managers’ budgets. These cuts, representing approximately $8 million and $1 million, respectively, constitute less than 3 percent of the College’s 2022 fiscal year $252 million budget.
The anti-Black slur was found on a now-removed chalkboard in Sawyer 429. (Julia Goldberg/The Williams Record)

Anti-Black slur found on chalkboard in Sawyer library

Annie Lu, Gabe Miller, and Iman Shumburo November 2, 2022
On Oct. 24, Director of the Writing Center Julia Munemo found an anti-Black racial slur scrawled in black marker on a chalkboard in Sawyer 429, the Writing Center’s meeting room. “The slur appeared below some writing in chalk — notes from a group study session — and seemed unrelated and in different handwriting,” Munemo wrote in an email to the Record.
PeopleSoft is currently hosted in Jesup Hall. (Gabe Miller/The Williams Record)

College to replace PeopleSoft by 2026

Sam Coyle and Gabe Miller November 2, 2022
By 2026, the College will no longer use PeopleSoft — the more-than-two-decades-old software underpinning its student records (Sarah), human resources (Ephr), and finance systems — though a replacement has not yet been determined. The replacement project is called Collaboratively Optimizing Williams.
NESCAC coalition launches petition against crisis pregnancy centers

NESCAC coalition launches petition against crisis pregnancy centers

Gabe Miller and David Wignall October 5, 2022
More than 700 community members across all 11 NESCAC schools have signed a petition that calls for the schools to ban crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) from advertising — and otherwise operating — on their campuses. The NESCAC Coalition to Ban CPCs, an organization that Middlebury students started this past summer, wrote the petition and began distributing it on June 29.
(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

Title IX-related case alleging College wrongly decided allegation dismissed

Gabe Miller September 28, 2022
On Sept. 7, a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted the College’s motion for summary judgment in a Title IX-related lawsuit originally filed on Feb. 18, 2020. The decision dismissed the claims of a former student who brought the lawsuit under the pseudonym John Doe, whom the College previously found responsible for sexual misconduct.
Heating and powering the campus: It's a steam effort

Heating and powering the campus: It’s a steam effort

Gabe Miller September 21, 2022
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.
Students will now be allowed to work at the College for a maximum of 20 hours per week instead of 10. (Tali Natter/The Williams Record)

College raises student weekly work limit to 20 hours, TA positions to become hourly

Gabe Miller and Rachel Schmidt May 7, 2022
Effective for the next academic year, the College will raise the limit on the number of hours students can work on campus to 20 hours per week from the previous 10 hour limit, convert teaching assistant (TA) jobs to hourly positions, and allow paid residential leadership position holders, including Junior Advisors (JAs), House Coordinators (HCs), and Residential Directors (RDs) to hold other paid on-campus positions.
Staff at the testing center in Greylock Hall. (Sam Riley/The Williams Record)

College reports 26 new cases on Wednesday

Gabe Miller April 27, 2022
On Wednesday, the College reported 20 new student cases and six new faculty and staff positive cases. 1140 new tests were added to the COVID dashboard on Wednesday, bringing the number of positive tests in the past seven days to 56. These cases bring the College’s weekly positivity rate to 1.91%.
Staff at the testing center in Greylock Hall. (Sam Riley/The Williams Record)

College reports 26 new COVID-19 cases

Gabe Miller April 20, 2022
On Wednesday, the College reported 21 new student cases and five new faculty and staff positive cases.  1104 new tests were added to the COVID dashboard on Wednesday, bringing the number of positive tests since the start of last week to 92.  Today’s cases bring the College’s weekly positivity rate to 2.7%.
In-person Williams Previews returns after three years

In-person Williams Previews returns after three years

Gabe Miller and David Wignall March 16, 2022
For the first time since 2019, students admitted to the College will be invited to campus for Williams Previews programming. The College will host in-person programming on April 11 and virtual programming on April 14 and 15 for admitted students who are not able to visit campus, Dean of Admission and Student Financial Services Liz Creighton ’01 wrote in an email to the Record.
(Samuel Riley/The Williams Record)

WSU spring semester election fills all 12 seats for first time

Gabe Miller March 2, 2022
For the first time in its five-semester-long history, the Williams Student Union (WSU) has filled all 12 — three of each class year — of its seats following the elections for the Spring 2022 term. The elected representatives for the upcoming term are Argenis Herrera ’22, Aidan Lloyd-Tucker ’22, Kevin Yang ’22, Manny Copeland ’23, Caitlin Han ’23, Yunjin Park ’23, Samir Ahmed ’24, Gwyn Chilcoat ’24, Jay Kim ’24, Quinn Casey ’25, Shoshie Hemley ’25, and Bobby Verhey ’25.
Rhiana Gunn-Wright, a climate activist, holds a lecture on the Green New Deal.

College relaxes masking requirements

Gabe Miller February 28, 2022
Effective immediately, fully vaccinated and boosted students, faculty, and staff are allowed to unmask in indoor athletics facilities, academic and administrative buildings, and at events that are open only to members of the campus community, Chief Communications Director Jim Reische announced in an all-campus email today.
College awards tenure to eight faculty members

College awards tenure to eight faculty members

Gabe Miller and Benjamin Alexander February 9, 2022
The Board of Trustees approved the promotion of eight assistant professors to associate professorships with tenure at its Jan. 21 meeting: Matthew Chao, economics; José Constantine, geosciences; Christophe Koné, German; Joel Lee, anthropology; Ralph Morrison ’10, mathematics; Justin Shaddock, philosophy; Daniel Turek, statistics; and Aaron Williams, computer science. These appointments will take effect on July 1.
College admits 255 students to Class of 2026 through early decision

College admits 255 students to Class of 2026 through early decision

Gabe Miller December 20, 2021
The College accepted 255 students — 31.3 percent of applicants — to the Class of 2026 through this year’s early decision admissions process on Dec. 10. This year’s acceptance rate is down from the 33 percent acceptance rate for last year’s early decision and 37 percent the year before.
Leaky truck causes chemical spill on Routes 2, 7, 8

Leaky truck causes chemical spill on Routes 2, 7, 8

Gabe Miller December 8, 2021
A spill of aluminum sulfate — a water treatment chemical that can be toxic when ingested by humans or animals — along Routes 2, 7, and 8 closed Route 7 from Sand Springs Road in Williamstown to Pownal, Vt., on Saturday morning. The closure lasted from 6:29 a.m. to 11 a.m.
(Sabrine Brismeur/The Williams Record)

’68 Center resumes allocating Career Access Fund

Gabe Miller December 8, 2021
The ’68 Center for Career Exploration on Dec. 6 ended a months-long pause on the Career Access Fund (CAF), which provides financial support for expenses arising from career preparation, internship and job interviews, and graduate studies preparation. 
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