Jeongyoon Han ’21 (she.her.hers) is a political science and Chinese major from Syracuse, N.Y. She is a senior writer and a video producer. Previously, she served as the 2020 summer/fall editor-in-chief, a managing editor, and as an executive and section editor for Features.
Three Williamstown Police Department (WPD) officers illegally searched the names of vocal WPD critics in Registry of Motor Vehicle records as accessed through the Criminal Justice Information System, Acting Police Chief Michael Ziemba told the Record today. He said that 20 people were searched in the few months before former chief Kyle Johnson resigned in December and Ziemba stepped in as acting chief.
Williamstown Town Manager Jason Hoch ’95 announced Friday that he will resign from his position. He will stay on the job for up to 60 days and oversee the transition through May while the Select Board hires an interim town manager.
Hoch, an alum of the College who has served as town manager since 2015, came under scrutiny after Williamstown Police Department (WPD) Sergeant Scott McGowan alleged in a August 2020 federal lawsuit that Hoch did not adequately investigate allegations of racism and sexual assault within the WPD.
Harry Yoon ’93, the film editor for “Minari,” wants people to watch the movie with their families. Having known about the central plot — a Korean American family that, on a gamble, buys farmland, and tries to make it in 1980s Arkansas — I plopped my mom, dad, and sister in front of our TV.
On Dec. 15, Williamstown Police Department (WPD) Sergeant Scott McGowan withdrew a lawsuit he filed this August against the Town of Williamstown, Town Manager Jason Hoch ’95 and former WPD Chief Kyle Johnson. The withdrawal of the lawsuit came immediately following Johnson’s resignation as police chief on Dec. 14.
Kyle Johnson has resigned from his position as Williamstown Police Department (WPD) chief, Town Manager Jason Hoch ’95 announced at tonight’s Select Board meeting.
Hoch announced that WPD Lieutenant Mike Ziemba would take responsibilities for Johnson as interim chief. In the meantime, local residents called during the meeting for a nationwide search for a new police chief.
At a Williamstown Select Board meeting on Oct. 26, Town Manager Jason Hoch ’95 announced his decision to retain Kyle Johnson as the chief of the Williamstown Police Department (WPD). The announcement comes as Johnson faces allegations of sexual assault and racial harassment in a federal lawsuit filed in August, and as local police accountability organizers have called for his removal.
Following this announcement, in a Monday Select Board meeting, Johnson apologized for “some poor judgement” early in his tenure, and “tolerating and participating in behaviors that should never have occurred in the workplace.” He also said that an investigation had been initiated into new reports that a WPD officer shared racist posts on Facebook.
Campus Safety and Security (CSS) has proposed changes to its organizational structure and purview which would go into effect this academic year, some that have been already implemented and others to be enacted later this year.
An external audit conducted on Campus Safety and Security (CSS) released recommendations this spring on improving relations between CSS and the College community, and has critiqued CSS as being under-resourced and having vague and overly broad responsibilities. These recommendations come at a time when, according to a report from the audit, there is a need to restore “legitimacy and trust in the department.”
https://www.youtube.com/embed/py65gFIWH20
This year's move-in for the 1,455 College students who returned to campus was no ordinary one. For some, it was their first time moving in, for others, their...
This week the computer (using a script in R) chose Madeline Rawson ’21, who discussed gender and race in academia, the study abroad experience, her Etsy shop and seven houseplants.
While the Town acknowledged that McGowan’s lawsuit “raises genuine questions or doubts about the Town’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and racial equity,” their response –– the second public statement made by the five-person board on the lawsuit –– disputes several of McGowan’s characterizations of incidents. Additionally, it denies allegations that Johnson committed sexual assault or racial harassment, and claims that McGowan did not experience retaliation for reporting and opposing alleged incidents of sexual assault and racial harassment.
A sergeant at the Williamstown Police Department (WPD), Scott McGowan, filed a federal lawsuit today against the Department, WPD Chief Kyle Johnson, Williamstown Town Manager Jason Hoch and the Town of Williamstown for what McGowan described as retaliation against McGowan for reporting instances of racial harassment and sexual assault allegedly committed by both unnamed WPD officers and Johnson.
According to enrollment plans that 2,254 students submitted by a July 10 deadline, approximately 73 percent of the respondents, or approximately 1645 students, indicated that they would be returning to campus during the 2020-21 academic year–– a figure which Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom in an email to the Record said will be “a noticeable difference for all of us.”
Last Wednesday and today at two extraordinary faculty meetings held on Zoom, President Maud S. Mandel and Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom gave updates on next year’s academic calendar and faculty voted on changes to the class schedule and Pass/Fail policy, as the College figures out what next academic year will look like amidst the pandemic.
Here are the main takeaways from the meetings.
After more than two weeks of pressure from students, alums and other members of the College community, President Maud S. Mandel released on Friday an outline of actionable steps the College will take to fight racial and social injustice.
At a time when predominantly white institutions across the nation are responding to widespread protests denouncing police brutality and anti-Black racism, members of the Williams community — particularly students and alums — are placing increased pressure on the College administration to hold itself accountable for what they see as its delayed and limited support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
At an extraordinary faculty meeting Wednesday, faculty overwhelmingly approved a motion put forward by the Committee on Educational Affairs (CEA) to temporarily adjust graduation requirements, allowing students who are enrolled next year to graduate with a minimum of 30 courses and three Winter Study credits.
Members of the Class of 2020 have seen two United States presidents, three College presidents and two different forms of student government during their four years at the College. They’ve celebrated two homecoming wins, danced to Shaggy live at Spring Fling and witnessed Papa Smurf win a write-in nomination for College Council (CC) –– which later got abolished. They’ve seen the fall of Vine and the rise of TikTok. And most recently, they’ve become the first class to complete their Williams education remotely amidst a pandemic.
In our senior issue celebrating the members of the Class of 2020, we went through the Record archives from the past four years to capture their time at the College through the headlines.
Jesus Estrada ’20.5 lives with his mother and sister in Huntington Park, Calif. Estrada’s mother provides most of the family’s income, and as an employee at a fast-food chain, she’s classified as an essential worker. But she also has diabetes, a condition that makes her more vulnerable to serious complications from COVID-19.
A note from the reporters:
In the weeks after students dispersed across the globe in light of the pandemic, the Record sent out a survey to 500 randomly selected students to get a sense of their...
While many students at the College have felt the effects of COVID-19 from afar — financially, emotionally, academically — relatively few have come into close contact with the virus itself. But for three students, it has become intimately familiar. Tania Calle ’20, Kalina Harden ’21 and Max Mallett ’23 all experienced telltale coronavirus symptoms and either lived in or passed through an epicenter of the virus.
In recent weeks, Berkshire County, like the rest of Massachusetts, has seen a continued increase in COVID-19 cases, according to the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH). The figures below show the current severity of the outbreak at the local and state levels. Map and bar graph data is courtesy of the Massachusetts DPH, and pie chart data is courtesy of Berkshire Health Systems. Both sites update their numbers daily; the figures for this article were most recently updated yesterday afternoon.
Passing Abstract Algebra, a 300-level mathematics class which is a prerequisite for several other courses, has remained demanding for many during this semester of remote learning.
In a shift from his normal pass/fail policy where an average grade of D- constitutes a pass, Professor of Mathematics Tom Garrity is requiring that his students pass each content unit of the course. Concerned about content comprehension, Garrity said that he is looking for his students to make “a good faith effort” on the remaining two exams and final
With President of the College Maud S. Mandel’s March 11 decision to bring normal College operations to a halt, staff at the College faced one of the biggest tasks in their entire careers: shutting down an in-person college campus and moving 2,000 students off campus, all while keeping the College running. And it has been a task that the College had been planning far in advance of Mandel’s email.
Mackenzie Hunter and Landon Marchant ’20 knew from the start that they did not want a “traditional wedding.” They originally envisioned getting married in New Zealand this June, during a honeymoon-slash-road trip across the country. When the COVID-19 pandemic brought international travel to a halt a few weeks ago, however, the duo came up with a backup plan much closer to home.
Tuesday, Feb. 4, at 4:21 p.m.: President of the College Maud S. Mandel sends an email to the entire campus community, titled, “Update: Williams prevention and preparedness measures for coronavirus.”
At...
Following deep uncertainty among students and faculty over the past two weeks, President of the College Maud S. Mandel announced yesterday afternoon that the College would adopt a universal pass/fail grading system to assess undergraduate courses this spring semester.
The College confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the Williams community yesterday morning.
The student, who at the time of publication remains asymptomatic according to the College, had been studying...
A day after announcing the end of in-person classes in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the College cancelled the Williams-Exeter Programme in Oxford (WEPO) for the spring on Thursday and urged students studying in Europe to return home. Most programs in Europe have told students to head home, and the College’s senior staff is assessing courses of action regarding programs outside of Europe.
As the number of reported cases of COVID-19 (also known as coronavirus) has increased to five in Berkshire County and over 1,000 nationwide, the College is scrambling to implement academic and administrative measures to maintain the safety of the College community.
As the first publicly out transgender male on the men’s lacrosse team, Ryan Rilinger '20 navigated the emotional, physical and social challenges of playing a “helmet sport” notorious for upholding notions of traditional male athleticism. For him, sports directly intertwined with his journey of understanding his gender identity, finding inner acceptance and finding community within the team.
In a campus-wide referendum last week, the student body voted to abolish College Council (CC) and institute the Three Pillars Plan as recommended by the Task Force on Student Governance.
JEONGYOON HAN/THE WILLIAMS RECORD
In honor of Valentine’s Day, the Record brings you its annual profile of a campus couple. This year, that couple is Sam Mecha ’21 and Claudia Rodriguez ’21,...
Laura Westphal ’21, Ryan Rilinger ’20 and Ariel Koltun-Fromm ’20 joined Cecé Telfer (right) to discuss trans representation in athletics. (Jeongyoon Han/The Williams Record)
Some...
Women’s basketball joined forces with several organizations on campus to shed light on the spike in sexual assault cases over Winter Study. (Photo courtesy of Sports Information.)
In addition to...
The incident in Hollander Hall highlighted concerns of structural racism in the department. PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE FLICKR.
On April 17, two students saw Chair and Professor of English Katie...
In the aftermath of College Council’s (CC) April 23 vote to reject Williams Initiative for Israel (WIFI) as a registered student organization (RSO), a decision that came under scrutiny from both President...
Current students created affinity programming for prospective Black students during admission's Previews this week.
ILLUSTRATION BY NASIR GRISSOM ’22 AND KYLE SCADLOCK ’19.
A group of current...
With less than two years remaining, the College is poised to reach its 2020 sustainability goals, according to the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives. It expects to reduce campus emissions to...
Stop & Shop releases “final offer” to workers threatening strike
Following weeks of tense negotiation, Stop & Shop updated its “final offer” to the five local unions that authorized...
Staff, including administrators, have said that while the College has made improvements regarding well-being and retention of faculty and staff of color since the release of a grassroots report from 2009,...
On Feb. 11, the Trans* Inclusion Committee (TIC) released a set of recommended guidelines titled “Communications Best Practices.” The best practices are a collection of suggestions that TIC has created...
Goaltender Chloe Heiting ’22 has recorded a save percentage of .938 and notched four shutouts for the Ephs, who currently rank 10th nationally. PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
No. 10 women’s...
The First Congregational Church on Main Street has resolved to become a Level 2 sanctuary congregation. Sabrine Brismeur/Photo Editor
On Jan. 27, as the wind whips snow into the air on a brisk morning...
On Jan. 27, as the wind whips snow into the air on a brisk morning in Williamstown, towngoers hurry in to seek refuge in First Congregational Church (FCC), a building that, with its classic white exterior...
Last Tuesday, 113 million citizens voted in the 2018 midterm elections, setting a record in raw vote total for a non-presidential election.
Based on the 134 responses from a survey sent by the...
It was established, as one of the founders put it, in “the bowels of an East [College] third-floor den” on Apr. 27, 2017.
In just over a year and a half, the group has expanded at a remarkable pace,...
Living testimonies of the restorative and inspiring potential of indigenous wisdom graced the three-part Africana Studies symposium, “Nkisis, Orixás and Ancestors: The Role of Religion, Creativity...
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