Lena Kerest ’25 is a political science major from Shelburne, Vt. She is a senior executive editor. She previously served as the executive editor for editorials, the town news editor, and as a staff writer for the news section.
In recent weeks, the federal government has canceled $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University because of what it describes as the school’s failure to limit antisemitic harassment. The government recently broadened its investigation into cases of antisemitism to 60 colleges and universities. Separate to the ongoing investigations, federal agents detained a recent graduate student at Columbia who had been a vocal participant in recent campus protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The Department of Education's deadline to dismantle race-based programming passed on Feb. 28, but College administrators declined to specify how the College might change campus programming in response.
Dean of the College Gretchen Long, Director of International Student Services (ISS) Ninah Pretto, and Assistant Director of ISS Mariia Smirnova advised international students to return to the United States from any international travel before Jan. 19, 2025.
Billick will serve as editor-in-chief in the spring, alongside managing editors Kane and Pallesen. In the fall, Zimmerman will follow Billick as editor-in-chief, with Garcia and Huprikar as managing editors.
Women’s cross country took first place and men’s cross country took second at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Cross Country Championships on Saturday, hosted at Connecticut College. The women’s team won with a score of 59 points, triumphing over second-place RPI by 51 points. The men’s team snagged second place with 76 points, besting third-place Middlebury by 42 points but falling short of RPI by 47 points.
Cass, founder and chief economist of right-wing think tank American Compass, discusses last Tuesday's election, the realignment of the GOP, and his time at the College.
Black people in at least 30 states and the District of Columbia — including on multiple college campuses — received a slew of racist text messages last week, many of which addressed the recipients...
The Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) is vacant following former Violence Prevention Coordinator Riley Kavanagh’s departure on Friday. Multiple services offered by SAPR, including the College’s sexual assault prevention and response hotline, have been paused as a result.
As the Nov. 5 presidential election nears, an anonymous Record survey found that an overwhelming majority of Ephs will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris — though only 10 percent of respondents live...
Employees of the College donated at least $81,488.45 to political organizations this past year, according to public data from the Federal Election Committee (FEC). Of the reported data, 99.5 percent,...
Approximately 50 community members gathered on Chapin Lawn for a candlelight vigil organized by the chaplains’ office to mark the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel and the ongoing violence in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.
Roughly 60 community members gathered on the steps of Chapin Hall yesterday at a “Vigil for Palestine” organized by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
“This vigil is to commemorate the anniversary,...
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jews for Justice (J4J) presented revised demands for divestment from weapons manufacturing to the Board of Trustees on Sept. 26. The meeting, facilitated by President Maud S. Mandel, followed her May 8 email inviting the groups to participate in the board’s May and September discussions on the condition that they dismantled their 13-day encampment and did not disturb Commencement.
The College updated its policies on posting and protest to reflect conclusions outlined in the final report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Posting and Protest Policies, President Maud S. Mandel announced in an all-campus email on Sept. 9.
Last week, the Record sent its biannual approval ratings survey to 500 randomly selected students using a script in R. The survey asked students to indicate their approval, disapproval, or neutrality on many campus institutions, including the Junior Advisor (JA) system, the Davis Center, and President of the College Maud S. Mandel.
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jews for Justice (J4J) continued their encampment on Sawyer Quad, termed the “Popular University for Gaza,” for a second day. About 100 people were at the encampment at its peak attendance in the afternoon and 39 tents were present at the encampment at 7:19 p.m. on Thursday, according to an SJP spokesperson. On Thursday morning, an unknown student removed posters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas that had been hung up by students the previous evening. The same group of students rehung the posters on Thursday afternoon.
Spring has finally arrived in Williamstown — you can tell from the budding trees, the students basking in the sun on Chapin Hall steps, and the resurfacing of spikeball nets across Sawyer Quad. But alongside the joy at the hints of warm weather, a stressful question lingers in many students’ minds: “What am I doing this summer?”
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) held events on Friday and Saturday to advocate for a new set of demands, written in collaboration with Jews for Justice (J4J), regarding the College’s endowment and investment policies.
The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on March 24, alleges that Vidino, the director of the Program on Extremism at GWU, as well as other defendants, received compensation from the United Arab Emirates in exchange for “concoct[ing] and widely publiciz[ing] a false narrative accusing Hafez of terrorist ties and Muslim Brotherhood associations despite the fact that Hafez had no credible associations with any radicalized Islamists or the Muslim Brotherhood.”
Men’s basketball (23-7, 9-1 NESCAC) continued its late-season resurgence with an inspired run to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, defeating No. 18 DeSales (24-4) 77-51 in the first round and No. 9 Oswego State (26-3) 79-77 with a dramatic, game-winning layup by guard co-captain Cole Prowitt-Smith ’24. The defending national champions, the No. 23 Christopher Newport Captains (24-7), put an end to the Ephs’ season on Friday afternoon in a hard-fought 49-60 loss.
President Maud S. Mandel attended the Annual Day of Advocacy and Action conference hosted by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) in Washington, D.C., from Feb....
Each week, the Record (using a script in R) randomly selects a student at the College for our One in Two Thousand feature, excluding current Record board members. This week, Matt Kandel ’24.5 discusses the upcoming tennis season, his success with intramural sports, and his love for Word Hunt.
The College’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) participated in the National Student Day of Action for Divestment, which was coordinated by the national SJP organization, on Thursday,...
The Prevention, Education, and Advocacy in Community (PEACe) Office, which focuses on various issues relating to student health, plans to install NaloxBoxes — first aid boxes containing naloxone — in Paresky Center and Sawyer Library’s 24-hour room in the coming months. The initiative comes after the PEACe Office held four Narcan training and overdose prevention education sessions this January.
This year’s Claiming Williams theme, “Access to and through Higher Education,” was inspired by the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision to prohibit race-based admissions practices in higher education
The Board of Trustees approved the promotion of 10 assistant professors to associate professors with tenure at its January 2024 meeting on Jan 19 and 20: Daniel Barowy, computer science; Mari Rodríguez...
President Maud S. Mandel has established an ad hoc committee that will evaluate the College’s current policies on permitted protest and posting of printed materials, the College announced in a Daily Message on Jan. 16.
Incumbent Andy Hogeland ’76 will seek reelection for his seat, while Stephanie Boyd, a current member of the Town’s Planning Board, and Paul Harsch ’69, a real estate agent, are running to serve on the Board for the first time.
The Board of Trustees has endorsed the College’s finalized campus plan, which reimagines the College’s physical landscape in alignment with the priorities stated in the College’s strategic plan. The endorsement marks the culmination of a two-year process led primarily by the College’s Office of Planning, Design, and Construction and Sasaki, a consulting and design company.
On April 15, men’s lacrosse (8-5, 5-3 in the NESCAC) hosted the Amherst Mammoths, besting them 11-10 in overtime. The focus of the day was to fundraise for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), which has so far raised $10,000.
In the midst of a busy and stressful week, the best way to find social connection at the College is often to “grab a meal” with friends, teammates, classmates, or the friendly entrymate who you sort...
Each week, the Record (using a script in R) randomly selects a student at the College for our One in Two Thousand feature, excluding current Record board members. This week, Jordan Wynn ’26 discussed the Navy, computer science, and being a Student with Advanced Life Experiences (SwALE). This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Nonfiction author Tracy Kidder joined Dr. Jim O’Connell, the president of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School , and the subject of Kidder’s newest book, and Professor of Economics Sara LaLumia for a talk at the College on April 7.
The College’s department of anthropology and sociology, the global studies program, and the Russian program hosted a panel discussion on Feb. 27, reflecting on the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The event was titled “A Year of Asymmetric War on Ukraine: What Have We Learned?”
The ad hoc anti-racist campus task force, created by President Maud S. Mandel and Vice President for Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leticia S. E. Haynes ’99 in November, convened for the first time on Feb. 10.
After 16 years at the College, Chief Investment Officer Collette Chilton — the first leader of the College’s investment office, established in 2006 — will retire at the end of the 2023 calendar year, President Maud S. Mandel announced in an email to the College community on Jan. 26.
Arshay Cooper, a rower, author, and motivational speaker, as well as the subject of the documentary A Most Beautiful Thing, presented the morning keynote for Claiming Williams on Feb. 3. This year, the event's theme was “Justice & Institutional Power,” and the morning keynote was co-sponsored by the College’s Athletic Department, Student Athlete Advisory Committee, and the Allyship in Athletics (AIA) committee.
The College announced its newest addition to the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (OIDEI), Ivonne García, on Wednesday, Jan. 11. She will serve as assistant vice president for OIDEI.
Proposition 4 will ask Massachusetts voters on the Nov. 8 general election ballot whether they approve of the Work and Family Mobility Act, the state law that would allow undocumented individuals to obtain driver’s licenses and learner’s permits.
The Spring Street midday rush was busier than usual last Friday as the Elizabeth Freeman Center (EFC) held its annual Rise Together for Safety and Justice walk to raise awareness and funds. The event was co-hosted by RASAN, SAPR, and Greylock Together.
