I still remember the first time I stepped foot into Brayton Elementary School in North Adams. After weeks of searching for the perfect job with the Center for Learning in Action (CLiA), I was given the...
This is the semester where no one knew what to expect. No one knew what was going to happen. All we had were numerous scenarios. Our planning started with the worst-case — a massive outbreak of COVID-19...
Travis Roy died two weeks ago at the age of only 45. Made quadriplegic as the result of a catastrophic injury in his first on ice moments for Boston University hockey in 1995, Roy continued as a celebrated...
As schools began to shut down in March in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many anxious parents scrambled and searched for ways to maintain and support their children's education. This was a time unlike...
My relationship with the U.S. is complicated, to say the least. I am a U.S. citizen, but as a resident of Puerto Rico, I am ineligible to vote in the general presidential elections. I carry a U.S. passport,...
This is a thank you note to Maud and all of the people at Williams who worked so hard to bring students back to campus. The faculty and staff who deserve credit won’t brag about it, so we will.
If...
Photo courtesy of Max Odell.
Each week, we randomly select a unix from a list of all current students at the College for our One in Two Thousand feature. As long as the owner of a selected unix is...
Several weeks ago, I played the song, “The Kingdom of God is Justice and Peace” to a photo montage of the news of the week during a virtual Night Prayer service attended by an assortment of people,...
I haven’t been in a classroom since January.
When my new classmates hear this, most of them offer their sympathies. “That must suck.” “It must be so difficult.”
Of course,...
I spent all summer dreading the fall. There were nights when I would lay in my bed restlessly as the question mark of what the future held chipped away at me. A part of me missed school and opening my...
(Photo courtesy of Paula Consolini.)
Even in the best of circumstances, it would be hard to keep up with all the community work and engaged learning Williams students do. In these times of small face-to-face...
Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington’s office put Williamstown Police Department (WPD) officer Craig Eichhammer on a list of police officers flagged by the office for having engaged...
As the United States enters its ninth month of the COVID-19 pandemic, 43 million Americans are facing eviction, 13.6 million are unemployed and over 200,000 have died. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has...
As the food sustainability intern for the Zilkha Center this summer, my work has involved researching the College’s current commitments to food sustainability and potential future ones in this time...
This essay is adapted from Rabbi Seth’s remarks at the start of Rosh Hashanah services on Friday, September 18, 2020, which marked the beginning of the Jewish new year.
A story is told of a king...
Dear Sawyer Library,
Please consider making all the public restrooms in Sawyer gender-neutral since they are single occupancy. This would be more inclusive and more efficient.
Best,
Katrina...
Here are three surprising facts. The first: Nuclear power is the largest source of carbon-free energy in the US right now, supplying 20 percent of US electricity. The second: The Intergovernmental Panel...
As individuals who live and work in Williamstown, and especially as students and teachers of faith traditions that uphold the dignity of each person, we are appalled by the recent allegations of racial and sexual misconduct by the leadership of the Williamstown Police Department.
As a 29 year-old, ice-cream-truck-driving, U.S. Army Reservesman fresh out of Boston College Law School, Edward J. Markey first made a name for himself in the Massachusetts State House of Representatives in January 1976.
While researching skin-lightening creams, I started to wonder if fair as in “just,” fair as in “beautiful,” and fair as in “light-complexioned” were etymologically linked. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, these three usages emerged around the same time and share the Proto-Germanic root fagraz. It seems that, for English speakers in the Middle Ages, light skin was bound up with virtue and beauty, which isn’t surprising.
A Record review of the Williamstown Police Department’s use of force practices revealed six officially reported uses of force in the past two years and an official use of force policy that does not meet several of the benchmarks set by anti-police violence advocates. The policy is currently being revised through an internal review, according to Williamstown Police Chief Kyle Johnson.
Dear Classes of 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024,
Today, when many of us are spending more time than ever in front of the computer, I would like to take a moment to talk to you about where we are and where we are headed in our academic lives together. I will spare you the broad and vague claims about how extraordinary these times are, or about the many disruptions to our familiar world. The question, however, of what to do in the face of these disruptions, remains front-of-mind for many of you as you decide whether or not to return to campus for the fall semester.
I care. Didn’t you see my repost? The message being sent by most non-Black people attempting to act as allies during the wake of George Floyd’s death, as the international campaign for the Black...
“In the wake, the river, the weather, and the drowning are death, disaster, and possibility.” Christina Sharpe, In the Wake: On Blackness and Being, pg. 105
Juneteenth celebrates the abolition of chattel slavery in the United States of America in 1865. As we commemorate the anniversary of this glorious event on the precipice of Independence Day, we implore you to reappraise the true cost of the American dream. According to the Declaration of Independence, all humans are guaranteed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Instead, white supremacy has robbed Black Americans of their rights using lynching, sharecropping, redlining, voter suppression, mass incarceration, environmental racism and healthcare disparities.
As chants of “no justice, no peace” and “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” erupted in Field Park, drivers passing by the roundabout honked their horns in support, many stopping to pump their fists...
Following the anger and sadness that many in the Williams community are experiencing after recent acts of police brutality against Black people and ensuing protests against systemic racism, many student groups and academic departments have taken it upon themselves to write and release statements that state their values, reflect on current and past events involving racism and lay out steps they plan to take toward a better and more inclusive future.
Increased numbers of state police troopers have been stationed in Berkshire County in the past few days as part of a statewide plan responding to what state law enforcement officials say are reports of...
On May 19, when President Maud S. Mandel sent out a campus-wide email announcing that Winter Study will be canceled and that students will only be required to take three courses per semester, the Williams meme page exploded with memes about the announcement. Although very entertaining, these memes reflect a shared sentiment of disappointment, frustration and confusion among students regarding the administration’s decision.
Perhaps one of the most devastating impacts of the global pandemic is how challenging it has become to collectively mourn the deceased. It is easy to become mired in what seems to be an unending parade of loss, but it is more important now than ever not to let the surrounding chaos prevent us from remembering and honoring loved ones who are no longer with us.
The class of 2020 is graduating into a job market that has “literally imploded,” according to Director of the Career Center Don Kjelleren. “We have never seen the labor market unravel that fast...
To the Williams College Class of 2020:
You are graduating into a world facing challenges unlike any we have seen in our lifetimes. A global pandemic is sweeping the globe, millions of Americans are unemployed, and our country seems as politically divided now as it has ever been.
It is again the time of year when seniors are normally preparing to receive their diplomas from the College, with their family and friends crowded on Paresky Lawn to cheer for them. The coronavirus pandemic, however, has forced schools across the country to dramatically alter their graduation ceremonies, drastically altering seniors’ plans.
2020 — the perfect vision class! 2000 got the millennium, 2017 had their prime, but vision… there’s a game-changer, and have we ever needed it more? In the past few months it’s been...
Friday was the last day of class, the last day of college. I finished off with “PSCI 215: Race and Inequality in the American City” with Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies and Political...
When you tell the story of your life and experience at Williams College, of what you did and how you grew during your time here, what will you include and what will you leave out?
Do you talk about...
A senior thesis represents the culmination of many students’ academic journeys at the College. But this year, like most other aspects of College life, the senior thesis process has been heavily affected...
Dear Williams Class of 2020:
Congratulations! Neuroscientists say struggle is crucial to learning, so there’s no doubt you will learn a lot over the next few years. America has dug itself in a Mariana Trench-sized hole, and you are at the bottom of it. You are now free to start climbing out. Take us with you, if you don’t mind.
I was the first in my family to receive a high school diploma. Shortly, I will also be the first to earn a bachelor’s degree. I can’t explain what it means to graduate from college without explaining...
In my experience so far, online learning has kind of sucked. But given that we’re stuck with some form of it next year, it’s useful to consider exactly why I feel this way. For me, it’s not really...
We have experienced a great deal of change in the last two months. The word “unprecedented” has become a part of our everyday vocabulary, and things that were big parts of our lives at the beginning...
At 3:29 p.m. on May 19, I was sitting at my kitchen table writing my REL 200 final paper. I then received a text message from my friend saying, “it’s out,” at which point I scrambled over to my...
On May 6, the College began requiring all essential staff and students on campus to wear face coverings in situations where social distancing is not possible, a response to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s May 1 executive order requiring face masks or cloth face coverings in public spaces.
Content Warning: Sexual Assault
What do you call a 2,000-page overhaul of legislation that strips power from one of the most vulnerable populations in the sphere of higher education? If you are anyone with a conscience or a brain, it would be an incomprehensible miscarriage of justice. But if you’re Betsy DeVos, it’s just a Wednesday.
I was asked to write a brief reflection piece as I head into retirement at the end of June after a 32-year career in higher education that culminated in my current role as VP for Campus Life here at Williams.
It has been more than a month and a half since most students left campus and returned home to finish the semester remotely. If you are anything like us and have found yourself in a bit of an entertainment...
Dear friends, community members and loved ones,
We are writing to you from various parts of the country, together while apart. We are writing as peers, your fellow students and classmates, but as we...
I come from a family of narrators. “I’m going in the other room,” someone would announce while getting up from the couch. As if the rest of us might need to send out a search party later.
I’ve...
A traditional summer internship can help you test-drive a job and develop resume-building skills, and often serves as a stepping stone into a full-time job offer. Unfortunately, this summer is anything...
The trope that humans are the virus and that COVID-19 will be our environmental savior is now a familiar one. As the rhythm of normal life and the cycles of production that sustain it have halted for most of us, we have seen the planet respond quickly. Surely, COVID-19 has added to the indisputable evidence that climate change is human-driven.
Each day I read the news reports, looking for clues to a better understanding of COVID-19. My favorite news sources tend to validate scientific research, while the national discourse seems to question...
If you have tuned into any news sources during the world of COVID-19, you may have seen two juxtaposing headlines: food demand is at one of the highest points it has ever been as millions are out of work, and at the same time farmers are dumping food they cannot sell?
Let me start with an apology. Through no fault of your own, seniors, you are graduating in the midst of a global pandemic. You will not get your swan song of spring semester, finish that final research project or walk in the graduation you worked so hard to earn. It is a truly terrible twist of fate.
On the morning of Monday, Feb. 24, I walked into the Alumni Relations Office and passed the office door of my colleague, Leila Derstine, who leads the Williams Alumni Travel Study program. She didn’t...
Dear Williams students,
As I wander the campus, I have a sense of loss. I miss you, all of you. The buildings creak with sounds of emptiness. The soul of the campus has left, leaving a skeleton in...
This year marks my eighteenth consecutive Ramadan fast and, still, the dryness in my throat, hunger pangs and fatigue can feel intense at times. I still glance at my watch on occasion to see that there’s...
The COVID-19 global pandemic has turned the universe upside down, including our personal, professional and social lives. However, this is not the time to retreat and allow pessimism, negative thoughts, self-doubt and bad habits to consume our core. We have been given a unique opportunity to embrace optimism, creativity and reflection.
Before I wore a mask, I thought COVID-19 was just another disease talked about on the nightly news. I mean, there were plenty of other health scares; all it took was a few weeks and the spread would slow...
(Photo courtesy of Melissa Simo.)
While most undergraduate students left campus after the last day of in-person classes on March 13, the 27 graduate students at the College’s Center for Developmental...
Creative thinking and problem solving are wonderful power skills that all of us can learn to do. Every profession needs people who can identify opportunities, develop new concepts or products, be willing...
As my parents shared the news with me about how there was a new virus moving quickly through the streets of Wuhan, I stared at the screen, my eyes on the video call, but my mind elsewhere. A week later, when we called again, they began telling me about their friends who had contracted the virus. I listened and nodded.
The other day, I woke up from a long afternoon nap and thought to myself, “What day is it today?” Minutes passed by as my eyes squeezed shut to focus and keep me from looking at my phone or the calendar, but I just could not remember the date, or the day.
The celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, one of the two most important events in the Christian calendar (Christmas being the other), is both wonderful and challenging. For many, the theological challenges of who Jesus is (Son of God, Incarnate Christ, teacher, prophet, healer) are difficult enough.
As the chair of the Class of 1970’s 50th reunion, which was to be held June 10-14, I have been leading our 50th reunion effort since 2015. While I may be the chair, I am supported by many...
As the world shelters in place from the horrific health effects of COVID-19, our 2020 graduates now face the job-devouring effects of the virus. The spring semester started with seniors reveling in the prospect of graduating into a job market defined by the lowest unemployment in 50 years.
After three weeks of being inside the house with my 3-year-old daughter while campus has been closed, I can say I’ve accomplished at least one thing: I’ve taught her to sing the Passover Seder song “Dayeinu.”
On behalf of all the members of the Class of 1995, we are so sorry for the graduating seniors whose time on campus has been abruptly cut short. We remember our own senior spring fondly. Imagining what...
In her review for the Record, staff writer Lily Goldberg ’22 argues that the recent original production Our Time failed to provide critical perspective on the archival material from which the play’s scenes are crafted and inadequately explored the determinative role that Stephen Sondheim’s identity as “gay and Jewish” played in his experience at Williams.
As students who remain on campus transition into a residential life that is drastically altered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the College has prepared for the possibility of a student contracting the virus...
As President Maud S. Mandel noted in her email yesterday, this situation is unprecedented for all of us. When it comes to deciding which grading system is best, students have generally formed opinions...
When our peer institutions started dropping like flies, many students at Williams were questioning the future ahead of them. When Amherst, leading the NESCAC, announced their decision to go remote...
The Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford (WEPO) announced to its 26 students today that they should return home by Wednesday, March 18, after the completion of the current term this Saturday. Students will complete their final term, which is scheduled to begin on April 26, online.
Lately I’ve been thinking about justice and accountability. When someone in my life or community has done something wrong, where do we go and what do we do. Do we banish them? How do we forgive them? How do we let them back in? I find myself not knowing what to do or think, so I don’t do anything. Pretend they don’t exist. Don’t say hi on the sidewalk. Watch them eat by themselves. Don’t allow a way for re-entry. The first instinct is to be punitive because that’s the norm, but that has never felt right. It feels very conflicting and makes me anxious. How productive is shaming? Is it justice or just punishment?
Last Saturday after midnight I was couched just outside ’82 Grill with some friends. Looking up at the circular brick wall extending toward Lee’s, we wondered: What would a student mural look like here?
In the very first days of my training as a chaplain, we learned that the foundations of effective chaplaincy and spiritual care lay in the ability first to notice, and gradually undo, one’s tendency...
How would you drop out of the 2020 presidential race?
“Announce a self quarantine.” - Nate Jones ’20
“Appear on SNL and announce it.” - Ángel Ibarra ’21
“Renegade.”...
With money often seeming like the best and most-valued way to make your voice heard in our political system, I have often felt like a bystander to the goings-on in my own country. Should I donate $15...
Do I have mono, or am I just sad and tired?
Well. I mean. I hate to ask what my parents asked when I got mono back in 11th grade, but: Who have you been kissing? In 11th grade, the answer was “No one — I’m a cow. I probably got it from sharing milk with a friend.”
If you could share a flex triple with any two people in the world, who would they be?
“Bert and Ernie.” -Hunter Wieman ’20
“Fred and George Weasley.” -Eli Miller ’21
“Wendy...
I sat across the table from a friend, who lounged behind a barrier of discarded Vegware™ 96-Series cold cups: the plasticky ones Whitmans' brings out for the Taco Tuesday virgin margaritas. My stomach...
The term “sustainability” has become a buzzword on college campuses around the country, and Williams is no exception. Especially with strategic planning committees working on new sustainability goals,...
Greek life is usually met with opposition and instant negative connotations. Images of news articles where students were forced to undergo traumatic events for pledge week or videos of a sorority house...
In the past two months, Vice President for Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leticia Haynes, Assistant Vice President for Campus Engagement Bilal Ansari and President Maud S. Mandel, among...
What are you most looking forward to this spring?
“For my skin to stop being so dry and crusty.” - Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí ’20
“Grabbing a meal with you ;) unix: adm3.” - Afoma...
Over this past Winter Study, all staff members from the Davis Center were abruptly asked to reapply for their positions or leave the College. Few students were initially aware of this seemingly...
The release of the draft Strategic Plan for Sustainability last week is very good news. Informed by the hard work of many, it is by far the most thoughtful and comprehensive plan for pursuing sustainability...
During this past Thanksgiving, I spent time at a friend’s house, and one of the guests for one of these large Thanksgiving parties fancied himself to be a cynic. Very nice person, but don’t...
As many Williams students get set to cast their ballots in this high-stakes presidential primary, I want to make my case for why you should vote for Elizabeth Warren. We are at a pivotal moment in American...
With nothing more than a couple universities, massive fields of corn and the Iowa State Fair, Iowa should be #1 on a list of the most boring states to live in. I would know, as I’ve spent the...
I wouldn’t identify myself as a gamer, and I’m almost certain that the rest of the world wouldn’t identify me as one either. However, as of late, I have found myself dipping my toe into the waters...
What is the least romantic place on campus?
"The music practice room that I go in to cry." -Hannah Gruendemann '20
"The Lasell reception desk." -Seungmin Park '21
"Wege."...
When you tell me that you like my skirt, or dress, or leggings, what do you really mean?
Do I look weird to you? Do you find my colors and contours unusual? Have you never seen this combination of...
As club/varsity athletes on the Task Force, we were heavily invested in how funding would work under the new structure. Club sports and other competitive groups are familiar with getting money through...
Thirty years ago, the Minority Coalition (MinCo) was created to protect and give a voice to minority communities on campus, such as people of color (POC), international and LGBTQ+ students. In the recent...
As a student at the College, I, like many today, was engaged in many ways — Kusika, Gypsy Melodies, Black Student Union, Junior Advisor, to name a few. I also co-led Students Promoting Awareness,...
In 2014, Johns Hopkins University made the decision to no longer consider legacy status as part of their admissions process. Moreover, Johns Hopkins President Ronald J. Daniel recently wrote an op-ed...
