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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

Phoebe Pallesen, Features Section Editor

Phoebe Pallesen ’27 is a prospective English major and Asian studies concentrator from New York, N.Y. She is a section editor for the features section. She previously served as a staff writer for features.

Email: [email protected]

All content by Phoebe Pallesen
Shepard and Kleiner either take turns lecturing or do it in tandem. (Bea Larzul/The Williams Record)

Roll the credits: Professors Jim Shepard and John Kleiner teach ‘Hollywood Film’ for the final time

Phoebe Pallesen November 20, 2024
This semester, Professors Jim Shepard and John Kleiner taught their famed English course "Hollywood Film" one last time before returning to retirement.
Cass interviewed J.D. Vance at American Compass’ “Rebuilding American Capitalism” forum in June 2023. (Photo courtesy of Oren Cass.)

Oren Cass ’05 talks conservative realignment, economic policy, J.D. Vance

Phoebe Pallesen, Lena Kerest, and Aliya Huprikar November 13, 2024
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.
Meet Mariët Westermann ’84, new Guggenheim director and latest member of the College’s ‘art mafia’

Meet Mariët Westermann ’84, new Guggenheim director and latest member of the College’s ‘art mafia’

Phoebe Pallesen November 13, 2024
The Record sat down with Mariët Westermann ’84, the new director and CEO of the Guggenheim, at her kitchen table in Williamstown to discuss her journey from the College to the one of the world’s most respected artistic institutions.
This election cycle, the vast majority of College employees’ political donations went to Democrats. (Phoebe Pallesen/ The Williams Record)

College employees gave thousands of dollars to political campaigns this election cycle. Here’s where they donated.

Lena Kerest, Hannah Marx, and Phoebe Pallesen October 22, 2024

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,...

Louis and Liss-Riordan hung lights and posters in thier Sewall room. Photo courtesy of Clarissa Louis.

Stepping inside OCL’s ‘Rooms of the Year’

Quinn Casey and Phoebe Pallesen October 8, 2024
An inside look into the winners of OCL's room decoration contest.
’62 Center starts visiting artist series with Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro

’62 Center starts visiting artist series with Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro

Audrey Adam and Phoebe Pallesen October 1, 2024
’62 Center kicks off visiting artist series with Vuyani Dance Company's performance of Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro.
Founded in 1974, The Clip Shop on Spring Street is beloved by employees and community members. Photo courtesy of (Theo Duarte-Baird/The Williams Record)

A blowout celebration: Looking back on 50 years of The Clip Shop

Phoebe Pallesen September 24, 2024
One of Spring Street's beloved institutions remarks on their 50th year of business.
Every fall, the JAs greet the new class of first-years, welcoming them to campus in their signature purple and yellow T-shirts.

Two weeks, one T-shirt: How this year’s class of JAs contended with obligatory wardrobe minimalism

Phoebe Pallesen September 17, 2024
JAs brace the new school year with an obligatory repeat outfit.
Photo courtesy of The Williams Record.

This Week in Williams History: Hazing, lollipops, the emergence of the Latina/o studies program, and the Purple Key Fair

Phoebe Pallesen April 16, 2024
This week in history, the Record condemned hazing, the chemistry department hosted a party, Vista pushed for a Latino/a studies program, and admitted students visited the College.
WOC led a trip to D.A.R. state park to experience the eclipse in the path of totality. (Photo courtesy of Caroline Nadalin ’27.)

Even classes eclipsed by astronomical spectacle

Phoebe Pallesen April 9, 2024
If the tinted, paper glasses strewn across Lee Snack Bar tables, the recent buzz about “paths of totality,” and obscenely-early alarms didn’t alert you, on Monday, swaths of the United States experienced a total solar eclipse — an astronomical event in which the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, momentarily shielding the Sun’s light. 
One for the books: Milne Public Library celebrates 150th anniversary

One for the books: Milne Public Library celebrates 150th anniversary

Emily Zas and Phoebe Pallesen March 12, 2024

On March 9, 1874, it was 23 degrees below zero in Williamstown — but the cold did not deter Town residents from attending that year’s Town Meeting, where they voted to establish a public library....

(Photo courtesy of Aarju Poudel.)

One in Two Thousand: Aarju Poudel ’27

Phoebe Pallesen March 6, 2024
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, Aarju Poudel ’27 discussed her hometown, dyeing her hair red, and her love for untranslatable words.
Crowning a ‘lucky young lady’: The bygone tradition of Winter Carnival Queens

Crowning a ‘lucky young lady’: The bygone tradition of Winter Carnival Queens

Phoebe Pallesen and Emily Zas February 21, 2024
The annual Winter Carnival weekend is packed full of traditions that go back nearly a century. One, however, has been out of fashion for the last 50 years: the crowning of a “Winter Carnival Queen.”
Bark on the street: The animals of Spring Street establishments

Bark on the street: The animals of Spring Street establishments

Phoebe Pallesen, Emily Zas, and Ellie Davis February 14, 2024
The Record gets to know the nine pets that spend time in establishments on Spring Street. Woof!
‘Dead’ or alive? Students on and off campus reflect on Dead Week

‘Dead’ or alive? Students on and off campus reflect on Dead Week

Emily Zas and Phoebe Pallesen February 7, 2024
“Dead Week” — the four-day classless lull between the end of Winter Study and the start of spring classes — is neither “dead” nor a week. Dozens of students flock to popular cities like Montreal and New York City to escape the empty interlude. But what about those who venture elsewhere, or stay put on campus?
Female and nonbinary students ante up in Free University poker courses

Female and nonbinary students ante up in Free University poker courses

Phoebe Pallesen January 24, 2024
This Winter Study, students offered not one, but two poker Free University courses, both centered on escaping the male-dominated poker landscape. The courses — “Poker Power: Flip the Odds in Your Favor” and “Poker Lessons for non cis men” — targeted a female and nonbinary audience.
Students in their contra-dancing outfits at the monthly contra dance event at First Congregational Church. (Phoebe Pallesen/The Williams Record)

Students, Town residents ‘contra dance’ together at monthly event

Phoebe Pallesen November 15, 2023
Many members of the Williamstown community — students at the College included — eagerly await the monthly contra dancing extravaganza at First Congregational Church. Contra dance, a form of traditional social dance, is practiced in pockets across the world. 
‘I have the greatest conversations’: Local ride-share driver Beth Johnson shares anecdotes from her 16 years transporting College students

‘I have the greatest conversations’: Local ride-share driver Beth Johnson shares anecdotes from her 16 years transporting College students

Phoebe Pallesen October 24, 2023
Many students book ride shares to and from their campuses for school breaks, but residents of the isolated Purple Valley are forced to rely on them more than most. Beth Johnson, a longtime ride-share driver in the Williamstown area, spoke with the Record about her years of experience driving College students to-and-fro.
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