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

Joey Fox, Senior Writer

Joey Fox ’21 is a history and English major from New York, NY. He was a managing editor, and previously served as a section editor and executive editor for the news section.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @pocryphal

All content by Joey Fox
Polls were open yesterday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Williamstown Elementary School to decide six local offices. (Ella Marx/The Williams Record)

Johnson and Hasty win Select Board elections in victory for progressive slate

Lawrence, Dew win seats on Planning Board, Housing Authority
Joey Fox • May 12, 2021
Jeff Johnson and Wade Hasty defeated Tony Boskovich ’74 and Albert Cummings IV after a hotly contested campaign in yesterday’s double-header Select Board election. Johnson and Hasty were informally aligned in a progressive-leaning slate that emphasized the need for racial justice in the Town.
The candidates for the three-year term on the Select Board are Tony Boskovich (Above Left) and Jeff Johnson (Above Right). The candidates for the three-year term on the Select Board with one year remaining are Wade Hasty (Center Left) and Albert Cummings (Center Right). The candidates for the seat on the Planning Board are Ken Kuttner (Below Left), Susan Puddester (Below Center), and Roger Lawrence (Below Right). (Photos courtesy of Tony Boskovich, Jeff Johnson, Wade Hasty, Ken Kuttner, and WilliNet.)

Contested races on the ballot for Town elections in May

Joey Fox and Ella Marx • April 21, 2021
After a turbulent year for Williamstown marked by reports of police misconduct, the continued hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resignation of several Town officials, Williamstown voters will go to the polls on May 11 to vote for two new members of the Williamstown Select Board alongside several other local races.
(Rachel Buccalo/The Williams Record)

A year into the pandemic, staff still face unique burdens

Joey Fox and Nigel Jaffe • April 14, 2021
The Record sent a survey to every staff member at the College, and spoke with seven of them about their experiences since the pandemic began. The stories they told speak to the challenges staff have confronted in the past year, the ways staff feel they do and don’t fit in at Williams, and the hopes many staff have for a post-COVID future.
(Joey Fox/The Williams Record)

One in Two Thousand: Jared Berger ’21

Joey Fox • February 24, 2021
This week the computer (using a script in R) chose Jared Berger ’21, who talked about playing trumpet, being tall, and how sledding makes your butt hurt. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Course registration period beset by overenrollment, PeopleSoft issues

Course registration period beset by overenrollment, PeopleSoft issues

Joey Fox • February 7, 2021
According to Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom, 991 students were dropped from at least one class, compared to 816 last spring. The registration software PeopleSoft was overloaded by hundreds of students last Monday night as regular registration opened, making matters even more difficult for those dropped from classes.
Spring semester to start as scheduled; College plans to hold in-person commencement

Spring semester to start as scheduled; College plans to hold in-person commencement

Joey Fox, Megan Lin, Irene Loewenson, Annie Lu, Lucy Walker, and Kevin Yang • January 28, 2021
The spring semester will start as previously scheduled, with students returning to campus beginning Feb. 10, President of the College Maud S. Mandel and Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom announced today in an email to students, staff, and faculty. Additionally, the College plans to hold an in-person commencement for seniors, albeit with no off-campus guests.
JA applications drop slightly from last year

JA applications drop slightly from last year

Irene Loewenson and Joey Fox • January 22, 2021
Applications from current sophomores to be Junior Advisors (JAs) for the Class of 2025 dropped slightly this year to 95, down from 109 applications last year and 118 applications the year before. Still, the total number of applications remains much higher than the number received three years ago from the Class of 2020, when a record-low 70 applications forced the Junior Advisor Advisory Board (JAAB) to reconfigure the entry system.
With the in-person semester completed, the campus is now home to only 157 students. (Kevin Yang/The Williams Record)

On-campus holdouts confront a newly emptied campus

Joey Fox and Kit Conklin • December 9, 2020
On the weekend before Thanksgiving, the College was a flurry of packing and panic, as a large majority of the College’s on-campus population prepared to head home for the remainder of the semester. But for the 157 students who were approved to stay in Williamstown, the weekend simply marked a new chapter of their time on campus.
Devika Goel/The Williams Record

Record survey projects increase in on-campus enrollment for spring semester

Joey Fox • November 25, 2020
After a fall semester in which over one-third of students chose to learn remotely, take time off or study abroad, the results of an anonymous Record survey sent to the entire student body last Friday, and filled out by over one-third of students, indicate that the spring semester will see a notable increase in on-campus enrollment.
Korean Garden will soon move to Colonial Plaza in Williamstown after more than four years in North Adams. (Joey Fox/The Williams Record)

Korean Garden moves to new Williamstown location

Joey Fox • November 18, 2020
Korean Garden, long a staple of Korean fare in northern Berkshire County, will move to a new Williamstown location within the next few months. The restaurant’s final day in its original North Adams location was Oct. 31.
After four Cello Shots, College goes wild

After four Cello Shots, College goes wild

Joey Fox • November 18, 2020

The cello ensemble Cello Shots — including, from left, Nat Davidson ’22, Esther Kim ’23 and Michael Fallon ’24 — held their fall semester concert remotely last week. (Joey Fox/The Williams Record.) Ten...

Once again, Berkshire County incumbents run unopposed

Once again, Berkshire County incumbents run unopposed

Joey Fox • November 3, 2020
In most Berkshire County races, voters aren’t given any choices. In Williamstown, Neal, state Sen. Adam Hinds (D-Pittsfield) and state Rep. John Barrett (D-North Adams) will all be re-elected without major-party opposition; all three similarly escaped without Republican opponents in 2018. In fact, none of the five state legislators representing Berkshire County — all Democrats — face opponents this year.
Faculty to vote on spring 2021 calendar; students express preference for continuous model

Faculty to vote on spring 2021 calendar; students express preference for continuous model

Joey Fox and Annie Lu • October 14, 2020
The faculty will vote in a meeting today to adopt one of two models for the spring 2021 academic calendar, both of which the Calendar and Scheduling Committee (CSC) have been developing over the past month. Described in a CSC memo, Option A, the “continuous model,” allows students to remain on campus for the duration of the spring semester but replaces spring break with a series of “health days,” while option B, the “Thanksgiving model,” has most students vacate campus during spring break and finish the semester remotely.
Three students on campus have tested positive for COVID-19, leading their close contacts to be moved to quarantine housing. (Annie Lu/The Williams Record)

Three positive cases represent first test of College’s isolation procedures

Joey Fox • September 16, 2020
For most students on campus, the first full week of classes has also brought the first full week of freedom from quarantine. After remaining in their rooms until receiving confirmation of two negative COVID-19 tests, most students are now free to visit the entire campus. The College’s COVID Dashboard, which ticked up to three confirmed cases this weekend, remains a distant worry.
Incumbents win competitive Massachusetts primaries

Incumbents win competitive Massachusetts primaries

Joey Fox • September 1, 2020
After a long and turbulent primary season, two incumbents representing Western Massachusetts — Democratic Sen. Ed Markey and Democratic Rep. Richard Neal — were re-nominated on Tuesday night. They defeated Rep. Joe Kennedy III and Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, respectively.
College libraries prepare for fall semester

College libraries prepare for fall semester

Joey Fox and Jackson Hartigan • July 7, 2020
Campus in the fall will no doubt be a dramatically different place for those who return, with social distancing restrictions, hybrid or all-remote classes and countless other changes. But despite the unusual circumstances, the College’s libraries are approaching the upcoming semester with relatively few major alterations to their pre-COVID-19 operations.
WSU, Libraries team up to initiate Black Lives Matter Project

WSU, Libraries team up to initiate Black Lives Matter Project

Joey Fox • June 24, 2020
The Williams Black Lives Matter Project, a collaboration between the newly established Williams Student Union (WSU) and Williams Libraries, is aiming to capture student perspectives on the protests, from any place and in any form. With the project, its founders hope to build accounts of the ongoing movement into the historical and institutional record, even with campus itself nearly deserted.
OIDEI appoints Jacqueline Hidalgo as new associate dean for institutional diversity, equity and inclusion

OIDEI appoints Jacqueline Hidalgo as new associate dean for institutional diversity, equity and inclusion

Joey Fox • April 22, 2020
An all-campus email sent last Thursday announced the appointment of Chair of Religion and Associate Professor of Latina/o/x Studies Jacqueline Hidalgo as the new associate dean for institutional diversity, equity and inclusion. Hidalgo will officially begin her term as associate dean on July 1, succeeding Professor of Political Science Ngonidzashe Munemo, who has held the position since July 2016.
College orders all non-essential staff to cease on-campus work

College orders all non-essential staff to cease on-campus work

Joey Fox and Annie Lu • April 1, 2020
Since Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed an executive order on March 23 ordering all nonessential businesses in the state to close due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, staff at the College were directed to work remotely unless their in-person services are determined to be essential. Staff duties had already been significantly altered following the departure of most students from campus.
Professor Sharpe performs jazz set about black experience

Professor Sharpe performs jazz set about black experience

Joey Fox • March 4, 2020
Avery Sharpe, who is retiring this year after 10 years teaching bass, leading jazz ensembles and advising the College’s gospel choir, held a performance of his album 400 last Thursday alongside a band of fellow music professors, students and guests. The album, which was released in 2019, includes 10 songs, nine originals and one arrangement, and was designed to encapsulate 400 years of black history in America.
Claiming Williams event examines DPE requirement

Claiming Williams event examines DPE requirement

Joey Fox • February 12, 2020

In a Claiming Williams event last Thursday examining the Difference, Power and Equity (DPE) requirement, approximately 40 students, faculty members and administrators reviewed the history of the requirement...

Closer Look: How the town’s government works

Closer Look: How the town’s government works

Joey Fox • December 6, 2019
With 22 elected officials and 63 employees, the government of Williamstown is the third largest institution in the town, surpassed only by the College and the school district. But for many College students, who are not registered to vote in the town and who only have limited interactions with its government, the bureaucracy can seem difficult to understand.
Bernard, Tyer win mayoral races

Bernard, Tyer win mayoral races

Joey Fox • November 6, 2019

Alongside local and state-level elections around the country, North Adams and Pittsfield held mayoral elections yesterday, Nov. 5. In North Adams, incumbent mayor Thomas Bernard ’92 was re-elected to...

College offices prep for homecoming

College offices prep for homecoming

Joey Fox • November 6, 2019

With homecoming approaching this weekend, campus safety and security (CSS) and dining services, among other College departments, will adjust their schedules and staffing to handle the crowded campus. “We...

Incumbent North Adams mayor faces challenger

Incumbent North Adams mayor faces challenger

Joey Fox • October 30, 2019

Voters in North Adams will go to the polls next Tuesday to determine their next mayor in a nonpartisan contest that pits incumbent mayor Thomas Bernard ’92 against McCann School Committee member Rachel...

Student Course Survey undergoes changes

Student Course Survey undergoes changes

Joey Fox • October 23, 2019

Following a years-long process that went through four separate faculty committees and multiple all-faculty votes, changes to the Student Course Survey (SCS) which were first approved in 2017 will be implemented...

Mailroom changes affect student workers

Mailroom changes affect student workers

Joey Fox • October 2, 2019

At the beginning of the 2019-2020 academic year, the Jessica H. Park Mailroom changed its closing time from 8 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in an intended cost-saving measure, resulting in a loss of working hours...

In Other Ivory Towers

In Other Ivory Towers

Joey Fox • September 18, 2019

In Other Ivory Towers is the Record’s look at colleges and universities outside the Purple Bubble. This past summer, Oberlin College and Wesleyan University faced significant lawsuits, both of which...

Martin Samuel '67 gives an address to the senior class after he, along with three other alumni, received this year's Bicentennial Medals from President Maud S. Mandel. Photo Courtesy of Joey Fox

Four alums receive Bicentennial Medals

Joey Fox • September 11, 2019

President Mandel gives yearly awards at convocation. September 7 marked Convocation for this year’s senior class and candidates for advanced degrees, commemorating the beginning of a new academic...

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