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

Kevin Yang, Senior Writer

Kevin Yang ’22 is a political science and history major from Shanghai, China, and, before that, Stamford, CT. He is a senior writer. He has previously served as editor-in-chief, managing editor, and executive editor for the opinions section.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @kevin_z_yang

All content by Kevin Yang
(Devika Goel/The Williams Record)

96% of on-campus students have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Record survey estimates

Vast majority of students are not yet fully vaccinated
Annie Lu, Grady Short, and Kevin Yang • May 5, 2021
Ninety-six percent of students living on campus have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a Record survey sent to the entire student body on Saturday estimates. Only 9.6 percent of the 751 on-campus students who responded, however, are fully vaccinated, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines as occurring two weeks after the final required dose.
College reports 4 potentially connected COVID cases

College reports 4 potentially connected COVID cases

2 students among the 4 cases attended indoor gathering on Saturday
Kevin Yang, Annie Lu, and Jacob Posner • March 23, 2021
Two students have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending an indoor gathering at Gladden House on Saturday night, Dean Sandstrom confirmed to the Record today. The two COVID-positive students who attended the gathering — along with another student who did not attend the gathering, as well as a faculty or staff member — are part of a larger cluster of four cases reported in the last week.
College removes 127 students from campus in response to party

College removes 127 students from campus in response to party

Administration defines involvement as any unauthorized presence at Wood that night; some Wood attendees say large parties were common in fall
Kevin Yang, Annie Lu, and Megan Lin • March 10, 2021
One hundred twenty-seven students have been removed from campus as part of the College’s response to the Feb. 26 party at Wood. For the purposes of deciding whom to remove from campus, the College has defined involvement in the Wood party as any unauthorized presence in the building during the night of the party. The Record interviewed four students who were at Wood that night. They said that large indoor parties were common throughout the fall.
Friday’s party was the latest in what Wood House residents described as a pattern of illicit gatherings that violated the College’s public health guidelines. (Megan Lin/The Williams Record)

Students come forward as College continues investigation of Wood House party

Kevin Yang, Annie Lu, and Megan Lin • March 3, 2021
Following the illicit gathering of an estimated 80 to 100 students at Wood House on Friday, Campus Safety and Security has begun to identify students who were involved. A number of students have come forward to the administration to admit that they attended the party, according to Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom. Some Wood residents said that Friday’s party was one instance in an ongoing pattern of illicit gatherings at Wood House, to which they believed the College’s response has been inadequate.
Jason Hoch, who has served as town manager since 2015, announced that he will resign.

Williamstown Town Manager Jason Hoch to resign

Kevin Yang, Jeongyoon Han, and Ella Marx • February 21, 2021
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.
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.
Williamstown Police Chief Kyle Johnson resigns following months-long outcry over WPD misconduct

Williamstown Police Chief Kyle Johnson resigns following months-long outcry over WPD misconduct

Jeongyoon Han, Kevin Yang, and Rebecca Tauber • December 14, 2020
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.
Amid dissent, Town Manager Hoch retains WPD Chief Johnson

Amid dissent, Town Manager Hoch retains WPD Chief Johnson

Johnson apologizes, announces investigation into new report that WPD officer shared racist Facebook posts
Jack McGovern, Jeongyoon Han, Kevin Yang, and Ella Marx • November 11, 2020
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.
Quarantined students face communication gaps, criticize lack of College support

Quarantined students face communication gaps, criticize lack of College support

Kevin Yang, Annie Lu, and Jacob Posner • November 11, 2020
In October, two more students at the College tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive tests among students to five. Upon receiving their positive test results, the students were told they had to move to isolation housing, and their respective podmates, who were informed about an hour afterward, were given less than an hour to pack and move to Dodd for a two-week quarantine. The ensuing series of events, based on interviews with four students who were placed in quarantine across the two incidents, revealed a significant lack of communication on the part of the College.
Students have been gathering in large groups that violate the 10-person limit imposed by COVID guidelines. (The Williams Record)

Large gatherings of students violated the public health guidelines. The College’s response has been spotty.

Kevin Yang, Annie Lu, and Jacob Posner • September 30, 2020
If you walk past Frosh Quad at 11 p.m. on a Friday, you’ll hear pounding music and see groups of first-years wandering between buildings. It almost seems like a regular Friday night — not one in the middle of a pandemic. In the weeks since students returned to campus there have been a number of instances in which students violated the College’s public health guidelines — which limit gatherings to groups of 10 — sometimes with gatherings of dozens of students. The College’s responses to different instances and types of violations have varied widely.
Town denies allegations against WPD chief, admits 2014 racial harassment incident

Town denies allegations against WPD chief, admits 2014 racial harassment incident

Jeongyoon Han, Kevin Yang, and Lucy Walker • August 30, 2020
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.
Lawsuit brought by WPD sergeant alleges sexual assault, racial harassment by Williamstown Police Chief and unnamed officers

Lawsuit brought by WPD sergeant alleges sexual assault, racial harassment by Williamstown Police Chief and unnamed officers

Jeongyoon Han and Kevin Yang • August 12, 2020
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.
WPD use of force policy falls behind advocates’ benchmarks, six reported uses of force in past two years

WPD use of force policy falls behind advocates’ benchmarks, six reported uses of force in past two years

Kevin Yang • July 4, 2020
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.
After battling with COVID-19 symptoms, Calle and her mother went for a walk last weekend in Flushing Meadow Park in Queens, New York. (Photo courtesy of Tania Calle.)

Three Williams students experienced COVID-19 symptoms. These are their stories.

Jeongyoon Han, Kevin Yang, and Jacob Posner • May 21, 2020
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.
What is a pass? Professors have different answers

What is a pass? Professors have different answers

Jeongyoon Han and Kevin Yang • April 22, 2020
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
International students feel impacts of coronavirus travel restrictions

International students feel impacts of coronavirus travel restrictions

Kevin Yang and Rebecca Tauber • March 4, 2020
As the coronavirus epidemic continues to spread, international students at the College are experiencing the consequences of increasing travel restrictions. As of Tuesday, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a level three travel health notice for China, Iran, Italy and South Korea, cautioning that all travelers avoid nonessential travel to those countries.
Coronavirus epidemic affects break out trips, other study abroad opportunities

Coronavirus epidemic affects break out trips, other study abroad opportunities

Kevin Yang • February 26, 2020
As the coronavirus outbreak worsens, opportunities for students at the College to participate in foreign languages programs in Asia continue to be negatively affected. Following the recent cancellations of semester-long study abroad programs in China that were set to begin during the spring semester, the plans of several students to attend summer language programs in the region have also either been canceled or made uncertain due to the ongoing epidemic.
Mandel writes on inclusion

Mandel writes on inclusion

Kevin Yang • May 8, 2019

On May 3, President Maud Mandel sent an all-campus email, “Our past, current and future work for an inclusive Williams,” detailing ongoing and future initiatives for inclusion at the College. This...

One in Two Thousand: Tom Robertshaw ’19

One in Two Thousand: Tom Robertshaw ’19

Kevin Yang • March 6, 2019

ANIAH PRICE/PHOTO EDITOR As a fellow member of the Octet, I have had the pleasure of spending at least six hours a week with Tom, if not many more. With his philosophizing about the relative merits...

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