RECORD THE WILLIAMS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019
VOL. CXXXIII, NO. 12
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT WILLIAMS COLLEGE SINCE 1887
Social calendar keeps campus informed 06
Proposed changes to Title IX rules could impact campus policy Potential changes would reduce College’s responsibility in handling sexual assault, harassment By ARRINGTON LUCK NEWS EDITOR On Nov. 16, the Department of Education released its proposed changes to existing Title IX regulations. Citing a need “to ensure that Title IX grievance proceedings become more transparent, consistent and reliable in their processes and outcomes,” the proposed rules would lessen schools’ responsibility in handling cases of sexual assault and harassment. While proponents of the changes say that the new rules would protect due process, critics say that they would make campuses less safe for survivors of assault and harassment and disincentivize students from reporting incidents of sexual assault and harassment. While the text of Title IX, only a sentence long, states that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,” court rulings and Department of Education-issued guidance have clarified and expanded the protections of the law. “Title IX is that students may not be denied educational opportunities based on their sex – a principle that applies to the wide range of activities offered by schools, including admissions
to, and financial aid for, postsecondary institutions; student services and counseling; and athletics and physical education,” according to a Department of Justice report on the 40th anniversary of Title IX. In 2011, President Obama’s Department of Education Office of Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague” letter seeking to reaffirm and restate the responsibility colleges have with regard to dealing
“I’m really nervous of the role those propositions would have on the cultural shift.” Olivia Segal ’19 Co-Chair of RASAN with sexual assault and sexual harassment, building off of guidances issued in 2001. Unique in the Obama administration’s letter was the requirement that schools abide by the set guidances or risk the loss of federal funds and face potential litigation by the Department of Justice. “When a recipient does not come into compliance voluntarily, OCR may initiate proceedings to withdraw Federal funding by the Department or refer the case to the U.S. Department of Justice for litigation,” the letter stated. Proposed changes put forth by Secretary of Education Betsy
Graffiti naming neoNazi group found on Thompson Hall By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN MANAGING EDITOR
The name of a neo-Nazi and white supremacist group was written several times on a whiteboard in Thompson Hall this weekend. According to an all-campus email sent by Vice President for Campus Life Steve Klass, Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom and Vice President for Institutional Diversity
DeVos would affect colleges nationwide that receive federal funding. This includes Williams College, which receives federal funding for financial aid and research grants, among other purposes. On Jan. 15, Meg Bossong, the College’s director of sexual assault prevention and response, and Hannah Lipstein, the College’s violence prevention coordinator, hosted teach-ins about
the proposed changes to the Title IX rules. At the teach-ins, Bossong and Lipstein presented the College’s current disciplinary policies toward handling sexual assault and sexual harassment on campus and provided information on how to leave a comment on the proposed changes. At the teach-in, Bossong and Lipstein distributed a packet that highlighted the proposed deviations from previous Title IX rules, as well as the ways in which the College would or would not have to alter its disciplinary policies to act within the proposed rules. It defined
12 areas of proposed changes, some of which the College is already in compliance with. In the following cases, the College would have to make changes to its existing disciplinary policy and the ways in which it deals with reports of sexual assault and harassment on campus. First, the proposed rule changes would narrow the definition of sexual assault and harassment on campus. The guidances issued in 2001 – those in effect after the 2017 repeal of Obama-era guidances – stated, “Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment can include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal, nonverbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment of a student can deny or limit, on the basis of sex, the student’s ability to participate in or to receive benefits, services, or opportunities in the school’s program.” The new definition under the proposed rules is “unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity.” This would significantly impact the ways in which the College handles continued on 04
Kyle Scadlock ’19: the road to recovery 12
Summer earnings requirement reduced By WILLIAM NEWTON
PRODUCTIONS MANAGER
In its Jan. 2 meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a proposal allowing all students on financial aid to eliminate the summer earnings contribution for one summer of their choice. The Board expressed hope that this change, which takes effect in June, will allow students on financial aid to pursue a wider range of summer opportunities without being restricted by the burden of the earnings requirement. As part of the College’s current expected family contribution, the summer earnings requirement mandates that students contribute a set amount of money to their tuition each summer: $1500 for first-years and $1950 for all other students. For students deemed to be in extreme need, these numbers reduce to $1000 and $1500, respectively. Under the new policy, students on financial aid can automatically waive this requirement for one summer. This is in addition to the option to petition that their earnings requirement be waived for a summer under certain circumstances, a possibility that exists under the current policy. In making this change, Admission and the Board of Trustees are addressing concerns that have been brought forth by students regarding the accessibility of summer opportunities to those on financial aid. “The trustees have been engaged in an ongoing series of discussions about admission
Hazardous materials in field house delay reopening for second time
Closure of practice facility forces varsity, club sports to adapt
It made it to me late Sunday evening, and I shared it with VP Haynes, Dean Sandstrom and [Director of CSS] Dave Boyer at that time. CSS began [its] investigation at that time through Monday and it remains ongoing if new evidence arises.” The identity and intent of the perpetrator remain unknown, but the group’s white supremacist ideology has led the College to investigate the graffiti as a bias
“We will investigate the report as a possible bias
incident and Campus Safety and Security is trying to identify the author of the graffiti.” Steve Klass
Vice President for Campus Life
and Equity Leticia S.E. Haynes ’99, the graffiti was reported by a student to the College, and the responsible party is still unknown. Campus Safety and Security (CSS) is currently investigating the incident. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the group, Identity Evropa, is a white supremacist organization that focuses its recruitment efforts on college and university campuses. They commonly post fliers, graffiti or other recruitment materials in an attempt to draw attention to the group. Materials promoting the group, which was founded in 2016, have been found on campuses such as Duke, University of North Florida and the University of Rochester. The graffiti, according to Klass, was discovered on Sunday morning by a resident of Thompson Hall, who informed their house coordinator. “The [house coordinator], in turn, informed some administrators,” Klass said. “The fact that it was a holiday weekend slowed down the speed with which it traveled to our offices.
incident. “We don’t yet know who wrote the name on the board, or what their intent was in doing so,” Klass, Sandstrom and Haynes wrote in their email. “Because the organization is one that promotes hatred, we will investigate the report as a possible bias incident and Campus Safety and Security is trying to identify the author of the graffiti.” In deciding to issue an allcampus notification, senior administrators considered the unique circumstances of each potential bias incident individually. “The three of us [Haynes, Sandstrom and Klass] consult with each other at first and then with other senior administrators as the investigation moves forward," Klass said. "Since each one of these incidents is unique, our decisions surrounding if and when we make a broad notification will vary on a case-by-case basis.” Those with information about the incident may contact CSS at (413) 597-4444 or the office of institutional diversity and equity through that office’s online bias incident reporting tool.
and financial aid policies and ways the college can reduce the burden on students and families and enable students to make the most of their summers. The new policy... is an exciting step in that direction. I’m grateful to Maud and the board for their support of this new initiative and I’m eager to continue working with them to investigate other ways to reduce the burden on Williams families receiving aid,” said Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Elizabeth Creighton ’01. The previous summer earnings requirement, which Admission said is based on data concerning student earning patterns throughout the summer, had been netting the College approximately $2 million each year, although it was a source of criticism throughout the community. A Sept. 19 op-ed written for the Record by Konnor Herbst ’20 argued that the requirement restricted students’ ability to pursue internships with lower salaries and placed a particularly large burden on students who were expected to help their families financially with their summer earnings (“On summer earnings: A case against an unequitable requirement,” Sept. 19, 2018). In October, the Record published an editorial encouraging the College to make the summer earnings requirement more equitable for these same reasons (“Making summer accessible: Evaluating the burden caused by the College’s summer earnings requirement,” Oct. 17, 2018).
SABRINE BRISMEUR/PHOTO EDITOR
The track and field teams, unable to access the Towne Field House, currently practice in Lansing Chapman Rink. By REBECCA TAUBER EXECUTIVE EDITOR After discovering further hazardous materials in the Towne Field House, the College has pushed back its scheduled reopening from Jan. 2 to March 8, marking the second delay in its reopening. The resurfacing project was initially supposed to be completed on Oct. 28, before the start of the winter sports season. The unexpected closing has forced a wide variety of sports teams, student groups and community members to adapt. In November, the Record reported that the construction team discovered asbestos in the glue beneath the track (“Asbestos discovered in field house,” Nov. 14, 2018). In recent weeks, the team discovered additional
dangerous chemicals beneath the surface. “Lab results from samples of our track material showed mostly trace amounts of arsenic, lead, mercury, barium and chromium,” said Rita Coppola-Wallace, executive director of design and construction. However, Coppola-Wallace assured that the dangerous materials were contained beneath the surface, so those previously using the field house were never at risk of exposure. Due to the scope of the effects of the field house closure on a variety of campus and community spheres, the College has paused the resurfacing project for the rest of the year in order to open the building on March 8. “Once the Towne Field House is reopened, it will be open and usable by all who have used it in the past. With the exception of
a few localized areas that may be coned off, the disturbances have been repaired in a way that makes them safely usable,” Coppola-Wallace said. According to the current plan, the field house will be open for athletes and community members to use, as well as for alum events and Spring Fling. The College will then resume the resurfacing as planned in June. While the reopened field house will be safe from the hazardous materials found beneath the surface, the track itself still presents dangers to those who use the space. “The floor was so bad that people were actually getting injured from overuse and shin splints, so something had to be done,” Williams Outing Club (WOC) Director Scott Lewis said. Because the field house was built in 1970, numer-
ous repairs have been required over the years, making the building a challenging space for those who use it. The construction team has not been the only group forced to adapt to the difficulties of the renovation. A wide variety of sports and club teams, both in and out of season, have faced issues with practice time and space due to the extended closure of the building. Pete Farwell ’73, head cross country coach and assistant men’s and women’s track coach, explained the adjustments runners have made without access to an indoor track. During the cross country season in the fall, athletes had to shelter in the hockey rink due to inclement weather. In the winter season, the track teams have continued to make use of the hockey rink and Lasell Gymnasium as alternative practice spaces. “That challenge is even more severe,” Farwell said. “They had to bring in lots of mats so they could bound and high jump pits and things but there’s not very much room... They’re building a raised runway and then putting mats over it in Lasell Gym.” Farwell also recognized the hard work of facilities staff in moving bleachers back and forth to clear spaces for practice. Despite the track team’s lack of a track, Farwell expressed hope for the team’s prospects. “I think the team again has been very adaptive and positive and really going at it, and we had some continued on 05
WHAT’S INSIDE 3 OPINIONS
7 FEATURES
8 ARTS
10 SPORTS
Why it matters to learn my name
A look inside the President’s House
Artist Rafa Esparza upends MASS MoCA
Jeff Lifson ’86 shares horseracing passion
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2 OPINIONS
The Williams Record
Opinions Editors Kenia Cruz Guardado Kevin Zhang Yang
Editor-in-Chief Danny Jin Managing Editors Nicholas Goldrosen Jane Petersen
Features Editors Nigel Jaffe Irene Loewenson
Productions Manager William Newton Director of Communications RB Smith
Arts Editors Lily Goldberg Phillip Pyle Sports Editors Sofie Jones Jack McGovern
Technology Manager Aki Takigawa Executive Editors Cassie Deshong, Lydia Duan, Jeongyoon Han, Brooke Horowitch, Kaira Mediratta, Rebecca Tauber, Samuel Wolf, Charles Xu and Haeon Yoon News Editors Rose Houglet Arrington Luck
THE WILLIAMS RECORD BOARD
Photo Editors Sabrine Brismeur Katie Brule Aniah Price Sophia Shin Business Staff Rishad Karim, Ali Ladha, Mehr Sawant, Nelson Walsh and Isabella Wang
In November 2018, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced proposed rule changes for how educational institutions receiving federal funding must handle claims of gender-based violence, harassment and discrimination in line with Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. For colleges and universities, the proposed changes will have their largest effect on how institutions adjudicate student disciplinary cases involving sexual harassment, assault and relationship abuse. With regards to the College, the most likely impact of these proposed rules would be to define more narrowly what types of unwelcome conduct qualify as harassment, reduce the College’s obligations to investigate off-campus conduct by students, require the College to use a live hearing
Addressing Title IX changes Why we must oppose the weakening of crucial protections model with cross-examination and allow the College to use mediation as opposed to a formal investigation model. The rules would also no longer require the use of a preponderance of the evidence standard, though it appears that the College could continue to use this standard under the new rules. We at the Record are concerned by many of these changes. Narrowing the scope of the issues that the College may investigate, both in terms of the types of conduct and the locations in which it occurs, leaves the College powerless to investigate acts of violence that may deeply affect members of our community. Especially on a small, residential campus like ours, the practical delineation of off-campus and on-campus conduct is difficult. Requiring a live hearing model with cross-examination favors students who can afford to hire attorneys to represent them at such a hearing and creates a needlessly traumatic process.
While mediation can allow for the implementation of more restorative practices in some cases, it can also cause complainants to be pressured into using informal processes against their wishes. We urge members of our community who are concerned by these proposed rules to submit a public comment at regulations.gov expressing their views on the proposal. The public comment period is open through Jan. 28, though this deadline was extended last week to a yet-to-be-announced date. Comments can lead regulatory agencies to revisit and even revise their proposed rules. We commend groups, such as RASAN, MASC and the office of sexual assault prevention and response, that have already led efforts to empower community members to submit their comments on these proposed rules. The College, if these rules are passed, must and should comply with them to maintain our
eligibility for federal funding that is so crucial to this institution. However, even with these changes, the College can and should still reaffirm its commitment to investigate all acts of intimate violence that affect our community, regardless of whether they occur on- or offcampus. The College can and should still reaffirm its commitment to education, prevention and supportive work; the totality of the College’s response to gender-based violence is not and must not be our disciplinary process. The College can and should still reaffirm its commitment to respect and support complainants in seeking whatever resolution process they wish. These regulations are most concerning because they represent the Department of Education turning away from fighting gender-based violence on campuses; however, they do not, however, have to mean a turn away from fighting genderbased violence on our campus.
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE SINCE 1887 WILLIAMSRECORD.COM
Word on The Quad
January 23, 2019
ALL NIGHT TRIVIA
Shout-out to the entries still awake at 6 a.m.
EPHPRECIATION
Hand-writing 300 postcards was definitely worth the socks, hat, water bottle and T-shirt.
FROSH FORMAL POSTPONED
More time to get a date. Do people even get dates?
,
If you’d run into Kanye at MASS MoCA, what would you have said? By SABRINE BRISMEUR and ANIAH PRICE PHOTO EDITORS
RYAN JOSEPH ’22
You peaked at ‘Gold Digger.’
FIELD HOUSE CLOSED WINTER STUDY IS OVER
Isn’t playing frisbee in 7-degree weather great?
Hoxsey is about to get a lot quieter.
IZABELLE ITH ’21
I probably wouldn’t recognize him.
RYAN SCHMIDT ’20
,
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The opinions expressed in signed columns are not necessarily those of The Williams Record editorial board.
Op-Ed and Letter Submission The Record welcomes op-eds and letters from all members of the College community. The Opinions section is designed to reflect the varied views and ideas of the College community, and the publication of any letter or op-ed does not indicate an endorsement of the views contained therein. Submissions should be sent to kc17@williams. edu and kzy1@williams.edu by Sunday at 5 p.m. for inclusion in the next Wednesday issue. Opeds range in length from 650-800 words, and letters are 500 words or fewer. The Record will not publish pieces that have appeared in other publications. Pieces submitted to the Record are not guaranteed a spot in the upcoming issue. For Record policy information, please see our website, williamsrecord.com.
DARIN LI ’21
January 23, 2019
OPINIONS 3
The Williams Record
Learn my name
Confronting overt and subtle racism By GEUNHO KYE
me want to change it – disappointed that they didn’t bother asking me the When my parents came to this coun- correct way to pronounce my name, try 19 years ago, carrying me in a baby and disappointed that they made me carriage and my older sister in a stroller, feel like Geunho was any less important one of their first tasks was to write down to remember than Ryan or Tom or Ben. My experience is certainly not our names in English for the first time. From what they tell me, they briefly con- unique, and it extends beyond the sidered giving my sister and me “Ameri- classroom. For example, everyone can” names, like Michael and Katie or has heard of the studies and statisBrian and Megan, but for one reason tics that show that people with ethor another they ultimately decided on nic-sounding names are less likely translating our given Korean names to be called back for job interviews. phonetically. So 근호 became Geunho “Whitened” resumes of the same and 선영 became Sunyoung, and I’m caliber are taken more seriously, but sure my parents thought little of it for it’s difficult to imagine the majority of cases involve an overtly racist hirthe next few years. But as anyone with an ethnic-sound- ing manager throwing out any and ing name can attest to, it can very all nonwhite applicants. Rather, it’s quickly become a point of contention a consequence of experiences like for young children. One of my earliest, mine: ethnic-sounding names are and perhaps most vivid, memories from forgotten or laughed at, so people elementary school comes from the first fail to associate them with any type of American identity and further day of Kindergarten during roll call: open the door to the subtler, they’re“Tyler?” different-from-us internal bias that “Here!” we all possess to “Rebecca?” some degree. It’s “Here!” part of the reason “Uh…I’m definitely “Our names are why so many nongonna butcher this one… reminders of where we white and foreignJew-en-hoe?” born students go This exchange and its by “Americanized” slight variations, the sub- come from and what our sequent burst of laughter families have endured to names different from the ones they from the class around come to this country.” were born with. me and the deep embarWe look different, rassment I felt at having so maybe changing such a different name were things I came to simultaneously our names takes us a step closer to accept and dread every first day of becoming an equal American. But it is not equality. Our names are school and every substitute teacher reminders of where we come from and appearance. More impactful, though, was that a lot what our families have endured to come of teachers never seemed too interested to this country, and they are a fundain learning my name, regardless of pro- mental part of our identities. We are nunciation. Maybe the gargantuan ef- every bit as American as the immigrants fort of putting together two syllables in a who got here 400 years ago on wooden way they never had before was too much ships, and we deserve to have our names for them, or maybe they just didn’t want preserved without suffering the ridicuto embarrass me more by mispronounc- lous consequences of both overt and ing it again. Regardless of the reason, subtle racism. At Williams, I ask that professors, it was painfully obvious when teachers would vaguely point in my direction administrators and students make when I raised my hand, after calling on a change to combat this. I can’t help but feel angry every time a professor every other student by name. I can only imagine now how my par- whose office hours I’ve been to every ents felt when I came to them in middle week greets everyone else by name but school, when I had six new teachers a can only nod and smile in my direction year mispronounce my name instead when I appear at their door. It may not of just one, and asked them if I could seem important, and it’s a small step, change the name they had given me but take an extra second to ask how our because I wanted it to sound more “nor- names are pronounced, and make an mal.” I wanted teachers to know me as effort to remember them in the same more than just that kid with the funny way you would any other name that name, and to give me the validation of you’ve heard before. It’s simple – but certainly not trivial. recognition that everyone else received. Eventually, slowly, I learned to take Learn my name. pride in my name and the heritage that Geunho Kye ’20 is a mathematics and comes with it. And looking back, I feel disappointed at the teachers who made chemistry major from Pleasanton, Calif.
Standing with the free exchange of ideas Understanding the Faculty Petition and the Chicago Statement By STEVE GERRARD, DAVID GÜRÇAY-MORRIS and LUANA MAROJA We welcome the discussion of how the College should best support freedom of inquiry as part of its educational mission and applaud President Mandel’s formal response to the faculty petition by her creation of an ad hoc committee on speakers, inquiry and inclusion. Here, in the interests of full clarity and fair consideration of the faculty petition, we wish to comment on some points that have arisen in discussions about the Chicago Statement. This statement is best understood not as “a series of policies regarding the disinvitation of speakers” but as a set of principles for institutions of higher education. These principles include: (1) As part of its educational mission, the College has a fundamental commitment to freedom of inquiry, including the consideration of a diverse set of views; (2) to fulfill that mission, the College has a responsibility to protect and promote the free expression of its members. This means that community members have the right to present, criticize and contest views on campus but that nobody can prevent others from expressing their views; and (3) the College can and should set rules and restrict expression that violates the law, defames a specific individual, constitutes a genuine threat or harassment or is otherwise incompatible with the functioning of the College. To date, these principles have been adopted, in a variety of forms, by 55 institutions including Amherst, Brandeis, Colgate, Columbia, Georgetown and Princeton. Such institutions are as committed to social justice, fairness and inclusion as is Williams College, and the adoption of these principles has not, to our knowledge, led to an increase in hate speech on campus. Furthermore, there is
a strong argument that free speech – including civil protest – is the best remedy against hate speech. The free exchange of ideas has traditionally been a powerful weapon against oppression; without it there would have been no religious freedom, no civil rights movement, no women’s liberation movement and no gay rights movement, to name but a few of its liberating feats. Because of today’s strongly polarized political environment, some have lost sight of the deep historical connection between freedom of expression and the fight against injustice. However, it is unfair to characterize the faculty petition as part of or a capitulation to the right-wing assault on the academy. Rather, freedom of expression is part of the foundation of liberal democracy; to let it be undermined by right-wing rhetoric would be the real capitulation. In the same vein, to reject freedom of expression as an effective tool to fight oppression is to surrender the politics of persuasion to the politics of power. In so doing, the failure to protect the free expression of minority opinion simply ensures the persistence of oppression – domination of the powerful over the powerless. Furthermore, the proposed consideration of the Chicago Statement does not extend to all of the other characteristics of the University of Chicago, such as their letter to first-year students about safe spaces and trigger warnings (which many conflate with the Chicago Statement). There are in fact a variety of statements on freedom of expression that other institutions have adopted, and the College is free to craft its own. At its essence, the faculty petition proposes that the Williams statement embody the Chicago principles described above. The specific question of how speakers are invited to the College will be discussed by the ad hoc committee. Neither the faculty petition nor the Chicago
Statement takes a position on this question, nor do they discourage an institutional discussion of this important issue. However, a common claim is that those who speak at the College are given a privileged platform that confers institutional prestige. This constitutes, in our opinion, a simplistic and slippery argument. Taken to its logical conclusion, this implies that every speaker at the College, and every message spoken, must somehow be endorsed by the institution as a whole. This reflects a misunderstanding about the nature of the College: it is primarily a community whose members are engaged in a set of intellectual, artistic and creative endeavors to explore the world in which we live and to understand our place in it. As an institution of higher education, the College is dedicated to helping students learn how to think for themselves rather than simply accept received or popular opinions. As a whole, the institution provides an environment for these endeavors. It does not, however, aim to take an institutional position on individual matters of inquiry by those members. From this perspective, what is at stake is how the institution supports members of the community to freely engage with views from the world outside of the College. As recently proclaimed by President Mandel, the College is committed to “the unfettered exchange of diverse points of view.” We believe that adopting the Chicago principles is the best way to affirm this commitment, and we look forward to continued discussion on this important issue. Steve Gerrard has been a professor of philosophy at the College since 1992. David Gürçay-Morris ’96 has been an associate professor of theatre at the College since 2007. Luana Maroja has been an associate professor of biology at the College since 2010.
On the shortage of co-op rooms A call for more affordable living options By CAROLINE CONFORTI Discussion and preparation surrounding senior year housing arrangements have always been intense. To secure off-campus housing, strategizing can begin for some students as early as their first year, especially for athletes who feel the pressure of having a team house. This pressure has forced some first-years to sign contracts for offcampus housing years in advance, sometimes with individuals they do not know well. Even if students wait until junior year to begin thinking about their options, they soon realize that there are not many opportunities for living arrangements similar to those found off campus, such as the houses on Hoxsey Street or the apartments on Spring Street. Juniors who want a slightly more independent living situation must then enter the co-op lottery in January. Co-op housing provides students with the chance of living in one of six small houses or one apartment complex, both owned by the school. With only fewer than 100 beds available for seniors in co-op living arrangements, four-fifths of the senior class must either live in the dorms or search for off-campus housing options. With so few co-op options and a high demand among seniors, the College should consider offering more co-op style housing. It might appear that one way to reduce the stress of entering the co-op lottery is to live off campus. While for some students this is a great option because it offers more control over where you will live and whom you will live with, the options on Hoxsey and Spring Streets are often more expensive than living on campus. This disparity alienates students who cannot afford to live off campus and other students who do not want to pay a lot for housing. This situation unfairly constrains these seniors
each year, limiting their options to co-op housing or dorm living. For some, living off campus is not a good alternative to co-op housing because individuals are required to sign a lease years in advance. For students who have anxiety about making commitments to where and with whom they will house, this option is yet again not desirable. For those students who decide not to live off campus senior year, they have either the co-op lottery or the regular housing lottery as options. For juniors who want to live with a large group of their friends, the co-op lottery presents another issue as co-op housing is not conducive for a pick group that is larger than six people. The houses themselves are small, sometimes having only 10 beds, and if a large pick group does not have a pick number within the top 10, the chances of living in a desirable co-op for that group would be slim to none. Students in large groups each year are forced to split up, live in undesirable co-op housing or enter the regular housing lottery for a better chance of living with their friends in the dorms. Since most seniors enter the co-op housing, with around 40 pick groups entering for housing in the 2019-2020 academic year, it is clear that co-ops are in high demand. Unfortunately, only the very few and very lucky will end up living where they want and with whom they want for their senior years. While it is true that it is a luxury to live in co-op housing, the College has the means to provide more options for senior students. The College should consider doing so as coop housing is high in demand and by providing more housing, seniors could have more affordable options to live with their friends. Caroline Conforti ’20 is a political science and economics major from Slingerlands, N.Y.
DARIN LI ’21
Freedom without exploitation On environmentalism and its effects on minorities By REMY GATES South Park’s recent episode, “Nobody Got Cereal?” may have been the best of its 22nd season. It follows the familiar fourth-grade boys trying to combat global warming personified as the inciteful “ManBearPig,” or MBP. MBP has shown up on time to collect its part of a contract signed by one of the boy’s grandfathers. They invoke the aid of Al Gore, writer and star in 2006’s Academy Award-winning An Inconvenient Truth. They also summon Satan, who is swiftly defeated by the raw force of MBP. Having no other choice, the boys sit down with MBP to settle the debt. At the end, when the main characters are supposed to negotiate MBP away by giving up their closest material desires, they answer the same way their forefathers did by signing off the future for today. In this instance, they sign off the future of “Third-World kids.” I turned to my partner during the credits. “Everything about this episode reminds me of that white guy speaking at the Log today,” I said. Specifically, Third-World soldiers and slaves are being sacrificed and exploited to erase the guilt from white people and the upper class’ nostalgia. The talk at Log Lunch on Nov. 16, featuring alumn Peter Kelly-Detwiler ’83, was that moment. What was booked as the transformation of the energy market quickly left me feeling uneasy. A student commented to Kelly-Detwiler that he seemed overly optimistic about this profitable green future. I, too, was left with similar questions as he mentioned the extraction of rare earth minerals for high tech components. He answered that those parts can be tracked to make sure they are conflict free. It didn’t help and I was still stuck.
But what about slavery? What about fallout, the runoff, have time and time again been handed to the underpriviland? And peoples’ homes? As a white, educated man, of course leged peoples of society. People who you can be optimistic about a future; don’t want to engage in your games you’re never the one facing the clean- of war, or your silly cis-het (cisgenup. Clean energy is full of great invest- der, heterosexual) dick-measuring ments to be made at the cost of in- contests. Just as the unchecked work creasing land erosion and degradation of oil giants has led to this current of developing nations. It is great that moment, the irresponsible practices China is at the helm of bolstering reus- of high-end environmental economable energy, but hegemony should not ics will lead to the next. And for some be our reason for finding ways to work odd reason wealthy, educated whites refuse to interrogate the integrity of with the planet instead of against it. This talk reminded me of a rift that the structures they are building in many of us, mostly neoliberal cauca- the name of capitalism. They refuse sian elites, are ignorant of: 1. Center- to understand that the Earth too is ing environmentalism around white reactionary when acted foully upon. As people of the wealth and health. 2. Immigrants being Earth, amongst other locked out for the “And for some odd reason, planetary systems, and same reason antewealthy, educated whites universalities bellum blacks were faiths, my friends refuse to interrogate the and I cannot afford locked into slavery, integrity of the structures to be remiss of the and now into prisons: to ensure subhuman forces that bring us they are building in the together. I implore labor forces for the name of capitalism.” wealthy minority. I anyone working in environmentalism to see this when prisoners are fighting wildthink beyond money, fires caused by careless policies of the carbon footprints, and more efficient U.S. I see it when immigrants trying to solar farms, to remember those whose flee proxy wars fomented by mineral voices go unheard because they are conflicts and land/labor disputes are being suppressed. How will you make the ones being turned away at borders. sure that poor people, that black and As soon as there is a better way to in- brown people, that Third-World and crease profit, they’ll be left without trans peoples are receiving the same, jobs and won’t reap any of the benefits if not better, benefits of environmenthat their labor helped produce (solar talism? In your work, remember that panels, electric cars, etc.) They’ll be caring for the earth is more than just left just as vulnerable to natural disas- a profit margin, the mother we share ters. In this pre-singularity landscape, is linked deeply between all of us. We wealthy whites are again feigning ig- must treat such work with the sacred love that it commands. norance of their faults. You cannot speak for the advancement of civilization’s architecture Remy Gates ’16 was a Japanese maexpecting the waste to devolve itself. jor with a concentration in Africana The waste of your advancements, the studies. They are from St. Louis, Mo.
January 23, 2019
Dean’s office realigns first year responsibilities By ROSE HOUGLET NEWS EDITOR Associate Dean of the College Christopher Sewell ’05 has assumed responsibility for overseeing the Junior Advisor (JA) program and First Years Experience from Associate Dean and Dean of First Year Students Dave Johnson ’71, according to an email to the JA class on Jan. 5. “Chris Sewell will take on primary responsibility for coordinating the First Year Experience and the JA system within the Dean’s office,” Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom wrote in the email. “Dave will work closely with Chris to provide valuable guidance and support as he steps into this role. Dave will continue to lead coordination of the EphVenture programming. In addition, Dave will continue to offer on-going support, trouble-shooting, and check-ins with JAs.” Johnson has been involved in multiple aspects of campus life throughout his time at the College, including coaching tennis and squash beginning in 1989 and teaching in the art history department for 13 years. On his online biography, he describes his work as dean of first years with great enthusiasm. “I landed in the best possible job on campus in the Dean’s office (in 1999), where I work with the Junior Advisors, oversee First Days and my favorite part – talking to students all day, learning about who they are and helping them solve problems,” he wrote. Sewell majored in history and American studies at the College, graduating with an Africana Studies concentration. In his online biography, he detailed the focus of his current work as an associate dean of the College. “I work to support students in transition, specifically veterans, transfer students and students who come back from leave,” he wrote. “I also work closely with
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PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE.
Christopher Sewell ’05 will coordinate the First Year Experience. the Davis Center, the Health and Wellness Center, the Chaplain’s Office and Dean Johnson on First Year Experience.” Benton Leary ’20, a JA who has worked closely with both Johnson and Sewell, expressed his appreciation of Johnson’s work as dean of first years. “The degree of thought and time [Johnson] spends in making sure that first years have a great time here is apparent in every meeting in which he participates,” he said. Leary also expressed excitement for the transition. “Chris Sewell has very much jumped into the role and is bringing the same level of enthusiasm and care to finding out what will be the best for students… He is also incredibly pragmatic and resultsdriven,” Leary said. “Above all else, I think that Dean Sewell’s focus above everything is to find out what is not working for students and how to change those things to make them work for students of Williams College.”
In her email to the JA class, Sandstrom thanked Johnson for his work and Sewell for his willingness to take over the dean of first years’ responsibilities. “At this juncture, I’d like to offer my tremendous gratitude to Dave for all of the incredible work he has put into the FYE [First Year Experience] and JA system over the years,” she wrote. “His steadfast stewardship and love for the students and the program has been a primary driving force behind their success over the years.” “I am so grateful that Dave is committed to sharing his expertise and passion with Chris during this transition period and continuing to offer his support and enthusiasm to the JAs,” Sandstrom concluded the email. “A heartfelt thank-you to Dave for his wonderful stewardship, and a big thank-you to Chris for his willingness to take on leadership of these programs moving forward.”
Title IX changes implicate College policy CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 relationship abuse and stalking. According to the proposed rules discussion guide, “It essentially creates another category of non-Title IX interpersonal misconduct.” The proposed changes would also affect what would have to be done to trigger the Title IX process. While incidents could previously be reported to people the College deemed “responsible employees,” the changes force incidents to be reported directly to a Title IX coordinator. Under the proposed rule changes, support measures are classified as “something offered to students who report harassment,” regardless of disciplinary investigation. The new rules mandate that measures be nondisciplinary and non-punitive prior to a disciplinary process. “The proposed rules require only that accommodations be designed to restore access to the educational program, not that they actually do,” the proposed rules policy guide states. The proposed rules would also, according to the College’s Title IX discussion guide, “require that recipients must discontinue an investigation if they find that the harassment occurred outside of its programs.” Currently, all students are covered by the College’s code of conduct, regardless of residential situation. Additionally, students are no longer protected under Title IX guidelines while outside of the United States. Similar to the off-campus regulations, the College may take disciplinary action based on its code of conduct, but students will not have the same avenues of recourse that Title IX grants. Aditionally, the proposed rule changes would require the implementation of live-hearing cross examinations. While the changes do not warrant that the complainant and respondent interact directly, the cross examinations must be done by an advisor. Refusing a cross examination makes statements and evidence provided by the person inadmissible, according to the
policy discussion guide. The College does not currently employ a live cross examination model. Another notable change, though one that would not necessarily affect the College, is the change in the required evidentiary standard. The proposed rules would give schools the option of choosing either a “preponderance of evidence” or a “clear and convincing” standard for adjudicating incidents, with the caveat that a “preponderance of evidence” may be employed only if preponderance were used in other disciplinary matters and for both faculty, staff and students. Because the college employs a preponderance standard in all cases, it may continue to do so. The Title IX rule changes would also reduce the requirement for response in cases brought forth by complainants who are not students of the College. Under the proposed rules, students could not seek Title IX recourse from institutions that the complainant does not attend. Olivia Segal ’19 and Ryan Buggy ’19, of the Rape And Sexual Assault Network and the Sexual Wellness Advocacy Network, respectively, believe that the proposed changes to Title IX would not only make campuses less safe for survivors but disincentivize the reporting of incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault. “The potential emotional distress of a live cross examination is so great that it may disincentivize going through the reporting process,” Segal said. Segal and Buggy, who both work within their respective organizations to tackle harassment and assault on campus, acknowledged the College's shortcomings in enforcement but firmly maintained that the proposed rules are both ineffective and in bad faith. “Williams has good people in the right places … [but] there’s a lot of room for improvement,” Buggy said. “It can be challenging to work with the administration through the investigative and adjudicative process,” Segal added. She also expressed concerns with
the federal administration’s motives. “It is not a coincidence that these changes were proposed right before break,” she said, referencing the timing of the rule changes with regard to the comment period. She also asserted that the proposed changes would save the Department of Education hundreds of millions of dollars. According to the federal register, the proposed changes would save the Department $286.4–$367.7 million. For Segal and Buggy, this is about more than just the effects of the policy. “We are in the middle of a really important cultural shift,” Segal said. “[Young people] are really taking this issue seriously.” Segal followed this up, however, with some concerns. “I’m really nervous of the role those propositions would have on the cultural shift.” Outside the context of the College, Buggy reinforced the importance of Title IX regulations in K-12 education, specifically for afterschool programs and school sports. “All these places where our kids are spending a lot of time,” he said, might not be protected, referencing the changes regarding off campus enforcement. Buggy also expressed concerns about the changes to reporting. “When we are lowering the bar, what happens to people of color and queer people who might already distrust their schools’ administration?” he asked. Buggy also posited that much of the Department of Education’s rhetoric surrounding the proposed changes is in bad faith. “It’s really rich that the administration believes that men are getting their lives ruined,” Buggy said, referencing the appointment of Justice Kavanaugh and the election of President Trump. Ultimately, Buggy and Segal acknowledged that dealing with cases of sexual harassment and assault on campus are complicated, but that, by virtue of the nature of campus, action has to be taken. “There needs to be disciplinary means that can be taken on college campuses,” Segal said.
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Truth Seeking, Democracy, and Freedom of Thought and Expression A Statement by Robert P. George and Cornel West The pursuit of knowledge and the maintenance of a free and democratic society require the cultivation and practice of the virtues of intellectual humility, openness of mind, and, above all, love of truth. These virtues will manifest themselves and be strengthened by one’s willingness to listen attentively and respectfully to intelligent people who challenge one’s beliefs and who represent causes one disagrees with and points of view one does not share. That’s why all of us should seek respectfully to engage with people who challenge our views. And we should oppose efforts to silence those with whom we disagree—especially on college and university campuses. As John Stuart Mill taught, a recognition of the possibility that we may be in error is a good reason to listen to and honestly consider—and not merely to tolerate grudgingly—points of view that we do not share, and even perspectives that we find shocking or scandalous. What’s more, as Mill noted, even if one happens to be right about this or that disputed matter, seriously and respectfully engaging people who disagree will deepen one’s understanding of the truth and sharpen one’s ability to defend it. None of us is infallible. Whether you are a person of the left, the right, or the center,
there are reasonable people of goodwill who do not share your fundamental convictions. This does not mean that all opinions are equally valid or that all speakers are equally worth listening to. It certainly does not mean that there is no truth to be discovered. Nor does it mean that you are necessarily wrong. But they are not necessarily wrong either. So someone who has not fallen into the idolatry of worshiping his or her own opinions and loving them above truth itself will want to listen to people who see things differently in order to learn what considerations—evidence, reasons, arguments—led them to a place different from where one happens, at least for now, to find oneself. All of us should be willing—even eager— to engage with anyone who is prepared to do business in the currency of truth-seeking discourse by offering reasons, marshaling evidence, and making arguments. The more important the subject under discussion, the more willing we should be to listen and engage—especially if the person with whom we are in conversation will challenge our deeply held—even our most cherished and identityforming—beliefs. It is all-too-common these days for people to try to immunize from criticism opinions that happen to be dominant in their particu-
lar communities. Sometimes this is done by questioning the motives and thus stigmatizing those who dissent from prevailing opinions; or by disrupting their presentations; or by demanding that they be excluded from campus or, if they have already been invited, disinvited. Sometimes students and faculty members turn their backs on speakers whose opinions they don’t like or simply walk out and refuse to listen to those whose convictions offend their values. Of course, the right to peacefully protest, including on campuses, is sacrosanct. But before exercising that right, each of us should ask: Might it not be better to listen respectfully and try to learn from a speaker with whom I disagree? Might it better serve the cause of truth-seeking to engage the speaker in frank civil discussion? Our willingness to listen to and respectfully engage those with whom we disagree (especially about matters of profound importance) contributes vitally to the maintenance of a milieu in which people feel free to speak their minds, consider unpopular positions, and explore lines of argument that may undercut established ways of thinking. Such an ethos protects us against dogmatism and groupthink, both of which are toxic to the health of academic communities and to the functioning of democracies.
Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. Cornel West is Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy in the Divinity School and the Department of African and AfricanAmerican Studies at Harvard University. If you would like to join Professors George and West as a public signatory to this statement, please submit your name and title and affiliation (for identification purposes only) via email to jmadison.princeton.edu. Open to all to sign.
January 23, 2019
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Six faculty members receive tenure By CASSIE DESHONG EXECUTIVE EDITOR Six faculty members from various departments will be promoted to the position of associate professor with tenure effective July 1. The Board of Trustees voted on Jan. 2 to approve tenure for six assistant professors: Julie Blackwood in mathematics, Matt Carter in biology, Jessica Fisher in English, Jeffrey Israel in religion, Aparna Kapadia in history and Anjuli F. Raza Kolb in English. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Rochester Institute of Technology, Blackwood obtained her Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the University of California, Davis, in 2010. A 2008 recipient of the Henry L. Alder Prize for Excellence in Teaching, she incorporates mathematical modelling and ecology into her research, utilizing mathematical methods to analyze large populations of organisms and the their behaviors in the natural environment. “My research spans several topics in ecology, including invasive insect management, disease ecology (both in humans and wildlife) and coral reef conservation,” Blackwood said. “Generally, my work explores two underlying questions: What drives population (or disease) persistence? And what are the outcomes of management strategies?” Blackwood has been published in such journals as Ecological Economics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the Journal of Animal Ecology. Carter studies how the brain regulates hunger and sleep. Using mice, Carter researches how neural mechanisms in the brain alter animal physiology and behavior.
He has received numerous awards, as well as a grant from the National Institute of Health to conduct research about how the brain suppresses appetite after overeating or during illnesses. Carter said that his favorite aspect of the job is developing meaningful relationships with his students. “I love experiencing the transition from curious introductory students to advanced students who can work with me in the lab – and after they graduate from Williams, our relationships continue as scientific coauthors, colleagues and indeed friends,” he said. “In fact, after I received tenure, a group of former students surprised me in Williamstown and took me out to dinner. Watching students develop from beginning science students to curious scientists themselves and then to colleagues is a dream come true.” Carter recognizes the pros and cons of having tenure; while one can take more risks and be more ambitious, one might begin to feel like they have no room to grow. Despite it all, Carter described himself as “enthusiastic, earnest and lucky to be at Williams.” Fisher studied as an undergraduate at Swarthmore before earning an M.A and Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Berkeley. A prize-winning poet and critic, she has published poems in such publications as the New Yorker, McSweeney’s, American Poetry Review and Poetry Daily. Fisher’s first book of poems, Frail-Craft, won the 2006 Yale Younger Poets Award and was a finalist of the Northern California Book Award. Her second book, Inmost, won the Nightboat Po-
PHOTOS COURTESY OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE AND POETRY FOUNDATION.
The Board of Trustees granted tenure, effective July 1, to (clockwise from top left) Julie Blackwood, Matt Carter, Jeffrey Israel, Anjuli F. Raza Kolb, Aparna Kapadia and Jessica Fisher. etry Prize. In 2012, Fisher was awarded a Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Fisher is currently working on her third book of poems, Daywork, as well as a book of lyric essays. Israel’s research intertwines modern Jewish thought and political theory.
He is currently working on two projects: developing an alternative to conventional ideas about what is meant when discussing the protection of “religious freedom” and researching a new interpretation of the poetry, novels, music and persona of Leonard Cohen. One of Israel’s favorite moments at the
Glynda Carr speaks on voter supression, political activism By YASMINA CABRERA STAFF WRITER A special screening of Let My People Vote, a documentary highlighting the effects of voter suppression on the 2016 election, was held in Paresky Auditorium on Monday as part of special programming to observe Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day. The film was followed by a talk with guest speaker Glynda Carr, an activist and co-founder of “Higher Heights,” a national organization aiming to “invest in black women’s political leadership.” Overall, Carr’s remarks centered around a question that she repeatedly posed: “How do we find and activate our political voice?” “Use your time here at Williams to figure out your political voice,” she urged the students in the audience. Carr began the discussion by tracing her own experience with political action. Although she was fairly politically apathetic growing up, Carr learned the importance of being active through her mother, she said. “She put me in her car and drove me down to register to vote, and until the day she died she called my brothers and I on every election day,” she recalled. She made clear that her years at the University of Hartford, however, were truly what sparked her into action, citing the fight over
South African apartheid and the Rodney King riots as her formative battles at school. “The black student population was like 4 percent and we lost our minds over Rodney King… My political activism was born on that college campus,” she said. Let My People Vote, a 20-minute documentary follows Desmond Meade, a voting rights activist working “to assist people in exercising their democratic right to a vote” during the 2016 election. Meade is an ex-felon who has since obtained a degree from Florida International University’s College of Law. However, due to Florida’s felon disenfranchisement, at the time of the movie's release it appeared he would never again have the right to vote or the chance to practice law. The audience witnessed his inspiring yet heartbreaking attempts at getting members of his community to the polls, sometimes only to find that a person had been barred from voting for life because of past mistakes, some which had been unfairly qualified as felonies. Meade described these kinds of disenfranchisement laws as remnants of Jim Crow, specifically designed to keep political power from black voters and their communities. Well into his story, viewers found out that as president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), Meade led an effort to restore the voting rights of 1.7
million disenfranchised voters in Florida through the passing of a state-wide amendment. His work, as well as that of many contributing activists, ultimately led to the inclusion of Amendment Four, the Second Chances Voting Restoration Amendment, as a ballot measure to be voted on by Florida residents in the 2018 midterm election. The amendment passed with a resounding 64 percent of the vote. Following the film, Carr asked audience members for their initial reaction to the events documented in the film. “Sad,” “angry” and “embarrassed,” were among the replies. Regarding the obstacles students face in trying to solve issues like voter suppression, Carr detailed several ways in which young people can get involved. “Many of the voter suppression laws have actually started at the state level,” she said. She also talked about the important role that secretaries of state, who are elected leaders, play in voter suppression laws that are taking hold across the country. “Encouraging, recruiting and supporting innovative candidates to run for Secretary of State ... can change some of these laws,” she said. “Are we holding our election officials accountable on the issues that we are concerned with, like voter suppression?” she asked. “Are we
SABRINE BRISMEUR/PHOTO EDITOR
Glynda Carr discussed activism and voter supression at the Let My People Vote screening on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
helping create the environment for our champions to lead boldly?” Carr’s organization, Higher Heights, is mainly concerned with the political representation of black women, and when asked about how the Democratic party is responding to their concerns, she explained that she helped write a letter addressed to the Democratic National Convention. Signed by 30 black women leaders, it demanded more from the party and its platform. “Although we are literally the building block to the winning coalition for the Democratic party, we are underrepresented and underserved,” she explained. “If you want to continue to see us vote, we need to demand a return on our voting investment and I think that’s what our letter did.” “What’s exciting about the 2020 presidential election cycle is that you will see the most diverse group of candidates in our country’s history from a racial makeup, ethnic makeup and gender makeup and their [professional] background,” she said. Earlier that day, Kamala Harris, a black woman, had officially announced her candidacy for President of the United States, and Carr spoke to the historical significance of Harris’ making this announcement on MLK Day. “I am personally excited about seeing candidates that look like me,” she said. “As an informed voter, I am going to do my due diligence to learn about her record,” she added, speaking to a number of concerns that have been raised about Harris’ criminal justice record during her time as California’s attorney’s general. Addressing the future of black female leadership and women of color who may be considering politics but are at risk of being discouraged by countless systematic obstacles, Carr quoted Shirley Chisholm’s famous phrase: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table bring a folding chair.” Carr ended by urging young women of color to participate in politics. “You have a voice that needs to be heard at this time and in this season,” she said.
College was with his Winter Study class last January. “We particularly confident that they could connect to the poetry,” Israel said. “We would read Ginsberg’s poetry out loud, taking turns, sometimes listening to recordings of Ginsberg reading, for three hours at time. At the best moments, we connected to the poetry, to each other through the poetry, while blizzard snows entertained us through the windows in Hopkins 400.” Receiving tenure was a relief for Israel. “I look forward to doing exactly what I’ve been doing, with less anxiety,” he said. Israel will be releasing his book Living with Hate in American Politics and Religion with Columbia University Press later this year. He is the founding associate editor for The Journal of Jewish Ethics, and his writings have appeared as social research in various publications. At the College, Israel formerly served on the faculty review panel and the honor and discipline committee. He currently serves on the College's curricular planning committee. Kapadia’s research involves the history and culture of premodern and modern South Asia, Indian regional traditions and the Indian Ocean. Kapadia is a historian of South Asia and the author of In Praise of Kings: Rajputs, Sultans and Poets in Fifteenth-Century Gujarat, which was published in 2018 by Cambridge University Press. She is also the co-editor of The Idea of Gujarat: History, Ethnography and Text. Kapadia’s favorite type of courses to teach are those where she can introduce “exciting research tools to students like South Asian paint-
ing collection at the WCMA or archival resources that we have access to through the library,” she said. In addition to teaching, Kapadia serves on the faculty steering and global studies committee. She received her B.A. in history from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai and an M.A. and M.Phil. from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. She received her Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and subsequently held a Mellon postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Oxford until 2011. Kapadia looks forward to “expanding the South Asian history curriculum further and building interdisciplinary networks with professors working on the region in other departments at the College.” Raza Kolb’s research is in colonial epistemologies, anticolonial politics and postcolonial poetics. She studies botany, terrorism and water systems and is currently creating a poetry collection and writing about the life sciences in the colonies. Among the numerous awards and fellowships Raza Kolb has received are Columbia University’s Meyerson Award, Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching and Edward W. Said Fellowship. In addition, her work has appeared in the Boston Review, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Fence and Syndicate Lit. Raza Kolb expressed relief at receiving tenure, and she said she looks forward “to taking on new leadership roles on behalf of our students, staff and faculty of color.” “We are making progress, but we have a long way to go to undo a long, exclusionary institutional history,” she said.
Toxins cause second delay of field house opening CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 pretty good results at the Little Three meet,” he said. With the track team practicing on the sides of the hockey rink, the closure has also affected the ice hockey teams. “I do think our team gets distracted by what they’re doing,” women’s ice hockey captain Annie Rush ’19 said. “I’m sure they’re also distracted by our coach talking over the loudspeaker or the constant whistles.” The lack of the field house also makes the rink more crowded during home games. “The visiting team usually warms up in the field house so now that they can’t do that, we have to share the office warmup area in the rink,” Rush said. The track teams’ use of Lasell has also made the gym tight for space. With men’s and women’s crew, softball, and others often using Lasell for out-of-season practices as well as men’s and women’s basketball, which are currently in season, scheduling around and sharing space has affected those who do not directly use the field house. In addition to struggling to secure practice time in Lasell, softball and baseball, which normally practice in the field house during the winter, have felt the impact of restricted practice space during their offseasons. “We can’t play softball in anywhere near a full capacity in the other indoor athletic spaces,” softball captain Casey Pelz ’19 said. The team has taken to practicing in hallways in Lasell and Chandler, and the athletes have expressed frustration with the continuous delay of the reopening date and the inability to fully practice. “None of us have been able to hit a moving ball in months, which we can’t help but feel will leave us uniquely underprepared when our season actually comes,” Pelz said. Men’s tennis has taken to driving to Bennington to play on indoor courts, since they cannot practice in the field house. Instead of hitting five or six times
a week with the field house, they now only practice three times a week. “If it stays like this, we’re going to go into spring break super out of form,” team member Arturo Kam ’21 said. In addition to varsity athletics, the extended closure of the field house has also had a large effect on club teams. Williams Ultimate Frisbee has been practicing outside for the duration of Winter Study. WOC and the Climbing Club have also been affected. “[The climbing wall] is extremely popular ... through people in the community that we sell climbing memberships to and obviously for our PE programming when we teach rock climbing classes,” Lewis, director of WOC said. Lewis noted that between 20002500 people use the climbing wall each year, none of whom have access to a wall in Williamstown this year. Additionally, students employed at the climbing wall have not been able to earn money there this year. The Climbing Club, which normally practiced in the field house four times a week, has changed to driving once or twice a week to the nearest wall an hour away in Albany. “It’s a lot harder, it’s a much bigger chunk of time to commit and it’s a lot of driving,” Climbing Club leader Felix Knollmann ’19 said. He also recognized the impact of this change on participation in the club, especially among first-years. “It’s likely that a lot of the freshmen that would have been very into climbing have moved on to other things and won’t know about it as much going forward,” he said. Beyond students, the closure of the climbing wall has also impacted community members. “Every year around this time in February there’s a huge Snowfest from the Williamstown Youth Center… That won’t happen this year, so it’ll impact their fundraising,” Lewis said. He also recognized the effect of the closure on older members of the community: “There’s many older folks that depend on that building for walking, that’s their exercise, so there’s a whole group out there that’s been impacted.”
FEATURES 6
The Williams Record
January 23, 2019
One in Two Thousand By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN MANAGING EDITOR I first met Jad when we were both members of the College's honor committee, and now I have the honor of being his friend. We sat down to chat about his theses, the great state of Ohio and the best bad joke he knows. Many of us on campus know you as a pretty smart guy – a nationally-ranked high-school debater, for example – but I was wondering if you could tell us about your other big ranking in high school. In high school, I played a lot of iPhone games, most notably Candy Crush, and I actually held the global top score in Candy Crush for almost two days. Are you still really into iPhone gaming? That’s dropped considerably now that I’ve transitioned to Netflix as a way to procrastinate. I didn’t really watch Netflix in high school, so that was a big alternative for me. It was also really easy to play in class. Speaking of other work that you’re procrastinating on, I hear you’re doing two theses – not just one, but two – one in economics and one in political science. What are they about? My thesis in political science investigates how dominant frames
of both legal and political dynamics evolved over the course of three discrete instances of presidential impeachment – under Andrew Johnson, who followed Lincoln, and then under both Richard Nixon – who was not formally impeached, but the proceedings and process were set up in a way that would facilitate that – and then under Bill Clinton. [It also investigates] how dominant frames of legal context and understanding of presidential behavior and executive overreach changed and fed into one another as a sort of continuous loop that ended up creating the situation of impeachment that we’re in today. We have attention between popular discourse surrounding Trump’s impeachment and the really challenging political dynamics that make impeachment tricky institutionally. And what is your economics thesis about ? My thesis in economics is looking at the effect of the U.S. News and World Report’s rankings on student matriculation to Williams. So basically trying to unpack the college choice portfolio decision that students face by thinking about rankings as a way for students to overcome information constraints. The idea would be that certain students respond more heavily – or have a higher elasticity – to a change in a college’s rank over time, and that effect will be reflected in the probability, on a student level, that a student matriculates to Williams.
JAD HAMDAN ’19
for a lot of reasons – our sports suck pretty consistently, aside from the whole Lebron era, so that shared experience of being bad professionally at sports sort of breeds a lot of camaraderie among Ohioans. You are from Canton, though, home of the National Football Hall of Fame. Canton’s biggest legacy other than soybean farms. Speaking of food – soybeans, I know, a tough transition there, but we’ll make it work – I hear you’re a Hot Tomatoes fan.
SOPHIA SHIN/PHOTO EDITOR JAD’S HOMETOWN CANTON, OHIO
JAD’S RESIDENCE WEST COLLEGE
I think the other thing people on campus really know you for is that you’re from Ohio. What makes Ohio so great, in your opinion? On one of my JA excursions last year, a JA from Minnesota kind of called me out for referring to Ohio as part of the Midwest. Ohio is kind of this weird place; it doesn’t really have an appropriate spot. It’s not New England, it’s kind of Midwest but not really – I’ve kind of resorted to just calling it Rust Belt. But it has this weird sort of small-town vibe no matter where you go, which I think is pretty classically
NUMBER OF THESES TWO
Midwest. It’s really friendly, but then also just kind of weird. The people there tend to be very different, and I think that’s just a function of both demographics and the almost insular nature of the state. There’s not really a lot that goes on outside Ohio that comes into Ohio – it’s very much a bubble. People often make fun of people from Ohio, and the Midwest in general, but people from Ohio especially, for saying “pop” instead of soda, which is something I didn’t even realize was an idiosyncrasy till I came to Williams. Just little things like that give me a lot of state pride. And people just don’t like Ohio
I am. So, my best friend on campus, Alex Jen [’19], and I really got into Hot Tomatoes during our freshman fall. We had this tradition where we went to Hot Tomatoes every single Sunday freshman and sophomore year while we were on campus – which was kind of wild, especially given the fact that Williams weather is not always conducive to sitting outside. But we would go to Hot Tomatoes every single Sunday at about noon, sit on the wooden bench right in front and eat our pizza. It wasn’t amazing pizza, but it was a pretty cool experience just to do and have something pretty weird. I remember he would put it on his Snapchat story, back when he actually used Snapchat – now he’s one of those Instagram story guys, God love him. It was a really great bonding experience for Alex and me.
You’re known also as the guy who gets removed from the JAs to the class of 2022 GroupMe really often for your bad jokes. (For the unfamiliar, Jad is removed on an almost weekly basis.) Do you have a favorite bad joke? I do. I also do improv, which is funnily on my resume, so sometimes people will – especially people who work in finance who don’t really understand jokes – see “Treestyle Improv” and say, “Tell me a joke!” So the joke I have goes like this: What is the difference between a piano, tuna and Superglue? You can tune a piano, but you can’t piano a tuna? That’s actually the line. You can tune a piano, but you can’t piano a tuna. But half the time, people are like, “Oh, what about the Superglue?” And my response, of course, is, “I knew you’d get stuck there.” It’s a pretty bad joke, but it’s relatively tame, so if someone asks me to tell them a joke, I always have that in my back pocket. I’m not a big knockknock joke guy. And finally, what’s something you haven’t done yet that’s on your Williams bucket list? I want to have a beer with a professor. That’s always been something that I've thought of as so classic “liberal arts college,” especially “liberal arts college senior,” so I’m hoping that that develops throughout the semester.
Social calendar provides poetic overview of campus By KATHERINE HATFIELD CONTRIBUTING WRITER “I’m fine, it’s all okay but damn / That was a vicious, hurtful slam / Last week’s wasn’t my best / But it’s tough to digest / That you all suspected it was spam,” wrote Eli Miller ’21, social calendar author, the week after his trademark email was flagged as “SUSPECTED SPAM.” Humorous engagement with the campus through a limerick format is typical of his weekly social calendar emails. The most difficult part of the poem, Miller said, is to write is a conversational opening relatable to all students at the College. Much of the time, he begins with the stress of schoolwork. “The weather’s another clutch one,” he added. Miller spends most of the writing process selecting events on events.williams. edu and writing or editing descriptions for them. He devotes only 20 to 30 minutes per week to the poem, but the occasional awkward meter or forced rhyme only adds to the charm. “There’s inherent humor in talking about a basketball game in a stilted, antiquated medium,” Miller said. However, according to Abbey Minondo ’19, former social calendar writer, the format of the calendar has changed quite a bit over the years. The poem and colorcoded events have remained constant, but the emails once featured a question at the top and an answer at the bottom. Past social calendar writers chose consistent themes for these questions, such as music, riddles or cows. “[The question and answer] was definitely the only avenue to put in your personality, whereas now it’s a little different,” Minondo said. Miller does not include a question and answer but puts plenty of personality into his poetry. Although Miller calls the social calendar a “dream platform,” he is careful not to abuse his power. Even when plugging his orchestra concerts, he employs a selfdeprecating sense of humor, a technique learned from his predecessor, Anna Nicholson
’20, in order not to seem pre- one you would hate but not sumptuous. Recognizing that someone you would want to orchestra concerts are not be friends with either. for everyone, he highlights a However, Miller believes variety of events in order to that his campy, goofy enthuappeal to a wide audience. siasm shines through. He is “I don’t think I have an ide- ambivalent toward his social ology or an agenda,” Miller calendar persona: “In certain said. Although he hopes peo- situations, I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s ple will find his work useful, me. Ha ha,’” Miller said. “And he does not see it as communi- in others, I’m like ‘Sorry, I ty service: It have redeemis fun, easy ing qualities, and exciting I swear.’” to him. “It’s Over time, all about it has become me,” he easier for him joked. “It’s to create the very selfish.” social calenCelebrity dar, but the status is unexcitement avoidable has started to for those in wear off. his position. “If you D e s p i t e wanted to do his modest an intense, guess that English30 percent style paper of the stuon all of my dent popupoems, you Eli Miller ’ 21 lation reads would see a the social lot of repeatSocial calendar wordsmith calendar ed rhymes poem, (“Is and maybe that fair? even recycled Is that too high?” he asked.) lines,” Miller said. “There he is a household name on just aren’t that many ways campus, appearing in every you can tell people to go to a student’s inbox each week basketball game.” whether or not they read his He expressed excitement, emails in full. He still finds therefore, to hand off the poit odd when people recog- sition to someone who can nize his name, even though it bring new ideas and enthusihappens frequently. asm to the calendar. He enjoys the fame to an The search for a successor extent but feels there is a recently yielded Alex Pear disconnect between his pub- ’22, who found herself nomilic persona and private life. nated for the role by squash There are assumptions, some teammate Nicholson. Pear’s valid and some not neces- decision to take on the job put sarily positive, that students an end to a short but desperoften make about someone ate recruitment campaign. willing to do this job, MillPear was an obvious caner finds. Minondo enjoyed didate for the position. “I being well known around like writing limericks, and I campus but said that people think Eli’s poems are funny,” would tell her, “Abbey, I al- she said. ways thought you were a liShe also noted the atbrarian or something.” tractive compensation that Miller imagined him- comes with the role. “As self from the perspective of far as campus jobs go, it's a someone reading his emails: pretty good one,” she said. “OK, there’s this kid out When it comes to the conthere who goes to every sin- tent and format of the pogle event on campus … has ems, Pear is not entirely sure gone to every single math what the future holds. “I see colloquium talk, every single myself continuing in Eli's frickin’ visiting author that’s tradition, at least for the been here… That’s his entire first few [poems],” she said. life, and it’s like a rock con- “After that, I’d like to start cert to him.” According to taking the calendar in my him, that person is not some- own direction.”
“There’s inherent humor in talking about a basketball game in a stilted, antiquated medium.”
SABRINE BRISMEUR/PHOTO EDITOR
Francis “Frenchie” Fredette, a cook at Driscoll, is well known for his exuberant sense of humor.
By NIGEL JAFFE FEATURES EDITOR Francis E. Fredette Jr. – better known as Frenchie – has worked in the food service industry for 48 years and continues to love every second of it. He has one of the most vibrant personalities I know, and his buoyant sense of humor and lively anecdotes have been a highlight of my time working at Driscoll. The stories he tells – which have ranged from encounters with live chickens on his front porch to the several times he has been the victim of a hit-and-run while riding his bicycle – stem from a colorful past. We started with the origins of his nickname, a classic example of his knack for storytelling. “You see, I was 8 or 9 years old ... playing Little League Baseball for the police department,” he said. “They gave me the nickname Frenchie back then, and I didn’t meet another one until years later, when I was working at Bounti Fare. “One day, I forgot to order the cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day, so I called up the wholesale suppliers in Pittsfield. I said, ‘Hey, Frenchie here,’ and told them that I needed some cabbage. They said to me, ‘Frenchie, you’ve already ordered!’ Well, it turns out there was another Frenchie working at a different restaurant.” He went on to tell me about his time studying elec-
tricity at the Charles H. McCann Technical School in North Adams during the early 1970s. His father worked for General Electric in Pittsfield, and Frenchie frequently found himself under pressure to enter the field. “My father said, ‘Frenchie, electricity is important!’ but I didn’t want it,” he said. “See, I didn’t have any fun with it.” Frenchie took his first job at only 13 years old, choosing to follow his mother, the head waitress at Bounti Fare, into the restaurant business. Soon, he found himself bartending and waiting tables at the Williams Inn. A number of celebrities fell under his service during his time there: actors Anthony Edwards, Ken Howard and Goldie Hawn all passed through, along with former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner ’52. “It was a great gig, meeting all these people every day, doing my job,” Frenchie said. “It was a lot of fun, and I had insurance, too.” Working with and meeting interesting people would prove to be a common theme in his career. When he came to the College, he instantly found that the people here made the job worthwhile. “I did the late-night shift at Whitmans’, and I liked the students, but I got sleepy with those hours,” he said. “After a few years, I was lucky enough to end up here
at Driscoll, and it’s amazing. I’m waiting on the best people, and that just makes it so much fun. The restaurant business ain’t boring, and I’m glad I’m still here.” The sequence of events that brought him to the College makes for another winding tale. “I was testifying in court in 1998 after some people embezzled from the Williams Inn,” he said. After leaving the Inn around 2000, he worked a series of jobs in nearby restaurants, until an opportunity arose in 2007. “The phone rang when I was playing bingo,” he said. “It was one of my old coworkers, who was a manager here. He gave me the interview, and I got the job. And I’ve been here ever since.” Despite a long and storied career in the industry, Frenchie continues to pick up new knowledge all the time. “You pay attention, and you’re learning every day,” he said. “I’m still listening and learning whenever I can.” He derives much of the joy that permeates his work from that very fact. “Learn new things: that’s what you want to do,” he said. “It keeps the job exciting, makes it fun.” I asked him where he finds the energy that drives his sense of humor. His answer came straight from the heart: “When you’re having this much fun, it’s impossible not to love your job. Who wouldn’t be laughing all the time?”
January 23, 2019
7 FEATURES
The Williams Record
Campus Cribs: Life in the President’s House By IRENE LOEWENSON FEATURES EDITOR When President Maud Mandel and her family moved into the President’s House on July 1, Williamstown was going through a heat wave, with temperatures climbing into the mid-90s. To make matters worse, the house’s air conditioning was broken. “It was a hot couple of days,” Mandel said. “But, obviously, it’s an extraordinary house, and so it was wonderful.” The President’s House, historically known as the Sloan House, has served College presidents and their families since 1858. Today, three people live in the house: Mandel; her husband, Steve Simon; and their daughter, Ava. Also residing there are feline siblings Shoshie (short for Shoshanna) and Ishie (short for Ishmael). Shortly after Mandel and I sat down, Shoshie climbed onto her owner’s lap, where she would stay for the rest of the interview. When Mandel took office last year, the house had not been inhabited, by people or by cats, for several years. Although Adam Falk, Mandel’s predecessor, resided in the house near the beginning of his presidency, he spent the last years of his tenure in a private house off campus. Falk’s decision to live elsewhere was far from unprecedented in recent history. Hank Payne, who served as president between 1994–1999, moved off campus because he did not like living in the house, according to Professor Emeritus of Art E. J. Johnson, who co-authored Williams College: The Cam-
ANIAH PRICE/PHOTO EDITOR
President Maud Mandel enjoys living with her husband, daughter and two cats in the recently renovated President’s House. pus Guide with Professor of Art Michael Lewis. The house was not occupied again until Morty Schapiro assumed office in 2000. But for Mandel, living in the President’s House was an obvious choice. “I’m a historian by discipline,” she said. “I liked the historical resonance of living in a home that had been historically, with the exception of a few moments, a continuous line for Williams presidents.” She also delights in the central location of the house. “I walk out to go to work, and every day I run into people from the community,” she said. “It’s really easy to be a member of the community when you’re living
smack-dab in the center of the fish bowl.” Also, her commute, which was a half-hour drive when she was dean of the college at Brown, is now only a secondslong walk to Hopkins Hall. Yet another factor in her decision to live in the President’s House was its recent renovation. After Falk left the College, the Board of Trustees decided to renovate the house. “A lot of the structural issues that made it difficult for the Falks to live here were addressed in the renovations, so it’s really a wonderful place to live,” Mandel said. She identified the introduction of overhead electricity as the most significant improvement. Previously, the house had access to electricity but
no lights in the ceiling, and a gloomy atmosphere prevailed. Now, the spacious, high-ceilinged rooms on the first floor all sport elegant light fixtures. Another important change was the improvement to the house’s acoustics. The ceilings in all of the rooms for entertaining now include swaths of sound-absorbing fabric disguised as decorative drop ceilings. “I gather the sound was very bad in the house,” Mandel said. “Apparently, it was so hard to hear people, even the ones next to you, at a big event, that it was unpleasant to have social events here.” With a house newly suited to entertaining, Mandel hosts a wide variety of events.
“We do a lot,” she said. “Unless I’m traveling, there’s at least one, and sometimes two, things a week.” Events for students have included a kickoff for first-years in the tent outside the house, a gathering in early September for first-generation College students, trick-or-treating for Halloween visitors and a celebration for the national championshipwinning women’s soccer team. Mandel also hosts dinners for faculty, staff and trustees. She said she hopes to have all faculty members come to dinner over the course of the next few years. The house comprises not just space for entertaining but also private living quarters for the family. In one room on the first floor, two teddy bears clad in
University of Michigan T-shirts sit on a shelf, and resting on one of the couches is a blanket with “President Mandel” stitched on it – a gift from Mandel’s cousin. The walls in the rest of the first-floor rooms are adorned with art from WCMA, chosen by a decorator. While much of the furniture is modern, some pieces are College-owned antiques. One such item is a pink, 1920s reclining couch in the living room. “I think it belonged to one arm of the Rockefeller family at one point,” Mandel said. With its contemporary art, antique furniture and neoclassical architecture, the house reflects an eclectic mix of time periods. Designed by an unknown architect, it was built in 1801 for Samuel Sloan, a wealthy settler, according to Williams College: The Campus Guide. In 1858, Nathan Jackson, a relative of Ephraim Williams, donated the house to the College. The house’s elegant, elongated exterior is typical of Federalstyle architecture, an American variety of neoclassicism, Johnson said. He believes that the distinctive intricate facade was carved in Salem, Mass. “It’s an extraordinary design,” Johnson said. “It could not conceivably have been done in Williamstown in the first decade of the 19th century.” Two centuries later, the architecture still impresses. Towards the end of our interview, Mandel extolled the graceful white arch in the hallway near the front door. “I mean, the hallways!” she said. “It’s just a hallway, right? But it’s such an extraordinary entryway.”
Instagram account brings new perspective to same view By SHREYAS RAJESH STAFF WRITER Standing on the steps outside Paresky, we all see the same view: a white church framed against the picturesque Berkshire mountains and Williamstown sky. Many of us have walked by this scene every day without consciously observing the view. But now, it has its own Instagram account. Created by Rebecca Van Pamel ’19, @thesameviewfrompareskyeveryday is an Instagram account featuring daily photos taken from outside Paresky. As of press time, the page has 68 posts and 125 followers, although it is gaining traction as more students and alums discover it. Van Pamel launched the account on Oct. 30, but she began taking photographs of this scene three years earlier. “I’ve been photographing that perspective of campus since I was [a] frosh,” she said. “I would be walking up Mission Hill, coming up into that view, and I always felt compelled to take a picture of it just because it is such a nice image. It is just really striking. And then, sophomore year, living in Greylock, coming into campus again, I’d come into this view, and campus opens up to the front of [me]. I’ve always really liked this view.”
More recently, as a senior sentimentally taking photos of her final fall on campus, Van Pamel realized that most of her pictures of the campus were of this scene. She decided that she wanted to keep these pictures somewhere, so she created the account, where she now uploads a daily photo of the iconic image. While she would originally take pictures at any time of the day, she has now developed a preference for taking them between 3:45–5:00 p.m. Van Pamel has been remarkably consistent in running the account. She has managed to upload at least one photograph every day she has been on campus, though she will occasionally ask friends for assistance with taking the photos if she cannot get to Paresky before the sun sets. “I became a little obsessed with making sure my phone was charged enough to make it to Paresky,” she said. “And I had this external charger – I called it an iron lung – that I brought with me, so I could make sure my phone was alive and awake just to take a photo. Right before Christmas, my phone completely died on me. I was using my friend’s phone, and taking a photo and having her send it to me on Facebook.” Because one cannot upload photos to Instagram from a computer, Van Pamel sent the photos
to her boyfriend, who was studying abroad but knew the password to the account, so that he could upload them for her. In spite of this dedication, there have been days when Van Pamel has been occupied with work and has had to upload a throwback photo from her sophomore or firstyear days. Day Eight also has two photographs: one taken in the morning, and one taken when the now-famous double rainbow appeared. Van Pamel has no formal experience with photography and has “no interest in pursuing it beyond personal record keeping.” “Photography is just really personal,” she said. “I’m really sentimental about images. It’s not about making it beautiful or something. It’s there because it’s what I saw. I want it to be what I saw.” Although she started the account for herself as something to look back on after she graduates, it now counts among its followers alums and other College offices, such as the Williams Libraries and Williams Outing Club accounts. If any reader would be interested in continuing the account once Van Pamel graduates, they may contact her at rkv1@williams.edu. “If this is something for alums to see and reminiscence, then it is something valuable to continue,” she said.
SOPHIA SHIN/PHOTO EDITOR
Rebecca Van Pamel ’19 has posted a photo taken from the same spot near Paresky each day since October.
SABRINE BRISMEUR/PHOTO EDITOR
Members of the guild of bell ringers climb to the top of Thompson each day to play a diverse set of tunes.
Thompson bell ringers delight campus with daily song By REGINA FINK CONTRIBUTING WRITER Have you ever heard John Denver, the soundtrack to Les Misérables or the Game of Thrones theme song clang throughout campus – and wondered who in the world was creating such a lovely sound? The melodies seem to come from nowhere, at random times, and they last for hauntingly few minutes. Many students smile to ourselves as we hear the Harry Potter theme song as we bike or walk across the quad and continue with our busy days as if nothing magical wafts through the air. So what is behind the sound? The real question, however, is who: 11 dedicated students who, in shifts, ring Thompson Chapel’s carillon, an imposing wooden structure connected to the bells that these students whack 21 times a week, three times a day. Using only one major octave – the carillon is in E flat – and a few extra notes, these musicians provide the campus with around 30 minutes of music each day. “When playing the bells, you work up a sweat, especially when you’re small,” Caroline Hung ’19 said, explaining that players must jump to hit all the notes on the giant instrument. Even the way up to the tower is tough. Climbing the 46 steps to the carillon can be a “workout,” Ziev DalsheimKahane ’19 said. Besides being physically demanding, ringing requires immense focus and adaptability. So much of the music we hear is sight-read by these dexterous performers.
Students tend to have three shifts a week, each of which requires them to climb the two-and-a-half flights of stairs up the tower, a reproduction of St. Cuthbert’s Church in England, to play the bells. “It’s sort of nice because you are so invisible,” Eric Rosenthal ’19 said. “It’s a weird experience.” The majority of those playing the carillon are musicians in other realms, but for carillon players like Rosenthal, bell ringing is a vastly different experience. He said it allows him to “interact with the music rather than the audience.” Yet bell ringers have quite an audience. The bells can be heard from miles away, exciting dogs and residents alike. Although the guild members never receive the applause they deserve after a performance, DalsheimKahane likes to think students can relax because of his music and that perhaps a song they recognize can calm them during a stressful day. For this reason, he “gives the people what they want,” usually clanging out Beatles classics, hip-hop and appropriately-timed movie themes, as well as some meme songs. The tunes come from several binders of sheet music, all transcribed by former and current bell ringers. The music sits in piles for the ringers to choose during each shift. “I looked up to a lot of the former seniors because they had done so much, contributed a lot to the repertoire,” Angela Chan ’19 said. For some students, ringing the bells in the chapel is connected to spirituality. Hung, who has been involved with
religious life at the College, heard of the group through Rick Spalding, former chaplain to the College. Hung likes to find hymns in St. John’s Episcopal Church and transcribe them for the carillon to spread throughout campus the music that brings her joy. “When I hear the bells, I feel happier,” she said, beaming. “If it’s a tune you recognize, you feel like someone’s calling you up – it’s like a bonding experience.” Spalding, who maintained the guild for many years, inspired Hung’s passion for the carillon. Hung still remembers what Spalding said about the sound of the bells during one of the yearly dinners he hosted for the ringers. For him, they were a reminder of times passing, a sign that life is always going on. Moreover, Hung likes to get people excited, whether through classic songs or modern hits. The guild wants to encourage more students to apply to ring this spring, when auditions are held. But be warned: the audition is “stressful,” according to Rosenthal, as for the most part “you’ve never touched the carillon before, and you’re auditioning basically in front of the entire campus.” Although he “bungled” his audition, he was offered a spot on the team, with a large perk being that ringing is a paid job on campus. Anyone who can read music is “more than capable of playing the carillon,” he said. And even if you fail to make the guild, auditioning can give you the once-in-a-lifetime experience of clanging out a tune on 10,762 pounds of hundredyear-old bronze bells to be heard throughout the town.
8 ARTS
The Williams Record
January 23, 2019
Rafa Esparza: ‘staring at the sun’ breaks the MASS MoCA mold By MAE BURRIS-WELLS STAFF WRITER Curatorial designs in museums are streamlined, prompting visitors to approach new exhibits with a certain expectation of the presentation they will experience. So, even when the artworks themselves are unknown, museum-goers know that the system of presentation will be familiar. Paragraphs with contextual information and, often, a justification of the curator’s vision lead people through the gallery on placards in 10-point font. The walls are painted, the floors are polished, the art itself – aloof and precious – has a radius of unapproachability that a guard will inevitably have to rebuke a child for violating. Rafa Esparza’s exhibition staring at the sun, which opened at MASS MoCA on Saturday, busts open this model for viewing art. The paintings that hang on the walls are not on gold-framed canvases but on blocks of adobe (a building material meaning “mudbrick” in Spanish). Not all the blocks of adobe are painted on – some are kept blank, leaving the viewer to examine a cracked, brown surface of dirt. In a wonderfully vital and evocative move, the floor is paved with adobe bricks in place of polished wood. “It’s such a strong signifier in terms of it being a color,” Esparza said at the
PHOTO COURTESY OF MASS MOCA.
Artist Rafa Esparza adds detail to one of the portraits exhibited in staring at the sun. Esparza works with adobe instead of canvas. exhibit’s opening on Saturday. This significance comes across in the paintings, portraits of his loved ones; the brownness of the subjects’ skin interacts seamlessly with the brownness of the adobe. It is only their clothing, or some other artistic embellishment, that feels painted on. Indeed, in its one small gallery, the brownness of Es-
parza’s adobe seems to lay bare the entire art world in all of its assumed curatorial ascendancy as a sphere submerged in whiteness and in wealth. Importantly, however, Esparza has stressed that brownness is “a spectrum.” As he put it to Artforum’s Kate Green in a 2017 interview, “When I think of brownness, I think of an expansive and generative space
of inclusion and amplification.” This way of seeing the brownness of Esparza’s art powerfully activates the whiteness of the walls that surround it in the exhibit, turning them from a default background into a forceful, complicated presence. Esparza also highlighted the collaborative nature of much of his recent work with adobe, noting his seminal
collaboration with his father, who taught him to make the bricks featured heavily in his work. The Mexican-American artist, who identifies as queer, had a difficult process coming out to his family. When Esparza asked his father to teach him the trade he had worked in Mexico, adobemaking became the way they began to reconnect and heal their relationship. “There’s
a lot of learning of personal history through this work,” Esparza said. Whereas the materials used in classical artworks tend to be a means to an expressive end, Esparza’s materials are meaningul beyond their mere appearance, the composition of his canvases as relevant to the artwork as the paintings themselves. The water in the bricks comes from the Hoosic River, the same stream that gurgles outside the exhibit’s walls, and the manure and hay come from Hancock Shaker Village, a 45-minute drive from MASS MoCA’s campus. Working with such local materials, Esparza said, lends precious “moments to meditate on what this land is.” The adobe on the walls, much of which is bare, demands to be seen as art, as does the adobe on the floor. “[I wanted to] have every step be a decision,” Esparza stressed. In two spots on the floor of the exhibit, Esparza has stacked bricks in four directions to enclose a small patch of dirt, and growing out of one of the patches is the small, beautiful stalk of an onion plant. “We like to think of gardens and plants as conduits that connect us back to places where we’re from,” Esparza said. However, the onion was an unintentional addition to the space; it grew out of the brick entirely on its own, which Esparza thought was lovely. “[It] felt like a good omen,” he said.
Curator Ben Ortiz to spin records, speak about archiving Hip-Hop on Claiming Williams Day By PHILLIP PYLE ARTS EDITOR
PHOTO COURTESY OF ICA.
Set in the 18th century, director Yorgos Lanthimos’ new comedy The Favourite is rife with surprises.
‘The Favourite’ brings chaos to court By CLARA LEE STAFF WRITER You thought you knew what you were getting yourself into? You thought wrong. The Favourite, which began showing at Images on Saturday, is a cutting tale of ruthless competition between two countries at war and two women vying for their queen’s favor. The former struggle provides the backdrop for the latter, in which the film takes its interest. It’s the early 18th century, and England is at war with France. The monarch in power is Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), an ailing, irritable woman often relegated to the sidelines of political discussion by her friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz). More interesting than any political maneuvering is the constant maneuvering of Lady Sarah and the new maid Abigail (Emma Stone), an ex-lady who was blacklisted after her father submitted to his gambling addiction. The Favourite is purposefully ambiguous about its heroes and villains. One goes into the story assuming Abigail is the “good guy,” the character they should be rooting for. As the movie progresses, however, it becomes clear that Abigail is just as flawed as her supposedly more manipulative counterparts. Lady Sarah appears the victim on more than one occasion. The morally gray characters of Lady Sarah, Abigail and Queen Anne compel the viewer to question their own standards of morality. By the end of the movie, it is unclear who re-
ally “won,” as put by Abigail, since every character acts on a personal definition of right and wrong. All in all, I would describe the movie as surprising. [Spoilers ahead!] Nothing is quite as it seems, and no character embodies a fixed stereotype. Abigail’s backstory makes us more sympathetic to her actions and makes her appear timid and humble. Slowly, Abigail is revealed to be a traitorous, lethal social climber. Lady Sarah appears manipulative and haughty, yet as she suffers at the hands of Abigail, viewers grow more inclined to see her as a well-meaning woman who cares more for her country than for herself. Exceeding the movie’s political or historical value, what most intrigued me were the relationships, the character development and the director’s exploration of the human psyche. One leaves the theater wondering if we are we all greedy, irredeemable creatures who would sacrifice love at the first sight of power. Queen Anne, despite her status as the most overtly powerful person in the movie, is left wanting for genuine interactions and untainted loyalty. Everyone around her views her as a vehicle for their own upward mobility. Is the movie a cry for genuine human interaction or a sordid commentary on the rarity of true love in an inequitable world where power is concentrated in the upper echelons of society? A classical soundtrack enhances the eeriness of the film, complementing its
thought-provoking and unsettling content. One particularly memorable scene depicts Queen Anne being treated for her bruised leg. Her groaning and weeping are perfectly intertwined with two haunting beats – a call and response. The concluding scene, in which shots of rabbits overlap with Abigail being forced to rub Queen Anne’s legs (her head bobbing back and forth in a potential imitation of fellatio, a call back to her days as a concubine) are intermixed with the same lonely, isolated notes of the aforementioned scene. The music is simple but aptly conveys a sense of unease. A proper review would be incomplete without mention of the movie’s exploration of sexuality. It is well known that aristocratic courts of almost every society were pretty gay, from Elagabalus to Henry III of France, but literature and film rarely explore female sexuality in the royal court. What is perhaps most interesting about the dynamics between Queen Anne and her ladies is the use of sex as a currency for power. Abigail and Lady Sarah wield their sensuality and beauty as a way to garner Queen Anne’s affection. Rather than featuring as the central theme (in the form of an expose), sexuality is weaved into the movie’s other, more enticing subject matter. All in all, The Favourite is a peculiar, shocking narrative with confusing, complex characters. The film is worth watching for all the ways in which it upheaves expectation.
Winter Study is coming to a close, and spring semester is rapidly approaching, with only one week until the grind revamps. On Thursday, Jan. 31, classes are suspended for Claiming Williams Day, a day of discussion, lectures and departmental programming. Claiming Williams was established in 2009 in the wake of racist and sexist incidents that occurred on campus the previous year. True to its founding principles, this year’s schedule contains a diverse range of programming, including a Classic Hip-Hop Lounge Party in Goodrich Hall from 9 p.m.-12 a.m. on Thursday. The party will be DJ’ed by Ben Ortiz, assistant curator of Cornell’s Hip-Hop Collection. In his position at Cornell, Ortiz works to break the Eurocentric history and traditional nature often associated with archival work. Ortiz will spin Hip-Hop tracks across all eras, following a presentation on his work earlier in the day. This new addition to Claiming Williams Day was initially spearheaded by Sawyer Library Special Collections. Jessika Drmacich, records manager and digital resources archivist for Special Collections, began discussing and planning the event last year. As with any Claiming Williams event, the Classic Hip-Hop Lounge required the collaboration and support from many departments, organizations and individuals on campus. Drmacich received encouragement from
Professor of Africana Studies Rhon Manigault-Bryant, who teaches courses on blackness in media. Africana Studies Professor James Manigault-Bryant and Assistant Professor of Africana Studies VaNatta Ford turned to the BSU, WCFM, the Davis Center and the music department for additional support. They consulted Veronica Bosley from the Office of Commencement and Academic Events for logistics. Drmacich said that Ortiz had been on Special Collections’ radar for quite some time as a pick for this event, citing the influence of his work at Cornell on Special Collections’ archival process. Ortiz’s intersectional approach to archiving encompasses race, sexuality and gender. It explores socioeconomic, religious and political identities that archivists have only recently begun to address in academic special collections. Ortiz and Drmacich work to critique and alter the typical scholarly nature of academic archives, which replicate power dynamics across history. “There are many barriers to access in academic settings and in special collections in particular,” said Drmacich. “Having collections like the Hip-Hop Collection (which includes graffiti, mixtapes, party flyers, and break dance performance) alongside cuneiform or Shakespeare’s first folio speaks to breaking down hegemonic power structures of what is appropriate historical content and to who owns and documents histories.”
In addition to that, hip-hop’s relationship to social justice, accessibility and inclusivity further solidifies its relevance to the mission of Claiming Williams. Hip-hop has the ability to bring people together across different identities and to create an atmosphere conducive to understanding. A lounge environment, in particular, promotes listening, dancing and singing, which creates a powerful connect among different groups of people. On Jan. 31, the Classic HipHop Lounge Party will be accompanied by a 3:45 p.m. presentation by Ortiz titled “Diversifying the Record” in Schapiro 129. Ortiz will discuss how special collections can reflect the growing diversity within colleges and American society with reference to his preservation of Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, Bill Adler, Charlie Ahearn, Joe Conzo and other pioneering hip-hop artists’ materials. His work at the Cornell Hip-Hop Collection includes graffiti, mixtapes, posters, flyers and other materials that are not typically associated with academic special collections. “Ben’s visit will hopefully create discourse on what is considered scholarly and part of the academe,” said Drmacich. Claiming Williams will be a day of discourse, learning and – hopefully – growth and understanding among Williams students. Thursday night’s Classic Hip-Hop Lounge at Goodrich will give students a chance to debrief and connect through the power of hip-hop music, dance and listening.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BEN ORTIZ.
Ben Ortiz, an archivist from the Cornell Hip-Hop Collection, will DJ on Claiming Williams Day.
January 23, 2019
ARTS 9
The Williams Record
Sawyer Thoughts blog encourages student musings By LILY GOLDBERG ARTS EDITOR “I just like to think about stuff,” says Grace Dailey ’22, shrugging as we finish our slices of pumpkin pie. Dailey is many things – a cross country runner, a movielover and a proud Californian. Most recently, however, she is the founder of Sawyer Thoughts, a new blog for Williams students to share “deep thoughts and meaningful content.” The blog is a collaborative effort – Dailey and nine other curators developed the aesthetic and content of Sawyer Thoughts in a Free University course. Dailey’s inspiration for the blog in both name and content was the Reddit thread "Shower Thoughts," which chronicles “miniature epiphanies.” A quick look at the Sawyer Thoughts website reveals that the epiphanies curated by Dailey and her team range from the miniature ones of its namesake to more profound thoughts. On the homepage, one can find takes on the value of minimalism as a design aesthetic and posts with essaylike titles, such as “Avengers: Infinity War and the Trolley Problem,” alongside links to Daft Punk songs. A personal favorite page is the “Jokes” section, curated by Max Chayet ’22. It contains humorous bites, such as: “What did the fish say when he ran into the wall?” “Dam.” In some ways, Sawyer Thoughts is similar to the cam-
LESLIE GARCIA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Members of the Sawyer Thoughts team include (from left) Grace Dailey ’22, Annie Miklas ’22, Sydney Pope ’22, Hannah Jackson ’22 and Sam Schraver ’22. pus-centric social networks that have preceded it, including YikYak and Jodel. YikYak, a popular mobile app that allowed users to share content anonymously with other users in a 5-kilometer radius, shut down in 2017 following numerous incidents of cyberbullying and hateful speech on the app. YikYak has found a tentative replacement in Jodel, a German app with a nearly identical function, which has enjoyed relative success amongst
users at the College. Unlike YikYak and Jodel, however, content posted to Sawyer Thoughts is not anonymous. “It’s for accountability,” Dailey said. “Yeah, the posts on Sawyer Thoughts are associated with your name, but you always think people care more than they actually do.” The long-form content of Sawyer Thoughts also differentiates it from Jodel, which is primarily used for crass quips.
Though different in character, hyperlocal platforms like Jodel and Sawyer Thoughts both provide an interesting look into the changing nature of social networking. While early social networks like Facebook and MySpace emphasized their ability to connect people across physical distance, hyperlocal networks focus on connecting people who are already in close proximity. The underly-
ing assumption of these networks is that we rarely hear the real, unfiltered thoughts of those we are closest to – and we ought to listen. “There’s always cool-looking people around me, and I wonder what their stories are, but I don’t want to distract them from their work.” Dailey said. “Hopefully Sawyer Thoughts will create an online space for interaction and discussion.”
Ideally, Dailey stated, the online discussion would inspire in-person conversations. “English class is my favorite, but I wish Williams had even more discussion in a non-graded setting,” Dailey said. “We want to get people to stop thinking about the grind and let them take a step back from everything to appreciate Williams as a place to learn, develop deep relationships and have conversations about everything under the sun.” Getting people to stop thinking about the grind may be easier said than done, however. “Most of our curators and contributors are first-years at the moment, although we do have the amazing Teiheim Edwards ’20, who is really making all of this happen,” Dailey said. “It’s also been tough to figure out whether we want to have a theme, or if we want to have stricter guidelines on what content is or isn’t allowed – mostly, we’re deciding whether to keep it apolitical.” At the end of the day, Sawyer Thoughts epitomizes the ideal of liberal arts – free-form discussion, sharing and learning – and provides a space for students to find intellectual stimulation outside a formal classroom setting. “Your thoughts don’t have to be fully formed yet to contribute.” Dailey said. “If you think something is worth saying, someone else probably thinks it is too.”
Clark exhibition, Images screenings delve into landscapes By GEORGIA McCLAIN STAFF WRITER English painters Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) and John Constable (1776-1837) contributed substantially to the elevation of the landscape genre in the 19th- century art world. The new Clark exhibition Turner and Constable: The Inhabited Landscape pairs the works of these artists, illuminating their portrayals of figures and man-made structures within the natural landscapes. The majority of the works come from the Manton Collection of British Art, which the Manton Foundation gifted to the Clark in 2007 . Alexis Goodin M.A. ’98, the Clark’s curatorial research associate, organized the exhibition and described its importance. “[Turner and Constable] is an opportunity to celebrate [the Manton Foundation’s] gift, and to show how works from the Manton Collection complement works that our founders, Sterling and Francine Clark, acquired,” Goodin said. Goodin further explained her curatorial motivations for the exhibit: “I wanted to explore the importance of the figure within their landscapes as a way of understanding more about the artists themselves and the social, political and cultural context in which their works were created,” Goodin said. “The inclusion of figures within their landscapes is deliberate and not just a compositional device.” Didactic texts in the exhibition further illustrate that Turner’s and Constable’s placements of human figures in landscapes are more than simple staffage. Not just mere accessories to the landscape that demonstrate scale, the human figures depict the individual's response and relationship to nature. By
focusing on human representations within these landscapes, viewers are encouraged to consider the artists’ positions on the practical and abstract concerns facing England at the time, including industrialization and changes in class structure. The exhibition is sectioned into four rooms, each considering a different aspect of the artists’ landscapes. In some, such as a room displaying portrayals of laborers, Turner and Constable are equally represented as both were aware of and interested in evolving labor practices in England. Other rooms contain more works by one artist than the other, revealing sharply contrasting styles, both in technique and subject preference. Turner is regularly described as having been inspired by nature’s most dramatic and exceptional spectacles. Figures within his compositions sometimes appear helpless or insignificant within a larger expanse of landscape and, accordingly magnify the grandeur of the landscape itself. In Turner’s later, more abstract works, figures and forms are barely distinguishable, obscured by profusions of light and ocean spray. Constable, on the other hand, is characterized by a preference for peaceful, familiar scenes. Many of his paintings portray personally significant locations, such as Osmington, the village where he spent his honeymoon. Constable’s style remains more measured and conventional than Turner's, and the composition and subject matter of his paintings often reflect his advocacy for traditional social and economic structures. In conjunction with the exhibition, Images Cinema is presenting three films as part of a series entitled “The View from Here,” which explores the landscape in cinema. Terrence Malick’s Days
of Heaven (1978), screened last Saturday, focuses on seasonal workers who travel to the Texas Panhandle to harvest wheat for a wealthy farmer. As tensions build and secrets are slowly uncovered, the idyllic landscape erupts into catastrophe. Olivier Meslay, Hardymon director of the Clark, introduced the film and discussed its relationship to Turner and Constable. “I think it would be difficult to find a film more in tune with the images and ideas of the exhibition at the Clark, for it is a film that is as occupied with the land as it is with the people,” mused Meslay, a Malick enthusiast. He went on to discuss specific parallels between the film and each artist. He suggested that Malick’s visual style was similar to Turner’s as they both used “techniques that rendered the world much more brilliant and sublime than perhaps it is.” This is a reference to the film’s famous cinematography, credited to Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler. Most of the scenes take place during the “golden hour,” a period when the sun is near or just below the horizon, giving the film an impressionistic quality. In contrast to the dramatic, luminous imagery, Meslay continued, “the emotions in Days of Heaven, as in the paintings of John Constable, are not soaring or explicitly pronounced, yet these characters and scenes are still entirely accessible to us.” Williamstown contains an abundance of art within a relatively rural landscape; this unique combination allows for special opportunities to consider the themes and motifs of this exhibition. Moving beyond theoretical consideration, residents and visitors can physically immerse themselves in the exploration of the relationships between human and landscape, landscape and art.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CLARK.
John Constable’s The Wheat Field (1816) depicts an August harvest in the English county of Suffolk.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROLLING STONE.
Pop sensation Celeste (Natalie Portman), left, prays with daughter Albertine (Raffey Cassidy) in Vox Lux.
‘Vox Lux’ explores intersection of pop music, trauma, religion By SYDNEY ELLISON CONTRIBUTING WRITER Walking out of director Brady Corbet's film Vox Lux for the second time, I searched for sparkles reflected in the eyes of my friends who sat beside me through the jumbled mess of emotions and hazy memories. Instead, I found neutral tones and blank eyes. Sourness lingered in their taste buds from the unexplained flavor of the three acts of physically graphic violence that serve as the thread weaving the narrative together. “Prelude 1999,” the first of the three ironically biblically-titled chapters that make up Vox Lux, sets up the film in static, close-up shots of a school massacre – intentionally reminiscent of Columbine High School – that leaves a young Celeste Montgomery (Raffey Cassidy), a shy and devoted Christian, with a bullet lodged in her spine. “Act I: Genesis 2000-2001” depicts Celeste’s struggle toward physical and emotional recovery, both interrupted and reinvigorated by the viral video of her musical performance at the memorial service for her fallen classmates. This acts as the catalyst propelling her into stardom, mutating her into an industrial teen-pop princess travelling the world with her older sister, Ellie, and manager by her side. “Regenesis 2017” jumps through time and space into the present as Celeste, now portrayed by Natalie Portman, prepares for her musical comeback in midst of a mass shooting in Croatia executed by terrorists masked in Celeste cosplay. Present throughout
the entire film, the narrator maps together bits and pieces of Celeste’s psychogeography, culminating in the reveal of her borderline frustratingly ambiguous deal with the devil during her techno pop rebirth: her concert, “Vox Lux.” Vox Lux simultaneously explains nothing and reveals everything in its chaotic glory. Stark jumps in time mirror the dissociative behavior and mindset that dominates Celeste’s mind and memory. Creating a raw emotional climate, the long shots, awkward angles and use of slow motion and speed dually dramatize the scenes, creating an uncomfortable and cringeworthy atmosphere that is simultaneously familiar and foreign to the viewer. Montages integrate seamlessly into mainstream scenes with an aftertaste of conscious cliche hovering in the air. It is technically masterful, emotionally affective, well-acted and yet, an entire anarchic mess. The casual narration revealing Celeste’s drug addiction and consumption of household cleaning products still lingers with me. Describing an attention-grabbing narrative in mere passing, no development or footage seen makes it more audacious. The audience lacks a front-row seat to her public meltdown. Deposits of small bits and pieces of trauma and pain without further explanation confound the most. The seemingly out-of-place appearances of terrorism exist beyond a pretentious and vague comment on the current epidemic of global and domestic terrorism. These acts happen in the background of our lives, tak-
ing pieces of ourselves some times and not others. She looked death in the eye. Death is a young boy with eyeliner and a gun. Death is anything and everything. While terrorism superficially appears to be the star of the movie, reminiscent of current society’s obsession with appropriating a community's sorrow as one’s own, it depersonalizes her trauma by transforming it into something with which one can empathize. Even her own trauma does not belong to her – she must belong to the world. This parallel manipulation and exploitation of tragedy alienates the audience from Celeste. We watch the violence. We watch Celeste endure the violence. We watch the public watch Celeste recover from the violence. We watch Celeste react to 9/11 as the public typically reacts to terrorism: isolated, afar and directly unaffected. The pain never truly runs through our veins; we get only glimpses of Celeste’s withering emotional landscape. Instead, the narrator explains and explains; her trauma belongs to the story and the narrator. The last 15 minutes of Vox Lux, in which the viewer is invited to watch Celeste's concert in real time, are fundamentally unbearable. The robotic lyrics and strained dance steps are excruciating. Discomfort creeps up your spine, weaving through your arms and dissolving at your fingertips. These fingertips attempt to grasp at the nothingness of the performance. This is a story of a struggling girl becoming a woman, a voyeuristic relationship with one’s own pain.
10 SPORTS
The Williams Record
January 23, 2019
Jeff Lifson ’86 details business of horse racing, buying Derby-winner By JANE PETERSEN MANAGING EDITOR While the Kentucky Derby has been dubbed “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” most of the world sees little of the sport beyond that brief glimpse on the first Saturday of each May. For Jeff Lifson ’86, however, horse racing is a year-round job. “The best part about our game is not just what happens on the race track for a couple of minutes,” he said. “It’s all the behind the scenes stuff.” Lifson, the executive vice president of the Midwest division of West Point Thoroughbreds, has spent almost the last 15 years of his career buying and selling racehorses. One of those horses, Always Dreaming, earned Lifson a prized trip to the Derby’s Winner’s Circle in 2017. To get to Churchill Downs Racetrack, the home of the Derby, Lifson took what he called a “circuitous” path. Originally a football player, the Iowa native thought he would end up playing football for Yale. “[That plan changed] my very first time coming down that hill with the hairpin turn coming up to the [College’s] campus,” Lifson said. “This place felt right, so I [applied] early decision and the rest is history.” While at the College, Lifson majored in history and played two years of football (“badly,” he quipped). At the end of his sophomore year, he transitioned to rugby, playing three seasons for the Williams Rugby Football Club. Upon graduating, he knew that he wanted to stay on the East Coast but was not sure what he wanted to do; he eventually took a consulting job with Bain and Company in Boston. Lifson did not stay in the consulting world for long, however. He attended graduate school at
PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF LIFSON.
Jeff Lifson ’86 celebrates with his wife and son after his horse won the 2017 Kentucky Derby. Northwestern, where he got his master’s in journalism, and became a television reporter. The switch in careers brought him to Louisville, Ky., where he discovered his passion for horse racing. “While I didn’t grow up riding horses or even working with horses, I think the horse as an athlete is just an unbelievable animal,” Lifson said. He described horse racing as an entirely different professional world: “The people in horse racing are very generous with their time, and with their knowledge… They want you to learn, and that’s a pretty unique experience. For all those reasons, I fell in love with it.” Lifson took a job with the startup Television Games (TVG)
Network, which he described as “the CNBC of horse racing,” as an on-air host and analyst. Fully immersed in the sport, Lifson began his work for West Point five years later in 2004. Lifson’s line of work requires him to attend public auctions, size up the competition and purchase the horses with the highest potential to perform. “It’s a little like the NFL combine,” Lifson said. “The same thing kind of applies to horses. You go to these auctions, you evaluate the athletes and you pick out the ones that you think are going to be the best for your stable.” In some respects, buying and selling horses is similar to sell-
ing any other commodity in that large investments also bear large risks. Lifson warns, however, that those interested in buying a racehorse solely for the purpose of turning a profit should think twice. When it comes to looking for buyers, detecting a passion for the sport is key. “If [buyers] are doing this for the ‘right reasons,’ meaning they love the sport or they’re looking to take a major-league experiential escape from what they have in their lives: their jobs, their frustrations, their day-to-day kind of things they want to escape – that’s a good reason [to buy a horse],” Lifson said. “A bad reason is that they come to you and say, ‘I want to win the
Kentucky Derby’ … or ‘I want to make a nice profit on buying a percentage or a piece of a racehorse.’ Then you tell them to run like crazy away from you.” When it comes to acquiring a horse at a public auction, there are a few key things buyers look for. Indicators of a strong contender can be found in data and biomechanics, which is why Lifson and his team look at stride analysis scans, the horse’s overall appearance (or “conformation”) and lineage when considering a purchase. Still, even the most educated of decisions have a degree of ambiguity. “You never know everything about horses. They can’t talk,” Lifson said. “So, you’re constantly trying to second-guess yourself.” These limits to knowledge of a horse’s potential may diminish over time, however, with expanding access to genetic information. Whether these approaches are too intrusive, however, remains up for debate. “If we can really determine if there is a ‘fast’ gene, then I think blood and DNA analysis will be a part of the equation, but you’ve got to convince people that you can draw blood from these racehorses that are available for purchase at the auctions,” Lifson said. With people interested in purchasing the horse in question, “taking blood … might be beyond the pale in terms of intrusiveness.” One of Lifson’s main accomplishments at West Point was participating in the acquisition of 2017 Derby winner Always Dreaming. “This was a unique deal, and something we have started to do a bunch more over the past couple of years,” Lifson said. “This was a horse that was already racing, so we didn’t go to the auctions and buy this horse. This was a
horse that we bought because we have a lot of relationships with other top owners and trainers in the business.” His company then sold shares of the horse to clients interested in partially owning a potential Derby winner. For Lifson, winning the Derby was an “out-of-body” experience. Watching the race at Churchill Downs, which he described as his home away from home, “Always Dreaming hit the top of the stretch … and sprinted away,” Lifson said. “It looked like he was going to win, and my son Josh started jumping up and down, [saying,] ‘Dad, we’re gonna win the Derby! Dad, we’re gonna win the Derby!’ which you’re never supposed to do. From the most meaningless of races to the Kentucky Derby, you’re never supposed to say, ‘You’ve got it.’” Always Dreaming won regardless, and Lifson and his family were able to spend a few rare moments inside the Derby’s storied Winner’s Circle. “I wouldn’t say it’s the greatest thing that’s happened to me because, very typically, the birth of your kids and their graduations and your wedding day – those are all the kinds of things that you put up there, but it’s right below.” As far as the future of the sport is concerned, Lifson is interested in seeing how those within the industry can introduce horse racing to an even broader market using mobile technology. For now, however, the sport continues to be fairly unfamiliar to most. “Every once in a while we poke our head out of the elective secret society we’re a part of, typically during the triple crown part of the year,” he said. “That’s when the rest of the world gets a very small glimpse of how unbeliev-
John DiGravio ’21 helps to coach baseball teams in Hanoi, Vietnam By HAEON YOON EXECUTIVE EDITOR There are no umpires or fences in sight, and instead of leather baseballs, dimpled rubber balls are tossed around the dirt field. John DiGravio ’21, a utility player on the baseball team, is spending his Winter Study in Hanoi, Vietnam. As part of the political science course “Fieldwork in Public Affairs and Private Non-Profits,” he is volunteering with Bedrock Educational Consultants to provide academic mentoring to Vietnamese high school students. Though unable to train and practice with the rest of his team in Williamstown, DiGravio contacted two Vietnamese teams, the Fishanu and Merlins Baseball Clubs, through Facebook and offered to help coach them. “I actually had no idea that baseball was played in Vietnam,” DiGravio said.
DiGravio explained that, while not as popular as wellestablished sports like soccer and badminton, baseball “has a small but enthusiastic following.” Most Vietnamese fans support Major League Baseball (MLB) teams like the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. Vietnamese-American MLB player Tommy Pham, an outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays, is also a fan favorite. In addition to prioritizing the development of basic fielding techniques and team cohesion, DiGravio relayed the teams’ hopes to increase baseball’s popularity by representing the country in international tournaments and introducing the sport to Vietnamese youth. Due to limited equipment and support, however, the players are sometimes left to improvise. DiGravio said that most of the equipment had to be imported from countries like Japan, and
the team captain, Chien, turned to YouTube to learn specific pitching and batting skills before teaching the rest of the team. Nevertheless, DiGravio spoke highly of the teams’ level of play. “Though their resources may be humble, these players have a genuine passion for the game that is truly inspiring to watch,” he said. “There was a strong sense of sandlot authenticity that can be hard to find in American baseball.” Besides enjoying the warmer weather, DiGravio identified a unique opportunity: to be able to make new friends who, despite being from a geographicallydistant region, share the same interests, from music to baseball. DiGravio also expressed appreciation for the chance to apply his academic interests in history, anthropology and sociology outside the classroom to supplement his liberal arts education. In addition, DiGravio has found that the experience has
had value for his own baseball career. He mentioned that, amidst the challenges of being a student-athlete at the College, he sometimes fell into the habit of treating the sport like a chore. He said that he will approach the upcoming season, however,
with enthusiasm. “Celebrating baseball with these young men and women reminded me of the importance of simply enjoying yourself and having fun, and I’m excited to bring this positive energy back to Ephs’ baseball,” he said.
DiGravio expressed excitement for the progress of Vietnamese baseball. “Coaching these players was one of the most rewarding athletic experiences of my life, and I’m looking forward to the bright future of baseball in Vietnam,” he said.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
John DiGravio ’21 worked with young athletes on basic fielding techniques and team cohesion.
CAPTAINS’ CORNER: SONYA JAMPEL ’19 When did you start skiing?
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
By SOFIE JONES SPORTS EDITOR
Team: Skiing (women’s Nordic) Hometown: Newton, Mass. Residence: Sewall Major: Biology Snack bar order: Chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream
I started skiing in eighth grade, which is a little late to start. Most people either start skiing either when they learn to walk, or they get into it a little later. I started off trying all the other sports. I played soccer, I ran, I tried dance. Then, my friends from running said, ‘You should try skiing.’ What’s kind of cool about skiing is that it’s a family sport. So when I started, my brother and my sister started – and my parents didn’t know how to ski either – so they started. So we all started at the same time. Do you have a favorite memory of the sport? My senior year of high school, I was competing at the Eastern High School Championships, and I was competing for Team Massachusetts. It was the last race of my high school career, and my brother and I were put on the co-ed relay together. I was a senior – he was a freshman. He did the lead-off leg and then handed it off to me. To actually be competing together was really cool.
What’s the best thing about Nordic skiing? There’s a lot of things. One of my favorite things is the community because you just spend so much time together in ungodly temperatures and conditions that it creates a pretty close bond. I’ve been skiing in New England my whole life. So, like at the competition this weekend, my parents were there. The friends that convinced me to start skiing were there [competing for other schools]. My friend’s dad, who taught me how to ski, was there. It’s kind of crazy because I don’t know what year I’m in. I’m like, ‘This could’ve been eight years ago.’ But it’s really lovely to have that community that I am a part of. Also, the girls and boys on the team are some of my closest friends. What’s the relationship like between the women’s and men’s Nordic teams here? One of the best things about skiing is that both teams are pretty close. We have the same head coach, the same assistant coach, and our practices are
all the same. All our events are at the same venue at the same day. It’s really special to be able to have such a close bond with the men’s team, and I consider [Nick Gardner ’19], the men’s team captain, my co-captain. It’s pretty cool that we get to be a part of three teams: I’m on the women’s Nordic team, the Nordic team and the Williams ski team.
there. It’s really good for recruiting 6-year olds. Lots of 6-yearolds want to be on are team. I love our uniforms. I think it’s really fun. As long as you are skiing fast, people are going to take you seriously. But you don’t want to take yourself too seriously.
Does the team have any special or unique traditions?
I really liked our home carnival last year. Other sports get to have a home event every year, but we don’t get to do that. Usually we have one every other year, but my freshman year was moved due to snow. So last year was really my only home carnival. It was really special to be able to have all my friends from school and my family there.
We have lots of traditions. During Winter Study we always go bowling, wearing our best bowling attire, which is usually something fun. One of my favorite events is during Mountain Day, when the Nordic ski team always goes on a long run up Mount Greylock and then meets the rest of the school at Stony Ledge. That’s always one of my favorite days of the year. The team also has some unique competition uniforms. Tell us about those. It’s a full spandex purple cow suit. Most teams are not their mascot, I would put that out
What's your favorite ski course that you have competed at?
Skiing is relatively unique in that you need snow to practice. What does the team do in the offseason without snow? In the offseason we do a lot of running and hiking, so Williamstown is a pretty great place to be. We also do some lifting and we roller ski, which
means that you have a metal ski with wheels on the end, and you go on the side of the road, with your ski boots and your poles and your reflective vest. I look pretty ridiculous. The roads here aren’t too busy, so that’s pretty lucky. Sometimes you’ll see us coming down Route 2. It’s also a great way to explore the area. If you could ski with any professor, who would you pick? Well, actually, I do ski with my professors, that’s kind of the funny part. The ski community is pretty special because it includes the Nordic ski team, but it also includes professors and others. I see my nurse practitioner up there or my professors and their children. Our faculty representative, who is actually retired now, is David Dethier. He worked in the geosciences department and is often out there with his wife and we’ll ski with him for a few minutes. Professor Nick Howe from the environmental studies department is up there sometimes. It’s a community, you see the same people every time.
January 23, 2019
SPORTS 11
The Williams Record
Chris Mason to be inducted into Western Mass. Hall of Fame By JACK McGOVERN SPORTS EDITOR Long-time women’s lacrosse head coach Chris Mason is travelling to Springfield, Mass., today to be inducted into the Western Mass. Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Mason, who retired at the end of the 2016-17 season, coached women’s lacrosse for 33 years. As a field hockey player, Mason won a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics. She also served as an assistant coach for field hockey at the College. While Mason’s career at Williams was unparalleled, her impact on Berkshire County was perhaps even greater. To understand why she – a coach at a small, rural liberal arts college – left such a lasting imprint on the Western Mass. lacrosse scene, it is necessary to look to her childhood in the Philadelphia suburbs. When Mason was growing up in the 1960s, there were few opportunities for girls to play organized sports. “The boys could go play Little League Baseball or football or things like that, but the girls’ option was to be a cheerleader for them,” Mason recalled. Not one to stand on the sidelines, she would go out anyway and play games with her friends from the neighborhood. Although girls could not participate in Little League, beginning in seventh grade, Mason could compete for her school. Because the fall sea-
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
Mason served as head coach of women’s lacrosse from 1980 to 2017. She coached 34 All-Americans during her 33 seasons at the College. son came around first in the school year, the first sport she played competitively was field hockey. “It was really exciting,” Mason laughed. “I’d be in class bouncing off the walls, probably, because I remember not being able to sleep at night when I had a game the next day.” At Interboro High School in Prospect Park, Pa. – where she is now a member of the Hall of Fame – Mason was a three-sport athlete, lettering in field hockey, basketball and softball. Mason’s high school, however, did not have a lacrosse team. It was not until Mason followed her older sister to Penn State
she wanted to coach at a Div. III college. She liked that Div. III schools gave her the chance to coach both field hockey and lacrosse, and she appreciated that academics always came first. Looking to apply for coaching positions, Mason, who was also a member of the U.S. women’s national field hockey team during the time, found out about the job at Williams from teammate Leslie Milne ’79. “When I got there, I just automatically loved the town,” Mason said. “Loved the school, loved the people I met, loved the mountains.” Though the Purple Valley quickly won Mason over, the
to play field hockey that she took up the sport that she would later coach for 33 seasons at the College. “Good decision,” Mason joked. When she graduated from Penn State in 1978, many colleges and universities were just starting to create full-time coaching positions for women. Mason took a part-time job at Boston University and helped guide its women’s field hockey and lacrosse programs from club to varsity status. Yet as the NCAA opened its doors to women’s sports and created the now-familiar structure of three divisions, Mason began to think that
women that she worked with soon left an even stronger impression. When asked what stood out about her teams, Mason highlighted their work ethic and their contributions to game-planning, a very collaborative process under her leadership that always involved both student-athletes and coaches. “They were driven, and they were hardworking,” Mason reflected. “They were obviously smart, and we could really work together and figure things out.” On the field, Mason’s teams enjoyed an unprecedented run of success. The Ephs posted undefeated records in 1989 and 1996,
placed second in the NCAA Championship in 1998 and 2000 and won a NESCAC title in 2010. She coached 34 All-Americans, including one National Offensive Player of the Year (Alana Teutonico Brock ’98) and one National Defensive Player of the Year (Alyse Clayman ’96). However, Mason’s induction into the Western Mass. Lacrosse Hall of Fame is a recognition of not only her achievements with the Ephs. As her daughters were getting older, Mason encountered the same problem that had delayed the start of her lacrosse career: Mount Greylock Regional School, the public middle and high school in Williamstown, Mass., did not have a lacrosse team at the time. With a group of four other women, Mason set out to fix that. “We had plenty of people to come and play right away,” she said. Encouraged by the results in her school district, Mason then sought to grow the game across Berkshire County, where even in the early 2000s, very few of the public high schools had girls’ lacrosse teams. “We helped the other schools in the county get it started,” Mason said. “I would go and give clinics to them, meet the coaches.” Mason credited her family for inspiring her lifelong love of athletics. For many women who have played for her teams at the College and girls who have learned the sport of lacrosse throughout Berkshire County because of her tireless efforts, Mason has provided that same inspiration.
SPORTS SHORTS: WINTER SEASON UPDATES By JACK McGOVERN SPORTS EDITOR
NO. 3 MEN’S BASKETBALL
NO. 14 MEN’S ICE HOCKEY
Overall Record: 16–2 NESCAC: 4–1 (T-1st)
Overall Record: 11–4–1 NESCAC: 7–2–1 (2nd)
Men’s basketball opened its season with 15 consecutive wins, a program record, before falling to Amherst on Jan. 16 and Middlebury on Jan. 19. Bobby Casey ’19, James Heskett ’19 and Kyle Scadlock ’19 became the first trio of 1000-point scorers to take the floor for the Ephs on Jan. 5. Casey leads the team with 18.3 points per game, the fifth most in the NESCAC, and a conference-high 4.5 assists per game.
Head coach Bill Kangas returned from sabbatical to lead the No. 14 Ephs to a threegame winning streak to start the season. On Jan. 4, the men scored late in the third period to beat No. 6 Trinity by a score of 4-3, avenging a loss to the Bantams in last season’s NESCAC semifinals. The team also split a two-game series with No. 4 Oswego on Dec. 29-30 and defeated No. 12 Babson on Nov. 24.
NO. 11 MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
Overall Record: 8–8
Following their first-ever loss to Tufts in the NESCAC Championship last winter, the men have had a shaky start to their season. The team narrowly lost at home to Amherst on Jan. 5, a closematched rivalry meet decided by the last relay of the day. For the second consecutive season, the Ephs do not have any divers, a disadvantage that the men are working to overcome on the scoreboard. Jamie Lovette ’21 holds the top times in the NESCAC in both the 1650 freestyle and the 200 freestyle.
The men captured their 31st consecutive Little Three championship on Jan. 12. Co-captain Ian Kagame ’19 placed first in the high jump, and a comfortable victory in the 4x800m relay helped the team overcome a number of injuries and illnesses. The men competed at the Joe Donohue Games on Jan. 18, where they went up against Div. I schools like Northeastern and Central Connecticut State. Continuing his strong season, Aidan Ryan ’21 won the 3000m.
The men stunned No. 17 Franklin and Marshall on Jan. 19, narrowly besting the Diplomats by a score of 5-4. Wyatt Khosrowshahi ’21 provided the decisive win, going down to the wire and defeating his opponent in the fifth game of his match. Anand Butler ’19 was named NESCAC Player of the Week on Dec. 3. Butler, who is ninth in the ladder, recorded consecutive victories over opponents from Columbia, Drexel and Tufts.
Nordic and Alpine traveled to Jackson, N.H., on Jan. 18 for a weekend of competition hosted by the University of New Hampshire. The team finished sixth overall, besting its seventh-place result from the previous weekend in Lake Placid, N.Y., and jumping over St. Lawrence in the standings. Co-captain Sonya Jampel ’19 led the way for the Ephs, placing 13th in the 15k classic and 14th in the freestyle sprint.
NO. 15 WOMEN’S SQUASH
WRESTLING
NO. 10 WOMEN’S NO. 10 WOMEN’S NO. 1 WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY SWIMMING TRACK AND Overall Record: 11–4–1 AND DIVING FIELD
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Overall Record: 8–10 NESCAC: 2–3 (T-6th)
NESCAC: 6–4 (T-3rd) Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the team’s varsity status, the No. 10 women went eight consecutive games without a loss from Dec. 2-Jan. 11. The undefeated streak included a dramatic upset of No. 1 Elmira, clinched with 2 goals in the final 2 minutes, on Dec. 8. Goalie Chloe Heiting ’22 has recorded 2 shutouts and a .936 save percentage.
Pat Manning began her 28th season as head coach with 490 wins and has added eight additional wins in 17 games. The women traveled to the West Coast over winter break, where they lost narrowly to No. 7 Whitman on Dec. 20 before notching a victory over UC Santa Cruz on Dec. 21. Maggie Meehan ’21 is the team’s leading scorer with an average of 13.4 points per game.
The Office of Communications recommends ...
Claiming Williams 2019 (How) Do you Claim Williams? Thursday, January 31 Each year on Claiming Williams Day, classes are suspended and the campus engages in events and discussions about building and sustaining a more inclusive community. Claiming Williams Day takes shape around proposals generated by students, staff, and faculty. For a schedule of events, go to claiming.williams.edu
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SKIING
NO. 15 MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Having finished third at the NCAA Championship last year, the Ephs are undefeated against Div. III competition this season. The women traveled to Cambridge, Mass., on Jan. 18 and triumphed over NYU and MIT, delivering a “gritty performance,” in the words of head coach Steve Kuster. The team bested Amherst at home on Jan. 5, with President Maud Mandel in attendance for the presentation of the Directors’ Cup.
As the only Div. III team in the field, the women posted a number of top-five finishes at the Joe Donohue Games on Jan. 18. The Ephs secured their 34th consecutive Little Three championship on Jan. 12 with 143 points. Caity Ubl ’19 won the 60m hurdles and set a personal record of 8.85 seconds at the Howlin Husky Invitational on Dec. 8 against Div. I competition. Kelsie Hao ’21 also set a personal record in the pole vault at the meet.
NO. 19 MEN’S SQUASH
Overall Record: 10–7 The women won five consecutive matches from Jan. 1118, sweeping all three NESCAC schools in Maine before dispatching non-conference foes Mount Holyoke and Franklin and Marshall. The team’s most competitive match was a 6-3 loss against Middlebury on Jan. 5. Julia Ward ’21 was named NESCAC Player of the Week on Nov. 20, on account of her 3–1 record at the No. 1 position during the season’s opening week.
The men hosted the Williams Open, an individual event with no team scores, in historic Lasell Gym on Jan. 5. Yo Akiyama ’20 captured first place in the 165 lb. weight class, and four more wrestlers took home medals. In their first dual meet, the men walked away with a convincing 25-19 victory over Trinity on Dec. 7. Joey Rossetti ’21 and Nasir Grissom ’22 won individual titles at the RIT Invitational on Dec. 1 as the team earned sixth out of 16 teams.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK “Laura has been doing a
“Meghan stepped up this
great job and has been consistent all year. We rely on her for most every distance freestyle event. On Friday, she had a great come-from-behind anchor swim on the first relay of the meet that really helped propel the team on to two big dual meet wins.”
week with a hand in 7 of our 8 goals scored, most of which were on special teams. What's exciting is Meghan has another level that she can play at, and she is willing to put the work in to get there. She is a great student, teammate, community member and volunteer.”
– Head coach Steve Kuster
– Head coach Meghan Gillis
LAURA WESTPHAL ’21
MEGHAN HALLORAN ’21
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING NORTHVILLE, MICH.
WOMEN'S HOCKEY DARIEN, CONN.
Westphal anchored the 400 medley relay and finished first in the 200 freestyle in a tri-meet against NYU and MIT on Jan. 18.
Halloran scored twice and assisted once in a 3-2 comeback victory over Connecticut College on Jan. 19.
12 SPORTS
The Williams Record
January 23, 2019
9 ’1 K C O L D A C S KYLE
Y R E V O C E R O T D A O THE R
By CHARLES XU EXECUTIVE EDITOR
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE.
On a cloudy December evening in 2017, 300 fans piled into the Woodward Center as Westfield State hosted Williams in a non-conference matchup. All eyes from the Westfield State sidelines focused on Kyle Scadlock ’19, the 6-foot-7 forward who helped lead Williams to an improbable Final Four run the year before. Averaging a NESCACleading 20.7 points and 9.5 rebounds six games into the season, Scadlock had quashed any doubts that he was the Ephs’ go-to option. Late in the first half, however, those same eyes were trained on No. 32 for a different reason. During a routine baseline out-of-bounds play, Scadlock took a bump while receiving the pass and crumpled to the ground in intense pain. “I immediately started freaking out,” Scadlock said. “I think deep down I knew that I had torn – I was thinking, ‘Holy shit, this might have just happened again.’ I remember screaming, and I was just so angry.” *** Scadlock didn’t want to think about the last time he had felt his knee pop out of place, but the similarities between the two moments were too great to ignore. Three years earlier at Cleveland University School in Hunting Valley, Ohio, Scadlock was ready to spend the last year of high school playing with some of his closest friends.
“[My teammates and I] just spent so much time together,” he recalled. “So for me, going into my senior year, I was so excited because I knew, one, I was going to be the best player on the team and I was going to be able to have a lot of fun and have a lot of freedom. But also … it was the last year I get to play basketball with my best friends.” During the first scrimmage of the year, Scadlock had a scare after catching a pass, getting bumped and landing awkwardly on the floor. After the initial pain subsided, the forward brushed it off as just a temporarily-displaced kneecap. “I was telling my coach, ‘I’m good,’ he said. “I remember getting up and running around. And I was worried because that was a lot of pain, and you know – what if I tore a ligament? And so I [said to myself], ‘Well, I’ll know if I can’t cut or jump.’ So I was running and cutting and jumping on the sideline.” But during the bus ride home, Scadlock felt his knee swelling and stiffening enough that he went to get an MRI. Several nerve-wracking days later, the results came in, and his hopes and dreams of competing in his final high school season vanished. “My little brother was on the team that year, which was going to be so cool because I’d get to play with him,” he said. “And we were in the car driving to practice, and my mom called me. And she immediately started
crying, and I was like, ‘Okay, so what is it?’ And she said, ‘The doctor said you tore your ACL.’ And then I told my brother. It was a silent car ride.” Still numb with the news, Scadlock walked into the training room and broke down in front of his then-head coach, Terry Lipford. “I remember I was just crying and crying,” he recounted. “And [Lipford] said to me, ‘Hey, you still have a lot of basketball to play in your life. We’re gonna be okay.’” Lipford wasn’t wrong. On Nov. 20, 2015 – after nine exhausting months of rehab – Scadlock debuted as an Eph, scoring 14 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Late in the game, he threw down an emphatic two-handed dunk to put the Ephs up five, proving not only to the crowd but also to himself that he was as explosive and athletic as ever. It took only three games for Scadlock to crack the starting lineup, where he would remain for the rest of the season. By his sophomore year, Scadlock’s knee injury was long behind him. The Ephs put together an inspiring NCAA Final Four run, and Scadlock saw the opportunity to take on a larger offensive role, averaging 15.1 points during the tournament. “Kyle was playing at just an unbelievable level, with a lot of confidence and making plays on both ends of the floor,” Eph head coach Kevin App said. “And one, our success at the end of that year, plus his confidence
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
After making the Final Four in 2017, the 16–2 Ephs have their eyes on this year’s Div. III national title.
in stringing 10 just really, really great games together, I think propelled him into the summer to put in the time to get even better. His teammates saw that, and he came back junior year at an incredibly high level, leading us in scoring and rebounding before he got injured.” *** Back at Westfield State on that December evening, Scadlock limped off the court and boarded the bus home. It was a win on the scoreboard, but the team atmosphere was somber. Scadlock sat icing his knee on the bus ride back to Williamstown with a growing fear that it was a severe injury – a feeling eerily reminiscent of that silent ride back from the high school scrimmage. A few days after an MRI, Scadlock was limping through the halls of Lasell Gym when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He picked up and heard his doctor going over the results. Scadlock tried to listen, but two words kept echoing in his mind – two words that ended his season three years ago and would end his season once again. Torn ACL. Scadlock hung up and laid down by the stairs of Lansing Chapman Rink, staring at the ceiling. At that moment, he could not have felt more alone, with only the hum of the nearby vending machines to comfort him on the cold cement. “I remember I was crying myself to sleep for a week straight, and it was just really rough at first,” Scadlock said. “Before you get surgery, and you’re in that time when you don’t have anything to work on or you can’t make yourself better, is really devastating.” Still lying by the stairs, Scadlock tried to come to terms with the reality that his goal now was not to advance past the Final Four, but instead to get through another nine months of grueling physical therapy. “There was never a moment where I didn’t want to play basketball again, or that this was too much,” he said. “I think the second time was like, ‘Holy shit, that was so much rehab and I had to work so hard to get back.’ I was just like, ‘I don’t know if I’m ready to handle that mentally and emotionally again.’ It’s just such a grind. You have to get up every day and rehab multiple times a day. I was overwhelmed by knowing how much I’m going to
have to go through these next nine months – even though I knew I could get through it.” *** While Scadlock dealt with his personal struggles, the team also had to find a way to fill a void of 20 points and 10 boards every night. “I think we all realized that when you lose a player of Kyle’s caliber, you all have to step up individually,” James Heskett ’19 said. “We had to come together and find time for a new identity and have some people step up… We grew a lot as a team from that.” In the absence of Scadlock, Heskett would put together an All-American season, and Bobby Casey ’19 would earn All-Northeast honors en route to a NESCAC title and a second-round NCAA tournament appearance. While the team strung together huge victories night after night, Scadlock found himself at the end of the bench grappling with mixed emotions. “It’s kind of like, ‘Well damn, if I come back next year, will I mess this up?’” he wondered. “That’s when a lot of self-doubt creeps in… When we lost, I was like, ‘Okay, I can come back and help this team get to the next level.’ But when you’re winning, you aren’t thinking about that as much. And yeah, I was a little bit nervous even though I knew that I had been a successful player here. This team is so good. I don’t want to mess anything up.” In the next three months, the Ephs would rattle off 17 wins in 22 games. Sitting at the end of the bench practice after practice and game after game, Scadlock found other ways to contribute. “He was one of those guys that admits the struggles he was going through and really stayed positive,” Heskett recalled. During practices, Scadlock stayed engaged in the team’s strategy, pointing out the weaknesses of the opposing defense and analyzing particular plays as his teammates came off the floor. Casey specifically recalls the text message Scadlock sent to the team after learning of his injury. Addressed to the “Family,” it lamented the circumstances but also read, “I wanted to tell you how excited I am to still be a part of all of the great things this group is going to accomplish and let you all know I’m gonna be each and every one of your biggest fans. Happy to be a permanent member of the bench squad! Let’s keep this thing rolling tomorrow with another W.”
The men’s run of success peaked in a thrilling February victory over Wesleyan as the Ephs took home the NESCAC Championship for the first time since 2010. Yet, as the team celebrated the win on the court and in the locker room, Scadlock was in the midst of processing difficult, conflicting emotions. “I vividly remember just sitting kind of outside the locker room at Amherst when we won the NESCAC Championship, and everyone was celebrating in the locker room,” he said. “And I just couldn’t really bring myself to go in the locker room because I didn’t feel like I was a part of it in the same way, which sucked.” Scadlock thought back to all the days he spent alone in physical therapy and rehab. All the days he sat on the bench while his teammates put up shots and ran through drills. All the days he wished he could be out there shooting and dribbling. “And as much as I was happy that we won and happy for the team, I just knew I just didn’t have the heart to celebrate in the same way because I wasn’t out there playing with them,” Scadlock said. “That was pretty difficult to handle.” *** Fast forward to the present. Scadlock warms up against Salem State on Nov. 17 – his first game in 11 months. He looks over at the Salem State sideline and catches glances directed at not only him, but Heskett and Casey as well. He comes out aggressively, knocking down a couple 3s and earning 17 freethrow attempts. Playing 30 minutes, Scadlock would lead the team with 26 points, putting his name back on the map. This year, there’s a different feeling in the air. The thirdranked Ephs strut out a starting five that includes a trio of 1000-point scorers (Casey, Heskett and Scadlock) and have perhaps one of the tallest rosters in Div. III basketball. They opened the season with 15 straight wins, a school record, before dropping close games to Amherst on Jan. 16 and Middlebury on Jan. 19. When “national champion” is mentioned, Scadlock immediately replies, “We don’t shy away. That’s the goal, and that’s where we want to end our season.” Something else is different as well. When the phone rings, Scadlock is no longer afraid of hearing those two dreaded words: Torn ACL. He’s experienced it. He’s recovered from it. And now he’s ready to move on.