ARTS P. 8
SPORTS P. 12
Executive producer of Batman films visits the College
Men's basketball edges Amherst
The Independent Student Newspaper at Williams College Since 1887 VOL. CXXXII, NO. 12
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018
College hires April Ruiz, Chris Sewell '05 to fill recent dean's office vacancies By TESNIM ZEKERIA MANAGING EDITOR This past week, the College announced its appointment of two new associate deans: April Ruiz and Chris Sewell ’05. Both will be joining the dean’s office later this year, filling the vacancies left by Rashanda Booker and Rosanna Reyes Ferro. “After conducting a national search, which took to heart the many thoughts and concerns shared by students and other members of the Williams community, I’m delighted to announce that the college has hired two new associate deans," Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom wrote in a press release on Jan. 16. "April and Chris will bring tremendous skills and experiences to our office and to their work with our students.” Ruiz joins the College from Yale, where she was previously the dean of Grace Hopper College for four years. There she successfully mentored countless students and was a key player in fostering community relations, particularly when campus-wide debates arose surrounding the renaming of the controversial Calhoun College, now known as Grace Hopper College. Ruiz was also a lecturer in the cognitive science and psychology departments and the dean of First-Year Scholars at Yale, a summer immersion program designed to enhance the transitions of incoming first generation and low-income students. The first in her family to attend college, Ruiz
holds a bachelor of arts in cognitive science from Yale and a doctorate in psychology from St. Andrews. Her research focuses on social cognition in non-human primates. She has also written extensively on the Theory of Mind. “I think Dean Ruiz is a good fit for the College because she’s incredibly passionate about the First Gen work,” Brian Benitez ’18, a member of the search committee that hired Ruiz, said. “She understands that First Gen work at Williams is unique. It’s largely student-led, and Dean Ruiz had expressed that she is excited to work alongside students rather than as their superior. Given her experience, approachability and motivation, I have no doubt that she will be an asset to the Williams community.” At the College, Ruiz will oversee first generation initiatives and will act as an intermediary between the dean’s office and other College administrative offices, including Admissions and Financial Aid. Sewell, on the other hand, received a bachelor of arts in American studies and history from the College. He then went on to receive a masters of education from the University of Pennsylvania, a masters in Afro-American studies from the University of California-Los Angeles, and a doctorate of education in educational leadership and policy from Vanderbilt. Prior to his appointment at the College, Sewell was an independent researcher and senior instructional manager
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE
Chris Sewell '05, left, and April Ruiz, right, will join the dean's office later this year, replacing Rashanda Booker and Rosanna Reyes Ferro. at General Assembly, a New York City-based company with 20 campuses dedicated to teaching people the most in-demand skills in web development, design, data and business. Sewell’s research explores the impact of gifted and talented education policies on the experiences of gifted students of color and LGBTQ+ students. “I’m really excited about Chris Sewell as the incoming
Assistant Dean," Theophyl Kwapong ’20, a member of the search committee that hired Sewell, said. "During the application and interview process, he demonstrated a philosophical approach and a raw passion that perfectly matches the Williams framework. As a First Gen, black, gay man who attended Williams, he has talked the talk and walked the walk of those he is here to serve, and, ultimately, we selected him be-
cause he has what it takes to be a good partner, not only for the students, but also for the Dean’s Office and the Davis Center.” Sewell will be working closely with the Davis Center and Integrative Wellbeing Services, focusing especially on how to help students succeed as they transition to the College. From eating in the dining halls to attending Minority Coalition group meetings, he plans to be very visi-
ble in the community as a way of showing support. “April and Chris each bring to the College a deep understanding of the needs of today’s students,” Sandstrom wrote in the press release. “They look forward to collaborating with and learning from colleagues and students to continue and build on the positive work at the College that has centered on the values of inclusion and equity.”
Williams Reads presentation College celebrates 50th Winter Study discusses criminal justice By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN EXECUTIVE EDITOR
By SAMUEL WOLF NEWS EDITOR On Thursday evening, James Figorski and Stephen Brown ’71 delivered a presentation on the flaws of the modern-day criminal justice system to an audience of students, faculty and Williamstown residents. The two presenters both work for the Innocence Project, a Philadelphia-based group that focuses on exonerating innocent people unjustly serving criminal sentences. Throughout their presentation, they compared their own work to that of Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of this year’s Williams Reads book, Just Mercy. “Today, our goal is to laser focus in on some of those same themes that Bryan Stevenson was talking about,” Brown said. For Figorski, the road to the Pennsylvania Innocence Project was not straightforward. He grew up in Kensington, Penn., which he described as “the badlands of Philadelphia,” and started working without so much as a high school diploma. He was employed as a police officer at 19, and ultimately served 25 years in the force. “I grew up in the Philadelphia police department… It was the time of my life. I loved it. Being a police officer in a big city was like being part of the biggest show on earth,” Figorski said. As he matured, however, Figorski started to see problems with the way the police force was run. He became
increasingly concerned with their interrogation techniques, which sometimes included depriving subjects of food, water or sleep for up to 18 hours, and grew frustrated with the lack of accountability. Once, he saw police officers extract a blatantly false confession. “We did whatever we wanted. We had a powerful union, and City Hall wouldn’t dare go against us,” he said. Eventually, Figorski decided to pursue a legal career, earning a 3.97 GPA at night school while still serving full-time as a police officer. He became a lawyer in 2006 and began to work for the Pennsylvania Innocence Project in 2009. Since then, he has tried 40 prison civil rights cases to verdict in Philadelphia. Brown appeared equally passionate about criminal jus-
Shaurn Thomas, who was released from prison in 2017 after serving 24 years for a crime that he did not commit. Shaurn Thomas was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at age 19 following a deeply flawed trial. He was initially arrested for the murder of Domingo Martinez, who ran a community bank and was a local icon in the Puerto Rican community. After withdrawing $25,000 from his bank account and entering his car with the money in hand on Nov. 13, 1990, Martinez was reportedly cut off by a red and white car. According to multiple eyewitness accounts, he was then shot by a six-foot-tall, 200-pound passenger. However, Shaurn Thomas and his brother Moustafa, who were ultimately convicted, were approximately five feet, nine inches tall and each weighed 130 pounds. 16-year-old Shaurn also had a convincing alibi: he had been arrested for stealing a motorcycle the previous night and was held in police custody and later in a Youth Study Center throughout the morning that the crime occurred. Thomas never got the opportunity to fully present his alibi, however, since his state-appointed defense attorney never properly filed the Notice of Alibi Defense. “The person who got these records wasn’t the defense attorney; it was Jim [Figorski], years later … The lawyer didn’t forget. He had nothing
This year, the College is marking the 50th anniversary of the Winter Study program, which was founded in Jan. 1968. To celebrate, the College held a series of events culminating on Tuesday, including celebratory cake in the Paresky Student Center; a Q&A session with Darlingside, an indie folk band formed at the College, and Bernice Lewis, artist associate in songwriting; and a Darlingside concert in Baxter Hall. The College has also been compiling memories and reflections on the Winter
Study program from alums and students alike on the new Winter Study website. The Winter Study program was conceived of by the Committee on Educational Policy in 1966 and implemented for the first time two years later. The committee’s plan centered the program around independent and challenging work in a form distinct from the regular semester's structure. “The Winter Study program is intended to give the student a change of pace and open new horizons for him,” the committee said in a May 1966 report. “The programs suggested by the various departments should encourage
PROTIK MAJUMDER BEGAN HIS TERM AS INTERIM PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE ON JAN. 1
WHAT’S INSIDE
4 NEWS Analysis of Dining Services rebates 7 FEATURES Students tutor local inmate population
James Figorski Pennsylvania Innocence Project Lawyer
SEE JUSTICE, PAGE 5
SEE WINTER STUDY, PAGE 5
3 OPINIONS A discussion of hiring practices in construction
“He lost 24 years of his life. His kids are all estranged from him now. He wasn’t able to say goodbye to one of his sons. How much money is that worth?”
tice. He began the presentation by asserting, “I love three things in life: I love my family, I love Williams and I love the US Constitution.” The Constitution became a central theme throughout the evening as the speakers bemoaned law enforcement officers, lawyers and judges who they believe have failed to give prisoners their constitutional rights. Though at times their critiques were broad, the two also focused specifically on the case of
students to participate in an educational experience which, with its concentration in one area and its emphasis on individual initiative, should be significantly different from that of a four-course semester.” It noted four emphases for the Winter Study program: “concentrated study,” “independent work,” “educational experimentation” and “personal enrichment.” Since its inception, the program has been designed to encourage academic risk-taking amongst students. “We conceived of Winter Study as a pedagogical laboratory
8 ARTS Student-directed musical premiers in Pittsfield 11 SPORTS A close look into the lives of twosport athletes
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2 OPINIONS
The Williams Record
Editor-in-Chief Rachel Scharf
Arts Editors Faris Gulamali and Kaira Mediratta
Managing Editors Reed Jenkins and Tesnim Zekeria
Sports Editors Cassie Deshong and Charles Xu
Communications Director Taran Dugal Executive Editors Shaheen Currimjee, Nicholas Goldrosen, Brooke Horowitch, Danny Jin, William Newton, Jane Petersen, RB Smith and Li Yu News Editors Rebecca Tauber and Sam Wolf Opinions Editor Skylar Chaney and Hae On Yoon Features Editors Lydia Duan and Jeongyoon Han
THE WILLIAMS RECORD BOARD
Photo Editor Sophia Shin Business Manager Isabella Wang Financial Manager Teo Pollini Financial Analyst Mark Sisco-Tolomeo Head of Advertising Esther Baek Subscriptions Manager Chris Fleischer
As the new year begins, we at the Record congratulate Barclay Jermain Professor of Natural Philosophy and Director of the Science Center Protik Majumder on commencing his role as interim president of the College. Moreover, the College has also recently hired two deans, and numerous offices and departments are in the process of hiring new faculty and staff. These additions to the administration will aid the College in carefully balancing continuity and adaptability. In this critical moment of transition, however, the decisions and actions made now will impact how the College will operate and appear in the future. We at the Record hope that both our future president and
January 24, 2018
From Falk to the future Envisioning the College's trajectory in a time of transition administration work together in solidifying the next era of the College. While we commend the College for its work on several issues, such as expanding mental health services for students and incorporating students into hiring processes and search committees, we also hope that it can improve the relationship between students, faculty and the administration. We recommend a reconsideration of priorities, which include, but are not limited to, stronger advocacy for and connection to student life, increased and improved mental health services and sexual assault policies that will better support survivors. In addition, we recommend greater transparency on the part of both the
president’s and dean’s offices, as well as the administration as a whole. Clearer communication between the students and administration is one way to improve the current relationship and can take the form of transparency in College policies, more opportunities for students to interact with administrative decisions and a continuation of open forums. Furthermore, considering the fact that the College is a small institution with a tradition of faculty governance, it is important that our president respects faculty governance and is adept at working with and empowering the faculty. Furthermore, while we hope that the new president is confident in the faculty of the Col-
lege and their decisions, we also hope that they increase student involvement in the College’s decision-making processes. Finally, our president should be a good steward of the College’s financial resources, acting as a point of inspiration for moral, ethical and prudent decision-making. The president should also be an effective advocate for the College, higher education and liberal arts education as a whole on the national stage, especially given that these institutions are increasingly under attack. Moving forward, it is vital that these concerns are equally valued by the president and administration in order for the College to fully embody the values of a liberals arts educational system.
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE SINCE 1887 WILLIAMSRECORD.COM
Word on The Quad What's your favorite way to eat a potato? By SOPHIA SHIN PHOTO EDITOR
EDUARDO OLIVA ’21
I love dirty mashed potatoes.
SUMMER-SOLSTICE THOMAS ’20
Potatoes au gratin.
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM MEN'S BASKETBALL
A nail-biting win against Amherst!
DARLINGSIDE
Relatable Williams stories and a killer indie-folk concert.
MARATHON OF VOICES
24 hours of non-stop singing – what's not to love?
LAST WEEK OF WINTER STUDY
An end to a relaxing month... but at least we have Dead Week.
THE FLU
The flu and other illnesses are going viral... stay hydrated and quarantine yourselves!
JAMES DUNIVAN ’19
ON THE RECORD
Sweet.
RICHARD JIN ’18
Mashed.
“I love three things in life: I love my family, I love Williams and I love the U.S. Constitution.” Stephen Brown ’71, a lawyer for the Innocence Project, during his Williams Reads lecture on the criminal justice system, page 1. “The structure of having another sport is helpful and very appealing to people.” Ian Kagame ’19, a men’s soccer and track and field athlete, on why some students choose to play two sports, page 10.
“I decided to do this Winter Study because I was tired of going to French class and learning about the same old rich white men who painted and wrote about old rich white women.” Ashley Villarreal ’20 on Winter Study travel courses, page 6. “The inmates always tell me, ‘First of all, life is never as bad as you think it is. As proof, I am in prison and you are not.’” Kevin Zhou ’20 on what he learned tutoring prison inmates, page 7.
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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 hy3@williams. edu and snc2@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.
JESSICA CHEN ’18.5
Standing with SJP
Diversifying local labor
Opposing Kenneth Marcus ’88 y
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In October, President Trump nominated alum Kenneth Marcus ’88 to be the next assistant secretary for civil rights in the U.S. Department of Education. His appointment was confirmed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) this week and will soon be sent to the Senate for a full vote. As the founder of a right-wing, pro-Israel lobbying organization, Marcus has an extensive record of repressing Palestine activism on college campuses, conflating antiSemitism with anti-Zionism, opposing civil rights, bullying and intimidating students and fighting against affirmative action. If confirmed for this position, Marcus would have power over the federal education policies intended to safeguard student groups from discrimination and would have the ability to determine the outcomes of campus civil rights investigations. As student activists and proud members of Williams College Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), we are deeply disturbed by his nomination. In recent years, college campuses have been sites of repression of Palestine activism. From targeted campaigns against bold professors who speak up for justice and equality, to the creation of McCarthyist websites like Canary Mission that smear student activists, to frivolous lawsuits waged by right-wing firms against Palestine advocacy groups on campuses, examples of the silencing of Palestine advocacy are endless. In particular, the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement has faced suppression, which would only continue if Marcus were confirmed. BDS is a nonviolent, rightsbased movement started by ordinary citizens in Palestinian civil society that encourages a global boycott of Israel. It targets oppressive policies and the institutions and companies that uphold them. BDS counters all forms of discrimination, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, and “upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity,” according to bdsmovement.net. The movement’s specific demands for Israel include dismantling the separation wall and ending occupation of the West Bank, recognizing
OPINIONS 3
The Williams Record
January 24, 2018
the rights of Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel and abiding by international law with respect to refugees. We support this movement wholeheartedly. Marcus has branded BDS as antiSemitic, a totally inaccurate argument that conflates Israel as a sovereign political state with the Jewish faith and Jewish people around the world. In fact, allowing an ethno-nationalist state to speak on behalf of all Jewish people invites the exact type of stereotyping and anti-Semitism that Marcus claims to oppose. Boycotting Israeli products produced on stolen Palestinian land or that fuel Israeli police and military brutality provides a path to slow or stop further oppression. Sanctions from the international community aimed at changing Israel’s behavior towards transparency and respect for Palestinian human rights are possible only if political leaders have the courage to stand up for basic human decency and morality. Most importantly, like the divestment movement to end Apartheid in South Africa in the ’70s and ’80s, the Palestinian movement aims to increase awareness about the human impact of our everyday choices, influence public opinion on Palestine and build solidarity for Palestinian people. We must speak out against injustice, especially that enacted by our alumni. Right-wing extremists like Marcus are a threat to both BDS activism and our civil rights as students. We are ashamed that Marcus is a Williams alum. In this violent political moment, we must rise up together and fight his nomination with all that we’ve got. Call Senator Elizabeth Warren’s office at 617-565-3170 or Senator Ed Markey’s office at 617-565-8519, and let them know that as a student in Massachusetts, you strongly oppose the confirmation of Kenneth Marcus. And if you are interested in resisting repression of campus activism, discussing these topics or standing for justice in Palestine, come to our SJP meetings on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. in the environmental center, or email any of us to grab a meal and learn more.
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and physical ability. According to the US Department of Labor, in 2015 the median annual wage for construction and trades occupations was $46,290, and Construction is constantly under- the median hourly wage was $19.72, way at the College. If you’re currently 13 percent greater than the median on campus, this news comes as no hourly wage for all occupations. In surprise. What may be more surpris- the Boston area, the average annual ing is who we are hiring to work on wage for construction workers is even these projects. Nationally, white men higher, at $63,000, and construction dominate the construction indus- work almost always includes benefits try, and our own campus, despite its that ensure employees’ long-term progressive intentions, reflects this safety and economic security. This inequity. Although we scrutinize our makes construction a particularly imstudent body and faculty and seek portant industry for previously incarto practice what we preach in terms cerated people seeking to reintegrate of demographic diversity, the daily into society and reestablish a stable workings of the College continue to be source of income to avoid recidivism. overlooked and remain Approximately 18 outside of the purview months ago, the Colof our policies about It is imperative that lege implemented a equity and diversity. policy that requires [the College’s] hiring that all contractors colIn 1978, President Carter’s administrapractices reflect our lect Criminal Offender tion aimed to have Record Information commitment to people of color work(CORI) forms from ing at least 15.3 peremploydiversity and justice prospective cent and women workees before considering more broadly. ing at least 6.9 percent them for hiring. While of the available hours some claim screening in construction. Naapplicants can increase tional mandates mean nothing, student safety, it can also decrease however, if they aren’t adopted lo- safety by forcing previous offenders to cally. The lack of concrete policies resort to underground economies in around equity in construction hir- order to survive after reentry and can ing at private institutions like Wil- replicate systems of inequality. Any liams College in part explain why in effort to increase construction equity 2015 women made up only 2.7 per- must include revisiting the CORI recent, African Americans 6.9 percent quirement and ensuring that we coland Asian Americans 1.3 percent of lect data about who we are rejecting the construction industry. Although and accepting, particularly since the Latinx people made up 33.3 percent criminal justice system disproporof the construction industry in 2015, tionately convicts people of color and they were overwhelmingly confined people in poverty and puts people beto low-skill, low-pay occupations hind bars for nonviolent crimes which within the industry. This prevents do not pose a threat to public safety. people with marginalized identities We want, whenever possible, to pracfrom entering an occupation that has tice restorative rather than punitive traditionally been, and continues to forms of justice because these pracbe, a gateway to the middle-class in tices promote an inclusive rather than our society. exclusive community. The only prerequisites for working So what’s holding us back from in the construction industry are a high implementing a policy around eqschool diploma or GED equivalency uity in construction hiring on cam-
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pus? The primary concern seems to be encapsulated by the question: “Are there women and people of color ready and willing to work in construction in western Massachusetts?” The answer is absolutely! The College defines “local” as anywhere within a 50-mile radius and only sources about 20 percent of its construction hires locally, meaning that major metropolises with significant populations of color could easily be hired for construction projects on campus. Additionally, the Carpenter’s Union in Northampton, Mass. is actively recruiting women and people of color for its paid apprenticeship program; no experience is necessary, and free ESL classes are offered. Lastly, installing policies around equity in construction hiring can make the industry seem like a viable option for those who are currently underrepresented in the industry, creating a positive cycle of increased accessibility. It’s a two-way street. The College is a major employer in Berkshire County. Thus, it is imperative that its hiring practices reflect our commitment to diversity and justice more broadly. We are invested in the long-term work of establishing an achievable policy to increase equity and transparency in construction hiring on campus. We want this to be a collaborative, open and intersectional effort that engages all facets of the Williams community. Please reach out to us if you are interested in becoming involved in the effort to increase equity in construction hiring or if you simply want to educate yourself (as we have been attempting to do) on this often overlooked issue! Email us at ojg2@ williams.edu or rkj3@williams.edu. Olivia Goodheart ’19 is from Lorane, Ore. and lives in Currier. Rachel Jones ’18 is from New Haven, Conn. and lives in Lambert. Emma York ’19 is from New Bedford, Mass. Eli Cytrynbaum ’20 is from Eugene, Ore. and lives in Fayerweather.
Hattie Schapiro ’18.5 is from Hastings on Hudson, N.Y. and lives in Prospect. Eliza Klein ’19 is from Cambridge, Mass. and lives in Prospect. Abel Romero ’19 is from Belen, N.M. and lives in Lehman.
On “non-major” courses What does a well-rounded education look like? Artificially separating “non-scientists” and “scientists” from each other creates The fall 2017 semester is in the past, problems for both groups. First, “nonand that means I have successfully scientists” do not get a chance to really completed Drawing 100. During the 12 explore a Division III subject to its full weeks of that class, I learned a lot, found potential. Instead of a challenging course a new way of seeing the world and, above outside their majors, “non-scientists” reall, made some pretty cool artwork. I am ceive lesser versions of the subject being by no means a naturally gifted artist. On taught, often without the chance to adDay One of the course, I had no back- vance in that subject because the course ground knowledge at all, but by the end is not designed to provide adequate I had learned enough to create a final preparation for higher level classes. Adproject of which I could feel proud and ditionally, students can provide insights that I could enjoy. I was able to leave my into Division III subjects using knowlcomfort zone to discover a new passion edge from other departments. A music that I had never before known because I major may understand oscillatory harmonic motion because of the ways in am a Division III major. This is not to say that one major is which sound functions and creates resobetter than any other. I have tremen- nance. A Spanish major may envision dous respect for anyone who completes weather patterns in a new way through the nine to 11 courses in any one sub- understanding the cultural implicaject, learning so much of what that de- tions of El Niño and La Niña in South partment has to offer. The difference is America. Yet, because of this artificial what happens when taking classes out- segregation, all students suffer. Students primarily studying Diviside one’s major. sions I and II do not get Take a brief glance into to use their insights in the Division III section Why do this way, and students of the course catalogue we separate our studying primarily Diand a trend materializes: a clear dichotomy bescientists but not our vision III subjects miss out on hearing these intween courses designed musicians, our sights in class and while for non-majors and for coursework. potential majors. In the statisticians but not doingThis interchange of course descriptions, knowledge and ideas phrases like “intended our philosophers? has helped me in my for the non-major” and courses at the College. “for the non-scientist” are mentioned in the blurbs of many From personal experience, I can say 100-level classes, which are often num- that viewing artistic foreshortening as bered lower than the “introductory” an application of vector transformation offerings for majors and potential ma- helped my drawing skills immensely. jors. However, Divisions I and II have The rest of the class also benefited from no equivalent. There is no art class de- thinking about this concept from a new signed “for the non-artist,” no history angle. Realizing the connection between class “for the non-historian.” Taking a these two seemingly different subjects studio art class, I became an artist dur- was one of my most satisfying academic ing those moments of class time and the moments at the College so far. The College strives to provide its stutruly bountiful associated homework, and I was addressed as such during dents with a well-rounded education. If class. Maybe not a promising young tal- the way to provide that education is to ent with the potential to change art as we have students take challenging classes across all three divisions, we should know it, but an artist nonetheless. Why, then, do we separate our scien- have students take classes that delve into tists but not our musicians, our statisti- the material in all three divisions, allowcians but not our philosophers? Division ing everyone the chance to explore all III subjects are not inherently harder the subjects and departments the Colthan any others. In the fall of my first lege has to offer. For at least three out of year, I took both an introductory Eng- 32 classes, let’s all be scientists. lish class and a physics class for potential Jacob Pesikoff ’20 is from Houston, majors. The English class was unquesTexas. He lives in Mark Hopkins. tionably more difficult for me.
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WEITAO ZHU ’18
Confronting nepotism Why it is okay to have favorites y
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I, along with college students nationwide, am in the process of finding work for the coming summer. I’ve noticed that my process for getting job offers is not entirely composed of filling out applications and submitting resumes, but also includes making connections and networking. When there’s an opportunity that could be interesting, one of my first thoughts is, “Who do I know?” I browse the College’s Career Center page, ask my parents or call friends. Throughout our lives we make a plethora of friends and acquaintances whom we ask for and for whom we volunteer to do favors, but is this system of reciprocity really a good thing? Everyone I have ever known has, at some point in time, benefitted from favoritism. So, given its relevance, what can we say about its place in our society? I first learned the term ‘nepotism’ when I was in eighth grade US history. It was used in reference to the political state of the country following the Civil War and the assassination of Andrew Garfield. We talked about its negative effects on our politics and progress as a nation. By allowing our decisions to be influenced by our personal opinions of people and electing officials, hiring employees and granting admission to those whom we favor, we undermine the inherent benefit of a meritocracy. We are no longer selecting the most qualified applicant; we are simply selecting our favorite, and in doing so, we detract from the efficiency of the organization in question, which would have greater benefited from the addition of
the option with the greatest merit. This in mind, I’ve tried to rationalize, and to some extent validate, the undeniably prominent role that nepotism plays in all of our lives. Everybody in this world has favorites. Parents care about their children more than someone else’s kids, and a Democrat likely cares more for Hillary Clinton than for Donald Trump. The simple existence of the terms ‘good’ and ‘bad’ in the English language is indicative of our human tendency for favoritism. It is precisely this distinction between the positive and the negative that compels us to have different reactions to different people. Moreover, we treat those we favor differently than those we do not. This may in fact be the root of the issue, the natural transition from identifying preference to acting on it. I hold that such behavior, however, is not only acceptable but unavoidable, for I have never met nor heard of a person who can successfully treat everybody in the world with complete equality. It follows naturally from this that one would treat their favored circle of people better than anybody else. Often this means using one’s resources (be that time, money or position) to help out those they care about. Now, this is a tricky step to take, as one could argue that the morality of nepotism lies in which resources you choose to use, and if their use results in someone else’s loss. This is a valid concern, but defining those resources which are permissible to use is a difficult task. For any act of kindness, regardless of the resources used, there is often someone for whom
that kindness would have done more good or someone who has been hurt by that kindness. Take, for example, giving a friend a tshirt for their birthday. Your friend will be happy, but the shirt could have done someone else far more good than your friend, the act of buying the shirt could be creating demand for unethicallymanufactured textiles and the money you used to buy the shirt could have been made from an organization that profited from amoral action. Nothing exists in a vacuum, and so few things exist without some amoral aspect. Therefore, there are essentially no resources that can be used without causing harm. I realize that this is a very jaded way of looking at the world, but the enormous complexity of every action we take is rarely considered. If we cannot hope to understand the exact measurements of net moral gain and loss to every action, then how are we to make the best decisions? I cannot answer that question for you, as I believe everyone must consider it individually. But what I can say is that there is a definite discrepancy in my opinions of others, and I will always try to do right by those I care for. I cannot find a reason that anyone should feel poorly about trying to better the lives of those who are important to them. The world may be a more efficient place in the absence of nepotism, but such a situation is wildly improbable and could only exist with the sacrifice of our humanity. Nevin Bernet ’20 is from Topanga, Calif. He lives in Garfield.
January 24, 2018
NEWS 4
The Williams Record
Examining faculty, staff political contributions Dining services rebates By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN EXECUTIVE EDITOR Over the course of 2017, faculty and staff employed by the College contributed a total of $20,325.22 to candidates and committees in federal elections, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) disclosures. All of these contributions went to Democratic or Democratleaning candidates or committees. The vast majority of contributions were modest,
and individuals often made multiple contributions over the course of the year. In 2017, 76 individuals who listed their employers as “Williams College” or some subsidiary – and did not list their occupations as “student” – made a total of 1240 contributions in federal elections. Of the 76 people who made contributions, 43 were members of the faculty and 33 were employed as staff members. These contributions ranged from 13 cents to $500; the median contribu-
tion was $10, and the mean was $16.51; contributions of $20 or less made up 73.8 percent of all contributions. The median number of contributions made per person was three, and the mean was 16.31. The amount that any one person gave over the course of the year ranged from $2 to $5264.04, with the median annual total being $65.25 and the mean annual total being $267.43. The top organization receiving donations was ActBlue, a fundraising platform
that states its mission as “powering Democratic candidates, committees, parties, organizations and c4s around the country.” Other organizations receiving large amounts of contributions included Emily’s List, a political action committee (PAC) which focuses on electing pro-choice, Democratic women into office, and MoveOn.org Political Action, a PAC “focused on running powerful, progressive advocacy campaigns,” according to its website.
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF SHANTI HOSSAIN '19
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN '20
over Winter Study found lacking
By WILLIAM NEWTON EXECUTIVE EDITOR During Winter Study, Dining Services offers rebates on meal plans for students who will be off campus for a minimum of 10 days as a part of their Winter Study courses. These rebates, however, significantly undervalue the actual price per day that most students are required to pay as part of their meal plans. Based on the 226 potential days per school year that a student on a meal plan can swipe at dining halls, a student on the 21-meal plan pays an average of $30.88 per day. Students on the 14-meal plan pay an average of $26.24, and students on the five-meal plan pay an average of $12.46. If a student on a meal plan goes off campus for Winter Study and gets approved for a rebate, the student will only get back exactly half their meal plan’s daily value each day: $15.44 for the 21-meal plan, $13.12 for the 14-meal plan and $6.23 for the five-meal plan. Under this policy, a student on the 21-meal plan that goes off campus for 10 days (the minimum period for which a rebate can apply) would lose a little over $150 as a result of this pricing discrepancy. A student going off campus for the entirety of Winter Study would lose just over $355. A student on the 14meal plan off campus for 10 ten days would lose slightly more than $127. According to Assistant Director of Student Dining Gayle Donohue, Dining Services gives each meal a value based on the percentage of the daily caloric total that it associates with each meal period. Breakfast is 17 percent, lunch is 33 percent and
dinner is 50 percent, meaning the value of dinner for someone on a 21-meal plan is $15.44. Dining Services uses the value given to dinner as the value of the Winter Study rebate. “We credit the dinner value as the Winter Study rebate credit versus the entire daily rate due to overhead costs of food, preparation and labor considerations,” Donohue said. This means that even though the 14-meal plan is priced proportionally higher than the 21meal plan (it costs about 85 percent of the 21-meal plan’s price, even though it only provides 67 percent of the meals), Dining Services assumes that dinner still accounts for 50 percent of the meal plan value across all plans. That is, the model for rebates does not account for the fact that students on lower meal plans would spend a greater share of their meal plan’s value on the more expensive meals of the day, namely dinner, but the model for meal plan pricing does. If the model were held constant for both meal plan prices and meal plan rebates, students on lower meal plans would either receive more in their rebates or pay less for their meal plans. Despite the varying number of students on campus during Winter Study, Dining Services keeps all dining facilities fully open, attempting to appropriately adjust food purchases based on past data. “There is no benchmark for adjusting food purchases,” Donohue said. “However, we used detailed data from previous years’ history and track patron counts. Each dining hall responds and adjust[s] food purchases.”
IN OTHER IVORY TOWERS NEWS AROUND ACADEMIA By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN EXECUTIVE EDITOR
West Virginia contemplates free college tuition West Virginia’s 2018 legislative session has begun to consider a bill that would make community colleges and vocational schools free of tuition for state residents. Only West Virginia residents would be eligible for the tuition grant, and there would be numerous conditions attendant to it. Amongst other conditions, potential recipients would have to maintain a minimum GPA, pass a drug test every semester, perform community service and live in the state for at least two years after graduation, according to the Associated Press. "If we properly manage our resources we can provide, essentially, scholarships to everyone ... that wants to attend community and technical college to further their education, to gain a stackable skill set, to allow them to take that trade or that education to the workforce," Republican Senate President Mitch Carmichael said in an Associated Press article. The estimated total cost of the bill, according to the governor’s administration, would be $7 million over the first year. Many other states have recently moved to implement programs making in-state colleges free of tuition for residents. While exact conditions vary, these states include Rhode Island, Tennessee, New York, Oregon and Louisiana. MSU president faces calls to resign The president of Michigan State, Lou Anna K. Simon, has faced increasingly strident calls for her resignation in the wake of allega-
tions that university officials were aware of and covered up sexual abuse allegations made against Larry Nassar, a Team USA Gymnastics physician and faculty member at Michigan State’s osteopathic medicine school. A Michigan court is currntly sentencing Nassar on the abuse charges in a Michigan court; he has already been sentenced to 60 years in prison on federal child pornography charges. The Detroit News reported that up to 14 university officials, including Simon, knew about the allegations for as many as 20 years prior to his firing and arrest in 2016. The university’s board of trustees released a statement of support for Simon, but the student newspaper called for her resignation. In the midst of this controversy, the university’s student government passed a resolution calling for change at “the highest levels” of the school’s governance, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education report. University of Arizona faces pay discrimination lawsuit The former dean of the University of Arizona’s Honor College is suing the university, alleging that she and other female deans were paid drastically less than their male colleagues. Patricia MacCorquodale claims both that she personally was paid substantially less than male administrators in comparable positions, including the male dean who was hired to replace her, and that female administrators across the board were underpaid. In a statement in The Republic, her attorney James Richardson said, “Dr. MacCorquodale is an icon in the
IS SEEKING A PHOTO EDITOR U of A community because of her dedication to her students and to the Honors College. The university took advantage of her dedication by grossly underpaying her compared to her male counterparts. And when they got tired of her complaints about pay equity, they responded by getting rid of her as dean.” Her lawsuit also made the claim that the university provost, Andrew Comrie, made persistent demeaning and inappropriate remarks toward female administrators. The provost recently resigned from his position.
The ‘Record’ is curently accepting applications to join our editorial board as a Photo Editor. Photo Editors assemble the photographic content of the paper. Responsibilities include both acquiring and editing photos each week. We are looking for motivated, dependable editors who are committed to producing the College’s only independent newspaper. Prior experience is not a prerequisite.
TO APPLY, PLEASE SEND A SELF-NOMINATION (NO MORE THAN ONE PAGE) WITH INTEREST AND RELEVANT EXPERIENCE TO RACHEL SCHARF (RAS3) AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Education department loosens disclosure requirement for for-profit colleges The Department of Education recently rescinded regulations that required for-profit colleges to post the median earnings of their graduates. This reporting requirement was seen as a check on the for-profit college industry, which has frequently been accused of defrauding students. Institutions that were unsuccessful in meeting certain debt-to-earnings ratios for their graduates risked the loss of federal funding. Institutions are also no longer required to disclose room and board charges. This change is part of the Trump administration’s rollback of the “gainful employment” rule. This rule is an Obama-era regulation intended to prevent forprofit colleges from putting students with few employment prospects into massive amounts of debt. In October, 18 Democratic attorneys general filed suit against the administration for its failure to enforce this rule.
Fellowships for Williams Journalists • Cherie Levien Memorial Journalism Fellowship $5000 for your independent, creative summer journalism project. Sophomores & Juniors are eligible. Applications due February 15 • Jeffrey O. Jones Memorial Fellowship in Journalism $10,000 for a graduating senior who wil explore a career in journalism. Applications due April 9 fellowships.williams.edu Application instructions in the Fellowships GLOW page
January 24, 2018
NEWS 5
The Williams Record
College celebrates 50 year anniversary of Winter Study program, reflects on its origins and history CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 that would encourage faculty and students to experiment with new subject matter and novel ways of packaging and delivering courses,” John Chandler, president of the College from 1973-1985 and chair of the Committee on Educational Policy at the time of Winter Study’s founding, said, as quoted in a 2017 Record article (“College reflects on winter study grading in light of law school admissions council policy,” Feb. 8, 2017). Many characteristics of the term, such as the pass-fail grading system, are original to the program’s foundation. For example, in Record coverage of the first Winter Study period, one student expressed the pressure-relieving effect of the pass-fail grading system. “Winter Study offers a student the chance to pursue courses that interest him [sic] without worrying about grades,” Bruce Baxter ’71 said in “Students Find Winter Study ‘Frustrating’ and ‘Fulfilling’” (Feb. 9, 1968). Indeed, only six students received failing grades in the first Winter Study term. While the original Winter Study program did emphasize curricular exploration, a rule at the time required juniors and seniors to take at least one Winter Study course in their majors (“WSP Committee Recommends Retaining Major Requirement,” Oct. 29, 1968).
The original Winter Study program also played a role in the College’s move towards co-education; the first woman to be a student at the College was Diane Kitteridge, a Smith student who spent the first ever Winter Study term at the College. Initial reactions to the term were positive, by and large. A Record editorial (“WSP Evaluated,” Feb. 9, 1968) said, “The Winter Study period added something important to this environment. Motivation for education was no longer external. Assignments were long-term, grades of so little concern, papers relatively easy to throw together with all one’s working time devoted to one subject. Interest and curiosity proved to be the major incentives.” However, many other initial student reactions did not view the Winter Study program as a revolutionary change. “The WSP has not revolutionized liberal arts education, nor has it stimulated unrecognized talents or interests in most of its participants. It has not brought forth total intellectual commitment,” Dave Reid ’69 wrote in an op-ed for the Record (“Winter Study: Punt and Pass,” Jan. 17, 1969). “It has, however, made positive contributions to the educational and social atmosphere of the College and the attitudes with which students approach their courses.” Many concerns from the original Winter Study period also seem timeless. For ex-
ample, some students found the first term lacking in academic substance. “There was an attitude that this was a play month,” Gary Conrad ’70 said. “I think this could be overcome a lot by beefing up some of the courses” (“Students Find Winter Study ‘Frustrating’ and ‘Fulfilling,’” Feb. 9, 1968). Students also expressed concerns about the broad periods of free time available during the first Winter Study. “A lot of guys really blew it,” Dennis Murphy ’69 said. “There was an extraordinary amount of mishandled time.” Indeed, this is a concern that the College has continued to focus on, with an emphasis during this year’s Winter Study term on co-curricular programming such as workshops held by student organizations, skillbuilding sessions with the Quantitative Skills Program and a College Council discretionary fund of $10,000 for student programming during Winter Study. In sum, much of the essential character and vibrancy of the Winter Study program can be traced to its inception 50 years ago. One student, Jeff Freyman ’71, said, “School would be really good if we lived in this environment without the pressure. Of all the lifestyles possible – the military, a job, getting married – that would be a really good one” (“Students Find Winter Study ‘Frustrating’ and ‘Fulfilling,’” Feb. 9, 1968).
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF SHANTI HOSSAIN '19
Hossain '19 designed a logo for the 50th year of Winter Study. Festivities occurred yesterday celebrating the milestone.
Figorski and Brown present on criminal justice CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 to forget because he didn’t know what he was supposed to do,” Brown said. “Shaurn never even spoke to his lawyer until he was picking the jury… he was never visited by anyone before me,” Figorski added. The prosecution had coerced two other men into falsely confessing and implicating Shaurn and Moustafa in exchange for reduced sentences, threatening them with the death penalty if they didn’t cooperate. Investigators also ignored the eyewitness testimony of a red and white car and instead framed
the murder around a blue car (Shaurn Thomas had been seen in a small blue car in the past). “Voilá, as soon as they needed a blue car, they found a blue car,” Figorski said. Then, when evidence came up that the blue car in question was not affiliated with the incident, the prosecution refused to share that information with the defense. As this information was presented, one member of the audience shouted out, “So the truth doesn’t matter?” “Not at trial in Pennsylvania, it doesn’t,” Figorski replied. Shaurn Thomas was convicted in Dec. 1994 and re-
mained in prison for 24 years. Figorski estimated that he spent 900 hours working to free Thomas. In contrast, he characterized the lawyers and judges that he interacted with as refusing to admit that they made a mistake. He began to make progress when he got two of the alleged co-conspirators to retract their confessions and reveal that they had been coerced into making them. “They both were fed a script and testified it to save themselves,” he said. A breakthrough came when he located the prosecution’s missing case file, which detailed their many
abuses. Ultimately, the evidence was sufficient to free Shaurn Thomas on May 23, 2017. However, Moustafa is still imprisoned. The retelling of this story visibly shocked the audience. “Why did [the investigators] do this? Was it mindlessness, incompetence, racism?” one attendee asked. “I think it was sociopathic. If you are willing to put someone in jail to look good, that’s sociopathic,” Brown responded. Brown took specific aim at Detective Martin Devlin, who investigated this case and frequently styled himself as “Detective Perfect” due to his 95 percent clearance rate (the average rate is closer to 37 percent). “Normally, if things are too good to be true, they probably aren’t,” Brown said. Audience members were particularly frus-
trated about the lack of consequences that the officers ultimately faced, but Figorski contended that he was seeking justice by suing the city of Philadelphia on behalf of Thomas. Still, he emphasized that no amount of money would sufficiently repay the damage that had been done. “He lost 24 years of his life. His kids are all estranged from him now. He wasn’t able to say goodbye to one of his sons. How much money is that worth?” he asked. The two presenters frequently encouraged prospective lawyers to undertake pro-bono work with groups such as the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. “I’ve gotten most of my financial compensation from paying clients, but I’ve made 98 percent of my emotional
s re PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA INNOCENCE PROJECT
Shaurn Thomas grins after his release from prison, where he was wrongfully held for 24 years on a murder charge.
game day snacks
compensation from non-paying clients,” Brown said. The two repeatedly emphasized that groups like the Pennsylvania Innocence Project are often understaffed and under-resourced; out of 900 applications from convicts across Pennsylvania, only 11 could initially be taken up by the group. “Getting your case taken by the Pennsylvania Innocence Project is harder than getting into Harvard Law School,” Brown said. In response, an audience member remarked upon the number of innocent people who likely still remain behind bars. “I shudder to think about the truth of that,” Figorski said. “If these sort of acts happen once, then shame on the individual. But if these acts repeat themselves, then shame on the institution that allowed it,” he said.
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FEATURES 6
The Williams Record
January 24, 2018
One in Two Thousand By TESNIM ZEKERIA MANAGING EDITOR I first met Ariella during Where Am I!? (WAI) Leader training and was immediately drawn to her laid back and friendly vibes—so much so that she became my co for WAI. This week, I got to sit down with Ariella and talk about her hometown, her interests and, most importantly, her journey to becoming a yoga instructor. So to start, can you tell me a little about where you grew up? I was born and raised on Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles, just a little community of 3000 people. It’s kind of hard to explain to people because it really is a small town, but we also have LA right by us. I had access to the city, but it’s also kind of isolated. Oh man, we drove golf carts everywhere. The island’s only one square mile, so my mom just wanted us to walk everywhere. But yeah, no one had cars. I probably didn’t get off the island as much as I should have. I was a homebody and stayed on the island a lot. Whenever we’d get off I would just get overwhelmed; I would go to a mall or something and have total sensory overload. You said the island had only a few thousand people. How does it feel being at a school that also has 2000 people? It feels very familiar. Williamstown and my hometown have a lot of parallels. Honestly, it’s the population; everyone complains about being isolated here, but I just have always dealt with making the most out of a limited
place. Maybe it was easier for me to feel at home here because I’m not really looking for more activity – I’m just looking to plant my roots.
ARIELLA MARKOWITZ ’19
Did you do anything fun this Winter Study? Accomplish anything on your bucket list? This Winter Study has been low-key a yoga retreat. I’ve been doing so much yoga every day. It’s the most purifying thing. I’ve been sick so I had to skip today, but if not, I would have went in at 1:00 p.m. and got out at 4:30 p.m., then I would have gone back in from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. I’m currently doing an independent project with Tasha Yoga on Spring Street. I’m getting in some 200 hours to become a certified yoga instructor, I’ve only finished half of them at this point. That’ll be an ongoing project through the rest of the semester.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ARIELLA MARKOWITZ ARIELLA'S HOMETOWN AVALON, CALIF.
ARIELLA'S RESIDENCE BRYANT
That’s so cool! What struck your interest in yoga? I feel like growing up, a lot of young girls, myself included, felt weird about coming into their bodies and claiming that for themselves. When I discovered yoga, I finally felt like I was doing something. I felt comfortable with my body for the first time in a way that was so carefree and joyful. I was just like, “Damn this is really important.” So, I’ve just been practicing on my own for a while, and I wanted to offer it back because it’s so good for stress reduction and feeling generally good about yourself. It’s something I want to offer back to Williams students or anybody in life because it’s really one of those things that makes day-to-day connections. My favorite pose
is definitely the mermaid pose. It's a backbend and a hip opener, and I just think it feels super glamorous. Why do you think people don’t like yoga sometimes? Because it’s really easy to not take it seriously. It’s like, “Look at these hippies talking about appropriating Indian culture and pretending to be all spiritually woke,” and I feel like that can be really annoying. But that’s why you actually have to engage with where it comes from and the foundations and all the history. Because it really is just a practice. It’s just all about getting out of day-to-day life and looking into the deeper implications of it. So yoga is easily misrepresented.
Paresky typewriter extravaganza clacks out personal poems for students By LYDIA DUAN FEATURES EDITOR This Winter Study, Professor of English and American Studies Cassandra Cleghorn taught a course about typewriters. She and the 10 students enrolled in the course started a typewriting poem project, tabling in Paresky at lunch. The interactive project asked students to give writers one word, from which the writers generated a typewritten poem in response. Wanting to teach writing with a different slant, Cleghorn chose typewriters as a medium because they are machines built for sentencestringing and word-slinging, writing and nothing else. “You put your paper in, you set your margin and you start to put words on a page – you pause – what am I writing about? It slows down those steps,” she said. The typewriter is a way for students to hone their writing, thus exchanging the urge to quickly write a paper for a deliberate, letter-by-letter way to put thoughts on a page. “To me, what it’s done is change the level of mindfulness and intentionality that these students are bringing to the page,” Cleghorn said. “They’re slowing down, they’re seeing the steps involved in writing, they’re encountering their minds in a different way.” Additionally, students have no opportunity to fix mistakes. Typewriters have a back-space key to backtrack and write over past text or slash it out, but there’s no button to 'delete.' Everything is laid bare on the page. Texts generated by typewriters are palimpsests, recording every layer of revision. This transparency allows for students to learn how they think and edit, thereby giving them mental maps of their writing processes. “You’re really finding out what you did – you’re finding
FAVORITE YOGA POSE MERMAID
out what you think you should say,” Cleghorn said. As for the poetry aspect of the typewriting project, years ago Cleghorn met Amy Tingle and Maya Stein, cofounders of the arts initiative The Creativity Caravan, in which the duo travels across the country and creates poetry on-demand with typewriters. “I was hooked,” Cleghorn said. Being a poet herself, she became friends with the two co-founders. Tingle and Stein were the originators of the “give us a word, we’ll give you two poems” idea that Cleghorn has brought to the College. In constructing typewritten poems, writers are given one word and craft a poem in response; they then read it aloud to the requestee and sign it. “We don’t ask any other questions,” Cleghorn said, citing an appreciation for the vulnerability in giving up even a single word for poetry. The poems, requiring perceptiveness and empathy in how they are crafted, have often left the poem recipients moved with a wide range of reactions: eyes widened, fists unconsciously relaxed, lips bitten and shoulders lowered. With word requests ranging from 'snuggle' to 'cabbage-headed' and 'whales' to 'family,' there was a range of experiences and histories captured in this mix. Student poet Leonel Martinez ’20, a creative fiction writer, decided to take the course after watching blackand-white movies featuring strong, determined characters that also used typewriters. “I wanted that determination,” Martinez said. His writing process varies depending on the word he receives. “If it’s a noun, I think about what it looks like or represents,” he said. As for more abstract words, Martinez humorously detailed his experience writing a poem about 'spicy,' considering
every connotation of the word. The sweetest moment for him was writing a poem based on the word 'forever.' While Martinez’s style uses a stream of consciousness approach, Adam Calogeras ’18 favors zany rhymes and a lighthearted tone. The writing becomes “less intimidating if you can distance yourself,” he said, by considering the “silliest and most obscene” ways to creatively engage with the word. Angel Ibarra ’21 forewent writing poems altogether and instead chose to typewrite compliments to his recipients. Ibarra’s connection with typewriters traces itself along familial lines; his grandmother had a typewriter that Ibarra learned about as a child. As for why compliments? “Everyone, once in a while, needs a good compliment,” Ibarra said. Cleghorn said that the typewriter poem activity is especially powerful in its ability to connect people from all different walks of life with one click and one clack of a typewriter. “People are looking for human connection through language that surprises you,” she said. “There’s an impoverishment of language that we’re using with one another.” Because of this, people are drawn to the typewritten poetry out of curiosity and a yearning for something more. That is what has kept this effort alive. And above all else, Cleghorn said, people want to be understood. “Here, I realize poetry serves an equally important function, which is communication,” Cleghorn, who wants to preserve human connections in the context of modern technology, said. “It’s a means of listening to the person coming to you saying, ‘I need a poem,’ which is a powerful thing to admit in this day and age. How many people say they need poetry?”
What are other things that you are currently passionate about? I love playing music, writing music and just any form of creative expression with some writing. And I play jazz piano. I love listening to music too. I have a great new playlist called “New Year, Newer Me,” on Spotify. It’s a variation on the playlist "New Year, Old Me." It’s 2018, so I’m moving forward. I also love the acai bowls at Nature’s Closet. I don’t know if they’re my favorite food, but I’ve been thinking about them a lot lately. It's been too long since I've last had one. Does music relate to any dream job you might have in the future?
I would love to do something creative – independent and creative. I would love to be an independent radio producer. I have a radio show, although it’s not as much as I want it to be. It’s mostly a self-care thing honestly, to be able to go in once a week and just play music that I love and talk about it. Who knows, honestly. I would love to return to California. I love the East Coast. I love the Pacific Northwest. I can honestly see myself going anywhere, and I’m sure it’ll work itself out. At some point, I really want to do a journalism fellowship, and I would like to be able to do something with that. My summer’s not really set in stone yet. I don’t know, I wouldn’t mind being on campus. I kind of love Williamstown over the summer. Tell me a bit about your freshman summer experience here at Williams. What do you like most about Williamstown over the summer? I just think it’s like a fairy kingdom. It’s like a magical land – there’s all this beautiful nature and rivers, and you get to spend some dope time outside. I’m really satisfied with the simple life. I can literally go outside and not really think about anything else and be content with that. How do you like working at Goodrich? It’s amazing and such a good time. I’m running boba night this year, and it’s just a really good way to spend a Tuesday. I love going in, blasting music, making boba and getting to share that with people. Shout-out to everyone who works at Doddrich – it’s such a good community. I’m also trying to step up my latte
art game. It’s difficult; for a while my lattes just looked really phallic. But I’m getting better because I can now make little leaves and hearts. I still have very far to go. Do you have a favorite boba flavor now? Oh my god, the other day we made a combination of Thai and rose tea and it tasted so good. It was the most beautiful dusty orange rose color – it was gorgeous. I love all flavors honestly, especially lavender and all the flowery flavors. So that’s a plug: come to boba night next semester. I heard you interned with a senator? What was that experience like? Last Winter Study, I worked with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, which was pretty crazy with the inauguration and everything. It was probably the most intense month of my life, with the realization of so much happening in the country we live in and the world climate. It was disillusioning in a lot of ways. I thought, “What is the good that any of this is doing?” I just don’t want to work in politics. I’m glad I learned that one early on. Is there anything else that has been on your mind recently? I guess I’ve been thinking about personal growth a lot. It ties in with the yoga stuff. This past summer I was actually just hanging out at home, working some odd jobs like playing piano and working in a restaurant. It was cool to see how it’s not really a waste of a time if I’m happy, able to do what I want to do and can spend time with my family. It’s being able to be happy in whatever situation you’re in and make the most of that.
Students study across the globe By JANE PETERSEN EXECUTIVE EDITOR Many students associate Winter Study at the College with snow, an excess of free time and the occasional weeknight party. Some, however, venture off-campus for the month of January in search of experiences that simply cannot be found within the confines of Williamstown, Mass. Ashley Villarreal ’20 is one such student. Instead of staying on campus, she opted to spend Winter Study in France, taking Paris Noir: Performances in the City of Light. This course, listed under Africana Studies, focused on African diasporic culture’s influence on Paris. “I decided to do this Winter Study because I was tired of going to French class and learning about the same old rich white men who painted and wrote about old rich white women,” Villarreal said. “I knew that there were deep-seeded and often ignored issues of race and Islamophobia within France, and I was extremely interested in learning more about these issues.” This course was an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in French culture, visiting jazz clubs, touring museums and meeting prominent artists. “We went to a really famous burlesque show, which was unreal, and also met some incredible people who have seen
a lot of success in the music industry and have worked with some really amazing artists, such as the late James Baldwin,” Villarreal said. Another travel course took students even further. Keileh Atulomah ’20 participated in Exploring Hong Kong: Past and Present. This course is taught by faculty from both the College and Lingnan University, a liberal arts college in Hong Kong, and explores the history, politics, economy and culture of the city. The course involved class discussions and group trips, as well as time for the students to go off and explore on their own, as Atulomah described in her journal from the trip. “Some of us decided we had enough time to make the trek to Lantau Island, so we hopped on the [metro] around 2 p.m. At Tung Chung, we traded the subway for a cable car with breathtaking views of the water and surrounding islands,” she wrote. “We strolled past souvenir shops, Subway, stray dogs and a few cows to climb up the steps to Tian Tan Buddha. I loved how the fog fell on the water in the distance so only the tips of islands would peek out; up there, it felt so peaceful.” Other travel courses incorporated volunteer work into the curriculum. Professor of
Psychology Laura Smalarz taught Eye Care and Culture in Nicaragua, a course which trained students to conduct eye examinations in Spanish and prescribe the correct lenses to patients. Students spent 10 days in Nicaragua putting these teachings to the test by working with local patients. Once there, the trip was fast-paced; students, faculty and volunteers held clinics in five communities, serving over 4200 patients and distributing over 7200 pairs of glasses. Smalarz described this year’s course, which has been offered for 16 years, as particularly busy. “The work flow was pretty much nonstop. As soon as one patient stood up from an eye exam chair, another was there ready to sit down,” Smalarz said. She described the overall experience as “grounding, humbling and emotionally rewarding.” “The main thing I want students to take away from this trip is the experience of stepping outside of one's comfort zone to do meaningful work that impacts people's lives,” Smalarz said. “The feeling of leaving behind our fast-paced, hyperconnected and, in many ways, indulgent culture to spend time in a place where things move more slowly and people live with far less is one that I think stays with the students.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF KEILEH ATULOMAH
Keileh Atulomah '20 traveled to Hong Kong through one of the College's unique Winter Study programs.
January 24, 2018
7 FEATURES
The Williams Record
Ephs tutor inmates at Berkshire House of Corrections By JEONGYOON HAN FEATURES EDITOR Many might not be surprised to hear that, out of the various activities to do on a Thursday night at the College, eight members of the student body volunteer as tutors. But to elaborate, these students take a 30-minute drive to the Berkshire House of Corrections (BHoC) located in Pittsfield, Mass., spending upwards of two hours teaching elementary level math, reading and writing to seven to 10 navy jumpsuit-clad inmates. Positive Pathways Partnerships (P3) allows students at the College to tutor BHoC students once a week to help them pass the High School Equivalency Test (HiSET), which gives out-of-school teens and adults a high school education certificate. The Center for Learning in Action (CLiA), in tandem with BHoC, established P3 in the fall of 2016 as a way for students at the College to engage with and support the incarcerated populations of the Berkshires. This is not just a tutoring program, however. According to Assistant Director for Community Engagement for CLiA and P3 Coordinator Sharif Rosen, P3 is a critical and eyeopening platform for students at the College to empathize with those who are affected by lifelong barriers and a broken social justice system. “It would be hard to underestimate the stakes riding on passing exams like the HiSET or GED,” Rosen said. “Individuals with time served face lifelong barriers to accessing employment, housing and other basic necessities that speak to the extent to which our society can be unforgiving and unwilling participants in the redemptive process of our fellow human beings.” Thus, P3 is an opportunity for both College tutors and
PHOTO COURTESY OF SHARIF ROSEN
Positive Pathways Partnerships allows College students and BHoC inmates to empathize with one another and discuss social issues. BHoC students to realize the power of dialogue and empathy, a process that has humbled the tutors through their interactions with a highly misunderstood group. “I saw a lot of my brothers in these guys,” tutor Halle Schweizer ’21 said of the students. To her, they are not inmates with criminal records, but “people in their purest form,” she said. Likewise, Kevin Zhou ’20, who joined P3 in August, said that tutoring the students allowed him to see them in a new light that contrasts with the way popular culture and the media portray the incarcerated. “You do have certain ideas of what these people are go-
ing to be like – violent, or stubborn, or irresponsible or immature – but then you talk to them and they’re just other guys who maybe regret the decision that they made,” Zhou said. “They’re just students. They want to be there to learn.” Indeed, according to Zhou, Schweizer and Michael Crisci ’21, many of the students are excited to learn, and rarely, if ever, take breaks. Two BHoC students have passed the HiSET within the past semester. One student, who aspires to become an electrician once he leaves BHoC, spends his time poring over books about electrical engi-
neering. Another student, who already passed the HiSET, still comes back to tutoring sessions, and several students constantly ask for additional reading materials such as Macbeth or philosophical texts. Seeing such eagerness has made Crisci more cognizant of the importance of seeing the BHoC students as people who want to make a better future for themselves despite their past situations. “These people want to change,” Crisci said. “They want to go to community college… They still have so much potential, and it’s not over for them. They have children. A big lesson I learned
is…to just not judge these titles we give people in society.” Interacting with the BHoC students has also given the tutors greater perspective on the privileges they have been given as members of the College. In turn, this has motivated the tutors to address social issues and think outside the confines of the Purple Bubble. “Conversations with the inmates are just as helpful to all of us,” Zhou said. “The inmates always tell me, ‘First of all, life is never as bad as you think it is. As proof, I am in prison and you are not.’ And as a student at Williams, people are stressed all the time. You’re
thinking about your grades, your career, and you’re like, ‘If I get a B+ or a B-, if I get a C on a test, it’s going to be completely over.’ But obviously that’s not true. When you talk to an inmate and look at them, their career is not over, their life is not over.” Admittedly, the program still faces challenges. The BHoC students’ varying ranges of academic levels makes it difficult for the understaffed group of tutors to always best meet their needs. And despite the progress made each tutoring session, inmates cannot help but still feel pangs of hopelessness at the lack of fairness in the justice system. “For most who have been locked [up], passing the exam and completing one’s sentence represents just the end of one set of struggles before starting the next,” Rosen said. “What can be different with the diploma in hand is the proof that one set a positive goal and succeeded in achieving it. With that comes a renewed sense of purpose that can steady one when confronting the inevitable challenges that lay ahead.” While she struggles with how to keep up the students’ morale in times of doubt, seeing their sense of purpose drives Schweizer to keep going to BHoC each week. “What matters more is the fact that we show up [to tutor],” Schweizer said. “I never, ever regret going … This is our chance to give opportunities to people who don’t have them.” For these reasons, she said, having direct interactions with the BHoC students makes all the difference. “I’d say that the power of people is what P3 is really about,” Schweizer said. “The power of being present. It’s not just about tutoring; it’s about showing that you care and that you’re willing to spend time with people who aren’t being heard.”
Professors’ Corner: Psychology Department We asked faculty from the Psychology Department what their personality types, as defined by Myers-Briggs, are. Find out if they’re extroverted or introverted, use senses or intuition, favor thinking over feeling and tend to judge or perceive!
NATE KORNELL “The Myers-Briggs is to psychology what astrology is to astronomy. You can quote me on that. And I am serious.”
SOPHIA SHIN/PHOTO EDITOR
To start off the new year, students turned off their phones in hopes of reducing their screen time.
Students unplug for 48-hour phone fast By JULIE GENG CONTRIBUTING WRITER
LAUREN PHILBROOK “When I’ve taken the test, I’ve been an ISFJ (Introversion, Sensing, Feeling, Judgment). I think it’s very helpful to think about where people might fall on the different elements of the Myers-Briggs test in our interactions and our attempts to understand others, but I’d be careful not to assume that we always act consistently in line with one type.”
DAN NORTON “OK, the results are in ... I’m a E/I (tied for introvert versus extrovert) - S (Sensing) - T (Thinking) - J (Judgment).”
STEVEN FEIN “I honestly don’t recall what results I’ve gotten. I prefer this categorization scheme – there are two types of people in this world: those who love Bruce Springsteen and those who haven’t seen him in concert. I think that’s more valid than Sensing vs. Intuition!”
Last week, I along with 35 students participated in the 48-hour phone fast organized by Tobias Muellers ’18, who thought of the idea, and Andrew Bloniarz ’18. “I helped out however I could because I thought the idea was a great one!” Bloniarz said. “We had talked about it over Thanksgiving break and spent the first weeks of Winter Study planning it all out.” As soon as I turned off my phone at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, I felt freed somehow. Freed from getting alerts every five minutes. Freed from having to constantly check the time. Normally, I am always planning or keeping track of things on my phone, but only when I stopped doing so did I start fully living in the present. Only when I stopped taking photos did I start appreciating – really appreciating – the tree branches decorated by the pure, pure snow. Only when I stopped walking with my headphones on did I notice the sounds of the wind blowing, my footsteps and other people’s footsteps. I first became aware of my phone addiction through a TED talk by Manoush Zomorodi called, “How boredom can lead to your most brilliant ideas.” She talked about how we struggle to fill the gaps in our daily life with
phone time. When we are waiting for our bagels and coffee at Doddrich, we are checking our emails. The first thing we do after a 50-minute long class is pull out our phones and make lunch plans with friends. According to comScore’s 2017 Cross Platform Future in Focus report, the average American adult spends two hours and 51 minutes on their smartphone every day. That’s about 86 hours a month! Zomorodi also discussed the role phones have in killing our creativity. “It turns out that when you get bored, you ignite a network in your brain called the ‘default mode,’” Zomorodi said. “In this default mode is when we connect disparate ideas, we solve some of our most nagging problems.” With this in mind, the next time you are stuck on a paper or a problem set, try taking a break from your phone. Put it on airplane mode, take a walk or make yourself a cup of tea. Let your brain make those neuron connections on its own, and take time to appreciate the beautiful surroundings. The 48-hour phone fast made me reflect on why I use my phone. Yes, I spend time on Google Calendar, my email, my fitness tracker and other productivity and health apps. The majority of the time, however, I am on social media, texting friends or checking how many likes I received.
Do phones really help us foster our close relationships or a sense of community? The answer is … not necessarily. “This phone fast helped me realize how social media was making me far unhappier than I had thought, and I’m very appreciative of the perspective this event gave me,” Bloniarz said. At the pre-fast debrief on Wednesday night, one student made a great point that having a record of the text messages exchanged, memes tagged or Snapchat streaks maintained is not an accurate indication of the depth and state of a relationship. If anything, it tends to create the illusion of a close, healthy relationship. Over the course of the phone fast, I was able to reclaim the spaciousness that the screen had been taking away from me previously. I have turned my phone back on, but I urge us all to take time to away from our screens, to be more mindful and intentional with our usage instead of allowing the tiny screen to block our view of the world. For Bloniarz, the next step is to reduce his screen time even more. “Taking a break from social media was so good for me,” Bloniarz said. “I know I certainly relied on my laptop a bit while not using my phone, and I’d be excited to see how the experience would differ without any screens at all.”
8 ARTS
The Williams Record
January 24, 2018
Michael Uslan lecture explores origins of ‘Batman’ movie series By CECELIA MESSBAUER STAFF WRITER In recent years, the superhero film has surged from a risky genre to an unstoppable, franchise-driven blockbuster with a vice-grip on popular culture. The Batman enterprise has long been a driving force of the genre. The Caped Crusader, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in 1939, has featured in nine live action films across three separate series. On Jan. 17, the ’62 Center hosted Batman executive producer Michael Uslan, whose vision has enthusiastically endorsed the dark and serious portrayal of the franchise. In a talk that was one part biographical storytelling and one part aspirational pep talk, Uslan narrated his unorthodox rise from a working class childhood in New Jersey to the helm of one of Warner Bros.’ most valuable film properties. Describing himself as a lifelong geek who owned enough comic books as a child to fill a garage, Uslan was drawn to Batman’s conception as a Dark Knight “stalking criminals from the shadows” and dreamed of someday writing Batman comics himself. Uslan was 15-years-old when the television series Batman, starring Adam West as the title character, premiered in 1966. While the series would become the definitive portrayal of Batman for a generation, Uslan was disappointed with its tone, viewing its colorful camp as having turned
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BLACK AND BLUE
On Jan. 17, Michael Uslan chronicled his journey from early childhood fandom to becoming the executive producer of the ‘Batman’ movies. Batman “into a joke.” Referring with particular disdain to the series’ iconic sound effect speech bubbles superimposed over action sequences, he began cultivating a new dream: to bring a serious portrayal of Batman to the screen. With no Hollywood connections or family wealth to buy his way into control of the character, Uslan attributed his unlikely ascendancy to a combination of relentless and opportunistic self-marketing and a series of well-timed breaks and lucky connections. The first of those came when he was a student at Indiana University, where he took advantage of an experimental program that gave students
a chance to teach a course of their own design. He received approval to teach the first ever college course on comic books after his sponsor in the Department of Folklore, Henry Glassie, agreed with his vision of the superhero genre as a modern day mythology. Uslan’s success came through the use of an unconventional tactic. He anonymously called a local newspaper to express outrage that a course on comic books was being taught on a college campus. The deception worked, and the ensuing press coverage ultimately led to a phone call from Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee. Uslan then earned a job at rival DC Comics, a massive step up from his ini-
tial attempt to break into film, which saw 300 typewriter-produced resumes receive only two positive responses. Once at DC, good fortune rewarded Uslan’s opportunism again when he landed a job writing proto-Batman character The Shadow. A colleague revealed that he had been caught unaware that a script that was due the next day, and Uslan covered for him by spinning a story together on the fly. When he eventually found himself writing Batman, however, Uslan yearned to move onto his next dream and see his larger film ambitions realized. After leaving DC and attending law school, he used his job as a lawyer, which he was uninterested
in for its own sake, as a “backdoor” to Hollywood by becoming a production attorney for United Artists. Determined to exert creative control over the character of Batman, Uslan ultimately partnered with producer Benjamin Melniker. This partnership was advantageous because of Melniker’s professional network, which allowed the two to raise enough funds to purchase the film rights for Batman. Underlining the necessity of persistence and patience, Uslan emphasized that 10 years and many rejections stood between that acquisition and the release of Batman in 1989. Uslan credited the film’s ultimate success to the vision of di-
rector Tim Burton, who stressed the need to make Gotham City itself a central character. Burton also insisted on the controversial casting of comedy actor Michael Keaton because he believed that Keaton’s potential to portray Bruce Wayne was more important than hiring a stereotypical action hero. Uslan lauded Burton and art director Anton Furst, who created Gotham’s noir aesthetic, as two of three “geniuses” he has worked with. The third was director Christopher Nolan of the 2000s’ Dark Knight trilogy. Uslan praised Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne as one “for every generation” and the late Heath Ledger’s iconic Joker as a terrifying modern-day terrorist. He also singled out the decision to film in Chicago as masterstroke of making Gotham real, with no recognizable New York landmarks to break the suspension of disbelief. Amidst effusive praise for the most celebrated Batman films, Uslan notably skimmed over Joel Schumacher’s two colorful and campy installments of the original series. He instead praised Nolan’s reboot, saying that it had saved a franchise that been ruined by studio interference. Also, while praising Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne, he made little mention of that Batman’s presence in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and its sequel Justice League, the latter of which was tepidly received and the former of which was one of the most reviled films of the decade. His conclusion, it seems, is that Batman operates best alone.
‘Elegies’ musical brings College theater scene off-campus By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN EXECUTIVE EDITOR
PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDb
‘The Shape of Water,’ directed by Guillermo del Toro, has received 13 Oscar nominations.
‘The Shape of Water’ offers unconventional love story By LI YU EXECUTIVE EDITOR The Shape of Water, playing at Images Cinema until Feb. 2, is a fairytale drama-romance set in the cynical Cold War 1960s, written and directed by Guillermo del Toro. Already, the film has garnered numerous awards and nominations, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Director, and it is not surprising why. Sally Hawkins plays Elisa Esposito, the film’s main protagonist. Elisa is mute and thus communicates through sign language. She works the night shift as a janitor at a government laboratory. Her friends include her neighbor Giles and coworker Zelda, respectively played by Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer, who encounter their own forms of persecution in 1960s Baltimore: Giles is a closeted homosexual, and Zelda is a black woman. At work, Elisa befriends and ultimately falls in love with an intelligent, aquatic humanoid captured by Colonel Richard Strickland, played by Michael Shannon, from a South American river. Upon learning that the government plans on killing the creature, Elisa works with her two friends, as well as scientist and double agent Hoffstetler, to rescue him from the lab and release him into the canal, the setting for the final showdown between Strickland, Elisa and
the creature. Strickland shoots them both, and if this were not a del Toro movie, the audience might be fooled into believing they are dead. Fortunately, the fish creature heals himself and slashes Strickland’s throat. He then revives Elisa, turning the scars on her neck into gills. The two jump into the canal and live happily ever after. Del Toro is a great director but an even better storyteller. Both qualities come through in the kindness and sympathy with which he handles his protagonists while simultaneously remaining forceful in denouncing those in power. The Shape of Water is not a call to action, nor does it aim to shock by indulging in cruelty. Del Toro’s characters, oppressed and persecuted by society as they are, are portrayed with dignity. Sally Hawkins is vivacious and expressive as the lead heroine, fully compensating for her character’s lack of dialogue, and then some. Zelda is similarly plucky, smoking cigarettes at work where the security cameras cannot see her. Del Toro celebrates their alternative forms of happiness, love and humor, never once lowering to condescension. The film is sympathetic towards Strickland, the allAmerican antagonist, but only to a degree. The audience understands that Strickland has gotten somewhat lost in the pursuit of the American
Dream; in a different movie by a different director, he may very well have been elevated as the white patriarchal hero defending home and country. In The Shape of Water, however, he is held accountable for his crimes, and the film is swift to administer a Brothers Grimm-esque final judgment for his misdeeds – gruesome, maybe, but satisfyingly righteous. It is the perfect dose of schadenfreude for an audience tired of witnessing numerous abuses of power from our current world leaders. Water is the perfect metaphor for the forms of love explored in the film – shaped by circumstances, but multiform and endowed with transformative power. Del Toro lays on the symbolism; the film begins and ends with an underwater shot. In between, water appears in the form of rain, Elisa’s daily bath and even in her calendar as a quote. While jarring at first, the references eventually become ubiquitous and are quietly absorbed into the rhythm of the film. The Shape of Water is classic del Toro, featuring his signature repertoire of fantasy settings and creatures juxtaposed with always-relevant social commentary. What it lacks in innovation, The Shape of Water makes up for with its effusive sense of kindness, for its characters as well as its audience.
Last Friday, a company consisting almost entirely of current students at the College premiered its production of Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens at the Whitney Center for the Arts in Pittsfield. Elegies, a musical composed of songs and free verse monologues, was directed by Caroline Fairweather ’20 with musical direction by Jack Romans ’20. The show donated its proceeds to Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS, a theater industry-based nonprofit that works on fundraising for HIV/ AIDS services organizations. The company, Hand-MeDown Theatre, came together over the course of the past month as the Elegies project took shape. Fairweather first came to know of the show over the summer and quickly got Romans on board. “Over the summer, I found a song from the show, ‘My Brother Lived in San Francisco,’” Fairweather said. “Then I read the script, and I thought the form was really interesting and it’d be really cool to do with other Williams students.” Their original intent to produce the show on campus, however, never came to fruition, and the project sat dormant for several months. “We just sort of went through the semester with Elegies being a pipe dream, and when we found out we wouldn’t necessarily have the resources on campus to do a full concert version, we gave up for a second,” Fairweather said. It was largely the venue’s availability and the Winter Study timeframe that allowed the project to be fully realized. “Monica [Bliss, director of performing arts at the Whitney Center] messaged me and said, ‘We have this venue and a slot open in January, do you
have any projects by Williams students you know about [that] you’d like to be read?’” Fairweather said. “We did things essentially backwards – we had this show and then we got the venue, and when we knew this was going to happen, we scrambled to get together a production team. Then the cast was solidified over winter break.” The nature of the show and the timing of Winter Study were also ideal for the production. “It seemed like a great Winter Study project because of the way it’s structured as a bunch of independent monologues and songs,” Romans said. “It was a great thing to get on its feet in a short amount of time.” The company quickly found a production team, bringing on board another College student, Jack Roche ’20, as the stage manager. Roche organized the tricky production and rehearsal schedule, which was complicated by a venue located a half-hour’s drive from campus. “Frankly, the project seemed vital, both in terms of its vibrancy and energy, and is really powerful but also has something really important to say,” Roche said. The team then assembled a cast of four singers – Hallie Della-Volpe ’21, Jazmin Bramble ’20, Alex Quizon ’21 and Nick Dehn ’18 – and seven actors – Isabel Ouweleen ’21, Jake Eisner ’21, Samori Etienne ’21 (who also assistant directed the show), Julia Tucher ’21, Nadiya Atkinson ’21, Delsa Lopez ’21 and Brianna Nicola, a junior at Pittsfield High School. Sebastian Black ’19 was the show’s accompanist, and the sound design was done by Brandon Hilfer ’20. The rehearsal process was condensed into two weeks, consisting of individual monologue and vocal work culminating in
full cast work. “The hard thing about the venue was the distance,” Romans said, “We actually only had two rehearsals in the venue. That was a challenge, making sure that everything worked out in the space, but it worked out very well.” The newness of the company and the production team also presented challenges. “We had to come up with our own structure as we went along. So obviously we had models from our own experiences, but there were a lot of new types of labor … and questions about how to distribute that. [We had] to think of a lot of things we might not otherwise have to because we were ‘on our own,’” Roche said. However, the unique nature of the off-campus performance and the newly-formed group also brought distinct benefits to the show, Fairweather added. “I think it was really awesome for this group of us to go to Pittsfield and do a real, non-college show,” she said. “We have this benefit of being in the same place, taking the same classes, being on the same page in the cast, but also all these people from all over the country can give their perspective on what they’re doing in the show.” This experience ultimately proved inspiring for Fairweather. “In hindsight, it’s just really amazing what a group of random students can do with a venue and a little help,” she said. “The thing I would take away is if you want to make art, you can do it anywhere, any time, with anyone, and also that if you find a good story to tell, you should tell it and really trust the people around you. “There are so many great, kind artists on campus, and it was at once really lucky and also made a lot of sense how amazing everyone was.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF TODAYTIX
‘Elegies,’ directed by Caroline Fairweather ’20, is a heartfelt celebration of the lives of those lost to AIDS.
9 ARTS
The Williams Record
January 24, 2018
New exhibit series allows for stripped-down conversations By KAIRA MEDIRATTA ARTS EDITOR Walk into the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) Reading Room and you are likely to miss it – a small, sepia-toned photograph hanging above the fireplace. James Van Der Zee’s Nude, Harlem is the first piece featured in the latest installment of WCMA’s “Getting a Read On” series. By virtue of it being such a relaxed and intimate environment, the Reading Room is an ideal place for salon-style discussions on serious topics – many may recall Basquiat’s Defacement, which was featured last year and prompted discussion on the topic of police brutality. This latest installment, titled “The Body,” is no exception. In a recent conversation, Assistant Curator of Public Programs Nina Pelaez ’14 said that she hopes for Nude, Harlem and the two pieces to follow (Robert Mapplethorpe’s Lisa Lyon and Catherine Opie’s Renee) to be catalysts for conversations on identity, portraiture and, of course, the female body, which are all the more important in light of current events. The photograph itself seems unassuming after a quick glance. Upon further inspection, however, the nuances begin to reveal themselves. For example, we see the fireplace casting a light upon the subject, like a modern Vermeer of sorts, but in actuality, it is a painted background. The staircase behind the subject is painted as well. Van Der Zee sets up these “studio shots”
PHOTO COURTESY OF WCMA
This photograph by James Van Der Zee is one of three upcoming pieces in a provocative salon-style lecture series at WCMA. quite often, but this photograph in particular seems to be elaborately planned. Nude poses, such as this one, were often created for publication as calendar photographs. To ease concerns about nudity and adultery, Van Der Zee’s wife always remained present throughout the shoot. In this particular image, we seem to be observing a moment of both private reflection and immense vulnerability, which, in a strange way, makes the piece that much more riveting. While the subjejct of this portrait is not specified, she is widely speculated to be none other than A’Lelia Walker, daughter of hair
products tycoon Madame C.J. Walker and a favorite subject of Van Der Zee’s. Madam C.J. Walker was the first black female self-made millionaire. Her daughter, however, is rarely remembered at all, and when she is, it is as the prodigal daughter under whom the Walker hair care empire shrunk drastically. A’Lelia was known to throw extravagant parties featuring appearances from Harlem’s elite – Langston Hughes, Florence Mills and others. Although many dismiss A’Lelia’s soirees as exorbitant, they filled a crucial niche in the Harlem Renaissance: they provided a shelter of sorts
'Three Billboards' explores violence, justice By MITCHELL MORRIS STAFF WRITER By this point, you have probably heard of Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri. Since the film’s debut late last year, Three Billboards has become a critical darling, sweeping award shows and emerging as an early frontrunner for Best Picture at this year's Oscars. After watching the film at Images Cinema last week, it is easy to see why. At a time when many have wondered whether Hollywood is out of new ideas, Three Billboards’ story of a Midwestern mom’s last-ditch search for justice in the unsolved case of her daughter’s murder is utterly original, and the dilemmas that director Martin McDonagh asks viewers to wrestle with are as morally ambiguous as the cast of characters that he has brought to life. At the same time, however, the film’s blasé treatment of the titanic issues of racism and police brutality in America will be strikingly off-key for many viewers and has inspired vocal criticism. Whether the film’s treatment of race is discordant or whether it is consistent with the story’s smalltown setting is a question you will have to answer for yourself, but what I can say for certain is that Three Billboards is a film well worth your time. Three Billboards centers on Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand), the aforementioned Midwestern mom whose daughter was brutally raped and murdered while walking home one night. Mildred lives in the quaint, fictional town of Ebbing, Mo., a believable but imperfect facsimile of small-town USA. By the time we join Mildred, her daughter’s murder is old news — and although the killer was never
brought to justice and Mildred is still struggling with grief, her tight-knit community has moved on. Even the police chief, the dogmatic but earnest Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), and his hostile deputy Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) have given up on the case for lack of any leads. But Mildred cannot just move on like Willoughby and Dixon. She is desperate for closure and needs her daughter’s killer brought to justice at any cost. In order to spur a renewed effort from the police on her daughter’s case, Mildred decides to rent out three billboards on the outskirts of town shaming Willoughby and his department: “Raped While Dying,” “And Still No Arrests?” “How Come, Chief Willoughby,” the billboards read. Predictably, these inflammatory messages cause quite a stir in Mildred’s sleepy community. Everyone in town knows about her daughter's tragic murder, but everyone also knows Willoughby. He is widely respected as an honest man and a good cop, so his public defamation on Mildred’s billboards is not taken lightly. But even with her community turning against her, Mildred is unyielding. She proves herself to be willing to take any action, no matter how expensive, unpopular or violent, to find closure in her daughter’s case. This is where the central moral question of Three Billboards lies. Mildred’s willingness to go to any length to avenge her daughter is admirable, and in any other film her character would be heroic, but in Three Billboards, Mildred’s brutal, Machiavellian outlook on justice denies us that sense of moral clarity. This, and the film's enticingly open-ended conclusion, leaves viewers with a profound question to ponder:
how far is too far to go to avenge someone you love? Unfortunately, the seriousness of this moral quandary is undercut by Adam Sandleresque sequences of face-punching and crotch-kicking that attempt to steal a cheap laugh from the audience between some of the film’s weightier scenes. I understand that McDonagh is trying to portray Mildred as a woman who has lost everything, including her empathy, but I believe this senseless violence is too heavyhanded a method of getting that message across, and it cheapens Mildred as a character. Her rage is much more convincingly communicated through her verbal attacks, which are just as bruising as any of her physical ones. These moments, such as when Mildred tells off a television reporter, town priest or her ex-husband, thankfully exist in spades and are highlights of the film. Three Billboards is not without its flaws, but the film’s confident writing and emotional storytelling, especially the truly careermaking performances from McDormand, Harrelson and Rockwell, more than make up for some occasional tonal hiccups. Three Billboards is a film that is both tragically funny and beautifully tearjerking, but most of all, it is a film that delights in defying expectations. Without spoiling too much, I can happily report that beneath all of the anger, violence and grief, there is a story about compassion and the goodness that exists deep inside people that makes Three Billboards deserving of every award it has received.
for queer people at a time when the social scene was unwelcoming. While A’Lelia herself was not known to be queer, her parties became a haven for people to express their sexuality however they wished. Perhaps Nude, Harlem can be seen as an homage to her legacy. Last Thursday, Assistant Curator Horace Ballard opened a discussion of the piece with a question: “How does a snapshot of someone become art?” This tension between “snapshot” and “art” seems especially present in a day and age in which photography is such an accessible art form. Van Der Zee, however,
transcends this line, making Nude, Harlem seem all the more ethereal. We realize that small details of the photograph, such as the pipe extending vertically in the background or the feathers melding into the model’s hair, are actually carefully calculated in order for the viewer to lose sight of where the photograph ends and the painting begins. All of these elements – the lightness of her skin, the texture of her hair, the vulnerability of her pose and nudity – are manipulated to inspire conversations about race and class. Born in Lenox, Mass., James Van Der Zee was actually a resi-
dent of the Berkshires, although he would come to be known as one of the most prominent photographers of the Harlem Renaissance. In 1969, Van Der Zee gained worldwide recognition when his work was featured in the infamous exhibition Harlem on My Mind at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He strove to capture the personality, character and intrinsic beauty of his sitters; in works like Nude, Harlem, we see that his photographs were not simply “snapshots,” but celebrations of Harlem lives. His studio portraits were opportunities for black Americans to see themselves in positions of affluence and wealth that were, at the time, reserved only for white Americans in mainstream society. Nude, Harlem, dating from 1923, is chronologically the oldest piece in this three-part installment. Yet, as Pelaez intended in the curatorial process, the relevancy of these pieces to current events cannot be ignored. From the #MeToo movement to the recent Women’s March, it is obvious that women – especially brown and black women – are still subjected to scrutiny of their hair, complexion, clothing (or lack thereof) and countless other attributes. Yet despite her nudity, the subject of Nude, Harlem has a certain look of tenacity in her gaze. Let us hope that this piece and this series – for which there will be another discussion this upcoming Thursday – can be a spark that keeps this tenacity alive.
STUCK ON CAMPUS FOR DEAD WEEK? Here are the Record 's entertainment suggestions: The week between the end of Winter Study and the beginning of spring semester can make you feel like a corpse of your former self. If you want to revive your spirits, check out this bare bones list that'll make you sit right up out of your coffin!
TELEVISIONNoks Rick and Morty, an adult cartoon series, follows the mad-cap intergalactic adventures of a drunken mad scientist, Rick Sanchez, and his hapless grandson, Morty. Recommended if you enjoy absurd and wonderfully dark humor.
In The End of the F***ing World, James is 17 and pretty sure he is a psychopath. Alyssa, also 17, is the cool and moody new girl at school. The pair make a connection, and she persuades him to embark on a road trip in search of her father.
BOOKS David Grann's nonfiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI chronicles a series of murders of wealthy Oklahoma oil tycoons in the early 1920s.
Jesmyn Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing is an intimate portrait of a family and an epic tale that examines the ugly truths at the heart of the American story as well as the power – and limitations – of family bonds.
MUSIC HBO's Big Little Lies Soundtrack It’s no secret that the characters of 'Big Little Lies' are beyond compelling. But one of the most interesting characters of the HBO mini-series isn’t a person; it’s the music.
PHOTO COURTESY OF NYTIMES
Frances McDormand plays the justice-seeking protagonist in Martin McDonagh's 'Three Billboards.'
Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 Soundtrack 'Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812' is a sung-through musical adaptation of a 70page segment from Leo Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' written by composer/lyricist Dave Malloy and directed by Rachel Chavkin.
10 SPORTS
The Williams Record
January 24, 2018
Athletes discuss challenges, rewards of playing multiple sports By CASSIE DESHONG SPORTS EDITOR “Jack of all trades, master of none” is a common saying used to promote specialization in an activity. Why dabble in multiple things when you can become great at one? In sports, specialization is the norm. Usually, athletes start off playing multiple sports before choosing one and focusing their energy on becoming great in that specific sport. Many professional athletes and Olympians such as Simone Biles, Michael Phelps and Serena Williams are examples of the skill level and greatness that can be achieved from specialization. Some specialize with the intention of making a career, while others do so purely for leisure and convenience. At the College, the majority of student-athletes do not plan to become professional athletes, but juggling academics, social life and athletics while maintaining proper self-care is challenging, even at the Div. III level. Around 33 percent of the student body at Williams participates in varsity athletics. Among these student-athletes are a select few who push themselves even further by participating in more than one varsity sport. A pair of such two-sport athletes at the College are Kristina Alvarado ’19, a women’s soccer and softball player, and Ian Kagame ’19, a men’s soccer and men’s track and field athlete. Both agree that being two-sport athletes is challenging, especially when transitioning between the two sports, but they do it because they love both
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION
Kristina Alvarado ’19 (left) throws the ball in from center field while Ian Kagame ’19 (right) clears the high jump bar in last spring’s Springfield Invitational. sports and are not ready to stop playing either. One challenge of transitioning between sports is the shift in mindset. “In soccer, I am thinking, ‘Go go go, don’t look at the clock, just keep pushing,’” Alvarado said. “In softball, there is a lot of down time and up time. [I] have to calculate and strategize where I am going to place myself on the field, where I know the pitcher is going to pitch [her] next pitch and what it is going to be. [In] soccer, I rely on my instincts, and [in] softball, I rely on strategy.” Transitioning is difficult due not only to the shift in mindset, but also to the dif-
ferent uses of muscles and senses. The time these athletes spend on one sport can sometimes put them behind in training for their other sport. One of the struggles Kagame faces is catching up for missed training in a short period of time. Soccer helps keep him in shape, but it does not prepare him for his jumping events in track, which begins almost immediately after the soccer season ends. “I don’t take as much time off as I should because I feel behind,” Kagame said. “I noticed in the last two years [that] I rushed back a little too fast, and I got hurt. Trying to
do too much when my body isn’t ready is my problem.” Alvarado has more time to ease back into playing softball because it is a spring sport, but she still experiences difficulties. Alvarado said the hardest thing for her to adjust to is hitting, which requires hand-eye coordination, rather than foot-eye coordination like soccer. After playing soccer, she said, seeing balls zoom toward her at speeds upward of 65 mph can be nerve-wracking at times. Despite the challenges of being a multisport athlete, numerous people continue to do it. Many of them use one
sport as a form of cross-training for their main sport. For example, some football players joined the track team last year to increase or maintain their speed and athleticism during the offseason. Kagame believes that people become two-sport athletes because they love multiple sports and competing and want to maintain their fitness. “A lot of athletes love to compete, so when their season is over, they still want to have competitions to look forward to every weekend,” he said. “The structure of having another sport is helpful and very appealing to people.”
Alvarado and Kagame could not see themselves giving up one of their sports. They believe that being a two-sport athlete has shaped their experiences at the College for the better. They have formed bonds that they would not have made had they chosen only one to focus on. “I would not give one up,” Alvarado said. Furthermore, both agreed that most people are shocked and impressed when they find out that they train and compete for two seasons. More importantly, their friends and the College community respect and understand the time and effort they put in to playing multiple sports.
Fernandez reaches 1000 Women’s ice hockey moves to 9–4–5 on points, but women’s the season after four games last week basketball falls twice By CORDELIA CHAN and JEFF PULLANO STAFF WRITERS
By BEN WIPPER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Although tri-captain Amanni Fernandez ’18 scored her 1000th point on Saturday, women’s basketball (10–8, 2–3 in the NESCAC) dropped games to No. 1 Amherst and Middlebury last week. On Saturday, the Ephs hosted the Panthers in Chandler Gymnasium. The visitors jumped out to an early 9-1 lead, but the women trimmed the deficit to 11-6 on a layup by tri-captain Kristin Fechtelkotter ’18. Middlebury, however, extended its lead once again, finishing the first quarter up 25-11. The teams traded baskets at the start of the second quarter. Maggie Meehan ’21 made a jump shot to bring the score to 27-15. With 2:40 remaining in the half, Fernandez made a 3-pointer to spark a 12-2 Eph run. Going into halftime, the women trailed Middlebury 33-27. Fernandez reached 1000 career points on her secondquarter 3, becoming the 18th woman in school history to reach the mark. Fechtelkotter led the Ephs with 12 points in the first half, and Meehan contributed eight points. In the third quarter, the Panthers extended their lead to 3927 before the Ephs took charge. Emily Peckham ’20 made a layup with 4:27 left to bring Williams within six, but Middlebury continued its strong run and entered the fourth quarter up 48-35. Led by strong defense, the Ephs launched a comeback attempt. Fechtelkotter’s free throws with 7:45 remaining brought the score to 51-39. With 19 seconds left, a Fernandez 3-pointer put the Ephs down just two points at 56-54. After Middlebury made one of two free throws, the women had a chance to tie the game. The potential go ahead 3-pointer fell short for the Ephs, however, and the final score was 57-54 Middlebury. Fechtelkotter scored 16 points, Meehan scored 12 and Fernandez scored 10. The Ephs shot 35.1 percent (20 of 57) from the field, while
the Panthers were more efficient on the offensive end, shooting 43.8 percent (21 of 48). On Jan. 17, the women lost a road game at archrival Amherst. The Mammoths came in as heavy favorites, enjoying a 49-game winning streak spanning from last season. Mikaela Topper ’21 opened the scoring 19 seconds into the game, and the Ephs enjoyed a successful first quarter. Fechtelkotter and Fernandez provided baskets as the Ephs finished the first quarter up 10-5. In the second quarter, a Fechtelkotter jump shot extended the Eph lead to 12-5. The Mammoths countered, scoring six unanswered points to close the gap to 12-11. A Gabby Martin ’21 layup with 4:02 left gave the Ephs an 1812 lead, and a Mammoths’ run brought the score to 22-19 Ephs at halftime. The Ephs’ momentum continued into the start of the third quarter. Fernandez sank a jump shot within a minute of the third quarter to put the women up 24-19. She hit a 3-pointer with 6:24 on the clock to extend the lead to 31-21. The Mammoths, however, went on to score 10 straight points, tying the game at 31 with 2:21 left in the quarter. The Mammoths took their first lead of the game on a Maeve McNamara 3-pointer, and they led 37-33 before the final quarter. In the final quarter, a Fernandez 3-pointer cut the Mammoth lead to 39-37. In the last few minutes, both teams stepped up, but Amherst took control. The Ephs struggled to score, and the Mammoths ran their lead up to 52-43 by the final whistle. Fernandez led the Ephs with 18 points. Fechtelkotter contributed 11 points and eight rebounds. Head coach Pat Manning commended Fernandez’s performance against the Mammoths. “I was really happy with Ammani’s performance,” Manning said. “She came to play… Overall we made Amherst work for it, and I’m happy with our effort. We’re making progress with each game.” The women host Trinity on Friday at 7 p.m.
Women’s ice hockey (9–4– 5, 3–3–4 in the NESCAC) recorded a win, a loss and two ties last week. Yesterday, the women tied Saint Anselm 1-1 in an away game. Gabi Montembeault ’21 scored the Eph goal at 7:01 of the first period. Goaltender Christina Cleroux ’18 saved 29 of the 30 shots she faced. On Saturday, the women faced Connecticut College for the second straight day. The Ephs and Camels played aggressively eary on, leading to first-period penalties. Connecticut junior Olivia Good hooked Brynn Puppe ’21, but the Camels were able to prevent the Ephs from scoring during the power play. The second penalty was against Amanda Reisman ’20, but the Ephs’ strong defense and 10 saves from Cleroux kept the game scoreless going into the second period. Midway through the second period, Camel first-year Mairi Anthony scored the first goal of the game, firing into the upper netting from point-blank range. At 14:47 of the third period, the Ephs evened the score. Annie Rush ’19 carried the puck in deep and left it for Puppe, who
went around the back of the net and passed to Abby Brustad ’19. Brustad attempted a shot, but Camel goaltender Bailey Mertz blocked it down in the crease. After a scramble in front of the net, Meghan Halloran ’21 was able to get ahold of the puck and slip it in. Despite a five-minute overtime, neither team could capitalize, and the score remained 1-1 at the final whistle. Cleroux recorded 21 saves, while Mertz posted 27. “I thought that the team did a great job of continuing to push in the third period,” head coach Meghan Gillis said. “We hit some posts, and we had some chances in the second period [that] we didn’t score. We were resilient and eventually tied the game, which is great.” On Friday, the Ephs had their seven-game unbeaten streak snapped when they fell 3-2 to the Camels. Seven minutes into the game, Rush hit a centering pass just outside the crease. Halloran gained possession and passed to Puppe, who scored. The Eph defense and goaltender Marissa Anderson ’20 prevented the Camels from scoring for the remainder of the first period. The Camels won the faceoff to the second period and hit the puck in deep. Claire Mancheski ’19 got the puck, how-
ever, and passed to Halloran, who picked out Brustad. Brustad dangled past a defender and shot the puck into the net over Mertz’s shoulder, doubling the Eph lead. The Camels, however, fought back and narrowed the deficit to one just five minutes later as Katlyn Paiva put the puck into the upper netting after a give-and-go with teammate Kate Kohl. A minute after the Camel goal, Olivia Stokes ’19 was called for a holding penalty, and the Camel sophomore Erin Healy notched the gamewinner at 5:37. “I thought we had a couple tough calls and a couple bounces that didn’t go our way, and we let that swing the momentum of the game instead of just being resilient and pushing back against those swings in momentum,” Gillis said. “We are looking to build on the simple things: taking what is given and playing as a unit of five.” The women overcame a twogoal deficit to defeat Manhattanville 4-3 on Jan. 17. At 16:02 in the first period, Puppe recorded the first goal of the game after receiving a nice feed from Halloran. The Valiants responded moments later as senior Sarah Sinning fired the puck past Cleroux to even the score at one.
Manhattanville started the second period with aggression and quickly netted two goals. Karly Kapur scored at 3:37, and Morgan Wilm extended the Valiant lead to 3-1. Soon after, the Ephs began to lock down on defense while increasing their offensive intensity. Two penalties on the Valiants created a 5-on-3 power play, and the Ephs capitalized when Reisman deflected a shot from Puppe to make the score 3-2. In the third period, the Ephs maintained the momentum they generated at the end of the second period. Avery Dunn ’21 scored off of a feed from Montembeault to tie te game at three. With under five minutes left, Reisman passed to Brustad, who lifted a shot that rang off the crossbar. Halloran received the deflection and notched the deciding goal at 15:35. The Ephs staved off the Valiants in the final few minutes to secure the 4-3 win. “I thought that we played a really composed third period,”Gillis said. “The team came together to get the win.” The women face archrival Amherst in a two-game series next weekend. The teams will play in Amherst, Mass. on Friday at 7 p.m., and they face off in Williamstown on Saturday at 7 p.m.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION
Forward Abby Brustad ’19 shot twice and scored a goal, her ninth of the season, in a 3-2 loss for the Ephs against the Camels.
January 24, 2018
SPORTS 11
The Williams Record
Community remembers Matt Stauffer ’96 two decades after his death By DANNY JIN EXECUTIVE EDITOR
“Coach took seven of us down to Cole and told us to play 4-on3,” Cotter said. “I thought I was hot shit coming out of high school, but Matt was dusting everyone, running circles around us. I called my dad and said, ‘I think I’m seventh on the depth chart.’ He asked, ‘Who’s the best?’ I said, ‘This peanut-sized kid from New Canaan.’ “I thought, ‘Oh my god. If that’s the bar, I have some work to do.’” Jake Upton ’93, who co-captained the 1992 team, was taken aback by the young midfielder’s precocious play. In a scrimmage at Dartmouth, Stauffer had masterfully covered Andrew Shue, a three-time All-Ivy League player who had played professionally in Zimbabwe. “Matt threw everything into it,” Upton said. “I’d never seen someone play with that much energy sustained for a whole game – and as a freshman, too.” Russo’s decision to place Stauffer’s memorial at the top of the hill was intentional. “He ran the hill better than anyone,” Russo said. “We would do 20 a day, then Matt would say, ‘No, we’re not doing 20, we’re doing 24.’ He always set such high standards. “He came as an 18-year-old and had values. I was 50 at the time and thought, ‘This kid has it all.’” Off the field, Stauffer built a reputation as a model teammate and devoted friend. He valued kindness and hard work, encouraging others to improve themselves. He always had a smile on his face and brought a positive attitude to any task he took on. Sullivan said Stauffer cared deeply for others, building an immediate rapport with everyone he met. “He was a get-up-and-go kind of guy,” Sullivan said. “He wouldn’t ask, ‘What’s in it for me?’ He would say, ‘You’re doing this? I’ll do it with you.’” “Once you met him, you considered him a friend,” Sports Information Director Dick Quinn said. “He had poise,” Upton added. “He always had that ability to connect with people. He looked you in the eye and focused on you. He was so genuine.” *** Emily Stauffer Keenan steps out of her car into the parking lot, her four children in tow. She leads the group toward a nearby car, where they enthusiastically greet her younger sister, Hannah Stauffer Kolkin ’05. Soccer ran in the Stauffer family, and both the Stauffer sisters were collegiate midfielders as well. Emily was a top player at Harvard, where she was twice named Ivy League Player of the Year and is now a member of the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame. Eight years Matt’s junior, Hannah was a First Team AllNESCAC selection in each of the three seasons she played at the College. As a tribute to her brother, she wore No. 10 in her time on the women’s team. “We were always a close family, so my brother and my sister were my heroes,” Kolkin said. For both sisters, the annual gathering has allowed an opportunity to make sense of their loss. The tragedy that they experienced jointly stitched a permanent bond between the Stauffer
The stone sits atop a hill overlooking Cole Field, accompanied by a lone tree amongst the vast sheet of white snow covering the ground. It is rather humble in appearance, and hundreds of spectators arriving at Cole Field for Williams soccer games have passed by it each fall. Perhaps some visitors do not know the man whose story lies behind the stone. Maybe they do not know that Matt Stauffer ’96, a tri-captain midfielder for the Ephs, was diagnosed with leukemia in 1995 and began chemotherapy just two days before the start of his senior soccer season. That year, Stauffer willed himself out of the hospital to attend NCAA tournament games, inspiring the Ephs on their way to winning their first national championship in school history. Some visitors might not know that 20 years after Stauffer’s death, dozens of people whose lives he touched still think of him daily. Each year, on a weekend in January, as many as 100 friends, family members and teammates have gathered around the stone to celebrate and remember his life. What Stauffer himself might never have imagined is that the identity of Williams soccer would become forever entwined with the values he held and the person he was. His retired No. 10 jersey now hangs in the men’s locker room, and both the men’s and women’s soccer teams still circle around his memorial stone before each home game. In his 23 years of life, Stauffer set an example that friends, family, teammates and countless others have striven to replicate ever since. *** It is Jan. 6, 2018, and Erin Sullivan ’96 walks across the icy parking lot above Cole Field. Per usual, he is one of the first to arrive. The temperature is dipping toward zero, but there was never a question of whether the gathering would happen. “It would have been Matt’s idea of fun to come out here in sub-Arctic weather,” Sullivan jokes to a few old friends who have already arrived. Now the head coach of men’s soccer, Sullivan was a teammate of Stauffer’s for four years. Every day during preseason, Stauffer, Sullivan and the rest of the team ran up the hill above which Stauffer’s stone now stands. It was in that sprint that Stauffer had cemented his reputation as the fittest player on the team. “Matt was usually at the front of the pack,” Sullivan said. On the field, Stauffer made an impact through his boundless energy. Growing up in New Canaan, Conn., he had starred as a central midfielder at New Canaan High School. Then head coach Mike Russo was impressed by Stauffer’s fitness and recruited him to play at the College. Standing five feet nine inches and weighing 145 pounds, Stauffer lacked the typical size of a player in the NESCAC, a conference known for its physicality. Yet his energy level and work ethic quickly made him one of the top first-years on the squad. Mike Cotter ’96, one of the seven first-years on the 1992 team, remembers his first time playing with Stauffer during preseason.
The Office of Communications recommends ...
Claiming Williams 2018 Stand With Us Now Thursday, February 1 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
PHOTO COURTESY OF CARRIE SNYDER PHOTOGRAPHY
On Jan. 6, friends, family and the Williams soccer community gathered around the memorial stone to remember Matt Stauffer ’96. family and the Williams soccer community. Today, Stauffer’s sisters and his teammates feel a level of kinship. “We were all at the hospital 20 years ago saying goodbye to him, and that felt so tragic,” Keenan said. “For me, the real significance of the weekend is seeing that this group can still come back together and celebrate his life, feeling both joy and sadness at the same time.” When her brother suffered a relapse in 1997, Keenan donated her bone marrow and gave up her senior soccer season to spend time with her brother. Her decision was not a difficult one. “Matt was in a critical time, and I wanted to be with him,” she said. “Your priorities become very crystallized when you’re going through something really intense. I’m really grateful for that time with Matt.” In early years, this gathering was a space primarily for young adults to grieve together at an age when few knew how to cope on their own. Most of the attendees in those days were Stauffer’s close friends, and the Stauffer family did not participate until several years later. Even when the Stauffers began attending the event, the void still felt immense. “Even though it had been 10 years since he died, it still felt raw and very hard for me,” Keenan said. “I was still wounded. They say that time heals, and I think that’s true. It helps you approach your sorrow differently.” Although the grief has not entirely subsided, Keenan said the gathering has become more uplifting as time has passed. “While there’s always some sorrow when we come back together, I now find this weekend to just be a celebration of Matt’s life, the legacy he left, the impact he had on everyone and the way he brought us all together,” she said. Kolkin was just a high school sophomore when her brother passed away. His teammates have taught her more about the person he was and serve as an indication of who he might have become. “In a lot of ways, I have gotten to know Matt much better posthumously,” Kolkin said. “I’m learning more about him and who he was as a person.
As I’ve grown, I’ve been able to comprehend more. “We see our brother in all these guys. All of a sudden, you think, ‘Wow. He would be older. He would be graying. He would be a full-on dad now.’ You get reminded of where he would have been.” Having grown up attending the yearly gathering, Keenan’s and Kolkin’s children have also been shaped by the event. Kolkin’s first-born child is named “Stauffs,” Stauffer’s nickname at the College. Keenan’s first-born child bears the middle name “Matthew.” “They’ve gotten to know their uncle through this experience,” Keenan said. For Stauffer’s teammates, too, the presence of the children has been transformative. Cotter said he was once asked which of Stauffer’s values he wanted to see in his own children. “All of them,” Cotter replied. “I want my kid to be Matt Stauffer.” *** On a wintry November weekend in 1995, Stauffer sat beside Russo on the bench as the Ephs won a national championship on Cole Field. If Matt Stauffer’s story had been a Hollywood movie, the closing credits would have played at the end of the title game. The final scene would have shown Stauffer, triumphantly lifting the trophy with his teammates to a cacophonous ovation on Cole Field. Yet in reality, the team was on the verge of a solemn realization. “There was this hope that he would get better,” Paul Burke ’96 said. “In retrospect, we were naïve because his chances of survival were in the single digits. We thought that somehow he would overcome.” Confronted by the mortality of a close friend in their late teens and early 20s, the young men were unsure of how to process the situation. They struggled to comprehend the reality of illness and death. “I don’t know why we felt there was anything we could do about it, but we did,” Sullivan said. “Maybe at 22 we believed that winning a national title would cure leukemia – I don’t know. I don’t know what we really believed. “Because of who he was, we always believed that he would come through it, whether it was that fall or the following
spring. It was Matt. He was such an indomitable person, player and human.” To Sullivan, that championship now feels insignificant in comparison to what his friend was going through at the time. After the Ephs won the semifinal game in a penalty shootout, Sullivan grabbed the ball and ran over to the sideline, where Stauffer was standing with tears in his eyes. “We all would have liked to see Matt smiling, happy and cured of leukemia at that moment, even though that wasn’t possible,” Sullivan said. “We all would have said, ‘Anyone but him.’” Despite the team’s success that year, Stauffer’s struggle haunted the group. “Every time you stopped to think, woke up or walked out of a building, it was the first thing that crossed your mind,” Sullivan said. “There was no escaping it.” As the men have grown older, they have come to better understand what they went through. “For a couple of years, we were starting to come to grips and wrestle with it,” Sullivan said. “You come to grips with the fact that winning a soccer game or a title doesn’t cure leukemia and that there are things in life that are far bigger than sport or science. “While there’s a painful personal story within their family and within the soccer program, we all have come to a place where we feel there is more to celebrate and remember – to share and inspire – even at the cost of some of the pain that comes with it.” *** This year, more than 80 people circled around the stone to remember Stauffer. Many never met the man but have learned about him through the stories his loved ones have told. In more ways than he could have known, Stauffer has continued to shape lives. “I remember he had a little index card under his mirror that said, ‘Nothing is worth more than this day,’” Keenan said. “It is certainly something that has echoed in my head over the last 20 years and helped me to center myself.” “Matt’s sickness taught him – and he taught us – that you make the best of whatever you’ve got,”
Kolkin said. “You just find a way to make it a good time.” Kolkin teaches at an all-boys school in Baltimore, Md., where she has spoken about her brother on many occasions. Stauffer’s story may not be fully comprehensible to middle school students, but the parts that Kolkin can communicate include “working hard” and “taking care of your friends.” “If I can pass on a little bit of who he was to the young men that I teach and coach, I will have succeeded,” she said. Sullivan seeks to inculcate the values Stauffer embodied into his team. Stauffer’s motto – “Run for yourself, run for your mates” – has become a customary signature in team emails. The majority of current players attend the annual January meeting. “We’ve continued to tell his story and try to help more people understand why he was so meaningful,” Sullivan said. Many of those stories deal with self-improvement and compassion, values applicable to current student-athletes. Those involved say they have no intention of ending the tradition of gathering each January. “People take so much joy in it,” Keenan said. “It’s not a duty. It’s not a memorial. We come together to be with each other as much as we do to celebrate Matt.” “Matt is a bit of a shooting star in all of our minds in the sense that he was so brilliant,” Sullivan said. “Yet there was this fleeting piece by the end that you just wanted to capture and keep. I don’t believe any of us were ready to say goodbye when we were in the hospital with him. “In a way, we haven’t. I don’t think the last chapter is written.” Sullivan can envision what a 50th year’s meeting might look like. Stauffs Kolkin might be a father, and he might bring his children to Williamstown. It might be a sunny day, on which rays of light peek out over the mountains, illuminating the words inscribed on the rock: IN MEMORY OF MATTHEW H. STAUFFER CLASS OF 1996 WILLIAMS SOCCER RUN FOR YOURSELF RUN FOR YOUR MATES
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK “James has been a pleasure to watch develop this season. His versatility, size and unique skill level makes him a dynamic player on both offense and defense. As his confidence and role has increased the last couple of seasons, James has started to play with the consistency and assertiveness that make him one of the best players in our region.”
“Jamie has done some really good things so far this year. His 200 freestyles have been very consistent and improving, and he had a nice mile last week as well. He's shown some toughness as well; this week’s win in the 200 free certainly displayed that. It is obviously early in his career, so hopefully there is lots more good stuff to come.”
–Head coach Kevin App
–Head coach Steve Kuster
JAMES HESKETT ’19
JAMIE LOVETTE ’21
MEN'S BASKETBALL CINCINNATI, OHIO
MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING ITHACA, N.Y.
In the game against Amherst, Heskett made the gamewinning 3-pointer with only 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Heskett has also been the team's leading scorer in the past five games.
Lovette kept his four-meet winning streak in the 200 freestyle. He swam a season-best of 1:41.78, which is also the fastest time in the NESCAC this year.
12 SPORTS
The Williams Record
January 24, 2018
Men’s basketball defeats Amherst, St. Joseph’s but falls to Middlebury By CAMERON BROWN and ERIC HIRSCH STAFF WRITERS Men’s basketball (14–4, 3–2 in the NESCAC) defeated archrival Amherst on Jan. 17 before falling to Middlebury on Saturday. The men bounced back with an emphatic win against St. Joseph’s on Monday. The men jumped out to an early 7-0 advantage versus St. Joseph’s and ended the first half up 19 points, having shot 66.7 percent (18 of 27) from the field and 50 percent behind the arc (6-12). Co-captain Cole Teal ’18 started hot with 11 points in the first half. A combination of stingy defense and sharp shooting helped the Ephs cruise to a 104-49 victory. Head coach Kevin App praised the total team effort. “I think the starters set the tone with their attention to detail and effort level early, and that's what got us the lead,” App said. “The young guys came in with tremendous energy at the end, and it was great to see because we are going to need some of those guys to step up into different roles down the stretch. So, it's good to get everybody some minutes.” On Saturday, the men fell 7066 at Middlebury in a closelycontested conference matchup. The game began as a defensive battle. Both teams decided to attack the basket, earning opportunities at the free-throw line. With 13:44 left in the half, Bobby Casey ’19 gave the Ephs an 11-9 lead with a 3-pointer off the dribble. The Panthers leveled the score a minute later, but co-captain Mike Greenman ’18 took the lead back with the team’s third 3-pointer of the half. Another Greenman 3 and a tip-in from Matt Karpowicz ’20 put the Ephs up 21-13. The Panthers then went on a run, cutting the score to 2118. Each team upped its de-
fensive presence and kept the other off the board for a minute and a half, but Teal ended the drought with a floater in the lane. Back-to-back 3s gave Middlebury the lead, and the Panthers finished the first half up 31-28. Middlebury started the second half on a run, bringing the score to 39-31. Baskets from Karpowicz and James Heskett ’19 cut the Ephs’ deficit to five, but Joey Leighton and the Panthers built the lead back up to 16. Casey led a late-game push for the Ephs, and the deficit stood at just four with 41 seconds left in the game. The Panthers, however, held on to win 70-66. Heskett led the men with 19 points, and Karpowicz totaled a team-best of 11 rebounds. “I was proud that we fought until the end and gave ourselves a fighting chance at the end,” App said. “But we weren't tough enough throughout the 40 minutes to weather the storm.” Jan. 17’s rivalry matchup marked the 222nd meeting between Williams and Amherst. In Chandler Gymnasium, the men prevailed 72-69. Both teams came out of the gate with intensity, aggressive defense and desire to run in transition. The Ephs jumped out to an early lead as Heskett made a 3-pointer and an and-one. Mammoth forward Joseph Schneider scored three baskets for the visitors to bring the score to 9-6 Ephs. The battle made its way to the paint, where Karpowicz fueled the Eph offense with a couple post moves and a reverse layup. As the men began to build a lead, Amherst hit a 3 to stop a potential run. With the Ephs up 21-13, the Mammoths went on a 10-0 run to take the lead. The teams continued to trade baskets, and the game was tied at 37 at halftime.
The Mammoths struck first in the second half. Amherst guard Michael Riopel got the hot hand and put the Mammoths up, but the Ephs regained control with 14:21 left. Solid defense on both sides kept the game locked at 49. Coming out of a Williams timeout, Henry Feinberg ’20 put the Ephs ahead with a corner 3 off a pass from Marcos Soto ’19. The Mammoths battled back after several possessions and evened the score at 54. With 3:30 left in the game, both teams were playing lockdown defense, and the Mammoths led 65-64. Casey knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Ephs up two with 3:20 remaining. A minute and a half later, he doubled the lead with a floater over two defenders. With 1:34 to go, Riopel snuck backdoor for the Mammoths and cut the Eph lead to two. After an Amherst timeout, the men missed a field goal. The Mammoths had an opportunity to tie the game, but Teal secured a defensive rebound, giving the Ephs the ball up two with 45 seconds left. The Ephs took a timeout, after which Heskett drilled a stepback 3 from the left corner as the shot clock expired. With 14 seconds remaining, Williams led by five. The Mammoths raced down the court and made a quick layup to cut the lead to three with 7.9 seconds left. The Ephs inbounded the ball, and immediately Teal was fouled. Teal made the first of two foul shots. The Mammoths secured the rebound after the miss and put the ball in Riopel's hands. He pumpfaked to get himself open and fired a 3 as time expired, but the shot bounced off the rim, securing a dramatic 72-69 Eph victory.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION
Matt Karpowicz ’20 recorded 16 points and five rebounds in Jan. 17’s 72-69 victory over Amherst. The Ephs shot 45.5 percent (25 of 55) from the field. Heskett led the men with 22 points. App praised his team’s composure. “We have a veteran group, so they have been in a lot of different situations,” App said. “I was very proud of how we kept
our poise. [We] kept to our principles defensively to get some huge stops, and a couple of big shots went in." App said that the atmosphere of the game was special. “There's nothing more rewarding for me as a coach
than seeing a great crowd and environment for great games,” he said. “We've given them a bunch of great games, especially against Little Three opponents.” The men travel to play Trinity on Friday at 7 p.m.
Swim and dive teams host MIT and NYU in tri-meet Women’s squash finishes By JACK MELNICK and KATIE PRIEST TEAM CORRESPONDENTS Men’s and women’s swimming and diving hosted MIT and NYU for a tri-meet on Friday. No. 5 women’s swimming and diving defeated both teams, but No. 18 men’s swimming and diving suffered losses. Coming off three weeks of difficult Winter Study training, the women faced a mental and physical challenge against the two powerhouses. Williams topped MIT 207-93 and defeated NYU 214-85. Competition began with the 400 medley relay, in which the Eph team of Katie Priest ’18, Caroline White ’20, co-captain Emma Waddell ’18 and Laura Westphal ’21 took first place with a time of 3:51.73, defeating their seed time by over four seconds. Other Eph teams claimed second and fifth. The first individual event of the afternoon was the 1650 freestyle, in which Gwyneth Maloy ’21 and Alison McNamara ’19 touched first and second with times of 17:24.96 and 17:29.55, respectively. Both women’s times met the NCAA “B” cut standard. The momentum carried seamlessly into the 200 freestyle, in which Westphal led the way with a first-place swim
of 1:53.68. Casey Delano ’21 followed in second at 1:55.00, and Courtney Brown ’21 claimed fourth in 1:57.26. The distance success continued into the latter half of the meet, with Molly Craig ’21 (5:07.63) and Alison McNamara ’19 (5:11.18) touching first and second, respectively, in the 500 freestyle. White won both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events with times of 1:04.41 and 2:19.01, respectively. In the 100 butterfly, the Ephs took first, third and fourth. Waddell touched first at 56.60 and was followed by co-captain Maddie Downs ’18 at 58.73 and Veronica Wolff ’20 at 58.82. The backstrokers were in form as well, with Priest, Maloy and Caroline Conforti ’20 touching first, second and fourth with respective times of 2:05.93, 2:06.88 and 2:08.40. The Eph women were well represented in the diving events by Gabby Mercier ’21 and Molly Harrington ’18. Mercier nailed a new dive on the 3-meter board to lock in a second-place finish. The 400 individual medley (IM) marked the final individual race of the afternoon. The Ephs closed with a onetwo-three finish by Craig, White and Wolff. Finally, in
the 200 freestyle relay, the team of Maloy, Westphal, Delaney Smith ’18 and Waddell out-touched MIT by half a second to win in 1:37.56. Head coach Steve Kuster commented on the women’s hard-fought victory. “I saw a lot of good progress,” Kuster said. “In particular, I’m proud of the [women] that really battled to overcome the various challenges they were facing. Of course, there is room for us to improve as we move into the championship season. We will have to continue making progress every day to get the job done.” The men suffered defeats of 174-119 to NYU and 204-88 to MIT, but the elite competition afforded the team an opportunity to prepare for the championship season. The opening 400 medley relay set the tone for the meet. The team of co-captain Tim Kostolansky ’18, Jack Melnick ’19, David Pearcy ’21 and Curtis Maher ’19 took second, finishing only 0.3 seconds behind the first-place MIT relay. Andrew Trunsky ’20 made a statement in the 1650 freestyle, winning the event and earning an NCAA “B” cut. His time of 15:59.93 is the second fastest in the NESCAC this year. Jackson
Karofsky ’21 followed in 16:11.10, the fourth-fastest time in the conference. Karofsky made the most of a tough triple event lineup, swimming to a third-place finish in the 200 backstroke and a fourth-place finish in the 400 IM. Shahzad Mumtaz ’19 also cleared his personal best in the 400 IM with a time of 4:13.91. Jamie Lovette ’21 continued his unbeaten streak in the 200 freestyle. His winning time of 1:41.78 bested his previous inseason record, which was already the fastest time in the NESCAC. Kostolansky won the 100 backstroke in 50.47, beating his previous in-season best by nearly a second. Kostolansky also took second place in the 100 butterfly. Lucca Delcompare ’19 placed fifth in the event. Kuster praised the men’s recent progress. “I’ve been most pleased that we are continuing to make progress both in practice and at our meets,” he said. “We have done some good work at getting the ball rolling, but we need to make sure we keep it going and get it moving faster. People worked through soreness and didn't back down on Friday.” Both the men and the women host Hamilton and Middlebury for a tri-meet on Saturday at 1 p.m.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION
Molly Craig ’21 led the Ephs to a one-two-three finish in the 400 IM as the women swept Friday’s tri-meet against MIT and NYU.
3–1 in four matches By ANNA NICHOLSON TEAM CORRESPONDENT Women’s squash (9–8) went 3-1 in four home matches over the weekend. The women defeated Mount Holyoke, George Washington and Franklin and Marshall but fell to Stanford. On Friday, the women defeated Mount Holyoke 9-0. No Eph player dropped a single game in the match. At No. 7, Abby Leblanc ’21 played particularly well against her opponent, making use of the “low box” serve. No. 8 player Melissa Swann ’20 hit some very tight rails in her match. Tri-captain Ananya Mahalingham-Dingra ’18 played crisply, making excellent use of the trickle boast. Assistant coach Blair Dils was impressed with the team’s performance. “The players played efficient squash,” he said. “The whole team played excellently and showed resilience in finishing every match quickly and with confidence,” Mahalingham-Dingra said. On Saturday, the women upset George Washington 7-2 and tested powerhouse Stanford before falling 7-2. Versus George Washington, Caroline Hogan ’18, Sarah Willwerth ’21 and Julia Ward ’21 were the first to take the court. Hogan lost the first game but came back to win in four due to her determination and consistency. Ward also fought back to win in four after losing the first game, defeating an opponent whose short game was impressive. Ward’s own length and offensive play worked to combat her opponent’s strength perfectly. Willwerth was a star, gritting out an incredible win in a five-game battle. She came back from a 10-7 deficit to win 12-10 in the fifth game, winning on a perfect trickle boast. These three opening victories paved the way for success. Mahalingham-Dingra and
tri-captain Hayley Parsons ’18 both won their matches, while tri-captain Nicole Friedman ’18 and Esther Baek ’19 battled, but ultimately fell to, strong opponents. Leblanc pulled through to secure an exciting 7-2 victory for the Ephs. After a brief rest, the women hit the courts to face Stanford. Leblanc and Swann won their matches in huge upsets. Ward lost in four games, managing to win a game comfortably off her opponent. Friedman played a strong match as well, taking her talented opponent to five games. Head coach Zafi Levy ’01 commented on Saturday’s matches. “Our team played really well against GW and Stanford,” he said. “Our seniors led the way with great performances all afternoon.” “The team had a great showing on Saturday,” Friedman added. “Everyone played great squash.” On Sunday, in the final home match for this year’s senior class, the women swept Franklin and Marshall with hard work at the top spots. “To beat Franklin and Marshall 9-0 says a lot about the depth and consistency of our team,” Dils said. At No. 5, MahalinghamDingra came back to win in four games after dropping her first game. Friedman played a great five-game match, winning on a perfect cross drop. Parsons, at No. 2, played well and won. Hogan won quickly and easily at No. 9, finishing up a great weekend of consistent play. Dils said the team managed the difficult weekend schedule well, grinding through four games against some of the top teams in the nation. “This was a grueling weekend for our team, but the results were very impressive,” he said. The women will compete with Amherst and Wesleyan at the Little Three Championship on Friday in Hartford, Conn.