Feb. 20, 2019: President instructs students to relocate memorial, citing fire safety

RECORD THE WILLIAMS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019 VOL. CXXXIII, NO. 15 Tsay: a call to dismantle violent structures

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President instructs students to relocate memorial, citing fire safety Students had rebuilt the installation after a faculty member deconstructed parts of the original memorial

By ARRINGTON LUCK NEWS EDITOR On Monday, students took down portions of an installation honoring Assistant Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Kai Green ’07 and Assistant Professor of English Kimberly Love in Hollander Hall at the request of President Maud Mandel, who cited fire code and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) violations. Students first began placing the installation in Hollander on Feb. 9. On Feb. 13, Keith McPartland, associate professor of philosophy and chair of the Schapiro-Hollander users committee, deconstructed and moved parts of it after clarifying with Head of Campus Safety and Security (CSS) David Boyer and Manager of Safety and Environmental Compliance Frank Pekarski that the installation violated fire codes. Neither Boyer nor Pekarski, however, instructed McPartland to remove the installation. After the partial removal, students created an even larger memorial. They relocated parts of it after Mandel confirmed that the installation was in violation of “both state law and campus policy.”

The original installation – composed of flowers, poems, copies of the Record, Feminist Wire articles, artwork and notes – spanned a hallway on the first floor of Hollander Hall and gave students an opportunity to express their solidarity with and support for the professors, who each cited institutional violence as the reason for taking leave before

SABRINE BRISMEUR/PHOTO EDITOR

Students rebuild the memorial in Hollander Hall after the original one was deconstructed by a faculty member. the start of the spring semester.

The installation covered portions of the wall, though materials were also placed on the floor and the doors of the two professors.

In an all campus email yesterday, Mandel explained that last week, senior staff decided that the memorial materials “weren’t impeding movement through Hollander and should be left undisturbed for a period of time,” yet that they “would eventually have to be moved.” The email continued, “Our plan was to al-

Students attend CC meeting dressed as Papa Smurf after cartoon character elected

By ROSE HOUGLET NEWS EDITOR During the College Council (CC) elections last week, Papa Smurf received nine write-in votes for the class of 2021 representative – more votes than three of the students actually elected. In response, some students drafted a resolution that CC ultimately passed, outlined a “Blue New Deal” – which did not pass – and dressed up as Papa Smurf for the first CC meeting.

Others expressed disapproval of such actions because it devalued CC’s purpose.

John Murphy ’21, who originally created a Facebook event titled “DEMAND Papa Smurf be seated at CC” in the College’s meme page as a joke, found that 126 people had marked themselves as “Going.” “When I realized how much traction it had, I worked with WAFFLES [Williams Anarchists for Fun and Lighthearted Entertaining Surprises] and the meme page to create the final draft of the resolution which CC ended up passing,” he said. “ I also was one of a few individuals who drafted the Nine-Step-Plan known as the ‘Blue New Deal,’ which did not pass a vote but forced numerous members of CC to stifle their laughter as I read it out loud at Tuesday's meeting. I also dubbed myself and Onyeka Obi ’21 as co-presidents of Smurf SuperPAC Incorporated, a private sector organization based out of Carter House devoted to keeping Smurfs in office.”

“A Resolution on Blue Democracy” was co-authored

by WAFFLES, Surf Club and Frosh Revue and co-sponsored

by Porter Johnson ’21, Andrew Trunsky ’20, Solly Kasab ’21 and Lance Ledet ’21. It held that CC fulfill five requests: “Recognize Papa Smurf as a force for political leadership on the Williams

campus; commend Papa Smurf for his ability to unite a diverse spectrum of students; designate the four Class of 2021 Representatives as ‘Papa Smurf Memorial Class of 2021 Representatives,’ a designation to be held until the year 2022; delineate an area of every meeting for the display of a ‘Papa Smurf Portrait,’ dutifully provided by sympathetic students; and hold a vote on Papa Smurf’s Nine-Step-Plan: A Blue New Deal.”

Porter Johnson ’21, who wore red tights to the first CC meeting and co-sponsored the resolution that passed, had expected a meme-like candidate to win the spot for the class of 2021 representative. “Given that there were no self-nominations for ’21 representatives, and given how few people I saw actually putting their name out there, I fully expected a meme to outright win a spot on College Council.

What did surprise me, however, was how few votes were actually needed,” he said.

Other students were critical of the events. Abel Romero ’19, who formerly served as vice president for student affairs and class of 2019 representative, rejected the idea that Papa Smurf could be elected to CC. “To be elected, one must be a member of the student body here at Williams. I opposed the certification of the election of a former student during the Fall for this very reason, and I’m glad the committee acted responsibly this time around,” Romero said.

While beginning with a humorous tone, Murphy saw his actions as a larger commentary on CC. “I see CC as a self-aggrandizing body that determines which activities of student clubs and coalitions have ‘worth’ to this campus; I also believe that many who run for positions on CC do continued on p. 5

low them to remain until we could discuss long-term options with students.”

Pekarski said that while he and Boyer were both instructed not to move the materials, he informed McPartland that the installation had violated fire codes but did not explicitly ask McPartland to remove the materials. Acting as chair of the Schapiro-Hollander users committee, which works to adjudicate issues within the buildings, McPartland deconstructed parts of the memorial.

Some students expressed disaproval of McPartland’s decision.

President Mandel ended yesterday’s all campus email with a call for unity. “I also believe Williams has what it takes to persevere and transcend its challenges to become a better place,” Mandel wrote. “In fact, I believe we have to. I’m grateful I’ll be working toward that goal in partnership with all of you.”

To some students, Mandel’s calls for cooperation rang hollow.

“I am highly critical of the fact

that President Mandel’s most recent email prioritizes the defense of Professor McPartland, rather than interrogating the biased and violent removal of the shrines that he enacted,” Minority Coalition co-President Tyler Tsay ’19 wrote. “He took it upon himself to reach out to CSS and EHS [Environmental Compliance], seemingly looking for any excuse to remove the materials; he took it upon himself to walk across to Hollander to remove the materials, even though senior adminis-

tration was already dealing with it directly with students in a much more appropriate manner. Even if he did not intend his actions as violence (and that is up for debate), they certainly were violent in their result.”

On the morning of Feb. 13, Boyer reached out to Pekarski. “I contacted Frank Pekarski when I heard that he was reaching out trying to get the items moved,” Boyer said. “[I] was told that the items in Hollander Hall were a clear violation of the building/fire codes and that the items had to be removed from the hallway.” In an email to the Record, Pekarski confirmed that the installation, as it was originally constructed, was in violation of the fire code.

Pekarski said he was told “that the memorial wasn't to be moved while things were sorted out,” and Boyer said that he was instructed “that the items were to remain and not be disturbed by anyone in CSS.” “At the end of our conversation it was not clear who was going to remove the items,” Boyer said. “I gave Frank Pekarski the name of professor Keith McPartland, who is our listed contact for building matters in Hollander.”

Pekarski said that he told McPartland “there were fire code issues,” though he noted that he “didn't tell [McPartland] to remove the materials.”

McPartland contacted Boyer that day. “I talked with Professor Keith McPartland prior to the items being moved and told him about my conversation with continued on p. 5

Trans* Inclusion Committee releases “Communications Best Practices” guidelines

By JEONGYOON HAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR On Feb. 11, the Trans* Inclusion Committee (TIC) released a set of recommended guidelines titled “Communications Best Practices.” The best practices are a collection of suggestions that TIC has created for trans* and gender-variant inclusive language for in-person conversations and written exchanges.

TIC, which is housed under the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity and includes representatives from various offices at the College, rolled out the guidelines as part of its broader effort to create an “inclusive environment for trans* and gender-variant members of the Williams community,” specifically for institutional and procedural elements of the College.

Librarian Emery Shriver, co-chair of TIC with Assistant Registrar Amanda Turner, said that the recommendations also come in light of TIC recognizing communication’s impact in facilitating micro-aggressions towards those who are trans* or gender-variant.

“A lot of what I would maybe call ‘micro-aggressions’ come not from intentional transphobia, but a lack of education, so we thought it was important for people to be aware of ways in way they can be inclusive,” Shriver said. “It’s kind of breaking the really entrenched formality of a school like Williams and opening people’s eyes to the different ways that they can, with a slight

change, be that much more inclusive in how they’re communicating with people.”

Turner said that such efforts are critical in allowing for a culture of “learning and asking” for the College community.

Shriver also highlighted that giving individuals more agency in using pronouns or honorifics hits at issues of social norms at the College surrounding pronoun usage.

“That’s what I think Williams has trouble with in general: being comfortable with not knowing, or being wrong, or being com-

mittee could achieve this fall. “[TIC] decided that this was something small, but very important, a nice step for creating inclusion,” Turner said.

The guidelines offer tips and suggestions for those in certain contexts. For example, instead of using binary gender honorifics – “Mr.” or “Ms.” – for individual or group communication, TIC suggests not using any honorifics, using an inclusive honorific, such as “Mx.” or asking people’s preferences. Other suggestions including making a habit to share pronouns, if will-

“It’s ... opening people’s eyes to the different ways that they can, with a slight change, be that much more inclusive in how they're communicating with people.”

Emery Shriver

Co-chair of Trans* Inclusion Committee fortable with discomfort,” Shriver said, referring to instances of misgendering people. “When somebody challenges you on your privilege, that’s okay. You should feel discomfort.”

Turner said that being more conscientious of the ways in which members of the College address others – in web content, invitations, emails, classroom settings or name tags – is a crucial step to creating an inclusive space for all people at the College. Releasing a list of practices was what TIC identified as a concrete objective that the Com-

ing, when introducing oneself, or giving people the option to list their name and pronouns as they prefer on name tags for inperson events. TIC spent the fall of 2018 collecting recommendations based on members’ own encounters with problems of incorrect pronoun usage in written or verbal communication.

Many of the recommendations result from instances in which offices or departments at the College have misgendered people or used language that does not encompass trans* or gender-variant

people. For example, Turner pointed out that some course descriptions in the Course Catalog and job descriptions posted online use only “he” or “she” pronouns.

Turner, who is also the assistant registrar for the College, said the hope is that various offices at the College can use the recommendations to assess questions of inclusivity. Certain departments have begun to take such steps: The Registrar’s Office, PeopleSoft, GLOW and Office of Information and Technology have been cognizant of such considerations, with introduction for members of the College to list preferred campus names in 2017 and the option to list pronoun preferences in 2018.

With these best practices and the release of the all-gender bathroom map on the College’s website, Shriver said the hope is to raise awareness of inclusion through aspects of College life that might go unnoticed for some.

“We communicate with people at Williams in so many different ways – with parents, with alums, with students, with staff, with faculty,” Shriver said. “And there are a lot of things to consider, not just the one-on-one meeting somebody for the first time [scenarios] or introducing somebody. I think the [initiatives were] a way to move forward a little bit – the inclusive practices… Let’s take an extra step – not a huge step – but something that is accessible and that can, I think, make a big difference by just making small changes.”

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DARIN LI ’21

February 20, 2019

Combatting marginalization The necessity of collective action

By ESSENCE PERRY Like many students here, my background has been heavily influenced by the axes of marginalization that have been placed upon me. Attending a school like Williams was something I had never thought could be attainable to me or to people who have experienced similar life circumstances and barriers. As a firstgeneration, low-income woman of color, I’ve needed to overcome many obstacles in my life, but it has made me stronger in the face of adversity, compassionate towards different life experiences and eager to combat different facets of oppression. I, and probably many of us, came to a school like Williams because it would provide us the skills, resources and ability to create substantive change for marginalized peoples. There would finally be a space in which we could confront issues that have been placed on the back burner of American politics like poverty, racism and sexism. We are all prepared to bring a unique perspective to every issue, and in our pursuit of knowledge, we have the potential to seek equality and justice for people.

Since coming here, though, I have found myself ostracized from the very groups that purport dedication to pursuing the interests of minority students at Williams and marginalized groups in the broader community. Instead of creating groups that provide safe and accepting spaces for students with marginalized identities, we have allowed exclusionary groups to take hold. Students who don’t make the marginalized aspect of their identity central to their personality or conform to the ideals MinCo has placed upon them aren’t accepted. Many students feel uncomfortable and afraid to express their ideas and opinions in minority groups for fear of the judgement and labels that will be placed upon them.

If minority students don’t feel safe within groups that were designed to support and empower them, and they don’t feel fully supported by the College, where do we go? What spaces are here to support us?

We are spending inordinate amounts of time tearing each other down and questioning each other’s identities. Every moment we spend fighting is a moment we are not spending fighting for equality, reducing the effects of marginalization or building each other up.

We have been ineffective not because we don’t have power but because we haven’t found a way to unite and act

OPINIONS 3

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upon our shared goals. Minority identities comprise a majority of this school.

We should expand our conceptions of what “minorities” are on this campus.

The face of the College is changing; together, people of color, women, lowincome, first-generation, veteran, queer and international students have the ability to create substantive change on this campus and in the larger community. It is time to act upon the shared principles we hold ourselves to. We need to begin shattering cycles of privilege, holding our institutions accountable and servicing the oppressed communities around us. We do not have to agree upon everything or have the same ideas on how to empower people and dismantle social injustices. Rather, a diversity in opinions and perspectives is the only way we can start tackling these issues. Let us move past just speaking “truth to power” and use the differing experiences and ideas of others to correct the ills that plague our communities.

It is time to start acting; we can start making meaningful change now. There are already people on campus coming together to help our communities, however, they don’t make the front page of our newspaper. These include groups like Williams Homeless Outreach, who are working to reduce homelessness and economic disparity, or Converging Worlds, who are combating racial injustice in our criminal “justice” and carceral systems. Minority groups and students with minority identities should be spearheading these initiatives and working together to find solutions to some of society’s most complex social problems. This is going to require us to reevaluate the community we want to build, from the leaders we want to elect, to the students who are welcomed to take part in the movement, to the allies who will aid in the effort. Each person is valuable in this movement; each of us bring our own pasts, influences, skills, experiences and outlooks. No person should be left out because of their beliefs or how strongly they perceive their marginalized identify. One way of thinking will never achieve every goal we set out to accomplish. The minorities on this campus and our allies together can utilize the privilege the College offers us by making our campus, community and society better.

What happens behind closed doors Calling on faculty and administration to dismantle violent structures

By TYLER TSAY Over and over, I hear it from the professors of color who mentor me. I hear about their mistreatment at the hands of their colleagues. Their scholarship ridiculed, their voices silenced, their bodies attacked. On a basic level, I am terrified, perhaps because I can see myself in their shoes suffering the same fate. But much more frequently, I am furious. The mentors I have found on this campus have, from day one, been some of the only people in this place I can call my family.

They have supported me without question. They have devoted years to fight loudly for myself and other students of color despite a world that wants to erase us (and them).

Consider what I and many students are carrying on a daily basis. Consider what it is to be so vastly unable to help, to know every day that those who have loved you are in pain, that you are individually unable to stop it, impossibly reliant on an institution that does not hear you.

I have always wanted to love Williams. Not just because I worked tirelessly to get here, but also because of the people – the people I hope to call my friends and mentors for decades after we leave. They are the heart of the College, not the institution. When the institution tears down faculty of color, it destroys the very core of Williams.

But who is the institution? As students, it often feels like our only recourse is to criticize the administration. The president, the dean of faculty, the office of institutional diversity and equity; they roll off the tongue. They are easier to pinpoint as the source of the problem, rather than the dozens of unknown, negligent and/or abusive professors that are also the perpetrators of institutional violence. Of course, I am not excusing the administration. Their demands on faculty of color to continually prove their pain are, in a word, exhausting. They can better support the scholarship of faculty of color and grant additional staffing positions for ethnic studies programs

(read: Native American studies, Asian American studies). They can more adequately address the detriments of living in Williamstown as a person of color.

And yet, these steps do not address the larger issue: Most often, prejudice is baseless. Prejudice is rooted in an implicit acceptance of the status quo that no amount of discussion or “free speech” debates will correct. Workshops, anti-bias training, committee reports, etc. are useless if the faculty have no real incentive to care about the wellbeing of the community. The permanence of tenure has allowed professors to feel secure that their discriminatory practices, no matter how egregious, will remain unpunished. Additionally, untenured faculty of color are discouraged from decrying acts of discrimination, fearful of workplace repercussions.

To put it more directly, there are tenured professors on this campus that will never respect the pain or work of faculty of color. These professors exist, whether they are visible to us or not. They sit through the teach-ins and perform their support, but away from our eyes, they act in another manner entirely.

For instance, think about the tenure review process, conducted fully in secret.

Behind closed doors, do professors fight for the livelihoods of people of color? Or is it more likely they fight for a legacy of violence to be maintained?

The protective veil of anonymity has provided professors who view diversity as a forced imposition the perfect opportunity to lash out at faculty of color and jeopardize careers. Those that are deemed oppositional to a rigid vision of the College’s values are expunged from the institution. Moreover, tenure review often hinges upon recognition from the canon (e.g. number of citational references), privileging the scholarship of white applicants over that of interdisciplinary, radical and critical race scholars. Through this process, tenured professors hand down negative judgments onto faculty of color without giving them the chance to defend themselves.

Students are largely excluded from the gears of academic processes. The labor of correcting the faults of the College falls instead on the faculty who uphold its structures, not the students or faculty of color that suffer by it.

In light of this, I write to those that are behind the closed doors.

To the administration: Stop with the discussion groups, workshops or committees. Accept the grievances of faculty of color without question.

Fight for their best interests, not your own. Improve your hiring practices.

Do not repeat old mistakes (see the Faculty-Staff Initiative of 2009 and Coalition Against Racist Education in the 1990s). Expand the “just causes” for firing tenured faculty to include discrimination and abuse. Reprimand and remove faculty that contribute to the problem. When there are cases of discrimination, support legal recourse instead of burying it.

To the faculty: Do not tout diversity to your students, then sit idly by during discussions of hiring, tenure, resource allocation, etc. Support more fellowships for faculty of color. Actively push your colleagues to diversify your curricula, rather than waiting for others to do it for you. Interrogate methodologies that exclude large sects of our community. Critique the tenure review process. Approach the scholarship of professorial applicants of color with deference, not derision.

And specifically to tenured professors, utilize your power. Stand against professors who seek to tarnish the name of the College. Report them. Hold them accountable, once and for all.

It is because I love Williams that I criticize the institution. I urge faculty that also love this place to remove those that seek to threaten it.

Tyler Tsay ’19 is an American Studies major from Pasadena, Calif. Edits from Lizzy Hibbard ’19, Isabel Peña ’19, Rodsy Modhurima ’19, Amber Lee ’21, Michael Rubel ’19, Suiyi Tang ’20, Grace Fan ’19 and Kai Soto-Dessen ’22.

Essence Perry ’22 is from Fitchburg, Mass.

We take care of our own

One Eph’s perspective on divisions at Williams

By JASON (BUM SHIK) KIM I write this piece because it is important there remains a historical record that we are not as divided on this campus as it seems based on the representation of recent campus events.

The perspectives of alums who tunnel themselves into data on blogs to recommend admission practices that erase rich stories of Ephs’ varied experiences, or self-marketers whose primary goal is to trigger newsworthy reactions to get in front of a Senate hearing committee, have been unrepresentative of Williams as a community over the past few years. For that matter, the events of this past week surrounding the placement and removal of objects in Hollander Hall, Schapiro Hall and Hopkins Hall and the ensuing confusion have only added to escalated tensions and denigrations of the other. These events that spark the most attention create perceptions of our education and community running amok. These perceptions are those which cause the likes of Ephraim Williams, Mark Hopkins, Allison Davis and Jack Sawyer to roll over in their graves.

On balance, however, let us not forget that these events represent peripheral viewpoints that are seemingly motivated by vanity from all sides.

Most of us would not even take sides on this issue. Although it is easy to get emotionally charged up over an issue (which I myself am guilty of, sometimes for the good and other times for the bad), these headline events and perceptions that we are more divided than ever with broken relationships do not reflect the significant majority of people at this College. Overarching voices and actions around issues of identity and bias do not reflect the majority of students who go to classes, professors who help us in office hours or staff who serve us in the dining hall and maintain our facilities.

The great American philosopher Anthony Bourdain once encapsulated what we must remember in times of appalling behavior that challenge our notions of fairness and justice. Williams, like the rest of the world, is filled with a “hell of a lot of nice people ... who are doing what everyone else in this world is trying to do: the best they can to get by, and take care of themselves and the people they love.” And when you now question

what I mean by “Williams,” I mean the people who make up the College as a whole – without the people, there simply is no institution.

People trying to do their best at Williams means something different for everyone. For some, it’s about social justice activism. For others, it’s about building community. For me, it’s trying to learn as much as possible from the people here and trying to give back a fraction back to others of the kindness I’ve received from strangers and friends alike. The list is endless.

The simple point is that we do not succumb to our worst impulses when engaging with other human beings.

Consider this radical thought – what if most of us on this campus are motivated by trying to do the best they can to get by and take care of themselves?

Don’t get me wrong – I don’t have to agree with you to like or respect you. Neither should you. I’ve had conversations with both politically extremist left-wing and right-wing (and even frustrated moderate) professors, students and staff one-on-one where I disagree with everything they stand for. I may not be singing kum-ba-yah with everyone on campus, skipping down Chapin Hall Drive, but it is more than possible to maintain great respect for each other as human beings when we understand everyone is an accumulation of their own unique experiences. This process of putting these words into action for actual healing won’t be easy. But if you would pardon a cliche: Nothing worth achieving comes easy.

This piece aims to capture one student reaction to the campus atmosphere over the past four years rather than place judgment on who or what is right or wrong. What we need at Williams is not more division, hatred and anguish. Rather, what we need is an environment less conducive to quick judgment and more time spent trying to understand each other so that each of us can maximize and fulfill our potential, elevating each other and the community. I hope some of these reminders resonated with at least one person. Now let’s focus on what matters and build the Williams we have come to love and will love for generations to come.

Jason (Bum Shik) Kim ’19 is an economics major from Palisades Park, N.J.

DARIN LI ’21

Learning about social justice A journey within and without

By MOIZ REHAN This Winter Study, I, along with three other students, had the opportunity of taking a course on social justice in New York with the stellar Professor Joy James. Till I took this course, I never had to ask myself: What is my stake in social justice work? I have known since an early age that I care about issues of marginalization but never thought about why exactly I cared and how my caring for an issue stemmed from personal traumas and experiences.

Is it saviorism if I try to “help” people but in the process end up victimizing them? Is it even beneficial to just do something one time just to eventually leave those I was helping to their devices? What does a sustainable version of activism look like that empowers people and helps to create awareness about issues at a broader level? I have grappled with these questions in the past, but this Winter Study helped me unpack more and delve deeper than ever before.

The course started with an overview of the various issues faced by the education system in New York including issues of insufficient resources and funding for schools, lack of services for students with learning disabilities and the history of segregation. From the kids at Tubman and Wadleigh schools, I learned that I should never lose my own curiosity about the world. We also learned about housing segregation in New York and how the city has been historically constructed to demarcate boundaries of socioeconomic class, race and nationality among others. We focused on accountability with compassion during a community meeting at Connect, an organization whose mission is to combat domestic violence. Learning about the black manifesto while volunteering at Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) was another important part of this course. The US-

Cuban Caravans organized show that community organizations can provide an outlet to turn our frustration into tangible and impactful action. That social justice efforts matter and they work.

By talking to some alums, we learned about how some nonprofits emulate a corporate hierarchical structure which solidifies racial boundaries: The people on top of the chain are often white, while most people of color (POC) only have junior positions that are underpaid but demand high intensity labor.

POCs are, therefore, tokenized as they provide “diversity.” This reminded me of the College and how many POC professors and deans have no choice but to leave Williams after some time because they feel suffocated by the whiteness of the place. Unfortunately, POCs have to sometimes choose between selfpreservation and taking care of friends because of the intense labor that both these actions require. In the same vein, activism on campus is also quite divided. There is often (healthy) disagreement within POC groups on what the most important issues are and how to go about addressing them.

This Winter Study helped me reflect extensively about my own stake in social justice. I’m tired of reciting the list of marginalized identities that I embody in the U.S. (gay, Muslim, international, brown, Pakistani) but it is this amalgam of identities that has given me the anger to realize what’s at stake for me through my activism. I don’t want to feel like I am a second-class citizen or deserve less respect or legitimacy because of my nationality. I don’t want other people to feel that either. I care about social justice because I have been privileged enough to learn about these issues and I recognize my own voice and abilities to help uplift myself and other people who are oppressed and marginalized.

Growing up, I was taught to neverquestion authority. During my time

here, I have learned how to speak up and demand space and ask for help when I needed it. This Winter Study course made me realize that social change truly is not possible without disrupting oppressive systems that are already in place. I cannot disrupt anything while trying to avoid offending everyone. Raising my hand at a police precinct community meeting and asking about racialized violence committed by the police was, hence, the first baby step towards learning to disrupt. The response we faced at the community meeting by the cops and the public made it clear that such disruptions need to happen much more often.

I had also voiced concerns about “losing perspective” after returning to the College in one of my final journal entries, but a conversation on the last day of the course made me confront this idea. I realized that maybe I am using this as an excuse to not engage in difficult conversations or challenge people’s beliefs, views and actions when they are clearly capable of harming someone else’s. Just because it is a college campus does not mean that instances of racism, sexual violence and other forms of harm are not as frequent as the “real” world.

Perhaps these instances are better hidden, and most students choose to just not pay attention and address the issues when they rise. The stress I feel at Williams is real and, most of the time, I am struggling to take care of my mental and physical health while balancing coursework and extracurricular activities. But, this should not exempt me from using my voice and skills to support others in need. There is a balance that needs to be struck here and I am definitely not there yet, but it is something that I can aspire towards for my remaining time at Williams and beyond.

Moiz Rehan ’19 is a political science and French major from Islamabad, Pakistan.

4 NEWS

The Williams Record

February 20, 2019

Winter Carnival moves to Mount Prospect

Graffiti of neoNazi group WOC hosts skiing, sledding, barbecue at College-owned mountain in Vermont name found on light pole for nordic ski team,” Oct.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GRACE DAILEY.

The Williams Outing Club organized outdoor activities for last Friday’s Winter Carnival at the recently-purchased Mount Prospect in Woodford, Vt.

By RB SMITH COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Last weekend saw the arrival of Winter Carnival, an annual celebration run by the Williams Outing Club (WOC) that offers a myriad of wintry outdoor activities.

This year’s Winter Carnival involved the usual mix of events, both outdoor and indoor. The themed dinners, dance parties and other assorted activities that WOC organized (centered around this year’s ocean theme “Great Barrier Eph”) were for the most part the same as

in previous years, with one major exception: The main Friday event, which usually takes place at Greylock Ski Club, was moved to Mount Prospect in Woodford, Vt. Eileen Russell ’19, member of WOC board and lead organizer of Winter Carnival this year, described the calculus behind that decision. “There were a couple days of really warm weather, and all the snow in Williamstown melted,” she said. “Where we usually go, [Mount] Greylock Ski Club, usually has about the same amount of snow as we do on campus, and so if there

isn’t a really deep base of snow it’s not really skiable.” Mount Prospect, on the other hand, is about 1000 feet higher than Williamstown in elevation, so Russell and the WOC organizers suspected they might have better luck finding snow up there. After discovering that Mount Prospect had a solid two-foot base, they decided to make the move.

This decision came with some challenges, though.

“It’s probably not quite as efficient as the space at Greylock,” Russell said. “Greylock is a lot smaller, and you basically sled right down

OIT will require two-step identification process for all College email accounts

By REBECCA PARK STAFF WRITER Starting April 10, two-step authentication will be required for all College email accounts. The office of information and technology (OIT) has been encouraging students to sign up for this added level of cyber-protection since last year.

Google’s two-step authentication process requires a second mode of verification after entering the email password. There are many options available for this second step, but OIT strongly recommends using Google prompt, which, through the Google app, can be downloaded onto Apple and Android devices.

Other options include the Google Authenticator app, which works without a cell or wireless connection, printed backup codes, codes through text messages or calls and USB keys. Students can choose for Google to remember the computers that are logged into regularly so that the two-step verification process is not needed every single time.

OIT’s push for two-step authentication comes as a response to how companies, organizations and individuals are increasingly being targeted through email and data breaches. “In this day and age, where cyberidentity theft and account compromisation are so common, adding another layer of security is not only helpful but also essential,” said Andrew Rim ’20, a Student Technology Consultant (STC). Through two-step authentication, Williams staff, faculty and students will be better pro-

tected against loss of sensitive data, phishing attacks and identity theft.

The College is not the only institution encouraging this process for its faculty, staff and student accounts. Peer universities and colleges including University of California, Berkeley; Kenyon; Vassar; Smith; Bowdoin; Reed; Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore already require this method of cybersecurity.

“In this day and age, where cyberidentity theft and account compromisation are so common, adding another layer of security is not only helpful but also essential.”

Andrew Rim ’20

Student Technology Consultant “The college’s two-step project started with the president, senior staff, and offices like OIT, FinAid and Controllers where staff are working with sensitive and confidential information and have been steadily moving toward getting the entire campus secured,” OIT Director of Client Services Seth Rogers said. “We currently have over 35 departments fully signed up. 83 percent of staff, 36 percent of faculty

and about half of all students are already using two-step, which totals over 2300 individual accounts.”

Joanne Beckford ’19, student manager at OIT, notes the importance for all college accounts to be secured with two-step authentication. “Having even one student account unsecured could make the rest of the Williams Community be susceptible to phishing scams,” she said.

There are posters currently located on the second floor of Sawyer Library that visually represent the percentage of students signed up for two-step authentication by class year. As of this week, 62 percent of firstyears, 52 percent of sophomores, 47 percent of juniors and 39 percent of seniors are signed up.

In order to encourage students to sign up for two-step authentication by the April 10 deadline, the OIT staff have used various methods.

OIT has been sending regular reminders to students who have not yet signed up, and they have even included poems and memes in those emails. Beckford is promoting cybersecurity through the College’s unofficial meme page, Williams Memes for Sun-Dappled Tweens. “[I] know the way to a millennial’s heart is through memes,” she said.

Students can sign up for two-step authentication online at http://google. com/2step or get help by calling (413) 597-3088, emailing stchelp@williams. edu or stopping by the Help Desks located on the second floor of Sawyer Library and the first floor of Jesup.

into where the barbecue is, and you’re skiing and sledding all together… Prospect is a little more spread out.”

At Mount Prospect, the sledding hill, skiing area, cabin and barbecue are farther apart from each other, so people spending time in one place do not necessarily feel as integrated with people spending time in another.

Mount Prospect did, however, have advantages, according to Scott Lewis, the director of WOC. “Williams is now a part owner of the property,” he said [“Alums purchase Prospect Mountain

Wednesday 2-13-19 9:46 a.m. CDE Construction Site. Officers were dispatched to the CDE construction site regarding a gate that the construction crew found open and unlocked in the morning.

The chain, construction core lock and Knox lock were all missing. The gate had been secure when the crew left around 4:30 p.m.

8:17 p.m. Williams College Museum of Art: Officers responded to WCMA for a glass-break alarm originating in the Aaron Gallery and contacted the museum security supervisor.

There was no visible damage or cracking to the window. The system was re-armed.

9:08 p.m. Gladden House: An officer was dispatched to a Gladden third floor common room for broken glass. The officer was met by two students who had broken their lamp.

The officer opened the custodian closet and swept and vacuumed the area.

Thursday 2-14-19 7:05 p.m. Schapiro Hall: Suspicious activity was reported outside the first-floor offices.

31, 2018]. “[That] makes it a good fit trying to get the College community more exposed to the beautiful wonderland Prospect tends to be – the ski trails are outstanding for all ability levels and the sledding hill can't be beat!” Indeed, Mount Prospect is renowned for Nordic skiing, and Russell remarked that the location’s ski-friendliness got so many students out on trails for the very first time that WOC ran out of its own equipment and started borrowing from Mount Prospect’s rental stores.

Emily Elder ’20, one of the many students to participate in the entire day-long event, said she was excited by the move. “I went to Greylock Ski Club two years ago, but Mount Prospect had always been kind of a mystery to me,” she said. “So I’m glad we got to go. It was definitely snowier up there.”

Jared Bathen ’20 was another pleased participant, specifically commending WOC’s efforts to open up the event to different kinds of activities. “Contrary to popular belief, a kayak is useful on water in states other than liquid,” he said.

According to Russell, the move seemed a success on the whole with a turnout of roughly 120 students. The event’s location will depend heavily on the weather in future years, as it always has, but the Vermont mountain remains an exciting new prospect for Winter Carnivals to come, and Lewis hopes more changes may help revitalize the holiday.

“It’s got great potential to be a Mountain Day, Homecoming and Claiming Williams Day all wrapped into one,” he said. “We just need to imagine it – bringing a lot of warmth to campus on cold winter days.”

and the alarm was cleared and the system reset.

8:50 a.m. Perry House: A report of damage in the living room was submitted. An officer met with the reporting person who pointed out new damage in the living room wall and a large round wooden table on its side.

The officer took photos to document damage and forwarded them to housing and facilities.

11:14 a.m. Hollander Hall: A safety hazard was reported concerning ice falling from the roof at the north side of Hollander Hall.

Officers placed “Danger Do Not Enter” signs on the interior and exterior of this door. The safety and environmental compliance office and architectural trades manager were notified.

1:45 p.m. Gladden House: A report of a group of students outside drinking and partying was submitted. The complainant reported that a couple of tables were set up, and students were drinking and playing very loud music. Officers also spoke to the three students who were climbing the pine tree on the northwest side of Gladden. These students were about 30 feet up the tree.

By KAIRA MEDIRATTA EXECUTIVE EDITOR The name of a neo-Nazi and white supremacist group was found written on a pole between Hollander Hall and Sawyer Library last weekend.

Administrators say that the vandalism is being investigated as a possible bias incident, although the motivation behind it remains unknown. As of publication, Vice President for Campus Life Steve Klass said that Campus Safety and Security (CSS) had removed the writing from the pole.

As described in an all-campus email sent by Klass, Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom and Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Equity Leticia Smith-Evans Haynes ’99, this event resembles a similar incident over Winter Study in which the group’s name was written several times on a white board in Thompson Hall.

“While we believe this latest discovery is making a reference to the same organization, at this time we can’t assert whether or not both actions were taken by the same person,” the email stated. It recognized, however, that Identity Evropa is a white supremacist organization that is known for trying to provoke reactions on college campuses via fliers, graffiti and other recruitment materials.

Although similar to the last incident, the decision to issue a second all-campus notification affirms the serious nature of this occurrence.

CSS is currently trying to identify the author of the graffiti; those with information about the incident may contact CSS at (413) 597-4444 or the office of institutional diversity and equity through that office’s online bias incident reporting tool.

tacted one of the main contractors at the Garfield site. That contractor arrived on scene.

4:20 p.m. Morgan Hall: A fire alarm rang in a specific room.

Officers found water dripping from the smoke detector and ceiling damage due to water leaking through the ceiling.

The water was coming from a bathroom directly above. That bathroom appeared to have a recently overflowed shower. Officers removed the wet detector and replaced it with a new one.

The system was reset. Work orders for the ceiling, the bathroom drain and electrical trades regarding the smoke detector were submitted.

8:24 p.m. Hopkins Hall Drive: A dining service employee reported damage to his vehicle.

The Williamstown police department responded and took a photograph of the damage.

Sunday 2-17-19 8:17 a.m. Humanities Quad: Officers verified and documented a report of graffiti on a pole outside Hollander Hall.

Officers checked Hollander Hall, Shapiro Hall and all of the light poles in the area and did not see any more graffiti.

Saturday 2-16-19 Friday 2-15-19 6:53 a.m. Morgan Hall: A fire alarm went off, and the panel indicated a smoke detector activation coming from a specific first floor room. Officers checked, and there was no indication of smoke or anything else out of the ordinary. Officers attempted to replace the smoke detector with a new one, but the alarm kept sounding and would not reset. Electricians were notified via radio and responded. The electricians resolved the problem,

9:56 a.m. Garfield House: A report was received stating that there was an odor of natural gas near the Garfield House construction site on South Street.

Officers arrived to detect a strong odor of gas just inside the fence near the sidewalk. The Williamstown Fire Department (WFD) and the on-call safety and environmental compliance officer were called. The WFD notified Berkshire Gas, who also responded. The construction site project director was called and briefed. The manager con-

10:24 a.m. Hopkins Hall: Officer responded to Hopkins Hall to speak to a student and take a statement concerning a fight in one of the dorms the previous evening that was a result of several students’ intoxication.

7:02 p.m. Mission Hall: Officers were dispatched to the Dennett dining room for a student with stomach pain. The student complained of severe abdominal pain. 911 was called. After assessment by the EMTs, the student was transported to Berkshire Medical North.

February 20, 2019

NEWS 5

The Williams Record

Papa Smurf write-ins Removal of Love, Green memorial sparks campus action elicit student responses CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 purely for their resumes,” he said. “I think at Williams and at large, we give too much power to the vote and to electoralism, and ... the real capacity for change on this campus comes from individual and collective student action, not from ‘representatives.’”

Johnson expressed similar views about CC. “I believe that the election results, as well as the lack of self-nominations, are a sign that CC’s image has been taking a wrong turn in the past year – to the point where people are generally apathetic about wanting to be involved with it,” he said.

Emphasizing his hope for agency over student government at the College, Murphy cited several perceived injustices on campus that have not been addressed on CC election platforms. “I hope that this event, while comedic, is not seen as a mockery of grassroots activism but as a sign that we the students should have power and agency over the way that the college is run,” Murphy said.

“There are many hypocrisies at this college that do not even appear on CC election platforms, such as why we can afford to build a new science center but not to keep the Health Center open over the summer, or that during the recession we closed two dining halls but somehow managed to maintain our naval-sized fleet of CSS vans.

I hope that this mockery of CC represents a change of power collectively into student hands.

Our concerns do not deserve to get lost under a stack of papers because aspiring bureaucrats want to play politics.”

Romero, however, disapproved of such actions. “I am disappointed and frustrated with the lack of participation in CC elections, but I was particularly disgusted with the introduction of the postelection resolution,” he said.

“Instead of putting their time and effort into attempting to

make College Council better, or improve student life on this campus, some self-important people decided to pull this joke as a blatant sign of disrespect for student governance.

This is part of a broader trend, including a class representative who ran on a platform of abolishing CC, to engage in performative acts of selfaggrandizement instead of acting in the best interests of their fellow students. Unfortunately, my term on Council was beset with this type of behavior – I regret not being able to do more to stop it.”

For Romero, criticism of CC should not originate from disengaged students. “I would also add, however, that unless people want to run for CC and participate in elections (for actual candidates), they shouldn’t complain that it’s not being responsive to their concerns,” he said.

Recently elected CC coPresidents Carlos CabreraLomelí ’20, Ellie Sherman ’20 and Olivia Tse ’20 were also surprised by the election of Papa Smurf. “We were surprised of how much support this write-in option received during the election and has continued to receive since then,” they said. “That a fictional cartoon character has caught the attention of so many students demonstrates how frustrated students have become with how past Councils have taken themselves too seriously. We are glad that this happening has brought up so many more conversations about CC through campus. We also hope that the same support we are currently witnessing for this write-in option also appears in solidarity with students mobilizing for the support of black and queer professors, Asian American studies, affinity housing, need-blind admission for international students and compensation for JAs.”

Frank Pekarski,” Boyer said.

Boyer did not send anyone to Hollander Hall, telling McPartland, “[This] was not our area of expertise or enforcement.”

Around 3 p.m. on Feb. 13, McPartland began moving the materials in Hollander Hall, picking up the articles, poems and string that had been placed on the floor and moving them to a table on the first floor of the building. Students witnessed McPartland moving the materials from their original location and asked him why he had removed the materials. He told students that the materials were in violation of the fire code.

That evening, students began construction of a new, larger installation. Printed photographs of Love and Green, copies of the Record and articles from

Having tabled accreditation for Lawrence Hall, which houses the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) and a significant portion of the College’s art history and studio faculty, the College is assessing the possibility of future renevation and a new facility. Though the accreditation report acknowledged the museum’s important educational role both for the campus and wider community, it cited concerns that the physical state of the building rendered it unfit to safely host a continually growing art collection.

“The accreditation decision was tabled until the museum could address concerns that centered on the condition of the building, ensuring safe and adequate space for collections and rebuilding the

ANIAH PRICE/PHOTO EDITOR

The College is exploring the possibility of renovating or relocating WCMA.

As the installation remained, students added their messages.

On one wall, covered with a sheet of paper, students wrote messages criticizing both McPartland’s decision to remove pieces as well as the College at large.

Messages such as “Respect Our Mourning,” “Look They Hate Us” and “When can I be free to learn” were written across the wall. “To Idle is To Hurt” and “We Are Hurting” were written on the wall and floor with newspaper. The memorial expanded as the days passed.

On the afternoon of Feb. 18, students looking after the installation were told by Mandel that the memorial was in violation of the fire code and ADA regulation. Before the end of the day, in compliance with regulation, the installation had been moved from the hallway to the front of Hollander Hall.

SABRINE BRISMEUR/PHOTO EDITOR

College explores renovating or rebuilding facility museum staff,” said Provost Dukes Love, who oversees strategic planning at the College. “It’s essentially a probationary status, and we’ve been given additional time to address these concerns.”

The museum, like the College, undergoes an accreditation process approximately every 10 years. After a comprehensive self-study, a site visit by peer reviewers and an accreditation review, the American Alliance of Museums, which conducts the process, can approve, deny or table a museum’s accreditation. Around 30 percent of decisions are tabled, and 95 percent of these tabled decisions ultimately result in an approved accreditation.

“We’re taking the tabling period as an opportunity to both make short term changes and also to address the longer term challenges of Lawrence Hall,” Love said.

tressed by any interference with students freely expressing themselves in a way that is not disruptive,” Mandel wrote. “I want to make clear that I fully support those who were expressing their thoughts and feelings through the content that was removed.”

That night, students placed fliers of McPartland in Hopkins Hall. The posters, which were taken down by College staff that following morning, read: “Keith McPartland. We Charge this man with the destruction of Black Existence on this Campus.” The fliers also quoted civil rights activist Malcolm X, reading, “I charge the white man with being the greatest murderer on earth… Everywhere he’s gone he’s created destruction.” In her email on Feb. 19, Mandel called the fliers an “incendiary, offensive and damaging attack has no place at Williams.”

Two additional installations honoring Love and Green were placed in front of Love’s office (left) and McPartland’s office (right) last week.

Lawrence Hall accreditation tabled

By WILLIAM NEWTON PRODUCTIONS MANAGER

the Feminist Wire – including the piece Love and Green coauthored – were hung from the walls and ceiling.

Photos of Love and Green were placed on McPartland’s door, and a wreath of sticks were placed on the ground in front of it. Messages from the students were written on the pictures of the professors, including “Black Love is Not a Fire Hazard,” “We Remember” and “Free Speech At What Cost?” with the hashtags #BlackLives Matter, #SayHerName and #WeRemember written over the pictures as well.

That night, a banner reading “Black Love is Not a Fire Hazard” was raised over the fireplace in Paresky Center.

On the morning of Feb. 14, Mandel sent an email to the student body addressing the removal and reconstruction of the installation. “I am deeply dis-

In response to the report’s concern over the safe storage of a growing art collection, the College will move a significant portion of its collection to a newly completed arts storage facility and library. In addition, a planned renovation of Lawrence Hall is in the works. This summer, there will be a strategic planning exercise on the future of Lawrence Hall, where the College will look to address concerns in the accreditation report and discuss the likely possibility of investing in a new museum.

“The College recognizes that a longer term solution to the challenges of the physical space of the museum will likely require investments in a new museum building and the renovation of Lawrence Hall, which is both historically important and architecturally significant,” Love said. “A new museum building would not only be a more cost-efficient way to address the central challenges outlined in the accreditation report; it would also open up some exciting interdisciplinary possibilities in Lawrence Hall.”

Though any future projects must ultimately receive approval from the president and the Board of Trustees, Love is optimistic that the College will not only meet the concerns of the accreditation process but also use this as an opportunity to further support the arts on campus.

“We have some exciting energy surrounding all of the arts on campus,” Love said. “The College is committed to ensuring that we not only pass accreditation but that we continue to support and build on our legacy of curating, researching and teaching an extraordinary collection of art from around the world.”

6 FEATURES

The Williams Record

February 20, 2019

One in Two Thousand

By KAIRA MEDIRATTA and REBECCA TAUBER EXECUTIVE EDITORS We both met Crystal as firstyears, Kaira through Willy E (she and Crystal are now roommates), Rebecca through crew.

Crystal always brightens our days with her animated anecdotes and quirky style. We recently sat down with her to discuss everything from herbalism to anarchist puppeteers to flooding toilets.

RT: What’s in the notebook that you brought to this interview?

CM: Some thoughts, let me see...

So here’s one, and it has to do with my Winter Study. My Winter Study was with this herbalism organization, and they make an effort to erase the boundaries between food and medicine. You take plants and, for example, can make tinctures out of them, which you can then add like a dressing to a salad! I thought that was an interesting way to reframe how to think about eating and healing.

KM: How did you decide on this Winter Study plan?

CM: At the end of last semester, I was in the print studio making a final for my American studies class (take a class with [Assistant Professor] Eli Nelson!), and it was the first time I had ever made a print, and it was just a really, really amazing experience.

While I was carving, I just kept thinking about how if I didn’t have other finals, I would be so happy. I wanted to experience that feeling. So I asked if I could print-make something for this organization, and they were like,

“Sure.” That’s the project that I’m working on right now. And it’s a zine. It’s a spring issue, so it’s about four different herbs that grow in the spring.

Right now I’m working on a spread for dandelions. Dandelions are seen as weeds, and people try to kill them off, but the more you kill them the more they regrow. Weeds are our allies. Also dandelions are bitter, but it’s really interesting because right now our diets are so high in carbs and sugars that we don’t think of bitterness as a good flavor. But in the past, people distinguished between good and bad bitterness. [Laughs.]

This is like the 10th time I’ve talked about dandelions these past few days.

CRYSTAL MA ’21

RT: Tell us more about your experience on planes.

KM: So, what did you do last summer?

CM: I worked at an agricultural lab that was working to develop perennial rice. Oh yeah, in China. I think that agriculture and changing the way that we understand agriculture are really important. Because right now, our approach to food cultivation is very instrumentalist. We view land as a resource or tool. But food is the most intimate of natural experiences that we can have.

RT: What did you do your senior year of high school?

CM: I worked at a weaving cooperative in Guatemala. And then in the summer I went to New York to attend a UN conference. Basically, the way our high school works, our senior year, most people get an internship. I’d heard of people being abroad for that year, so I worked it out.

ANIAH PRICE/PHOTO EDITOR CRYSTAL’S HOMETOWN REDMOND, WASH.

CRYSTAL’S RESIDENCE CURRIER

RT: Are you still working for the cooperative?

CM: Right now, I run their Etsy store. It’s really cool. The cooperative itself is so, so amazing.

It’s an indigenous cooperative, so everyone who lives in this town, San Juan La Laguna, is Mayan. The women in the cooperative haven’t gone through any formal education, but they’re brilliant mathematicians and businesswomen, in addition to artists.

KM: What's the coolest thing you learned while you were in Guatemala?

CM: Well, I got better at Spanish, which was one thing. But another thing that I learned was capoeira,

“Popcorn” WSO thread turns 11

By SAMUEL WOLF EXECUTIVE EDITOR “Popcorn..or is it,” as the classic saying goes. On Feb. 23, 2008, Elizabeth Schwartzman ’08 posted the phrase on Williams Students Online (WSO), plunging readers into a decade-long debate on the morality of theft, the durability of humor and the succulence (or lack thereof) of a traditionally salty snack.

“So my frneds nd I stole poporm frm our neighboring suite,” Schwartzman began in a comment ridden with typos. “turns out. it was 100 calriore popcornig. also. it was sweet. like what the fuck.”

On that February night almost exactly 11 years ago, there was no taste to Schwartzmann as abhorrent as that popcorn’s seeping sweetness. “[T]his was in no wasy satisdactying when we needed it to be satidaying,” she continued. Indeed, she postulated, popcorn without saltiness can never be “satisdactying,” let alone “satidaying.”

She added, “[P]opcorn should e salthy, rather than sweet. I would like t say DWON WITH orville recednechbatcher.”

It wasn’t long before the post was picked up by the student body at large. The second comment in the thread, from William Slack ’11, simply stated, “Second for ‘satidactying,’” while the third, from Adrei Baiu ’11, read, “aah. The drunken encounters with kettle corn…”

Before long, images began to accompany the posts, with Andrew Triska ’11 submitting a meme as the thread’s fifth entry: “It’s satidactying,” a red scrawl declares, emblazoned above a preening Orville Redenbacher. The message is betrayed, however, by the addition of “Too Damn Sweet” below.

Eric Maier ’08, an early poster, stated in an email to the Record that the thread’s recent blossoming was nothing short of remarkable. “My one insight is that we basically predicted the Internet because in 2008, meme culture was an infant,” he said.

Buoyed by an inter-decade taste for the absurd, the thread has remained active for the better part of 11 years, with the formal anniversary this upcoming Saturday. From an Oct. 13,

2008 comment by Jared Quinton ’10, reading, “thought i’d bump this for a humorous study break. happy reading period,” to the July 3, 2018 declaration from Colin Pinney ’22, “I regret accepting the admission offer,” the post has reverberated throughout the ages.

Is buttery popcorn a toothsome repast or a noxious pestilence? Some tracked a middle ground. “Popcorn is like a butterfly: they are both in a hard cocoon/shell and then they metamorphose and come out pretty,” Ananth Shastri ’21 posited. “[A]lso they are both good to eat.”

Schwartzman herself had choice thoughts on the circumstances that led to the post’s creation. “What led me to write this statement? Frankly, it speaks for itself,” she said in an email to the Record. “I needed popcorn, and I needed regular, salty popcorn. Stealing kettle corn?

Pretty much like stealing a winning lottery ticket, but instead of winning money, you win paper cuts on the webbing of your toes. You’re left with shame, disappointment in yourself, but ultimately, disillusionment with our current state of affairs.”

Indeed, shame consumed Schwartzman even as she composed her masterpiece.

“I remember the accompanying feelings of rage, disappointment, and guilt,” she said. “In fact, I will never forget that evening.”

Neither would many of her co-contributors, it seems. “That post gets bumped every couple of years and I knew it was only a matter of time before it came back to haunt me again,” Triska said. “Current Williams students may be confused by it, but you have to remember, 2008 was a far more satidactying time. Also, to my clients: This is why you don’t Google your therapist.”

Schwartzman largely concurred. “Williams College in 2008 was a simple time, its students yearning for simple pleasures,” she said. “I would guess the rawness, both in content and in style, struck the same chord in many different hearts.”

At the time the thread began, WSO served as a vibrant social and political forum. “[WSO] was the place where we had a lot of really in-depth conversations,” Slack, an early poster,

there were movies, I had to watch movies the entire time, and I could not sleep. I was a class officer my senior year of high school, and I helped plan prom. Prom was on Saturday and I booked my ticket so I would come back from Guatemala the Friday before and go to prom the next day, and it’d be so fun. But I missed the connecting flight because I had a red-eye and watched movies the whole time. I ended up getting back Saturday morning.

And then I went to prom, and it was fun.

said. “Social media wasn’t nearly as developed, and WSO constituted our primary place of students debating ideas and campus controversies.”

The thread became both an embodiment of WSO and a rebellion against its more serious forums, which often contained dozens of comments and sometimes engaged in racist or sexist discourse. “This was a pretty exceptional post,” Slack said. “WSO had very little, ‘I’m drunk and want to express myself.’” Early community engagement with the post exuded a carefree spirit that kept it relevant for all four years that Slack attended the College. Indeed, when Slack posted on Facebook about the Record’s coverage of the post, he saw several dozen comments – a testament to the legacy it left for then-students.

He did, however, express surprise that the thread remained active even after 11 years.

Some have speculated as to Schwartzman’s attitudes in seeing her thoughts immortalized. “Elizabeth Schwartzman may be regretting the post since graduation,” fellow commenter Molly Berenbaum ’21 postulated. “What can I say – none of us can truly choose our legacies.”

The post’s lingering popularity certainly caught Schwartzman by surprise. “I definitely had no idea about this,” she said.

“I haven’t been on WSO since I graduated, and I’d of course be curious to see how Williams students have found it to be relevant to their lives.”

Current students have indeed found meaning in the post.

“William college: elite, preppy, but also home to popcorn piracy, intrigue and possibly large-scale protest of popcorn manufacture,” Pinney said. “In the end, I have realized that this post contains the essence of the whimsy of Williams college, and I am happy to contribute to this whimsy in my own small ways every day.”

Shastri echoed Pinney’s appreciation for the post. “I sometimes have a hard time identifying with Williams as an institution because it’s so privileged and (still) so white and helped colonize Hawaii?!” he said. “But I can identify with popcorn. And also with failing at the English language.

“In a way, we are all Elizabeth J. Schwartzman.”

MARTIAL ART OF CHOICE CAPOERIA

which is a really popular activity within the expat community around Lake Atitlan. Capoeira is this Afro-Brazilian martial art.

And it’s really beautiful because it’s called playing, not fighting.

It’s a type of martial art that does take a lot of physical training, but it’s also more interesting because you are always thinking about interacting energies and bodies, and somehow it works out and no one hits each other. It looks like a dance.

RT: How have your experiences traveling been?

CM: I’ve missed a ton of planes, partially because of my personality, but partially because of this theory I had, that I no longer have, that if I was on a plane and

CM: When I was flying back home last year, I was super bored, so I kept watching this guy a few rows in front of me. He was wearing weird clothes and was reading this small red book.

There was a baby that was crying next to him, and he got out of his seat in the middle of the plane and took these puppets out from his carry-on. They were really raggedy and kind of creepy looking, but then he started playing with them and singing, and the baby stopped crying. Eventually, he pulls out his laptop, and it was a little creepy of me to do this, but as he was typing in his password I look and I see his name, so I quickly jot it down on my phone.

Eventually, I go back home, and I look him up on the internet, and I find out he’s this anarchist puppeteer who’s based in New York, but also his mom has mutual friends with me, and our mutual friend is my high school English teacher. I go online and read all these crazy things that he’s written and this art that he’s made about the rhizome, and it’s so interesting, and I love rhizomes both in biology and social

theory. I emailed him, but he hasn’t responded yet.

KM: I know you have a brother who’s 10 years older than you. Can you tell me about your relationship?

CM: He’s super quiet but very thoughtful. Like, literally, me and him never said a word to each other until I was 15, maybe.

He’s also the nicest and smartest person in the whole world.

My mom told me that when I was young, like 3, and he was in middle school, he had this really big art project that he made.

It was a scroll and it took him months to work on it … but I didn’t know better and tore it up on accident. He was so young but didn’t get mad at all. That sums up our relationship.

KM: Wow. You were such a mischievous child. Any other stories?

CM: Oh – I have a good one from third grade. Me and a friend named McKenna would go into the bathrooms during recess every single day. And we would lock the doors and roll up a ton of toilet paper, stick it in the toilet and flush 20 times as aggressively as possible, until the bathroom flooded. And then we would climb out over the stalls so that the doors were still locked. And we went to a bathroom in a different hallway every single day. I think this happened for literally at least three weeks, until someone closed the bathrooms for repair. Actually [Laughs.], I was the mayor and she was the vicemayor of our third-grade class town. So we were the mayors, but we were also damaging public property.

Zilkha, Davis Centers solicit community opinions on equity

By NANDINI SEETHARAMAN STAFF WRITER If you set foot in Paresky last week, you probably noticed several bulletin boards covered in colored note cards all over Baxter Hall. This was the Equity Drafting Table, an interactive pop-up exhibit designed to encourage campus conversations about equity.

This project was co-sponsored by the Zilkha Center and the Davis Center, two campus establishments that are concerned with equity, inclusion and campus improvement.

“We’re really interested in cracking open the conversation about how to create a robust and inclusive community thinking about equity in the built environment,” said Mike Evans, assistant director of the Zilkha Center. “We wanted to make sure that the campus got a chance and gets a chance to participate in that conversation.”

One of the goals of the Equity Drafting Table was to achieve a definition of equity that works for the College.

“It would be improper to say, ‘Equity is defined in this way, and we’ve decided it, and therefore that is what it is,’ because that’s an inequitable process of deciding,” said

Caroline Bruno, sustainability coordinator at the Zilkha Center. “If you want to build the thing into the process, you have to create a situation where more people can contribute their ideas of what equity means before you can define it for the community.”

Even though the exhibit was called the Equity Drafting Table, the space it occupied went beyond a single table. Instead, it was a large, multi-dimensional arrangement of boards that people could walk through. The boards covered a wide range of topics, from transportation and utilities to governance and education. Under each of these topics were several questions, and community members were free to write anonymous answers on cards and pin them up. This display was up for one week in Baxter Hall.

“I think it went a little outside what most people would expect,” Bruno said. “Oftentimes, when something is up, you’re supposed to just be an observer, but if everyone was only an observer, there would just be blank panels. I think that people did appreciate looking at other people’s responses.”

All of the questions posed were designed to make people think about the environment and spaces they both exist in

and interact with. The questions included, “Where do you feel at home on the Williams Campus?” “Can you get where you need to go on public transportation or by walking or biking?” and “Do you feel that you have a voice in decision making at Williams?”

The wide variety of questions allowed for a broadened understanding of our “built environment,” which is not just physical buildings but also the services we use and the culture we create. Students wrote their answers on colored cards, while others wrote their answers on white cards.

The feedback the Equity Drafting Table gathered will be used to help inform policy, planning and engagement efforts. “We want to make sure that it’s not just a thing that happened, but a thing that we use to make better decisions for the College that represents the thoughts and feelings of the campus community,” Evans said.

There will be an event on March 7 going over the community input from the Equity Drafting Table.

Those with a dedication to helping make this community a more equitable place are encouraged to reach out to the Zilkha and Davis Centers.

ANIAH PRICE/PHOTO EDITOR

The Equity Drafting Table in Baxter encouraged community members to share their perspectives on equity.

February 20, 2019

FEATURES 7

The Williams Record

Student veterans reflect on experiences at the College

By NIGEL JAFFE FEATURES EDITOR For the first time in recent history, there are enough U.S. veterans enrolled as undergraduates at the College and four of its elite peers – Amherst, Harvard, Princeton and Yale – to field two full football teams. This milestone was one of the more peculiar findings drawn from a November 2018 poll assessing veteran enrollment at highly selective colleges. Run by Inside Higher Education columnist Wick Sloane ’76, the project made one thing clear: Though enrollment at liberal arts colleges is on the rise, the majority of student veterans choose very different settings for their college experience.

“A lot of veterans get out and go to large state schools – the University of Texas, UVA – and do quite well,” said Adam Jones ’21, who served for two years in the U.S. Marine Corps. “But for a variety of reasons, that path isn’t right for everyone.”

Those who do end up at the College, however, find a warm welcome in the Purple Valley.

“Williams, unlike many of its peers, is incredibly supportive in making the student experience here whatever you want it to be,” Jones said. “I think that’s why the veterans here integrate so well.”

Benton Leary ’20, who spent six years in the U.S. Navy, felt a similar sense of community upon arriving on campus. “What struck me about Williams was the fact that the students and professors here were genuinely welcoming,” he said. “When they asked you, ‘How’s it going?’ they seemed to genuinely care about the answer.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE.

Because of their unconventional backgrounds, many veterans share a heightened appreciation for their time at the College.

That’s not something I had seen anywhere else.”

Leary, who is a junior advisor, was one of two veterans in the class of 2020 to arrive at the College through the help of VetLink, a platform that connects high-achieving veterans with selective colleges and universities.

The other, Landon Marchant ’20, served in the U.S. Air Force as a welder-machinist working on B-52s and later apprenticed for three years as a plumber-welder. Marchant spoke highly of VetLink’s usefulness in streamlining the college process for applicants with unconventional backgrounds.

“VetLink turned both my mili-

tary profile and my trades profile into something that colleges can understand,” they said.

Though it took some time for Marchant to feel comfortable as a student at the College, a sense of exhilaration has since overshadowed the initial uneasiness. “To be getting an education from a place that’s so grand – I mean, the 24-hour room looks like it came from Hogwarts – that’s still kind of disconcerting,” they said. “But at the same time, I’m just so incredibly excited for the fact that I need to learn how to be comfortable in those places...

It’s a privilege to be able to bitch about the amount of work I’ve put on myself.”

Spotlight on Research: José Constantine balances academia, advocacy

By LUKE VALADIE STAFF WRITER Students at the College hear plenty about their professors’ courses and research. But beyond their focus in academic circles, some faculty also apply their expertise to social issues.

One such professor is José Constantine, assistant professor of geosciences, whose research intersects with his own environmental advocacy.

Constantine’s research explores how rivers shape their surrounding landscapes, examining the forces that make natural environments dynamic.

“I study rivers and river landscapes, why rivers do what they do, how they move and flood and push things around,” said Constantine, who describes himself as a fluvial geomorphologist.

“Recently, we’ve made some discoveries about how a particular kind of river behaves: these meandering rivers [that] effectively migrate across valley floors.”

Because these rivers play a critical role in nearby ecosystems, understanding them is essential to environmental stability, Constantine said. One of the goals of his work is to investigate how human influences affect rivers. In a study of a river in Malaysia, Constantine and his team found evidence suggesting a link between erosion of riverbanks and deforestation.

His conclusions highlighted the integral role of sediment in the ecosystem. “In the Amazon, it’s all about the sediment.

The sediment comes off of the mountains and helps keep these rivers dynamic,” he said.

“Shut those [influxes of] sediments off, and these rivers will stop doing those things.”

As his career has evolved, Constantine has become deeply involved in environmental justice initiatives. While his study of rivers continues, he also works to educate the public about environmental issues and to empower marginalized groups affected by them. He sees this work as a natural outgrowth of his scientific research, but he also believes that coming to the College was an important step toward pursuing environmental activism. “It feels strange to admit it, but only because I came to Williams have I started to get involved in work in environmental justice,” he said.

Though his activism takes place far from the College, Constantine seeks to benefit marginalized communities through his work. “We’re starting a project in a small community in Illinois called Centerville, one of the poorest places in the country,” he said. “The infrastructure in this community is no longer working... After a little bit of rain, there’s widespread flooding in this very poor community.

So we’re working with a couple of lawyers there in hopes that we can build data to demonstrate that what these folks are suffering is completely unnatural and a result of neglect.”

Constantine also brings his enthusiasm for environmental jus-

tice to campus. He teaches GEOS 103: “Global Warming and Environmental Change,” which he sees as an opportunity to equip students with knowledge to protect the natural world. The course explores the science behind human-caused climate change, as well as its social implications.

“The first time I taught it, I wasn’t ready for what I was going to experience in that class.

I didn’t know how to leverage it, to turn it into something,” he said. “The problem is so real – the fact that people’s lives are being affected now requires us to act now. I don’t want it to be that course where you just take a tour of disaster… I want to think more carefully about equipping all of us, myself and my students, with ways we can actually make a difference.”

Constantine frequently works with students on environmental research projects, their thesis topics ranging from “The Environmental History of the Mississippi River” to “GIS [Geographic Information System] and Environmental Change.” Constantine sees this research as another extension of his work in advocacy.

“I’m proud of what we’re doing,” he said. “There are three thesis students working with me this year, and each one of them [is] working ... on the intersection of society and natural spaces, thinking about ways of making these spaces better…

I’m super excited to work with students who are interested in the environment.”

Leary similarly said that his appreciation for what the College can offer is amplified by his radically different background. “Those veterans who do choose to come to places like Williams are people who have weighed many different options,” he said. “We’ve come to Williams with a significant opportunity cost, which I think makes us think very intentionally about our time here and try to squeeze everything we can out of it.”

Jake Bingaman ’19, who served for nine years as a Navy SEAL, said his attitude now is significantly different from when he first started college, in 2004. “At first, I

-

didn’t know what I was doing, or why,” he said. “This time around, I’ve been able to be much more focused.”

Bingaman echoed Leary and Marchant in mentioning the pressure he feels to make the most of his remaining time at the College. “At this point, I feel like I have a kind of ‘antisenioritis,’” he said. “There is an incredible value in just being able to be here, to go to classes, do the readings, write your papers, engage with other people in their ideas. Just having the time and space to think deeply and broadly about various topics is a blessing that you don’t really get outside of a place like this. I didn’t under-

stand the value in that the first time I tried school.”

Many veterans found the College especially willing to adapt to the needs of applicants in unconventional circumstances. “Williams was one of the few colleges that was willing to defer my application for two years,” said Calum Ferguson ’19, who spent two years in the Singaporean Army before coming to the College.

“I looked at Amherst, but they wouldn’t let me do it. Williams just pushed back my application, and it was no problem.”

Carolina Echenique, assistant director of admission, affirmed the office’s committment to attracting veterans from a variety of backgrounds. “We welcome applications from students who have served in their home countries abroad and recognize that their experiences are unique and incredibly valuable, while maintaining our strong commitment to recruiting U.S. military veterans,” Echenique said.

Meanwhile, support from the administration continues to grow. “Based on the feedback from veterans on campus, we’ve tried some new strategies and created a program for prospective student veterans to apply for funding to visit campus throughout the year,” she said.

That supportive attitude extends beyond the admission office and plays a major role in affording both a comfortable and inviting place for those veterans who choose to come to the College. “It still makes my skin crawl how nice people are here,” Marchant said. “I know experiences range across the board, but personally, I’ve never been in a place where I’ve been so supported in my life.”

Best Bathrooms on Campus We in the Record office were sick of the uninspired bathrooms in upstairs Paresky, so we scoped out the more interesting lavatories on campus. Here are the best places to go when you’ve got to go.

THOMPSON CHEMISTRY LABS, 3RD FLOOR Best feature: mysterious poster This spacious bathroom receives few visitors, so you can take your time here, perhaps pondering the enigmatic poster, which contains only two words: “casual woods.”

SAWYER, 3RD FLOOR Best feature: marble stall dividers These elegant bathrooms, located near the main entrance of Sawyer, are a crowd favorite.

Golden signage, marble stall dividers and abundant toilet paper contribute to the bathrooms’ palatial atmosphere.

CLASS OF 1966 ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER Best feature: composting toilets The composting toilets, with their signature foam flushes, bring a sense of excitement – and environmental responsibility – to a simple bathroom break.

SABRINE BRISMEUR/PHOTO EDITOR

Constantine, assistant professor of geosciences, researches how rivers interact with surrounding landscapes.

8 ARTS

The Williams Record

February 20, 2019

North Berkshire Artists Group promotes creativity in North Adams

By LILY GOLDBERG ARTS EDITOR Ashley Strazzinski has a lot going on. She’s just gotten off the phone with the team for the O+ Festival, a music, arts and healthcare (yes, you read that right) festival. Her project space hosted a poetry night last Wednesday. She’s a creator, a place-maker and an illustrator, and she’s been hunkered down in Tunnel City Coffee behind her stickered MacBook since 9:30 a.m.

Strazzinski runs Ashland Street Project Space, a “community flex-space” in North Adams which operates as Strazzinski’s semi-private studio during the daytime and hosts workshops with titles like “DIY Sketchbook / Journal Workshop” and “Online Sex Work 101” after hours. Ashland Street is one of five organizations co-hosting the North Berkshires Artists Meetup, a new, quarterly, informal networking event for creatives in the Northern Berkshire area.

“In Fall 2017, Blair Benjamin from MASS MoCA approached a handful of people from the arts community to organize a gathering of artists and collect information on their needs. From that, we started this thing called the Artist Town Hall,” Strazzinski said. “The town hall was meant to bring together all the different pockets of creative people.”

The Artist Town Hall did just that: In August 2018, 115 creatives from the Berkshire area gathered at MASS MoCA to exchange information, share resources and promote their services.

“We did this exercise where we asked people to say what they need and what they can offer,” Strazzinski explained. “Maybe I’m

PHOTO COURTESY OF ASSETS FOR ARTISTS.

At the Artist Town Hall in August 2018, more than 100 local artists gathered at MASS MoCA to share resources and network. a photographer and can offer my photography services, while someone else is good with technology and could help me with my website.”

After the Artist Town Hall, the North Berkshire Artist Group began a monthly e-resource that compiles information about artistic happenings in the Berkshires and beyond.

The e-resource includes links to residency applications, cultural events and a “Classifieds” section for local artists to advertise their needs or services.

The North Berkshire Artists Meetup will continue the work that the Artist Town Hall and eresource began by providing creatives with a space for conversation and connection. Strazzinski stressed that these meetups are not just for visual artists.

“My roommate is a chef and a baker, and I’d encourage him to come,” she said. “Cool intersections happen when you get

different disciplines in conversation – like, say, a baker talking to a dancer.” Strazzinski also stressed that artists need not be daunted by lack of experience – the meetup is for hobbyists and professionals alike.

These quarterly meetups are hosted by the aforementioned North Berkshire Artists Group – an unofficial “super-council” of local arts groups. The organizations that comprise the North Berkshire Artists Group include hyperlocal community organizations like Ashland Street Project Space and Common Folk, a community organization based in North Adams, as well as residential communities such as the North Adams artist lofts Eclipse Mill and Beaver Mill.

One especially interesting sponsor is Assets for Artists, a project of MASS MoCA that provides financial support for creators of all artistic disciplines. One of Assets for Artists’

15 Reasons you should have been at “Whack at 8” last Saturday

unique offerings is the North Adams Project, which provides a grant to artists interested in relocating to North Adams. The influx of millennial artists into North Adams has raised some community concerns about the relationship of these artists to older residents, many of whom lost employment after the shutdown of Sprague Electric in 1985 (whose former plant now houses MASS MoCA). Amid rising rent costs, some community members are wary of the intentions of developers who often speak of “reviving” or “reclaiming” the architecture of North Adams, the relative squalor of which fits a neo-industrial hipster aesthetic. The hotel “Tourists,” where the North Berkshire Artists Meetup will be held this evening, is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Claiming inspiration from the “classic American roadside motor lodge,” the rustic-chic resort –

“Queer Zines” workshop celebrates queer creativity, love in all forms

By WILSON LAM STAFF WRITER

PHOTO COURTESY OF NASIR GRISSOM.

Students attended a pop-up party dedicated to and modeled after rapper Tierra Whack’s project Whack World.

By CRYSTAL MA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

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A poster where you could write down a favorite question

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Uncolored lights

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Unicorn poop and cheese balls

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Helium and drinks

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Two eggs

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Kester was there

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Bubble gum

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Confetti

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All the studio artmajors from down the hall were also there

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All of Tierra Whack’s 2018 album Whack World

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A video of yourself in the room projected on a wall of the room

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Small bananas

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Colored lights

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No hermeneutics

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Someone wearing silver spandex lying on an elevated surface in the middle of the room

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which faces the Stop & Shop on Route 2 – is simply an upscale revamp of its predecessor, the Redwood Motel.

The tension between longtime residents and recent transplants is definitely on the minds of the North Berkshire Artists group. The Ashland Street Project Space even hosted a two-part “Conversation About Gentrification” this past fall to address issues arising within the North Adams and greater Berkshire community. Strazzinski believes, however, that the division between generational residents and newly arrived artists is perhaps misunderstood.

“I opened Ashland Street Project Space to connect longtime generational residents with newer people moving to the area. Not all artists are trying to move in and sell photographs for thousands of dollars,” said Strazzinski. “The first mistake is assuming that you’re the ‘Art-

ist in Town.’ There have been artists in this community since before MASS MoCA existed.” As evidence, the Artist Town Hall drew in both new and longtime residents of the Berkshire area, and Strazzinski expects that the meetups will create a similarly diverse crowd.

Through the Ashland Project Space and her own work, Strazzinski uses art as a way to promote engagement with the North Adams community.

Strazzinski recently received a council cultural grant to produce a zine about the inner workings of the North Adams City Council. “I go to the meetings, and after the meetings, I take the Berkshire Eagle, cut it letter sized and summarize the meetings on it with a Sharpie.

The plan is to release [the zines] into businesses where people are waiting, like barber shops or mechanics,” Strazzinski said.

“The purpose of the zine is to engage people in city government in a more interesting way than reading in the Berkshire Eagle and getting angry about how the Bradley Church Street crosswalk still hasn’t been painted.”

Strazzinski’s main desire for the meetups is to foster an environment that will allow people to connect with each other without the pressure traditionally associated with networking.

“We’re trying to create comfortable spaces and inclusive spaces where you don’t feel like you’re going to an elitist event,” she said. “It’s about letting people know that wherever you are in the creative process, whether a working artist or a hobbyist, you’re still part of a creative community.”

The first North Berkshire Artist Meetup is tonight, Feb. 20, at 6:30 p.m. in the Airport Rooms at Tourists Resort. If you are an artist or creative seeking or offering services, email ashley.

The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) commemorated Valentine’s Day last Thursday with “Queer Zines: A Conversation and Workshop.” As its name suggests, the event was a twopart look into the relationship between zine culture, contemporary media and queerness in all its manifestations.

The event’s first half began in WCMA’s new exhibition, “possible selves: queer foto vernaculars,” which draws inspiration from social media’s and digital zine culture’s contributions to contemporary queer self-expression. As visitors entered the space, they encountered a tabletop spread of zines published by guest speaker Be Oakley, artist and founder of GenderFail, a publishing and programming initiative that advocates for and amplifies intersectional queer voices. Soon after, Oakley began conversing with Assistant Professor of Art Pallavi Sen, who had known Oakley since graduate school.

Sen began the conversation by reciting a Facebook post, written by queer activist Alok Vaid-Menon, that called on society to celebrate friendship as an equally valid form of love alongside romantic and sexual love. Oakley then

began to recount their own history of zine-making, from smaller publications during their undergraduate studies to GenderFail, an initiative that embraces failure as a creative force resulting from the dismantling and destruction of preexisting systems.

In particular, Oakley discussed their objective to uproot the able-bodied cisgender white gay male as society’s queer default: Twink, one of Oakley’s earliest projects, was a zine that collected Google Images search results for the titular word. After pages of the expected shirtless, hairless, svelte young (mostly white) men, readers would begin to spot a woman whose face began to emerge more and more, until the final few pages were more or less devoid of the former and dominated by the latter. In creating Twink, Oakley hoped to desexualize the titular term and disassociate it from what some may consider the “default/ideal queer body.”

The conversation then shifted towards Sen’s own forays into zine culture, which culminated in the creation and publication of her own zine, the Dead Planet Cookbook. Dismayed at the contemporary culture of waste and culinary ineptitude of her peers, Sen set out to construct easy and low-budget (“under $30 a week”) meals

that satisfied both the body and soul, trying to minimize the use of ingredients that came in disposable packaging. Citing cooking for someone else as the greatest act of love one could undertake, Sen emphasized that each dish she made with and for others had a story and that the Dead Planet Cookbook was as much a book of recipes as it was a slice of her life.

After a brief break for dinner, attendees regrouped in the Spencer Studio Art Building for the second part of the event: beginning their own adventures in zine creation.

Oakley showed attendees how to make their own eight-page mini zines from single sheets of paper. Sen and Oakley encouraged attendees to think and make beyond the rectangular forms so commonly associated with paper publications.

In keeping with the event’s premise of recognizing and celebrating non-romantic and nonsexual love, Sen and WCMA Associate Director for Academic and Public Engagement Nina Pelaez even made Valen-zines for one another. This reporter also took the opportunity to make a zine for a dear friend or two.

All in all, Queer Zines filled what would be a typical Valentine’s evening with radical softness, queer creativity and love in all forms.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS: LIVE MUSIC

KAKI KING: DATA NOT FOUND

Saturday, February 23, 8pm CLUB B10 | $15 STUDENTS | $17 ADVANCE | $26 DAY OF | $40 PREFERRED

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILSON LAM.

MUSEUM HOURS: 11am–5pm, closed Tuesdays | North Adams, Mass. | massmoca.org

Students constructed their own zines during the hands-on portion of Thursday’s workshop.

February 20, 2019

ARTS 9

The Williams Record

A conversation with Winter Carnival performers OSHUN

By PHILLIP PYLE ARTS EDITOR OSHUN – a hip-hop and NeoR&B duo comprised of recent NYU graduates, MLK Scholars, self-love activists and multidisciplinary artists Thandiwe and Niambi Sala – performed Saturday night at Goodrich Hall to close out this year’s Winter Carnival. The group’s first studio album, bittersweet vol. 1, has received critical acclaim and includes a feature from multipleGrammy nominee Jorja Smith.

OSHUN has toured Europe in the past year and has performed at multiple colleges while working on new music in the studio in their free time. Co-sponsored

by ACE, WCFM, BSU, MinCo and WOC, the night included an opening performance by student jazz band Homebrew and closed out with a DJ set from OSHUN’s DJ and producer Proda. Before the show, I had the chance to ask OSHUN some questions about their lives as activists, musicians and recent graduates.

Phillip Pyle (PP): What was the initial inspiration behind OSHUN? Did you two always have the music industry in mind?

OSHUN: We both have always had a passion for our music and our culture, and we felt that taking this path embodying the essence of the Yoruba goddess, Oshun, would amplify the power of our voices, thoughts and traditions. Our work creates space for healing and discovery in real time, placing the wisdom of our ancestors at the center of all that we do.

We’ve both dreamt of working in this industry since we were

OSHUN: Our first show in Paris was crazy. It was completely packed, and the crowd was like 98 percent black women. It was the most beautiful embodiment of solidarity and support. We were not expecting to have that much impact and see so many sisters in a super European city.

PP: I noticed the Sunflower Squad (a fandom of sorts for OSHUN’s listeners that promotes growth and love) application on your website.

What inspired that?

SABRINE BRISMEUR/PHOTO EDITOR

Thandiwe and Niambi Sala performed in Goodrich Hall Saturday night. OSHUN’S debut album, bittersweet vol. 1, has received critical acclaim. little girls, of being radically disruptive in the mainstream.

It’s amazing that we’re right on course, and it’s been such an empowering journey learning how to run our own business as independent artists, college grads and black women.

PP: What were your daily schedules like at NYU? OSHUN: Our daily schedule was pretty much waking up in either of our dorms, running to make it to class on time, linking up at Washington Square Park between classes, meeting up after class to get into some wild escapades in the city, creating until 4 a.m. and repeat.

PP: How has the transition been since graduating?

Does there seem to be more creative liberty outside the college atmosphere?

PP: Does performing at colleges bring back a nostalgic feeling?

OSHUN: Postgrad life is a major transition. Freedom is great, but it can be hard to juggle when met with adult responsibilities. We’ve really had to learn how to create our own schedules and stick to them. Our entire life was scheduled around school, and now we have the freedom to do whatever we want, when we want. The greatest parts, though, are that we’ve been able to tour more in the 1.5 years out of school than ever before and we have more time to schedule sessions in the studio. However, we do miss the inspiration we got from being constantly immersed in an academic environment.

OSHUN: We love performing at colleges! Being in academic spaces gives us that same inspirational feeling from our own college experience. We also enjoy showing our peers that we were them literally two years ago, and they can attain whatever their greatest dreams are and more.

PP: Are there any particular artists who inspire your work, whether it’s songwriting or music videos?

OSHUN: Free 21 Savage, Missy Elliot, India Arie, IAMDDB, J. Cole, Rico Nasty, Highclass Hoodlums, just to name a few.

PP: What has been the most challenging aspect of the music industry? The most surprising?

OSHUN: The most challenging aspect of the music industry is realizing that nothing happens overnight. Even the biggest artists with hit singles that hit the radio out of nowhere had to grind and dedicate themselves to their vision. You can’t give up in this industry if you want to make it. The most surprising aspect is that everyone knows everyone, and everyone is watching the underground. Even if you're a SoundCloud R&B singer, you may never know Rihanna is secretly your biggest fan.

PP: Has there been a performance that was more memorable than others?

OSHUN: We’re working on creating a safe space for the whole Squad. We plan on launching a Sunflower Squad online forum where members (including ourselves) will share blog posts each month based on an agreed topic, geared toward self-Love and community healing. Stay tuned!

PP: How did the collaboration with Jorja Smith for “My World” come about?

OSHUN: Jorja came to perform in Brooklyn at the end of 2017 and asked us to support her on the show. We accepted and had a great show. Afterwards we spoke about getting in the studio. A few days later she came to the “stu,” we got some snacks from the grocery store and then we made magic!

PP: What do you two see as being the future of OSHUN? OSHUN: The future of OSHUN includes healing, liberation and more divine femininity! Definitely stay tuned for a new album, “vol. 2,” more music videos and maybe even a special academic workshop at Williams College!

WALLS: Spring picks WALLS participants camped out in Lawrence Hall overnight to get their first-choice picks from WCMA's covetable collection.

See the pieces in their new homes!

Interviews by Amelia Chen Photos by Sabrine Brismeur and Aniah Price

Mina Burns ’22

Ambassade d'Autriche, Eugène Atget “It seemed mysterious yet aesthetic, and it’s really interesting how the photographer plays with light. I feel that because I’m living with the piece, the meaning of the piece changes from day to day as my daily experience changes.”

Ariella Markowitz ’19 Glacial Termination, Daniel Kukla

Ruthie Laurence ’22 Margaret Bourke-White working atop the Chrysler Building, Margaret Bourke-White

“I’m scared of heights, and I just sort of saw it and I was like, wow, this is very frightening, but it’s kind of fun.

It elicits a reaction. Maybe it'll help me get over my fear of heights, who knows. I think it’s really beautiful. I think it’s kind of cool that it's a black and white photo.”

Riverfront, Curran Hagleberg

“It reminds me of how lucky I am to be waking up in a place like this. Every time I wake up to it, I notice something different. There’s a lot more depth in it than there are in some of the other paintings; there’s so many elements to it that are each worth spending some time looking at.”

LOCAL Consignment & Boutique opens its doors on Water Street

By HAEON YOON EXECUTIVE EDITOR

“The piece is really about climate and displacement. It’s a very cool, glacial, kind of abstract landscape. I wanted it to take up a lot of space and be across from the real glacial landscape that’s also outside.”

Sam Thorpe ’22

SABRINE BRISMEUR/PHOTO EDITOR.

Newly opened LOCAL Consignment & Boutique offers trendy thrift within walking distance of the College.

Specializing in women’s clothing, jewelry, unique trinkets and gifts, LOCAL Consignment & Boutique is the latest addition to Water Street. Though small, the boutique is filled with an eclectic mix of vintage and barely-worn clothing and shoes, covering everything from workout wear to business-casual outfits. LOCAL is a one-stop shop for those wishing to mix up their style at an affordable price.

Hannah Reinhard, the store’s owner, explained her vision for LOCAL and how it could benefit the College community. “My whole concept here was: There is no place to shop here in Williamstown,” Reinhard said.

“Even going to North Adams, there aren’t that many options. I mean, the only place really in the Berkshire Mall is Target now.”

LOCAL seeks to fill this gap while also supporting local artisans and jewelers. In addition to clothing, LOCAL is home to illustrations and works by local artists Natalie Criscione and Zoë Doucette.

Criscione’s pieces, which sell for $50 apiece, are mixed media on canvas, “inspired by the need for extra sparkle now and then.” Additionally, Doucette’s colorful and

quaint illustrated cards are for sale in the back section of the boutique.

LOCAL’s proximity to the College has created opportunities for students to connect with and make use of what the store has to offer. Especially as graduation inches closer, with more and more students preparing for summer jobs and internship opportunities, Reinhard highlighted that students can come to the boutique to build their business attire wardrobes at a reasonable price.

“We will dress you up for an interview or for jobs,” Reinhard explained. “We have everything from coats to dress pants to tops to fun shoes to really get you guys excited and ready for the world.”

While one can definitely visit LOCAL to buy an item of clothing or an accessory, it is first and foremost a consignment store, meaning that members of the community can sell their new or gently used clothing to LOCAL. The store accepts any kinds of consignments from members of the community as long as they are in good condition. Luckily, the charm of consignment is timeless. Thanks to the rising popularity of the Netflix series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,” the boutique encourages “discard[ing] everything that does not spark

joy,” with the added benefit of earning a little extra cash.

Looking forward, Reinhard and Cristina Stuebner, the store manager, are hoping to build closer relationships with students from the College and to offer more exciting services. In fact, Stuebner offers makeup services, which Reinhard hopes to transform into a full-package deal for special occasions. “Hopefully it will be a one-stop-shop for when you guys have a spring dance or things like that,” Reinhard commented.

Reinhard does not see LOCAL as a competitor to any other stores on Spring Street. “I want my own twist on things. I’m trying to bring in something that we don’t have in this area,” Reinhard said. In fact, in the next few weeks Reinhard is hoping to start selling sunglasses distributed by Blenders Eyewear, a fresh and vibrant brand from San Diego, Calif.

Though barely three weeks old, LOCAL is already bustling with energy, potential and a growing number of consignors every day. A new boutique with clothes, jewelry, artwork and a tray of mimosas on Sunday mornings: What’s not to love?

LOCAL is open Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

10 SPORTS

The Williams Record

February 20, 2019

Men’s basketball advances to NESCAC semis with win over Trinity

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.

Matt Karpowicz ’20 dominated inside, finishing with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

By ERIC HIRSCH SPORTS INFORMATION Fourth-seeded men’s basketball (20–5, 6–4 in the NESCAC) prevailed over fifth-seeded Trinity 88-77 in a back-and-forth NESCAC quarterfinal matchup on Saturday. The men advance to play Amherst this weekend in

the semifinals, which are hosted

by Hamilton.

Coming off a rare three-game losing streak — which included two home losses last weekend – the No. 16 Ephs looked to get off to a fast start. Determined to attack the basket early in the game, they earned several trips to the free throw line

on their first two possessions but could only convert one of four attempts. The Bantams then reeled off an 8-0 run over the next minute. Despite their struggles in recent games, the men displayed composure and fought their way back.

“I believe this is the longest losing streak these guys have

gone through,” said Eph head coach Kevin App. “And to do it at the end of the regular season is tough. But it was also a great time to wipe the slate clean. I am really proud of our seniors for their leadership and poise. Then to come from down three with five minutes left and rally the troops was just really impressive.”

Kyle Scadlock ’19 led the Ephs with 20 points on perfect 5-for-5 shooting to go along with 6 rebounds. Matt Karpowicz ’20 added 19 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Bobby Casey ’19 also contributed 19 points. Joseph Bell led the Bantams with 17 points while Donald Jorden added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Although the Ephs would regain the lead at 15-14 with 13:37 remaining in the half, it became increasingly clear that it would be a tight, physical and defensive-minded game.

“Trinity is a really wellcoached, great program that has made us a lot better over the past few years,” App said.

“Every game against them has been just like this. We knew what to expect and that it wasn't going to be easy. We knew we would have to buckle down defensively and fight for our opportunities on the offensive end.”

The highlight of the first half was the battle down low between Eph center Karpowicz and Trinity forwards Jorden and Jadakis Brooks. Karpowicz – who led the way with 15 points and 9 rebounds in the half – showed off stellar post moves, helping the Ephs build a six-point halftime lead at 40-34.

As has been the case all season, the Ephs struggled at the

free throw line, shooting 7 of 15 in the first frame. Trinity, on the other hand, made all six of their attempts from the charity stripe.

On top of the discrepancy in free throw success, the Bantams collected 10 more boards than the Ephs to help keep the deficit within single digits.

The Ephs erupted for a 7-0 run to open the second half.

Two layups by Henry Feinberg ’20, sandwiched around a 3-point play from James Heskett ’19, put the Ephs up 13 points with under 17 minutes to play. But right when it looked like the higher-seeded Ephs might pull away, Trinity countered with an 11-4 run to make it a two-possession game.

After Trinity cut their deficit to two, Heskett drilled a 3 from the left side with 11:25 remaining to put the home team up 5752. The Ephs, however, could not sustain any momentum.

Bantam Francis Uzorh nailed a 3-pointer a couple of minutes later to tie the game at 59. On the following possession, Trinity guard Bell hit a deep 3 before the shot clock expired to give the Bantams their first lead since the first half.

App called a timeout with 8:40 left, and the Ephs tied the game at 62 when play resumed. The game remained a one-possession affair for the next couple minutes as more fans piled into Chandler Gymnasium.

With Trinity leading 66-64, Scadlock collected an offensive rebound and converted on a 3-point play to give the lead back to the Ephs with under five minutes remaining. But as they did all game, the Bantams responded with Bell converting a three-point play of his own. In the spirit of the back-and-forth

play, Karpowicz joined in with an and-one on the very next possession. But he missed the free throw, and the game stayed tied at 69 with 4:26 left.

After Casey made one of two free throws, Michael Kempton ’19 drew a charge on the other end to elicit an explosion from the home crowd. Casey connected on a difficult layup out of a timeout to put the Ephs up by three. A few plays later, Karpowicz skillfully fed Heskett on a backdoor cut for an and-one to secure a 77-71 lead for the home team with 1:41 remaining.

Without much margin for error, Trinity’s Christian Porydzy hit a clutch 3 to pull his team back within three points of the lead. Out of a timeout, the Ephs went with the familiar option of having Casey drive to the basket.

His layup attempt missed, but Scadlock grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 43.6 seconds left. With the Ephs in the double bonus, Scadlock hit both free throws. A defensive stop on the next play all but sealed the game, and put an end to the Ephs' losing streak.

“In the playoffs, it’s easy to start worrying about seeds and what happened in the regular season game,” said App. “But at this point, it really doesn't mean anything. You go out there, you let it rip, and see what happens against some great teams.”

In their third consecutive NESCAC semifinal appearance, the men will play No. 13 Amherst at 4 p.m. on Feb. 23 in Clinton, N.Y. No. 8 Hamilton, the second seed, takes on eighth-.seeded Tufts in the other semifinal. The winners will compete on Sunday for the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Women’s basketball concludes season with loss to Tufts

By REBECCA KUO SPORTS INFORMATION Women’s basketball (11–14, 5–5 in the NESCAC) was defeated by No. 6 Tufts 75-51 on Saturday in a NESCAC quarterfinal. This was the last game of the season for the women, who entered the tournament in the conference’s sixth seed while Tufts was seeded third.

“Tufts is one of the best teams in the country, and they were on fire to start the game,” Williams head coach Pat Manning said. “We played well in spurts, but two things that hurt us were turnovers and offensive rebounds. It would seem like we would play really good defense, but then they'd take the shot and get the rebound.”

Mikaela Topper ’21 and Maggie Meehan ’21 were the two leading scorers, with 22 points and 20 points, respectively.

“They both were able to create in the open floor some fantastic one-on-one moves,” Manning commented. “[It was] a very impressive performance by both of those kids.”

Tri-captain Lauren Vostal ’19 led in rebounds with 8 while Gabby Martin ’21 was a force in the paint with her defense and rebounding. Jumbo guard Jac Knapp racked up 19 points and was the overall top scorer for her team, while Cailin Harrington led her team with seven rebounds.

The Jumbos looked to push the tempo early on and found themselves easily firing on all cylinders, finding many of their points through 3-point shots early in the first quarter. The Eph defense weathered the weight of the Jumbos as Knapp put up 7 points for Tufts in under two minutes. Topper evened the score with a 3-pointer to tie it up at 7-7, but two 3-pointers from Tufts quickly followed to strengthen the Jumbo lead. Knapp made it into double digits with another 3-pointer with less than 20 seconds left to give Tufts a 31-14 lead at the end of the first.

Meehan and Topper in combination cut down the deficit to

12 almost immediately, taking advantage of holes in Tufts’ defense and causing Jumbos head coach Carla Berube to call a timeout. The Ephs initially outscored the Jumbos and forced a few turnovers, but Tufts’ defense continued determinedly forward. After a threeminute break from scoring, Emily Briggs made a layup for the Jumbos and put her team back on track for the quarter.

The women did not score for the rest of the period, and Tufts increased its lead to 42-23 at the end of the first half.

A full-court press from the Jumbos brought another resurgence in scoring, taking advantage of the Ephs’ troubles with ball security. Meehan responded by pushing the tempo for the Ephs and trying to regain some momentum. Even with the Ephs working the ball in and out of the paint, the Jumbos stormed ahead, racking up another 20 points for the quarter.

In the face of an almost 30-point deficit, the Ephs gave it their all in the last period, go-

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.

In her four years on the team, tri-captain Lexi Jones ’19 has scored 248 points and played in 91 games. ing on to outscore the Jumbos for the first time in the game.

A deep 3 from Topper made it 62-38; she would go on to score another six points on top of that. The Ephs ran the court to put up 17 points from three players. The final score, however, saw Tufts on top 75-51.

Regarding the upcoming offseason, Manning re-

marked, “Every season you have to add something to your game and you can't be content with what you did.

Adding something offensively to your game, like another shot or move, something like that makes you a more versatile player.”

For Vostal, Lexi Jones ’19 and Caroline Lovisolo ’19,

Saturday's game was the final time playing for the Ephs. As tri-captains, they led the Ephs through 25 games this season, going 5–5 in conference, and pulled off an upset over Trinity.

Throughout their four years, they have collectively scored 728 points and seen over 50 hours of game time.

CAPTAINS’ CORNER: IAN KAGAME ’19 How did you start competing in track and field – and jumping, more specifically?

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.

By SOFIE JONES SPORTS EDITOR

Team: Men’s track and field Hometown: Kigali, Rwanda Residence: Hoxsey Street Major: Economics Snack bar order: Chicken tenders, buffalo chips and a mixed berry smoothie

I started my junior year of high school. Basically, I played basketball in high school, and my basketball coach, who was also the track coach, convinced me to give it a try. He might’ve seen some potential there, but at first I rejected it, and I didn’t do it my first two years of high school. As soon as junior year came along, I didn’t have anything else to do, so I was like: I’ll just do it.

The jump squad that year was me and my little brother [Brian Kagame ’20], so it was cool to have him and me being the ones doing high jumping. I stuck with the sport ever since then.

Track and field is one of the larger teams on campus.

How do you maintain team camaraderie and a team mentality with such a high number of athletes?

The best thing about the track team is that everyone has such a wide range of interests and things that they do, and everyone is so supportive of that. I think it’s a really unique aspect

of our team that people will go and support people who are playing other sports. We have a lot of two-sport athletes on the team. We have a lot of people who do theatre and dance. We have people who do a lot of different things. The coaches have a real understanding that athletes have other things they want to do, and I think that’s one of the things that has really brought us together. Especially when we don’t have the field house to physically bring us together, we try to find different ways and activities to come together.

Do you have a favorite team tradition?

I’m a big fan of team snacks.

We gather the night before our meets, Friday nights usually, and we’ll do storytime. So, one person on the team will get nominated, and the storytime entails anything you want it to be. It’s been really fun to hear everyone’s different stories as to why they like track. Even those that are not track-related are really cool to hear. That’s a cool thing to do the night before a meet, when everybody is trying to relax. We’ll spend

about an hour and there will be snacks there. That’s been really fun to do.

What is the team’s spring break training trip to San Diego like?

It’s a lot of fun. It’s probably the best environment to get better in because we don’t have any distractions. It’s just the 30 guys and 30 girls [selected from the team].

We practice in the mornings and have the rest of the day to explore the city of San Diego. We stay right by the beach, and some people end up spending the entire day at the beach or hanging out with each other. We compete at two different meets there, with a lot of Div. I and Div. II schools. The level of competition there is super interesting. We have a lot of fun with it.

Do you have any superstitions before competing?

Yes, actually. I usually [put on] my left-sided stuff first, like socks and spikes. Then, I listen to one specific song.

What song?

“I Need A Forest Fire” by James Blake. It’s a really low-key song, but I like it a lot. It helps me mellow out and relax. Especially for jumping, I really want to be in a relaxed state of mind and that song helps me just block out everything else.

Track and field has had an unconventional season this year, with the field house construction underway.

Can you tell us about how the team has adapted?

For starters, I think we were all unclear on when we would have the field house or whether we would have it at all. I think it was important for us, at the start of the season, to forget about it and not worry about things we can’t control. I really commend a lot of people both on the guys’ and the girls’ teams, and the coaches especially, for being really creative. I’ve seen coaches getting to practice two hours earlier just to lay down mats in a different spot or lay down a different runway somewhere else. We’ve just been making the most of the different spaces we have.

Do you have a favorite part of being a captain, and a senior, on the team so far?

I think just the relationships I’ve formed with the freshmen on the team. A lot of seniors and captains have this inclination to become close with their freshmen, naturally almost. So far that’s been the best thing about being a captain on the team, just having that camaraderie with the freshmen and helping them to understand the team dynamic and feel comfortable on the team.

Do you have any goals, or are there any team goals, for the rest of the season?

Right now, the big goal for us is to do well next week [at Div. III New England’s]. Going into the outdoor season, the big one for us is NESCACs. We’ve won two out of my three years here.

Not winning last year made me a little salty, and I know a lot of people felt that way as well. So, we want to reclaim that this year, and I think we have a good enough team to do that. We have a deep team and a hungry team. I’m excited to see where that goes.

February 20, 2019

SPORTS 11

The Williams Record

Women’s hockey sweeps Midd, clinches home ice advantage for NESCACs

By MEHR SAWANT TEAM CORRESPONDENT Last weekend, No. 10 women’s ice hockey (17–4–3, 10–4– 2 in the NESCAC) recorded its first-ever regular season sweep of No. 8 Middlebury, taking two games by a score of 2-1 on back-to-back nights. The Ephs clinched first place in the NESCAC standings, securing homeice advantage through the conference tournament for the first time in program history.

The women opened the weekend at Middlebury on Friday night. With the game tied at 1 in the third period, a power play goal from Bri Laycock ’22 gave the Ephs their first win in the Panthers’ rink since 2006.

The Ephs started out the night taking two penalties, although goalie Chloe Heiting ’22 and the penalty kill were able to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard. The Ephs had a power play opportunity later, but neither team scored in the first period.

The Ephs took the lead in the second period after a successful penalty kill. At 15:29, Meghan Halloran ’21 went low to high to Mia Carroll ’20, who then passed back to Halloran.

Cutting the seam, Halloran received the puck and shot short side past the glove of Panthers

goalie Lin Han for the first goal of the game.

Only minutes later, however, Middlebury tied the score with a goal from Jenna Letterie right before the end of the period.

In the third period, the Ephs had to kill off a penalty to Anna Fucillo ’19 for holding at 3:44.

Then during the second of two power play opportunities, they pulled ahead. Delaney Szlezyngier ’22 kept the puck in the zone at the point and put a shot on the net. Gabi Montembeault ’21 redirected the shot, and Laycock buried home the deflection in the slot with 10:38 remaining.

For the remainder of the game, the Ephs prevented the Panthers from equalizing, successfully killing off a penalty to Brynn Puppe ’21 for interference at 12:57.

By the end of the night, Heiting had saved 27 of 28 Middlebury shots while Han had saved 13 of 15 shots.

“The penalty kill was great.

I thought the whole team did a great job of getting in ones and clocking shots,” head coach Meghan Gillis said after the game. “The third period was our best period, and we hope to build off that.”

Back at home on Saturday night, Avery Dunn ’21 scored 1:54 into overtime to

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.

An overtime goal from forward Avery Dunn ’21 on Saturday secured the women’s first-ever regular season sweep of Middlebury. make the difference. The victory was the Ephs’ first-ever over the Panthers at Lansing Chapman Rink.

The Ephs scored the first goal of the game near the end of the first period when Elizabeth Welch ’22, assisted by Dunn and Michaela O’Connor ’21, shot between the pads and buried the puck.

After the opening goal, the Ephs controlled the game, outshooting the Panthers 9-5 in the first period.

At the beginning of the second period, the Ephs successfully killed off a penalty to co-captain Abby Brustad ’19 for hooking.

Despite the one-player disadvantage, the Ephs appeared to score during the penalty kill, but the goal was waved off.

For the remainder of the period, Middlebury outshot the home team, but Heiting made sure the Panthers did not equalize the score with 11 saves.

Despite some successful penalty kills at the beginning

of the third period, the game became tied with 6:30 remaining in regulation when Middlebury’s Sidney Porter scored. The game remained deadlocked at 1 for the rest of the period, forcing the game into overtime, when Dunn turned in the slot and took a quick shot that beat Han low.

By the end of the game, Heiting had saved 27 of 28 shots while Han had saved 22 of 24 Eph shots. “Chloe Heiting stepped up

at many key moments to make huge saves,” Gillis said.

“I thought that the team played really well together and weathered some great pressure by the talented Middlebury team,” Gillis said. “I think playing a top-10 team like Middlebury helps us get ready for playoffs next weekend.”

The first-seeded women host eighth-seeded Wesleyan at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the NESCAC Championship.

Women’s swimming captures sixth straight NESCAC title

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.

The women won NESCACs with 1873 points, taking their sixth consecutive win and 18th victory in the meet’s 19-year history.

By BROOKE HOROWITCH and SOFIE JONES RECORD STAFF Three months ago, Caroline Conforti ’20 could not imagine standing on the podium at the women’s swimming and diving NESCAC Championship.

In fact, she could not envision standing at all.

In mid-November, just after her second practice, the backstroker fell off of a bench while trying to reach her belongings in the team’s locker room. She broke her wrist and snapped her fifth metatarsal in four places. But she resumed training in January following reconstructive foot surgery and rehabilitation, and last weekend, she helped the nation’s fourth-ranked team to a sixth consecutive first-place finish at NESCACs. The women earned 1873 points, besting Tufts by 433.5 points, while Amherst took third.

Conforti swam on the winning 200 medley relay team with Caroline White ’20, Maia Hare ’19 and Gwyneth Maloy ’21. Conforti also placed fifth in the 50 back, eighth in the 100 back and 17th in the 200 back. It was a remarkable return since she only began practicing in full on Jan. 12, and her first meet of the season was at MIT on Jan. 14.

Following surgery, she spent eight weeks off of her foot riding a scooter, then two weeks applying only minor pressure to the area. She also wore a cast on her wrist for five weeks. “I thought my season was over,” she said regarding the injuries.

“It was really disappointing because last season we had such a great year as a team, the strongest year we had ever had. And I had seen myself coming up as a leader and was excited to help lead the team as a junior … so I was pretty devastated.”

Throughout the recovery process, however, Conforti

appreciated her teammates’ support. “They always came to check up on me and made sure I was involved,” she said. She was also able to attend the annual Florida training trip over winter break and practice with a modified routine.

Her dedication culminated in a meaningful performance at NESCACs. “Although it wasn’t my fastest meet, it was by far my favorite,” she said. “Our team has grown so much in terms of the community we have and the way that we support one another. We really just got out there and swam really fast and enjoyed the experience.”

Head coach Steve Kuster commented on Conforti’s commitment and optimism. “I think what helped Caroline get back so quickly was her sheer determination to be there competing with her team at the end of the season,” he said.

“She brings good energy all the time, and it was great to have

her with us and swimming at the meet.”

“It meant so much to be able to swim it with everyone,” Conforti added. “It was particularly special to be on a relay, which is my favorite part of the sport, and pull through and win at the end.”

The team had many such finishes as well as some recordbreaking victories.

Kuster emphasized that he was pleased with the entire team’s performance. “I think the thing I was most proud of was the way the women competed, improved at night and their general approach to the meet,” he said. “They gave everything they had each session and made making the weekend a memorable experience a priority. They were in it together the whole way.”

At the conclusion of the meet, Westphal was named Swimmer of the Meet, and McNamara received the FourYear High Point Award.

“Ali [McNamara] has had an outstanding career, and her competitive nature has really come through at NESCACs every year,” Kuster said.

“Laura [Westphal] had an excellent meet, both individually and on relays,” he added.

“Her 800 free relay split was outstanding. Caroline White also won three events and played a big role in our medley relay wins. I also thought Maia Hare had a great meet, along with several others.”

The meet, the first with a four-day format, began on Thursday night at Wesleyan with the 800 freestyle relay.

The relay team of Georgia Panitz ’22, Maloy, Emily Lock ’22 and Molly Craig ’21 set a pool record of 7:28:04.

That record, however, lasted for only two heats until the next Eph team competed.

Casey Delano ’21, Alison McNamara ’19, Abby Matheny ’22 and Laura Westphal ’21 clinched a pool and NESCAC record of 7:21:97 in the last race of the evening.

These wins brought the Ephs to a score of 98, 12 points ahead of the second-place Jumbos, going into Day Two of competition. On Friday, the women secured victories in five of nine events, beginning with the 200 freestyle relay.

The “A” team of Hare, Dana Chung ’19, Maloy and Westphal won the event, with Maloy securing the lead and swimming a personal-best leg. The time of 1:34.16 put the group at sixth in the country.

Next up was the 50 breaststroke, in which White clinched a first-place finish with a time of 29.34. In the next race, the 50 fly, Hare secured the Ephs’ third straight win of the day, setting a pool and personal best with a time of 24.57.

In the 500 freestyle, eight Eph swimmers competed and the team swept the event. Matheny, in a personal best swim, clinched a third-place finish with a time of 4:47 while McNamara locked in second place at 4:56.89. Westphal finished first at 4:53.95, securing the podium for the Ephs.

The final race of the night for the Ephs was the 400 medley relay. The “B” team of Conforti, Craig, Hare and Erin Kennedy ’19 took first in the event’s consolation final. The “A” relay team of Matheny, White, Peterson and Westphal came from behind to edge out Wesleyan for a competitive firstplace finish, ending Day Two with a victory for the Ephs.

Day Three brought more success for the women, who won five of the session’s seven events. Saturday began with the 200 medley relay that Conforti, White, Hare and Maloy won.

In the 1000 freestyle, the Ephs’ distance-swimming strengths were on display once again, as McNamara took her first individual victory of the meet with a time of 10:11.11. She was followed

by Delano in second.

In the 400 individual medley, Craig secured her first solo win of the meet with a time of 4:20.76, which ranks her second nationally. The 200 freestyle brought another win for the Ephs, with Westphal taking home her second individual NESCAC win of the meet at 1:48.54.

Sunday, the last day of competition, began with the 1650 freestyle. Westphal placed first, swimming the mile-long race in 16:50.89.

She was followed by teammate McNamara in second.

In the following 200 backstroke event, Maloy secured her first individual NESCAC title with a time of 2:01.91.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK “It was great to see Kelsie put everything together on Saturday. It was an incredibly competitive field.

Everyone was so happy for her. She consistently brings a positive attitude to training and to the team every day.”

“Nick has grown so much this year. Sometimes, you have to be down for a fistfight. In the semis down at Trinity this weekend, Nick found himself in a real brawl. Nick won the battle of will and put his opponent away in dramatic fashion.”

–Head coach Nate Hoey

–Head coach Scott Honecker

KELSIE HAO ’21

NICK ANSELMI ’20

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD MCLEAN, VA.

WRESTLING MORRISTOWN, N.J.

Hao jumped 3.82 meters, a personal best that places her fifth nationally, at the Springfield Triangle Classic on Saturday.

Anselmi recorded two quick pins, finishing second in the 165 lb weight class at the New England Futures Tournament.

12 SPORTS

The Williams Record

February 20, 2019

Kristi Kirshe ’17 earns bronze medal with USA Eagles Former Eph soccer standout competes on rugby world stage in Sydney

By JACK McGOVERN SPORTS EDITOR Kristi Kirshe ’17 is one of the most decorated players in the history of the College’s women’s soccer program, but on Jan. 31, she made her debut at the highest level of a completely different sport.

Kirshe – a 2015 national champion, 2016 NESCAC Player of the Year, twotime All-American and the Eph record-holder for career goals and single-season goals – competed with the United States national women’s seven-a-side rugby team in Sydney, Australia, the third of six stops on the Women’s World Rugby Sevens Series global tour.

At the tournament, Kirshe helped the USA Eagles take the bronze medal and move into second place in the overall standings. The top four teams in the standings at the end of the season clinch an automatic berth to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

“We called it ‘Statement Sydney,’” Kirshe said. “We really wanted to make an attacking statement and just kind of show the world all the hard work we’ve been putting in.”

Kirshe, who started playing rugby only 11 months ago, stepped up when leading scorer Ilona Maher suffered an injury minutes into the first game. Over the course of six games, Kirshe notched a team-high 5 tries – the rough equivalent of a touchdown in American football. The 5 tries tied for fourth most among all players in Sydney.

A variant of rugby union, rugby sevens – in which each team has seven players on the field, and each game lasts 14 minutes – is becoming increasingly popular around the world for its fast pace and highlight-reel tackles. The sport was added to the Olympic program for the Rio Games and proved an immediate hit.

Kirshe learned about the game from a high school friend and joined the amateur

Boston Women’s Rugby Football Club last February while working at the Boston law firm Ropes and Gray. About six months into playing, Kirshe began to realize that she could play rugby professionally.

“Some of my friends started hyping me up about it,” she said. “Some people would make comments about it, about getting onto [the Olympic Training Center team] and the possibility of that and I just tried to take it one step at a time … not to get too far ahead of myself.”

After strong performances at several club tournaments over the summer, Kirshe earned a spot on the developmental national team in September. She impressed at a competition in Japan and was named to the residency program for the senior national team in January.

Kirshe has since left her position at Ropes and Gray and moved to Chula Vista, Calif., where she lives and trains full-time as a professional athlete for USA Rugby.

“I really thought that my shot at the Olympics was gone once I stopped playing soccer,” Kirshe said. “And so it’s a dream I kind of gave up on a long time ago, but it’s pretty unreal to be in a position again where I’m chasing it down.”

While she took her first big strides toward that dream with her performance in Sydney, Kirshe did not enter the tournament with high expectations. “Personally, I was just honestly happy to be there,” Kirshe reflected. “I wanted to make sure that I just did everything that I could with the minutes I got and make sure that I was just focusing on the team mentality and the team gameplan.”

The injury to Maher less than a minute into the first game against China quickly posed problems for the team. Heavy underdogs heading into the match, China scored the first try of the game and followed with another in the seventh minute to take a 10-7 lead into halftime. While the Eagles

PHOTO COURTESY OF KLC FOTOS.

Kristi Kirshe ’17, who holds the women's soccer all-time career scoring record, notched a team-high 5 tries in six games. pulled ahead in the second half, Kirshe subbed in at the 12 minute mark and secured a win for her team. Out of a scrum, she received a pass and beat her defender oneon-one before racing to the end zone for her first try for the Eagles.

“It was pretty unreal,” said Kirshe, who credited the turnover forced by teammate Kasey McCravey for creating a set piece opportunity.

“I saw the gap and I was just like, ‘OK, I’m gonna take this.’

“It was definitely nice to get the first one out of the way. You know, once the first one’s out of the way, you think about it a little bit less. When I was running, I was just thinking, ‘Keep running, keep running, keep running, don’t slow down.’”

Kirshe followed her tryscoring debut with an-

other appearance on the scoresheet in her next game, against Spain. Entering the game in the sixth minute, Kirshe reached the end zone in the eighth minute. A second-half defensive collapse from the Eagles, however, squandered the game to the lower-seeded Spain.

With the surprise loss to Spain, the women faced a must-win match against Australia, the home team and the reigning Sevens Series champions, to stay alive in the tournament. With the standings for Olympic qualification on the line, Kirshe earned her first start.

She recalled that the team focused on improving ball security and “just coming out absolutely on fire” before the game. “Everyone was fired up for that game,” she said.

“Everyone was so ready to

PHOTO COURTESY OF KLC FOTOS.

Kirshe (front row, third from right) is one of 24 members of a USA Rugby residency program, 12 of whom traveled to Sydney.

play, especially after the disappointment with [Spain].”

After teammate Jordan Gray-Matyas opened the scoring in the second minute, Kirshe added a second try in the fifth. Another teammate, Naya Tapper, joined Gray-Matyas and Kirshe on the scoresheet two minutes later to seize a commanding 19-0 lead.

“In a game like that, once you score the first two, you have the momentum at that point,” she said. “So we tried to run with that momentum for as long as we could.”

While Australia mounted a comeback in the second half, it was too little too late for the hosts. With a narrow victory in the last game of pool play, the Eagles had clinched a spot in the tournament playoffs with a 19-12 victory.

Following a 7-5 defensive triumph over Russia in the quarterfinals – a final score indicative of wet weather and poor field conditions – the Eagles encountered their toughest test of the tournament in the semifinals: New Zealand.

Nicknamed the “Black Ferns,” New Zealand had easily claimed first place at the previous two events on the Sevens Series tour, winning every game by at least seven points.

Kirshe started the game, but the Eagles did not have an answer for the Black Fern attack.

New Zealand advanced by a score of 29-5.

“It was a grueling game,” Kirshe said. “It’s really hard to play defense for that long.

Obviously, not the result we wanted, not the showing we wanted to put on against New Zealand. But you know they’re the best team in the world for a reason. I think we have a lot to learn from playing against them.”

Although the Eagles were eliminated from title contention, a third-place game against Ireland remained – a chance to win a medal and earn points in the standings.

Kirshe said that the team also used the disappointing

loss to New Zealand as added motivation.

With a 26-10 win over Ireland in which they never trailed, the Eagles redeemed themselves and walked away with the bronze medal. Kirshe scored 2 tries in the medal round game, one in each half.

Kirshe discussed the camaraderie of the rugby community off the field. She said that the women’s teams all stayed at the same hotel in the Olympic Village from the 2000 Sydney Games. “Rugby’s a sport where people are really good at separating what’s on the field versus off the field,” she said.

Kirshe also reflected on the opportunity to travel to Australia. “I never thought I’d actually get to go,” she said. “It’s not someplace that I think I would ever have taken myself.” The team got a day off for sightseeing and visited the Sydney Opera House. After practicing in 100-degree summer temperatures, the team also cooled off at the beach.

Looking ahead, the next Sevens Series event is scheduled for mid-April in Kitakyushu, Japan. Kirshe explained that for every tournament, the 24 players at the facility in California compete for 12 spots on the roster.

“It’s a new pool of players almost every tournament, so it’s not something that you can really count on,” Kirshe said. “You really have to work for it, day in and day out.”

The constant competition for positions on the national team roster is fitting for a sport with frenetic, backand-forth gameplay and sudden momentum shifts.

“It’s a game that can change at any instant,” Kirshe said. “It’s just so crazy.

You literally can’t stop playing for a second because it can change the entire game.”

After scoring 5 tries at her debut tournament and helping the Eagles clinch the bronze medal, the momentum is all with Kirshe right now.

Games of the Week Thursday

Friday

Feb. 21

Feb. 22

Skiing vs. Bates (Day 1) Away

Skiing vs. Bates (Day 2) Away

Men’s swimming and diving, NESCACs (Day 1) Away

Men’s swimming and diving, NESCACs (Day 2) Away

Track and Field, Div. III New England (Day 1) Away, 2 p.m.

Saturday Feb. 23 Wrestling, Regionals Home, 9 p.m.

Sunday

Track and Field, Div. III New England (Day 2) Away, 11 a.m.

Men’s hockey vs.

Hamilton Away, 1 p.m.

Skiing vs. Bates (Day 3) Away

Women’s hockey vs. Hamilton Away, 3 p.m.

Wrestling, Regionals Home, 9 p.m.

Men’s swimming and diving, NESCACs (Day 3) Away

Men’s basketball vs. Amherst @ Hamilton, 4 p.m.

Men’s swimming and diving, NESCACs (Day 4) Away

Feb. 24