ARTS P. 8
SPORTS P. 12
The artist Jamal Meneide '19
Men's basektball advances to NCAAs
VOL. CXXXI, NO. 15
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017
JAAB shifts JA co-pairings away from gender binary By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN NEWS EDITOR Beginning next year, Junior Advisor (JA) co-pairings for entries will no longer follow the pre-existing gender binary, consisting of one male and one female JA per entry. Additionally, the JA selection committee (SelCom) will no longer necessarily accept an equal number of men and women to serve as JAs. The change, according to the JA Advisory Board (JAAB), is intended to move the system away from its reliance on traditional, binary gender categorization. “We are no longer going to be making co-pairs necessarily on the gender binary,” JA Co-President Brian Benitez ’18 said on behalf of JAAB. “We realize that the current method of co-pairing is a relic of a time with strict rules on who could [and] should lead. Under this change, we hope to make the JA class a more inclusive space for all gender identities.” Acceptance letters sent to JA applicants from the class of 2019 introduced the change explicitly for the first time. “Historically, the JA system has operated along the gender binary,” the letters read. “We are no longer asking it to do so. The culture of the College has evolved, and in an effort to make the system more welcoming to all identities, co-pairings will not necessarily be made based on gender.” While the JA class is not yet finalized at press time,
initial acceptances were sent to 34 women and 18 men. The application for this year’s class of JAs did hint at the move away from reliance on binary gender identification. “We recognize that in recent history, the JA institution has implied that applicants must identify themselves on the gender binary. You are free to identify however you'd like, which includes not identifying,” the application read. JAAB emphasized that the change in co-pairings is not a new idea with the College community. “Both 2015-16 and 2016-17 JAABs had discussed the limitations of the gender binary system. There are many who have been pushing for this change for years; while at Williams, [Davis Center Assistant Director] justin adkins repeatedly urged JAAB to consider nonbinary co-pairs,” JAAB CoPresident Sarah Jensen ’17 said. “It has come to a point that there is no longer an excuse for operating the system on a binary. Among other things about the system, this makes it impossible for those don't identify on the binary to feel like the system is for them … Additionally, while JA co-pairs have been malefemale in recent years, there was in fact a time in Williams history when this was not the case, and both mixed-gender and same-gender co-pairs led co-ed entries.” The change, which JAAB intends to be permanent, accompanies an effort to shift the JA selection process from
Libraries eliminate fines By MARIT BJÖRNLUND EXECUTIVE EDITOR College libraries have eliminated fines for overdue technological equipment, a policy that became effective on Feb. 20. Any fines accrued by students since July 2016, even if already paid, will be credited to student accounts. Librarians, in conjunction with the Dean’s Office, implemented this policy, according to Helena Warburg, head of Schow Science Library and interim head of access services, because students were burdened with excessive fines, despite the fact that they were not actually ensuring the return of technological equipment. Fines will remain in place for any kind of lost or damaged materials, as well as for overdue course-reserve books. Problems arose after the libraries implemented a new catalog in July, according to Warburg. The previous system required items such as laptops and chargers to be returned by library closing time on the same day or at opening the next day if checked out within four hours of closing time. Both situations included a one-hour grace period. With the new system, items were due exactly 24 hours after being checked out, plus the grace period, without any email overdue notices. This new timing led to many more students returning materials late and accruing large fines, often without understanding the penalties, Warburg said. For example, one student accrued a fine of roughly $1400 for returning a laptop late 23 times. Of the hundreds of students affected by the fines, 33 students owed fines over $200 and 138 owed $50 or more. “[Students] wouldn’t know if a laptop was overdue, and it’s exactly 24 hours from the time you took it out,” Warburg said. “So if they were at a swim meet, or if they were in class, or if they fell asleep … People didn’t realize they were getting fined.” Once the deans realized in the fall that students had incurred such high fines, they started working on improving the library policy on overdue materials, accord-
ing to Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom. “I was worried about the stress that high fines might be placing on students who already felt the pressure of not having access to their own electronic equipment (or not being in the position to be able to repair equipment that was no longer working properly),” Sandstrom said. “A group of us got together to brainstorm alternative solutions to the lending policy, and I am very pleased with the result.” Laptop fines were $10 per hour for the first 10 hours overdue, for a $100 maximum each time, or $5 per hour for the first 10 hours for non-laptop equipment such as chargers or calculators. Each laptop bore stickers alerting students to this fine structure. Occasionally, students would take advantage of this policy to hold a laptop for an extended period after reaching the maximum. “That’s a really important piece of this,” Warburg said. “That was very disturbing to the librarians because we have a limited amount of equipment and when somebody finds a loophole, they’re obstructing their peers from having access to that [resource].” In lieu of holding library equipment past its due date, students can borrow laptops for an extended time, usually of up to two weeks, but that policy is not publicized well among students, Warburg said. Usually, students find out about the loans via a referral from the Dean’s Office. The librarians are currently working with Office of Informational Technology to double the size of the long-term laptop pool by next fall, Warburg said. The libraries currently lend out 20 laptops in the extended loan program. Expanding and publicizing the long-term laptop loan program could help alleviate problems with overdue
SEE FINES, p. 5
NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN/NEWS EDITOR
The Junior Advisors who greet arriving members of the class of 2021 will no longer necessarily be matched in male-female pairings. picking the best candidates within caps for each gender to picking the most qualified applicants overall. “We knew going into the selection process that we weren't necessarily going to force the class to be an even gender split,” Jensen said. “In the past, applicants had been con-
sidered in two separate pools, male and female. This year we reviewed the entire class as a whole and asked [SelCom] to pick the 52 most qualified people, regardless of gender.” Given the higher proportion of women the committee initially selected for the incoming class of JAs, JAAB re-
sponded to concerns that this change might foist an undue amount of emotional labor predominantly on women. “This change pushes men who wish to be JAs to be just as capable and willing to be ‘caretakers’ as women by not giving anyone a guaranteed position because of an out-
dated gender quota,” Jensen said. “Our hope is that they will be supportive and warm, and set a wonderful example for first-years entering the Williams community that you do not have to be female to be a caretaker.”
SEE JA CO-PAIRING, p. 5
Examining the gender disparity across academic disciplines at the College By WILLIAM NEWTON NEWS EDITOR This is the first installment in a two-part series that will look at gender disparity in majors at the College. The first part will look quantitatively at the gender gap in different majors and compare the gender ratio of different majors to the gender ratio of faculty in these departments and the gender disparity at peer institutions while the second part will address the different measures that the College and student groups are taking to address this disparity. Though the gender ratio at the College is roughly equal (51 percent female and 49 percent male), there is still a large gender disparity in many majors. Between 20112015, females students composed 64 percent of Division I majors, 49 percent of Division II majors and only 36 percent of Division III ma-
WHAT’S INSIDE
jors. More specifically, over 70 percent of people who graduated with degrees in computer science, physics, philosophy, mathematics or economics were male. During that same time frame, over 75 percent of majors in women’s, gender and sexuality studies (WGSS), art history, anthropology and Spanish were female. Of the five majors where at least 60 percent of the students are male, three of them also have faculties with at least 60 percent males (computer science, physics and economics). Mathematics and philosophy, despite graduating a disproportionate number of males, has roughly the same percentage of males as females in their faculty departments. Similarly, of the five majors that graduate the highest percentage of females, three of them also have faculties that are at least 70 percent female (WGSS, Spanish and comparative literature). The art history and anthro-
pology faculties have roughly the same percentage of female and male faculty.
of females in its five most male dominated majors than Amherst did in those same
GRAPHIC BY WILLIAM NEWTON/NEWS EDITOR VIA INFOGRAM
Recently, at least 73 percent of graduates in five departments were men. These numbers are similar to numbers at peer institutions. Between 2013-2015, the College had a slightly higher percentage
majors and roughly the same percentage as Wesleyan did.
SEE DISPARITY, p. 5
STUDENTS CELEBRATE FOOD SECURITY AND SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS AT CAMPUS KITCHEN KICK-OFF WITH MIKE CURTIN '86
3 OPINIONS
Examining race at the Academy Awards
4 NEWS
North Adams falls short in small business competition
7 FEATURES
College encourages worm composting
8 ARTS
"Almost Zero" impresses attendees
11 SPORTS USPS 684-6801 | 1ST CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID WILLIAMSTOWN, MA PERMIT NO. 25
Frankie Mork '17 reflects on ice hockey career
JUNE HAN / PHOTO EDITOR
2 OPINIONS
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THE WILLIAMS RECORD BOARD On the whole, we commend the Junior Advisor Advisory Board (JAAB) and the Junior Advisor Selection Committee (SelCom) for no longer requiring that Junior Advisor (JA) co-pairings follow the one female, one male model. Philosophically, we believe this is a step in the right direction and that gender ought not to be the determining factor in assessing a JA applicant. Differences in gender identity bring diversity to a JA class – especially since we are often socialized to feel affinity with members of our own gender – but many other qualities are important in a JA. This change is also inclusive of first-years, JA applicants and JAs who do not identify along the gender binary, resonating with our community’s values. Although we support the philosophy underlying this change, we believe this decision should have been the product of a wider campus dialogue beyond this year’s SelCom. Virtually all students have some experience with the entry system, and many have valuable insights despite not being able to make the serious commitment that SelCom requires. Even though JA co-pairings have not always followed the femalemale model, this is still a significant
Word on the Quad How do you plan on celebrating Ephraim Williams's birthday? By JANETH RODRIGUEZ PHOTO EDITOR
EMMA HERRMANN ’20
"Go enjoy the nice weather and possibly go for a run."
BUM SHIK KIM '19
"Go climb a 'hike-able' mountain, per our motto."
March 1, 2017
Progressing with clarity
Why JAAB's shift away from the gender binary was a good idea executed poorly change to the JA system of recent memory, which surprised many, including JA applicants, when decisions were released. JAAB claims it had decided to eliminate the gender binary before soliciting applications, but this was not clear to applicants. The application did not specify that this change would happen, although the application did indicate that applicants could identify their gender however they chose, including not identifying. We think that JAAB ought to have explicitly noted on the application that applicants might be entering a JA class that would pilot a new structure for co-pairings. Indeed, there might have been potential applicants who chose not to apply because they did not think the co-pairing structure would change, or some who applied because they thought the co-pairings would be gendered. At a minimum, when SelCom definitively decided to do away with the practice of accepting 26 males and 26 females during the selection process, it should have notified applicants and asked if they wanted to continue in the application process. Furthermore, the Dean’s Office notified accepted JA applicants on Friday – a week earlier than anticipated and the same day that
Williams-Exeter Program at Oxford decisions came out – and only gave them until Monday to accept or decline the offer (until JAAB extended the deadline an extra day, after the initial deadline passed). Although this three-day turnaround is typical, we believe that accepted applicants deserved more time to think about these decisions given that they unexpectedly came early and that applicants only learned of the change to co-pairings in their acceptance emails. Therefore, it would have been worthwhile for JAAB and SelCom to provide applicants with a week instead of three days. We are concerned that, given the high number of women selected for next year’s JA class, that women may eventually become overrepresented as JAs because of their societal expectations to be caretakers and that the JAs of less-represented genders may also each bear a higher burden if some first-years feel more comfortable seeking advice or guidance from someone of their own gender identity. However, we believe that this change, when implemented thoughtfully with the goal of improving the overall inclusiveness of the JA system, has benefits that outweigh these drawbacks. To implement this change responsibly, we
hope that this year’s and next year’s JAABs will foster a broader campus dialogue, including through some form of a new committee. Plans for implementation do not seem to be set in stone, as there are still many decisions to be made, and the College community could provide valuable input. We also think that JAAB ought to send an all-campus email detailing the change and its plans for implementing it. Currently, there is no public source of information beyond the Record about this policy, leaving many questions unanswered. For example, how will co-pairings be constructed? What might happen in the event that a first-year wants to speak to a JA of a gender not represented in their entry’s leadership? Next year, we encourage JAAB to advertise thoughtfully the nature of the JA position when soliciting applications, diligently collect feedback from first-years and JAs on this change and include the broader community in these conversations and decisions. Ultimately, we believe that the move away from gender-binary co-pairings in programs and systems that define the first-year experience is a positive one that reflects the College’s values and the inclusivity that we as a community strive to uphold.
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM ACADEMY AWARDS PUPS AND 'NUTS EPH WILLIAMS'S BIRTHDAY
Did Steve Harvey start a trend? #oscarsmishap
Puppies! Doughnuts! Stress? What's that?
Happy 102nd Birthday Colonel Williams! Wishing you all the best.
WASH YOUR HANDS
Thanks, Health Services, for the daily messages reminder. Everyone take cover!
WEPO AND JA DECISIONS
As if receiving them on different days were not stressful enough already.
ON THE RECORD MANAMI DIAZ ’18
"I'm not going to celebrate the birthday of a colonizer."
EVAN WAHL ’17
"Reveling in the fact that I don't have to be in the
“I see education as a tool of enlightenment. The college experience should allow you to get to know who you are.” Shawna Patterson, director of the Davis Center, on the importance of a thriving campus community, page 5.
“I use social media both to show other people my craft, and also to demonstrate to myself how much I’m evolving, and how much my craft is or isn’t improving,” Jamal Meneide '19, NBC choreographer, on his interest in hip-hop, page 8.
“I was a pescatarian for two years before I came to college, but I just don’t think the seafood here is real. If it is real, it is very, very sad.” Baladine Pierce ’20, this week's One in Two Thousand, page 6.
“My dad would tell me, ‘If you want to be good, put the time in. Shoot pucks when you can. Go put in time at the pond, but ultimately, have fun.’” Joe Concannon Award
WRITE FOR THE RECORD. MEETINGS: PARESKY 209 | 7 PM WEDNESDAYS OR EMAIL JBG3@ WILLIAMS.EDU
on his hockey career, page 11.
The opinions expressed in signed columns are not necessarily those of the Williams Record editorial board.
Op-Ed and Letter Submission The Record welcomes op-eds and letters from all members of the Williams community. The Opinand ideas of the Williams community, and the publication of any letter or op-ed does not indicate an endorsement of the views contained therein. Submissions should be sent to amm16@williams. edu by Saturday at 5 p.m. for inclusion in the next Wednesday issue. Op-eds range in length from 700900 words and letters are 500 words or fewer. The Record will not publish pieces that have appeared in other publications. Pieces submitted to the Record are not guaranteed a spot in the upcoming issue. For Record Policy information, please see our website, williamsrecord.com.
EMMA ROBINSON '18
OPINIONS 3
The Williams Record
March 1, 2017
Race and the red carpet Thoughts from a first-gen student Wha s ha
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Two influential women, one of whom is pregnant, graced the Grammy stage earlier this month. Adele Adkins was nominated for and walked away with five golden gramophones while Beyoncé Knowles-Carter was nominated for nine and won two. While it’s hard to take an awards ceremony seriously where artists arrive enclosed in a giant egg costume (we still adore you, Gaga), there is something to be said about these glitter-and-glam ridden Gatsby-esque galas. It is clear that both Adele and Beyoncé are fantastic artists. Adele’s album 25 resounds with nostalgia and explores childhood dreams, past mistakes and unfinished business. It is an album stricken by love and loss – but 25 was a simple restatement of the unoriginal themes from her previous Grammy Award-winning album, 21. According to the Grammy Foundation, the Grammy Award is given to “honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to sales or chart position.” Ironically, Adele’s 25 sold more copies in its first week of sales than any album of all time. While Adele truly showcased her technical proficiency in the album, her artistry and originality was faded. Beyoncé’s Lemonade took critical artistic risks and skillfully traversed conflicts of today’s social and political atmospheres. Charged with themes of denial, resentment and tolerance, Lemonade is a story written about Beyoncé’s life, constructed by and for women of color. It speaks to the interplay of race, family and empowerment through its distinct musical and poetic construction. Adele’s 25 was the safe choice that won in a marginalizing attempt to ignore the uncomfortable issues so vital to Lemonade; however, this problem can be traced back to the Foundation, not Adele. During her acceptance speech, Adele even called to Beyoncé, proclaiming: “I can’t possibly accept this award” and “the Lemonade album was just so monumental … You are our light.” Year after year, the Grammys fail to adequately recognize artists of color. In 2013, Mumford and Sons won over Frank Ocean. In 2014, Daft Punk won over Kendrick Lamar. Then Beck won over Beyoncé in 2015 and Taylor Swift won over Kendrick in 2016. On Feb. 12, the Foundation let the comfortable
choice win over genuine artistry, originality and social progress. This past Sunday was another chance to recognize artistic achievement, and there were some truly unforgettable moments. During her acceptance speech for the Academy Award for best supporting actress, Viola Davis said, through tears, “we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life.” The films showcased this past Sunday did exactly that. From the dramatic Moonlight and Hacksaw Ridge to the bittersweet La La Land and Hidden Figures, the Oscars honored films that showcased what it means to be alive in the most visceral ways possible; yet even while nominations favored those films tangled in realistic drama, artists still believe there is progress to be made. Janelle Monáe, starring in both best picture nominated films Hidden Figures and Moonlight, spoke about her involvement in Hidden Figures, saying that it told a story “too often marginalized” and that she hadn’t known that “these women took us to space.” She went on to rationalize that while a black actor was nominated in every category, itself a landmark achievement, there is still much progress to be made. Later, host Jimmy Kimmel railed against President Trump: “I want to say thank you to President Trump. I mean remember last year when it seemed like the Oscars were racist? It has been an amazing year for movies. Black people saved NASA and white people saved jazz.” While there were many politically-charged comments during the Oscars, perhaps the most unforgettable moment of the night occurred during the last five minutes. In announcing the award for best picture, La La Land was called to stage. It was as predicted. But in a whirlwind turn of events, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway had mistakenly called out the wrong winner. In fact, Moonlight, a powerful film which explores a young African-American man’s struggle with his sexuality and identity, had won best picture. While many had expected The Oscars to follow suit with The Grammys, the comfortable choice lost this Sunday. This victory not only serves to validate people of color and the LGBTQ community but also proves that true artistry can and will be recognized, even in politically and socially-complex times.
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During high school, I told my mother that I wanted to major in During the first weekend of sec- English and write for a living. She, ond semester, my mother, my older of course, disapproved of it. She told sister and baby nephew came up me that I should become a lawyer from New York to visit to me. My because I can make money there. I sister was driving to a nearby outlet told her that I didn’t care about the mall, and my mother was in the front money. She made the same aside to seat. My baby nephew was watching me that my sister would have to supInside Out on a tablet. I decided to port me for the rest of her life. tell them my news: I wanted to conNow, that is not to say that my centrate in Latino/a Studies. I had family does not support me. Since already taken one class during the I told them that I write fiction, they fall semester, and I was determined jokingly ask if they’re in it or when to declare my concentration in it. It I am going to write their book. But was more of a selfish reason: to un- not as a career. Not as a major or derstand my identity. concentration. Not to support myMy mother was lost for words. self for the upcoming years. They She turned to me and said that she don’t support that decision. couldn’t underThat is always stand why I love the same narrative to hurt her. When around campus: That is always the same that once first-gen I mentioned that it could help my graduate, narrative ... that once students career, she said, they will go back to “You’re Latino alfirst-gen students gradu- the community and ready!” And then uplift it with their ate, they will go back to knowledge. And, as she made a quick aside to my sister a Latino, I need to that she will have to the community and uplift send back money, support me for the it with their knowledge. or remittances, to rest of my life. my family members My sister, while who do not have the not exaggerating same luck and privas my mother did, expressed simi- ilege that I do. My sister followed lar sentiments. She said that I am the same course; after receiving her privileged to be at Williams and that undergraduate degree, she started I am wasting my money by taking to support my mother. Williams is “fun” classes. Imagine being in my stressful enough as it is, but now position, sitting in the back next to there is more stress to be the best a baby while your sister and your student as well as get a high-paying mother expressly disapprove your career. There are some days when I decision. It was not the best situa- wish that I wasn’t first-gen and was allowed to be myself. tion to be in. During the car ride to the outlet It was, however, a familiar situation that my aspiration conflicted mall, my sister said that I can enjoy with my family life. It has been a my four years at Williams and have common theme as a first-generation all the fun I want. I can go abroad, (first-gen) student who loves hu- go to parties and live my life. But I always need to think of my career manities and despises STEM.
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and my future because that’s why I am there in the first place. She said that I do not have the privilege to waste my time. I will not have everything given to me after I leave Williams. Being who I am, I must work extra hard to achieve success. Right there, I stopped feeling offended and understood where my mother and my sister’s frustration is coming from. They want me to have a better life, which is what any family wants. But with my family’s history and struggles, it is the main goal. Later, at the outlet mall, while she was browsing through children’s clothes and my mother was playing with my baby nephew, my sister said that I am working for the people back on the island who are not even able to live and work in the United States. My family was lucky to immigrate to the U.S. and escape the poverty they suffered. I am here, studying at Williams, for them. I’m not deciding my future for myself but for my mother, my sister, my whole family, my community and my ancestors from the Dominican Republic, who struggled so I can be where I am today. Sure, it is stressful that I have all this responsibility. It must be stressful for all other first-gen students who have the same pressure. Some of my first-gen friends talk about the same pressure. But I am glad to have professors and students at Williams who understand and to whom I can talk. I am grateful that there is an orientation, with the help of Dean Rosanna Reyes and all the orientation leaders, at Williams for first-gen students. My situation, along with the other first-gen students at Williams, is not horrible, nor is it perfect. It just is. Leonel Martinez ’20 is from New York, N.Y. He lives in Dennett.
Jeromy DiGiacomo ’20 is from Wilton, Conn. He lives in Sage.
A cliché examined o e reall R “The best four years of your life.” When we were juniors in high school – dutifully studying for the SATs, sucking up to teachers to secure good letters of recommendations and sacrificing sleep for higher grade point averages – those six words kept us going. They were all we wanted to hear. College, those older than us promised, would be worth it. There couldn’t be a bigger or better reward for all the hard work we put in, and it would be right around the corner. College, they said, would be the best four years of our lives. As an alumna on the other side of those four years, I now find those words depressing, not motivating, and frankly childish – words from people older than me but not necessarily wiser. Their implication is that after graduation, nothing will live up to the years you spent as an undergraduate, and I refuse to believe this is true. Life as a college student definitely has its perks, especially when you’re a student at an institution widely regarded as the best college in the country. But even Taylor Swift knows that years as an emerging adult can be tumultuous. In her song “22,” Taylor describes that feeling 22-years-old means feeling “happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time.” When seniors at the College turn 22, I think it would be fair to say that most agree with Taylor when she says, “It’s miserable and magical.” The college years are ones of selfdiscovery; we make mistakes, we grow from them and we slowly we piece together our identities. Inevitably, some of those moments are going to cause confusion and loneliness in addition to the happiness and freedom that the journey is typically known for. They’re all significant parts of the process of learning about ourselves. It’s important to recognize that most of us attend college when we’re still figuring out who we are. The better we know ourselves, the better we can take care of ourselves and do what makes us happy and fulfilled. Fortunately, getting to know ourselves is something we do our whole lives, and it’s something we only can get better at. It’s hard for me to believe that the four years that started with me as a 17-year-old matriculating freshman could possibly be more satisfying than any of the four years that
ea i colle e I have yet to experience – ones that I’ll face with the nourishment of Williams already under my belt. Upon graduation, I stepped into the world equipped with, yes, a liberal arts education and, of course, a circle of friends I’ll have for the rest of my life. Armed with that, plus some knowledge of who I am, I’m much more ready to take advantage of the next four years than I ever was when stepping onto the College campus for the first time. In its mission statement, the College states: “Ultimately, the College’s greatest mark on the world consists of this: the contributions our alumni make in their professions, their communities and their personal lives.” The College believes that the biggest impact we’ll have is as alumni and, as such, aims to prepare us for the challenges we’ll face upon leaving the Purple Valley. Our most fruitful years are yet to come, it suggests. To face these challenges and to better the world, young adults must be inspired, encouraged and stimulated, graduating hopeful for the future and ready to take on whatever it throws at them. That their greatest years are behind them is not the message we should be sending to young alumni whom we want to live long, full and satisfying lives. We shouldn’t let “the best four years” fallacy turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. With all that said, I get it. Nostalgia for our college glory days is a constant reality for young alumni struggling to find their places in the 9-5 world, a world featuring terrible roommates and dark clouds of thousands of dollars of student debt looming over them every time they purchase something. Like my high school self, I want to believe there is something to look forward to. I can’t have reached my prime yet. Class of 2016, we may have already finished four pretty sweet years as undergraduates, but we only have eight years left until we’re 30 (and flirty … and thriving). Libby Dvir ’16 was a psychology major from New York, N.Y. She lives in Medford, Mass., working as a residential advisor at a transitional home for adults with mental illnesses.
JORDAN JONES ’18
The radical call of Lent The real mea i It doesn’t take advanced theological or philosophical training to recognize that our world is broken. The fallen nature of humanity is painfully obvious to anyone who follows the news. How can so many people suffer from poverty, environmental degradation, hunger, racism, war, violence, corruption and oppression, all of which are largely the results of choices made by fellow human beings? What can we do when faced with such bleak global surroundings? I think you’ll find a good answer in a splotch of black ash that many of us are wearing today. March 1 marks Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian penitential season of Lent. For centuries, Roman Catholics and many Protestants have observed this holy day by receiving ashes on the forehead as a sign of repentance for our sins. The forty-day season of Lent is traditionally defined by three practices: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Do these practices seem a little oldfashioned or overly pious? Maybe fine for your grandmother, but not for a modern college student? No way! Lent is a radical and urgent call to conversion, inviting us to a new way of life. To me, Lent is all about sacrifice: giving up the comforts and privileges that we enjoy to grow closer to Jesus Christ. He made the ultimate sacrifice in paying the price for our sins by giving up his life on the cross. Like many spiritual practices, the three central disciplines of Lent are meant firstly to strengthen our personal spiritual journeys, but their effects do not end with ourselves. As we are converted by them, we should radiate their
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goodness and share them with others. Thus, Lent takes on a communal and social dimension, transforming not only ourselves, but also our communities and the whole world. Let me offer a few suggestions for incorporating the communal aspect into each of the three traditional Lenten practices. Prayer. Prayer is first and foremost about relationship. Through prayer, we nurture our relationship with God, who loves us. Something we learn through prayer, especially by meditating on the Scriptures and the life and teachings of Jesus, is that God calls us into relationship not only with Himself, but also with our fellow human beings. In his message for Lent 2017, Pope Francis reminded us that “other persons are a gift.” When we pray, therefore, we should pray not only for our own needs, but for the needs and intentions of each other, uniting our prayers with those of the whole human family. Faced with what Pope Francis has called “the globalization of indifference,” prayer helps us build a spirit of universal solidarity that leads to action and meaningful change for the common good. Fasting. Of the three Lenten disciplines, this may seem the most passé. But fasting is actually a radical sign of detachment from material things. We live in a highly consumerist capitalist culture, which constantly bombards us, especially as young people, with the notion that we will be happier when we have more stuff, more money, more power, more fame. When we fast, we say to the world, “no, I don’t need all those shallow pleasures to live well.” When we freely choose to deny ourselves something that we might otherwise enjoy, we pro-
fess that our happiness is not based on anything in this world; rather, our hope is fixed on heaven above. We Catholics fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstain from meat on the Fridays of Lent; we also choose something else to give up during Lent. Like receiving the ashes, fasting is a reminder that we are penitent for our sins and dependent on God for our salvation. Though we live in what Pope Francis has called “the throwaway culture” in which everything, even human lives, are easily discarded, fasting teaches us to appreciate what we have and whom we have in our lives. Almsgiving. This Lenten practice clearly links us to one another. During this holy season, the Church calls us to do acts of charity. We can give our time, energy and resources to serving and empowering the needy, the poor and homeless people in our communities, as well as donate to organizations that serve marginalized groups. At a time when our society seems extremely divided, such sacrificial giving can do much good to rebuild the bonds that unite us. I invite you to take up these ancient disciplines anew as effective ways of building a “culture of encounter.” Drawing again from the Holy Father’s 2017 Lenten message, “Lent is a favorable season for opening the doors to all those in need and recognizing in them the face of Christ.” May prayer, fasting and almsgiving strengthen us in solidarity and love with those around us. And may the solemn fast of Lent help us prepare for the joyful feast of Easter. David Vascones ’18 is a history and Spanish double major from Queens, New York. He lives in Wood.
4 NEWS
The Williams Record
March 1, 2017
North Adams places third in business contest Monday 2-13-17 5:19 p.m. Danforth Apartments: An officer responded to assist an appliance service technician who had attempted to enter the apartment but encountered an unfriendly dog. The officer felt it was definitely too risky to attempt to go inside. Thursday 2-16-17 11:15 p.m. Dodd House: A student approached officers working an event to report that her friend was having an asthma attack on the other side of the building because someone was smoking marijuana in the building. Officers checked on the student and provided assistance. They detected a marijuana odor but could not locate the source. 11:53 p.m. Wood House: Officers responded to a noise complaint. Officers found the noise was coming from the basement lounge, where approximately 15 students were dancing to music. Friday 2-17-17 2:56 a.m. Garfield House: Officers met with a student who had asked for a welfare check on another student because of several alarming text messages from that student. Saturday 2-18-17 11:44 p.m. Paresky Center: Officers activated 911 for an intoxicated student. While Village
Ambulance was responding, students alerted officers to another student in need of assistance. Village Ambulance transported both to Berkshire Health North. 11:50 p.m. Agard House: Officers activated 911 for an intoxicated male student who was vomiting in the first floor bathroom. EMTs transported him to Berkshire Health North. Sunday 2-19-17 12:23 a.m. Dodd House: A dining staff member requested an officer to check on an injured student who was bleeding significantly from his right thumb. Non-Emergency Medial Transport took the student to the emergency room. 12:32 a.m. Paresky Center: Officers activated 911 for an intoxicated student. Village Ambulance responded. 12:56 a.m. Gladden House: Officers responded to a noise complaint submitted through the tip line. They found three students eating snacks in the common room and having a quiet conversation. 10:30 a.m. Linear Park: Officers received a request to assist and transport a student from the area of Linear Park to the Health Center. As the Health Center was not yet open, the officers activated 911. Village Ambulance transported the student to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SMALL BUSINESS REVOLUTION
North Adams’s Main Street was a key part of the city’s entry to the Small Business Revolution. By KATIE QUACKENBOSS CONTRIBUTING WRITER The Small Business Revolution, an organization that highlights the impact of small businesses in their communities run by Deluxe, announced the winner of their annual competition last Wednesday. While North Adams, Mass. was among the final five towns in the competition, Bristol Borough, Penn. ultimately won. This contest included over 3600 nominated communities that were all vying for a $500,000 small business investment and a revitalization process to be featured on the second season of the
NBC documentary TV series Main Street. At least eight residents nominated North Adams for the completion. “[I] nominated North Adams because of [my] love and enthusiasm for the city,” Ben Lamb, city council president of North Adams and assistant director of student life for student organizations and involvement at the College, said. The competition received a total of 14,000 nominations for the 3600 firstround communities, from which Deluxe selected eight semifinalists. Representatives from Deluxe then visited each of these towns before narrowing it down to the five finalists.
The final five competed in a week-long voting period open to the public to determine the ultimate winner. Thousands cast their votes for five cities: Georgetown, S.C., Kingsburg, Calif., Red Wing, Minn., North Adams and Bristol Borough. According to the Small Business Revolution, the program has three goals in working with the winning town after the competition. It attempts to “give small businesses a boost” by working directly with six local businesses in revitalization and holding public business marketing and management seminars. Second, it invests in the improvement of public spaces, including signage,
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highways and billboards. Finally, it works to “renew the town’s sense of pride.” “The expertise that Deluxe invests is huge, as it would have provided guidance and support that many small businesses don’t have the ability to obtain themselves due to things being costprohibitive,” Lamb said. “Additionally, the actual financial investment in both businesses and downtown would have done excellent things for our Main Street to make it more pedestrian- friendly and more small business-focused. That, combined with a mini-series that would really have told the story of North Adams and our small businesses, would have put the city in front of millions of people.” Despite not winning the competition, North Adams received more celebrity endorsements than any of the other city finalists, including from James Taylor, Elizabeth Banks, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Jo Dee Messina. More than 300 news stories covered the competition nationally. “While we didn’t win the financial investment, we won big and created an energy rarely, if ever, seen before. Additionally, we created a really strong relationship with the folks from Deluxe, and they loved North Adams, so we are already trying to find ways to work with them in the future,” Lamb said. Because nominations are open to the public, North Adams is eligible for nomination and participation in the competition again next year. The initial nomination process begins again in September.
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March 1, 2017
NEWS 5
The Williams Record
Falk addresses Data illuminates gender disparity in majors Title IX in email CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
By RACHEL LEVIN EXECUTIVE EDITOR On Tuesday, President of the College Adam Falk sent a campus-wide email affirming the College’s adherence to Title IX, prevention of sexual assault and the rights of transgender students, faculty and staff at the College. He emphasized the work already done to address sexual assault and the prevention and response systems already in place, referencing an article in the spring 2015 issue of Williams Magazine, “Standing Strong Together.” The email is a response to President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of Department of Education legal guidance for school districts that instructed them to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity, not their biological sex. The repealed document relied upon the anti-sex discrimination protections of Title IX, the broader scope of which has been called into question by Trump's repeal of the Obama administration's legal guidance. “To all those concerned about the future of Title IX and sexual assault prevention, I assure you that we’re going to continue and intensify [our current] efforts, not retreat from them,” Falk said in the email. According to CNN, the interpretation and application by Obama of Title IX in the context of transgender bathroom accesswas controversial, a primary reason for Trump’s withdrawal of Obama’s instruction. Trump believes that this issue should be decided at the state level and that Title IX is not applicable law in this situation. As an institution receiving federal funding, the College is required to comply with Title IX and in 2003 added gender identity and gender expression to its non-discrimination policy. Additionally, the College’s Title IX policy “prohibits and has established procedures to address sexual discrimination that does not include sexual misconduct,” including discrimination based on gender identity and expression. “Title IX is, at its core, about safeguarding educational civil rights, and historically that inequity has fallen on female and LGBTQ students,” Meg Bossong ’05, director of sexual assault prevention and response, said. “Basic safety and facilities access is the absolute floor of that commitment, and something that should not be relegated to a state- and institutional-level patchwork for people to pick their way through in isolation.”
GRAPHIC BY WILLIAM NEWTON/NEWS EDITOR VIA VENNGAGE
The gender disparity in many College majors is similar to the gender disparity in peer institutions and in the faculty of those departments.
College excuses fines for overdue items CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 library equipment. “But we were very concerned about the money that [students] had already accrued [in fines],” Warburg said. “What we determined was [that] we’re charging these onerous fines and we’re still not getting the materials back in a timely fashion, so we wanted to think of a better way to do this.” Warburg, Sandstrom and Head of Library Systems Walter Komorowski first met in December “because one of the deans said a student was concerned about the amount of money they had racked up in fines,” Warburg said. “We can be subjective [about fines] if the Dean’s Office tells us to be. But if we’re going to be subjective about it, then we really need to think about it because it would be better if we had a policy that was inclusive for everyone.” Warburg then met with Sandstrom, Provost David Love, Director of Financial Aid Paul Boyer ’77 and Director of Libraries David Pilachowski in January, but the first few proposed ideas were not able to be implemented with the capabilities of the library’s system. Proposed solutions included implementing an individual cap on total fines or temporarily blocking the library accounts of students with overdue equipment. Eventually, the librarians and deans settled on eliminating fines entirely for overdue equipment. Now, every morning, librarians will email each student who has overdue equipment, and students will get a second notice after that. At the third email notice for
a late item, sent within a week of the due date, students will be charged a $10 penalty and referred to the Dean’s Office, Warburg said. Also, if an item is not returned for 14 days, it gets automatically marked as “lost” and the student is notified, Warburg said. “After you get that ‘lost’ notice, it’s really imperative to return that item,” she added. In that case, the student is blocked from checking out the same item until the block is removed from the record, which requires charging the student for the item. Also, librarians will periodically go through the accounts to remove lost items from the record, charging student accounts. Charges for lost items cannot be reimbursed. The success of this new policy requires communication be-
Students must also buy in to the policy for it to succeed, Sandstrom said. “This new policy will be a lot more user-friendly for students,” she said. “At the same time, it relies on student cooperation. We must be able to count on students to return equipment when it is due so that the library can continue to offer equipment to other students who need it. I am confident that students will step up to this responsibility.” The new policy could be revisited over the summer, depending on how successful it is in ensuring students’ equitable access to library materials. “This is a pilot program,” Warburg said. “If the materials are not being returned when they’re supposed to, we’re going to review this whole thing over the summer,” after the libraries have hired a new director of libraries and a new head of access services. For now, Warburg is going back into the library system to manually credit the accounts of all students who have accrued any fines on overdue equipment since July, as well as credit a $2 processing fee that the system had automatically been charging on overdue books. She is working to credit students as quickly as possible, beginning with those who owed the most. After all the credits are sent to the Bursar’s Office, appearing on students’ term bills, Warburg will send a personalized email to each affected student, explaining the reason for and amount of their individual credit. “[It] will probably be about 500 individual emails,” Warburg said. “I will get it done before finals. My goal is, before they graduate, they will know what their credit was.”
“This new policy will be a lot more user-friendly for students ... I am confident that students will step up to this responsibility.” Marlene Sandstrom Dean of the College tween librarians and students, Sandstrom said. “The librarians will be providing students with much more detailed information about the lending policy upfront and will help steer students to more long-term borrowing options if it seems that they might need equipment for longer than the short-term policy allows,” Sandstrom said. “In lieu of continually increasing fines, librarians will do more outreach with students to ensure that equipment is returned on time.”
JAAB changes JA co-pairing, selection CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Most importantly, JAAB also hopes that this change will help first-year students who identify as non-binary feel more welcomed by an entry system that allows them to see non-binary students in leadership roles, moving the entry system away from its connection to a gender-binary-based model.
“It begins to take away the potential emotional burden from first-years who do not identify as female or male, who have never felt welcomed by the entry system or seen someone ‘like them’ in a leadership role,” Jensen said. “It pushes the system to be adaptable and to holistically recognize applicants as individuals rather than as first and foremost by their gender.”
College appoints Shawna Patterson as new director of the Davis Center By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN NEWS EDITOR In January, Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Equity Leticia Smith-Evans Haynes ’98 announced that Shawna Patterson would serve the new director of the College’s Davis Center. Patterson, who most recently worked as a House Dean at the University of Pennsylvania, assumed her new role during Winter Study. She has worked at Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida State Universities, and she holds a Ph.D. from Florida State. Patterson was initially drawn to the College by a sense of curiosity about the school and a desire to work in a more intimate environment. “I rely on a relationship-centered approach where I can forge authentic relationships, and I felt that here was somewhere where I could make a difference and have the freedom to do that,” Patterson said. “There’s a genuine want here to have this work be effectual on campus, not just lip service, but a genuine belief that this is needed … The students are impassioned and committed to being social change agents, and the administration is willing to say, ‘We want to help them’ – that’s not always the first thing that’s said everywhere.” Patterson originally comes from a military family, to which she attributes her drive and active personality. “It widened my worldview early on, with the opportunity to live in different countries and different parts of the country,” Patterson said. “It gave me a chance to see more, understand more and do more.” Following her undergraduate studies in sociology, Patterson entered the workforce as a social worker in Detroit, Mich. Shortly thereafter, she began to chafe at a system she perceived was resistant to change and not allowing her to help her clients. She then returned to graduate school and discovered her interest in working on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in institutions of higher education. “I had the opportunity to work with underrepresented populations, to understand higher education as a system, and found I was most effectual in these spaces,” she said. In an email announcing Patterson’s appointment, Haynes cited her extensive experience in a variety of higher education settings. “At Michigan State University, she supported diverse student populations, developed inclusive residential curricula for residence halls and advised student organizations,” Haynes said in the email. “At Penn State University, she oversaw the safety and security functions for the residential housing system and worked to foster an environment that valued diversity and demonstrated a commitment to social justice.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE
Shawna Patterson is the new Davis Center director. As she acclimates to her new role here at the College, her first goal is to continue to grow as a member of the community and to immerse herself in new activites both inside and outside of the College. “I would love to get more involved in Williamstown, North Adams and Pittsfield to understand who my neighbors are,” Patterson said. In addition, Patterson hopes to make the Davis Center a model on the international stage. “I want this to be a space where everyone’s looking to see what we’re doing, where we’re on the cutting edge,” she said. “It can be a focal point for a variety of reasons, a foundation for models and techniques.” Patterson sees her role within both the Davis Center and the College community as that of a facilitator foremost. “My plan is to begin with understanding [the Davis Center’s] mission and goals, doing this as a collective with the staff,” Patterson said. As for the campus community, Patterson hopes to see a place where all students are able to thrive. “I hope that students are able to get a renewed understanding of themselves as individuals,” Patterson said. “I see education as a tool of enlightenment. The college experience should allow you to get to know who you are.” Above all, Patterson stressed her openness and availability as she begins her new position at the College. “I’m an open book and an open door, visible and accessible,” she said.
6 FEATURES
The Williams Record
March 1, 2017
One in Two Thousand By BROOKE HOROWITCH SPORTS EDITOR
tistic messiness. I am a self-proclaimed slob, which I’d like to think has some of his haphazard If you attend an obscure cam- artistic spirit. pus event, you will likely spot Baladine Pierce ’20, a smiling, In addition to art, I know slender girl with blunt bangs that you write a lot. Could wearing fur or plaid – or both. you tell me about some She and I are entrymates, and of the things you have I admire her brilliance and written and what writing how she seems to find every- means to you? thing charming. I sat down with Baladine to chat about her I keep a lot of journals and that name, art, history, vegetarian is both to process things that are going on in my life and to keep dining and Alfred Hitchcock. a record. It can be stressful to Let’s begin with an ob- think about it that way, because vious question: Where there is no way to record all of does the name “Baladine” your life moments, and I find that I record so much less when come from? my life is brimming with things There is a painter called Bal- to discuss and process. It hasn’t thus, and his mother was been going that well lately, but it named Elizabeth. But one day, is definitely an important thing she woke up and decided that to me. I love having that sense it should be Baladine and not of the past, because my biggest Elizabeth anymore, so she academic interest is history, and changed it. She was a very in- I feel like it helps me keep track ventive person and also an art- of my own history. ist. I think I am one of the only people who have the name. It Why history? What do you means “singer of little songs.” love about it? People often think that my name is Valentine or Vala- That’s a challenge. I should dine. My favorite confusion dig up some old internship apwas Baldrone, which I really plications and tell you. I just wish was my name. But my think that all of the subjects dad is an art history teacher are represented in history. and artist, so he came across Psychology is so important, and it connects so well with litBaladine in his readings. erature. You can learn history That’s awesome! And how through all of these different do your dad — and mom — subjects and history of all of these different subjects. So I influence you? think that choosing history as My dad is an artist, and my a center of interest and a vocamom is a psychiatric nurse, so tion really lets you pull from they are definitely very differ- so many different fascinating ent. I do think that I have a mind disciplines that I would not more similar to my dad’s than want to distance myself from. my mom’s. I definitely have a The present is such a struggle tendency toward visual expres- for me, and the future is such sion and really looking at the a struggle for me, and hisway the world presents differ- tory just makes both of those ent pictures to you. It is nice to states much easier to grapple have that contrast between my with and understand. There is parents, my mom is a lot more definitely a kind of solace in analytical and put-together, reaching back to what is set whereas my dad has a more ar- and what will always exist as
BALADINE PIERCE ’20
JANETH RODRIGUEZ/PHOTO EDITOR
HOMETOWN MANHATTAN, N.Y.
RESIDENCE SAGE HALL
it was but, at the same time, you can change your own perception and history. I like that permanence and flexibility, because history remains the same, but the way we look back on it changes. That is something that I am definitely interested in looking into. It drives my career dreams. So you want to study how we study history. That’s cool! Very meta. I know that you are also a fan of Hitchcock movies. Could you tell me about your favorites and why you like them? I love The Birds. I think that it is an extremely unique movie,because of the subject. The idea that nature is the murderer is very interesting. It is also just so surreal. I love the pre-CGI [ComputerGenerated Imagery] editing, which kind of makes it more
FAVORITE DIRECTOR HITCHCOCK
frightening in way, because it’s all so confused and abstract. I love Vertigo and Strangers on a Train. It’s very hard for me to watch modern movies that are coming out now, because there is something in those old movies that I don’t know if we can ever capture again in cinema. There’s something so special about the past. Maybe people will look back on 21stcentury movies and feel the same way, but Hitchcock is just so special. I grew up as an extreme coward, so I could not watch anything with the mere suggestion of frightening content. I was terrified of movie theaters. But there is something in suspense that is such an incredible emotion to have. Hitchcock’s movies are not excessively gory, but they’re so strategically set up to have perfect suspense. And now I am not as much of a coward as I was.
I am also curious about your childhood in New York City. What was it like growing up in Manhattan? I definitely think about that a lot here. Sometimes, I kind of wish I had a suburban childhood. I used to idealize that so much, but I’m sure it would have been dreadful for me, because the people are what I really love about the city. When I went back, I was most taken over with the sensation of standing on a street corner or in the subway and having people come toward me in streams and seeing their faces for the first and last time in the same minute. That’s something that does not exist here, where we have preconceived notions of each other based on the fact that we are Williams students. In the city, I love the mystery of every person you see. The cultural institutions are also so wonderful, but I definitely craved nature throughout my childhood. Is that why you decided to come to the College? That was the greatest gain in coming here. Now I am always going to have picnics outside and hanging out on Stone Hill, which is my favorite spot. But as for why I fell in love with Williams, I hope this doesn’t seem traitorous, but I originally loved Amherst before I had visited anything. I was terrified of college. I thought it was going to be doom with academic burdens and no outlet. Then I looked up Amherst and saw the words “nestled in a happy valley” and saw that there was an organic farm on campus. Then I knew that college was going to be amazing. But when I actually toured, I realized that Amherst was nothing compared to Williams. It was just the feeling on this campus, which I know a lot of people refer to, and it’s kind of vague
and annoying, but that’s what it was. Also the purple mist that was all along the mountains. And it was one of my life dreams to touch a cloud, and when I was here, I touched a cloud on a hill and ran through it! It felt like nothing at all, but I was so, so happy. I’d like to think about that metaphorically — touching something that is not really there — but I don’t think that will work. So then I was in love with Williams. I realized that it is nestled in a happier valley. And now I am on the Garden Board and involved with Sustainable Growers even though we don’t have an organic farm. Could you talk a little more about your eating habits and food philosophy? I am a ginormous food snob. That resulted from my life in New York City, where my mother was a phenomenal cook and we had farmers’ markets and lovely food options all around us. My fear was to come to college and have questionable food circumstances. I don’t want to eat things that are chock-full of preservatives and GMOs and non-organic, and I don’t think that should be food snob status. For a while, I was subsisting on rice cakes and the crispy brown rice products here. The gluten-free section at Mission is my haven. I also do a lot of my own cooking. I was a pescatarian for two years before I came to college, but I just don’t think the seafood here is real. If it is real, it is very, very sad. But all of the things that I used to not eat at home I eat the most of here. I was afraid of beans — like actually afraid — for decades. They irked me and confused me, and I was very averse to them. But here that is like all I eat. And it was the same thing with rice cakes. I was not a fan of them, but the key is to put them in the toaster in Mission — not the small toaster though, or they’ll catch on fire.
Alum expands witty card company By RACHEL LEVIN EXECUTIVE EDITOR
RB SMITH/FEATURES EDITOR
The bursars occupy a bright first-floor office in Hopkins Hall where they handle all student billing at the College.
Bursars play vital role at College By RB SMITH FEATURES EDITOR The question of money puts many students on edge. The complex and often harrowing world of bills, holds, balances and loans can seem impenetrable, and receiving a lengthy email about a financial issue can be extremely stressful. However, students would perhaps be less inclined to panic if they knew the people behind their bills: the bursar’s office, a team of three good-natured women who love to help students navigate the notso-murky world of billing. Located on the first floor of Hopkins Hall, the bursars share a spacious office with the rest of the divisions of the controller’s office, which manages all of the accounting needs of the College. Paula Langer, assistant bursar, and Jill Mendel, cashier and accounting assistant, have been helping students manage their finances at the College for 29 and 23 years, respectively, while Mary Kate Shea ’08, bursar of the College, joined the team almost eight years ago after working in the conferences office. Together, they manage all student accounts and billing, the collection of loans and all the fees and deposits students receive and make over their college career. The work is high in volume, but Shea finds the job rewarding. “I like the interaction with students,” Shea said. “When I was in the conferences office we … had virtually no student interaction — we were this other little entity.” Now, though, she gets to work directly with students on a daily basis, helping them
navigate their balances and payments. She gets particular satisfaction from being able to “help resolve a situation, offer a family an option to spread out their payments or something that makes things a little bit easier for them,” she said. While many may think of the bursar’s office as the impersonal policeman behind their tuition bills, helping students and families find solutions to financial issues is the best part of the job, according to Shea. However, the job also can also be a tough one. “Every once and a while we’ll have a student who, as we get ready for graduation for the seniors, … has a balance that’s significant enough that they can walk at graduation and participate, but when they open up their diploma case it’s a letter from me,” Shea said. Placing holds on course registration, and in some cases even diplomas, can be one of the toughest parts of the job, but Shea stays confident and positive even in the face of uncertainty. She works tirelessly with students and their families to figure out a solution to any financial problem. In almost every situation, she said, “they chip away at it, and six months, 12 months later, the balance is paid in full, and it’s really rewarding to be able to then send the diploma.” The ability to help students overcome obstacles is an enduring part of the job, but as time goes on many day-to-day aspects of the bursar’s office continue to evolve. Before spring 2010, all billing was done via paper bills sent by mail. When the current electronic system was introduced, it brought big changes
to how the bursar’s office functioned and interacted with the student body. For one, responsibility shifted from a focus on the family, as bills were mailed to a student’s home address, to a focus on the students themselves. “Once we went to electronic billing, the account was the student’s, and they had to invite someone else to be able to see it and pay it,” she said. Under this system, bills were distributed at monthly intervals, but in fall 2014, the office adopted a new platform called the Student Account Center (SAC). “That’s a real-time billing system,” Shea said, “so if we get charges … we can put those on and students and parents can see them immediately in the system.” This instant relay of information has helped students stay on top of their balances, according to Shea, and helps to prevent unpleasant surprises. Just because this information exists, however, does not mean all students make use of it. Many students, who are too busy or scared to address financial issues, ignore Shea’s emails. “Money is a fraught subject for a lot of students,” she said, and admitted that “there are some families in very difficult situations.” Honesty and an active cooperative spirit on the part of the students can be a huge boon in making the billing process run smoothly. “If you get something from us,” she said, “don’t panic — but also don’t ignore it.” Shea and her colleagues are always eager to help students out, and invite students with any concerns to come in and chat. “Our doors are always open.”
Concussions do not stop Hailey Herring-Newbound ’16. If anything, they are a blessing in disguise for the recent alumna, whose handmade cards are now sold in Where’d You Get That?! and the Store at Five Corners in Williamstown, in addition to stores in California. The cards are simple yet elegant and fun, with a watercolor fruit, vegetable or loaf of bread accompanied by a friendly pun greeting the reader. The cards started as something to do during Newbound’s month-and-a-half-long recovery from a concussion which started a week before spring break her senior year. “After about a week of just lying around, you kind of begin to lose your mind a little bit,” she said. “To entertain myself, [I] started water-coloring because I found that it was the one activity that would keep me entertained but also didn’t hurt my head for whatever reason.” Newbound credits her dad with helping her match puns to pictures. “My dad has always been a pun master, and the two of us are just constantly coming up with puns. We spent our days going back and forth and coming up with puns for all of the different fruits and vegetables, and I just started writing everything down,” she said. After an initial round of watercoloring and creating puns, Newbound took five cards down the street to the Store at Five Corners to see if the owner would consider putting them up for sale.
“I showed [the cards] to her and asked if she would be at all interested in selling them and she instantly took them out of my hands,” Newbound said. “And then she started selling, and she kept reordering, and then I got them into Where’d You Get That?!.” Just like that, the cards were officially on the market. Newbound returned to classes, finishing her time at the College while selling the cards and creating a website to increase sales. After making her way west, she began spending almost every weekend working at craft fairs and printing cards. Her website (cardsbyhailey.com) now boasts the names of nine stores that sell her cards: five in San Francisco, two elsewhere in California and two in Williamstown. Newbound got another concussion while in San Francisco. “My whole story is going to be about concussions,” she said with a laugh. “I would come into work for 20 minutes, and then the room would start spinning and then I would have to go home … I sort of started thinking that the job was something that I did not necessarily want to pursue. And I was having so much fun doing the card stuff — that was what kept me up at night, that was what excited me so much more.” Newbound left her job in San Francisco to move to Australia in January, following a “voice in her head” urging her to go abroad. Many of the illustrators and artists of whom Newbound is fond also live in Australia, so when her best friend from the College who had moved to Sydney suggested
she also come, Newbound said yes. “I made the leap, and it’s been great,” she said. Additionally, the card-making “just kind of took on a life of its own, so I’m kind of the one following it.” This business “was never something that I thought I would ever be doing,” Newbound said. “I’m selling prints as well. I made one print to see what would happen, and I sold it at a fair in San Francisco and it did really well, so I started making more.” As for where she gets the endless collection of puns, “for whatever reason, it’s a blessing or a curse, it’s kind of just the way my mind works,” she said. “I’ll sit down and be like I’m going to do all breads, and I’ll Google-search bread and just have a list of types of bread and go down the line, coming up with puns for them.” Throughout this process, her family has been “kind of laughing alongside of me, like, ‘Why am I doing this? Why does this work?’” she said. They continue to support, encourage and push her as the cards continue selling. Newbound credited her history of concussions with the change in her plans. “I didn’t know at what point I would get another concussion and be out for another two months,” she said, so stepping away from the demanding schedule of a “9-to-5” job made the most sense and has allowed her to take time for herself, travel and work on the cards. “I’ll keep it going as long as it keeps going,” she said. “I don’t know if it could ever be a fulltime gig, but it’s great to have on the side.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF HAILEY HERRING-NEWBOUND
The cards made by Hailey Herring-Newbound ’16 demonstrate her creativity and knack for puns.
March 1, 2017
FEATURES 7
The Williams Record
Vermicomposting worms its way into the College community By FRANCESCA PARIS COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR There are thousands of worms squirming their way through the Environmental Center. Don’t worry, though; they’re hard at work. Like a tiny colony of worker bees, they chew through scraps of food waste and shredded copies of the Record to produce a nutrient-rich substance called “castings.” They’re sophisticated, all-natural composting machines, multiplying the fertilizing value of food by passing it through their digestive systems. The worms belong to Henry Art, professor of biology, and Mike Evans, assistant director of the Zilkha Center. They live in a black worm composter, no bigger than a mini-fridge, in the corner of their shared office space. Yet their coworkers are not bothered. “No, it doesn’t smell,” Evans said. “Or if it does, it just smells a little earthy.” Inspired by their own experience with “vermicomposting,” Art and Evans led a workshop at the end of Winter Study where participants could make their own worm composting systems. First, though, they had to learn. Don Kjelleren, director of the career center and a dedicated gardener, was among the workshop’s eight participants. “We learned about the inputs needed to create a favorable ecosystem for worms to reproduce and make castings,” Kjelleren said. “We talked about pH, temperature, moisture levels and nitrate percentages.” The environment in which worms survive best is simple to recreate. For those of you following along at home, all you need is a plastic container, wood shavings or shredded newspaper for bedding (we recommend the Record!), some food waste and a handful
PHOTO COURTESY OF ZILKHA CENTER
Vermicomposting is an easy, efficient and environmentally-friendly way to dispose of organic waste, and it gives off a pleasantly earthy aroma. of soil. The last step is the redworms themselves, which are available on Amazon for $2535 a pound, which is about 1000 worms. Participants drilled holes in the covers of their bins and watered the bedding so that it was wet “like a wrung-out towel,” according to Evans. Once they had set up, they grabbed a handful of worms and soil from Art and Evans’ system. All that was left was the food. “They like apple cores, banana peels, coffee grounds, tea-
bags,” Evans said. “You can’t put in oil, meat or much citrus.” Complex foods like meats, oils and dairy products take longer to break down than fruits and vegetables, and they can attract fruit flies. Citrus fruits, like orange rinds, are too acidic for the worms’ tastes. Participants were allowed to take their bins home, but they will not see results for a while. In small numbers, it takes time for the worms to go through food and produce castings. Most of the populations cannot actually
go through very much food at all. Kjelleren said he stores food waste in a stainless-steel container and only gives some to the worms every two weeks or so to avoid food rotting in the bin. Evans added, however, that even mold is not a huge problem — it’s all natural, after all. Just turn over the soil, and give the worm population time to grow. When the worms finally get through the food and produce castings, the process of extracting that rich fertilizer from the system is also slow-moving. The
simplest method is to add food to one side of the box. Over the course of a few weeks, the worms will migrate to that side. Then you can pull out the soil from the worm-free side, and replace it with new soil and food. In a more complex setup, like the one Art and Evans have in their office, you put another layer of bedding and food on top, with a mesh underneath, so the worms can crawl up through the holes. Then you remove the bottom container. The fertilizing substance can be used in gardens and pot-
ted plants to encourage plants to thrive, grow and produce fruit. Kelly Chen ’17 also took part in the workshop. She did not have room in her dorm to take home the worms, but she plans to build one for her dad when she gets home, since he likes to garden. And she’s a senior: When she moves out, into her own apartment, she is seriously considering setting one up for herself. Worm composting is not a new idea. Worms have been breaking down organic material and excreting nutrients throughout history. Vermicomposting just takes that natural process and simulates it in a controlled environment, where the byproduct can be harvested. Art and Evans’ inspiration was Will Allen, founder and CEO of Growing Power, where vermicomposting takes place on a much larger scale in greenhouses. The reality is, vermicomposting is no miracle for large-scale agriculture. For reasons of cost and space, it is an inefficient way to generate fertilizer from waste. Yet on a small scale, for an avid gardener or a recent graduate in an apartment, it is an easy, nostress way to reduce waste and create healthier soil. For Evans, the best part of worm composting is just that — minimizing his food waste. Now, when he is snacking in the office, he can toss an apple core straight into the worm bin. For Kjelleren, who plans to use his worm castings on his houseplants, the joy is in the concept. “It’s just something about the brilliance of that circle, connecting worms to compost to gardening,” he said. The best part of worm composting? The creatures do good for any soil you put them in. So if you get tired, you can throw the baby out with the bathwater: just toss it into the garden, worms and all.
A WEEK IN WILLIAMS HISTORY The first week of March can be an exciting time for students. With College Council elections and summer decisions rolling in, students throughout College history have had a lot on their minds – things both serious and less so.
College receives tips on being “prepsy”
March 3
1981
Paul Sabbah ’83 asserts his opinions on being a “true prep and ivy leaguer.” Sections include “Properly holding a racquet,” “Operating those micro-film viewers” and “Imbibing.” He has strong views on students’ choice of periodical: “The prep reads the Wall Street Journal or the Times (New York, of course) … Don’t leave that Hustler or Playgirl in plain sight.” Students are also strongly advised against making “noises that might, in other contexts, be mistaken for biological functioning,” and, of course, sweating. “This cannot be stressed too much. Sweat is a disgusting feature of the common man. The prep perspires, and that only rarely.” (“How to be prepsy without really trying,” March 3, 1981)
Williams Students On-line breaks on to the scene Guest computer enthusiast Josh Solomon ’97 introduces students to the wonderful world of Williams Students On-line, where they can access everything from course catalogues to the Williams directory. Students “seeking a more visually stimulating hunt for addresses, phone numbers, etc.” could try out the Facebook – just boot up the World Wide Web with the “lynx” command through the gopher program or access “http://otis.cc.williams. edu/” via Netscape. Be sure to use Netscape 2.0, though – most other browsers do not support tables. (“Computer Corner,” March 5, 1996)
March 5
1996
Neville’s takes the cake in doughnut competition
March 1
2005
Contributing writers Matt Earle ’07 and Morgan Cronin ’07 “have a mission: to discover where Williams’ best doughnuts are hiding.” After blowing their way through comforting confections from Stop & Shop, Dunkin’ Donuts and Mission, the pair happens upon a mythic venue. “Many Williams students have heard the whispers of dark deeds (all-night studying), dark places (library cubicles) and mysterious midnight exoduses to a source of sweet sustenance that keeps the same ridiculous hours we do. That’s Neville’s.” The testing is rigorous, but the verdict is clear: “Next time you need doughnuts, try Neville’s and reaffirm your faith in the world and that all is good.” (“A quest for the perfect doughnut,” March 1, 2005)
8 ARTS
The Williams Record
March 1, 2017
‘Almost Zero’ reconsiders subjects of nostalgia By LI YU ARTS EDITOR Last Saturday, Almost Zero: New Work by Brian Trelegan debuted at 117 Latham St. Curated by Alex Jen ’19, Almost Zero features the work of multimedia artist and musician Brian Trelegan ’16.5. Trelegan’s art takes up both floors of the building. Paper signs on the doors, a floor plan and a 20-page catalog guide viewers through the space. The show derives its name from an old conversation between the two collaborators, in which Jen asked Trelegan how much research he does before making his work. “Almost zero,” the artist responded. Almost Zero accurately characterizes the gray area between passionless device and sentimental object that technology and digitization seem to occupy in Trelegan’s art. Juxtaposing order and entropy, repetition and discontinuation, Trelegan speaks to the spectral melancholia of technology. Hallway walls of the Latham house feature the “Greely Road Extension”, a photography series that takes sentimental items and deconstructs them into unfamiliar objects. “Flower over Bidet,” a blown up photograph of a flower painting hanging above a bidet, has been angled in a way that confuses the spatial orientation of the image. Similarly, “Getting Up (On the Shelf)” depicts a blue chair isolated within the corner of some undefined closed space, possibly a shelf as the title suggests. A closer look reveals that the photos have been intentionally enlarged to give each image a pixelated, granular quality, an effect that serves as another speed bump in the interpre-
PHOTO COURTESY OF GRACE FAN
Juxtaposing order and entropy, repetition and discontinuation, ‘Almost Zero’ speaks to the spectral melancholia permeating technology. tative process. Trelegan’s work forces us to think about photography as a digitized medium and reconsider what constitutes a subject worthy of nostalgia. Meanwhile, the “Landscape” series takes black-and-white images of ordinary objects and enlarges them well beyond recognition to create abstracted landscape scenes that correspond to no real landscape at all. His photos emphasize a strong rectilinear form that gives a
sense of distance and vastness. The granular quality of the images denies the viewers an entry into the landscape rather than drawing them in. While geometric forms seem to echo natural geological formations, they still maintain a heavy degree of abstraction. Take the curved gradient in “Landscape #1”, for example, that evokes the rounded steepness of a sand dune. In the context of its space, Landscape faces the viewer on three sides of
THE ARTIST OTHERWISE KNOWN AS... JAMAL MENEIDE ’19 By SARAH RITZMANN STAFF WRITER For most of us, there was probably a time in our lives when we tried to pick up a new skill by watching YouTube videos, only to give up after a single night of binge-watching video tutorials. Unlike most of us, Jamal Meneide ’19 has taken his high school interest in hip-hop dance videos to an entirely new level. Over the last four years, Meneide’s passion for dance has only grown, and he is constantly creating unique moves and techniques. While Meneide both dances and choreographs for Nothin’ But Cuties (NBC), the College’s hip-hop dance group, he performs most of his original work solo and posts it on Instagram and YouTube. For Meneide, posting his work online has a twofold purpose. “I use social media both to show other people my craft, and also to demonstrate to myself how much I’m evolving, and how much my craft is or isn’t improving,” he said. He usually sports an unexpected combination of bold geometricpatterned pants and a plaid flannel or knit sweater, captivating hundreds of viewers with each video. Meneide is an avid proponent of new style hiphop, which differentiates from classic hip-hop by incorporating newer influences from urban and street dance styles. Staples of a typical new-style hip-hop routine include familiar techniques like popping and locking, in which the dancer’s muscles quickly expand and contract as if they were mechanized in an animation style. Animation style is characterized by a tension between robotic movements such as popping and locking as well as more fluid motions such as waving, where part or all of the dancer’s body moves in a wave-like motion. Subtly switching between mechanical and organic motions is one of Meneide’s greatest strengths as a dancer — one moment, his arm could be waving gracefully to the beat of the music, but in the blink of an eye he could twist his body into an completely new position with almost inhuman precision. Also true to new-style hip-hop, a majority of Meneide’s dances are free-styled rather than choreographed. “Thinking about it, I think I have one or two pieces that are completely choreography,” he said. “Sometimes I’m inspired by the mood of the song — it’ll make me think of a specific movement and I’ll base the rest of my free-styling on that.” Meneide’s moves are cleverly coordinated to the mix of rap, hip-hop, trap and even breakbeat music that he often listens to. “The music I dance to usually feels pretty compositionally complex, in the sense that there are a lot of things going on in the music, a lot of layers,” he said. “As a dancer, listening to an artist that put that much time and effort into their craft, it gives you equally a lot of opportunity to follow different kinds of sounds within the music.” Both his clothing and dance styles pay tribute to Les Twins, the world-renowned French hip-hop duo whose moves are Meneide’s biggest inspirations. His references to Les Twins are clear in much of his work, particularly the way in which he is able to isolate certain parts of his body while dancing — for example, while his feet are gliding across the floor, his upper body remains static and vice versa. As a prospective English and political science double major, Meneide’s academic and artistic passions rarely cross paths. However, he recently
combined the two in a cathartic way in his most recent project, in which he created a dance in response to Jean-Michel Basquiat’s painting Defacement. Meneide studied the work in the Winter Study course “Basquiat’s Defacement: Ambivalence, Identity and Black Lives Matter” and filmed the dance in the Williams College Museum of Art’s reading room in front of the painting. Defacement depicts the beating of Michael Stewart, a black man assaulted by police in 1983, who died soon afterward. Just as Defacement served as Basquiat’s visceral and immediate reaction to the horrors of police brutality, Meneide uses dance to convey his own emotional response to the work. The most powerful part of the dance begins when a real-life embodiment of the painting’s “defaced” figure enters the frame and begins dancing in sync with Meneide in the same frame. While his face remains covered, the defaced figure’s moves are unmistakably Meneide’s, provoking questions about the dancer’s relationship to the black figure in the painting. “What I wanted to do was play with the idea of defacement as identity,” he said. “Is being defaced something simply we are viewed as, as black people, or is it something that we can embody, and therefore view ourselves as?” The “Gaudreau” technique, self-dubbed by Meneide, places the same person twice simultaneously in the frame. The name roughly translates to “army of power” and conveys the multiplicity of his work. “While I’m only a single person, I’m holding myself to the standard of trying to achieve something powerful and multiple with my art,” he said.
the walls and bleeds over to the floor as well, challenging preconceived ideas about presentation and effectively giving a sense of fluidity to the rigid landscape. Upstairs we find Trelegan’s “Basic Steps for Beginners,” a video that samples clips from various infomercials and PSAs, interspersed with the repetition of a blue title screen with the text, “BASIC STEPS FOR BEGINNERS,” as a catchy jingle plays in the background. The
clips show quiet isolated motions, like the fumbling of a hand, in between the repeated title slide. Repetitions get increasingly frenzied and distorted, until the video samples are hardly visible from behind the proliferation of text, representing the proliferation of information new digital avenues open up. “Basic Steps for Beginners” inundates but simultaneously maintains a repetitive and rigid rhythm.
If “Greely Road Extension” defamiliarizes sentimental objects, then “Office 3-Space” takes that operation and utterly inverts it. A sound and sculpture piece that consists of various deconstructed elements taken from an office workspace, “Office 3-Space” features a mechanical fan hanging from the ceiling, strips of computer paper attached by binder clips to its suspended electrical cord. Trelegan’s own track hums a converging, tonal oscillation and is “sampled from the printer’s noises as it printed out the paper,” according to the program catalogue. There is a certain roundness to the composition, a repetition of chords slowly fading into each other that evokes the minimalism of Steve Reich. The mechanical fan’s continuous stream of air animates the sheets in a gentle, swaying movement congruent with the sonic shifts of Trelegan’s composition. The strips of computer paper feature lines of meaningless text, listing alphabetic and numeric symbols in endless repetition. On the page, the characters have been arranged to defy their own strict lineation, diagonally bending across the paper in an entropic descent. These careful deviations imbue the work not with a sense of life but with the uncanny living dead: that ghostly liminal realm which technology seems to inhabit. “Office 3-Space” simultaneously suggests both human presence — the binder clips and table fan — and human alienation, as well as the mechanical indecipherability of the text and ultimately human sentimentality, as a closer look reveals wavy veins of letters that almost suggest life.
French Film Festival questions identity By GREG ZAFFINO STAFF WRITER On Feb. 20, the French Film Festival presented La Belle Saison, which literally translates to “The Good Season,” but was instead named Summertime for English-speaking audiences. Brian Martin, professor of French and comparative literature, again introduced the film; as usual, he provided a helpful context from cultural, cinematic and political perspectives. La Belle Saison is a 2015 feature focusing on the romantic relationship between two young women participating in the feminist movements of the early 1970s. Fitting in with the Festival’s theme of “diversity and adversity,” the multifaceted film touches on several topics of diversity — particularly sexuality, femininity and class. Delphine, the main character, works on a small farm in rural France with her parents, who are eager for her to settle down with the local boy. Unbeknownst to them, Delphine, Paris-bound for college in the fall, has been sneaking off at night to see a girl that she loves. However, the first time that the audience is privy to their relationship, it is in the form of watching a break-up. Delphine’s lover is getting married — to a man. The girl dismisses her time with Delphine — and seemingly her entire sexual experience with women — as just
a fling. Swiftly and subtly, the film shows the constraints Delphine faces in such a small and traditionalist community. The norm in Delphine’s community for those who are “diverse” is not to learn how to be yourself, but to “grow up” and learn to squeeze yourself into the predetermined mold. When Delphine moves to Paris, she encounters a witty, charming group of feminists. She quickly befriends one of the group’s apparent leaders, Carole. Despite Carole having a boyfriend with whom she lives, Delphine pursues her romantically. After being initially rebuffed, Delphine succeeds in her second advance. La Belle Saison does an especially good job at detailing the confusion and frustration from Carole’s boyfriend. While the easy road would have been to take a broad brush and paint him as the villain, it goes for a far more nuanced approach, showing that Carole’s situation comes with a lot of complications and few easy decisions. Things become further complicated when Delphine receives news that her father has fallen seriously ill and can no longer take care of the farm. At this point in the movie, La Belle Saison stretches beyond the genre conventions of analyzing gender and sexuality, and begins to add class into the conversation. Placing young cosmopolitan feminists on a farm is not exactly their usual environment. Delphine
decides to go back home to take care of her family’s farm — not having to sell it is of immense importance to her. Feeling that they are truly in love, Carole decides to come with her. Though they continue their relationship, Delphine and Carole keep it a secret from the townsfolk and Delphine’s family. The situation, however, is unsustainable. Delphine loves Carole, but she values her own identity as a member of the community as well. Her community, and her family, will not allow her to be all parts of herself. As the time approaches for Delphine to make the choice between Carole and her life at home, it feels reminiscent of the inevitability of storm clouds slowly marching in on a sunny day. For all the upbeat moments La Belle Saison gives us on the farm, you know there can be no happy ending. Delphine has come to the hardest kind of decision — the kind where there are parts of yourself tugging you in different directions and you cannot possibly choose any path forward without leaving a part of yourself behind. The heartbreak is inevitable and all Delphine can do is choose which part of herself to sever. The film successfully presents the audience with a perspective seldom seen in cinema. La Belle Saison triumphs because the difficulty of Delphine’s situation outweighs the predictability of the film.
conscious
JUNE HAN/PHOTO EDITOR
Jamal Meneide ’19 posts dance videos online.
consumption
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Williamstown, Mass. wildoats.coop
March 1, 2017
ARTS 9
The Williams Record
Guitarist mixes contemporary and baroque to honor famous musicians By ALEX MEDEIROS OPINIONS EDITOR The New York Times has called the acoustic guitarist Benjamin Verdery an "iconoclastic player.” Last week, this world-renowned contemporary musician and composer came to the College to perform a night of baroque, Bach-inspired pieces as well as his own arrangements of classic ’70s pop hits by Prince and Jimi Hendrix. Last June, Verdery released a new record titled The Ben Verdery Guitar Project: On Vineyard Sound. This album, produced by his own label, Elm City Records, includes pieces written by himself and some of his colleagues at Yale, where Verdery teaches guitar. His career has taken him across the world to Korea, Amsterdam, the United Kingdom and Germany, as well as throughout the United States. He has also collaborated with a wide array of artists such as John Williams, Anthony Newman and Paco Peña. The evening of mellow, varied guitar styles commenced with one of Verdery’s own compositions titled "Prelude & Wedding" (2004) that combined natural harmonics with themes repeated throughout the piece. Verdery’e casual attire — he wore a Hawaiian shirt for the performance — contributed to the peaceful and idyllic atmosphere the guitar created. Following this
PHOTO COURTESY OF NOTESONTHEARTS.COM.
Last June, Ben Verdery released a new record titled 'The Ben Verdery Guitar Project: On Vineyard Sound,' produced by Elm City Records. musical introduction, Verdery introduced himself to the audience, capturing our attention through his cheerful and humorous demeanor. The subsequent pieces he performed were works inspired by Bach, either composed or arranged by friends of Verdery. The first was a Brazilian and Bach fusion arranged by Verdery’s late friend, Roland Dyens, to whom Verdery dedicated his performance. This gorgeous piece moved the audience, especially when tears came to Verdery’s eyes.
90-year-old pianist Seymour Bernstein composed the second of the trio of Bach inspirations specifically for Verdery at his request. The two have been friends for over 30 years. Verdery had commissioned the piece months ago, but only last December did Bernstein complete it. Titled "Searching for a Chorale," the composition meanders about disorientingly until it finally settles into a four-voice chorale, Bach’s infamous style. The final piece of the trio is also a composition specifi-
cally for Verdery by Ingram Marshall. Before the performance, Verdery recounted a brief anecdote regarding the completion of the piece: He had been listening to the radio when Marshall’s brass sextet, Fog Tropes, came on, and he immediately fell in love. Fortunately, a friend of his knew Marshall and introduced the two to each other, whereby Verdery commissioned the piece "Soepa" (1999). Meaning “patience” in Tibetan, the piece inspired Verdery’s 2002 album of the same title. This piece was particularly inter-
esting, as it has three movements with digital delays and loops which included prerecorded melodies to “create a texture that’s really ineffable.” Following the intermission, Verdery performed two more of his own compositions. The first was titled "Now and Ever" (2007-08). According to Verdery, “Every American wrestles with our country’s history of slavery.” Through "Now and Ever," Verdery aimed at the explication of that internal struggle. He dedicated the performance to his friend, Scottish gui-
tarist David Russell. Afterwards, Verdery proceeded to perform selected works from his Eleven Etudes collection, which incorporates African and Spanish rhythms as well as hits on the guitar as if it were a drum. The set would not be complete without a piece by Mozart. Verdery had been asked to arrange a piece by Mozart for a CD compilation of Mozart’s works by varied instruments. The decision to arrange Mozart’s Adagio K 540 was influenced by Bernstein, Verdery’s pianist colleague. Unfortunately, the piece posed a problem: It was too long to fit on the CD and needed to be trimmed. To reconcile this dilemma, Verdery told us, he had contacted the infamous composer through a séance, who proceeded to say that it was all right to edit the arrangement because he was no longer alive to care. The final collection of pieces Verdery performed was Prince’s "Kiss," Randy Newman’s "In Germany Before the War" and Jimi Hendrix’s "Purple Haze," all arranged for the guitar by Verdery. These pieces (among others) will become a record of his classical guitar arrangements of famous songs by famous singers and bands, including John Lennon, The National, Cream and Elvis Presley.Verdery ended with one last baroque piece: an encore of an arrangement of Bach’s Sarabande from his sixth cello suite.
Clark opens decorative arts collection By WYLIE THORNQUIST STAFF WRITER The Burrows Collection of American Silver, which opened on Feb. 19, is currently on display in the Clark Art Institute’s Manton Center for Decorative Arts. The collection, made up of more than 270 objects that span over 40 years from the late 17th to early 18th century, “teems with tea and coffee wares, tankards and porringers, objects for personal adornment, church silver and presentation pieces.” Henry Morris and Elizabeth H. Burrows, whose personal collection constitutes the majority of items on view, made this showing possible. The couple began to share objects from its collection to the Clark in 1976 and has since worked more closely with the Clark for several other shows. The Burrows Collection has been mostly off-view since 2012, and many objects have never appeared in gallery shows until now. In the newly-constructed Manton Research Center, the Clark turns its curatorial eye towards decorative arts, a genre that has not garnered much attention due to its popular perception as a more “trivial” and “low” form of art. Displaying pieces that belong to both the colonial and Federal artistic periods in American art, the show also features several of the Clark’s collection of early American paintings and furniture, such as furniture pieces from the Florence Cluett Chambers collection, a partial porcelain dining service meant to memorialize George Washington and several paintings by Gilbert Stuart and Ammi Phillips, among others. The
Cluett Chambers collection of furniture and decorative arts includes some beautiful examples of American-made pieces, including case furniture, looking glasses, claw-foot dressers and clocks. The main focus of the Burrows Collection of American Silver is, among other things, the silver industry in the early United States and how its development took place in cities along the East Coast, including New York, Boston and Philadelphia, as well as in small towns. Through the examination of these objects, we can begin to see how those with access to wealth in the nascent nation began to create their own ideas around the meaning of affluence and luxury, blending old world sensibilities with understandings of wealth unique to the country which they now claimed as home. Early American silverware demonstrates an acute awareness of the type of ornamental flourish fashionable and popular in England, suggesting a possible nostalgia for the old country, but also sets itself apart through a distinctive American style. The pieces currently on display in the Burrows gallery reflect the shifting artistic sensibilities that enabled early American craftsmen to differentiate themselves from the cultures and artistic traditions that preceded them. They present a blend of European luxury and greater emphasis on functionality and simplicity. The new gallery space examines the geographic and political dynamics that played into regional styles of decoration, as well as the social phenomena that caused tea and coffee consumption to become so central to the early U.S. culture of leisure.
In a period where redefinition of what it means to have an “American” identity is at the center of significant political turmoil, it is particularly meaningful to reflect upon how that identity was established in the first place. The various objects of the Burrows Collection of American Silver often carry the emblems or crests of the families they belonged to, revealing their function as status symbols and articles of pride that touted the wealth of their owners. Walking into the gallery, the viewer is faced with a stern and solemn portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, who also painted the portraits of Washington that would one day appear in the National Portrait Gallery and on the one-dollar bill. With a level gaze that seems to look barely past us, we can see how this man would become mythologized. After his death in 1799, commercial goods intended to memorialize Washington spread far and wide, his image finding its way onto jewelry, handkerchiefs, paintings, clocks and porcelain. Opposite the portrait in the gallery is a glass case of porcelain dishes and bowls that memorialize his image, intended for patriotic and commemorative purposes. The use of artistic symbols to mark significant political or historical events is alive and well to this day. For example, my younger brother still treasures his “Obama ’08” t-shirt that he wore as a child, because it represents a larger understanding of his own place in history. In the same way, artistic representations of some of the first political leaders of a young United States speak to the way that earlier generations of Americans contextualized their own relationship to history.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CLARK.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
The Burrows Collection of American Silver features almost 300 objects from the 17th and 18th centuries.
PHOTO COURTESY OF YOUTUBE
Danez Smith's visceral spoken word poetry focuses on what it means to be black and queer in America.
Danez Smith delivers resonant poetry By WENDY HERNANDEZ STAFF WRITER “Why do I get the sense that something really racist was once said in this room?” Danez Smith said. A momentary hush fell. Then booming laughter spilled over reassuringly from the audience – Smith was in his element. Racing through my mind was an incomplete fragment, a hesitant phrase – “he’s not entirely wrong.” But then I got sidetracked, too engrossed by Smith effervescing across the limited floor of Griffin Hall in a Beyoncé tour hat and bling rings. His style was at once intimate and beckoning, yet also cautionary and serious. Pieces like “Genesissy" opened with humor as we were reminded how “on the 10th day, God wore a bloodred sequin body suit, dropped it low, called it a sunset.” Smith’s line break boasted a heady mix of visceral imagery, plopping the audience into episodic experiences only to be jarred by sharp segues into urgency, truths hard to swallow and habitually ignored. We were greeted with unsavory images of how “the song begat a hymn at the sweet boy’s funeral / Sista Rosa’s still disgusted head shake begat the world that killed the not-a-boy child and stole her favorite dress off her cold shimmering body and that just can’t, just can’t, just can’t come from God. Right?” To be completely fair, not everyone in Griffin that day could have isolated every reference to a trans murder, or racial slurs that members of the LGBTQ, African and poz community are bombarded with on a daily basis. But we related as a collective to Smith’s fleshed out details: the apathy we try to attribute to anyone but ourselves, turning a blind eye, the moments in which we should have spoken up. And amidst all the contradictory fac-
ets of human nature, we were partially redeemed by iotas of sympathy and self-knowledge – of seeking to understand and be understood, of celebrating and singing one’s self – though admittedly, Smith did it much better than Walt Whitman. The flourishes in Smith’s work were undoubtedly Minnesotan in dialect, with meter characteristic of UW-Madison’s First Wave program, and gutturally-stopped line breaks that made for perfect punctuation. I wondered if it is maybe Smith who owns that sequin bodysuit. Perhaps he himself decorated nighttime skies with the metallic hues of his rings or at least the tinsel tapering off from his voice. As the night progressed, we flitted from easily digestible, all-too relatable identity crisis pieces to a series of poems on sex positivity and finally politically-infused introspections. At one point Smith turned JFK’s “ask what you can do for your country” axiom on its head. By now I had decided the rings were just as likely bits of some futuristic space-craft. Probably the same kind Smith used in his poem “Dear White America” to “[leave] Earth in search of darker planets.” Smith said, “You took one look at the river, plump with the body of boy after boy after boy and asked ‘why does it always have to be about race?’... you made it so! ... put an asterisk on my sister’s gorgeous face ... call her pretty (for a black girl)! Because black girls go missing without so much as a whisper of where?! Because there is no Amber Alert for the Amber Skinned Girls!” Yet Smith, who placed second at the 2014 Individual World Poetry Slam and authored both [insert] boy and Don’t Call Us Dead, does not build his brand on vitriol. He is justified in demanding “the fate of Lazarus for Renisha ... Trayvon, Sean and
Jonylah risen three days after their entombing, their ghost re-gifted flesh and blood, their flesh and blood re-gifted their children,” justified in having “left Earth...equal parts sick of your ‘go back to Africa’ as I am your ‘I just don’t see color’ (neither did the poplar tree).” The excerpts provided a crash course on the current state of supposed Civil Rights, complementary systematic racism and police brutality. Smith refused to become the victim in pieces like “Dinosaurs in the Hood” and his chanting of “we are our own Mecca” swelled so large, it echoed through the room. Suddenly my mind raced back to complete its first lap. He was right about the room. Behind him were two plaques that commemorated the displacement of and violence against natives. They belonged to a historical context that so proudly erected buildings with namesakes that are all white, all male. So when the room erupted in laughter at Smith’s opening lines, I was assured at once that we are our own Mecca, all of us on a pilgrimage against complacency because even though we passed the test of being able to take jokes like Smith’s – even though we cohabit this school that lauds itself on open-mindedness and all other liberal arts encompassing values – this was still a small enclave, still a venture organized by pro-minority organizations like BSU and the Davis Center. I felt momentarily comforted by the fact that we were not as exclusionary as our historical backdrop, but also terrified about whether, even though the progress was not entirely superficial, this is all I could expect. Smith’s vivacé was a call to action against complacency. I refuse for the assent of laughter and sporadic mhhmmms to be enough and am sojourning for safe spaces and allies that permeate campus.
10 SPORTS
The Williams Record
March 1, 2017
Nordic impresses as skiing finishes fifth at EISA Regional Championship By HANNAH COLE AND JAKE SCHRUPP TEAM CORRESPONDENTS
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION
Co-captain Tobias Muellers ’18 broke his own school record in the heptathlon on Feb. 18 with 4890 points.
Muellers ’18 excels in soccer, track By JOELLE TROIANO STAFF WRITER At the Div. III New England Track and Field Championship on Feb. 17-18, co-captain Tobias Muellers ’18 broke the College’s heptathlon record – for the second time. On Jan. 28-29, Muellers scored 4860 points, surpassing the previous record of 4698 points set by Reid Pryzant ’16 two years ago. Three weeks later, he topped that performance with a stunning 4890 points. The heptathlon is a competition comprised of seven events: 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meter, long jump, javelin and 800 meter. It is also an event that Muellers had never planned to compete in after spending his high school and early college career as a 400 meter runner. In fact, he did not even plan to join the track and field team at the College. The Burlington, Vt. native was recruited to the men’s soccer team and initially planned to focus on soccer and academics alone. However, his plans ended up changing. “I found myself in the track coach’s office my freshman fall,” Muellers said. “I ended up doing indoor and outdoor ... Track is just something that I love to do, so I had to keep doing it.” Two years later, Muellers is a starter on the soccer team and a track-and-field record holder, as well as a co-captain of both teams (incoming for soccer). Muellers, however, has some regrets about being a two-sport athlete. He said that he is unable to be as involved on both teams as he would like. “Soccer is off-season now, and I should be playing a bigger role in the offseason, but I just can’t,” he said. Although this division of time is difficult, it seems to have
helped rather than hindered Muellers’s athletic performance. “He has a renewed vigor for training with each change of season,” men’s track and field Head Coach Ethan Barron said. “There is far less fatigue psychologically and physically when he is able to constantly change the stimulus. He comes to track with a full battery after soccer, and the same happens in reverse after the spring.” On top of the two sports, Muellers has to make time for academics. “It’s really hard,” he said. Finding the balance between sports and schoolwork sometimes means making tough choices. “The thought crosses your mind, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be so much easier, and wouldn’t I have so much more time if I didn’t do athletics?’” he said. “But that’s not really how it works. Athletics are my release at the end of the day and that allows me to go back and really dig into the academics.” This ability to separate tasks and devote himself to the work at hand is one of Muellers’ particular strengths. “He understands that being a fierce competitor, a gentleman and an engaged community member are not mutually exclusive,” men’s soccer Head Coach Erin Sullivan ’96 said. “On the contrary, he embodies many of the important aspects that define Williams and the liberal arts – strong character, broad intellectual pursuits and leadership through teamwork.” “I’ve worked with a number of All-American decathletes, Barron added. “None have had Tobias’s ability to [singularly] focus on the task at hand. Few athletes have that ability to silence distractions both internal and exter-
nal.” This impressive ability has clearly served him well on the soccer field and in the academic arena as well as on the track. Although Muellers focuses intently on his own performance, he is very invested in his team as a whole. At the College, Muellers has learned how to be a true and consistent teammate, something he believes has been “incredibly valuable and important.” This lesson has served him in the context of both soccer and track and field. “I think [the team dynamics] are less different than they seem,” he said. “In soccer, you’re always around your team with the same guys; in track, you’re a little more split up with training and events. But it’s still cheering other people on, competing head to head with people on your team and knowing how to make each other better.” His tendency to think of his team ahead of himself was evident when he was asked if anything was missing from his profile. Muellers took the opportunity to talk about others. “I think it’s important to highlight – especially with track – that an individual performance looks like an individual performance, but it’s coaches, it’s teammates, it’s everyone around you and it’s the school that lets you do stuff like this,” he said. “It’s not in a vacuum. It’s not just me but so many people who helped me get to where I am now.” Overall, Muellers shows no signs of slowing down. “His strengths and versatility as a defender have continued to evolve, and we’re very excited for his senior season this fall,” Sullivan said. “He is a gladiator, a warrior who gives every ounce of his body mind, and soul to the team’s effort.”
Last weekend, skiing finished fifth overall at the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) Regional Championship, its final collegiate carnival of the season. Hosted by Bates, the carnival began Friday at Black Mountain and Sunday River. Battling soft snow and unusually warm temperatures, Nordic competed in the men’s 10k and women’s 5k individual start classic races. The men, who have been at or near the top of the EISA all season, showed up in top form and placed five racers in the top 12. Early on, Braden Becker ’17 posted the top split, just ahead of co-captain Eli Hoenig ’17. As the race wore on, however, Hoenig clawed back. He went on to claim the victory in 28:56, becoming the first Eph in history to win an EISA Nordic race. Becker notched second, his best-ever EISA finish. Hoenig’s dominant performance led the men to their fifth win of the season, in which they scored 134 points. In the women’s race, Sonya Jampel ’19 led the Ephs with a 14th-place finish, her personal best. Close behind was Carmen Bango ’20 in
16th and Ingrid Thyr ’20 in 17th. The trio of underclassmen contributed to a team score of 79 points, earning the Ephs fifth. The Alpine competition began with the giant slalom; however, the races were stopped after one run due to adverse track conditions. The men had two scorers: co-captain Marc Talbott ’18 in 19th and Bryan Bailey ’19 in 28th. On the women’s side, co-captain Hannah Hunsaker ’19 took 15th, followed by Gibson Donnan ’19 in 41st and Makena Jones ’18 in 58th. In the team standings, the women took ninth, and the men were 10th. The action continued Saturday. In the men’s 20k mass start competition, the men put the entire team in the top 20, with two men making the podium for the second day in a row. Jordan Fields ’17 raced to the best finish of his career, landing in second. He was followed by Hoenig in third, Becker in seventh, Nick Gardner ’19 in ninth, Jack Schrupp ’18 in 15th and Luke Costley ’17 in 20th. Though the men finished second to Dartmouth in the race, Saturday was one of Nordic’s most successful performances in its history. The women had an incredible showing as well, finishing the day in fourth. Bango led the
way in 12th and was followed by Hannah Cole ’17 in 14th and co-captain Hannah Benson ’17 in 15th. Tough conditions again made the races a grueling test, and Nordic Head Coach Jason Lemieux ’01, the EISA Nordic Coach of the Year for the second straight season, was proud of how his team rose to the challenge. “Our team performed phenomenally,” he said. “Their desire, commitment and effort on the race course turned a lot of heads this season.” Moreover, Alpine put together some remarkable performances despite the tough conditions. In the men’s slalom, Charlie Harrison ’18 and Bailey placed 11th and 12th, respectively. On the women’s side, Clara Hathorne ’20, Donnan and Jones finished 36th, 40th and 43rd, respectively, putting the women in 12th on the day. Nordic will send Becker, Fields and Hoenig to the NCAA Championship, which will be in Jackson, N.H. from March 8-11. Hunsaker will compete for Alpine, as she and Hoenig will look to win All-American honors for the second straight year. Nordic graduates Benson, Cole, Costley, Fields, Hoenig, Hans Halvorsen ’17 and Tsaina Mahlen ’17, and Alpine graduates Charlie Shells ’17.
Wrestling earns 11th place at Regionals By C.J. LEVIN TEAM CORRESPONDENT Wrestling (7—10) finished 11th in a at the NCAA Div. III Northeast Regional Championships this past weekend. Brendon Seyfried ’19 and tri-captain Chris Chorzepa ’17 earned spots in the Div. III NCAA Championships, which will be held on Mar. 10-11 in La Crosse, Wis. The top three finishers in each weight class automatically qualify for NCAAs. Chorzepa was the Northeast champion at 184, while Seyfried punched his ticket with a third-place finish in the 141-lb. weight class. Martin Strenk ’17 also competed in the consolation semifinals at heavyweight but was unable to secure an NCAA berth. Chorzepa has qualified for NCAAs four straight seasons, earning All-American honors as both a first-year and a sophomore. Last year, he suffered an injury in the first round and was unable to finish the tournament. On Saturday, he took on Ithaca’s Jake Ashcraft in the semifinals. He wasted no time securing a spot in the finals and took down Ashcraft just over a minute into the opening round. He retained control throughout, taking 2:10 of riding time in the first period. He upped his lead to 4-0 with a
reversal in the second round and improved his rising time to 3:40. In the final round, Chorzepa executed another takedown to move into a 6-0 lead, and the match ended with a 9-1 major decision for Chorzepa. In the championship match, Chorzepa met Michael Gallagher of Rhode Island College. 35 seconds into the first period, Chorzepa scored two points on a takedown and he would never trail in the match. Gallagher earned two points on escapes, but Chorzepa fashioned a takedown in each period to capture the title by a score of 7-2. A NCAA qualifier last year, Seyfried was named to the D3Wrestle.com National Freshman Team. Looking to make a second consecutive trip to the tournament, his semifinal contest at 141 was against Castleton’s Zak Hale, who had previously beaten Seyfried twice this season. Hale won again by a score of 4-2, sending Seyfried into the consolation bracket. He first faced Oneonta State’s Richard Dennison in the consolation bracket, winning 7-3 to move onto the third-place match against Ithaca’s Nick Wahba. The first period ended scoreless, with neither wrestler accruing any riding time. Wahba scored first in the second period,
when he escaped from the bottom to earn a 1-0 lead. In the last 30 seconds of the second period, Seyfried scored a takedown and built up 34 seconds of riding time to take a 2-1 lead into the third. On the bottom to start the final period, he made the score 3-1 with an escape. A Seyfried takedown boosted his lead to 5-1 with just under a minute left. Wahba notched an escape of his own and a takedown to narrow the margin, but Seyfried escaped with a 5-4 victory and an NCAA berth. Strenk moved up from 197 to heavyweight for the weekend and he made the consolation semifinals, where he fell 4-3. Head Coach Scott Honecker commented on the team’s impressive perormances. “Everybody peaked well and wrestled his heart out at Regionals,” he said. “This is a great group of young men, and I am excited about Chris and Brendon who are continuing their seasons, the underclassmen we have returning next year and the seniors we are sending out prepared for their next steps in life.” Seven other Ephs ended their seasons at Regionals. After NCAAs, the team will graduate Chorzepa, Strenk, C.J. Levin ’17, Austin Wruble ’17 and tri-captain Gabe Corrochano ’17.
CAPTAINS’ CORNER: ALYZA NGBOKOLI ’17 How do you pronounce your name? I get that all the time [Laughs.]. A-lee-za Ba-coal-ee. The first two letters of my last name are silent. What was your running experience before coming to the College?
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION
By DANNY JIN SPORTS EDITOR
Team: Women’s track and field Hometown: Yonkers, N.Y. Residence: Horn Hall Snack bar order: An Egg McWilliams with sausage, provolone cheese and an egg over-hard
I ran – not really competitively – in middle school when you had to choose a sport to do. I thought, “Why not run track?” All my friends are telling me I’m fast.’ I was on the track team from sixth grade through eighth grade, and I started hurdling, which is my specialty, during my freshman year of high school, and I’ve been doing that until now. In high school, I played soccer in the fall and ran indoor and outdoor track in the winter and spring. I honestly think that the fact that track took up two seasons, whereas soccer took up only one, is what made me love track more. At what point did you realize that you wanted to run in college? Junior year, I was one of four captains of my high school track team, which was completely unexpected. I was voted captain
again senior year and taking that leadership role made me realized how much I’d loved the sport, and it made me want to continue in college. Why did you eventually decide to enroll at the College? Even though it’s Div. III, a lot of the athletes take track very seriously, but it doesn’t interfere with schoolwork. Out of all the schools I applied to, the College had the best balance between academics and athletics, though it had a greater focus on academics. But that was what I wanted – what drew me most to the school was, as cliché as it sounds, the community. I liked the track team and the people that I stayed with when I visited. What’s it like to run for Head Coach Nate Hoey? Coach Hoey was actually new when I was a first-year, so we’ll be his first graduating class of seniors, which is pretty cool. He’s awesome. The year before I came here, the coaching staff was transitioning. Then, when Coach Hoey got here, he really transformed the team. He’s sent athletes to Nationals every year he’s been here, and he won UST-
FCCCA New England Regional Coach of The Year in 2014. He’s such a fatherly figure, and I really appreciate that part of him. What’s it like to be captain of such a big team? It’s hard, but the other captains I work with make it a lot easier and more fun. There are three other women’s captains and five men’s captains. The men’s and women’s teams train together, and when you combine the teams, we have 110 people, so we need nine captains. Because there are so many of us, we can’t all agree on everything but working with them makes it more fun. What are your favorite moments from your track career? What are you most proud of? There are so many because I love my team so much. My best friends are on this team. I’m grateful because I wouldn’t have met any of these people otherwise. My proudest was when I was voted captain. I’d say my favorite would be our April Fools’ prank last year. April Fools’ Day is always on our spring break trip. Every year, we plan an April Fools’ joke that goes terribly. Last
year, we planned one that kind of worked. The night before, we looked up the names of Coach Hoey’s old teammates. Our plan was to integrate those names into our conversations throughout the day and see if he would notice. He noticed pretty quickly, but it was really funny. We would say things like, ‘I was hanging out with D.J. Flick last night.’ We would do this on the van to practice, and he would look in the mirror and make a face. He eventually called us out for it, and we had a good laugh. What were some of the other pranks you’ve pulled? When do you think you’ll start planning for this year’s April Fool’s? I’m already contemplating for this year [Laughs.]. My sophomore year, we all hid in a shed when our coaches were parking the van. My freshman year, we were doing our warmup, and three-quarters into the lap we all collapsed in the middle of the track and pretended we’d all tripped on top of each other and had gotten really hurt. So for five minutes, we were lying on the floor and just screaming for no reason.
What is your major? I am a psychology major with a certificate in French and a concentration in Africana studies. What are some other things you do on campus? I work in security as a switchboard operator, so if you call the College, I’m the one that picks up. I’ve also done a lot of work in the community, specifically at Brayton Elementary School, Greylock Elementary School and Capeless Elementary School in Pittsfield. I worked at Mohawk Forest Apartments, an affordable housing project in North Adams, the summer after my sophomore year, and whenever it fits into my schedule I try to go back to hang out and play with the kids there. What are your goals for the outdoor season? My team goals for the spring are to win NESCACs and win Div. IIIs, but personally I want to have fun this season. Especially as a senior, I don’t want track to be a burden. I want it to be something I enjoy, and so far it has been.
March 1, 2017
SPORTS 11
The Williams Record
Frankie Mork ’17 reflects on impressive ice hockey career chance to show his teammates the pond. “It was in the single digits, but we may have skated three or four hours before boarding the bus to the airport,” Head Coach Bill Kangas remembers. In fact, the pond was so striking that local artist Terrence Fogarty painted it in 2010. “Somewhere in heaven there is a hockey rink,” Fogarty wrote on his website. “[I’m] pretty sure it looks a lot like Mork’s Pond.” “That pond in Minnesota is Frankie’s happy place,” Taylor Carmola ’19 said. “He loves being on the ice and loves being outdoors. I think the one place he’d rather be than anywhere else is on that pond, shooting.”
By DANNY JIN SPORTS EDITOR It is just before noon on Saturday, and Frankie Mork ’17 sits in the bleachers in Lansing Chapman Rink. The Ephs do not play until 3 p.m., but Mork has arrived early – he always does. Looking out at the ice, he tries to visualize the game he will play in a few short hours. This is his pregame routine, and he has performed it in preparation for plenty of games over the last four years – 92, to be exact. This is no ordinary game, though. The men are playing ardent rival Amherst in the NESCAC tournament; if they lose, their season is over. Mork’s hockey career is over.
Background noise The pond In his four years at Holy Angels, Mork established himself as a productive offensive defenseman. A tremendous skater, he was adept at jumping the rush and manning the point on the power play. In addition, he was armed with pinpoint passing accuracy. In 96 high school games, he totaled 41 goals and 83 assists from the blue line. The Holy Angels co-captains Mork and Mario Bianchi were so dominant that a local newspaper even published a feature on them in 2013, their senior season. There was just one thing holding Mork back, and it was one over which he had no control – his height. Although he had achieved great results through high school, Mork maxed out at 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and some doubted his ability to produce at the next level. “Growing up, that’s what I got all the time,” he said. “People told me I wouldn’t be a successful hockey player.” Some coaches told him to switch from defenseman to forward, where size is less of a necessity. Nevertheless, Mork always trusted his own ability. He continued to do what he does best: work on his game in practice, and play hard in games. “It was easy for coaches or scouts to tell me, ‘You’re too small to make it to this level. You’re too small to play defense,’” Mork said. “For me, that was all background noise. I knew what I was capable of.” The number stitched on his sweater is a constant reminder of his naysayers.
In hockey-crazed Minnesota, the sport is a family affair. It certainly was for Mork; his father has coached hockey for the past 20 years, his older sister played Div. I hockey at the University of New Hampshire and his younger sister recently finished her senior season of high school hockey. Each winter in Victoria, Minn., the pond in their backyard would freeze, and the Morks would skate. Frankie, the middle child, was on the ice by the time he was 2 years old. “My older sister started skating a few months before I did, and we were out on the pond one day with my dad,” he said. “They let me be, and I stood up and started scooting around.” Shortly thereafter, he picked up a hockey stick and began batting pucks around the ice. Whenever he had free time, he would go out to the pond to skate and to shoot. If he was not in school or doing homework, he was on the ice working on his game. “I grew up on the pond,” he said. By the time he started playing high school hockey at the Academy of Holy Angels, he was ready to make an impact. One writer, Chris Dilks, ranked him Minnesota’s ninth-best freshman in 2010. He began to travel across the state for games and tournaments, he remained partial to his backyard pond. “In the winter, I would bring friends over, and we could be out there for 12 hours on a Saturday,” he said. When the Ephs visited Minnesota two years ago, Mork had the
“On youth teams, the smallest jersey was always the smallest number, so early on I got stuck with No. 2,” he said. “Then I just learned to love it. I’ve been No. 2 on every team in every league. It gives me motivation.” What Mork does with that motivation is spectacular. “I haven’t met many people in my life that are as hardworking as Frankie is,” Carmola, Mork’s defensive partner, said. “He’s an animal, an absolute machine.” “He spends more hours at the rink than probably anyone in the NESCAC,” co-captain Tyler Young ’17 said. Mork’s natural abilities are impressive, but his work ethic is what makes him truly special. His smooth skating is a product of countless hours spent wheeling around Mork’s Pond. His passing and shooting capacities come from endless repetition of drills. His surprising strength is due to constant toil in the gym. Yet the way he views training differs from the way most players do. “My dad would tell me, ‘If you want to be good, put the time in,’” Mork said. “‘Shoot pucks when you can. Go put in time at the pond, but ultimately, have fun.’ “That’s what it always comes down to. I enjoy my time in the rink, and I enjoy my time in the weight room.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF SARA PINTAT-FULD
Frankie Mork ’17, who began skating when he was 2, is now a semifinalist for the Joe Concannon Award. remain successful in both facets. He wakes up at 7 a.m. every morning and fits in a morning skate before his classes start. “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who is more on top of things,” co-captain Sam Gray ’17 said. “I question how he has the time to do everything that he does,” Young, Mork’s roommate last year, said. “He would come back to the room and take seven-minute naps when he was tired. He’s go-go-go.” Becoming a leader
School comes first After meeting Kangas at a showcase, Mork committed to the College in November 2012, before his senior season had even started. “There were opportunities for me to pursue Div. I hockey at schools that weren’t as rigorous,” he said, “but I realized it was a long-term decision. I knew I wouldn’t be playing professionally, so after four years I was going to be done playing hockey. I wanted to be set up to do something after I graduated.” A double major in economics and statistics, Mork has excelled in the classroom, being named Academic All-NESCAC each of the past two seasons. He applies the same approach he brings to hockey to academics. The competing demands of hockey and school can be challenging, but preparation, efficiency and drive allow Mork to
Mork starred his freshman season at the College, earning Second Team All-NESCAC recognition. After that year, though, he would face one of the most difficult challenges of his career. Before his sophomore season, he was diagnosed with femoroacetabular impingement in his hip. The ailment required reconstructive surgery and kept him on the sideline for half the season. Even when he returned, it was not the same. He was able to contribute, but his typical skating prowess was not there. Mork’s response was to rehab religiously. Unable to squat after the surgery, he was limited mainly to bandwork and one-legged exercises, very time-consuming workouts. “He was there doing the boring stuff,” Carmola said, “but he stuck with it and never complained. No one ever had to tell him to do anything; he was always doing it himself.”
This season, Mork has finally regained the form and confidence from his freshman year. On Feb. 9, he was named a semifinalist for the 17th Joe Concannon Award, given annually to the best American-born Div. II/ Div. III men’s ice hockey player in New England. Yesterday, he garnered his second All-NESCAC selection, this time as a First Team selection. Despite the individual recognition, he stresses that hockey is a team effort. “We’re all out there trying to fill our roles and make positive contributions,” he said. “I’m lucky to have a lot of guys on the team who can score. I’ve been able to set them up and let them do their thing.” “Frankie’s a tremendous leader, and he would never want to put himself before anybody else,” Young said. “He puts his best effort out on the ice, and as a result he’s gotten some great personal accolades, but he’s not doing it for the accolades – he’s doing it for the College and for the other guys in the locker room.” This year, as one of the team’s eight seniors, Mork has taken on more of a leadership role. It has been a swift transition, Kangas said, because he leads by example. “When you have players like Frankie, they become role models for younger players,” he said. “Everyone aspires to be like them. He’s so passionate and committed, and that rubs off on people in a good way. You can count on him in any situation.”
Amherst Midway through the first period, Mork skates with the puck up the right wing. Blazing ahead, he notices a defender waiting to make a play on him. Mork isprepared. He dumps the puck deep, and the two players collide; the one that hits the deck is not Mork, but rather the 6-foot-3 Amherst player. “Frankie’s been famous around the league for surprising guys who are trying to hit him,” Carmola said. “For a little guy, he can really catch people off guard.” By the third, Williams had built a 2-1 lead. With 10 seconds left, Amherst, put together a last-ditch effort. Mork, again, was ready. The final shot of the game bounced off his right side and harmlessly onto the ice. The Ephs are moving on. This is it Mork cannot play hockey forever, and he knows that. There is immense gratitude in every stride when he skates. When he is tiring at the end of shifts, he trudges on. He knows he will miss it someday. “This is it,” he says. No matter the stakes of the game, a small part of him is still that kid skating around Mork’s Pond. The harder he works, the more he enjoys himself. The longer he skates, the more excited he gets. Some things will never change.
Women’s ice hockey falls to Connecticut College in NESCAC quarterfinals Early in the second period, the Ephs tied up the game 1-1 with a power play goal by Chelsey Stevenson ’17 at 3:19. Stevenson was assisted by captain Hanna Beattie ’17. Connecticut College retook the lead at 6:54 with a power-play goal of its own by Estes. This time, though, she was assisted by Stephanie Izzi and Kohl. Maintaining momentum, the Camels scored again just over a minute later to go up 3-1. Beattie got the puck past Ephs goalie Marissa Anderson ’20. Kohl again had the assist.
By HANNAH ATKINSON TEAM CORRESPONDENT Last Saturday, women’s ice hockey (10–13–2, 7–7–2 in the NESCAC) finished its season with a 5-2 loss to Connecticut College in the NESCAC quarterfinals. Camels defenseman Julie Beattie scored the go-ahead goal at 8:21 in the second period. The Camels took the lead at 8:45 in the first period with an unassisted goal by Samantha Estes. Play went up and down the ice for the rest of the period without further scoring.
Connecticut College capitalized on another Williams penalty and converted another power play goal at 9:39 to make it 4-1. Izzi scored off of a pass from Beattie. The Ephs continued to dig out pucks for the rest of the period, and at 16:56, Alex Lovaas ’18 cut the Camels’ lead to two. Her goal was assisted by Abby Brustad ’19 and Eliza Quigley ’19. With just 10 seconds remaining in the second frame, Estes scored her third goal of the night, solidifying the Camels’ lead at 5-2. Cassie
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game. I thought that the team competed hard right through to the end of the game.” Sara Lehman ’17 led the team with 13 goals this season. She also had a team-high 19 points this year and has collected 35 overall. Brustad led the team in assists this season with 10. Brustad has scored 20 goals and notched 20 total assists in her first two seasons. Anderson had a remarkable first year in net. She boasted a .906 save percentage in 17 games played against some of the team’s most competitive opponents.
The team also created lots of scoring opportunities over the course of the season. They outshot their opponents by an average margin of 4.7, which bodes well for the future. Although this quarterfinal loss marks the end of the Ephs’ season, they had an impressive run, accumulating a 7-7-2 record in NESCAC play and going 10-13-2 overall. They graduate Beattie, Lehman, Stevenson, Margaret Draper ’17 and assistant captains Emily Krueger ’17 and Caitlin Buckley ’17.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
with Luana Maroja, associate professor of biology Thursday, March 2 4:15 p.m.
Hunter and Paige Michel recorded the assists. The final frame was riddled with penalties, but Connecticut College earned three penalty kills and Williams earned two. Anderson made a total of 25 saves, while the Camels goalie Katherine Chester made 28. “The game on Saturday was very back and forth 5 vs 5, with each team tallying one goal at even strength,” Head Coach Meghan Gillis said. “Connecticut College was able to capitalize on the power play in the second, and that was the difference in the
ELI HOENIG ’17 NORDIC SKIING
“Eli’s win was the first individual cross country ski win in the history of Williams skiing. This is a big deal, and I have been receiving many notes of congratulations from Williams ski alumni. It was amazing for that to happen at Regionals.” – Head Coach Jason Lemieux ’01
SUDBURY, MASS. Last Friday, co-captain Hoenig, who was an AllAmerican last season, won the men’s 10k race at the EISA Regional Championship. It was the first individual victory for the Nordic team. He also earned third in the 20k race on Saturday to propel the skiing to a fifth-place finish.
ARI ROSS ’17 WOMEN’S SWIM AND DIVE
“Ari is an exceptionally diligent, hardworking and motivated athlete. She has been beyond steady and reliable for us on the boards over the past four years. Her contributions out of the water and impact on the team have been significant as well.” – Head Coach Steve Kuster
NEW CANAAN, CONN. Co-captain Ross, a diver, had an impressive weekend at Div. III Regionals. On Friday, she placed second out of 27 competitors on the 1-meter board. On Sunday, she earned fourth on the 3-meter board. The two-time All-American will compete at Nationals in Texas next month.
12 SPORTS
The Williams Record
March 1, 2017
Men’s basketball qualifies for NCAAs, finishes second in NESCAC By JACKSON MYERS STAFF WRITER Following an impressive run to the title game of the NESCAC tournament, men’s basketball (19–8, 5–5 in the NESCAC) was awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The men earned an 81-65 victory over Tufts on Saturday but fell in the final to Middlebury, who used a commanding second-half run to seal an 84-62 victory, the following day. On Saturday, the men punched their ticket to that NESCAC title game with an 81-65 upset victory over top seed Tufts. The men scored the game's first five points and maintained a small lead for almost all of the first half. A quick three by tricaptain Daniel Aronowitz ’17 and a transition dunk by Kyle Scadlock ’19 gave the Ephs an early 12-5 lead, but the Jumbos responded with eight unanswered points. Chris Galvin ’18 retook the lead with a layup, and Bobby Casey ’19 extended the margin back to four with a 3-pointer with 12:13 left in the half. The men were in the bonus early, as Tufts picked up its seventh foul with six minutes to go. Nevertheless, nine first-half turnovers prevented them from extending the lead. Back-to-back buckets by Marcos Soto ’19 gave the men a 3629 lead with two minutes to play, but two long balls from Tufts cut the margin back to one. Cole Teal ’18 banked in a three late, and the first half finished with a fourpoint Williams lead.
The Ephs dominated the glass, collecting nine offensive boards and out-rebounding the Jumbos 23-12. All told, the teams remained quite even, both shooting close to 50 percent from the field and playing strong defense. The second half picked up largely where the first left off. The men held the lead, but Tufts kept the game close. Long shots from Thomas Lapham and KJ Garrett then gave Tufts a 63-61 advantage, its first lead since the score was 1312 just six minutes into the game. The Ephs felt the pressure, heaving threes that refused to fall. After shooting 5-11 from deep in the first half, they hit only two of their first 13 3-point attempts in the second. After Casey tied the game with a tough bucket down low, Scadlock and Garrett traded baskets, bringing it to 65-65 with 4:51 left. Aronowitz then kicked off the Ephs’ game-winning run with a pair of foul shots; Tufts would not score again. Tri-captain Mike Greenman ’17 followed with an open 3-pointer, his third of the game. Casey got a layup to fall, and Scadlock pushed the lead to double digits. This drastic swing seemed to disorient the Jumbos. The top seed’s shots stopped falling, and its offensive attack seemed sloppy. With 1:18 to go, Tufts began intentionally fouling to buy time, but the men hit their free throws to ice the game. Foul shots ran the score up to 81-65 at the end. Scadlock registered a doubledouble, registering game-high marks of 20 points and 11 re-
bounds. Greenman was one assist away from a double-double of his own, accompanying 14 points with a career-high nine assists. Aronowitz, Soto and Casey also scored in double digits for the Ephs. On Sunday afternoon, the men faced defending champion Middlebury, who defeated Trinity 76-60 in its semifinal contest. The Ephs, just the second No. 6 seed to ever make the championship game, jumped out to a 15-5 lead in the first five minutes, making three of their first four 3-point tries. Middlebury guard Jake Brown, however, quickly sank back-to-back threes to cut the lead down to four. After the Panthers tied the game at 20, Scadlock took control, making some tough shots to secure a six-point Ephs’ lead. Scadlock was everywhere in the first half, completing a doubledouble before 14 minutes had elapsed. A three by Aronowitz extended the lead to 32-23 with eight minutes left in the half. The men, however, then went cold from the floor, failing to hit a field goal for the next six minutes as Middlebury inched back. With 2:40 to play, the game was tied at 35 before James Heskett ’19 made a left-side three to put the men ahead once again. The teams traded misses for several possessions before Scadlock stole the ball at midcourt and finished with a fast-break slam. The teams went into their locker rooms with the score 40-36 in favor of the Ephs. In the second half, however, Middlebury came out of the
PHOTO COURTESY OF TUFTS SPORTS INFORMATION
Kyle Scadlock ’19 led all scorers in the NESCAC semifinals against Tufts and final versus Middlebury. gate with a vengeance. Matt St. Amour, the NESCAC's leading scorer, who was held to only three points in the first half, scored eight straight points after the break. The Panthers scored 16 unanswered points in six minutes to take a 52-40 lead. The men finally got on the board with an Aronowitz free throw, but back-to-back Middlebury threes made it a 17-point game. Middlebury outscored the men 48-22 in the half. The Ephs made just five of their 25 shots in the half and two of 14 3-point attempts. Both teams sent in their reserves in the final minutes, and the score sat at 84-62 when the
Men’s hockey edges Amherst in NESCAC quarters By DANNY JIN SPORTS EDITOR In a fierce battle between heated rivals, men’s ice hockey (14–8–3, 10–5–3 in the NESCAC) outlasted No. 5 seed Amherst 2–1 on Saturday afternoon to advance to the semifinals of the NESCAC tournament. In Lansing Chapman Rink, the men looked to rebound from a 1-0 loss at Amherst a week ago. The No. 4 seed Ephs controlled the pace of the game early on. C.J. Shugart ’18 and co-captain Sam Gray ’17 forced quick saves from Amherst goalie Connor Girard before a cross-checking penalty on Amherst’s A.J. Klein 3:47 into the game gave the men a power-play opportunity. Yet they struggled to produce shots on goal, and Amherst blocked three shots to thwart the chance. Amherst got its first powerplay chance at 10:35 of the first, when assistant captain Colby Cretella ’18 was whistled for hooking. Amherst’s NESCACleading power play, which scores at a 27 percent rate, capitalized a minute later. From the left point, Amherst defenseman Tyler Granara powered a low wrist shot past goalie Michael Pinios ’19 to put the visitors up 1-0. The first period was characteristically physical for an Amherst-Williams game. Amherst showed grit out of the gate, landing some powerful checks along the boards. Taylor Carmola ’17, David Italiano ’18,
Frankie Mork ’17 and co-captain Tyler Young ’17 all connected on hard hits as well, rousing the 1325 fans in attendance. With 3:32 left in the period, the action got especially scrappy, when Young and Klein were handed matching two-minute minors for holding. Both players ended up on the ice before referees separated the pair. The coincidental penalties resulted in two minutes of 4-on-4 play, during which Roberto Cellini ’19 came up with one of the Ephs’ better chances of the period. After receiving the puck from Mork in the left circle, Cellini fired a powerful wrist shot headed for the far post. Girard made a fine glove save, however, and the frame finished 1-0 Amherst. The Ephs tied the game at 3:53 in the second. Young sent the puck in from the left circle, and Marcus Mollica ’19 put it past Girard for his fourth goal of the year. Shortly thereafter, Williams nearly scored again. Mollica skated up the right wing on an odd-man rush, and Mork got his stick on Mollica’s centering pass but put the puck just wide. The men dominated possession for the rest of the period. Although Ephs forwards battled to put the puck in, Girard stopped multiple follow-up tries, and the score remained 1-1. With 1:01 left, the men scored an improbable goal to take the lead. Young took a shot from the blue line, which Luke Stickel ’17
deflected high into the air. Girard was unable to locate the puck, and it landed in his cage to make the score 2-1 Ephs. It was Stickel's third goal of the year. “It was definitely a fortunate bounce,” Young said. “I’d never seen the puck go straight up like that, but somehow it came down and went into the net. With such evenly-matched teams, the smallest bounce will decide it.” With a one-goal lead, the men looked to close out the victory in the third. The game got physical once again with 6:43 left, when Amherst’s Patrick Daly shoved a Williams player to the ice. Daly, who was ejected from the teams’ previous meeting for contact to the head, was sent to the box for roughing. After 21 seconds, Cellini gained possession deep in the Amherst zone, though Girard made an impressive stop to keep the margin at one. Amherst's best chance at an equalizer came with 4:18 remaining, when a sneaky wraparound shot by Joey Lupo was kept out by Pinios’ right pad. Roll was then called to the box with 3:54 left, dashing Amherst’s hopes of scoring. The visitors failed to put another shot on goal for the remainder of the game, and the Ephs were clear to the next round. The final shot counts were 28 for Williams and 23 for Amherst. Young said the men were unfazed by the first-period deficit. “Our experience helped us to stick to our game plan and not
worry about the score,” he said. “We never panicked; we knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle, but we were also confident that if we played the way we knew we were capable of, we would come away with a win.” The Ephs now lead the all-time series 93-39-4. Amherst had previously won all three games in the NESCAC tournament, including the 2014 semifinal and the 2015 final. “Saturday’s win was a bit of redemption from the final two years ago,” Gray said. The men will meet third seed Trinity in the semifinals, a battle of two high-powered offenses. Trinity’s NESCAC-leading offense scored 3.61 goals per game in conference play, while Williams was second with 3.17 goals per game. The Ephs have split the series with the Bantams this year, winning 3-1 at home on Feb. 3 and losing the away game 3-0 on Jan. 6. “The goal from the beginning of this season has been to win it all,” Young said, “but you can’t think too far ahead. Right now we’re focused on Trinity.” Yesterday, Italiano and Mork were named First Team All-NESCAC, and Cellini was named to the Second Team. Top seed Hamilton, which plays Wesleyan in the other semifinal, hosts the final four of the tournament. The semifinal games will take place Saturday, and the winners will face off in the final Sunday at 2 p.m.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION
Co-captain Sam Gray ’17 had an assist in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Amherst. He has notched 12 this season and a total of 26 in his college career.
final buzzer sounded. With 24 points, Scadlock led the men for the second straight game and had a game-high 11 rebounds. Head Coach Kevin App characterized his team's performance in the final as one of fatigue. “I am incredibly proud of the teams' performance in the NESCAC tournament,” App said. “Their energy, enthusiasm and competitive spirit were exactly how we hope to represent Williams and our fans. Unfortunately, we ran out of gas in the second half against a very strong Middlebury team, but [I am] thrilled for the team to get that experience.”
Middlebury earned an automatic NCAA tournament bid. On Monday, the NCAA announced that the Ephs would receive an at-large bid. NESCAC foes Wesleyan, Tufts and Amherst will also compete at NCAAs. “I'm very excited for this group that has had their hard work rewarded with an NCAA tournament bid,” App said. “I am just thrilled to be able to continue this season with this team and give them another opportunity to compete together.” In the first round, the men will play Becker College on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at home in Chandler Gymnasium.
Women’s squash beats Bates, falls to Drexel, UVA By ANANYA MAHALINGAMDHINGRA TEAM CORRESPONDENT Last weekend, women’s squash (18–9, 10–1 in the NESCAC) traveled to Princeton, N.J. for the CSA Team Championships. The Ephs accrued a 1-2 record and end the season ranked No. 14 nationally. On Friday, they fell 5-4 to Drexel. It was a disappointing loss, since they had beaten the Dragons 7-2 on Dec. 3. Playing the three-court system, Charlotte Walsh ’17 at No. 9, Melissa Swann ’20 at No. 6 and Hayley Parsons ’18 at No. 3 were up first. Walsh defeated her opponent in three quick games. Swann came back from a 1-0 deficit to win in four games. Parsons, despite getting a game off of her opponent, fell 3-1, making the overall match score 2-1 in favor of the Ephs. Next on court were Ellen Coombe ’17 at No. 8, captain Alyssa Ritchie ’17 at No. 5 and Esther Baek ’19 at No. 2. Coombe controlled her match from start to finish and won handily in three games. Ritchie fought hard against a strong player but eventually lost in three games. Baek also fell in three games, so the teams were tied 3-3 at the end of the second round. Anna Nicholson ’20 at No. 7, Ananya Mahalingam-Dhingra ’18 at No. 4 and Nicole Friedman ’18 at No. 1 played the final three matches. Nicholson played an excellent game of squash and won 3-0 to give the Ephs their fourth point, meaning that they only needed one more to win. Despite competing well, however, Mahalingam-Dhingra and Friedman fell in four and three games, respectively, making the match score 5-4 to the Dragons and sending the Ephs to the consolation round. They redeemed themselves with a 5-4 victory over NESCAC foe Bates on Saturday to advance to the consolation finals of the Kurtz Cup. Walsh dominated throughout her match and defeated her opponent in three games. Swann, despite dropping the second game, came back and won in four. Parsons also won in three tight games and gained a third point for the Ephs. Coombe won in three games and earned the Ephs’ fourth point. Ritchie displayed tremendous effort against a difficult adversary and managed to get a game but eventually fell in four. Baek also played well
against a tough competitor in four tight games but could not secure the victory. Nicholson won in three decisive games, gaining the fifth and winning point for the Ephs. Mahalingam-Dhingra had to default her match due to illness, and Friedman fell in four close games to a skilled competitor, making the overall match score 5-4 in favor of Williams. On Sunday, they again lost 5-4 in the consolation finals to the University of Virginia (UVA). Walsh again dominated from start to finish, winning handily in three games and ending her career with a victory. Swann battled hard throughout her match. She won 13-11 in the final game to get the Ephs their second point. Parsons, like Walsh, controlled the entire match against a tough opponent, winning in three games and making the score 3-0. Coombe also faced a difficult challenger and fell 3-1. Ritchie fought hard, taking her opponent to a tie-breaking 1210 in the first but lost in three close games. Baek won her first game but could not maintain the momentum. Nicholson managed to take a talented adversary to five games but lost in the final game, making the score 4-3 in favor of UVA. Friedman won easily in three games to tie the score once more. Mahalingam-Dhingra was last on court for the deciding match. Although she came back from a 2-1 deficit to force a fifth game, she could not maintain the momentum and lost in the final game. Head Coach Zafi Levy ’01 reflected on the tournament and season. “We have had an incredible season with some huge wins,” he said. “We were ranked in the top 10 in the country at some point. This past weekend was very difficult for the team because we lost two matches by the smallest of margins. We are slightly disappointed but also incredibly proud of our achievements. Apart from powerhouse Trinity, we are the highest ranked Div. III team in the country!” Indeed, the women have a lot to be proud of. They accumulated an impressive 18-9 record overall. Additionally, three players received All-NESCAC honors. Friedman was named to her third straight First Team, while Baek and Parsons earned Second Team honors. These three, and with six additional teammates, will return next year. This weekend, some of the women will travel to Hanover, N.H. to compete in the CSA Individual Tournament at Dartmouth.