RECORD THE WILLIAMS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019 VOL. CXXXIII, NO. 17 Sunrise hikers brave the cold
Women’s ice hockey wins NESCACs
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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT WILLIAMS COLLEGE SINCE 1887
Student art on Paresky windows memorializes Trayvon Martin Posters were installed on Monday after administrators had requested removal of a banner on Thursday By BROOKE HOROWITCH and ARRINGTON LUCK RECORD STAFF Two installments of public art referencing Trayvon Martin were hung on Paresky last week shortly after the sevenyear anniversary of Martin’s shooting death. The pieces quote Frank Ocean’s “Nikes,” lyrics for which include the five-letter N-word. A banner mounted on Paresky balcony with the lyrics, “R.I.P. Trayvon, that nigga look just like me,” was taken down Thursday afternoon at the request of College administrators after it had been hung that morning. On Monday morning, four new posters were affixed to the front windows of Paresky, where they remain. Kyle Scadlock ’19 confirmed that he hung both pieces but said he would like the work to speak for itself at this time. Both poster series included the same slot machine symbol as another collection of posters that have been hung around campus asking, “How do you tell the truth to a crowd of white people?” The first poster featured the same “Nikes” lyrics as the initial banner with an attribution of the lyrics to Ocean. Next was a drawing of Martin in a hoodie, which he wore when he was killed. The third poster read, “17-year-old Trayvon Martin was walking home from a convenience store with a bag of Skittles and an Arizona watermelon fruit juice when he was racially
ANIAH PRICE/PHOTO EDITOR
Four new posters were placed outside Paresky on Monday, including the original banner's Frank Ocean lyrics and a drawing of Trayvon Martin. profiled and fatally shot by vigilante George Zimmerman. / The reality for young Black people and many people of color in this country is that this could have and can still happen to any of us. / WE ARE ALL TRAYVON MARTIN.” The final placard included sketches of an Arizona juice can and Skittles bag. Martin, a Black teenager, was shot and killed by neighborhood
CC discovers accounting oversight, to reallocate $225,000 into budget By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN MANAGING EDITOR College Council (CC) has discovered $225,000 that was previously unaccounted for in its accounts and is considering how to put the money back into its budget. At the beginning of this year’s term, CC Treasurer Jamie Vaccaro ’21 found that CC’s balance, as listed with the controller’s office, was vastly higher than expected, a discrepancy tracing back to the 2016 fiscal year. The controller’s office first made CC aware of the disparity in mid-February. On Feb. 15, Vaccaro sent a memo to the rest of CC’s executive board notifying them of the accounting surplus. “We have a serious accounting problem,” the memo read as it cited a $374,714 discrepancy between the amount that the controller’s office and that CC itself had listed in CC’s Student Activities Tax (SAT) allocation. This discrepancy has since been reduced; the balance for CC’s SAT allocation is now $225,434. At the last CC meeting on Feb. 26, however, the balance for CC’s accounts was listed as approximately just under $100,000. This accounting discrepancy arose over the course of the 2016 fiscal year. CC closed out the 2015 fiscal year with a rollover of $4,748 but ended the next fiscal year with a rollover of $210,419. Since this amount is roughly the same as CC’s semesterly SAT disbursement, Vaccaro posits that the treasurer at the time may have simply mistaken it for CC’s semiannual revenue, even though it was actually excess money. “Haley [Lescinsky ’18] and Web [Farabow ’18] came across this a number of years
ago, and what it looked like to them was that the amount we have in that account is roughly what a semester’s worth of SAT revenue would be,” he said. “The attitude, based upon what I read, was that we were supposed to be spending our money on a rolling basis, so we were just a semester ahead … which is not accurate.” CC is now considering how best to work this money back into its yearly budget over a period of time. The current proposal before the Executive Board is the addition of roughly $40,000 to the CC budget per year over the course of the next several years. There is also the question of whether the funds will be disbursed into CC’s general fund, which can be used by any student group or student, or into a restricted use fund, such as the Winter Study fund, the cosponsorship fund or the projects fund, among others. Vaccaro said he believes that placing the surplus into a restricted fund, as opposed to the general fund, might prove the better option. “It’s very difficult to make good decisions on money with very few restrictions on it,” he said. This surplus also comes as CC has loosened its spending limit. It has reduced the amount by $20,000, which must be kept in the Rainy Day fund, using the excess money in the Winter Study fund as collateral. According to Vaccaro, as CC decides how to spend this surplus, it will also attempt to understand the accounting practices that led to this large oversight. “Over spring break, I’m going to try to do a deep dive and figure out what the hell is going on,” he said.
watch coordinator Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2012. Zimmerman had called to report Martin, who was unarmed and carrying a pack of Skittles and an Arizona juice beverage, to the Sanford Police Department (SPD), describing Martin as “suspicious.” In a trial that garnered widespread attention, Zimmerman was ultimately acquitted of second-de-
gree murder and manslaughter. Martin’s death and Zimmerman’s subsequent acquittal have since become associated with systemic racism and a discriminatory criminal justice system. Following the banner’s removal on Thursday, several pages taped to Paresky windows read, “President [Maud] Mandel and senior staff have asked that the banner posted on the out-
side of Paresky this morning be temporarily removed. / It is being stored in the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity. / The sign’s creator can visit OIDE on the first floor of Hopkins or call 413-597-4376.” The Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity did not provide comment to the Record. “Won’t be silenced” was then written in red across this
message. The tribute was later briefly returned to Paresky the following morning before disappearing. There were attempts to censor the banner, with papers covering letters in the N-word, although these censors were removed. It is unclear who censored the banner and who removed it. The removal of student artwork and protest materials from Hollander Hall last month provoked extensive student response, which culminated in a “March for the Damned” on Feb. 21 (“‘March for the Damned’ honors on-leave professors Love, Green,” Feb. 27, 2019). On Feb. 13, Keith McPartland, associate professor of philosophy and chair of the SchapiroHollander users committee, deconstructed and relocated portions of a memorial honoring Assistant Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Kai Green ’07 and Assistant Professor of English Kimberly Love in Hollander Hall. In an email to the student body addressing the incident, Mandel wrote, “I am deeply distressed by any interference with students freely expressing themselves in a way that is not disruptive.” The installation was later relocated and rebuilt, although it was eventually removed at the request of Mandel, who cited fire safety concerns and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The College has not provided any indication that the posters currently on Paresky would be taken down.
Asian American studies staffing requests submitted by religion, American studies By SAMUEL WOLF EXECUTIVE EDITOR Two staffing requests for tenure-track faculty in Asian American studies (AAS) were submitted on Friday, marking a key step toward the creation of an AAS program at the College. These requests, submitted by religion and American studies, come in the wake of a Curricular Planning Committee (CPC) working group report that strongly endorsed an AAS program and recommended that at least two tenure-track faculty be hired to teach primarily in AAS. The requests were well received by Tyler Tsay ’19, co-chair of the Minority Coalition (MinCo) and member of the working group. “We’re very thrilled that these departments submitted requests for Asian Americanist lines,” he said. The requests, while a mandatory step for hiring, still face approval or rejection by the Committee on Appointments and Promotions (CAP). Chair of American Studies Cassandra Cleghorn emphasized the importance of AAS for the American studies discipline. “Institutionally, American studies has long been supportive of the establishment of AAS at Williams,” she said. “American studies programs nationwide are often the institutional sites of ethnic studies programs.” In accordance with this national trend, American studies is focused on finding candidates with both strong knowledge of AAS specifically and broader knowledge of American studies. Cleghorn cited the CPC report’s recommendations as influential in the specific request that is be-
ing made – an open-rank, tenuretrack faculty member. Chair of Religion Jason Josephson Storm also confirmed the department’s submission of a staffing request for AAS. “I can say that we as a department believe that an Asian American studies candidate would find a good home in the religion department,” he said. Storm added that many current faculty members in the department, including Zaid Adhami, Jacqueline Hidalgo, Jeff Israel and Saadia Yacoob, study the discipline’s intersections with race in America. Storm also cited a pedagogical desire to see AAS on
program chairs remain supportive of an AAS program. James Manigault-Bryant, associate professor of Africana studies, emphasized Africana studies’ continued support for the program and belief in the potential for interaction between the two programs. “I see a number of intersections between Africana studies and Asian American studies, including, but not limited to: the ways Asian Americans draw from hip hop to develop racial and ethnic identities or how Asian cultures are integrated into American hip hop; representations of Black and Asian American relationships in
“We’re very thrilled that these departments submitted requests for Asian Americanist lines.” Tyler Tsay ’19 Asian American Studies Movement campus as rationale for the staffing request. “We are very much in support of broader curriculum changes at Williams, especially in terms of encouraging greater support for AAS and American studies, as well as ethnic studies more generally,” he said. Numerous other departments were cited in the CPC working group report as having the potential to intersect with AAS, including “anthropology and sociology, economics, English, history, philosophy, political science and psychology.” These departments have not submitted staffing requests for AAS as of the Record’s deadline, but department and
popular culture and the histories of Black and Asian American coalition building,” he said. “The Africana studies department would have an interest in hiring along these lines.” For departments who did not submit staffing requests for this year, additional requests can be filed next year in accordance with the working group’s recommendations, which called for two immediate tenure-track hires and an eventual third hire. If CAP does not fulfill the request, however, no additional faculty can be hired and no program can be formed. CAP will deliberate over appointment decisions in the up-
coming months before ultimately making decisions in May. Denise Buell, dean of the faculty and chair of CAP, did not provide any official response to the requests, citing that neither CAP nor CPC members have been able to meet to review them yet. She did say, however, that the requests merited serious consideration. “Both the CPC and CAP take the CPC working group’s report very seriously, so it will certainly play a significant role the deliberations of both committees,” Buell said. Tsay emphasized the importance of CAP’s approval in the pursuit of an AAS program. “The final approval of staffing requests rests solely on the CAP,” he said. “We are hopeful that the CAP holds to its word to follow the recommendations of the CPC Working Group's report and approves both lines this year; we are working with members of the CAP to make sure that approval for the two lines is indeed fulfilled.” Tsay argued that, considering the impending retirement of Professor of History Scott Wong – who told the Record that he plans to retire following the 2022 spring semester – both requests would have to be fulfilled in order for an AAS program to take root. With both lines approved, however, a program could be built. Cleghorn also expressed cautious optimism for the fulfillment of the American studies request. “I hope the CAP is receptive,” she said. “We shall see! I do trust the process, however slowly it seems to move.”
WHAT’S INSIDE 3 OPINIONS
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Walkovitz ’21 discusses NCOs, accountability
Student filmmakers to release short film
Winston ’10 discusses public broadcasting
Men’s basketball advances to Sweet 16
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The Record is hiring a deliveryperson to pick up and distribute the paper every Wednesday morning. Paid at the standard student payroll rate. Contact dbj1@williams.edu if interested. DARIN LI ’21
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM
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Word on The Quad What should the wind blow over next?
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
It should be the first thing on your mind Friday morning.
, STEP COMPETITION
Please don’t stomp, please don’t stomp the music.
HC DECISIONS RELEASED
That delayed email really worried me and my future six-single suite.
By SABRINE BRISMEUR and ANIAH PRICE PHOTO EDITORS
SEBASTIAN JOB ’22
Mission.
HUNDRED DAYS
Only “100” days left to find your Eph love!
MIDTERMS
I’m honestly so stressed, and I have two midterms tomorrow and I need more time and please send help.
SURABHI IYER ’21
My responsibilities. The Office of Communications recommends ...
BRAIN GUYS (VARSITY) ’20
Homework!!!
Annual Faculty Lecture Series:
WRITE FOR THE RECORD. MEETINGS:
"How to Live Free in an Age of Pessimism" PARESKY 209 | 8 PM WEDNESDAYS
ELLIOTT FONG ’19
Towne Field House.
with Neil Roberts, associate professor of Africana studies Thursday, March 7 4:15 p.m. Wege Auditorium Reception to follow in Schow Atrium
The opinions expressed in signed columns are not necessarily those of The Williams Record editorial board.
Op-Ed and Letter Submission The Record welcomes op-eds and letters from all members of the College community. The Opinions section is designed to reflect the varied views and ideas of the College community, and the publication of any letter or op-ed does not indicate an endorsement of the views contained therein. Submissions should be sent to kc17@williams. edu and kzy1@williams.edu by Sunday at 5 p.m. for inclusion in the next Wednesday issue. Opeds range in length from 650-800 words, and letters are 500 words or fewer. The Record will not publish pieces that have appeared in other publications. Pieces submitted to the Record are not guaranteed a spot in the upcoming issue. For Record policy information, please see our website, williamsrecord.com.
CORRECTION In the Feb. 27 article, “‘March for the Damned’ honors on leave professor Love, Green,” we misattributed a quote by Isabel Peña ’19 to a different student. An editor added the quote after receiving the article from the writer, who was not responsible for the mistake. The attribution has been corrected in the online edition, and we regret the error.
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March 6, 2019
OPINIONS 3
The Williams Record
On no-contact orders and accountability When the College fails survivors, on whom do we rely? By ALEXA WALKOVITZ Content warning: This piece deals with issues of relationship abuse and post-traumatic stress. At the end of January, I left an abusive relationship with a fellow Williams student. The breakup was messy and dangerous for me and my friends. My spaces were invaded and my privacy non-existent as I gathered every string severed in my body and tried to tie them to their lost, frayed ends. I was constantly annoyed and frustrated, always picking up shattered pieces of my life when this person decided that they would get what they wanted from me – or take it with whatever means necessary. The word “love” was thrown around a lot during our short time together, and I do not think either of us caught it. It landed somewhere besides “take care of me” and “or else.” When I finally told everyone what was going on, it had reached an extreme state. I called my friend crying, telling him, “I think I’m single.” He hugged me, and I had him walk me home. I was afraid she would come after me like she had before, and I was right. Hours later, I found myself trying to escape this person while my friend begged her to leave me alone. I received call after call, endless texts and Snapchat DMs. My room was entered without my permission to see if I was there, and I ended up locked in a Mission bathroom. It all came together as I sat against the cold tile: I was living in a chamber filled with bright lights keeping me from seeing what was actually happening. I was being abused. Verbally, mentally, emotionally, physically and, as hard as it is for
me to conceptualize this, sexually. I will always feel guilty and undeserving to claim trauma, to claim a label such as “survivor” or “victim”; I do not ever think I will shake this feeling of idiocy, naivete and guilt. Despite the immense pain and suffering, I will never be able to scrub my body of the feeling that this had all been my fault. I was powerless and without autonomy or control. I was quickly forgetting what comfort and safety meant. I moved to emergency housing the next day. That same day, my ex cornered me in Paresky. After that, I finally went to CSS to file a report. At almost 3 a.m. the day after I broke up with her, I obtained a no-contact order (NCO). It took me a few days to register what happened. I called my parents and got in contact with campus resources. I found myself crying in showers, randomly breaking into tears in public places and hyperventilating every time I left my room. I didn’t see this person during my adjustment, and I truly thought I could avoid them while I attempted to reclaim some normalcy. I was reliant on the NCO to ensure a minuscule amount of safety. If you are unaware, the rules of an NCO have a gray area but are generally simple: • No verbal or digital communication, or “passed messages.” • If you enter a building, you can stay only if you were the first person there. If the student involved in the NCO is there first, you must leave promptly no matter the situation. • You may not swipe into the building the other person lives in or be found there. Vice versa as well.
• If it is violated, there may be grounds for disciplinary process and consequences at the discretion of the deans. • It is mutual and non-punitive as anybody can request one for anyone. For my friends and me, life went on in a weird, cautious way. I tried my best to move on and act as if nothing had happened. I moved out of emergency housing and into a new room, and tried to hit restart. As those with NCOs know all too well, this halfassed attempt at a solution only isolates and creates more limitations for those who have experienced trauma. I have found myself entirely avoiding places I knew this person inhabits often, being hyper-vigilant and bursting into tears, breathing heavily if I saw her. My therapist told me I was already and would continue to see signs of post-traumatic stress. I constantly bothered my friends to walk me to places. My friends, including other survivors, have been the most incredible and warm support system, and nobody has held me quite like them when I needed a shoulder to sob on or scream into. But no spaces belonged entirely to me anymore – all of them were partially or entirely my abuser’s. Since I got the NCO, it has been violated twice. Due to the nonpunitive aspect of the NCO, the dean’s office is cautious of abusers taking advantage of them to control the lives of survivors. However, this seems to already be happening. NCOs simply do not serve survivors. I have to rely on my community and a network of people who watch out for me and alert me when this person passes through spaces so I can make sure not to enter them.
Similarly, NCOs do not protect others, who often experience trauma runoff and suffer at the hands of abusers indirectly, from harm caused. NCOs also go up for review every semester and can be disputed by those who wish to cause harm. My community is small, and it is mostly Queer, low-income, neurodivergent, first-generation and POC. I, myself, am a first-gen, Black, Queer, Jewish woman. It is survivors and other strong souls who care about each other’s safety in a place that already depletes our energy, a place that rarely affords us the space to exist truthfully and openly without repercussions and criticism. We have seen exactly how Williams treats Black Queer people. We have lost Black Queer faculty who deserved infinitely better than what they got. Our value is found in our abilities to provide learning experiences for wealthy, able, straight, white peers to “learn” that we are human, a process coded as diversity. They have to have the lifechanging experience of interacting first hand with us to learn not to be racist, homophobic, sexist, xenophobic, ableist, classist, etc. Diversity is just this service unless it comes with the support that communities need to survive. This brings me back to my tumultuous time in high school: At the end of my senior year, a close friend of mine, David, sexually assaulted a peer. I remember having to make choices about what would happen to him due to my standing on the student council board. Would we let him attend senior events? A friend’s parent told me to be nice to him, or else he’d kill himself, and emphasized that it would be my fault. In an attempt to remedy
the problem, the school administration forbade David from returning to the school. But he was still permitted to take classes, and graduate with our class. On June 2, 2017, I practiced my graduation speech with my fellow seniors watching. In that room sat the girl, and directly in front of her, sat David. The room bickered about it. Someone yelled at me, “It’s his graduation too, he’s earned it,” loudly cheering for him. The girl cried in the bathroom through most of the day. While I know all too well what it’s like to feel unsafe because of mistakes made by administration, I also know what it is like to see people continue to interact with my abuser on a daily basis despite the knowledge of their actions. What will happen if my abuser is one day made to leave campus but is allowed to return and reap the benefits of a Williams education, just like David did by being allowed to graduate with all his honors? I will stress this: It is not the job of those around me who are close to my abuser to isolate her. I would never ask that. I believe in restorative justice. The prioritization of survivor safety and comfort, however, is necessary. For me, it would look like not seeing people I look up to in communities of Queer activism and radical love allow my abuser to continuously manipulate me and exist without consequence. Just as I was able to separate myself from my friendship with David and hold him accountable, it is more than fair to ask those who are aware of violent and harmful actions to prioritize safety and accountability. To those who exist in this small, tight-knit community with
me: What will it take for you to hold her accountable? Would my endless text threads be enough? My call logs? My voicemails? The words of those who had to experience the trauma alongside me? What about the explicit photos that were taken of me without my consent, and coercively with my own phone? The burden of proof is unfairly placed on me, but what will it take? Let’s recognize this inability to hold people accountable for their actions: Believe survivors. It is not enough to tell me you love me and support me. It is very hard to recognize that even those closest to us can be abusers. Clear recognition of harmful actions is important. I can’t stress enough that the campus itself is already a power dynamic between me and my abuser. I will not be silent and allow this person to exist as if nothing happened. I will not stand back and watch her be welcomed into spaces of activism. I will constantly push back. I will hold her accountable, and I am not responsible for being “merciful.” Without communities holding their own accountable, we will continue to protect and create abusers who go on to become powerful people with no concept of their own wrongdoings. I will not allow a community I hold so dear to become just like those at my graduation who cheered for an abuser without any sense of recognition that what he did hurt more than just one person. It takes a village to raise a child – and an entire community equipped with radical love to hold someone accountable. Alexa Walkovitz ’21 is from Lucerne Valley, Calif.
The mystery of the Midwest
For a better College Council
On breaking geographic stereotypes
What CC can learn from the Papa Smurf controversy
By RUTH KRAMER The College calls itself a place of diversity, a place where people from anywhere can come together to learn and make the world better for tomorrow. However, upon second glance, the geographical diversity of the College leaves a few questions unanswered. How is it that about half of our college is from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts or California? And how do we have no students hailing from North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, Nebraska or Wyoming when our counterparts, such as Amherst and Wesleyan, have students from 48 states? Furthermore, what about the states that are somewhat “in the middle”? Spread out among the four years, there are fewer than 40 students from Ohio, fewer than 30 from Minnesota, only 10 students from Indiana and seven from Kentucky. What does this mean? Why are students from these parts of the country not as present, or even present at all, at the College? How can we effectively communicate with and respect each other when we make assumptions about people, especially about where they come from? Coming from Ohio, a state that’s only a brisk 12-hour drive away from Williamstown, I
quickly noticed that within the first few days of being on campus that the College is dominated by students from the Northeast and California. While I’ve never visited California, and much of the Northeast is still foreign to me, I can understand that there’s a whole culture there that I’ve never encountered – things like the fact that public transport is extremely important and the expression “it’s brick out” somehow translates to “it’s really cold.” I love meeting people from these places because they’re showing me pieces of the world I’ve never seen before. When the situation is flipped, however, does the daily life of someone from Kentucky or Ohio matter as much? Or is it chalked up to containing hillbillies with nothing to do? Are we just a mystery no one wants to solve? These differences in location are some of the first things people learn about each other on campus. Upon meeting someone for the first time, often times the first questions that spill out of our mouths are “what’s your name,” “what do you want to study” and “where are you from.” And instantly, we make assumptions about others’ lives and how they grew up. These presumptions drive a wedge between us as students because we assume that the
stereotypes of where others are from are true. And maybe pieces of them are. But despite that, we should see the person in front of us before we see our own assumptions of their home’s history. None of this Midwestern pride is to say that New York or California or New Jersey aren’t as great as people paint them to be (except for New Jersey, as the New Yorkers tell me it’s really not that great). These places sound amazing, and there’s a reason so many wonderful people come from there. But, next time you’re talking to your friend from the South, your friend from the West, your friend from the Midwest, maybe try and remember that they have stories too. Did you know Cincinnati, Ohio, hosts the second biggest Oktoberfest in the world or that Cold Spring, Minn., holds a county music, FireFest, every summer that people just adore? Just as you’re grateful for the culture of your home, I and many others are grateful for ours. Maybe these stories don’t take place in some of the most dynamic places in the U.S., but we have our stories. And we love those memories just as much as you love yours. Ruth Kramer ’22 is from Maineville, Ohio.
MATTHEW ROYCHOWDHURY ’21
By PETER LE I have a confession: Sometimes, I read the College Council’s (CC) minutes as a source of guilty pleasure. Perhaps I’m a concerned citizen, but the riveting drama of late is enough reason to go on CC’s Google Drive every Tuesday night. The more I read these minutes, however, the more my joy becomes worry. It seems to me that CC is unable to wrap its head around the fundamental
Symbolic importance aside, what is the real meaning and impact of CC resolutions as a whole? Save the one for funding MinCo groups (which had its share of controversies), most resolutions “in support of” various groups/movements, like need-blind aid for international students and the Asian American studies program, are no more than empty press statements. The few lines of text, which offer CC “support” and “urge” Col-
trustees and alums. The main concern here is what CC would be signaling about itself by passing this resolution. Cynically, the implication here is that the resolution would be embarrassing to CC in front of the College “adults,” since the student body’s opinion of CC could hardly get any worse by passing it. But CC should feel embarrassed. It should signal to the College’s stakeholders that it is in trouble. It is understandable that CC feels
Resolutions give CC the justification to dust off its hands and say it has done its part, without seriously contributing to these movements’ viability or success.
issue that plagues its legitimacy and image: CC itself. By now, most people should already know about the Papa Smurf controversy (at least through the numerous memes about it). I’m not here to voice support for the “Papa Smurf Resolution”; in fact, some portions of the resolution take the joke too far and are offensive to some. Nonetheless, it is still worth looking into some of CC’s own arguments against this resolution because I think they reveal the problematic nature of how CC sees itself and how it wants to be seen on campus. The first claim is that the parodic language of the resolution mocks other efforts of student groups seeking CC’s support for legitimate concerns and undermines CC resolutions themselves. I completely agree with the first half of this argument. Instead of aiming criticisms squarely at CC, the “Papa Smurf Resolution” does veer off course and carelessly make fun of student groups, especially minority ones, that have serious concerns with the College. This alone is a good enough reason for CC not to pass the resolution. But the second half of the argument shows that CC is out to protect more than just these students. It is also out to protect the seriousness of its official communication channel: resolutions.
lege administration to do this or that, are mere blessings because CC does not follow them up with any substantive support. There is no support system after a resolution is passed, no organizational outreach or financial help, and I doubt that CC members actively lobby administrators for a movement that CC supports unless they are part of the movement themselves. The disconnect between passing resolutions in support and actually giving support is highly concerning, if not outright harmful. Resolutions give CC the justification to dust off its hands and say it has done its part, without seriously contributing to these movements’ viability or success. Worse, student groups that feel compelled to get a CC resolution to legitimize and support their cause end up wasting time and energy for what is, essentially, a false promise. Thus, if it wants to protect the sanctity of resolutions, CC should also look into how it is undermining movements that need — and deserve — more than a pat on the back. The second argument against the “Papa Smurf Resolution,” raised before the text was even introduced, was that, if passed, it would be widely published to the student body, administration,
defensive about its image on campus, but this denial only exacerbates the problem. Despite various goodwill efforts and promises to improve CC and its image, I do not think there has been any serious conversation about how CC got itself into this position in the first place. Such a councilwide recognition is necessary for any CC reforms to succeed. Otherwise, these efforts risk being temporary fixes that mask persistent problems with CC-student interactions. This is not to say that CC members are oblivious, but rather, that they need to fully and publicly acknowledge CC’s situation. CC should not take the Papa Smurf controversy (not the resolution) as a slight or threat to its legitimacy because it is a symptom, not a cause. I do not want to dispute CC’s importance and responsibility on campus, but its demands to be treated seriously and with respect can be met only once CC humbles itself and, from there, delivers substantive results to the student body. Perhaps it is unfair to ask the new Council to make amends for past terms’ problems, but this is also a chance for new members to break the downward spiral and rebuild CC’s trust on campus. Peter Le ’21 is from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
4 NEWS
The Williams Record
March 6, 2019
Some construction projects near Stop & Shop completion as others drag on workers to vote on strike
By SAMUEL WOLF EXECUTIVE EDITOR The Williams Inn, the new Garfield dormitory and the Towne Field House near completion shortly as other construction projects remain underway around campus. The construction of the Williams Inn at the base of Spring Street, which began in September 2017, should be complete this summer, according to Senior Project Manager Michael Wood. Scheduled for completion on July 4, the 58,000 square foot inn will contain 64 hotel rooms, a restaurant and sizeable event space. While construction noise and blocked access from Susie Hopkins and the Oakley Center to Spring Street will persist, these inconveniences should diminish in severity, Wood emphasized. “As construction comes to a close on the Williams Inn, impacts to students will subside,” he said. The other major construction project on campus, the North Building of the Unified Science Center, should be complete in early 2021, accodring to Senior Project Manager Diana Randall. This building, for which construction began in June 2018, will house the geosciences, psychology and math and statistics departments. Excavation of the site is now nearly complete. Laying the concrete foundation will begin over the next year, after which the building’s steel structure will be erected. The project saw an unexpected interruption on Feb. 25, when high winds dislodged several protective window covers. According to Randall, however, this event did not cause any significant challenges to the overall effort. “Although the winds did temporarily disrupt some activities on the North Science construction site, they do not present any significant setbacks for the project,” she said. Randall also emphasized the work being done to minimize general construction noise but said that “with any construction project, noise is often a byproduct.”
By REBECCA TAUBER EXECUTIVE EDITOR North Adams Stop & Shop workers will vote on Sunday to decide whether or not to authorize a strike. United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1445, which represents some of the Stop & Shop workers in many New England states, voted to authorize a strike on behalf of the workers on Feb. 24. The UFCW Local 1445 vote was prompted by recent contract negotiations in which union representatives expressed frustration with the store’s plans to cut bene-
ANIAH PRICE/PHOTO EDITOR
The science center’s North Building will open in 2021 and house geosciences, psychology and math and statistics. The College is also constructing a new dormitory in the location of the now-demolished Garfield House. Construction started in June 2018 and, according to Senior Project Manager Bruce Decoteau, “The structure is essentially complete. Work is progressing on the interior with mechanical and electrical trades.” Construction is expected to be complete by July 2019, and the 40-bed dormitory should be open to students by the fall semester. Construction is also underway for a wall ball wall, a 16-by-40 foot wall that will be used for lacrosse and field hockey practices. Funded by a $55,000 contribution from a donor, according to Coppola-Wallace, this project is scheduled for completion on March 31. Additionally, renovations are ongoing to a number of existing structures, including St. Anthony Hall, Driscoll Dining Hall, Fort Hoosac House, Morgan Hall and the buildings of the Davis Center. The reopening of the field house, which was scheduled for March 8, has been delayed by approximately a week, according to Coppola-Wallace. In Morgan Hall, construction
will replace the entire roof by December 2019, though work has not yet begun. “At this point in time, the design plans are 100 percent complete, the project has been placed out to bid and the college has begun contract negotiations with a perspective contractor with the expectations that a contract will be signed in the near future,” Senior Project Manager Jason Moran said. St. Anthony Hall, which houses the Center for Development Economics (CDE) Graduate Program, is also under renovation. “The overall goal is to transform the building to better suit the needs of the [CDE],” Project Manager Theresa Sawyer said. This project encompasses a transformation and expansion of the dining hall, classrooms and administrative areas, as well as improved plumbing and lighting systems. At this stage, demolition is nearing completion, and rebuilding has started. The project will likely be complete by August 2019, according to Sawyer. Driscoll Dining Hall is being renovated to improve accessibility, which will include the addition of an elevator and ren-
ovation of restrooms and entrances. Construction will likely begin in late May and conclude by mid-August. Fort Hoosac, which houses students in the Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art, is also being renovated and renamed Fort Bradshaw. The renovation will add an elevator, student rooms and bathrooms, and will include an upgraded kitchen. The project will begin in June 2019 and should be completed by July 2020. Lastly, the College is assessing the three buildings of the Davis Center – Hardy, Jenness and Rice House – as well as Chandler House, to determine the need for future renovation or construction. “We are currently in the early stages of the project, with the building committee currently focusing on the overview of the project and the requirements that we will set forth in hiring the design team for the project,” Project Manager Scott Henderson said. As this project is still in very early stages, construction is not scheduled to begin until fall 2020, and any construction or renovation will not be complete before spring 2022.
issued a statement responding to the strike authorization vote. “Full-time Stop & Shop associates are among the highest-paid food retail workers in the region, and we are working hard to reach strong new contracts that will continue to provide Stop & Shop associates with competitive wages and affordable health care for eligible associates,” the statement said. “We are proud of our relationship with our associates and optimistic that we will be able to reach a new agreement.” Although local Stop & Shop workers have not gone on strike thus far, some students
“This is a slap in the face to our members, our communities and Stop & Shop customers.” Jeff Bollen to WCVB President of UFCW Local 1445 fits for its workers. Although a strike has not yet begun, its authorization allows for the possibility of a strike if negotiations fail. In the WCVB article, “Thousands of Stop & Shop employees vote to authorize strike, union says,” UFCW Local 1445 President Jeff Bollen expressed anger at the grocery chain’s proposals. “This is a slap in the face to our members, our communities and Stop & Shop customers,” he said. “Instead of investing in our members, many of whom have given Stop & Shop over 40 years of service, Ahold [Delhaize, the parent company,] would rather ship money overseas. This only serves to grow the income of wealthy executives and hurts our communities along with the service our loyal customers expect in their stores.” On the day of the UFCW Local 1445 vote, Stop & Shop
at the College have been spreading the word about the possibility of a strike and urging people to shop at Wild Oats Market or Big Y World Class Market instead. Last week, the organizers of Log Lunch, a weekly lunch hosted by the Center for Environmental Studies at the Log, bought their ingredients at Big Y instead of the North Adams Stop & Shop, where they typically shop. During Log Lunch, Eliza Klein ’19 made an announcement about the strike, urging students not to “cross the picket line.” Sunday’s vote amongst members of UFCW Local 1459, which often works with the larger UFCW Local 1445, will decide whether or not they will strike at the North Adams location. “Members will be EITHER ratifying the new contract OR taking a strike authorization vote,” the UFCW Local 1459 Facebook page said.
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Spring Fellowship Deadlines Monday, March 11, Hubbard Hutchinson Fellowship in the Creative and Performing Arts. For seniors who will continue their work and study in the creative and performing arts after Williams in one of five areas: art, music, writing, dance, or theater. April 1, Lansing Fellowships for Classics. See chair of the Classics Department. April 2. Dunbar Student Life Prizes. Cash award for your writing on a topic relevant to student life. April 8. Horace Clark Fellowship. Financial support to a senior who who will begin graduate study next year. April 8. Jeffrey Jones Fellowship in Journalism. A cash award to a senior who will pursue a career in journalism. April 23. Stratton Fellowship in Biology. Support for a biology majors who will begin graduate study within three years. Application details and eligibility criteria can be found in the Williams Fellowships GLOW page under the category of WILLIAMS FUNDED FELLOWSHIPS. Contact Lynn Chick, Fellowships Coordinator (mchick@williams.edu) for information
SPRING STREET BLUES From the files of Campus Safety and Security Monday 2-25-19 11:38 a.m. Dodd House: Officers responded to Dodd House for a report of a loud noise from the exterior east side of the house. Due to the strong winds, a large portion of one of the chimneys had broken off and damaged a portion of the roof. Multiple safety and environmental compliance, as well as facilities, staff were contacted to assess and secure the damage and determine safety issues concerning building occupancy. The office of student life was advised, and two students had to be relocated temporarily from their rooms. 12:45 p.m. Mission Park Drive: The wind uprooted a giant pine tree, which fell near Williams Hall, blocking Mission Park Drive. There were no injuries and no damage to vehicles or any property other than a metal trash container. 3:45 p.m. Sawyer Library: Officers responded to the fourth floor of Sawyer Library to check on a student possibly needing medical assistance. Upon arrival, the officers called 911. EMS transported the student to Berkshire Medical North, then to Berkshire Medical Center Pittsfield. 4:40 p.m. Weston Field: While patrolling campus an
officer noted that the portable visiting team bleachers at Weston Field had been toppled by the high winds. The south bleacher was also blown over. 6:04 p.m. Tennis Courts: Williamstown Police Department (WPD) notified Campus Safety and Security (CSS) that it was looking to contact an individual in crisis who was last seen around the tennis courts on Stetson Road. 6:30 p.m. Agard House: A caller reported a power outage at Agard House and Fort Hoosac. CSS contacted National Grid, but due to the high winds and numerous power issues, the company could not give a time estimate for when the power would be restored. Tuesday 2-26-19 12:35 a.m. Doughty House: Officers responded to Doughty House for a report of a big piece of metal blowing off the roof. They found a large chimney cap lying in the driveway near the south door. They secured the chimney cap, and submitted a work order for replacement and repair. 3:59 a.m. Facilities Parking Lot: An officer observed several damaged vehicles in the facilities fleet parking lot damaged by materials and debris from the
roof of the facilities building blown off by high winds. Thursday 2-28-19 11:03 p.m. ’82 Grill: Dining staff reported a student with alcohol in the ’82 Grill. 11:38 p.m. Doughty House: Steam was coming out of the ground due to a water main break. Officers found water bubbling out of the ground and flooding the end of the driveway. Multiple staff members of facilities were contacted for emergency response. Sunday 3-3-19 12:10 a.m. Perry House: Officer reported a discharged fire extinguisher. They contacted a custodian for hazardous material clean-up. A campus officer responded to remove and replace the discharged fire extinguisher with a new one. 11:40 a.m. Paresky: A person collapsed on the floor. A caller notified 911, and WPD called CSS to report the emergency. EMS evaluated the student but did not transport them to the emergency room. 1:59 p.m. A CSS dispatcher heard that Northern Berkshire EMS was dispatched to the Williams College Health Center for a student with a rapid heartbeat. Officers were dispatched to assist. EMS transported the student to Berkshire Medical Center North.
5 ARTS
The Williams Record
March 6, 2019
Joey and Jamal: “Guys Being Dudes,” now on film picked up by the main character and so on. But going through an injury myself last fall, it didn’t necessarily implicate my identity as much because I had already found things that I liked. But knowing that I could have been in that position where I could have to go through this kind of existential crisis also made wanting to tell this story a bit more urgent for me. I can’t speak for Joey, but I think that was something that was really important to him too.
By MANDELA NAMASTE STAFF WRITER Even if you don’t know their names, you’ve likely seen their faces. Jamal Meneide ’19 and Joey Mullen ’19 are longtime close friends and creative collaborators currently working on their debut short film, which they plan to release this spring. I sat down with the duo to discuss the origins of their partnership, their interest in filmmaking, the future of their collaboration and more. MANDELA NAMASTE: So, when did y’all become friends, and when did you realize you shared a common interest in shorts and sketches? JAMAL MENEIDE: I love telling this story, and Joey hates it, so this should be fun. (Joey laughs.) The summer between ninth and 10th grade, Joey invited me to go to his Cape [Cod] house. Joey and I had the same free periods, so we’d hang out in school, but I’d never really hung out with him outside of school, so I’m thinking to myself, “Uuuhhhhh… Do I wanna do this? I’ve never hung out with Joey outside of school before, and this is a big commitment, going to his Cape house for the weekend.” But I rolled the dice, and the very first night that we’re there, Joey and I end up bonding very hard over the fact that we really liked these girls but they weren’t interested in us. JOEY MULLEN: By the way, this is like a shack in Cape Cod, I don’t wanna come off a certain way. (Jamal laughs.) The next day, we went to the beach. We made our first movie together, about a crab that dies, and there’s a funeral for it. And there’s a robber that’s stealing the dead body of the crab, and that’s a big deal
JOEY: Yes, I definitely agree with that. ANIAH PRICE/PHOTO EDITOR . Joey (left) and Jamal (right) directed and shot Smoke Break In, which they plan to release this spring, over Winter Study with three student actors.
for some reason. It didn’t make a lot of sense, but it exists.
na keep doing this when we go to college”?
the one where one of my closest friends is going as well.
JAMAL: Unfortunately.
JOEY: I think being able to go to school with Jamal made it a lot easier to say, “Yes, I enjoy doing this, and I wanna keep doing it.” I think if we went to separate schools, I would still be doing sketch and video in one form or another, but I do think working with Jamal pushed me to keep doing it and keep getting better at it. So, I don’t think I would have taken it as seriously if I weren’t in this partnership with him.
MANDELA: What’s the premise of your upcoming movie?
JOEY: But from there, we did independent projects during the last semester of our senior year. JAMAL: The sketch comedy that we did culminated in us doing “Guys Being Dudes” — our YouTube channel — together. That was a lot of fun because it was that same element of goofing off, but we started to take it more and more seriously. We did a Kickstarter [campaign] our freshman year to raise money for equipment, and that ended up being successful and started to refine our ability to tell actually convincing or funny stories, which is something we’re still working on, obviously. MANDELA: When you guys started the channel in high school, was it just a fun thing, or were you thinking, “I wan-
MANDELA: Was your collaboration a factor in you both going to the College or just a coincidence? JAMAL: I wouldn’t say it’s quite a coincidence. I did QuestBridge in high school, and I didn’t know anything about Williams when I was doing that except for that Joey was committed to go here. So, I thought that if all these schools that I’m looking at are about equal, I might as well go to
Eileen Myles poetry reading brings humor, heart to Brooks-Rogers By LYDIA DUAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR “I guess I’m an art writer and poet tonight,” deadpanned Eileen Myles, before breaking into a wide grin for a packed house in Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall last Thursday. They threw back their shoulders, chuckled and dove into their reading. Myles has written more than 20 volumes of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. They have received dozens of literary prizes, including the Guggenheim Fellowship. The glowing response from their shelves’ worth of work, which includes quotable lines such as, “I am always hungry / & wanting to have / sex. This is a fact,” precedes Myles. But despite the widespread critical and viral acclaim, Myles was grounded and nonchalant Thursday night, musing on the profundities of writing. They were also willing, however, to “discredit it all,” having famously said in a Publishers Weekly interview, “The words don’t matter. Fuck the words.” Myles opened with a recent essay written to accompany a series of exhibitions featuring the late artist Donald Judd’s paintings. Myles remarked on their own experiences living and loving in Marfa, Texas, the small town that was put on the map by Judd’s large-scale art installations in the untouched West Texas desert. Marfa, as Myles described it, was “deeply steeped in the religion” of Judd, a prominent American artist known for his rigorous work in questioning and recapturing minimalism as an art form. Myles’ email-formatted essay examined the triangulated relationships between the town, the artist and the writer themself, in a thoughtfully crafted narrative marked by quippy breaks and hairpin turns. “I think of the paintings as orange,” Myles read, “but only two are.” From there, Myles followed with several poems from their most recent book of poetry, Evolution. This book captured Myles’ ongoing interest in writing the everyday into
their work. In the titular poem, “Evolution,” they observe, “I’m / using this pen / on a purple notebook / set up on the / angle of my / thighs.” They then take a turn toward the reflective without pause, reading, “My thighs. / I’ve had you since / I was a kid. / I’ve known you for so / long. Even when / you betrayed / me in the bathtub / one night when / you were rabbits / but that’s cause / I was going / crazy.” After a beat, they pivot the thought toward the reader, catching a loneliness that feels all too familiar with their question, “Is it crazy / to be the / citizen who’s / only partially / here. Like / kissing while / your eyes / anxiously are surveying / the room.” With their abbreviated lines punctuated by short bursts of emotion, their reading rang true. As Alex Jen ’19, who brought Myles to campus and introduced them, put it, “[Myles] makes the familiar glisten again.” Myles observes the mundane elements of day-to-day life from all angles, retracing these elements’ lines into their own lines of verse. They read with a fastpaced clip, shuffling through sheet after sheet of printed poetry, casting the pages aside the moment they finished. While Myles kept a casual delivery and rarely lingered, they were not flippant; their free-wheeling presentation matched the style of the poems themselves. Their bright tone of voice mirrored the visuals in their writing. “I can see / their blue / ladder / from here,” Myles read in their poem, “For My Friend.” “A man / has written / a book / about many / deaths / or many / things to do after. / Read it / read it / they say / but what / comes after / is a small / idea.” Myles writes with queerness, sexuality and gender in mind as well. While the content of Myles’ work is multivalent and intentionally difficult to pin down, they frequently drew portraits of love – its presence, its absence, its shape in all forms – in the selections they read that night. In “Lucky Kit-
tens” for instance, Myles read, “A world without mothers is a world without meat.” And in my personal favorite of the night, a provocative poem titled “Mary Queen of Scots,” they read, “Solaris / is the / interior / of my sexual / fantasies / I’m part / plant / eaten / by movies / for years / the veal / of snow / curves / as she drags / her pile / of trash / on the train / this is / any / butter / the lightly / screaming / train & / I’m excited / to see / you.” Discussing their roles of both poet and essayist, Myles spoke about their relationship with writing. They expressed that the two roles often overlap, since they engage with the same creative process, regardless of the product. “They don’t feel different to me,” they said. “Writing is art. Writing is visual art.” They further expanded upon how their self-identifications relate to their artistry. “I am choice, and I am style,” Myles explained, “but I am not content.” In this vein, Myles closed out the night with a longer poem titled “Sweet Heart.” “One / sleeps on what / they mean / and arises on the decided / side and that’s / the hope,” Myles read. “An entire / room is opened / by particular feelings / that say you’re / on the edge / of the space / and then you / wait to watch / it grow.” This was Myles at their finest – easygoing laughter and dusty jeans, unassuming flannels and a keen eye for detail, acerbic language and edgy thought. They held themselves with ease, constantly interrupting their own reading to make note of where they were or what they were thinking when they penned the lines that held us audience members captive. One minute, they joked about pronouncing Marfa as “Mahfa,” recalling their own Bostonian roots, and the next, they were comparing the “sonic nets” of an urban sprawl like New York City against the cicadas of Marfa, Texas. They were stream of consciousness without self-consciousness. They were effortless.
JAMAL: Three college-aged students break back into one of their houses after they realize that they forgot some weed there, and along the way, the main character, Michael, comes to terms with a necessary shift in his identity that he’s been trying to avoid. JOEY: Yeah, I’d agree with that. I think a line we were using at one point was, “Think Mission: Impossible” but with weed and hopefully taller actors.” MANDELA: Do you guys do most of the behind-thescenes stuff? JAMAL: Well for this film, Joey brought on Arjun Pothuri ’21 from film club. We had three actors from Williams — Isaac Wilkins [’22], Noah CohenGreenberg [’22] and Peter Duke
[’21] — and then people that Joey knew from his town played the other roles. JOEY: Lylia Li ’18, who graduated last year and was president of film club, also helped behind the scenes. Most of the projects we’ve done at Williams have generally involved film club people helping out. MANDELA: How long did you guys shoot for? JAMAL: Two days! MANDELA: That’s it? JOEY: Basically two full days. We shot outside in Boston on what had to be the coldest day in human history — it was so brutal. MANDELA: What made you want to take on this project now? JAMAL: This story, you know, Joey wrote it about him and his injury, and it’s
MANDELA: What’s the future of “Guys Being Dudes” and your collaboration, but also your separate futures in writing and filmmaking at large? JOEY: (Laughs.) I figured this question would be coming, we’re working on it, and it would be great to be writing somewhere. I love all stages of the filmmaking process, but the writing is still my favorite part, and I think having a knowledge of everything else helps my writing, so we’ll see. I don’t know. JAMAL: I think for myself, I’m really in love with video editing and really love videography and cinematography. I’m also very passionate about writing, so I hope that I can eventually become a film writer and director, and after college, I’m looking towards things in the digital advertising or production assistant vein, or potentially writing as well. So, in summary, similar to Joey I guess, just any aspect of the creative side of filmmaking.
Box Office Hours: ‘Burning’ with Anthony Y. Kim While the three main characters are each worthy of exploration, Hae-mi’s character is distinct because it appears to be South Korean filmmaker dependent on the two men’s imChang-dong Lee’s Burning is a ages of her. Viewers look at Haedaunting, enigmatic tale satumi both in a third-person perrated with social critiques. Lee’s spective and through the male first film since 2010, Burning gaze, exemplified by the toxic channels Lee’s frustration with masculinity of Jang-su and Ben. the South Korean economy and After the film, Kim described to former president of South Korea me his thoughts on Lee’s goal of Park Geun-Hye, who enforced a portraying Hae-mi in this way. blacklist of 9473 artists, includ“We can think about some of ing Lee himself, for speaking out the problems in terms of genagainst the government. der. Murakami’s work is marked Burning is full of political alby an egregious ‘disappearing legories, symbolism and ambiguwoman’ trope, and here, Lee uses ous themes. Visiting Assistant that to think about the disposProfessor of American Studies ability of South Korean women Anthony Y. Kim, in his second at the hands of both capitalism “Box Office Hours” appearance, and patriarchy,” Kim explained the cinsaid. “Yet, while both ematic style of BurnJongsu and Ben are ing and Lee’s films as “Lee Chang Dong’s films have always shown to embody toxic a whole. “Lee Chang featured difficult subjects and stories that forms of masculinity, especially in the ways Dong’s films have always featured difthrow into question the progressive image they use and seek to ‘possess’ Hae-mi, our ficult subjects and ultimate point of view stories that throw of South Korean modernity.” about Hae-mi is always into question the just in relation to them, progressive image Anthony Y. Kim constrained by their of South Korean gazes and desires.” modernity,” Kim Visiting Assistant Professor of Hae-mi is plagued said. “They expose American Studies by credit card debt; as the underbelly of a consequence, Ben a fraught ‘democmaliciously targets her racy’ that is still very vulnerability, lavishing much haunted by national division (for example, all, movies like 2001: A Space her in upper-class experiences the North Korean propaganda Odyssey would not be the clas- and material goods. What rebroadcasts that you can hear sics they are today without their sults is an unhealthy, predatory relationship that is never fully from Jongsu’s farm in Paju) as open-ended inquiries. well as decades of brutal U.S.Economic inequality across resolved. Hae-mi continuously backed military dictatorships.” generations and the current un- struggles between her urges to The Korean genre-bending employment dilemma for many express herself and the patriarthriller is adapted from the South Korean young adults are chal norms imposed by her surHaruki Murakami short story explicitly addressed in Burning, roundings. At one point, Hae-mi “Barn Burning,” which focuses particularly in the relationship dances to jazz music during dusk on protagonist Lee Jong-su, between Jang-su and Ben. The above her old town, removing played by Ah-in Yoo in the film, current Korean economy is simi- her shirt and emulating freea part-time worker in South Ko- lar to a caste system, making eco- dom with the motion of her arms moving up toward the sky. The rea. While completing a deliv- nomic mobility near-impossible. ery, he runs into Hae-mi, played “I think Lee uses the enigmat- shot is beautiful, placing her silby Jong-seo Jun, a girl who grew ic, elliptical narrative template of houette in the foreground with up in the small rural town Paju Haruki Murakami’s short story a deep blue, orange and yellow with Jong-su. Their relation- in order to express the structural sky behind her. The moment imship eventually blossoms into a and existential problems of the mediately turns somber when romantic one, at least by Jong- ‘millennial’ generation in South she begins crying, but neither su’s standards. Soon after re- Korea – especially their pessi- of the men attempts to console uniting, Hae-mi travels to Africa mism and rage as they confront her. They do not seem to really and returns with Ben, played both the deepening class divide care for her, but more about their by Steven Yeun, a mysterious, and income inequality (the worst competition to own her love, rich man whom she met in Nai- in the Asia/Pacific region),” Kim throwing Korean society’s patrirobi, Kenya. As the three begin said. “As well as the failures of archal structure into relief. The stunning visuals of Burnspending time together, Ben’s dominant institutions like the character comes under scrutiny. government, the education sys- ing converse with its sharp social He admits to odd hobbies like tem, and the workforce to actu- commentary to produce a worthy and compelling film. burning down abandoned tree ally improve their lives.” By PHILLIP PYLE ARTS EDITOR
houses, and Jung-su is increasingly perplexed by his personality and wealth, culminating in a strange sequence of events and mysterious disappearances. From the opening shot, Burning is relentless, though not in a conventional sense – its subtle dialogue and captivating cinematography by Hong Kyungpyo create an atmosphere that draws viewers in and never lets them go. Its unanswered questions linger long after the credits roll, but that’s the magic of it. There’s something to be said about complex story lines whose loose ends all come together at the end, but even more beautiful are those that can produce hundreds of interpretations. After
6 FEATURES
The Williams Record
March 6, 2019
One in Two Thousand By KEVIN YANG OPINIONS EDITOR As a fellow member of the Octet, I have had the pleasure of spending at least six hours a week with Tom, if not many more. With his philosophizing about the relative merits of singing in two rows rather than one, he always makes my life more interesting. I sat down with him to talk about caring for his beloved late squirrel, teaching in the Bahamas and being a gay man at the College. I first saw you during the Jamboree, where you performed “Jessie’s Girl.” And you’re a big Octet guy. So, tell me about the Octet. So much of college – and particularly at Williams – is about personal achievement and being an individual and trying to set yourself apart in some way. Trying to succeed by yourself and often in spite of other people or instead of other people. I think that’s the way we’re implicitly taught to compete. What I love about the Octet is that it decenters the importance of the individual a little bit, particularly for me because I don’t sing many solos. Our music director (and my quasi-father) Kenneth An [’20] makes sure of that. I get to spend my time in the background, supporting a group of people who I love. And I love the laughter.
I remember one of the first stories you told me when I joined was about the squirrel. Can you share with us Earl’s story? So, the beginning of my junior year, we’d just finished Octet auditions for the day. We were walking back from Dodd to have dinner together. A few minutes later Emaun Irani [’20] and Chris Washington [’18] walk over and say, “Oh my god! We saw the cutest thing, a little baby squirrel that fell out of a tree.” So I left my food, which is rare for me to do, and ran as fast as I could to Parsons, and at the base of this big oak, there was a tiny squirrel cowering in the grass looking up at me with big eyes. Earl’s brother lay disemboweled next to him, and his mother was hanging dead from the branch of a tree above us. Probably a hawk attack. I scooped him up, nestled him in the crook of my bosom and ran back to my room, where I put him in a terrarium with my albino hedgehog, Lucius. It had a heating pad. I bought him baby formula and nuts from Walmart. The nuts turned out to be wishful thinking. And we nursed him. Every morning for a week, I would wake up at 6 [a.m.] and heat up baby formula and feed it to him with a syringe. I fed him every eight hours. He was my little baby. And then one morning, I woke up to feed him – I was so happy, I’ve never been so happy as when I had Earl. I was whis-
TOM ROBERTSHAW ’19
here at the College. What draws you to theatre? Being gay has always attracted me to theater and performance. Especially when I was in the closet. There is something about enjoying – about not being afraid to pretend. Pretending for the sake of feeling fully present is fabulous and makes all of those moments of needing to pretend in life not so difficult. Also, in the Williams theatre community, more than in any I’ve ever experienced, there is that sense of welcoming weirdness, welcoming queerness – of craving it, really. Needing that sort of community to live in. Silliness too. I love that. A shoutout to the great people of the IKEA lounge [in the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance]!
ANIAH PRICE/PHOTO EDITOR NAME OF TOM’S SQUIRREL SAVED HOMETOWN EARL CLINTON CORNERS, N.Y.
tling my favorite song, “Loch Lomond,” as I prepared his milk. I go to the little paper recycling bin that I was keeping him in to scoop him up and feed him. And he had rigor mortis. And he was dead. And I fell to my knees and wept. We buried him in the backyard of Susie Hopkins and made him a tombstone out of a loose brick, and we each tossed an acorn into his grave. Soon after we buried him, a very large lawnmower took out his grave and launched
FAVORITE SONG “LOCH LOMOND”
his tombstone that we made out of a brick about 500 yards. He was very famous for a while. He was all over Snapchat – he was on the NESCAC Snapchat story. Speaking of “Loch Lomond,” I’ve noticed you like Celtic folk music. I like to sing Irish and Scottish folk music as I walk along. I love to sing while I’m walking. You’re also a staple of the theatre community
Do you want to continue doing theatre after you graduate? And do you know what you are doing after college? My rough plan is to move to New York City and try to make theatre in some way. I also love teaching – that’s what I do in the summers. I teach at a school in the Bahamas for high school students.
ecology. But I get to teach a humanities course about the history of colonialism and tourism and development in the Caribbean and the Bahamas in particular. My grandparents live in the Bahamas, and I’ve spent large portions of my life there. It’s a country that I love and respect very much. And a history that’s so important for people to know – especially Americans, I think – to know how deeply the United States affects the lives of people in the Bahamas through the practice of tourism. Maybe you’ll return one day to Williams to teach. Do you want to do that? Not so much. Williams has been a gift in a lot of ways. But, I’m ready to be somewhere else. You know, after I came out, and I told people I was going to Williams, they’d give me this look like I was headed for some kind of gay Shangri-La. And I arrived to the least – how would I describe this? It became very clear that the gay men of Williams lived a lot less like Oscar Wilde and a lot more like Emily Dickinson.
What do you teach? Why the Bahamas?
Thank you, Tom. Is there anything else you want to tell people?
I teach at a semester program on the island of Eleuthera called The Island School. It focuses mostly on marine conservation and
I want to thank all the people I don’t know who have smiled hello to me on the walkways of Williams. Let’s grab a meal sometime.
Bernie Rhie leads Students bedeck campus in googly eyes Zen workshop By NIGEL JAFFE FEATURES EDITOR
By LUKE VALADIE STAFF WRITER On Tuesday evenings, most students at the College are knee-deep in work at Sawyer or Schow. Even so, it is not uncommon for the meditation room in the basement of Thompson Memorial Chapel to be filled to capacity. On Tuesdays at 8 p.m., Associate Professor of English Bernie Rhie leads a workshop called “Intro to Zen.” A typical session consists of a 15-minute guided meditation, half an hour of lecture and discussion on a Zen-related topic and 15 minutes of silent, unguided meditation. Topics have included processing difficult emotions and thoughts, forming meaningful connections with other people and navigating the complexities of identity. Each week, Williamstown community members have been taking time to join Rhie for spiritual reflection and discussion. The sessions make up a 10week series that began at the outset of the semester. They routinely draw a group of around 20 attendees made up of students, faculty and Williamstown residents. Fernanda González ’22, a regular attendee, said she was drawn to the program after hearing positive words about Rhie. “I have found these sessions helpful in my everyday life in the sense that I am more aware of my surroundings, and I’ve started to pay more attention to the people around me,” she said. “I’ve also been more mindful of my emotions and how I deal with them. The meditation sessions have been an eye opener for me because they have made me realize the interconnection between other people and me.” Rhie, who studied meditation at a Zen center in Santa Rosa, Calif., decided to lead the series after first incorporating the practice into his teaching. Having observed the benefits that his students experienced from meditation, he began to offer instruction that was not restricted to a classroom setting. “I’d been away for two years at this place called Berkshire School,” he said. “It was a two-year leave, and at the request of a student there I had helped him start a meditation club... That was really nice. It reminded me of how nice it was to sit with other people.”
This fall, Rhie taught ENGL 312: “Zen and the Art of American Literature,” for which he led some meditation. “That wasn’t the focus of the class, but it was an important part of it, and that felt really rewarding,” he said. “I saw a really positive transformative effect it had on a number of students in that class ... and I think that’s when I thought, ‘After this class is over, maybe I’ll offer a different kind of class [that is] just open [to anyone].’” In addition to the workshops, Rhie also works to bring Zen to campus in other ways. Earlier in the semester, he invited Ken Kessel ’74, a monk in the Korean Zen tradition, to give a talk on campus and lead a meditation session. Collaborating with Rabbi Seth Wax, the College’s Jewish chaplain, Rhie also led a meditation retreat at the Jewish Religious Center before the start of the spring semester. Rhie sees his work as part of a larger push among faculty and staff to bring mindfulness practice to campus. “I think I’m not alone at all on the faculty or the staff,” he said. “I think Seth in the Chaplain’s Office and JJ [Storm] in religion and a number of other people ... a lot of us feel that contemplative practice in general – meditation, mindfulness, Zen – have a lot to contribute to what you might broadly call ‘well-being’ on campus. I think Wendy Adam in IWS [Integrative Wellbeing Services] is doing really important work bringing mindfulness in other ways to campus.” The “Intro to Zen” series as it was originally planned will have its final session this upcoming Tuesday, but Rhie does not see this as the end of his efforts to bring Zen to campus. Because of the high level of interest in the series, he is considering extending it and looking into other avenues for teaching meditation practice. “I set a 10-week [plan] at first, partly because I just had no idea what demand or interest would be like,” he said. “Actually, I’ve been pleasantly surprised that there’s been this many people turning out this regularly. It makes me think that it would be worthwhile to continue offering something... And then definitely, I think, there’s really a lot of room for more retreats and other kinds of things.”
On salt shakers and staircases, computer mouses and hot chocolate machines, spread from Driscoll to Hollander and in plenty of spots in between, a legion of faces has arisen on campus. Googly eyes are out in force, bringing a subtle touch of personification to even the College’s most barren paper towel dispensers. Although several students have claimed credit for the installations, attempts to identify the artist behind the original set of eyes point to Lizzie Fer-
guson ’22. At first, most of her work was confined to the belongings of people she knew, but her ambitions quickly expanded. “It started in early January when I decorated a teammate’s locker,” she said. “After that, I did a friend’s door, and now my mission is to do the entire campus.” She acknowledged that her aims are unconventional. “I never thought my college experience would just be me sticking googly eyes on everything.” Her next target was my laptop case. “Your stickers hold a lot of opportunities,” she said, noting the wide variety of music-related stickers that
adorned my case. My sticker of Neil Young’s head got the honor of its own pair of eyes. Other students have joined Ferguson in decorating the campus with googly eyes, with many contributions coming from members of prank collective Williams Anarchists for Fun and Lighthearted Entertaining Surprises (WAFFLES). Speaking on behalf of the group, Owen Foster ’22 hesitated to provide specifics on its role in the campaign. “We only put up one googly eye at a time, but we have no idea who’s adding the second one,” he said. “Sounds like a mystery!” Although Ferguson works independently of WAFFLES, she
doesn’t see them as competition, instead welcoming the added efforts. “It’s all in good fun,” she said. “We’re like one big googly eye family.” Ferguson said she hopes that the googly eyes provide amusement and comfort amidst the hectic lifestyle students face at the College. “I like to think of them as little friends,” she said. “Like a support system all around campus. Williams is hard, and it’s good to have support.” Her goal for the future is similarly wholesome: “Bring peace and happiness to campus, one – rather, two – googly eyes at a time.”
NIGEL JAFFE/FEATURES EDITOR
March 6, 2019
FEATURES 7
The Williams Record
NPR’s Natalie Winston ’10 hones liberal-arts storytelling approach By DANNY JIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF While it has been nearly a decade since Natalie Winston ’10 last found herself in a classroom setting, the executive producer of NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered (WATC) says she has not abandoned her “liberal arts” approach to learning. “I think of my job as a very liberal arts job,” Winston said. “I have to be a generalist. I have to be curious about the world. I have to be able to dive into a topic that I don’t know a lot about and be interested in stuff that I have never heard of... It’s more about expanding your mind and being curious than becoming an expert in one particular topic area.” Now at the helm of NPR’s flagship news program for its Saturday and Sunday broadcasts, Winston leads her team’s coverage of the weekend’s biggest national and international stories. Before stepping into her current role in January, Winston had served as WATC’s acting supervising editor alongside Ammad Omar. Last year, the pair led the show through its reporting on Puerto Rico’s hurricane preparation and recovery in June, Sen. John McCain’s death in August and a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October. “Natalie and Ammad brought us through a difficult year with grace, good humor and a sense of adventure, and with Natalie’s leadership we are going to continue to build on what we’ve started,” WATC host Michel Martin said in NPR’s announcement of Winston’s promotion. First arriving at NPR in 2008 as a summer intern on the election team, Winston returned in November 2011 following a brief stint at PBS’
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLISON SHELLEY, NPR.
Natalie Winston ’10, now the executive producer of Weekend All Things Considered, won an Edward R. Murrow Award in 2017. NewsHour. In the seven years since, she has worked on five NPR shows. Talk of the Nation, Winston’s first show, broadcast conversations between a host and live callers. Her experience with an audience that provided direct feedback, Winston said, shaped the way in which she seeks to tell a story. “Someone always has to be the stand in for the listener,” she said. “One thing we always try to think about in pitch meetings [when] someone pitches something to the group is: Why are we talking to this person? And at this time?” WATC holds pitch meetings every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in advance of the Saturday and Sunday pro-
grams. Winston said that while the team attempts to predict which stories will be relevant by the weekend, it must remain flexible and responsive to the news cycle. In January, for example, Winston had produced an entire show on furloughed workers’ experience of the government shutdown. When the shutdown ended the day before the scheduled Saturday broadcast, the team had to rethink its program. “Sometimes we’re totally right about that, and then sometimes on Friday a million different things happen, and news breaks, and the entire show we thought we were producing for Saturday is different,” she said. Winston was drawn to the public service function of radio
and television journalism early on; her high school in Bethesda, Md., had a television studio, and Winston produced its morning news show, InfoFlow. Once at Williams College, she began volunteering at Willinet, the local cable news station. She did not hesitate to identify the College, where she majored in English, as the place where she developed her journalistic approach. “I took two tutorials that were very influential for me because they forced you to critique someone else’s work,” she said. “And as an editor, that is the bread and butter of what we do. “Every day, I go into an interview with a producer and my host, and we come out of the interview and we talk about: What worked? What didn’t? What do
we want to keep? … What do you think are the most interesting parts? That, to me, is a tutorial.” Although her father, Thomas Friedman, won three Pulitzer Prizes reporting for The New York Times, Winston has forged her own path in public broadcasting. The 2008 NPR internship, her first experience with political news, launched her into the world of professional journalism. “I think that every person deserves access to good, strong, free and unbiased news sources, and that’s what I think NPR does,” she said. “NPR actually let me fly back from Williams on Election Day to work for free basically in the studio on election night. And that experience of seeing how a show gets put together and being
part of the large broadcast really solidified my interest in this.” In June 2017, Winston, Gabriela Saldivia and David Greene reported on the persecution of gay men in Chechnya. The trio traveled to Moscow to host Morning Edition there for two days, planning to report on Vladimir Putin’s government and U.S.-Russia relations. Near the end of their time in Russia, they visited an LGBTQ+ community center after inquiring into crackdowns on homosexuality in Chechnya. Waved into “an abandoned-looking building,” they were met by two men who had fled Chechnya. Having been unable to prepare for the conversation – the LGBTQ+ group had initially told them that it would be too dangerous for people who had fled Chechnya to speak with them – they spoke to the men for two hours, listening to stories of kidnappings and beatings at the hands of police. Their seven-minute piece for Morning Edition earned an Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association. “Most of my job is putting on a show every weekend, but when you get the opportunity to tell a really unique story, I do think that feels really great,” Winston said. “I was super proud of that because it was a story that not a lot of Western journalists had had an opportunity to tell, and to actually hear the guys talk through what had happened to them, it’s completely different than just reading a newspaper article, [which is] so much less personal. “I think what we did was really unique and very emotional and important, and that’s what you dream of doing as a journalist.”
MASC holds workshop exploring “bromances” By AIDAN DUNKELBERG CONTRIBUTING WRITER Masculinity, Accountability, Sexual Assault and Consent (MASC) is holding weekly workshops, in which students discuss topics ranging from heteronormativity to “big dick energy.” Ahead of this Sunday’s Super Storytime on masculinity, MASC held a workshop last Wednesday focusing on the topic of “bromances,” a popular term used colloquially to describe close friendships between men. The meeting started with stories and videos before delving into a deeper discussion of the topic. All those who had relevant anecdotes shared them, followed by viewings of clips of Obama and Biden and scenes from Superbad and Scrubs. After dicussing “bromances” and the term’s association with a heternormative perception of male friendships, the group came to the conclusion that, as MASC Co-President Michael Nettesheim ’20 put it, “the word is pretty intimately tied to homophobia, and it’s better to encourage people to say, ‘Yeah, this is just our friendship, we’re just that close, deal with it.’” What was equally important, however, was that no one at the table came into the meeting with the intention of indicting the term. “I real-
ized that we, over the course of the hour, puzzled through so much,” said MASC board member Harmon Pardoe ’19. “[We were] coming in with a completely blank mind and learning a lot.” Nettesheim also emphasized the open mindsets with which the participants approached the workshop. “We’re constructing discussions around topics that we don’t really know how we feel about,” he said. “I didn’t have a well-formulated opinion on whether bromances were good or bad or really what they were.” After the meeting, a few MASC members gave their perspectives on the organization, including Co-President Asher Lasday ’21, who said that he was happy that he joined the organization. “It’s interesting to feel like this is possibly helpful in making Williams a better, safer place,” he said. “Also, just for my personal edification, it’s interesting to know how masculinity has affected me in ways that I subconsciously realized but hadn’t put my finger on.” Meanwhile, Pardoe offered some insight into MASC’s backstory. “When I came here, MASC was Men for Consent, which was very problematic in a lot of the ways that it operated,” he said. “We rebranded about two years ago to MASC to make it clear what we actu-
ally want it to do because what Men for Consent was is not at all what MASC does now.” The participants also discussed the upcoming Super Storytime on masculinity, hosted jointly by MASC and Storytime. Pardoe expressed excitement for the opportunity to give a voice on these topics to a wider range of speakers. “[This is] one way to open up MASC discussions to more than just the way we perceive masculinity,” he said. “I don’t think any of us are going to get up there and do a story. We want people who aren’t necessarily coming to meetings, or who don’t feel comfortable sharing their stories, being given that platform [at Storytime].” Lasday echoed that sentiment. “As much as we’re interested in a wider community hearing stuff related to MASC, really the biggest thing is to give the people doing the stories a way to think critically about how masculinity has played a role in their life,” he said. Finally, Nettesheim invited people to come participate in future discussions similar to this one. “We always want people to know that this is an open space; we want to get as many voices and opinions and perspectives in here as possible,” he said. “We’re also limited by our own perspective. People are always welcome to come and be involved or critique openly.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF DREW COHEN.
In MASC workshops, students discuss topics such as heteronormativity, “bromances” and “big dick energy.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF SEAMUS CONNOR.
On weekly sunrise hikes, students enjoy hot chocolate and Munchkins at the top of Pine Cobble Mountain.
Sunrise hikes persist despite cold By IRENE LOEWENSON FEATURES EDITOR The sun had risen, the water in my bottle had frozen into a block of ice and Stephen Kletscher ’22 was playing Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” from his phone at the summit of Pine Cobble Mountain. I was on a Williams Outing Club (WOC) sunrise hike. Although I had been on the threemile sunrise hike twice before, I had only ever gone in the autumn, when the ground wasn’t covered in ice and I could still feel my nose by the time I reached the top of the mountain. The sunrise hike group convenes on the steps of Paresky every Friday at 6 a.m. Unsurprisingly, given the early hour and the 12-degree weather, only six students showed up. Led by WOC Director Scott Lewis, who handles all of the sunrise hikes, the six of us marched downstairs to the WOC equipment room, where we borrowed the necessary gear for the hike. As we started walking, I asked David Shakirov ’22, who was accompanying his entrymate Kletscher, why he had decided to go on the hike. “You know, it’s all about discipline, and it’s all about spending time with friends,” he said. “I have my Steve over here – suitemate. We decided to get our butts up at 5 a.m. to go on this gig, and you know what? We’re happy to do it.” Shakirov mentioned that he was hoping to see a bear. “What are you going to do if you see a bear?” I asked. “Stop, drop and roll,” he said. For Serapia Kim ’19, the hike was an item on a senior-year bucket list. “I was actually going to go on this hike with my
friend, but he, hilariously, slept through his alarm, so here I am,” said Kim, who was on her first sunrise hike. It was far from the first for Seamus Connor ’22, however. He has gone on every single one this year, even when it was so cold that no other student showed up. “It’s pretty beautiful,” he said. “It changes every time, so it won’t really get boring, I don’t think. It just makes me feel much more ready for Friday.” Rosa Kirk-Davidoff ’21 went on every sunrise hike last year, although she did not attend the one last Friday. She decided to do so as a senior in high school, after going on a sunrise hike during a fall visit to the College. On that hike, she overheard people talking about how someone had gone on every hike the previous year, and she resolved that she would, too. “There were a lot of weeks when I was like, ‘I swear, I’m not doing it. I can’t. The weather is terrible – it’s so cold outside,’” she said. “My friends would tell me, ‘Rosa, you can’t break your streak. You’ve got to continue.’ And I would be dreading it. I would be like, ‘Please, let there be a terrible windstorm, so Scott will cancel the sunrise hike.’ But then I would do it anyway – I’d get up, get myself out of bed and slog up the snowy, cold trail – and I’d see the sunrise, and it would be so gorgeous and so perfect, and I’d be like, ‘Wow. This was worth it.’” Unfortunately for our hiking group, the sun had risen well before we reached the summit. “I can see the sun, so that’s a little disappointing,” said Owen Foster ’22, who had also missed the sunrise on the other two
sunrise hikes he had attended. He acknowledged, however, that the view was “gorgeous.” Snow started falling, the peak of Mount Greylock was faintly visible behind a series of mountains and we were drinwking hot chocolate and eating Munchkins. Despite my lack of sleep, I felt full of energy. I asked Foster if he was planning to go on the hike next week. “God, no,” he said. “My body wants to go underneath one of these snow patches, make a burrow and not wake up. Sorry, that’s not very positive, but my mouth is kind of cold” – Foster had forgotten to bring a water bottle and had been drinking snow – “so it’s hard for me to form words… It’s a great experience, that you should do twice a year, a good deal of months apart.” Other hikers expressed more enthusiasm at the summit than Foster had. “It feels amazing,” Shakirov said, his mouth full of Munchkins. “Adrenaline rush. Heart is racing.” “It’s absolutely beautiful up here,” Kletscher said. “Snow falling, a little bit of fog,” “A little bit of sun, a little bit of snow,” Shakirov said. “Some Munchkins, some hot chocolate,” I added. “Munchkins, hot chocolate,” Shakirov said. “Some Scott! Scott, sun, snow – all I need.” Lewis, who has been running the weekly sunrise hikes since 1995, described Pine Cobble as the “perfect sunrise hike.” “The sun rises there, and then you look over at the west – because it’s a narrow ridge – and there’s the campus, just waking up,” he said. “This would be the sunrise hike of my dreams, when I dream of sunrise hikes. I’ve had the good fortune to be witnessing sunrises all over the world, but this one is very special.”
8 SPORTS
The Williams Record
March 6, 2019
Women’s hockey wins NESCACs for second time in school history By MEHR SAWANT SPORTS INFORMATION No. 7 women’s ice hockey (20–4–3) won its secondever NESCAC title, defeating No. 18 Amherst in a semifinal game on Saturday and knocking off No. 9 Middlebury, last year’s conference champion, in the final on Sunday. The Ephs clinched an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. The women host No. 8 Norwich, the defending national champion, tonight at 7 p.m. in the first ever women’s NCAA tournament game to be played at Lansing Chapman Rink. “I am so happy for the group of six seniors,” head coach Meghan Gillis said after the NESCAC final. “They knew what they wanted and got the rest of the team on the same page to make it happen.” The victories brought the Ephs to a program-record 20 wins, tying the single-season mark set by the 2000–2001 team. This weekend also marked the first time the women had beaten Middlebury three times in a season and the first time that they had defeated Amherst three times in a year. “I am so proud of every member of our team,” Gillis told the Record. “Every single person has sacrificed the ‘me’ for the ‘we’ and is truly happy for the success of what we do as a group and not worried about the individual. That’s pretty amazing that they can do that.”
Facing Amherst on Saturday, the Ephs scored early in the first period and maintained their advantage to win 3-1. The Ephs took the lead when co-captain Annie Rush ’19 wrapped a pass from the right side of the net around to defender Brynn Puppe ’21 in the far-left corner of the Amherst zone. Puppe fired a slap shot into the upper-left corner. For the remainder of the period, the two first-year goalies, Chloe Heiting ’22 for the Ephs and Caitlin Walker for the Mammoths, prevented either team from finding the net. Halfway through the second period, the women received a power play opportunity after a hooking call against Amherst. During this advantage, assistant captain Abby Brustad ’19 skated around a defender and, assisted by Puppe and Mia Carroll ’20, scored from the farright side of net to make it 2-0. Amherst, however, responded during its own power play goal after a tripping penalty on Amanda Reisman ’20 with 4:53. Shortly into the advantage, Amherst’s Angelina Wiater, assisted by seniors Jamie McNamara and Sarah Wagner, fired past Heiting with a hard slap shot. Walker held off the Eph offense, keeping the score at 2-1, until 12:30 into the third period. The women scored when Michaela O’Connor ’21, assisted by Reisman and Avery Dunn ’21, flipped the puck up with a backhand over Walker’s left shoulder.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
The women completed season sweeps of both Middebury and Amherst to claim the NESCAC title in Lansing Chapman Rink. Despite pulling Walker with a few minutes left in the game, the Mammoths could not get another shot past Heiting, who saved 27 of 28 Amherst attempts. “I thought that we came out a little bit sloppy, but then we settled in and played a more composed game,” Gillis said. “I thought lots of different people made key plays at different moments.” Advancing to the championship game for the third time in program history, the women ended Middlebury’s three-year run as defending NESCAC champions on Sunday. The Ephs outlasted the Panthers 3-2. Middlebury center Madie Leidt found the net with
3:30 left in the first period for the game’s first goal. The women equalized minutes later when Puppe fired a shot from just right of where she scored the day before for the Ephs’ first goal. The Ephs were then able to pull ahead early in the second period when Reisman deflected in a shot from Carroll at 3:35. After a series of penalties from both sides, the Panthers were able to capitalize on a four-on-three advantage when a shot deflected by Anna Zumwinkle, assisted by Alexis Ryan, found its way to the back of the net at 8:53 into the second to tie the game again.
The Ephs finally took the lead for good with 10:52 left in the final period when Meghan Halloran ’21 scored off a backdoor pass from Delaney Szlezyngier ’22. “The composure of first-year defenseman Delaney Szlezyngier on the game winning goal to find Meghan Halloran back door was incredible,” Gillis said. With less than two minutes left in the game, the Panthers pulled their goaltender. While the extra player on the ice appeared to pay off when a Middlebury shot arched over Heiting and snuck under the crossbar, the goal was disallowed after a lengthy review due to a high sticking call.
“I was just hopeful that [the officials] saw what we saw and that the right call would be made,” Gillis commented after the game regarding the review. After time expired, the women rushed onto the ice to celebrate. “We all threw our gloves and sticks in the air and ran out to our goalie,” Reisman said. “Some people just couldn’t believe what happened. I guess there just aren't even words to describe how we were feeling.” With her 2 goals and assist last weekend, Puppe was named NESCAC Player of the Week. The women, who appeared in the 2003 and 2014 tournaments, will look for their first NCAA tournament win in school history tonight.
Men's basketball advances to Sweet 16 Gold medal-winning goalkeeper
Briana Scurry discusses career By SOFIE JONES SPORTS EDITOR
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
Henry Feinberg ’20 scored an emphatic dunk off a missed 3-pointer in the second half against Husson. By ERIC HIRSCH SPORTS INFORMATION No. 19 men’s basketball (22–6, 6–4 in the NESCAC) opened its NCAA tournament last weekend with doubledigit victories on back-to-back nights in Chandler Gymnasium. The Ephs advanced to their sixth Sweet 16 in the last 10 years, drawing a matchup with No. 2 Whitman. The men first faced Husson on Friday night. After both teams struggled with cold shooting in the first half, the Ephs scored on their first six possessions of the second half to take a commanding lead. Shooting a blistering 70 percent from the field in the second half, the Ephs had four players score in double figures, led by James Heskett ’19 with 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Matt Karpowicz ’20 netted 17, Bobby Casey ’19 finished with 16 and Kyle Scadlock ’19 added a dozen. Scadlock also collected a game-high 10 rebounds. Minutes after halftime, Heskett drilled a 3-pointer in front of the Ephs’ bench to extend the lead to double digits, where it would remain for the rest of the night. The play of the night came off a missed 3-pointer when a one-handed putback jam from Henry Feinberg ’20 brought the crowd to its feet and secured a 52-34 lead with 14:28 remaining. A 3 by Jovan Jones ’22 with just under six minutes left increased the margin to 31 points, 77-46.The men cruised to an 86-60 victory. DJ Bussey led the Eagles with 13 points, while Justin Thompson and Justin Martin each grabbed a teamhigh six rebounds.
On Saturday, the men faced Gwynedd Mercy, which had defeated Plattsburgh State in its first-round game. In a dominating performance from start to finish, the men triumphed by a final score of 90-56. “Gwynedd Mercy is a tremendous team that plays really, really hard,” head coach Kevin App said. “I thought our defensive commitment in the first half really set the stage, and the confidence we built from the second half [on Friday] carried over.” In the first half, the Ephs shot a scorching 16 of 25 from the floor, including 6 of 11 from downtown, while the Griffins shot just 9 of 35 from the field and just 1 of 11 from 3. The men used their height advantage to stifle Gwynedd Mercy’s offense in the first several minutes. On the offensive end, Scadlock scored a quick 5 points inside to help the Ephs build an early 7-0 lead. After a turnover by the Griffins, Heskett drilled a 3 from the left corner to put the Ephs up 10-0 and force a timeout. Apart from a 5-0 Gwynedd Mercy run after the timeout, Williams maintained total control throughout the half. In one notable sequence, Scadlock and Heskett threw down two-handed jams on consecutive fast breaks. Shortly after, Casey, Heskett, and Mickey Babek ’20 hit three straight 3-pointers to give the Ephs a 25-7 lead with 8:20 remaining in the half. The Griffins would not reach double figures until Jaylen Henry hit a jumper from the short corner with 5:39 left. Heskett’s fourth 3 of the half, however, gave the Ephs a 4419 lead at the break.
Desperately needing something to change, Gwynedd Mercy came out in the second half in a fiery full-court press. Though the Griffins forced three turnovers in the opening four minutes, the press also allowed the Ephs to find several open looks on the other end, including a dunk by Karpowicz and a corner 3 by Feinberg. “They changed up the defensive looks a lot,” said App. “Every time they made a change, it took a possession or two for our guys to figure it out.” The Griffins kept battling and attacking the rim, however, and as the Ephs struggled with the press, a Courtney Cubbage layup narrowed the Eph lead to 56-37 with 14:11 to play. With the score 61-41 and just 10 minutes left, the Ephs fired off a quick 8-0 run to balloon their lead to 28. The run included back-breaking consecutive 3s from Casey and Heskett. Casey nailed a pullup 3 with 6:30 left to extend the Eph lead to 76-44, sealing the game’s outcome. “It was great to have all the seniors out on the floor towards the end,” App said. “It’s one of those nice moments that we’ll all remember.” Heskett led all scorers with 30. Casey added 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. As a team, the Ephs shot 31 of 49 from the floor and 12 of 23 from long range. Cubbage led Gwynedd Mercy with 18 points and 5 boards. Dunham added 13 for the Griffins. The men, who made the Final Four and finished in third place in the nation last season, travel to Clinton, N.Y., to play Whitman on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Briana Scurry, a twotime Olympic gold medalwinning goalkeeper for the U.S. women’s national soccer team (USWNT), gave a talk at the College on Feb. 26, discussing her landmark career, the fight for women’s equality in professional soccer and her current work educating the public about the dangers of concussions. Scurry spoke to a crowded Paresky Auditorium of students and Williamstown residents. Maggie Brody, an eighth grader from Williamstown who attended, said, “We all love soccer, and she’s such an amazing player.” Her friend Molly Sullivan added, “I’ve always been a fan of her and the 1999 [World Cup] team.” Scurry began her talk by telling the story of her first Olympic experience: watching the 1980 U.S. men’s hockey team win gold, an event better known as the “Miracle on Ice.” Scurry, who still cries watching replays of the win, explained, “It inspired me when I was 8, and I wanted to be an Olympian.” With the support of her parents, Scurry competed in athletics throughout high school. A goalkeeper on the soccer team, she also played other sports in the off-season, understanding that an athletic scholarship was her best shot at being able to finance a college education. Ultimately, Scurry decided to attended UMass Amherst, where the best collegiate goalkeeper, Skye Eddy, played. “I wanted to go away to school and spread my wings,” Scurry said. “So, I did.” Throughout her time at UMass Amherst, Scurry remained unaware that she would ever play professionally. After an NCAA championship final, in which future teammate Mia Hamm’s University of North Carolina team bested Scurry’s, she received a call from Anson Dorrance, then-coach of the U.S. women’s national team, inviting her to the 1993 training camp.
Games this week
Scurry played on the team for three years before heading to Atlanta in 1996 to compete in the first-ever Olympic women’s soccer tournament, the culmination of many years of activism to bring female players to the Games. “So many people who would never actually play in that game fought to have that game in the Olympics,” Scurry told the audience. “And I found myself there.” The American team went on to win the gold medal, which Scurry brought up on stage during her talk and passed around the auditorium, a gesture that was met with excitement from the crowd. The Olympic victory marked the achievement of a long-held dream for Scurry. “This new idea sprung from [the win], that strong, athletic, powerful women were appealing and that people would pay to see them play,” she explained. In preparation for the 1999 FIFA World Cup, which was to be hosted by the U.S., Scurry and other players fought to play in bigger arenas. “We said, ‘We are going to fill stadiums,’” Scurry explained. “And I didn’t mean small ones.” At the World Cup, the team advanced to the final and took on China in what would become the most attended women’s sporting event ever, with over 90,000 fans in the Rose Bowl stadium. After a scoreless game brought the teams into a shootout, Scurry secured victory for the U.S., blocking one of China’s penalty shots after her team netted a perfect five out of five shots. “That World Cup wasn’t just about us playing soccer,” Scurry said. “It was about us proving the naysayers wrong, claiming our worth and claiming our ability.” Scurry won a second Olympic gold medal in 2004, before ending her playing career in 2010 after suffering a concussion at the age of 38. Following the injury, Scurry said that she went through a dark time in which she “couldn’t imagine that
Women’s hockey vs. Norwich Home 2/6, 7:00 p.m.
the girl in the [1999 World Cup video] could exist.” She then turned that experience into activism, using her influence to bring awareness to head injuries. This brought Scurry before Congress in 2016 to testify about the impact of concussions on women athletes, who are more commonly diagnosed with concussions than their male counterparts. “As athletes we tend to minimize injuries, especially head injuries,” Scurry told the crowd. “I’ve been able to give a voice to the emotional side of it.” For her performances at the World Cup and the Olympics, Scurry became the first black woman inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2017. Scurry ended her talk with a rallying call. “Whenever I do a speech, my goal is always to come for one person,” she said. “The reason I do that is because, later on, that person will do something amazing and I hope that something I said put a little bit of sunlight, a little bit of fire, on that.” Student-athletes cited a variety of reasons for attending the talk. Casey Pelz ’19 said, “I think it’s really important to talk about women’s equality in sports, and it’s really cool to hear about that from a strong female athlete.” Campbell Day ’20, a member of the women’s soccer team, explained, similarly, that Scurry “is definitely a role model.” Men’s soccer player Ben Barton ’21 attended in hopes of hearing about Scurry’s World Cup experience. “Everyone involved in soccer recognizes the accomplishment of winning the World Cup,” he said. “It’s not every day you get to hear someone talk about that.” After the talk, Caroline Weinberg ’19 expressed how moving Scurry’s journey was. “She has an incredible story,” Weinberg said. Pelz said, “It’s inspiring to hear another female athlete talk about her story and see your own experience reflected back to you but at an even higher caliber.”
Men’s basketball vs. Whitman Away 2/9, 5:30 p.m.