March 7, 2018: JAAB announces significant alterations to JA system

ARTS P. 8

SPORTS P. 12

'Underground Railroad Game' provokes audience

The Independent Student Newspaper at Williams College Since 1887 VOL. CXXXII, NO. 17

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2018

No. 5 men's basketball wraps up season

JAAB announces significant alterations to JA system Low number of JA applications necessitates larger entries composed of three or four JAs By SAMUEL WOLF NEWS EDITOR Yesterday, the Junior Advisor Advisory Board (JAAB) sent out a statement informing the student body that there will be fewer than 52 Junior Advisors (JAs) to the class of 2022. This is a major change from recent years and means that the entry system will undergo significant revamping. This announcement followed a meeting on Monday night between the incoming JAs and the six members of JAAB, including current JAAB co-presidents Jad Hamdan ’19 and Jesse Facey ’19. The meeting clarified that low JA application rates and high rejections of JA offers would necessitate significant changes to the system. Instead of having 26 entries with two JAs each, three or four JAs will jointly oversee larger clusters of approximately 40 first years. Hamdan characterized this year’s changes as the culmination of a long-term shift in perceptions of the JA system. “I feel like there’s a misconception that something different changed this year,” he said. “There have been a lot of misconceptions on campus about the ways in which the JA system has itself been marginalizing, has been challenging… That has continually shown itself in the number of people applying.” According to JAAB’s statement, this year’s number of applications was a record low. The announcement attributed this to a number of factors. “Over the past few

PHOTO COURTESY OF EMMY MALUF.

Last year's JAAB, pictured above, was instrumental in altering the JA system. This year's JAAB will continue that work as the entry system evolves. years, we’ve heard many valid criticisms of the JA system. Examples include [how] JAs taking on undue emotional labor, the unfair burden placed on JAs of

color and the financial stress experienced by low-income JAs, among others,” JAAB wrote in the statement. Ultimately, this year, the drop in applications was so

Professors and students hold panel on studying abroad By REBECCA TAUBER NEWS EDITOR While the discussion of the study abroad experience traditionally only encompasses time spent away from campus, students and faculty have recently made efforts to extend the conversation to students’ returns to Williamstown. On Feb. 26, Professor of Romance Languages Soledad Fox held the second panel on studying abroad entitled “Round Trip: Reflections on Life Before, During and After Going Abroad.” “The goal of these panels is to create a conversation that helps integrate students’ experiences abroad with their lives here on campus,” Fox said. The panel consisted of Betty Annan-Nonood ’18, Samuel Grunenbaum ’19, Reed Jenkins ’19 and Deepak Indrakanti ’19, who studied in Mendoza, Buenos Aires, Prague and Barcelona, respectively. Fox was motivated to help lead this discussion due to her international upbringing and scholarly work, including teaching a literature course called “Americans Abroad.” She recognized that the study abroad experience is not self-encompassing; rather, there are valuable crossovers between time spent in classrooms overseas and at the College. “They bring so much back and have so much to share with each other and with their professors,” Fox said. “There are so many rich points of contact between studying away and

our curriculum… These students are a great resource for all of us to continue exploring the great value of international education.” The panel, which was attended by approximately 25 students, served as both a space for students returning from abroad to discuss their travels and for students planning to go abroad to learn about various experiences. The vignettes told varied from learning to embrace loneliness and dislocation, to educating others about U.S.

ment is a big and exciting decision, and though it's a normal part of undergraduate life for many, we shouldn't treat study away with undue nonchalance,” Fox said. Fox explained that the panel raised broad questions. "What are students’ expectations before they go abroad? How are they going to adjust to an entirely new environment when, for many, adjusting to the College has already been a challenge? What kinds of dialogues can we keep fostering on campus that can be helpful to students who are departing [from] or returning to campus?" Fox said. Panelists also addressed more practical topics, including how to practice foreign languages when people insist on speaking in English and how to manage exchange rates and cost-ofliving expenses. Going forward, Fox plans to continue engaging students with the study abroad experience through similar events. She also aims to invite alumni who have used knowledge of languages and drawn on experiences abroad in their careers to speak about the long-term influences of studying abroad. “None of us should assume we know what it is like for someone else to adjust to living in a new environment, and everyone who has undergone the experience has something to teach us,” Fox said. “If I just ask, ‘How was Spain?’ and they say, ‘Great’ or ‘Pretty good,’ that should be a conversation opener, not a dead end.”

dramatic that it made the previous system untenable. “If you have a consistent number of people who say no to the role, and it keeps dropping by 15 or 20 people every

single year, there comes a point where there is no longer as substantial of a buffer,” Hamdan said. Still, many people who applied to be JAs were rejected,

SEE JA SYSTEM, PAGE 5

College to welcome students from the University of Puerto Rico for summer research By TESNIM ZEKERIA MANAGING EDITOR In response to the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria, the College will be hosting five students and a faculty member from the University of Puerto Rico for a summer research program that will run parallel to the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship and Allison Davis

Research Fellowship Summer Research Colloquium this summer. This is not the first time the College has hosted students in the wake of a natural disaster. In the fall of 2005, the College, in conjunction with Amherst, hosted nearly two dozen pre-medicine students from Xavier University of Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“This historically black institution has a phenomenal record of placing students in medical school, and it was painful to think that such an important pipeline might be broken for a while,” thenPresident Morton Schapiro and Amherst President Anthony Marx wrote in an email at the time. SEE PUERTO RICO, PAGE 4

WHAT’S INSIDE

“The goal of these panels is to create a conversation that helps integrate students’ experiences abroad with their lives here on campus.”

3 OPINIONS On the merits of preserving historic monuments 4 NEWS Popularity of computer science major grows sharply

Soledad Fox Professor of Romance Languages politics, to getting lost in big cities, to witnessing political turmoil, to learning about history at the sites at which events actually occurred. “I talked a lot about my challenges and some of the things that I found most rewarding about being abroad, particularly being in Barcelona during the conflict between Catalonia and Spain and being in an impartial position,” Indrakanti said. For students who plan to study abroad, the panelists offered multiple perspectives on experiences abroad and sought to help them prepare for their travels. “Going to live and study somewhere else in an immersive environ-

and the co-presidents do not regret that decision. “There were a good number of people we said no to,” Hamdan said. “Part of that decision was choosing to have a really awesome JA class, just configured in a little bit of a different way.” Facey emphasized that this shift is not necessarily a radical departure from the traditional roles of JAs. “52 JAs in 26 entries – the way that they have been set up this year – is not something that has always been here,” she said. “JAs and entries have existed in various buildings on campus and in various integrations, in groups of up to four [JAs]. While this may seem like a huge change, it’s not unprecedented.” Facey added that the student-to-JA ratio will only be rising from 10.5 to 1 to 12.5 to 1, still giving each student plenty of exposure to their JAs. Still, the shifts will be noticeable. “The physical layout of the entries is going to change a little bit… Frosh Quad, for instance, will have a larger Sage A/B entry that has four JAs in it,” Hamdan said. He stressed, however, that these changes could end up being positive for the entry experience. “We are instituting these changes to tackle some of the bigger issues in terms of how JAs think of the responsibilities of the role,” Hamdan said. “You are far less likely to feel compelled to help every single frosh when somebody has an issue that CSS [Campus Safety

7 FEATURES 40 students attend "Menstruation Celebration" 8 ARTS Visiting lecturer discusses Roman poet Catullus 12 SPORTS Women's lacrosse falls to Wesleyan USPS 684-6801 | 1ST CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID WILLIAMSTOWN, MA PERMIT NO. 25

PHOTO COURTESY OF PRIMERAHORA.

Hurricane Maria severely damaged the University of Puerto Rico last fall.

2 OPINIONS

The Williams Record

March 7, 2018

FROM THE ARCHIVES Editor-in-Chief Rachel Scharf

Arts Editors Faris Gulamali and Kaira Mediratta

Managing Editors Reed Jenkins and Tesnim Zekeria

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Word on The Quad If you were stranded on an island, what three things would you take that start with the first letter of your name? By SOPHIA SHIN PHOTO EDITOR

AVERY DUNN ’21

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Join the Davis Center for a student luncheon at the Faculty House today!

ACCIDENTAL SPRING STREET RAIN

Don't have a favorite a cappella group? Come see three in Upper Greylock!

CHANGES TO THE JA SYSTEM

Wishing luck to the class of 2022 (a.k.a. guinea pigs to the new entry system).

100 DAYS

A bittersweet countdown for our seniors!

MIDTERMS

It's that time of the semester again. Good luck everybody!

Armie Hammer, airplane, apple.

ASHLEY ZHOU ’20

Apples, aardvark, airplane.

ON THE RECORD

MIKHAYLA ARMSTRONG ’19

Mangoes, magnifying glass, music.

MICHAEL BERRY ’18

Money, matches, mates.

“Next year, we are going to experiment with a new format for our introductory courses that involves a large lecture with small labs.” Jeannie Albrecht, professor of computer science (CS) and chair of the CS department on making changes to introductory-level courses as the number of CS majors rise, page 5. “If significant changes aren't made, then future first-years may experience a Williams without a JA system." JAAB's statement regarding the adaptations made to the entry system to accomodate fewer JAs for next year, page 5. “At one point, it was 14 turtles, three snakes, between 50 and 100 fish, a lizard, a dog and originally six cats, but we gave two

away. And then one of them died, so we had three cats.” Gabriel Silva Colins ’19, this week's One in Two Thousand interviewee, page 6. “The barriers between audience and actor – and between shock and reality – are erased.” Carlos Cabrera-Lomeli ’20 on the provocative play Underground Railroad Game, page 8. “When we weren’t making shots, we let it affect us on the defensive end a little bit, giving up a couple of easy baskets. When you’re playing in the NCAA tournament and both teams are really good, that’s the difference in some games.” Mike Greenman ’17.5 after men's basketball fell to Ramapo during the NCAA Round of 32, page 12.

CORRECTION The headline of the Feb. 28 article “Berkshire Medical Center nurses cancel strike after talks with Massachusetts Nurses Association” was misleading, as the nurses in question are in fact part of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, and negotiations have been ongoing. The headline should have read, “Berkshire Medical Center nurses cancel strike after progress in talks with hospital management.”

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FROM THE ARCHIVES The opinions expressed in signed columns are not necessarily those of the Williams Record editorial board.

Op-Ed and Letter Submission The Record welcomes op-eds and letters from all members of the College community. The Opinions section is designed to reflect the varied views and ideas of the College community, and the publication of any letter or op-ed does not indicate an endorsement of the views contained therein. Submissions should be sent to hy3@williams. edu by Sunday at 5 p.m. for inclusion in the next Wednesday issue. Op-eds 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.

JOHN MAYHALL ’00

OPINIONS 3

The Williams Record

March 7, 2018

Defending the CC censure

Beware, we are need-aware

Why the Sailing Club needs to be held accountable

A call for need-blind admissions for international students

By ABEL ROMERO In last week’s edition of the Record, a member of the Williams Sailing Club, Jamie Vaccaro ’21, wrote an op-ed taking issue with College Council’s (CC) decision to censure the organization (“Censuring the censure: calling on CC to reconsider sanctions against sailing,” Feb. 28, 2018). As a member of CC’s Student Organizations Sanctions Committee (SOSC) at the time of the censure, I, along with other members of our committee, helped formulate our sanction recommendation and defended it before the full council. In an attempt to uphold transparency and remain responsive to the student body, I believe an explanation is owed regarding the recommendation and decision to sanction Sailing. Our SOSC investigation was initiated after Sailing requested $4150 in retroactive funding for critical club expenses. These included the coach’s salary as well as required organizational fees and regatta entrance fees. We recommended a censure in response to Sailing’s infractions of CC’s bylaws. I’ll start with Vaccaro’s suggestion that CC punishes individuals. Article VI. §3(d)(iv) requires that all groups receiving CC funding designate a treasurer as their representative; this treasurer is also responsible for the group’s overdrafts. Though Vaccaro suggests that this holds treasurers personally responsible for club financial issues, this is incorrect. CC is not in the business of punishing individual students – that job is left to the dean’s office. Moreover, CC does not dictate the membership or composition of Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) – even under sanction – per our bylaws. I, for one, was taken aback by what appeared to be a concerted effort to blame a single former member of the club – echoes of which appeared in last week’s op-ed. But I saw a pattern that did not match this narrative. Sailing’s mismanagement of funds is longstanding; some unpaid fees, for example, were from the 2015-2016 year. The club’s difficulties then carried over into last academic year and through

to this one. The actions of the current organization contributed to our recommendation to intervene. Not only was Sailing’s current leadership subscribed to the Office of Student Life’s organizational emails during the annual RSO reregistration process, but the club continued its activities in the fall (incurring expenses and coaching fees) despite receiving a subgroup allocation of $0. I can also personally attest to the hard work and long deliberation put into tailoring the censure during the SOSC process. Sailing cannot receive a full yearly budget during the annual subgroup process; instead, it must request funding a maximum of one month in advance. None of this precludes the club from building the institutional capacity to develop budgets, but the club’s finances are subject to continual review from CC. Moreover, Sailing will have to document its expenses every year to comply with the annual audit. I appreciate Sailing’s substantial community outreach, investments and history. However, these assets don’t minimize Sailing’s responsibility to follow the rules and maintain good relationships with thirdparty actors – they strengthen it. For CC to ignore Sailing’s infractions would be an injustice to all student organizations that receive funding in compliance with the bylaws. Worse still, expenditures resulting in retroactive funding requests undermine the prerogative of the student body’s elected representatives over the expenditure of the Student Activities Tax funds. The only ethical action for CC is the careful, conscious and lawful distribution of student money. I’m satisfied that’s what was achieved in the spirit and execution of this censure. If the Sailing Club wishes to appeal – through the process we’ve communicated to them – I invite them to do so. SOSC’s written opinion detailing Sailing’s sanction recommendations is attached to CC’s Feb. 6 meeting minutes, available on our website.

By GABS ILAGAN on behalf of the 2017-2018 International Club Board

2010, citing economic concerns, the College went back to being need-aware for international applicants. For many international students, this change Williams College offers need-blind in policy conveyed the message that admissions for all students except non-citizens are the first in line to be internationals. For many of us, this sacrificed when there is a crisis. It also policy embodies a hurtful attitude to- reinforced the feeling that internationwards students that lack the privileges al students are secondary to domestic that come with American citizenship. students and that we are here to sprinIt wasn’t always this way. In 2001, kle the school with some diversity but are never truly on par President Morton with domestic students. Schapiro introduced Two years ago, in an need-blind admissions Equality of opportu- article published by for international students. According to nity at the College The Washington Post, Adam Falk stated, Catharine Bond Hill should not be con- “There’s no question ’76, provost of the College at the time and a tingent upon where that a student will never be denied admission member of the comwe were born to Williams because of mittee that established an inability to pay tuthis policy, the College ition.” Yet every year, decided to go needblind for international students international students are denied acpartly in response to September 11. ceptance precisely because of their inIn an article in the Record, she stat- ability to pay. The effects of this policy are felt ed, “September 11 reminded us of the importance of our international con- within the international community. nections and commitments. Many of Several international students disthe major problems or issues facing closed in an anonymous form that our society are international ones. they almost did not apply to the ColTo have an international presence lege because they thought they would on campus seems very important” not get in if they stated that they (“Admissions to be need-blind for needed aid, and there are students international applicants,” Oct. 23, that have misrepresented their family 2011). This statement feels particu- incomes in an effort to maximize their larly relevant in our current context chances of getting accepted. In the past eight years, the College’s of rampant xenophobia and American exceptionalism. It is time for the endowment has grown above the $2 College to reaffirm its commitment billion mark. Yet, despite outreach from international students and a Colto inclusiveness and diversity. Following the adoption of this poli- lege Council resolution in favor of reincy, from 2001 to 2010, the amount of stating full need-blind admissions, this financial aid and the number of admit- differential policy remains in place. We do not want to downplay the ted international students increased significantly. Then came the financial hard work and generosity of the offices crash of 2008, which dealt a major of admission and financial aid. The blow to the College’s endowment. In percentage of international students

who receive aid is greater than that of the student body as a whole (aid grants for international students average $60,000 annually, and 60 percent of international students receive aid). Additionally, as a result of the efforts of the Coalition for Immigrant Student Advancement (CiSA), the College recently started openly publicizing need-blind admissions for DACA and undocumented students. While we are incredibly grateful for these policies and efforts, we think there is still much room for improvement. Currently, colleges like Harvard, Princeton and Yale offer need-blind admissions for international students – and this policy is not only feasible for larger, Ivy League colleges. In 2009, the board of trustees at Amherst, a top liberal arts college much like our own, showed its commitment to inclusion by adopting a need-blind policy across the board as well. It’s time our board of trustees followed its lead. In addition to need-blind admissions, there is much we can learn from other schools. Harvard has 3 percent more international students than the annual 8 percent of international students that the College tends to limit itself to. Equality of opportunity at the College should not be contingent on where we were born, so why is Williams not taking the steps necessary to make this equality a reality? As part of a larger campaign for financial aid reform, we invite all students to share their experiences with admissions and financial aid at Williams here: http://bit.ly/ephsfinaid. This article was also written by Justinas Banys ’19, Zoe Chevalier ’19, Hadiqa Faraz ’21, Aanya Kapur ’20, Shreyam Misra ’21, Rodsy Mohurima ’20 and Borivoje Vitezovic ’20.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Abel Romero ’19 is from Belen, N.M. He is an American studies and political science double major.

Preserving history Reconsidering decisions to take down monuments By CHRISTIAN LOCKWOOD

of Italians into American society, not the exclusion of others from In the early morning hours of it. These monuments were erected March 8, 1966, an explosion ripped with good intentions; to ignore that through the streets of Dublin. Mo- would be foolhardy and insulting to ments later, a statue of Lord Hora- those who only wanted to rememtio Nelson came crashing down ber someone who, to them, had from its perch 100 feet above the served as an ethnic hero. rooftops of the city. No one was I would like to make clear that cerkilled, although it was a close call tain statues are currently in inapprofor a wedding party. Finally, a priate places – Nelson’s Pillar certainly hated symbol of British imperial- was, and the Irish had every right to ism had been destroyed. Steps were petition for its removal. Context mattaken by various scholarly organi- ters. A statue of Nelson might belong zations to preserve what was left in the city of London but not Dublin, of the 157-year-old monument, but just as some American statues belong the remains were deemed hazard- in war memorials but not in public ous and torn down. Various muse- parks. But they do belong somewhere, ums, mansions and private collec- even if that location is a museum. tions now own the rubble of what These statues can contain all the viruwas once one of Dublin’s most lent anger – or decency – present in prominent and famous landmarks. their creation, and removing a statue The issue of what to do with from its original location can sterilize statues and monuments dedicated the threat presented by it. In Dublin, to imperialist, religious or racist Nelson is a symbol of British imperimotives is not a new one. We can alism. In a museum, he is just a hunk learn from history about the reper- of stone. But in the end, no historic cussions (or lack thereof) resulting monument deserves to be spray-paintfrom their actions. The Irish Re- ed, melted down or otherwise reduced publican Army solved to rubble because of the problem of Nelchanging times. son’s Pillar by blowLet us be rational We as a country ing it up, endangering in our actions, thinkdozens of lives and must resist the urge ing critically about destroying a historic the measures we are to deface, tear monument in the protaking and why we cess. We as a country down or remove our are taking them. We must resist the urge to are the custodians own “Pillars.” deface, tear down or of relics from differremove our own “Pilent times; it is not an lars” as a matter of implicit endorsement safety and respect for all parties in- to ensure that a statue is not devolved, as well as to ensure the his- stroyed. Taking down a monument toric integrity of these works of art. might feel good in the moment, but It is important to remember why it may be removing a source of culcertain monuments were erected, tural and historic pride for a group whether that enforces the argu- of people. We must have a free and ment to remove them or to keep open discussion about the correct them up. Columbus is a hero to course of action to take with monumany Italian-Americans, and stat- ments erected nationally and loues in his honor were not built as cally and, if absolutely necessary, a symbol of oppression, but as a remove and replace the monuments source of pride. Italian (as well as in question. Irish) immigrants dealt with racism Fighting hate with hate is not the anafter coming to America and are swer; it only blinds us to the nuances still subject to harmful stereotypes present in many of these monuments. – who can’t imagine an Italian mobster or an Irish drunk? These Christian Lockwood ’20 is from monuments (and holidays) are Quogue, N.Y. He intends to double meant to symbolize the acceptance major in astronomy and geosciences.

CATHERINE KIWALA ’04

Wrapping up America’s food crisis Why food waste is more than just an environmental problem By JESSICA MUÑOZ Wasted food is a growing problem in the United States. Did you know that 40 percent of food in the United States is wasted each year? The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that in 2014 alone, more than 38 million tons of food waste were generated. This food is then sent to municipal landfills. In fact, 21 percent of the waste in landfills is food, and only 5.1 percent of food waste is diverted for composting. All this waste emits methane, a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide and contributes to climate change. Food waste, however, is not just an environmental concern. It’s also a social one. While we are wasting 40 percent of our food supply, one in eight Americans does not know where their next meal will come from. In 2016, more than 41 million people, including 13 million children and five million seniors, in the United States lived in households that were food-insecure. Research has even linked food insecurity to a range of socio-demographic characteristics and economic factors. Specifically, food insecurity tends to be more prevalent among households with children, households headed by black non-Hispanics (22.5 percent) and Hispanics (18.5 percent) and low-income households. In addition, there has been a growing body of research on the negative consequences of food insecurity, especially in the health and development of young children. For instance, not having enough healthy food has been associated with a higher risk of chronic illnesses like asthma and anemia and behavioral problems like aggression. These concerns early in life have even been linked to poorer school performance and subsequent health disparities and poverty. All of

this shouldn’t be happening; we need to do something! Instead of feeding landfills, we should be feeding people in our communities. We need to manage food sustainably and prevent and divert wasted food. Feeding those who lack consistent access to adequate food ought to be one of our priorities. Fortunately, higher education has been at the forefront of some of the most innovative ideas for combatting food insecurity. Across the United States, dining services teams, local organizations and college students are working side by side to keep food from going to waste and turning it into meals for those who are struggling with food insecurity. At the College, Dining Services has instituted a pre-consumer waste-reduction program called LeanPath. This program has successfully saved many pounds of food from being wasted, as it helps staff estimate the amount of food they will need. The food that is left untouched is given to the Williams Recovery of All Perishable Surplus (WRAPS) program. Student volunteers pick up leftover food three nights a week from the Driscoll, Whitmans’ and Mission dining halls, chill the food for 24 hours and then package meals in Paresky. Depending on how much food is left, volunteers can end up packaging about 10 to 90 meals per volunteer shift. Volunteers then deliver the meals to North Adams community members. This includes an affordable housing unit (Mohawk Forest), a community-focused nonprofit (YMCA) and the ROOTS Teen Center. Recently, the Campus Kitchen Project, a leading national nonprofit empowering students to fight hunger and food waste, has also provided support to WRAPS. In the last academic year, student groups working with the Campus Kitchen Project have recovered more than 1.3 million pounds of waste food and have served

nearly 350,000 meals nationwide. This is a great start! But more work needs to be done to fully address food waste and food insecurity. Specifically, there is very little being done on the pre-consumer side. Yes, food is being composted (at least when food is not taken outside of dining halls), but our goal ought to be to reduce the amount of food that is being thrown out. Every day, we absentmindedly take more food than we need and then throw this food out when we do not eat it. If you look inside one of the compost or trash bins in the dining halls, you will see that there is so much food that could have been saved and then packaged for those who do not have access to food. We all are so wrapped up in our day-to-day lives and focused in our little Purple Bubble that we forget about how many people in the world are food insecure. We forget that many who are even just a town away down the road do not have the ability to provide their families with nutritious meals. Most importantly, we forget the importance of food and the serious implications food insecurity may have on people. We, as Williams College, need to tackle food waste at the institutional level and food insecurity in the communities that surround us. But if we want to play a greater role in solving the national food crisis, existing programs on campus have to be expanded, and more people need to start getting involved. Right now, we are doing a good job, but is it enough? Ask yourself this question: Is there anything you can do to help fight against food insecurity? Jessica Muñoz ’19 is from Brooklyn, N.Y. She is a psychology major with concentrations in environmental studies and justice and law.

March 7, 2018

NEWS 4

The Williams Record

This week in ‘Record’ history: puzzling through the College’s past By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN EXECUTIVE EDITOR Down: 1. A 2006 article reported that the College was considering swapping cable for this type of TV. 3. The cover story in 1979 discussed this topic at the Health Center. 4. The 1955 issue ran a Chesterfields advertisement imploring students to "put a smile in" this activity. 6. In 1966, the Record reported that the Junior Advisor Selection Committee named this many dozen Junior Advisors for the following year. 8. A 1991 letter from a professor called for doing this to students who mark up library books in pen. 9. A Record feature from 1971 covered this arcade game that had been installed in Spencer and Brooks Houses. 10. In 2014, the Features section covered the pre-__ society. 11. A 1978 feature looked into the architectural quirks of this campus building. Across : 2. In 1995, the Record covered the construction of this building near Driscoll.

7. In 1988, the paper reported that a fire broke out in this dorm.

14. In 1958, the front page featured a story about recent thefts of these academic items.

5. An editorial from 2004 advocated moving Goodrich Coffee Bar to this location.

12. The 1968 paper featured a large advertisement for these pricey pieces of bling.

15. A columnist in 2001 decried the social costs of this new form of communication.

College to welcome Puerto Rican students this upcoming summer CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Within the weeks following Hurricane Maria, Director of Special Academic Programs Molly Magavern and Professor of Latino/a and American Studies Mérida M. Rúa began corresponding with a contact through the Mellon Foundation at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus. Determined to help effectively, Magavern and Rúa were hoping to reach the two major higher-education institutions that were most affected in the region – the University of Puerto Rico system and the University of the Virgin Islands. Getting in contact, however, proved challenging, as the lack of electricity in the region meant that there were extremely limited forms of communication. As a result, Magavern and Rúa focused their efforts on the University of Puerto Rico’s Río Piedras campus. “They were going through a lot because they were trying to get the university up and running,” Rua said. “So we slowed down, and we said, ‘Why don’t you figure out what you all want to do over there first and then what role can we play? ... We really wanted to be in partnership with them and not in any way or form encourage a brain drain or encourage students to leave the University of Puerto Rico when they really needed them there.” Initially, the College had considered inviting some students from the University of Puerto Rico to complete their spring semester at the College. Several schools, including Amherst, Brown and Cornell, had already begun implementing such programs to support students whose studies and lives were disrupted by the hurricane (“In other ivory towers: news around academia,” Feb. 14, 2018). This was ruled out as an option, however, because the University of Puerto Rico was reluctant to send its undergraduate students abroad. Conflicts in scheduling also emerged as a complicating factor. “When it became clear that the university was reopening in late October, their preference was for students to remain enrolled at [the university] for the school year,” Magavern said.

Instead, the University of Puerto Rico requested help with its summer research program, which had been jeopardized by the hurricane damage. “We were told that the most help would be if we could help them with their summer research program because their libraries aren’t fully functioning, there isn’t very good internet connection and interlibrary loan is practically nonexistent,” Rúa said. “And since we already have the Allison Davis and Mellon program, we thought we could just run a parallel program.” Similar to the Mellon Mays and Allison Davis fellows, the visiting students will spend six weeks on campus from June 11 to July 21 receiving instruction on developing advanced research skills. Meanwhile, the university’s visiting faculty member will be conducting their respective research. The College has committed to providing financial assistance for room and board, airfare, activities and additional living expenses. The cohort of visiting students will be selected in mid-March. “This will be a great learning experience for everybody. An exchange like this always is,” Magavern said. “For our fellows, who are in this very small liberal arts college, to hear about the experiences of students at a larger university will be beneficial, and for the University of Puerto Rico students, this offers a unique opportunity to spend the summer conducting research and utilizing our library and other resources.” Already, several prospective and current fellows are eager to welcome the students and are looking forward to spending the summer with them. Rúa hopes that this initiative will also encourage students to critically consider the complicated and unequal relationship between Puerto Rico and the U.S. In addition to this effort, the College is already hosting a visiting faculty member for the semester from the University of the Virgin Islands to pursue their research through the Oakley Center. Professor of Art Mari Rodriguez Binnie has also been working with MASS MoCA to host Puerto Rican artists during the summer.

16. The 2002 Record featured a number of letters regarding the inclusion of this at Commencement. 18. A 1998 Record article announced that the Williams

Outing Club would be offering this activity for children. 19. A 1951 issue noted that other colleges were no longer sanctioning this particular orientation activity.

13. In 1985, the Record reported the end of the ability to use AP credit to fulfill this particular requirement. 17. The 2000 issue featured a letter to the editor from this secretary of state.

Joshua McCabe lectures on conservative policy approaches to reducing childhood poverty rate By GEORGIA DELSIGNOR CONTRIBUTING WRITER On Thursday night, Endicott College Professor and Assistant Dean of Social Sciences Joshua McCabe gave a presentation entitled “The Path Not Taken: Conservative Approaches to Tackling Child Poverty in U.S. and Canada.” Before starting the lecture, however, he informed attendees that he had just used a “sexy title” to draw people in. Ultimately, his presentation consisted of a plethora of graphs and statistics, resulting in a lecture that somewhat resembled an economics class. The lecture started out by highlighting the attitudes that Americans generally hold when it comes to the poor. According to McCabe, Americans do not dislike welfare as much as many think; most people do feel a desire to help the poor. However, the U.S. and other nations, such as Canada, have ultimately chosen to combat their poverty issues differently based on how they have addressed persistent low income. Canada introduced income supplementation; the U.S. did not. The additional money circulating in Canadian households led to inflation, which in turn had fallout effects on the tax and benefit systems. In order to prevent further erosion of the tax system, conservative politican Robert Stanfield urged the government to index the system. Feeling squeezed by inflation, Canada became the first country in the world to introduce indexation as a means of both maintaining prosperity among lower-income households and preventing high inflation. In 1974, U.S. Representative James Buckley proposed a tax index modeled off of Canada’s indexes, but he was repeatedly dismissed by a Democratic congress. According to McCabe, growing economic problems for American families could be directly correlated to a failure to implement this very tax system. By the 1990s, high child poverty was impossible to ignore, leading many to propose policies that would help children escape the welfare bracket. One central proposal for combatting the poverty crisis

was a guaranteed income that would both remove children from welfare and remove any disincentives for them to work later in life. Since these children would not see their benefits taken away as they began making money, there would still be incentives for adults to work while maintaining a safety net for children. These policies were advanced in the U.S. through a series of child tax credits and tax benefits that aimed to supplement income and reduce, in McCabe’s words, “the burden on the embattled American family.” Canadian conservatives also wanted to bolster this family ideal, and they achieved success to this end. McCabe suggested that these policies, implemented decades before the generation in question was even born, ul-

timately decided the success of lower-income families. Toward the end of the lecture, McCabe brought up an image of former Canadian Prime Minister Ryan Malroney, a man whom he personally admires. Malroney’s goal, McCabe explained, was to eliminate the child’s portion of SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] by adding $3000 to the Child Tax Credit, which supplemented a family’s annual income. This supplementation was fully refundable. McCabe concluded by highlight several discrepanies between the American and Canadian systems. Canada provided refundable income assistance to lower-income families, while the U.S. provided only a nonrefundable Child Tax Credit because it was seen by American

politicians as chiefly a form of tax relief. This nonrefundable assistance probably contributed significantly to the perception that welfare is a form of handout, when in reality, McCabe argued, it should be seen as a way to help people get back on their feet and rise up out of a lower income bracket and into to a higher one. McCabe ended the lecture on a personal note, telling everyone that he was late to the lecture because he had to drive his kids to a doctor’s appointment. Children, he said, are a luxury good that many can no longer afford. Thus, he disagreed strongly with the notion that people have children in order to get larger welfare checks. The cost, time and energy of raising a child, he claimed, far exceed the amounts that people get in welfare checks once a month.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ENDICOTT COLLEGE.

Endicott College Professor Joshua McCabe spoke on conservative approaches toward addressing childhood poverty.

March 7, 2018

NEWS 5

The Williams Record

Growth in computer science majors outpaces faculty hiring By WILLIAM NEWTON EXECUTIVE EDITOR

While the number of College computer science (CS) majors has significantly increased over the past decade, the number of CS faculty has remained relatively stagnant. The College only graduated 13 CS majors in 2008, but it will graduate 49 this spring. In 2008, CS majors made up 2.6 percent of the student body, while CS faculty made up 2.3 percent of the College’s faculty (based on a full time equivalence). In 2016, the most recent year for which this data is available, however, CS majors made up 7.3 percent of students, while just under 3 percent of faculty worked in the CS department. This widening gap has presented an array of challenges for the department, including a significant number of overenrolled courses, quickly growing class sizes and inflexible scheduling of core courses. The department faculty, however, have discussed a number of ways to address this rise in majors, including a new approach to organizing introductory courses next fall. “This is both an exciting and challenging problem for us, and we have had extensive discussions about the best way to address the surge while maintaining high standards of teaching and scholarship,” Professor of CS and Chair of the CS Department Jeannie Albrecht said. “Next year, we are going to experiment with a new format for our introductory courses that involves a large lecture with small labs. We are hopeful that this format will afford us the ability to interact closely with students on an individual basis while potentially serving more students overall.”

WILLIAM NEWTON/EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Besides the difficulties associated with introductory courses, the current structure of the department’s four major core courses has made it difficult for many potential majors to complete these core courses as quickly as they would like. This is exacerbated by the fact that many of these classes are only offered either in the fall or in the spring. This then bars students from opportunities to take higher-level electives, especially if they are dropped

from one or more courses due to over-enrollment. To address this inflexibility, the department plans to offer the core major courses in both the fall and the spring and, in the long term, hire additional faculty to both allow more students to take courses and expand the curriculum as a whole. In addition, the department plans to experiment with a number of adjustments to its teaching methodology that would allow for it to accom-

modate more students without sacrificing the intimacy of teaching that it values highly. “Our department takes pride in providing a personal and intimate learning experience for our students,” Albrecht said. “Not sacrificing this has meant some changes to our teaching methodology in order to cope with the challenges that larger classes create. Space and staffing limitations put constraints on the experiments we can try,

Local Democratic committees hold town hall meetings across Berkshire County By SAMUEL WOLF NEWS EDITOR Over the weekend, a number of Democratic town committees in the Berkshires held meetings to elect delegates for the Massachusetts Democratic Party Endorsing Convention and to pass resolutions advocating for liberal causes. The Massachusetts Democratic Party Endorsing Committee, which will meet in Worcester, Mass. on June 1 and 2, is responsible for determining official Party endorsements for statewide races for positions such as governor, senator and attorney general. Democratic town caucuses were held across Massachusetts between Feb. 3 and March 4, with most local Berkshire committees meeting in early March. Last Sunday’s Pittsfield Democratic Town Committee meeting, organized by Town Democratic Chair Kevin Sherman, elected delegates from all seven town wards. During the meeting, a number of candidates ad-

vocated for themselves in the hope that delegates friendly to their campaign would be selected. Candidates for governor Jay Gonzalez and Warren Setti were present, as well as candidates for lieutenant governor, congress, secretary of state and Berkshire County district attorney. Congressman Richard Neal, who represents the Berkshire area in the House of Representatives, sent an aide to the meeting to advocate on his behalf rather than attend himself. Overall, approximately 75 people attended the meeting, but those people will likely have an outsized role in ultimately determining Democratic nominees in June. When selecting delegates, the Town Committee attempted to promote inclusivity and encouraged all Pittsfield residents to engage in the political process. “All registered Democrats in Pittsfield wards are eligible, and the Pittsfield Democratic Committee welcomes all participants,”

a press release stated. “Delegates will be divided equally between men and women, and all ballots will be written and secret. Youth, minorities and people with disabilities who are not elected as delegates or alternates may apply to be ‘add-on’ delegates.” Other towns held meetings as well. In North Adams, the Democratic City Committee met on Thursday to elect a new male vice chair and affirmative action and outreach advisor. The committee promoted the panel as an opportunity for community members to provide feedback and engage in constructive discussions as the committee prepares for the upcoming elections. Additionally, the Sheffield Democratic Committee took advantage of the enthusiasm surrounding the delegate selection process to promote an event with its local state senator, Adam Hinds, last Monday. The Committee urged “all Berkshires residents, regardless of their political affiliation, to take advantage of this

unique opportunity to meet Senator Hinds in person [and talk] about the important issues facing Massachusetts and the nation.” Throughout these meetings, grassroots enthusiasm was dually focused on advocating for Democratic priorities and expressing outrage at President Trump. At the Feb. 3 Adams Town Democratic Committee Meeting, attended by representatives on behalf of Hinds, Neal and Senator Elizabeth Warren, Chair Ed Driscoll made sure to emphasize both topics. “People realize that it is here, at the grassroots level, where priorities such as health care, education and jobs for the middle class begin, and it is here, at the grassroots level, that we will start to remove the abomination in the White House,” Driscoll said. “The level of activism, even locally, has been stirred up by a ‘fake president’ elected by Russian chicanery who is damaging our great nation.”

but we do have some ideas that we are exploring to help us scale our curriculum. For example, next year we are going to offer larger tutorials, where students will meet with faculty in groups of three or four instead of pairs.” While the challenges of teaching CS at a small college with a growing demand for majors have proved significant, Albrecht maintained that the benefits of learning CS at a liberal arts school are well worth

it. “The advantage of teaching technical subjects like CS in a liberal arts environment is the breadth of knowledge to which students are exposed,” Albrecht said. “Students can incorporate ideas and techniques from a variety of disciplines, including those in the humanities and social sciences, to come up with creative and effective solutions to problems. Even more importantly, students learn to communicate better, both verbally and in their writing.”

JAAB announces changes to entry system, JA class CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 and Security] can take care of or to act as a therapist to so many frosh because it’s functionally impossible. The goal of that is to use the structure of the entry to guide how people work within the role and how people behave as JAs… You are meant to be a friend and a mentor, but not a therapist.” Facey also sees the JA role as having shifted somewhat from friend to therapist in recent years. “It’s become more prominent over time as the lines between the written down responsibilities of the JA and the campus education [have shifted],” she said. “These changes are a way for us to try and create tangible steps to change this dialogue… I really do think these can be positive changes, but they do require people to lean into the system.” Without these changes, JAAB’s statement warned, the consequences could be dire for the JA system. “If significant changes aren’t made, then future first-years may experience a Williams without a JA system,” JAAB wrote. Hamdan is grateful for the administration’s support throughout this shift and is hopeful that, in future years, the number of JA applications will once again rise. “We have gotten a lot of administrative support, very fortunately,” he said. “We’re in the process of working with the Dean’s Office to in-

stitute a lot of new JA benefits and perks to help, especially in this year, to really get the ball rolling in changing what the stated burden and the experienced burden of being a JA is.” The specific perks that may be offered are still undecided as of this moment, but Hamdan and Facey are cognizant of the temptation that many students may feel to study abroad during their junior year rather than become JAs. “As Williams has become more and more diverse, study abroad has become more and more of a valuable option,” Facey said. “We’re trying to think of different ways that we can compete with that when this is an opportunity that is so hard to pass up.” In order to brainstorm potential changes for the future of the JA system, JAAB has designated the week of April 2 to be “JA week,” which will be a time to contemplate various ways to best protect the JA system. Whether or not application rates ultimately rise in the coming years, however, the entry structure will continue to adapt. “Now that we’ve broken with this ideal number, I think that it will give us more power to really pick the best candidates,” Facey said. Hamdan and Facey plan to use both the positives and negatives of recent changes to keep reforming the JA system, and they are optimistic that these reforms will allow the system to thrive for years to come.

“If significant changes aren't made, then future first-years may experience a Williams without a JA system.”

JAAB, in yesterday’s statement to students

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTH ADAMS DEMOCRATIC CITY COMMITTEE.

Democrats held meetings to elect delegates to the Massachusetts Democratic Party Endorsing Committee, which will endorse candidates for statewide offices.

FEATURES 6

The Williams Record

March 7, 2018

One in Two Thousand By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN AND WILLIAM NEWTON EXECUTIVE EDITORS We know Gabriel from different places (Will through WUF, Nick from high school and the fact he and Gabriel share a birthday), but we were both excited to sit down with him to hear more about his interests in archaeology and animals. Can you tell us about your history with animals, in high school in particular? Okay, so my [first year] in college was the first time in my life I lived without a pet. My entire life, I’ve had a lot of pets, but it peaked in high school. At one point, it was 14 turtles, three snakes, between 50 and 100 fish, a lizard, a dog and originally six cats, but we gave two away. And then one of them died, so we had three cats. Luckily, we had a house in New York City, so we were able to fit them all, but it was a lot of work – about three to four hours a week to take care of them. Our big selling point that I tell my friends is that we had a special deal with PetCo, so that in the summer, when the reptiles are more active and they need more food, we would buy 100 goldfish a week, and the PetCo people were like, “You’re doing us so much, you can get a discount for it.” How did you manage to accumulate so many pets? So, we actually bought very few of them – most of them were caught. We would get turtles or snakes that were injured, animals and birds that were injured. We raised a pigeon that was injured in my backyard. Fish were caught for fun, and it kind of snowballed from there.

I mean, when I was a baby, my parents had snakes and fish for me, so I just can’t imagine living without them. There were a few instances when they would get out, and we’d have to catch them. Originally, when there were fewer pets, we had names for all of them, but later on, the turtles, snakes and fish did not have names. But that doesn’t mean I love them any less. They were my best friends as an only child. But now, we only name the dogs, cats and mammals, basically.

GABRIEL SILVA COLLINS ’19

I remember seeing you presenting archaeology work back in high school, which was really impressive. How did you get into archaeology? In all honesty, my dad is a sociologist, and archaeology and sociology are pretty similar. I got interested in archaeology through him. And then I took a trip to Guatemala and visited Tikal, which is a Mayan ruin. There, I realized that this was something that I was interested in and wanted to check out. So, a few years later, I signed up to do a field research program in Peru, south of Lima. I actually got to excavate a city and work there, and it was really unbelievably amazing, and that’s where I fell in love with archaeology. I got to go back the next summer, and I was able to direct one of the smaller digs, so I realized that this is something I’d want to do as a career. I fell in love specifically with the pre-Columbian New World archaeology. Here at Williams, I’ve done a lot of work with Aztec and mainly Meso-American archaeology. But right now, I’m trying to switch back to the Andes for my senior thesis, hopefully by going back to Peru for

lowship, and I was studying the temples of Angkor Wat, which was one of the largest, most powerful civilizations in the world in the 1200s. I was looking at statues on buildings and trying to figure out a preliminary way to see how statues correlated to kinds of buildings and who built those buildings. It was amazing. I got to go out into the field 10 minutes away from where I was staying. I could just go around and walk around these statues. I really shouldn’t have touched these buildings and statues, but I did. I remember you telling me about your animal tracking Winter Study course. Could you talk about that experience?

NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN/EXECUTIVE EDITOR GABRIEL'S HOMETOWN ASTORIA, N.Y.

GABRIEL'S RESIDENCE CARTER

seven weeks and studying the Inca. Do you have any sense of what direction you'll take on your thesis? I have to figure that out. But in my proposal for getting money from Williams, the project that I’ve become really interested in is in Cusco. Cusco was the old Inca capital, and there’s an imperial palace about 17 kilometers away from it. There’s a road that stretches between the two, and along with this, there’s a lot of New World archaeology in Peru – unexcavated and unknown sites. I want to study this road because we know that roads were really sacred and important, both meaningfully and for utilitarian purposes for the Inca. My plan is to walk this

FAVORITE ANIMAL CHIPMUNK

road and look for not-yet discovered sites along it. There’s a chance that I will find something because I just went on Google Satellite, and you can see some abandoned structures that look that those from the Inca civilization, which is insane. I’m going to be looking at how this road connected the old Inca capital with the imperial palace meaningfully. Can you talk about your study abroad experience in Cambodia? The program I went to in Cambodia mostly involved biology and ecology. It was amazing to see all of the animals that weren’t my pets, like the elephants. At the same time, I was working on some archaeology projects for The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fel-

Of course. It was my first Winter Study at Williams, as a freshman. It was taught by Dan Yacobellis. It might sound really miserable, just walking around in negative15-degree weather with boots getting wet and stuff, but it was really amazing. I got to see the trails of bobcats and coyotes and all these amazing things happening in the forest. It was a way for me to go outdoors and explore much of the area that surrounds Williamstown, the nature of Williamstown, even despite there being three feet of snow on the ground during the cold winter. It was fascinating and awesome, and I recommend it for everybody. Do you have a favorite animal that you tracked, a favorite animal in general or a favorite pet? I do have a favorite track that we saw in the class. We went to Savoy Mountain State Forest, and it looked like someone had just rolled a tire down the path—it

looked like a straight furrow. We were trying to figure out what it was, and turned out it was an otter. Otters love to slide down hills in the snow, and so this one otter just slid down the entire hill. And it liked sliding so much that it slid up the hill, and it just couldn’t make it up – it couldn’t slide forward. It was so cute. I loved that. My favorite animal is pretty unexpected: chipmunks. When I was little and lived in Michigan, there were a lot of chipmunks inside the wall of the apartment where we lived, and I would watch them. I think they’re incredibly cute and funny, and I love their stripes. But favorite pet? That’s so hard… I mean, I love my cats and dogs. They’re so sweet. I can’t pet my fish like I can pet a dog, and I can’t go out to the park with a fish. But once, I had big catfish that I caught from a brook, and I raised it since I was very little. It was really sweet, and it was the first time that I really cried after a pet of mine passed away. I really loved that catfish. Did it have a name? No, it didn’t, actually. It was just the catfish. But one time, I had a chicken. A pet of mine that I like to talk about the most was my chicken. There was a slaughterhouse near my soccer field, and this chicken escaped. My dad rescued it, and we brought it home together. So, we had a chicken that laid eggs in New York City. But it wasn’t a rooster, so I guess you didn’t have as many problems with your neighbors… Yeah, there wasn't any daily “cock-a-doodle-doo” at 4:30 in the morning.

Dr. Lisa Howard brings expertise, enthusiasm to health professions advising By BROOKE HOROWITCH EXECUTIVE EDITOR

ALAN LOUIS/CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Handmade bowls were distributed at Saturday's event that promoted discussion about food culture and food security.

Empty Bowl Dinner explores food justice By ALAN LOUIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER On Saturday, over 130 students filled Dodd Living Room to capacity in a massive showing for the College’s first “Empty Bowl Dinner.” The gathering was organized by the Williams Ceramics Club and the newly operational Food Group, a collection of mindful students who use connections and experiences with food and food culture to build community. Max Harmon ’18, a member of the Ceramics Club, said that the event was meant “as a space for students to gather, breathe together and think about the social and ecological systems underlying food.” Motivated by a desire to create a time for gathering and communion while discussing issues of food security within the Berkshires, members of the Ceramics Club were hard at work over the past four weeks to produce 120 unique bowls. These beautiful bowls, each hand-spun and originally designed by members of the Ceramics Club, were given to participants in the Empty Bowl Dinner. Distributed along with a variety of homemade dishes including carrot parsnip soup, roasted vegetables and home-baked pumpernickel bread, the initially empty bowls represented the lack of social justice when it comes to ensuring food security for all.

Through donations collected at the Dinner, the Ceramics Club and the Food Group raised $1500 for the Berkshire Food Project (BFP), which serves meals to people living in North Adams. “The [BFP] began in response to the closing of Sprague Electric, when many people in North Adams and communities surrounding Williams became food insecure,” Harmon explained. The BFP is an organization with roots in the College. In 1986, a group of students supported by Reverend Elizabeth Wheeler and several local residents started a free lunch program in North Adams. As the organization evolved, it began to serve three hot meals each week, Monday through Friday, no questions asked—a streak unbroken since the fall of 1987. The BFP will host its own Empty Bowl Dinner on May 4, which participants in Saturday’s Dinner were urged to attend. This event hopes to continue shaping the food culture in the greater Berkshire area. In the opening remarks of Saturday’s Dinner, Isaiah Blake ’21 and Executive Director of the Berkshire Food Project Kim McMann both stressed the importance of thankfulness and togetherness, values championed by all students involved. Annalee Tai ’21 of the

Ceramics Club also spoke. “The idea is that there is a way to engage with food, and there’s also away to engage with craft that is wholesome and expresses gratitude for the materials you’re working with,” she said. Later on in the night, attendees were also given the opportunity to share their own personal ideas of gratitude; Blake then led the group in a breathing exercise, putting awareness on everybody’s mind before the food went out. Harmon said that these practices and the Dinner functioned as a way for the College community to think more about social justice through the discussion of access to healthy food. “The group that made this all happen is dedicated to thinking about ways of engaging food justice on this campus,” he said. Marshall Borrus ’20, who also helped organize the Dinner, is hopeful that the College and students will think more critically about food justice. “On the horizon, there’s a lot of movement,” he said. “People are conceptualizing how Williams as an institution engages with food and how the infrastructure in place resources food and manages staff in Dining Services... There’s a lot of movement around [how] those things are structured, how we’re connected with those things.”

Last July, Dr. Lisa Howard became a permanent health professions advisor at the College. She now spends 10 hours a week assisting students who hope to attend medical, dental or veterinary school. She also writes committee letters for professional school applications and helps coordinate the SPEC 19 Healthcare Internships Winter Study course. Howard attended Swarthmore and Weill Cornell Medical School. She completed a residency in psychiatry at Harvard Cambridge Health Alliance, served as a teaching affiliate for Harvard Medical School and is a boardcertified psychiatrist. Most recently, she worked as a student counselor at Bennington College. Director of the Career Center Don Kjelleren expressed enthusiasm that such a well-rounded medical professional is able to counsel students at the College. “We could not be more pleased to have Lisa on the Career Center advising team providing direct student service,” he said. “Lisa brings extensive professional experience, broad knowledge of the health profession field and an empathetic approach to her career advising work. We are extraordinarily fortunate to have a practitioner of Lisa's caliber on our science and health professions advising team here at Williams.” Howard explained why she decided to join the Career Center. “I really enjoy working with college students,” she said. “This is a different kind of role, but a lot of the skills overlap [with counseling and psychiatry], and I thought it would be fun and interesting.” Howard collaborates with Director of Science and Health Professions Advising Barbara Fuller, a former director of admissions at Brown Medical School, to offer support to students focusing on STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] and prehealth. “It’s been great,” she said. “I have huge respect for [Fuller],

and she really knows her stuff. I’ve learned a lot from her, and I feel as though our talents, skills and perspectives really enhance one another.” Howard also appreciates the chance to get to know and guide students as they ponder their futures. “The reason to do the job is that the students are great,” she said. “I’ve always had an interest in identity development, and choosing a career is connected to that, so I bring that to my work. It’s really fun for me to talk with students about their interests and what they want to pursue and why. "I also feel as though psychiatry is the stepchild of medicine, and I’ve met some students who have an interest in psychiatry, so I feel like I’m doing something really good for the profession if I can inspire some of these really smart students." As medical, dental and veterinary schools become increasingly selective, Howard seeks to help students balance their requirements with their interests. She is glad that they have the opportunity to shadow physicians, dentists and veterinar-

ians through SPEC 19 courses to reaffirm their desires to pursue careers in the health professions. “It’s really nice that Winter Study allows students to have such an intensive experience,” she said. In addition to her part-time position at the College, Howard spends two days each week counseling at Wellesley. She also works at Gould Farm, a residential treatment facility that allows patients with chronic mental illnesses to receive treatment and work on a farm. “It’s a very cool, albeit idealistic and semi-utopian, sort of place,” she said. “It’s been around for over 100 years, since before there were psychiatric medications.” By balancing three jobs that incorporate many of her passions, Howard lives out the advice she often gives to students. “I want to encourage students to feel comfortable to come in with a wide variety of questions,” she said. “I tell students who are thinking about careers in medicine that this is the time in your life not to be narrowing down, but to be opening up and thinking broadly about what your interests are.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE.

Lisa Howard assists students interested in medical, dental or veterinary school.

March 7, 2018

7 FEATURES

The Williams Record

“Menstruation Celebration” discusses menstrual health By JEONGYOON HAN FEATURES EDITOR The night of Saturday, Feb. 24 was a time of candid conversation for the approximately 40 attendees of the “Menstruation Celebration.” In an effort to create a forum for open discussion about menstrual wellness and perceptions of periods, the Feminist Collective (FemCo), the Berkshire Doula Project and Peer Health organized a panel to debunk myths about menstrual cups. A menstrual cup, often referred to by the familiar name brand “DivaCup,” is a menstrual hygiene product that collects menstrual fluid. Made out of medical-grade silicone, menstrual cups can be inserted into the vagina and then reused, saving users from the need to carry countless tampons or pads with them. The panel included Su-Young Kim ’14, who created her own menstrual cup company, Halo Cups, in 2016. The panelists explained that menstrual cups are cheaper, more convenient and more environmentally friendly compared to other menstrual products. Yet, Kim said, menstrual cups are often misunderstood as “dirty and gross,” with some people seeing their users as “hippies.” “I thought to myself, ‘Why is this product not so widespread?’” Kim said. “And why is there such a stigma against those who want to try it?” Aware that students at the College might have similar misconceptions or might want to learn more about this unique product, the panelists highlighted key facts about menstrual cups. Menstrual products are expensive. The Huffington Post reported that over the course of a person’s life, they spend around $1773 alone on tampons. But because tampons – the menstrual product of choice for 70 percent of those who have periods – and pads are vital, menstrual product

PHOTO COURTESY OF JULIA CASSELL.

Students from FemCo and the Berkshire Doula Project, along with Halo Cups creator Su-Young Kim ’14, discussed menstrual cups. companies can take advantage of this necessity. Corporations have designed pads and tampons so that they are not as absorbent as they could be, which, Kim said, makes the business “that much more profitable for these large companies,” forcing those who menstruate to buy more of their products. Menstrual cups are environmentally and economically friendlier than tampons or pads. Since tampons and pads are nonreusable – another choice made by companies to increase their profits – menstruation can have a big impact on the environment as well. According to Kim, 50 pounds of pesticide and fertilizer go into producing a lifetime’s worth of tampons and pads. Bertie Miller ’18 made the switch to using menstrual cups four years ago as a way to re-

duce the waste output created by tampons. “Part of my getting a menstrual cup was a way to be sustainable in a small way, but on a large scale, the waste of more common menstrual hygiene products really adds up,” she said. Johanna Wassermann ’18 agreed. “Think of the many parts that go into a single tampon: the packaging, individual wrapper, plastic applicator and then the tampon itself,” she said. “That’s a lot of waste.” There are also health factors that need to be considered, Kim said. Companies are not required to list all of the materials used in such nonreusable period products, which makes it unclear if menstrual hygiene companies even test the quality of the materials in their products. Thus, Kim said, it is not

Student wins national caption contest By LYDIA DUAN FEATURES EDITOR Last fall, Xiwen (Miranda) Wang ’21 took a multivariable calculus course taught by Professor of Mathematics Colin Adams. From this class, she quickly gained exposure to Adams’ zany approach toward incorporating humor into his teaching. When she read about Adams’ humor writing Winter Study course, she signed up right away. Little did she know that the class would be different from what she expected, and that it would ultimately result in Wang submitting the winning caption for The New Yorker’s weekly cartoon contest for Jan. 29. “I really took the class to be a humor appreciator,” Wang said. “I thought I was signing up for three weeks of going to class and laughing.” As it turned out, the course was structured around regular writing prompts, in which students would read aloud their pieces in a circle and comment on each other’s work. Though Wang initially found this intimidating because some people were more spontaneously goofy, she found value in listening to the class’ work and engaging

with the friendly atmosphere. Wang’s quieter, less over-thetop sense of humor made it so that her jokes often elicited the most laughs. “Oh, she definitely has a more subtle humor,” Adams said of Wang. “But it’s great. She’s a natural.” Class assignments included a wide variety of prompts, ranging from short assignments like “come up with three funny products” to longer pieces such as “write an obituary.” Wang laughed when I asked, with widened eyes, how on earth her obituary prompt turned out. She said that she wrote an obituary of the year 2017. A highlight of the piece included, “At his death, many were present and celebrating with champagne popping. He witnessed many things; his regrets were few but included bitcoin-ing the term ‘stable genius.’” Wang is indeed a natural. Early on in the class, students discussed effective approaches toward humor, which, as Wang recalled, included self-deprecation and satirizing anything that was really true and relatable. She latched onto the approach of poking fun at herself. “I feel like, at the beginning of class, I had a reser-

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF THE NEW YORKER.

On Jan. 29, Wang won The New Yorker’s weekly caption contest.

voir of things I could selfdeprecate on,” she laughed. “[I’d say,] ‘Today, I’m going to make fun of the fact that I buy too many things online.’” There’s a saying that goes, “Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog; you understand how it works, but it’s not funny anymore.” And indeed, in talking to both Adams and Wang, there was a consensus that it is difficult to delineate exactly what goes on in the humor writing process. There are some tried-and-true tricks of the trade, however. “When I can’t think of anything, I just go for a pun,” Wang said. Puns featured prominently in Wang’s submissions to The New Yorker’s weekly caption contest throughout Winter Study. Adams required students to make caption submissions throughout the course. The quippier the caption, the better. The week there was a dog in a spaceship surrounded by aliens, Wang’s caption was, “We have a ruff situation.” Or when there were two people being chased by a giant Saguaro? “Cactus if you can.” But her most clever caption was still to come. In the final week of the course, The New Yorker released a cartoon featuring a gingerbread man lying in a hospital bed, surrounded by doctors. Wang’s caption, “Have you tried icing it?” ultimately won the official contest and made it into publication, beating out thousands of entries that week. While humor is subjective, it is undoubtedly a zinger of a caption. “I’ve found that if it’s a pun on a thing in the picture, that’s too obvious,” she said. “I find the finalists they pick [often make] puns [on things] not immediately in the picture, so that’s one thing I try to do. “Also, longer [captions] are harder because it’s just more words. And it being a question really helped with the phrasing.”

clear what chemical impacts tampons and pads can have on one’s health. “We put these products in or in close contact with our bodies, but we have no idea what is in them,” Kim said. On the other hand, menstrual cups use medical-grade silicone, a flexible, rubber-like product that is tested by the Center for Devices and Radiological Health for biocompatibility. With prices ranging from $26 to $40, menstrual cups can last up to a decade with careful washing with hot water and mild soap. Olivia Goodheart ’18.5, cochair of FemCo and one of the event’s panelists, said that she saved $450 in one year by using a menstrual cup instead of tampons. “It makes me angry to think that people have to pay so much to have tampons,” she said.

The panelists agreed that menstrual cups have also made periods more convenient and manageable. Sophie Torres ’21, a member of the Berkshire Doula Project, said that using a menstrual cup has been the “most positive experience” for her. Menstrual cups only need to be emptied out every eight to 12 hours on average. Not only are they small and compact, Torres said, but menstrual cups require less hassle than carrying tampons and pads and constantly worrying about potential leakage. Goodheart agreed with Torres’ sentiments. “I put the cup in, I take it out, and it is great. And it is not painful,” she said. That being said, some of the panelists said not to be alarmed if using a menstrual cup is initially uncomfortable,

as all bodies react to the cup in different ways. Furthermore, menstrual cups are not just for “hippies,” and talking about menstruation should not be stigmatized. Panelists hope that discussions regarding menstrual cups and menstruation in general will become more open and less stigmatized, both at the College and elsewhere. “There are still many places in the United States (and the world) where menstruating people are taught to feel shame or embarrassment about their periods,” Wassermann said. “Menstruation is an experience shared by about half of the global population. It is preposterous that menstruating people still feel the need to talk about their periods in coded terms.” Wassermann also mentioned that the College could play a larger role in promoting menstrual health on campus. “Most dialogues about menstrual health [at the College] have been entirely student-organized,” she said. The Center for Environmental Studies, the Zilkha Center, the Office of Student Life and the Davis Center were all generous in helping to coordinate the Menstruation Celebration, Wassermann said, but she felt that the Health Center was not helpful to the same degree. “I repeatedly tried reaching out to the Health Center and never got a response back,” she said. “I know that they’re going through a lot of transitions right now, but I was disappointed that they didn’t even seem willing to have a conversation about it.” Nevertheless, Wassermann is excited for new projects and initiatives that some College organizations are starting to support. Director of the Davis Center Shawna Patterson-Stephens, for example, has expressed interest in making menstrual cups available for students at the College. “As long as we keep fighting, menstrual cups could become a more permanent addition to campus life,” Wasserman said.

Integrative Wellbeing Services offers Wonder Walks to address mental health By KSOOSHA RAMRAS STAFF WRITER With spring just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start taking advantage of the pleasant weather by participating in Wonder Walks, a program offered by Integrative Wellbeing Services (IWS) that strives to benefit the physical and mental health of students. Available to any students who want to simply wonder aloud about anything on their minds, Wonder Walks is hosted by Dr. Wendy Adam, director of IWS, every Monday from 1 to 1:45 p.m. The outdoors is a judgment-free zone, and the chats are confidential, so all topics are welcome. Students can chat with Adam about anything from personal struggles and decisions to current global events. Adam explained that the goal of programs like Wonder Walk is for students to “be present to what is actually happening in their lives, have room for their needs, know how to take good care of themselves, contribute to the care for others and to ask for help when needed.” Wonder Walks is one of several new programs organized by IWS to address a current national mental health crisis among college students. As of 2016, over 25 percent of college students have intentionally committed self-harm, and one in three students have seriously considered committing suicide. Nationwide data regarding the past 12 months also indicates high percentages of students reporting feeling overwhelmed (91 percent), exhausted (88 percent), very lonely (71 percent) and hopeless (53 percent) – all feelings the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognize as risk factors for suicide. The College, of course, is no exception to these concerning trends, which is why it has recently invested heavily

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE KLASS.

Wendy Adam hosts weekly walks on Mondays from 1 to 1:45 p.m. in mental health services and expanded the IWS staff. Adam said that integrating and managing the physiological, social, emotional and spiritual aspects of daily life is vital for busy students who wish to thrive in the fast-paced college environment. This applies especially to students at academically rigorous and sometimes pressuring institutions such as the College. “Ultimately, in this time of mental health crises across college campuses, IWS maintains its enduring commitment to the highest quality mental health treatment services and aims to contribute not only to our own students’ wellbeing, but to actively contribute to understanding how to cultivate needed skills in college students that will empower their wellbeing in college and beyond,” Adam said. Adam believes that the College is addressing mental health issues on campus to a degree that, unfortunately, many other institutions have not been able to. “While Williams enjoys the

capacity to invest heavily in increased mental health service provisions and provides ongoing, uncapped access to counseling services, most institutions of higher learning across the country simply cannot,” she said. Adam emphasized the importance of acknowledging “this area of privilege at [the College],” encouraging community members to “look for our role in contributing to improved access and change during this obvious time of need within the larger college population nationwide.” Wonder Walks is an excellent opportunity to ask questions and give feedback to Adam. Additionally, the walk benefits both mental and physical health. Getting some exercise and breathing the fresh air can do wonders for the stressed-out College student. Wonder Walks is a unique resource from which countless students can benefit. Whether you are lonely, stressing out or contemplating the meaning of life, consider participating in Wonder Walks with Adam.

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Dark comedy plays with provocative themes By CARLOS CABRERA-LOMELÍ STAFF WRITER Everything is exactly what it seems in Underground Railroad Game. Last Thursday, the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance showcased Ars Nova’s two-person play directed by Taibi Magar and starring Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard. The play takes us into a sixth grade classroom at Hanover Middle School in Pennsylvania, with Kidwell and Sheppard playing two teachers, Teacher Caroline and Teacher Stuart, respectively. The stage is depicted as the front part of the classroom, making the auditorium the rest of the room and transforming the audience members unknowingly into sixth graders. The stage is physically framed by two flags, that of the Confederacy and that of the Union. Teacher Caroline and Teacher Stuart introduce a game that the class will play for several days to learn about the Underground Railroad as part of its Civil War history unit. The students are split into teams of Union and Confederate soldiers, with the Union team tasked with transporting dolls that represent “slaves” around the school, representing “traveling through the Underground Railroad” to reach a final classroom standing in for “Canada.” If the Union is able to transport all the puppets, that team wins, and if not, the Confederacy does.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ARSNOVANYC.COM.

In Underground Railroad Game, Jennifer Kidwell and Scott Sheppard take a sensational approach to present-day discussions of slavery. What initially appears to be a spoof on a daft and dense version of a Magic School Bus episode becomes a lot darker very quickly. The classroom narrative constantly shifts between a romanticized take on the historic Underground Railroad – where Kidwell acts as a runaway slave and Sheppard as a Quaker who offers to help her reach Pennsylvania – and scenes of the very intimate relationship between Teacher Caroline and Teacher Stuart that is based on explicit racial stereotypes and exoticizations. The play

shifts back and forth from these realities seamlessly and without warning, giving it an extremely surrealist quality. Any sense of normalcy surrounding these two teachers is completely destroyed when their most secret and destructive subconscious ideas on race, misogyny and sexuality rise to the surface. Clearly, the play aims to destroy the idea of the “good white” or the “white savior” by showing how Sheppard’s character, a “good white,” still very much carries the same privilege, bias and even

hatred that a “not good white” does. Sheppard invests himself, and even his own body, into his character to a great degree to create a very visible emotional journey; it becomes harder, however, to track how Kidwell’s character transforms. All of the characters Kidwell plays, which she does with an incredible amount of talent, seem to be, in one way or another, reactions to those Sheppard plays. Some of the audience members who stayed after the play to hear from the actors questioned whether the

intended audience of the play includes those that are not the well-meaning white audience members Sheppard’s character ridicules. Kidwell responded with her belief that the show is intended for all audiences and that as long as the play causes some sort of reaction, it has succeeded. But how does Underground Railroad Game attempt to create an intense reaction in an audience that has, presumably, had experience discussing the impacts of slavery? Kidwell

and Sheppard use humor that is not just bizarre, but intentionally offensive, to draw out the hidden antiblackness biases of the audience. Although, again, the question remains: What if an audience member is black? The actors failed to provide a response to this. The jokes gradually become less controlled and descend into a form of anarchy that initially seems to have no purpose. But that is when the two teachers ask themselves whether what they are doing is reflecting on history or reveling in it, thus adding another distinct layer of selfawareness to the piece. There seems to be no answer to this question, but Underground Railroad Game still features a great level of artistic and technical talent in posing this question to the audience. The barriers between audience and actor – and between shock and reality – are erased. The script jokes with itself constantly that there might be no distinct reflective value to this entire work, that it might be just a failed attempt to provide another dimension to the conversation of racial politics in America; for some audience members, this lasting sense of nihilism might be a satisfactory conclusion. For the rest of us that very much have to live within the reality of racialized America outside the theatre, though, Underground Railroad Game leaves a certain something to be desired.

KATIE BRULE/PHOTO EDITOR

Carole Newlands, who spoke last Thursday, specializes in Augustan and post-Augustan poetry.

Newlands explores Flavian fascination with Catullus in Roman poetry By CECELIA MESSBAUER STAFF WRITER Alluding to or subverting well known elements of a shared popular culture for the purpose of enhancing an artist’s own work is a tactic as recognizable as art itself. It seems no surprise, then, that such techniques would be on display in the works of Flavian-age Roman poets. For imperial poets Statius and Martial, argued University of Colorado-Boulder Professor of Classics Carole Newlands in Thursday’s talk “Late and New Poets: Rewriting Catullus in the Flavian Age,” allusion to the late Republic poet Catullus was key. Writing in a very different political context, Newlands claimed, Catallus’ contribution to the literary canon served as an effective reference point for Flavian artistic visions. Challenging the conventional wisdom that Augustan imperial poets were the primary models for the Flavians, Newlands positioned Catullus as the cultural icon of the novus poeti who served as a vehicle for late imperial poets to reframe their own “lateness.” Newlands introduced her premise with Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, an ancient text whose preface explicitly refers to Catullus as the poet’s countryman. Using that connection to establish literary authority, Newlands said, the poet subverted the Catullan form by claiming the superiority of a metrical shift. He used Catullan form and the name itself to legitimize himself. Pliny the Younger’s Letters also garnered mention by Newlands for his “gentrification of the short poem,” imitat-

ing Catullus while chastising others for trying too hard to imitate Catullus. His Letters declared that “Pliny alone, in my opinion, is the only predecessor I need.” Martial and Statius, however, formed the crux of Newlands’ talk. Martial referenced Catullus constantly in his Epigrams, making use of Catallus’ hendecasyllabic style to explore social rather than political themes. Newlands described Martial as using a short form to address an extremely broad imagined audience; his Epigrams were written as if they had universal, imperial reach. Making liberal use of hyper-exaggeration, Martial used Catullan style to position himself as a rewriter of Catullus’ literary legacy. At one point, he used the classic form of the bird poem to declare his poetic objects greater and bigger than those of Catullus; at another, he portrayed Catullus’ poetic mistress Lesbia in a vulgar and degrading fashion. Newlands explained that the effect of the latter was to debase Lesbia as the universal poetic mistress. The idealized woman of Catullus’ imagination became monstrous in the Flavian tradition as Martial appropriated Lesbia in order to frame himself as a reinventor of Roman literary history. There was a political dimension to this as well, as Martial sought to remove the male poet’s consuming devotion to an idealized woman by stripping the object of desire of her textual power. Martial called back to a well-known poetic figure to establish his authority, but he made this figure wretched because it wasn’t suited to his own artistic context.

In discussing Statius’ Silvae, Newlands emphasized the raised cultural stakes among which Statius was writing. Statius wrote for a tight political circle. As an occasional poet, he placed more emphasis on the value of speedy composition and improvisation, in contrast to the polished poetry of Catullus. Comparing nautical motifs, Newlands noted that while Catullus’ ship was fast and lightweight, Statius’ was swift but also grandly imperial. While Statius described himself as following from Vergil’s Aeneid, he used Catullus’ word choice to imply that this poet was following behind him. Concluding with a discussion of Statius’s epic Thebaid, Newlands noted his reproduction of one of Catullus’ most famous lines, a lament of a brother taken away from a wretched self. While the fallen brother of Catullus was virtuous, the fallen brother of the Thebaid made himself monstrous at the moment of his death and forfeited his immortality by eating the brains of his slain enemy. Catullus’ sincere and moving language, which Newlands also said was a foundation for poetic male lament, was used with an undercurrent of horror at the distorted family ties and depravity of the Theban war. In her talk, Newlands demonstrated that for Statius, as other Flavian writers, Catullus provided stylistic precedents and literary motifs that could be subverted to reflect late poetic and political sensibilities, forging the kinds of relationships with the past that are so often found in cultural reproduction.

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Clark lecture investigates naturalism, artificiality in drawings By LI YU EXECUTIVE EDITOR On Sunday, Curator and Head of the Department of Drawings and Prints at the Morgan Library and Museum John Marciari came to the Manton Research Center to present “From Natural to Artificial and Back Again,” a lecture in conjunction with a current exhibition at the Clark, Drawn to Greatness: Master Drawings from the Thaw Collection. Marciari’s lecture chronicled the development of drawings by European artists during the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Advancements in science during the Renaissance transformed the relationship between artists and the natural world. Simultaneously, the changing role of the artist from craftsman to a sort of elevated intellectual figure, as well as the emergence of a connoisseur and collector culture, transformed the circulation of artworks and led to a greater degree of self-awareness in the works of many artists. Focusing on the drawings in the extensive Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Collection, which features artists such as Pisanello, Andrea Mantegna, Fra Bartolomeo, Albrecht Altdorfer, Claude Lorrain, Peter Paul Rubens and Rembrandt, Marciari’s lecture followed the shift from model-book to sketch-book drawing in the Early Renaissance, to the more self-consciously artificial

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CLARK.

John Marciari's lecture last Sunday traced stylistic changes in drawing throughout the Early Renaissance and 16th and 17th centuries. works and the rise of Mannerism in the 16th century, and then a return to naturalism in the 17th century. The majority of drawings surviving from the beginning of the 15th century are sheets from model-books or pattern-books made of parchment. These books functioned as references and had a pedagogical function in teaching young artists how to draw. Apprentices copied the model-books of their masters and would go on to make model-books of their own. Art based on art, rather than

art based on nature, resulted in representations that grew farther and farther away from naturalistic representation. A fundamental shift during the Renaissance was the rise of the working drawing, or the sketch: the idea, coinciding with changes in theory in the 16th century, that an artist could think out loud on a page. In De Pictura, Alberti emphasized the artist’s need to go back to nature. Similarly, drawing exercises – made for the sake of practice – emerged, in which artist drew from models. This change

occurred all throughout Europe. In the back of Jan Bruegel’s sketch of Rome is an unassuming silhouette of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, completed only a few months before Bruegel left Italy. In spite of the monumental construction, Bruegel’s sketch concentrates on the interplay between the muddy banks and shore of the Tiber River, relegating the dome itself to the periphery. The rise of the sketch also resulted in a proliferation of different kinds of drawing media. Instead of the tradi-

tional pen and ink medium, there emerged different colorings, watercolor, red and black chalks, etc. – each one serving a different function. Red and black chalk grew in popularity, for example, when artists became interested in volume and light rather than just the shape and contours of the object, a development contemporary with Leonardo da Vinci’s studies. The goal of naturalism, however, was not mimesis. Instead, it was to understand the natural world with such a degree of mastery that one

could construct the world from memory. Mantegna’s Three Standing Saints depicts three figures that appear to be drawn from the same model. Marciari argued, however, that, in spite of the same model, the schematic face and differences in drapery indicate that Three Standing Saints was actually drawn from memory. Recombining elements from past sketches, Three Standing Saints was an invention of sorts rather than a work of reproduction. Another interesting trend was the importation of figures from drawing exercises into the margins of paintings. Marciari explained this to be a term called “orthopraxis,” or “correct practice.” The purpose of this was to indicate to art critics that the artist had drawn from real life. The act of sketching was thus understood as an act of invention so that drawings could be preserved and collected for years to come. It seems that day has come. In bringing to light the influences of scientific development on 16th and 17th century art and the various ways that this impact manifested itself, Marciari’s lecture gave the audience a new appreciation for these centuries-old drawings. And, fortuitously, over 100 of these drawings are currently on display in Drawn to Greatness, which will remain open until April 22 for all who wish to experience the exhibit for themselves.

Rhie considers Zen influence in America By FARIS GULAMALI ARTS EDITOR As part of the 2018 Faculty Lecture Series, a wide variety of professors and staff have presented their research to the entirety of the faculty, crossing interdisciplinary boundaries created by the divisional and departmental systems. Perhaps one of the most anticipated speakers of the series, Professor of English Bernie Rhie, gave his lecture on Thursday, entitled “Zen and the Art of American Literature.” Standing at the front of Wege Auditorium, Rhie presented to a crowd of community members, faculty and students across departments ranging from physics to English. By the start of the lecture, the entire auditorium, including the side alleyways and stairs, was packed with people. Throughout his talk, Rhie merged his personal experience living at a Buddhist temple with contemporary American readings addressing the spirit of enlightenment. A high school dropout-turned Zen studentturned professor, Rhie is difficult to categorize. Regardless, he successfully captured the attention of all who attended with his vast breadth of experiences. Concepts Rhie discussed on Thursday included the self, deep ecology, misconceptions about Zen Buddhism and the various methodological debates that drive discussion in the Zen academic community. His talk also explored the various applications of Zen Buddhism to social reform today, including the Black Lives Matter movement. Rhie began his lecture by talking about conceptions of the self. One of the lines that resonated with me most was a passage from the Heart Sutra, a popular scripture in Mahāyāna Buddhism: “Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form.” Rhie talked about how western philosophy, in an attempt to comprehend

this, often withdraws to a form of nihilism – the idea that emptiness is the non-existence of form or a sort of deletion of the self. Rhie addressed this misconception; it is not nihilism, he said, but rather simply experiencing the emptiness of the self. He referenced his own past experience with LSD as a sample of this brief absence of the ego. For Rhie, the ego – the fundamental desire to exist – is a mechanism that instills emotions like panic, fervor, horror and nausea. On the other side, however, there is peace. Additionally, Rhie discussed various pieces of American literature that reference this Zen Buddhist concept. But in order to do so, he first addressed a methodological debate behind texts. He first identified the groups of scholars who employ a “hermeneutics of suspicion,” the fundamental belief that reading must be paranoid, seeing beyond the mystical and doubting everything. Rhie disagreed with this “mandatory injunction,” stating that reading at a distance loses some of the meaning created by a book. Instead, he said, one must read with naïveté so that the reader becomes absorbed by the book. For him, this is akin to LSD in that the self that the reader creates is not the self they truly are. They entangle themselves with the book; the book is an optical instrument, a lens through which to see the world. Reading and being absorbed by reading are reflections of the self in another form. Throughout the talk, Rhie offered several contemporary American examples in which books have detailed experiences of enlightenment, and, by being absorbed into the book, the reader experiences a similar feeling of enlightenment. In this, Rhie discussed the western epistemological difference between knowing and not knowing; by reading a book for “knowledge” as opposed to reading for a desertion of the

self, he explained, the reader is, in a way, unknowing the self. Rhie continued on to talk about the various applications Zen Buddhism has in the real world, addressing the abuse, sex scandals and alcoholism rampant in many news accounts of Zen Buddhist lifestyles. He argued that these are the results of seeing oneself but not truly changing as a result. For him, the life of a Buddhist monk is not magically complete once they’ve reached this peak of self-awareness; it continues with knowing that their pupils have seen what they have seen. For him, the end goal is to end suffering. Rhie then discussed the relevance of Zen Buddhism to western forms of psychotherapy and the Black Lives Matter movement. For him, the end goal of several Buddhist trains of thought is not necessarily to transcend the body. He provided a variety of examples in which activists have used Zen Buddhism as another tool to propagate identity and social activism – the most notable of these figures is Aaron Goggans, a prominent activist in the Black Lives Matter movement. Goggans uses the framework provided by Zen Buddhism to create social change. In fact, the three pillars of Goggans’ work – holding action, structural changes and shifts in consciousness – reference the three pillars of Zen Buddhism Goggans was taught at a Buddhist retreat. Goggans realized that changing policy was simply not enough. There was a moral and spiritual awakening required, spiritual sustenance that worked on the psyche rather than simply the physical. Rhie’s lecture on Zen Buddhism was, to say the least, illuminating. By the end of the talk, one couldn't help but feel that their consciousness had shifted in some way or another.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FRANK SCHULENBERG VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.

Bernie Rhie studied at the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center in Santa Rosa, Calif. from 1989 to 1992.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDb.COM

Starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, The Post celebrates freedom of the press in a tense political moment.

Spielberg spins a timely ode to journalism in ‘The Post’ By KAIRA MEDIRATTA ARTS EDITOR To write a review of a film about a newspaper is quite possibly as meta as it gets. But regardless of journalistic bias, Steven Spielberg’s The Post is objectively and genuinely successful in what it sets out to do. In an era of “Fake News,” Twitter feuds and a president who only recently attempted to shut down the release of an unflattering book about his own presidency, it is no wonder that The Post was rushed into production with a turnaround time of only nine months. On one level, it is simply a historical film, narrating a challenge to the free press in 1971, but on another, its parallels to today’s political climate cannot be ignored and are, in fact, quite intentional. Whether this decision to rush the movie to meet a certain cultural moment was the correct one is debatable; some moments in the film cannot help but seem a bit forced, as if Spielberg is telling the viewer to feel a certain way. Nevertheless, The Post is worth a watch, if only for the shining cast and distressingly familiar message. The film centers on the momentous decision behind The Washington Post’s 1971 publication of the top-secret Pentagon Papers and the complex chain of events leading up to it. Meryl Streep plays the legendary publisher Katharine “Kay” Graham, and Tom Hanks stars as Ben Bradlee, a seasoned editor in the newsroom who often clashes with her. Graham is in the midst of taking the paper public, meaning she has to answer to a board of directors displeased with the publishing

of government secrets. Graham, in turn, has to reconcile the agenda of the newspaper and journalism in general with the friendships she has developed over the years with highranking government officials, namely Defense Secretary Robert “Bob” McNamara (Bruce Greenwood), the man at the center of it all. The situation began years prior, when military analyst turned activist Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) smuggled out thousands of pages on the history of Vietnam with incendiary information that the American government had been feeding lies to the masses for years. Six years later, The New York Times is the first to reveal a snippet of this truth. The courts rules that the Times cannot publish any more of these documents or the information found therein – the first assault on free press. Meanwhile, back in the newsroom, Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odendirk) feverishly chases down sources, trying to get his hands on the Papers for the Post. Eventually, Ellsberg, the Times’ source, brings them to Bradlee’s home, which morphs into a chaotic semblance of a “newsroom,” with a team of reporters trying to make sense of thousands of unnumbered pages of highly consequential information. As a result, The Washington Post finds itself in possession of a massive government secret at a delicate time, where editors have only a small window of time to jump on the story. On the one hand, Graham and her newsroom have a serious moral obligation to the American

people. But at the same time, her business and freedom – as well as that of all her employees – are at stake. Even Nixon has fought incessantly to keep the papers from going public, going so far as to take the case to the Supreme Court. Throughout it all, Nixon’s shadow looms large, although Spielberg makes sure to paint him as an omnipresent villain rather than a character in and of himself. The film only shows him from the back in its concluding moments, with a vexed Nixon shouting demands into the phone, almost a caricature of a man. Ultimately, the viewer never truly questions the outcome of The Post, as it is quite obvious and well-known. Nevertheless, Streep’s nuanced performance – by far her best in a long while – allows us to, if only for a moment, be caught up in the tension of it all with her. Perhaps one of the most striking moments of the film occurs during one of Graham’s fabulous soirées – for which she was known– when she is called to the telephone to make the decision on whether or not to publish the Papers. One cannot help but hold their breath as Graham finally says, “Go. Go ahead, go ahead. Let’s go. Let’s publish.” Beyond the occasional moment of Hollywood cheesiness, The Post succeeds in entrancing the audience with its fast-paced, Indiana Jones-esque energy, clacking of typewriters and charming montages of linotype clinking into place and papers rolling off the presses. And now more than ever does The Washington Post’s slogan seem timely: “Democracy dies in darkness.”

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The Williams Record

March 7, 2018

Wesleyan tops men’s lacrosse at home in season opener By WILL GENTILELLO CONTRIBUTING WRITER On Saturday, men’s lacrosse lost to Wesleyan 9-8 in its season opener at Farley-Lamb field. At the first whistle, Wesleyan was able to win the face-off but quickly turned the ball over. Max Stukalin ’20 took advantage and scored an unassisted goal within the first minute of the game. Then, with a penalty on goalie George Peele ’20, the Ephs had to compete with one fewer man on the field. Harry Gahagan ’21 went in as a substitute for Peele. With stellar defense and a pivotal save, the Ephs were able to regain possession of the ball and run the clock out on the Peele infraction. Both teams battled it out for six minutes before Wesleyan answered with a goal from Cole Turpin, bringing the score to 1-1. Less than a minute later, the Ephs netted a goal from captain James McFarland ’18, assisted by Kevin Stump ’20. 30 seconds later, with 1:39 left in the period, Carter Hawthorne scored a goal for the Cardinals. It was soon countered by Stump with 52

seconds left in the period, assisted by Peter Tamasi ’21. The score at the end of the first quarter was 3-2 in favor of the Ephs. The Ephs took their momentum into the second quarter of the match-up, and at 11:04, Stump found the net, assisted by McFarland. Two minutes later, Zander Kosten scored for the Cardinals, assisted by Turpin. Both teams played stellar defense for the remainder of the quarter, and the Ephs were up by one going into the third quarter. The Ephs came into the second half fired up and won the face off. With 9:06 left in the third quarter, the Cardinals tied the game with a goal by Harry Stanton, assisted by Hawthorne. With an unnecessary roughness penalty on Williams, Wesleyan was able to get two shots on the goal, with one from Ronan Jacoby going in to give the Cardinals the lead. A second unanswered goal by the Cardinals on another mandown opportunity brought the score to 6-4. Answering back, John Hincks ’20 netted a goal in spectacular fashion for the Ephs, closing

the deficit to just one. The Cardinals were able to answer with two goals by Stanton at 2:33. With 1:19 left in the quarter, Wesleyan was up 8-5. Wesleyan came into the final quarter focused, and Tom Martello scored at 12:12 on a crease-cranker, assisted by Ryan Lynch. The score was now 9-5 in favor of Wesleyan. However, like so many other times in the constantly volatile game, the Ephs had an answer. Stump responded with a goal, his third of the day. Then, less than a minute later, McFarland scored another unanswered goal with a superb assist by Hincks. With two flags thrown on the Cardinals, Stukalin was able to put one in quickly for the Ephs. McFarland, who finished the game with a pair of goals and assists, passed for the goal. With six minutes left in the game, Williams was down by one with a twoman advantage. Although the Cardinals prevented the Ephs from having an opportunity to score, Wesleyan then incurred another penalty, its third of the fourth quarter. With a man-up opportunity

Men’s track competes at Tufts By EZEKIEL COHEN TEAM CORRESPONDENT Men's track and field traveled to Tufts last Saturday for the Tufts National Qualifying Meet. This competitive meet was the last possible day to qualify for the NCAA Championship next weekend. Schools from across the eastern United States were in attendance. In the first event of the day, the distance medley relay, Peter Kirgis ’20, cocaptain Tobias Muellers ’18, Tristan Colaizzi ’20 and Lucas Estrada ’20 attempted to qualify for the NCAA Championship. Only the top 12 relay teams could qualify which, in most years, required a 10:02 finish on a flat track. Kirgis led the Ephs out to a hot start with a 3:04 1200, handing off to Muellers, who ran a 48-second 400. Despite slight illness, Colaizzi put up a strong performance and handed off to Estrada after a 1:55 800 leg. Estrada brought it home, finishing in fifth overall with a 4:13

1600 leg for an overall time of 10:01.61. In the 5000, co-captain Ben Decker ’18 ran an even race, finishing second in 14:59.13. In the 800, Kevin LaFleche ’20 and cocaptain Alex Cowen ’18 both performed well. LaFleche kicked hard over the last lap to finish in 1:53.83. Cowen, meanwhile, shook off a few weeks of interrupted training to run a 1:56.79. In the 400, co-captain Tommy Riley ’18 ran a 52.50. The decathlete is striving to achieve All-American status in his final season. The Ephs also performed well in the field events. In the high jump, Ian Kagame ’19 cleared the bar at 1.83m, finishing 10th overall. In the shot put, Liam Pembroke ’18 and Lloyd Campbell ’18 finished eighth and ninth with marks of 13.30m and 13.16m, respectively. Closing out the day for the Ephs in the 3000, Liam Simpson ’18 had a tremendous race. He kept up with the lead runners through the mile in 4:30 before

taking command of the race. Kicking exceptionally well, he earned the victory in a time of 8:19.44. Because the NCAA Championship will be held on a banked track this year, his result converts to 8:13.70 – the second fastest in the nation this season. For the Ephs, only two-time national champion Peter Hale ’17 has run faster than Simpson on a flat track. Head coach Ethan Barron was pleased with the team's results at Saturday's last chance meet. “With the bad weather, this meet was actually a little low energy,” he said. “The conditions forced a lot of teams to sit this meet out, which made for a quieter day. But we brought our own energy. I like where our competitors are at right now, and I think everyone is in a great place for their events.” Men's track and field will return to competition on Friday at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship in Birmingham, Ala.

for the Ephs, Wesleyan denied an Eph goal and called a timeout with two minutes remaining in the game. In the last two minutes, Wesleyan was able to stand its ground against a tenacious Williams attack to prevail 9-8. Peele played the majority of the game and made 12 saves to anchor the Eph defense. Gahagan also had one save for the Ephs on an important man-down drive. The Cardinals used one goalie, Steve Kovalsky, who made eight saves. The Ephs were led by Stump, who netted three goals. Stukalin and McFarland each put two in the back of the net. Head coach George McCormack shared his thoughts on the team's season opener. "I thought it was a great and hard-fought game,” he said. “Our third quarter was our demise, between possession of the ball and ground balls… I'm super proud of the guys for the work they put in, and we'll learn to build on this." The men will return to action tonight at 7 p.m. in their second regular-season game against Union in Schenectady, N.Y.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.

James McFarland '18 scored two goals and notched two assists on Saturday.

Women’s track races at Tufts in last chance to qualify for Nationals By CAITLIN UBL TEAM CORRESPONDENT On Saturday, women’s track and field traveled to the Tufts Last Chance Qualifier Meet in Medford, Mass. to take advantage of the last weekend to qualify for the NCAA Championship. Izabelle Ith ’20 and Caitlin Ubl ’19 finished 10th and 11th, respectively, in the 60m hurdles against a competitive field. In adjacent lanes, the two Ephs sprinted to respective times of 9.16 and 9.17. Kene Odenigbo ’19 registered a pair of sixth-place finishes in the high jump and the triple jump. She cleared 1.52 meters in the high jump and leapt 11.04 meters in the triple jump. Cailin Stollar ’21 also had a great day on the runway, achieving a personal-best 10.66m when landing in the sand for an eighth place finish on the day. In the long jump, Astia Innis ’20 took advantage of a

bouncy runway to jump 5.29m for fifth place. Having had a breakout season in the jumps, Innis looks forward to taking her talents outdoors. The pole vault duo of Kelsie Hao ’21 and Maggie Murphy ’19 represented Williams well, clearing 3.31m and 3.16m to take fifth and eighth place, respectively. Perhaps the most impressive performances of the day were in the middle- and long-distance events. Emma Herrmann ’20 ran a season-best time in the 5000, pushing herself to a 17:55.78 final result. Eliza Matt ’18 and Stella Worters ’18 worked together to push the pace in the mile. Matt took the lead and strung out the pack over the course of the final lap to finish in 5:01.73. Worters ran her signature gutsy race from start to finish, holding on for a 5:06.00 finish. Earlier in the day, the distance medley relay had been disqualified. Some early contact in the race led to a dropped baton during the first leg.

Anna Passannante ’20, who had been scheduled to run the 800 leg in the distance medley relay, instead entered the open 800 for one final race. Passannante extended her season one more weekend and punched her ticket to the NCAA Championship. After a relatively slow 600 meters, she took the lead and laid down a blistering final 200 meters in a kick that left all of her accomplished competitors behind. In her first open 800 of the season, Passannante ran a 2:14.80 to qualify for Nationals. Co-captain Kayley McGonagle ’18 spoke of the team's goals for Nationals. "I hope our relay can run as fiercely as we have been," she said. "I also hope we don’t put too much pressure on ourselves, since that has helped us achieve success in the past." As the indoor regular season draws to a close, the women will send a large squad to contend for the NCAA Div. III title in Birmingham, Ala.

CAPTAINS’ CORNER: KAYLEY McGONAGLE '18 What is your sports background? Why track?

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION

By CHARLES XU SPORTS EDITOR

Team: Women's track and field Hometown: Natick, Mass. Residence: Perry Major: Studio art and biology Snack bar order: Falafel wrap

My mom did track, so as soon as I could do track, I started doing it. She was a hurdler and a high jumper, and that’s what I got into at first in high school. My freshman and sophomore years, I did the short hurdles – which are 55 meters – and also high jump. And I did cross country my junior year of high school, so I was like, “Hey, this means I can do any distance I want now!” [Laughs]. After cross country, I ended up transitioning to the 400m hurdles, which is my main event now in college. I played soccer earlier in high school too, but I liked the community of the track and cross country teams better, so that’s kind of where it began. Do you like the 400m or the 400m hurdles more? The hurdles more, for sure. I do the open 400m and the 4x400 indoor because they don’t have 400m hurdles [indoors], since it’s a 200-meter track versus a 400-meter track [outdoors]. It would be terribly dangerous to have the 400m hurdles inside. But I like that in the 400m hurdles, you literally only have to think of the next hurdle – it’s like a metaphor for life. [Laughs]. My mentality during the race

is like, "Okay, I just have to get to this next hurdle. Okay, next hurdle. Okay, next hurdle." And then by that time, I’m like, "Okay, now I have to finish." It takes me out of my own head and the pain of running a 400m! Why Williams? I liked the option of doing a sport and going abroad. That was really appealing to me, even though I never ended up going abroad, but that’s okay. I liked the small classes and the rural surroundings of [the College] because I get overwhelmed easily in cities. The coach and the team were also really welcoming, and I was like, "This is a place I can really see myself going." And Williams isn’t too far away from home, but it’s not too close, meaning I can go home when I need to. What’s your relationship with Coach Hoey like? It’s good! It’s evolved over the years, since it was only his second year [here] when I was a freshman. I feel like it’s always a process getting to know your coach – it’s a back-and-forth relationship, not just him telling you what to do. That’s important because sometimes you need to change your training if it’s not working for you, so I feel like our relationship has been

really good. Now that I’m captain, we talk a lot more frequently about bigger issues on our team and how we can change the culture in different ways. It’s very mutually responsive between us. You have four captains on the team. Can you talk about that dynamic? It’s also good! We have two sprint/power captains and two distance captains, and I think that’s really important because you can’t really get around the divide between the sprint/power and the distance teams, since our training is pretty separate. I think we all have the right ideas about what kind of values we want to cultivate, but we also have diverse perspectives and can add things to conversations that one of us maybe wouldn’t have thought about. We’re really good at bouncing ideas off of each other. It’s a very productive and friendly type of relationship where we give each other feedback. How do you lead such a large team? It’s overwhelming, but since we have four women’s captains and five men’s captains, and we all collaborate on things, I think we are able to reach most of the athletes. I think something that’s important

with track is that there are leaders on the team who aren’t necessarily captains. They can be other seniors or even juniors or sophomores who have been there for a year or two. So that’s partly what helps us reach the whole team. In these four years, how do you think you’ve developed as an athlete? I think I’ve learned to trust the process of training a lot better. In the transition from high school to college, the training was a lot different, and I didn’t see a ton of improvement in my performance my freshman year. But over the last three years, I’ve realized that [the training] is actually helpful, and I just need to relax and lean into it instead of worrying that it isn’t the right thing for me. I have also valued teammates and the relationships between teammates a lot more than just my own performance. The team community here is very close-knit compared to what I had in high school. You went to Nationals your sophomore and junior years. Can you talk about those experiences? Yeah, that was really cool. I went on the distance medley relay my sophomore year and then the 4x400 last

year. Now, I’m going on the 4x400 again this year. Last year was interesting because I had been injured the whole season, and I wasn’t running much, but there were two relays that qualified – the distance medley relay and the 4x400 – and there was one 400m runner who ran on both of them, so they needed somebody to fill a spot. Coach Hoey was like, “Do you want to come to Nationals and run on one of these relays?” And I was like, “Sure!” But this year is kind of different because I’ve been training more consistently, and I feel like I really earned my spot at Nationals. So, it’s different in that way, but it’s still really exciting. And you get free jackets. [Laughs]. What are your goals for the outdoor season? For outdoor, I’m hoping I can continue to train consistently and keep my injuries under control. I also hope to continue to get to know everyone on the team better! What are you doing after you graduate? I’m going to do a teaching fellowship at Riverdale Country School, an independent day school in the Bronx. They wanted someone for visual arts. I’m excited about that because I really love doing art and teaching.

March 7, 2018

SPORTS 11

The Williams Record

Christopher Clarey ’86 covers tennis from Purple Valley to Wimbledon “I came back, and I had no money at all… I had done a lot of writing during the trip – journals, writing letters, things like that.” Opportunity knocked when the sports editor for the San Diego Union, a newspaper where Clarey had interned in previous summers, called him on the phone a few days after Clarey got back. “Turned out they had a summer internship that had been taken by a guy named Jeremy Schapp… He wasn’t able to take the internship at the last minute, and they were looking for a replacement,” he said. With no recent clips, Clarey brought his travel journals to the Union as his only writing sample and got the internship. “After three months, a fulltime job became available covering high school [sports], and so I did that for a year,” he said. “For a couple of years, I covered NCAAs, and then I covered the San Diego Chargers for a year.” After a few years at the Union, Clarey decided to pack his bags for a second time. “Meanwhile, I met this French lady during our travels, and she came to my house in San Diego as an exchange student,” Clarey said. “We ended up falling in love and deciding that it was time to make a big move, so we got engaged, and I quit my job covering the Chargers … and moved to Paris to freelance. People thought I was crazy.” Trying to freelance in the pre-internet age, Clarey sent out letters to various publications advertising his interest in covering international sports. In November of 1991, he got a call from a sports editor at the New York Times. He then received his first assignment:

By JANE PETERSON EXECUTIVE EDITOR 35 years ago, Christopher Clarey ’86 was writing for Williams Sports Information. Since then, he has covered over 80 Grand Slam tournaments for the New York Times. While a career covering tennis might seem like an apt choice for an English and history double major and tennis player, Clarey’s career path, from his first publication to his most recent, has been anything but linear. The opportunity to play tennis, volleyball and soccer was a key factor that brought Clarey from his hometown in San Diego, Calif. to the College. “I just didn’t find any liberal arts colleges of the size that I could play sports at that level on the West Coast at that time,” he said. While at the College, Clarey took a job in what would eventually become his field. “I had the chance to kind of look around for the right job, and because I was the editor of my high school paper and I was interested in sports, they said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this Sports Information job.’ So, that’s a lot better than washing dishes or bussing tables,” Clarey said. “I worked with them for most of my College time, writing press releases.” After winning tennis NESCACs his junior season and graduating in 1986, Clarey delayed job-hunting for a year to travel with a friend from school. “We took off for a year, and I just loved the experience – it’s still one of the very best years of my life. We were all over the Middle East, Europe, went to Burma, went to China, went to Japan,” Clarey said.

covering sibling ice dancers Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay as they prepared for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Albertville. “I took a night train to Germany, and I wrote this story… And that’s how I started freelancing for them,” Clarey said. Within a year, he went from freelancing to becoming a European sports correspondent. Since then, Clarey's main focus has been covering tennis, reporting on some of the most infamous matchups of all time. When asked about some of his all-time favorite matches, Clarey mentioned the 1991 Davis Cup, where the French beat a U.S. team of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. “It was a huge deal for the country,” he said. “It just gave me a real sense of international passion for sport.” Other favorites of his include the Steffi Graf/ Martina Hingis matchup in the French Open finals of 1999 and the classic fivehour Wimbledon final of 2008, in which Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal. “These guys were just such classy champions dueling each other,” Clarey recalled. “It was one of those moments when you were watching the match [and knew] that it would be one of the greatest matches of all time.” Going into this year’s French Open, Federer, at 36 years old, is the oldest No. 1 ranked player in the history of the modern ranking system. While some wonder about the future of tennis after Federer’s retirement, Clarey doesn’t see his eventual absence from the court as uncharted territory. “Back in the very late ’80s, people were saying, ‘Oh, we’ll

PHOTO COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES.

Christopher Clarey '86 (left) received the Alan Trengove Award for Excellence in Tennis Journalism. never see it again, [Björn] Borg and [John] MacEnroe, it was the greatest thing ever, we’ll never have those days again,” Clarey said. “Whoever wins the slams, whoever gets to No. 1, whoever creates these stories year to year creates a persona for themselves. So, here we are, what, 30 years later, and we’re saying the same thing about Federer and Nadal in their era.” Clarey also reflected on some of his favorite

interviewees since he began covering the sport. “If you’re looking for quick wit, one-liners and edge, Andy Roddick would definitely have to be up there for sure,” he said. “If you’re looking for more in-depth analysis, it might surprise you – Justine Hénin-Hardenne … she [didn’t] have that image in the U.S., but when you spoke to her in French, [she was] very deep, very thoughtful.” Reflecting on his career in journalism, Clarey

emphasized the value of a strong liberal arts background. “I think a liberal arts education is super relevant because you have to be adaptable,” Clarey said. “You need that flexibility in your mindset and in your ability to acquire new tools… I don’t know how journalism is going to look 30 years from now – I could never have figured out what happened in my 30 years – but I do know that it’s still going to be important.”

ATHLETES OF THE WINTER

19

David Italiano '18 was named to the All-NESCAC Second Team as the men's leader in assists and points, with nine and 31, respectively. He came in second on the team in goals, with 10. Against Babson on Nov. 25, Italiano scored his first goal of the season. On Dec. 2, Italiano slotted in two consecutive goals in the third period against the Camels, helping the Ephs to a resounding league win. He has capitalized on power plays in particular, scoring four times this season with the man advantage. For his career, Italiano played in 104 games, recording 95 career points on 41 goals and 54 assists.

DAVID ITALIANO ’18 MEN'S ICE HOCKEY TORONTO, CANADA

EMMA WADDELL ’18 WOMEN'S SWIM AND DIVE BANGOR, MAINE The No. 1-ranked player on women's squash the last four years, co-captain Nicole Friedman '18 led the No. 12 women to a second-place finish in this year's NESCAC tournament. One of Friedman's season highlights was a victory against No. 13 University of Virginia with a score of 11-5, 8-11, 113, 11-6. In the semifinals of the NESCAC championship, she beat her opponent in four games (11-6, 10-12, 11-8, 11-3) en route to a victory over Middlebury. Friedman has earned First Team All-NESCAC honors in every one of her seasons at the College. Individually, she is ranked 54th on the College Squash Association Adult Women ranking.

JAMES HESKETT ’19 MEN'S BASKETBALL CINCINNATI, OHIO

NICOLE FRIEDMAN ’18 WOMEN'S SQUASH GREAT NECK, N.Y.

The Office of Communications recommends ...

Annual Faculty Lecture Series: "How to (Not) Lie with Statistics " with Bernhard Klingenberg, professor of Statistics Thursday, March 8 4:15 p.m.

Co-captain Emma Waddell '18 was awarded the honor of NESCAC 2018 Swimmer of the Year and Four-year High Point Swimmer. Waddell has consistently dominated in the sprint fly, freestyle and individual medley at both the NESCAC and national levels. In the women's first dual meet of the season against Springfield, Waddell finished first in the 200 butterfly, and she and three others placed first in the 400 medley relay. On Jan. 13 against Connecticut College, Waddell won both the 50 and 100 and was part of the winning 200 medley relay team. At the NESCAC Championships, Waddell placed first in the 100 fly and second in the 100 free. She also touched in the silver position in the 200 individual medley. In the 100 fly, Waddell broke her own pool record of 53.74 to cap off an exceptional career.

Last year, James Heskett '19 averaged 7.2 points per game off the bench. This season, the All-NESCAC forward exploded to 19.3 points per game. On Feb. 28, he became only the fourth Eph to be named NESCAC Men's Basketball Player of the Year, leading the NESCAC in both scoring and 3-point percentage. On Jan. 17, Heskett hit a stepback go-ahead 3-pointer against Amherst to seal a thrilling victory. On Jan. 26, Heskett had a career-high 34 points in a 75-58 win over Trinity. Most notably, in the first week of February, Heskett was named NESCAC Player of the Week after averaging 23 points in three games and shooting 51.5 percent from the floor and 54.5 percent from beyond the arc. In the NESCAC Championship game against Wesleyan on March 3, Heskett dropped 21 points to help the men secure their first NESCAC title in eight years.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK “Kara has been working on

“Liam ran an incredibly

her shooting in the last couple of weeks, and it definitely showed going into Wesleyan. Kara does a nice job of timing her cuts. We try to create a synergistic group on the field, and Kara [and] our other players are working to play to each other’s strengths.”

smart and patient race. He's had his eyes on that race for a while now. It's eluded him until now. I give him incredible credit for the consistency and perseverance needed to push through to this level. ”

–Head coach Alice Lee

–Head coach Ethan Barron

KARA WOLLMERS ’20

LIAM SIMPSON ’18

Wege Auditorium Reception to follow in Schow Atrium

WOMEN'S LACROSSE HOUSTON, TEXAS

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD CAPE ELIZABETH, MAINE

Wollmers scored four of the nine goals for the Ephs in their season opener against Wesleyan, a great effort in an eventual 10-9 overtime loss.

At Tufts last weekend, Simpson took the gold in the 3000m, running a 8:19.44. His bank-adjusted time of 8:13.70 is the second-fastest in the nation this season.

12 SPORTS

The Williams Record

March 7, 2018

No. 5 men’s basketball concludes season in NCAA second round By DANNY JIN EXECUTIVE EDITOR No. 5 men’s basketball (23–6, 7–3 in the NESCAC) saw its NCAA tournament run come to an end in the Round of 32 last weekend. In a packed Chandler Gymnasium, the men opened the tournament with a 56-45 victory over Bridgewater State on Friday but suffered a 66-62 loss to Ramapo on Saturday. “It’s never easy when it ends,” head coach Kevin App said. “We’re disappointed, [but] there are going to be two banners up there [in the rafters] that say 2018 with this team. That’s a lot to be proud of.” App offered praise for cocaptains Mike Greenman ’17.5, Chris Galvin ’18, Adam Kroot ’18 and Cole Teal ’18. This senior class is the first to have played for four years under App, and they helped lead the Ephs to a Final Four appearance last year and a NESCAC title this year, the school’s first since 2010. “I told them I have the best job in the country because they teach me as much as I teach them,” App said. “The four seniors will probably teach me more than any graduating class just because I started here with them. We got to grow and learn and have some fun together. We shared every emotion together, every moment together.” After a sluggish start on Friday, a strong second half took the Ephs through to the second round. In the first half, Bridgewater State limited Williams to 22.6 percent (7-of-31) from the field while holding NESCAC Player of the Year James Heskett ’19 scoreless. “Bridgewater State did a good job changing up defenses,” App said. “In the first half, it seemed like two teams that were a little overamped up for the NCAA tournament, which is what happens sometimes. Shots that normally go in for both teams weren’t.”

After making their first two shots to go up 4-0, the men missed 10 straight attempts, while Bridgewater State scored nine unanswered points to take the lead. Forward Marcos Soto ’19 ended the drought with a layup and a 3 on consecutive possessions, tying the game 9-9. The first half, which featured six lead changes, finished 21-20 in Williams’ favor. The Ephs came out of the break with improved ball movement. “Everyone was touching it,” Heskett said. “[We] got layups and open 3s. It got back to simply executing.” The men outscored Bridgewater State 11-4 in the opening minutes of the second half, taking a 32-24 lead. Led by forward Joseph Carty, who at one point scored 11 straight points for Bridgewater State, the Bears trimmed the deficit to five with 9:54 remaining. The men, however, went on a 14-0 run to take a commanding lead, finishing with a 56-45 victory. Casey provided 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals for the Ephs. Heskett added 13, all in the second half. Carty finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Bears. On Saturday, Ramapo forward Thomas Bonacum’s double-double led the Roadrunners past the Ephs. The men rallied from a second-half deficit to take a 59-58 lead with 3:24 left, but Ramapo scored eight straight points in the final minutes to clinch the game. “It was a really hard-fought basketball game,” App said. “There were runs going back and forth. Ramapo made a couple shots down the stretch, and we missed a couple. Unfortunately, in a close game, it comes down to that.” Casey, who shot 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, and Heskett each scored 21 points for the Ephs. Bonacum’s dominance in the second half, however, gave Ramapo the victory. The 2017 NABC First Team All-American

finished with half his team’s points, scoring 33 on 11-of-15 shooting from the field, 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and 6-of-6 at the free throw line. He played 38 minutes, including all 20 in the second half, adding 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block. Ramapo used a full-court press to slow the Williams offense. Greenman said that the Ephs did well to create open shots against the press but were unable to convert scoring opportunities. “We got exactly what we wanted, but we just didn’t make shots,” Greenman said. “When we weren’t making shots, we let it affect us on the defensive end a little bit, giving up a couple of easy baskets. When you’re playing in the NCAA tournament and both teams are really good, that’s the difference in some games.” Casey’s 2 steals in the opening minutes led to transition baskets, and he scored seven of his team’s first 13 points. The men jumped out to an early lead before Ramapo tallied 10 straight points to go up 18-15. Greenman drilled consecutive 3s to give the Ephs the lead back, and the men outscored Ramapo 10-2 in a twominute stretch, going ahead 3122 with 5:44 left in the half. The Ephs, however, missed their last seven shots of the half, and the Roadrunners finished the period on a 10-0 run. Bonacum hit a 3 and a layup on consecutive possessions to give Ramapo a 35-33 lead entering the break. Bonacum scored 15 of his team’s first 18 points in the second half, propelling Ramapo to its largest lead of the game at 11:32. The Roadrunners led 48-40, but a Casey 3 and a pair of layups by Heskett pulled the Ephs within one with 9:58 remaining. The visitors extended their lead to 5649 with 6:09 left before Teal answered with a 3. Down 58-52, the Ephs scored seven unanswered points to take a 59-58 lead. Casey made

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.

Guard Bobby Casey '19 scored 17 points in Friday's 56-45 victory over Bridgewater State in the NCAA first round. a driving layup, and Teal found Heskett for a dunk on the next possession, animating the thunderous home crowd. After a defensive stop, Heskett sank a 3 to give the men their first lead since the first half. Ramapo retook the lead on two free throws by forward Christopher Moseley. Up 60-59, the Roadrunners put together a string of stops, including a shot clock violation,

to hold the Ephs scoreless for over three minutes. Bonacum shot 4-for-4 from the free throw line to clinch the game, which finished 66-62 in the visitors’ favor. The men graduate Galvin, Greenman, Kroot and Teal. Greenman finishes with a career total of 331 assists, ninth in program history. App said that the end of the season was bittersweet,

but he believes the seniors have cherished their time in the program. “We’re hurting right now, but we’ve been talking all year: It’s not what the banner says or what the win-loss numbers say,” he said. “It’s the fun little stuff that happens along the way [that matters], and I think the guys will see that. Some great stuff has happened these last four years.”

Trinity defeats men’s ice hockey Women’s lacrosse falls to Wesleyan in NESCAC semifinals By MADELINE ABRAHAMS STAFF WRITER Men’s ice hockey was eliminated from the NESCAC Championship semifinals after losing to Trinity on Saturday. The Ephs (14–11–1, 9–9–1 NESCAC) were defeated by the Bantams (19–5–2, 15– 3–1 NESCAC) 5-2. The Ephs scored the first two goals of the game but were unable to respond to the Bantams’ five subsequent goals. “It's always tough to close the season, but I'm incredibly proud of this team for what they've accomplished,” head coach Mike Monti said. Last week, Williams eliminated Connecticut College in the NESCAC quarterfinals, while Trinity defeated Tufts to get into the semifinals match. Starting in net for the Ephs was Michael Pinios ’19, who came into the match with a 0.910 save percentage. Late in the second period, the Ephs made a goalie change, and Stephen Morrissey ’18 became the net-minder for the remainder of the game. Morrissey came into the game with a 0.922 save percentage. In the opposing crease was Bantam Alex Morin. The Ephs took an early twogoal lead in the contest.

“We had a great start,” Monti noted, “and really earned two goals early. We had great momentum.” The first goal came at just 1:45 of the first period. Tyler Scott ’21 was able to slide one past Morin on a play assisted by Roberto Cellini ’19 and Will Somers ’20, giving the men an early 1-0 lead. The Ephs padded their lead to two goals at 11:42 into the first period. Marcus Mollica ’19 fired one past Morin, assisted by Max Fuld ’20 . Following this two-goal surge by the Ephs, the Bantams responded with five unanswered goals. The first came at 15:19 of the first period, when Ryan Pfeffer lifted one past Pinios to get his team on the board. “Transition hockey is the biggest strength for Trinity, and that’s what gave them momentum moving forward,” Monti explained. The Bantams got the equalizer just 29 seconds in the second period. Pfeffer scored his second consecutive goal, assisted by Mark Knowlton, bringing the score to 2-2. Trinity gained the lead for the first time in the contest just two minutes later. At 2:28, Bantam Andy Chugg scored the lead-capturing goal, assisted by Adam Anderson.

At 15:35 of the second period, the Bantams secured a two-goal lead. This goal came from James Callahan, and Anthony Sabitsky was awarded an assist on the play. The score was 4-2 heading into the final period of play. Around halfway through the final period, the Bantams scored their fifth and final goal of the game. Tyler Whitney was able to fire one past Morrissey, assisted on the play by Liam Feeney. The shot count after 60 minutes was 40-16 for Trinity. The game ended with a score of 5-2, eliminating the Ephs from the conference championships. “What a great group of seniors we had on this team,” Monti said of the five graduating players. “They were leaders, each in their own way. Contributing on and off the ice, this team couldn’t have had success without them. I’m incredibly proud of them for who they are, what they stand for and the legacy they leave behind.” “On a personal level, there is no group of guys better than this to have my first head coaching experience with,” Monti added. “Their talent, commitment, perseverance and passion are exemplary. It inspired me to be better everyday. I’ll cherish these memories forever.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.

Marcus Mollica '19 scored the second and final goal in the men's 2-1 loss to Trinity in the NESCAC semifinals.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.

Suzanna Penikis '19 tied the game in the final minutes of regulation before the Ephs lost 10-9 in overtime play. By JOELLE TROIANO STAFF WRITER Women’s lacrosse took the field for its first game of the season on Saturday afternoon against No. 20 Wesleyan in Middletown, Conn., falling 10-9 in overtime. Wesleyan won the opening draw control, but possession did not last for long for the Cardinals. Kara Wollmers ’20 grabbed a ground ball pickup just 30 seconds in. By the game’s second minute, the Ephs had a shot on goal by co-captain Caroline Hogan ’18. Though the shot was saved by Cardinal goalkeeper Allegra Grant, the Ephs did not let this slow them down. Within seconds, Kailie Saudek ’19 took another shot, assisted by Hogan, and scored the game’s first point. Then, with seven minutes down, Wesleyan sophomore Abby Manning forced a turnover on Williams, gaining her team control of the ball. Assisted by junior Caitlin Wood, Manning then put the Cardinals on the scoreboard. The Cardinals won draw control following this goal and quickly followed their first score with another, a successful free position shot by Wood. With 20 minutes on the clock, a foul on Wesleyan gave Williams ball control. Co-captain Kat Fearey ’18 took the free position shot, tying the game 2-2. In the 18th minute of play, Emma Richards netted an unassisted goal for the Cardinals. Seven minutes later, Wollmers took a

shot on goal saved by Grant but followed closely by a free position shot, tying the score once again. It seemed the 3-3 score would hold, but with a minute and a half remaining, Richards scored again. At half-time, Wesleyan led by a score of 4-3. The second half began with draw control for the women and three consecutive fouls on the Cardinals. Just a minute and a half in, the Ephs had their second free position attempt of the period. Claire Fitzpatrick ’21 took a shot on the goal, but it was saved by Grant. Wesleyan held its position defensively and broke through offensively. Cardinal junior Abigail Horst scored the fifth Wesleyan goal. Sophia Millay ’21 responded with an unassisted goal for the Ephs. The Ephs continued to attack with two shots by Emma TenBarge ’19, one wide and one saved by Grant. The Eph shooting streak continued with a wide shot by Millay, rapidly followed by another from Wollmers that finally reached the back of the net. With 20:10 left on the clock, Meghan Halloran ’21 went into play. The Ephs successfully cleared the ball, and Halloran made a pass to Millay. Millay took the shot and sent the ball into the net. The score was tied 6-6, but this did not last for long. Within the next two minutes, Manning scored two more points for the Cardinals, one of them assisted by first-year Kat Cucullo. Wesleyan scored again two minutes later with an

unassisted shot by senior Julia Black, increasing the lead to 9-6. With 15:16 left on the clock, Wollmers scored her third goal of the game, bringing the score to 9-7. Cucullo took a shot, but it was blocked, and the ground ball was picked up by Jenny Roach ’18. The Ephs cleared the ball, and, with 12:56 remaining, Wollmers scored yet again with an assist by Fitzpatrick. The comeback effort continued when Suzanna Penikis ’21 shot the ball into the net. The score was tied 9-9 going into the final minutes of the match. No goals were scored, sending the game into a six-minute overtime period. Wollmers took the first shot of the period, but it was saved. At the 4:08 mark, Wesleyan cleared the ball, and Cucullo, assisted by Manning, scored for the Cardinals to win the game. Head coach Alice Lee commented on the 10-9 overtime loss. “Our team did a nice job of fighting hard and playing together until the final whistle,” she said. “I was impressed with our defensive output across the board, from our attackers to our defenders. I was impressed with our mental toughness and ability to stay in the moment, every moment. It didn't bounce our way today, but we’re looking forward to learning from this game and growing as a team.” The Ephs took the field on Tuesday in an away match-up against RPI, but the results came in too late to report. The women host Trinity at 1 p.m. on Saturday.