March 14, 2018: College appoints Maud Mandel as next president

ARTS P. 8 Satirical French comedy 'Tartuffe' takes center stage

SPORTS P. 12 The Independent Student Newspaper at Williams College Since 1887 VOL. CXXXII, NO. 18

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2018

Women's track and field places second in NCAA nationals

College appoints Maud Mandel as next president By REBECCA TAUBER NEWS EDITOR Yesterday, the Board of Trustees announced the appointment of Maud S. Mandel as the College’s 18th president. Mandel, who will be the College’s first female president, was unanimously selected by a Board vote on Sunday. Currently dean of the college and professor of history and Judaic studies at Brown, Mandel will assume duties from Interim President Protik Majumder on July 1. Board of Trustees and Presidential Search Committee Chair Michael Eisenson ’77 expressed his excitement for Mandel’s appointment in an email to the College community. “She has a distinguished record as a scholar, a teacher and an academic leader, and she has demonstrated throughout her career a deep and abiding affection for the students, faculty and staff who together create a great academic enterprise,” he wrote. “Maud embodies the values at our core and will provide exceptional leadership as we continue to pursue our shared aspirations for Williams.” Mandel, who received her bachelor’s degree from Oberlin and her master’s and doctoral degrees in history from the University of Michigan, began teaching at Brown in 1997 as a visiting assistant professor in modern Jewish history. She became a permanent faculty member in 2001 and was appointed dean of the college in 2014. Since then, she has chaired the Judaic studies program, held various positions in the history department and taken leadership roles in undergraduate advising and mentoring programs. The College’s press release quoted Brown President Chris-

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE.

Maud Mandel, dean of the college at Brown University and professor of history and Judaic Studies, will replace Interim President Protik Majumder. tina Paxson on the contributions Mandel has made to the institution. “Both inside the classroom and as a senior academic leader, Maud Mandel’s impact on the undergraduate experience at Brown has been nothing short of transformative,” Paxson said. Mandel has helped further the Brown community in many ways, including working with Brown students and staff to start the First-Generation College and Low-Income Student Center. Mandel assisted in organizing an internship program and alumni

networking tool called BrownConnect, which ensures all Brown undergrads a minimum of one subsidized internship opportunity. She also helped form Wintersession, a program similar to Winter Study, and the Brown Learning Collaborative, an initiative to strengthen the liberal arts at Brown. Mandel has also helped connect community engagement with the academic curriculum at Brown. She played a role in developing the Engaged Scholars Program, which helps students

create their own courses and plans of action tailored to communities and issues they care about. Additionally, she helped develop the Bonner Community Fellows Program, which further allows students to link community and schoolwork. In a video interview published on the College's website, Mandel highlighted the importance of campus communities. In response to the question, “What brings you joy?” she replied, “I find tremendous joy in interacting with students and staff and

faculty... The communities that we build together, the college campuses that we build together, are such a fascinating mix of diverse peoples who are trying to figure out how to live together, work together and, most importantly, learn together.” In her field, Mandel’s research centers on ethnic and religious minorities in 20thcentury France, focusing specifically on Armenians, Jews and Muslims. She is the author of In the Aftermath of Genocide: Armenians and Jews in 20th-

Century France and Muslims and Jews in France: History of a Conflict. She also co-edited a book entitled Colonialism and the Jews. She has received fellowships from the American Council of Learned Studies, the American Philosophical Society and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Mandel’s appointment concludes the presidential search process, which had been ongoing since the announcement of former President Adam Falk’s departure last summer. The Presidential Search Committee consisted of trustees, faculty, alumni and students. In addition to publishing a press release announcing the decision, the College has included supplementary resources on the website detailing information about Mandel, the search process and more. The site includes multiple statements from Presidential Search Committee members on the appointment. “She will bring tremendous energy and thought to this presidency as a deeply accomplished scholar and strong advocate for the liberal arts,” committee member Sarah Hollinger ’19 said in one such statement. “Our community will continue to thrive and develop under Maud’s leadership.” Before Mandel begins her tenure on July 1, she will visit the campus in early April. In the video, she expressed excitement for joining the College. “I have incredible memories of the power of my own liberal arts education in launching me. And not just in launching me, but in getting me to think about and ask the key questions that really have shaped my thinking,” she said. “The opportunity to lead this campus into the next phase of its development is really too exciting to pass up.”

Laverne Cox speaks Spelling error sparks Bob Schieffer named Commencement speaker conversations on Muslim on trans rights student representation By SAMUEL WOLF NEWS EDITOR

Bob Schieffer, retired reporter and journalist, will speak at the College’s 229th annual commencement on June 3. Janet Murguía, a civil rights activist, will speak at the baccalaureate service on June 2. In addition, both speakers will receive honorary degrees from the College, as will Mona Hanna-Attisha, a public health advocate, and John Irving, a prolific novelist. Schieffer spent 46 years at CBS News, anchoring Face the Nation and CBS Evening News. He has won eight Emmys, met with and interviewed every president since Richard Nixon and written five bestselling books on his life in journalism. In addition, he moderated the final presidential debates of 2004, 2008 and 2012. The Library of Congress has named Schieffer a living legend. He has also served as the Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. Schieffer received a bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University. Murguía is the Chief Executive Officer of UnidosUS, the nation’s largest nonprofit Latino/a advocacy group. The organization works to give Latino/a people a voice on issues such as immigration, civil rights and education. Murguía was also a deputy assistant to President Bill Clinton, deputy campaign manager to Al Gore in 2000 and executive vice chancellor for university relations for the University of Kan-

sas, where she received her bachelor of arts, bachelor of science and Juris Doctor degrees. Hanna-Attisha is a public health advocate who conducted the original research that revealed lead contamination in the water of Flint, Mich. She chairs three public health commissions that were formed in response to the Flint water crisis: the Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee, the Michigan Child Lead Poisoning Elimination Board and the Michigan Public Health Commission. On June 19, she will publish a book about her experience and work titled What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance and Hope in an American City. She received her bachelor’s and master of public health degrees from the University of Michigan and her medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. John Irving is a novelist and screenwriter whose works include Setting Free the Bears, The World According to Garp, The Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany and A Widow for One Year. His screenplay for The Cider House Rules won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1999. Many of his other books have also been adapted into movies, and he has received prestigious awards, including the National Book Award for Fiction. Irving received his bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and his master of fine arts degree from the University of Iowa.

PHOTO COURETSY OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE.

Schieffer, a retired journalist and broadcaster, will speak at Commencement.

By JANE PETERSEN EXECUTIVE EDITOR

By TESNIM ZEKERIA MANAGING EDITOR On Tuesday, Feb. 27, campus facilities installed a misspelled sign in the basement of Thompson Memorial Chapel that read “Muslin Common Room” rather than “Muslim Common Room.” The sign, which was meant to designate the room used by the Muslim Student Union (MSU), has since reignited a dialogue about many of the issues afflicting the Muslim community on campus. As part of an effort to address student concerns, the Chaplains’ Office requested the sign through the College’s facilities department — a standard procedure. Although all the words had been spelled correctly on the submitted work order, the facilities department incorrectly wrote “Muslin,” upsetting many students on campus. In fact, this is the second time facilities has made such an error in the past five years. “The error was made by folks in that shop who feel absolutely horrible about the mistake and the hurt that it caused,” Muslim Chaplain Sharif A. Rosen said. “I was personally quite moved by the calls I received from the director of facilities, who offered to apologize in person to the Muslim students. The sign itself was up for less than 24 hours before it was removed, corrected and replaced.” Shortly after its installment, images of the sign quickly began circulating among students and eventually evolved into a meme critiquing the error. “I noticed the sign was incorrect when someone forwarded me a picture, and it was funny, especially with the memes people were making — but it quickly turned to anger because it just became

emblematic of the ways in which Muslim students on campus have had to fight for the smallest things and get sidelined and accused of being needy,” Minority Coalition (MinCo) co-chair Amina Awad ’18 said. According to Awad, the sign was particularly important because, earlier in the school year, Muslim students on campus were forced to forego one of the two rooms that they typically used. This restructuring had not only pitted the Muslim community against other religious communities, but also led to feelings of frustration among some Muslim students. Indeed, the sign was one of many requests that Muslim students had been presenting to the administration and the Chaplain’s Office in the past few years. Previously, some Muslim students had pushed for the maintenance and potential replacement of the couches in the Muslim common room. Upon jokingly running their fingers over the couch, they were horrified to find that they had scraped off a build-up of grime that had accumulated as a result of neglect. Awad believes that both the sign and couches are reflective of larger issues surrounding Muslim student experiences. “My sophomore year, Muslim women who led the MSU attempted confronting the sexism and anit-shia rhetoric of the chaplain,” Awad said. “The administration’s solution was to have conversation after conversation, but that did nothing but wear us and gaslight us.” In response to all this, Awad, along with other students, created a banner entitled “Muslin Common Sheet,” which features a series of anecdotes from SEE BANNER, PAGE 5

On Monday, actress and LGBTQ activist Laverne Cox delivered her much-anticipated lecture, entitled “Ain’t I A Woman: My Journey to Womanhood,” to a packed Chapin Hall audience. Cox gained fame for her role in the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black, for which she is the first openly trans women to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy in an acting category. Cox’s appearance marked the 25th anniversary of the The Michael Dively ’61 Lecture Fund for Human Sexuality and Diversity, which is sponsored by several campus groups and departments. Cox was introduced by Professor of French and Comparative Literature Brain Martin. “With various firsts in her already impressive career, the Emmy-nominated actress, documentary film producer and celebrated equal rights advocate Laverne Cox continues to make history in her career and major strides in her activism,” Martin said. “As she continues to be a major voice for transgender awareness and equality, Laverne Cox continues to resonate with audiences and create positive change on a global scale.” Cox began her lecture by listing her intersecting identities. “I stand before you this evening a proud, African-American, transgender woman,” she said. “From a working-class background, raised by a single mother, I stand before you an artist, an actress, a sister and a daughter, and I believe it’s important to name the various intersecting components of my multiple identities because I am not just one thing.” Cox interwove quotes from various critical theorists, including Cornel West, bell hooks, Judith Butler and

Brené Brown, into her talk. “When I discovered bell hooks’ work, I was a gender non-conforming college student in New York City … and her words were like oxygen to me. I came to critical consciousness reading her books,” she said. Cox then transitioned to her story of growing up in Mobile, Ala. and her experiences being bullied as a child. “I was often chased home by groups of kids who wanted to beat me up. They said I acted like a girl,” Cox said. “I think if we’re really serious about SEE LAVERNE COX, PAGE 5

WHAT’S INSIDE 3 OPINIONS Campus thoughts on JA changes 4 NEWS International Club protests need-aware admissions policy 7 FEATURES First annual Williams Comedy Festival enthralls 9 ARTS WCMA performance of 'Walking' kicks off dance symposium 11 SPORTS 3-sport athlete Rebecca Brooks recalls her journey USPS 684-6801 | 1ST CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID WILLIAMSTOWN, MA PERMIT NO. 25

2 OPINIONS

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Given that the Junior Advisor (JA) system is a unique and defining feature of campus life with a longstanding history at the College, we at the Record feel compelled to lend our voices regarding the recent changes to the system. As announced by the Junior Advisor Advisory Board (JAAB), there will be fewer than the standard 52 JAs to the class of 2022, resulting in significantly larger entries led by teams of three or four, rather than pairs, of JAs. This change is, in many respects, the best solution to sinking application numbers and a large volume of accepted JAs declining the position. It offers potential benefits to first-years and JAs alike. Larger entries might reduce the sense of isolation and tokenization felt by first-years who, in a smaller entry, may be the only individual of a certain identity. These larger entries could also potentially diminish the expectation that JAs, who will now have many more firstyears, provide one-on-one care beyond the scope of their roles.

Word on The Quad What fashion trend do you want to bring back?

March 14, 2018

Confronting an evolving JA system Considering changes to the entry and reimagining the structure of JAAB

However, this new arrangement also brings significant challenges. The larger entry size creates a fundamentally different atmosphere within the entry, potentially distancing JAs from their first-years. While JAAB has spoken about the first-year-to-JA ratio remaining relatively constant, in reality, each JA thinks about and cares for all of their first-years. Consequently, this change might only increase the burden of care JAs feel they must rise to. We implore JAAB to carefully consider potential pitfalls and ensure that the training and support that the JAs to the class of 2022 receive will enable them to thrive in this new paradigm. JAAB’s decision not to extend offers to denied applicants, even in the face of too few JAs agreeing to serve in the role, is also an area of concern. While certain red flags preclude some students from selection, many rejected applicants might, with proper training and counsel, serve as excellent JAs. The JAs to the class of 2022 ought to be assessed

by the service they give to the first-year class, not by potential preexisting merit. Indeed, to insist that failing to reject applicants in current circumstances somehow equates with creating an intrinsically worse JA class seems condescending. Finally, we believe that these changes call for a broader reassessment of who provides leadership to the JA system. The JA system exists to serve almost the entire student body, most of which will live in an entry at one point or another. Its leadership, though, consists of JAs elected by each JA class in the form of JAAB. Of course, the need for a small leadership body that is able to act quickly is important for a system like this one. JAAB, however, ought to seek structural opportunities for broader representation in its leadership. Just as the selection committee for JAs (SelCom) deliberately includes non-JAs of multiple class years, so too should these perspectives be included on JAAB, perhaps taking the shape of a larger advisory committee with a smaller

day-to-day leadership group, the latter more closely resembling the current JAAB. These recent changes show just how critical the need is for JAAB, which often must make quick decisions with a fair degree of secrecy, to have broader campus representation and input. The upcoming “JA Week” is a commendable step in the right direction, but adding non-JA representation to JAAB itself is a necessity. With appreciation for the thoughtful changes necessitated by this critical juncture, we call on JAAB to urgently consider and mitigate the potential hazards of this new system. With admiration for JAAB’s and SelCom’s work in selecting a wonderful group of JAs to the class of 2022, we express our grave concern at the message sent by nonetheless pridefully rejecting applicants in this challenging situation. And with deepest gratitude to all those JAs who, now and in the past, have given leadership to the system they so value, we seek an expansion of that system’s leadership.

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

By KATIE BRULE and SOPHIA SHIN PHOTO EDITORS

KARMEN LIANG ’21

’80s workout clothes.

PRESIDENT-ELECT We're excited to welcome the College's first female President to the Purple Bubble! MANDEL LAVERNE COX

A truly inspiring and moving talk – and the best way to kick-start this stressful week.

SPRING BREAK

It's almost here, everyone! Hang in there!

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS

What's the point of saving daylight when you're sleep deprived?

PARK ST. PUDDLES

Painful Park St. puddles prevent pedestrians from peaceful passing.

DAVID GORESTKI ’20

Overalls.

SERAPIA KIM ’19

Lace as décor rather than as a sex symbol.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR To the editor,

CHRISTINE TAMIR ’18

Over-the-knee boots

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.

Due to recent campus controversy surrounding changes to the JA system for next year, the following page displays four op-eds on the topic of the entry system and the evolving roles of JAs. This is part of a new Record initiative to feature multiple, side-byside op-eds on timely issues facing the College community.

We write as members of the CenterSeries Programing Committee to offer our sincerest apology for the pain and suffering experienced by many members of the College community as a result of the recent performance of Underground Railroad Game. Over the past two weeks, we have heard expressions of the anguish caused by the show and related programming, and we deeply regret our part in causing this pain. As the advisory group that curates the series of visiting artists who perform in the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance, our decisions are highly visible and have widespread impact. We did not adequately prepare the community, nor did we properly consider the potentially traumatizing consequences of staging such a production. We also apologize for the racist imagery on the “Game Night” poster that was circulated in advance of the pre-show event. The visiting artists provided the image and developed the concept of the event, but we accept responsibility for its publicity. The conversations we have had since Underground Railroad Game make clear to us that the Committee needs to take a more proactive and widely consultative role in conjunction with all the productions we bring to campus. Thinking ahead, we are planning changes to the procedures and composition of the Committee so that it represents the full range of perspectives and interests of student, faculty and staff groups in future programming. Importantly, we will be clarifying our mission in the upcoming weeks as we meet to reflect and plan.

We are ready to listen to responses from the community. We welcome the chance to build on the important conversations that have already begun. Please feel free to contact any of us listed below. The CenterSeries Programming Committee: Hannah Antonellis ’18 Rashida Braggs, associate professor of Africana studies Sandra Burton, senior lecturer in dance Rachel Chanoff, director of programming, CenterSeries Cassandra Cleghorn, senior lecturer in English and American studies Erica Dankmeyer, artist-in-residence in dance Randal Fippinger, producing director, ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance John Gerry, associate dean of the faculty David Gürçay-Morris, associate professor of theatre Amy Holzapfel, associate professor of theatre Carol Ockman, professor of art Lee Park, dean of the faculty Jack Scaletta ’18 Brad Wells, artist-in-residence in music Nathaniel Wiessner, operations manager, '62 Center for Theatre and Dance

LETTER TO THE EDITOR To the editor, Thank you for publishing the recent op-eds concerning Registered Student Organization (RSO) discipline and the sailing team. I will let everyone read the pieces side-by-side to figure out their own opinions, but I would like to point out a couple

misleading or misinformed statements in Abel Romero ’19's response. He claims, “Not only was Sailing’s current leadership subscribed to the Office of Student Life’s (OSL) organizational emails during the annual RSO re-registration process, but the club continued its activities in the fall (incurring expenses and coaching fees) despite receiving a subgroup allocation of $0” (“Defending the CC [College Council] censure: why the Sailing Club needs to be held accountable,” March 7, 2018). In fact, the current leadership was not subscribed to OSL’s emails during the RSO re-registration process. The team leadership changed during the fall, and OSL’s leadership change forms were not working properly. The current leadership was not subscribed until the end of Winter Study, when we learned of this issue. Also, his complaint that the team continued activities during the fall despite not receiving subgroup funds reveals that he is uninformed as to the nature of the expenses. There were two expenses incurred during the fall: New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA) dues and the coach’s salary. The coach’s contract is signed over the summer, and by the time the academic year starts, we do not have the power to cancel it because CC doesn’t approve a subgroup budget. The NEISA dues are in a similar situation. Teams cannot just drop in and out of NEISA as they please. After leaving, it is difficult to get back in. The team does not have the power to halt the dues because of CC’s decisions. The team had absolutely no discretion over the expenses incurred in the fall, and those incurred were the minimum in order for the team to continue existing. I hope this clears up any confusion. Jamie Vaccaro ’21

OPINIONS 3

The Williams Record

March 14, 2018

Justifying the change

Lamenting JAAB’s decision The da ers o s ee i By RAINER WASINGER A little over a year ago, with 30 seconds remaining to choose whether to accept my Junior Advisor (JA) offer or to spend a semester abroad, I flipped a coin. It turned up heads. That kicked off a beautiful, terrifying, haunting, life-changing roller coaster. Many people envision being a JA as a sacrificial role wherein you trade your own happiness to serve others. This is certainly the reality for some JAs. In my case, however, being a JA has foundationally altered the way I view myself and those around me, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. As a result, I lament the fact that so many are passing up the opportunity to potentially feel the magic that has defined my experience. Unfortunately, the Junior Advisor Advisory Board (JAAB)’s decision to expand entries to 40 first-years with three to four JAs per entry is also lamentable. The impossibility of JAAB’s situation is clear; it needed to balance the competing interests of the deans, the JA selection committee (SelCom) and the JA class itself. No choice it could have made would have pleased everyone. However, in settling on a complete overhaul of the system, it essentially amputated the leg of a system with a minor infection and unilaterally altered a core building block of the campus, a decision made without input from the innumerable stakeholders who have an interest in the well-being of the College. As for better solutions, I have no intention of making preliminary judgements on the efficacy of having larger entries with more JAs. However, it is the process, not JAAB’s specific solution, that is the most distressing. In back-to-back years, fundamental changes have been made to the JA system without input from the campus community. While last year’s change (ending the gender binary) was a step in the right direction, it revealed JAAB’s willingness to make sweeping changes without community input. In hindsight, it hinted at JAAB’s capacity to overstep its authority. As an advisory board, JAAB is expected to assist and make decisions in the interest of JAs, a role that most students at the College will never fill. Conversely, nearly every student has an entry experience, and for many, that experience is foundational in building their identity and relationship with the College. Indeed, for some students, the entry system was also critical in choosing Williams over other colleges. Therefore, relying solely on JAAB, a group made up exclusively of current and former JAs,

cha es

leaves a small body that is not wholly representative of the campus community to make decisions that fundamentally alter the experiences of hundreds of incoming first-year students. Instead of an open, transparent process, JAAB announced the solution to a problem just as the campus learned that there was a problem. This left no time for students, faculty, staff and alumni to voice their concerns or propose alternative solutions. In addition, JAAB has gone to great lengths to ensure that people who apply for the role of JA understand some of the potential challenges of being a JA. And yet, in back-to-back years, JAAB has haphazardly and unilaterally implemented sweeping changes that leave those who applied with an entirely different job description than the one they had expected. If it is so important that prospective applicants understand the potential trials that one can go through as a JA, shouldn’t it be equally important that JAAB hold up its end of the bargain and ensure that potential JAs have certainty about what the structure of their entries will be? As opposed to sweeping and foundational alterations to the system, a little bit of creativity could have allowed for a year of relative normalcy to reflect on the future of the JA role. For example, JAAB could have, after explaining the shortfall, opened applications to seniors or sophomores, allowing students who could not resist the possibility of going abroad during their junior years to be JAs. Alternatively, JAAB could have reached deeper into the existing applicant pool, offering the position to those who had previously been turned away. By adopting one of these temporary solutions, JAs and JAAB would have had an entire year to highlight the numerous positives associated with being a JA in the hopes of increasing applications. Unfortunately, these options violate the autonomy and sanctity of SelCom. However, if that was a concern, why not turn to the current JA class, 52 previously-SelComvetted, grizzled veterans that will be on campus next year? Perhaps JAAB feared criticism on grounds of inequity or feared that the JA role was so onerous that no one would dare sign up for another rodeo. I cannot speak for my fellow JAs, but I know that if JAAB came knocking on my door, there would be one more JA to the class of 2022.

mem ers e lai i s decisio By BRIAN BENÍTEZ, JESSE FACEY, JAD HAMDAN and EMMY MALUF In a year marked by falling application numbers, record-high rejection rates for Junior Advisor (JA) offers and negative campus discourse surrounding the JA system, the endurance of the residential structure that has helped to define the College’s community ethos has been tested. But the concerns that surfaced with new JAs to the Class of 2022 aren’t new. The system has been quietly struggling. This year, that struggle became a lot more audible. We write, as members of the Junior Advisor Advisory Board (JAAB), to reflect on the events that have occurred recently. We do not represent the opinions of every JAAB member nor any JA class. In September, JAAB was aware that the dialogue surrounding the JA system was increasingly negative and, accordingly, re-framed interest meetings (once dubbed “scare meetings”). We attempted to provide a more accurate picture of the JA role by talking about highs and lows, but the meetings still struck a negative tone. While attendance at the meetings was consistent with that of previous years, we received fewer applications than in years past despite reopening applications and extending the deadline. We hoped that the smaller pool was a product of a better understanding of the role and that we would still find at least 52 qualified candidates – and, as we reviewed applications on the Selection Committee (SelCom), we found this to be true. Our goal was to select 52 qualified applicants, and we succeeded. After extending the decision timeline to a full week, JAAB reached out individually to every accepted candidate to offer congratulations and support through their decision. We hosted a “JA Previews” event to welcome candidates to the role. Our efforts were unsuccessful; we received an unprecedented number of rejections. Our waitlist was ultimately exhausted. The events unfolding now are products of long-standing problems. The

rocess a d e

dialogue surrounding the role has been slowly changing, moving towards highlighting the negative aspects of being a JA, including undue emotional labor and marginalization of minority and low-income JAs, among others. This is not to evade or defend these problems. It is not meant to trivialize them by blaming them on simple rhetoric. Rather, we want to convey that these problems are real and have only become more real as it becomes more normalized to speak about the difficulties of being a JA. This dialogue is welcome. JAs should feel comfortable speaking earnestly about their experiences if we are going to change the system for the better. Going forward, our priorities are twofold: first, ensuring that first-years have an entry as a safe space where they experience some sort of community that connects them to broader campus resources and second, making sure that JAs are tasked with reasonable responsibilities while receiving adequate support from their peers, the administration and JAAB. We believe that the entry system’s structure next year – double entries with teams of three or four JAs each – will not undermine either of these priorities, but rather will strengthen them. This model is not unprecedented; the system functioned this way as recently as a decade ago. While low JA numbers prompted this change, we fully expect that it will be positive for JAs and first-years. First, JAs will receive more support from their peers by having more co-JAs, while having more first-years will create a boundary so that JAs cannot be the primary emotional support for all of them. Second, in a larger entry, more first-years may be able to find people they connect with. It is worth noting that JAAB did not make this change impulsively nor at the exclusion of other options. So many people turned down their JA offers that we could not form a qualified class of 52. Could we have a JA system with fewer than 52 JAs? After careful consideration, we believed that we could and that it was much better than the

se s

alternative: an RA [resident assistant] system for first-years. On this note, we would like to address another possible solution: increasing the number of JAs (through asking seniors to step in, reopening applications, etc.). First, although we knew that past JAs would be willing to step in again – and many expressed willingness to do so – we ultimately decided against it for many reasons. For one, it is unsustainable to rely on this model year-to-year. Furthermore, seniors serving again as JAs introduces a challenging power dynamic to the entry, the co relationship and the system itself. Although we made efforts to secure more acceptances – such as reaching out to candidates who had turned down the position – we also respected the ability of JA applicants to make their own decisions. Our desire to have a full cohort of 52 JAs was strong, but we recognized the importance of having a class of JAs that actively wanted to serve in the role. Ultimately, we felt that having a smaller but highly qualified class of JAs enthusiastic about the role was more important than fitting the 52-JA paradigm. Finally, we want to acknowledge that there are many valid criticisms directed at these changes, and at the JA system itself, that we do not have the space to address here. We invite all members of the community to reach out to members of JAAB to further discuss these issues. We also encourage you all to continue this discussion during JA Week, the week of April 2. Now more than ever, it is crucial that the conversations surrounding the JA system be tackled together by the whole Williams community. Because, at the end of it all, Williams students own the JA system. Brian Benítez ’18 is an art history and biology major from Naples, Fla. Jad Hamdan ’19 is an economics and political science major from Canton, Ohio. Jesse Facey ’19 is an Arabic studies and Spanish major from North Kingstown, R.I. Emmy Maluf ’18 is an English major from New York, N.Y.

Rainer Wasinger ’19 is an economics and environmental studies double major from Boulder, Colo.

A first-year’s perspective An argument for paying JAs for their emotional labor By DOMINIC MADERA This weekend, I went through social overhaul. I felt lost, annoyed and mostly frustrated. In a time when I had very few people, my Junior Advisors (JAs), Julia Vargas ’19 and Matt Lennon ’19, were the ones to talk to me and give me advice. I am so grateful for the way they spoke to me in my vulnerability. By the end of the conversation, I was better equipped to move forward. It took their listening, their advice and their empathy with my frustration to really help me keep moving. This is not an isolated action, either. My JAs have spent the past year giving me and my entrymates advice, making sure we’re safe and acting as our mentors. If you asked anyone in my entry, they would all probably say the same thing: Julia and Matt have consistently been people on our team. It is a shame, then, that these people are not compensated adequately for their labor. Here’s why. Why should JAs be compensated? Shouldn’t it be a voluntary thing? First off, I personally would never choose to be a JA. It comes with so much emotional labor, so much extra work, and it requires the ability to sacrifice a whole lot of time. It also means living away from the friends you’ve made in the last two years. This is a job, plain and simple, that we have not valued as an institution. Second, there are so many people who would be great JAs but simply can’t do it because of the time it takes away from their ability to work; this difference means that the JA pool has historically benefit-

ted those who don’t have to care about money as a tangible concept. It is all fine to say, “It shouldn’t all be about the money,” but this ignores the fact that a lot of people on this campus have to think about the money. When you send remittances home, when you are paying out-ofpocket your parent contribution or when you simply must save because you depend on your own money for flights and for living (which, given our currently allotted work-study, is unsustainable, but that’s a topic for another op-ed), you lose out on the ability to guide students via the entry system. Not only do you fail to cater to students from across the country – particularly ones from marginalized backgrounds – but you also lose the opportunity to have a JA who understands their experiences. Lastly – and maybe this is difficult to think about – but it is okay to want money. It is okay for low-income students who would like to be mentors to also be compensated for that labor. It is okay to want more when the system doesn’t work for you. It is okay. What is not okay are the various ways that, even at the College, we have double-standards as to who is able to pursue money. As my entrymate Mirna Rodriguez ’21 put it, “All the economics majors who go into finance are celebrated for pursuing money. When it comes to JAs, we criticize them for wanting to be compensated.”

It is okay to want more when the system doesn’t work for you. It is okay.

Dominic Madera ’21 is from Houston, Texas. He intends to major in comparative literature and political science.

JESSICA CHEN ’19

Compensation and the future of the JA Role Examining historicity and looking forward

M

M

First, it is of paramount importance that we recognize the students that have been working to change and improve the Junior Advisor (JA) system. Old and new Junior Advisor Advisory Board (JAAB) members as well as current and former JAs are just some of the individuals who have been working tirelessly on the issues of this role. At present, though, we are facing a crisis of recruitment and retention of JAs. In a recent meeting with Provost David Love, Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom and Dean of First-Year Students Dave Johnson, the idea of the historicity of the JA system was invoked. The general sentiment was that this crisis would pass and that we need to return to what we had been doing to help alleviate it. After all, it is partially the recent changes in the perception of the JA role and discussions on campus that have led to this crisis. If we undo this rhetoric and perception – boom, problem solved! The point, however, is not to return to history. We can go back – that is fully within our capabilities, but we shouldn’t. The kinds of changes that have occurred in recent years – increasing transparency of the difficulties of being a JA and the ways in which it can be exclusionary or taxing – these conversations should not be eroded. The point is not to elide history, but to acknowledge it and come up with innovative ways to address our contemporary situation. Part of my frustration in this meeting was twofold, then. The first was in the suggestion that the kind of work to get out of this crisis ought to be solely

student driven; the JA system is run by students, for students, thus administrative intervention is inappropriate. The problem, however, is that JAs and JAAB already put an incredible amount of work into this system. To suggest that we need to do even more work to put out fires with no aid from the administration is near ludicrous. Placing the burden on us so wholly flies in the face of a responsible ethic of community. The second source of frustration is related to the first in this way; the work we do for this school is immense. For a school that considers JAs to be a central totem of its ethos, it feels nearly ridiculous that, in the face of this very system collapsing and no longer existing, any administration might be reticent to enact swift and meaningful change. In other words, the task of the meeting became outlining the urgency of the issue of compensation and the necessity to work together. On some level, to administrators, it isn’t even about deserving to be paid for this incredible work we do (hint: we do, but that simplistic argument does not resonate with the administration because of an unwillingness to move on from the past). Rather, it’s that the already existing forms of “compensation” (emotional, intrinsic) simply are no longer sufficient. We cannot begin to frame the conversation around compensation in terms of deservedness if administrators view this argument already as easily rejectable and if the superseding crisis takes precedence over it. Attaching ourselves to historicity by saying that “we didn’t need compensation in the past” are, to be frank, famous last words.

These administrators are not uncaring – they have a job to do and a budget to keep in mind. The frustrations I experienced were addressed fairly and extensively throughout the meeting, and I bring them up not to attack any individuals. Rather, addressing these underlying mentalities is critical in ensuring that this kind of crisis does not happen again. Progress is being made; this progress displays an integral and praise-worthy willingness to address the problems of this system together. The dollars we request for these issues have to be weighed against other initiatives of the school, such as financial aid. At the same time, we need to keep in mind the futurity of these discussions and this system. The reason I write this, then, is twofold. One, I am a human prone to faults in logic or oversight. The stances that I have taken ought to be refined, and I invite anyone to please speak with me. I must reemphasize: compensation is not the only track to alleviating the crisis of this system, but it is an important one. The second is a matter of accountability and transparency. While the majority of these discussions have already happened, I hope that, as a community, we will help to keep one another and administrators accountable to the commitments we’ve made. We’ve taken these tasks up by volition, but if it were not for us, these problems would go unaddressed. Yes, this work is hard, but we have to keep doing it. There won’t be any work left to do if we don’t. Jamal Meneide ’19 is from Boston, Mass. He is an English and political science double major.

March 14, 2018

NEWS 4

The Williams Record

International Club protests lack of need-blind admissions for international students by hanging posters across campus By HAEON YOON OPINIONS EDITOR Last week, the International Club (IC) hung posters throughout campus condemning the College for not offering need-blind admissions for the College's international students. Currently, the College offers need-blind admissions for all domestic applicants, including those who are un-

documented or have DACA status. For international students, however, the College currently chooses to remain need-aware. Although the Office of Admission does not directly consider a student’s financial need during evaluation, the need-aware policy for international applicants affects the selection process and informs the number of students applying for aid that can be admitted.

REBECCA TAUBER/NEWS EDITOR

Posters highlight a lack of need-blind admissions for international students.

Berkshire groups pursue gender equality in wake of International Women’s Day By SHAHEEN CURRIMJEE EXECUTIVE EDITOR On International Women’s Day this past Thursday, people across the world focused on the need for greater progress, capitalizing upon popular movements such as #MeToo, #TimesUp and #PressforProgress which serve as powerful forces that drive global activism in pursuit of women’s equality. In the Berkshires, communities have come together to promote gender rights and support the advancement of women in a number of social sectors, including health and politics. On Jan. 29, The Brien Center in Pittsfield, Mass., in partnership with Berkshire Health Systems, unveiled a recovery shelter specifically for women. With the ongoing opioid crisis in the Berkshires, the new Keenan House hopes to overcome the historic lack of aid in the region. The House will serve women recovering from addiction during the early stages of rehabilitation and will also offer services for pregnant and postpartum women. The House also hopes to create a caring community by organizing group discussions about relapse prevention in which women are encouraged to support and heal together. On a larger scale, Indivisible Pittsfield, an organization that embraces diversity, justice and equality while combating racism, misogyny and homophobia, was inspired by the Women’s March to build on a progressive movement in the Berkshires. On Jan. 20, as millions of people marched in the 2018 Women’s March, Indivisible Pittsfield held a forum on improving economic equity, health care and education as well as ensuring safe and welcoming environments for all community members. The discussion not only promoted support for the underrepresented, but also encouraged community members to take a stand for equality and justice.

The “Vote For Susan” project, along with the Adams Suffrage Centennial Celebration Committee, hopes to encourage voter participation in Adams as part of the anniversary of the 19th amendment. In addition, the year 2020 is the bicentennial of the birth of Susan B. Anthony, an Adams native who dedicated her life to advocating for women’s rights. The project has created promotional buttons and ribbons to remind residents to register to vote by April 17 and, if they are interested in running for office, to return papers by March 19. The buttons and ribbons are yellow, white and purple, the official colors of the women’s suffrage movement in America during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Recent events have also forced the Berkshire community to reaffirm its commitment to trans rights. Earlier this year, on Jan. 5, Miss Trans America founder Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien was found dead in her home in North Adams, Mass. Her husband of less than a year was charged in her murder, and he ultimately pled guilty. Steele-Knudslien had advocated for her community by working with groups to found local and national transgender beauty pageants. Her tragic death has sparked conversation around topics of isolation, rejection, poverty, addiction, police harassment, lack of health care and marginalization that plague the LGBTQ community. This is especially true for women of color; transgender women of color, for example, are at greater risk for abuse, depression and suicide. Because Steele-Knudslien was the first transgender person to be murdered in the U.S. in 2018, trans rights activists have worried that 2018 will hold even more violence against LGBTQ communities. In light of all of these recent events, the Berkshire community has taken necessary actions to continue promoting and advocating for the rights of all womenidentifying people.

Some of the posters have anonymously submitted quotations from current international students detailing the struggles that they faced when applying to the College. One reads, “As an international student on financial aid, I’ve been told I’m taking up the place of an American who should have the priority to get financial aid over me.” Amina Awad ’18, former co-chair of IC and current co-chair of the Minority Coalition (MinCo), commented on the wider implications that this policy could have in shaping the perception of international students as a whole. “There’s this idea that international kids are all rich, which could be really damaging to international students that are on financial aid,” she said. “There’s not a lot of us, but [people think] there’s this huge disparity in terms of wealth. And we get coupled in with this larger narrative.” Gabs Ilagan ’18, co-chair of IC, characterized the issue as one that is felt not only by future international applicants, but also by members of the College community. “People think that it’s really an admissions thing, so it doesn’t really affect people who are here.” Ilagan said. “But it’s more about talking about it as more of a systemic issue that discourages and creates a certain population of international students and a particular narrative around them, and I think disrupting that narrative is important.” This is not the first time that IC has campaigned for needblind admissions. “Institutional memory always gets erased at Williams, and so something really important is to look at the legacy of people who have been working on this.” Awad said.

In 2014, Kristian Viggo Hoff Lunke ’16, the president of the IC at the time, worked with College Council (CC) and MinCo to pass a resolution in favor of reinstating fully need-blind admissions. Although the trustees read the resolution, there has been no progress since. Initially, in 2001, then-President Morton Schapiro introduced need-blind admissions for international students. Catharine Bond Hill ’76, thenprovost of the College and a member of the committee that established this policy, wrote in a Record article, “September 11 reminded us of the importance of our international connections and commitments. Many of the major problems or issues facing our society are international ones. To have an international presence on campus seems very important” (“Admissions to be need-blind for applicants abroad,” Oct. 22, 2001). Then, the 2008 financial crisis led to the ultimate change in policy. Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Liz Creighton explained that “beginning with the Class of 2015, in response to the economic downturn and its impact on the endowment, the College made the difficult decision to return to a needaware admission policy for international applicants.” Nevertheless, this retraction in policy does not mean that the College denies financial aid to international applicants completely. “At some colleges and universities, a need-aware policy means that financial aid is not available for international applicants,” Creighton said. “At Williams, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, not only are we able to

offer generous aid to international students, we proactively seek—as we do in the domestic applicant pool—international candidates who have achieved at an extraordinary level despite having access to fewer financial resources. Indeed, we actually provide higher average grants for our international students than we do for our domestic students. Well over half of our international students receive financial aid, and the average grant for these students is more than $60,000.” The College remains needaware, however, for international students, and the implications of this on future international applicants could be adverse. Need-blind admissions plays a significant role in determining if a student will apply to any given college. “I looked at the list of schools that are need-aware and need-blind,” Ilagan said. “I didn’t apply to Williams until it was Dec. 30 … I really would not have applied if I didn't have [a] friend who told me that Williams does give good financial aid to international students.” The policy also hinders the type of support systems available to and catered toward current international students on financial aid. “In some countries, their economies are so volatile that if there’s a political regime change, suddenly their family, who thought that they didn’t need aid, now does need financial aid, and Williams cannot change its policies.” Isabel Andrade ’18, co-president of IC, said. “So I’ve seen a lot of people really struggle due to this policy, and I don’t think people are really aware of the implications of this policy on the students here right now.”

The responses from the Office of Admission regarding the posters and IC’s recent op-ed (“Beware, we are need aware: a call for needblind admissions for international students,” March 7, 2018) have been positive and receptive. “It’s no surprise to us that Williams students are engaging with this issue in such meaningful ways,” Creighton said. “It’s yet another example of the remarkable talent and passion we know exists within our student community.” Going forward, IC plans to start a school-wide conversation about financial aid beyond need-blind aid. Similarly, the Office of Admission hopes to continue to engage in productive discourse regarding this policy. “The Offices of Admission and Financial Aid agree with the writers of the op-ed that the need-aware policy for international applicants is an important issue and one that we’ll want to consider with the provost, the new president and the Board of Trustees.” Creighton added. The administration also defended the College's admissions process. “Despite the change in policy, the College has remained committed to enrolling a student community—domestic and international—that is intellectually curious, deeply engaged in ideas and that brings a range of interests, talents, lived experiences and perspectives to campus,” Creighton said. “The flip side of having such a tremendously strong applicant pool is that we can’t admit all the talented and deserving students—domestic and international—who we know would be terrific additions to the Williams community.”

Williams Motorcoach to offer free bus rides in April and coordinate with student groups By REBECCA TAUBER NEWS EDITOR Williams Motorcoach will offer free buses to and from New York City and Boston on April 20 and 22. While Williams Motorcoach has offered free transport before, this is a rare occurrence. In addition, Williams Motorcoach is starting a new cosponsorship program with student groups. Williams Motorcoach Executive Director David Han ’19 described both initiatives as attempts “to responsibly spend funding over time in a way that best benefits the Williams student body.” The free transportation is just one small aspect of the many recent changes to Williams Motorcoach. “This year, as part of a spend-down on accumulated funds, we decided on a multi-pronged approach, including a special weekend of free buses, co-sponsorship of transportation for student organization programs and some pilot routes to the train station in Troy,” Han said. These specific dates were chosen because they are the last weekend dates for the academic year. A deliberate effort was made to provide free weekend buses in order to give students the opportunity to get off campus beyond simply traveling to and from Williamstown during breaks. “We wanted to do the weekend buses as opposed to the regular buses to/from airports/train stations because it would be a good way to expose students to the weekend bus program and also to give students a chance to get out of the Purple Bubble,” Han said. In addition to the free bus tickets, Williams Motorcoach is advertising a new co-sponsorship program for student organizations. With this new initiative, Williams Motorcoach will be provid-

ing transportation for trips that are organized by student groups. “The Co-sponsorship program is another way for us to give back to the community,” Han said. “As a result, the Registered Student Organization (RSO) or Neighborhood can focus more on organizing, preparing and marketing [its] event programming. Motorcoach does not give money to the organization but supports the travel directly by paying the outside transportation vendor.” In order to take advantage of this program, student organizations must submit a request that is then approved by Williams Motor-

coach. This allows Williams Motorcoach to set guidelines for which types of trips it provides transportation for. “There are some rules for eligibility of programs,” Han explained. “The first is that the event must be open to the entire student population. The second is that the RSO/ Neighborhood has to contribute by organizing the programming.” This means that the student organization still must contribute some funds toward the event. Lastly, this partnership must be officially recognized by the student group. “When the RSO/ Neighborhood advertises for the event, [it] must include

that the Williams College Motorcoach Transport has co-sponsored [its] event,” Han said. All of the funding for these new initiatives comes from ticket sales. However, the price of a bus ticket, which is currently between $23 and $42 for a one-way trip, is subject to change in the coming years. “Depending on the bid prices we receive from our transportation vendors for next year, we actually are planning on decreasing ticket prices across the board, offering free buses and cosponsoring events. This year was just the first phase,” Han said.

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March 14, 2018

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The Williams Record

Banner in Paresky highlights Islamophobia on campus CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Muslim students on campus. The banner is currently hanging on the fireplace in Baxter Hall. “I was fed up with seeing the ways in which the Muslim women who were a part of the MSU board with me my sophomore year were treated, sidelined and graduated so exhausted and frustrated.” Awad said. “The banner became a way to address the larger context of the Islamophobic campus and how gendered our experiences on campus are. It acknowledges the sexism Muslim women and femmes face from Muslim and non-Muslim men and how the administration hasn’t fully responded to the sexism or Islamophobia or held people accountable.” This sentiment also resonates with MSU co-chair Omar Kawam ’20. “The comments and experiences that our Muslim sisters have to go through manifest the severe underlying Islamophobia that segments of our campus ail from,” Kawam said. “I want to emphasize the importance of working with other minority and religious student groups to combat the mutual injustices we face.” These notions were also echoed by alums. Bushra Ali ’16 was upset to hear about the incident. “[The Muslim community] seem[s] to continually hit a brick wall every time we attempt to address the issues that affect us. There just never seem to be enough time, resources and capability to pay heed to and come up with actionable solutions to our problems,” Ali said. “I have always faced issues as a Muslim on this campus, especially since I wore a hijab from day one [until] the beginning of senior year on campus.” Although he recognizes these concerns, Rosen does not intend to speak on behalf of the Muslim community. Instead, he, along with the Chaplain’s

REBECCA TAUBER/NEWS EDITOR

As a direct response to a mispelled plaque in Thompson Memorial Chapel, the poster highlights questions and microagressions that Muslim students regularly hear throughout their daily lives. Office, is committed to supporting religious and non-religious students through their experiences at the College. “At the same time, I am aware of the range of perspectives sur-

rounding this particular situation as well as the other concerns that are getting conflated with this truly unfortunate occurrence,” Rosen said. “My family and I live firsthand our share of difficul-

ties as Muslims in this time and region, and I can empathize with the multi-layered challenges many Muslims at Williams face on campus and as a reflection of the wider national climate.”

Laverne Cox delivers inspirational speech CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ending the bullying of our LGBTQ youth, we have to begin to create spaces of gender self-determination.” Depression and suicide are issues that disproportionately affect the trans community, with an estimated 41 percent of trans people reporting that they have attempted suicide. Cox spoke of her own experience with depression as she went through puberty and grieved the loss of her grandmother in the sixth grade. “As puberty happened, I realized that I was attracted exclusively to boys… This was something I internalized a tremendous amount of shame about,” she said. “I imagined that [my grandmother] was up in heaven looking down on me, and I imagined that she knew

every single thought that I was having about boys. And the idea of her knowing that, the idea of disappointing her – because in my mind, she had to be disappointed because this was a sin – that moment made me not want to live. So, I went to our medicine cabinet and took an entire bottle of pills and swallowed them and went to sleep, hoping not to wake up.” Cox also discussed the ways in which dance served as an escape for her. She enrolled in the Alabama School of Fine Arts for high school. “I found out there was a ballet-only dance program … and my mother didn’t allow me to study ballet because she thought it was too gay,” she said. “I said to myself, ‘I can submit myself as a creative writing major, get in, get a scholarship, start studying ballet and then

switch my major to dance,’ and that’s exactly what I did.” Since high school, Cox has confronted the different types of shame she felt. “Shame has been such a huge part of my life, and working on and through shame is something that I continue to work on to this day. We are a shame-prone culture,” she said. Quoting Brown, she added, “Empathy is the antidote to shame.” This was the time in Cox’s life where she first felt comfortable experimenting with clothes and makeup. “I began to wear women’s and girls’ clothes for the first time,” she said. “I began to exist in this gender non-binary, androgynous kind of space.” After attending Indiana University at Bloomington and Marymount Manhattan College, Cox further explored her gender identity through the New York

JULIA CASSELL/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Laverne Cox spoke on her struggles as a trans woman of color and provided guidance to the student body.

club scene of the 1990s. “For the first time in my life, my gender expression was looked upon as something that was valuable, something that made me special,” she said. Through interacting with other trans and non-binary people in this environment, Cox was inspired to start her medical transition and began hormone therapy. “Some of the people that I would meet in the New York City club scene would change my life,” she said. “There was a particular person that I met who went by the name of Tina Sparkles. And over the next several years of knowing Tina, I watched her transition from a statuesque queen to a beautiful, elegant, sophisticated woman… And I said to myself, ‘If Tina can do this, what can I do?’” Cox also discussed the different types of violence that trans people face as well as her personal experiences with street harassment. “After all these years of experiencing this, I have come to believe that calling a transgender woman a man, misgendering a trans person, is an act of violence,” she said. “Often, when I would be misgendered, when I would hear someone yell ‘that’s a man’ to me on the street, I would immediately feel unsafe, and very often I was.” Cox ended her lecture on a positive note of hope and healing despite the many challenges that she and the transgender community have faced. She also gave advice to the College community on how to heal during turbulent political times. “We can’t heal from our history if we don’t talk about it, if we don’t acknowledge it,” she said. “That is the first step. And then we need to try to get clear about what pain we are in so we’re not inflicting that on other people. I would like to challenge each and every one of you tonight to go out into your communities and have those difficult conversations across difference. Create safe space so that you can take risks and make mistakes. Have those conversations with a lot of love and empathy.”

“The Chaplains’ Office will continue to try to facilitate opportunities for intra-faith reconciliation and understanding as much as we work on inter-faith learning and

service initiatives,” Rosen added. “These are among the most precious goals of our office, and we make ourselves available to all those who share these aspirations.”

Student code of conduct edited in update to dean of the College’s website By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN EXECUTIVE EDITOR On Monday, the dean of the College’s office debuted a major website edit, including important updates to the student code of conduct. The new code of conduct is organized in a substantially different way than before. It enumerates violations of the code of conduct falling under academic, social and sexual misconduct as well as the process for adjudicating each type of violation. It also provides a sanctions rubric to delineate which sanctions can be expected to be imposed for any given violation of the code of conduct. According to Senior Associate Dean of the College Rachel Bukanc, the changes, while major, do not substantively alter what conduct is prohibited or regulated under the code. Rather, the new code provides updated and clearer explanations for conduct violations as well as for disciplinary processes. The impetus for its redesign was student feedback that the code of conduct was often inaccessible, unwieldy or unclear on the old website. “The updates, based largely on feedback from students, provide expanded definitions and clarifications of violations and procedures,” Bukanc said. These changes provide updated definitions for each conduct violation as well as distinctions between the College’s informal and formal disciplinary processes. They also detail how these processes differ and how the Dean’s Office decides which processes to use for alleged violations. For each of the formal processes, a detailed explanation and flowchart of the process and any appeals procedures follow. These procedures are explained for each of the types of misconduct under the code: academic, social and sexual.

The changes have been in the works for quite some time, and the development of the changes involved offices across campus. “Administrative staff from CSS [Campus Safety and Security], the Davis Center, Health Services and the Office of Student Life were invited to review and participate in updating the code,” Bukanc said. Student input was also central to the revision process, as was feedback from College Council (CC), which last year had worked on creating a simplified code of conduct outline for students to consult. “Students also participated in the review, including Donglin Zhang [’19], Spencer Carrillo [’20] and Web Farabow [’18],” Bukanc said. “In addition, I presented the updates to CC and incorporated feedback.” “Prior to finalization,” Bukanc continued, “the updates were shared with the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity and with the College's General Counsel.” Bukanc emphasized the importance of the accessibility of the code of conduct and student conduct processes to students in addition to the vital role the code of conduct plays as part of the College’s educational mission. “The updates have made the information more transparent and more comprehensible,” she said. “By enforcing the code of conduct, the College supports an environment conducive to intellectual, ethical and civic development.” The code of conduct revision is part of a major website overhaul for the Dean’s Office, which includes revised and clarified explanations of various student services, answers to frequently asked student questions and updated links to other related campus resources.

FEATURES 6

The Williams Record

March 14, 2018

One in Two Thousand By FRANCESCA PARIS SENIOR WRITER

You’ve replaced lacrosse with cycling and running.

Eleanor Lustig ’18 doesn’t like to choose favorites, but she is one of my favorite people. She is down to earth and even more committed to her friends than to her double major in mathematics and environmental studies. I sat down with her to hear about her passion for food systems and what the process of injury and recovery has taught her.

Yeah. Now I’m on the cycling team, and I love it. The important message I learned my sophomore year, when I ran a marathon and got three overuse injuries in my hip, is that I can’t just run all the time – I have to do other things, too. Now I’m basically alternating between cycling and running so that I make sure that I’m not getting injured.

You went to a really tiny high school, right?

Can you talk about how you recover from injuries?

I went to this school called Waring School in Beverly, Mass., and there were, I think, 27 kids in my graduating class and probably 10 to 15 kids I was with straight through from sixth grade. It’s a liberal arts high school where everyone speaks French. I loved it. Everyone takes the same classes — you take a humanities class, French class, math class, science class, creative writing and art all the way through. Everyone sings in the chorus. You have a theatre requirement and music theory requirement. And there’s no grades and no raising of hands, and you call teachers by their first names. It’s a great place.

One of the big things I’ve learned through the process of injury and recovery is to advocate for yourself. Both with my hip injury and my head, I had teams of doctors that missed the big things. The doctors I saw for my hip in the fall of my sophomore year missed a stress fracture. I took some time off from lacrosse and recovered partially, and then I asked if I could start to play again. I got the go-ahead because the doctors said it was just tendinitis. But throughout the season, it didn’t feel right, and I ended up having to really advocate for myself to get an MRI. And they found a stress fracture that had been overlooked.

What made you playing lacrosse?

stop

I’d always wanted to play lacrosse in college, and I walked onto the lacrosse team here. I got a couple of injuries my sophomore year, so I didn’t play for the second half of the season. Then last January, right before preseason, I got my third really bad concussion – which basically gave me a decision to make about lacrosse. The concussion took seven months to heal before I could start getting back into physical activity. And I ended up deciding that with my history of injury in the sport and the risk… I mean, no one wants their fourth concussion. So I decided it wasn’t in my long-term best interest to keep playing.

ELEANOR LUSTIG ’18

SOPHIA SHIN/PHOTO EDITOR ELEANOR'S HOMETOWN WENHAM, MASS.

ELEANOR'S RESIDENCE CURRIER

if I’d gotten into it earlier to get the muscles to loosen up. I still have problems in my neck and my upper back that I’m not sure will ever go away because they’re so deeply knotted.

Then you had a concussion. I got the concussion in a car accident in which I lost control of my car, slid in black ice conditions and hit a tree. And so a lot of it was from the airbag. After three months, I kind of plateaued in my recovery. It took me longer than I wish it had to realize most of what I was experiencing was from whiplash and not actually the concussion. Whiplash doesn’t go away unless you really treat it a lot. No medical person told me that I had to actually attack the whiplash, essentially, to make it go away. By the time I started treatment really intensively, about six months out, it took a lot longer than it would’ve

What was the recovery like from the concussion? I learned a lot about patience. Having a concussion for so long really helped my anxiety. Because you’re kind of in a dampened state when you’re concussed, my anxiety never hit the peaks it had used to hit. And it’s kind of stayed that way. I’ve recovered, and I have a greater ability to chill now. [Laughs.] Last spring I was on a reduced course load, and I felt like I had all the time in the world because I also wasn’t playing a sport. That got me thinking a lot about time. I realized I had always been under the impression that I didn’t

NOTABLE ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENT MAINE MARATHON

have time that I actually did have. I always thought, “Oh, I can’t do X, Y or Z because I’m so busy.” I wouldn’t leave time for myself to sleep enough because I had so much to do the next day. While concussed, I learned the ins and outs of appreciating the time you really do have and taking advantage of it. There’s a mantra I like: “Gotta take time to make time.” [Laughs.] And that’s important to me. You’re passionate about food. Are you thinking of a career related to that? I have always been really passionate about food in all perspectives. I worked at a really awesome organization called the Intervale Center in Burlington, Vt. last summer. It’s an organization that works to support all aspects of community food systems – helping support farmers and

sustainable land use, helping build community around food and supporting lower income community members in getting really good, nutritious food from local farms. I have also been involved with the WRAPS [Williams Recovery of All Perishable Surplus] program throughout my time here and am now part of a nascent student group called the Food Group, which put on the Empty Bowl Dinner. I definitely would love to work in food systems at some level. I love growing food. I love teaching people about food and helping people connect with and through food. I’m also passionate about issues of sustainability – making sure we are growing food in a way that is sustainable for the land and for communities. I want to help ensure that people get food that truly nourishes them in a physical, emotional and cultural sense. But I’m not exactly sure what channel fits me the best yet. Favorite book? No. I don’t do favorites. I’m really bad at them. I think I take favorites too literally. I’m afraid to commit myself to a favorite. Okay, well, what are your favorite and least favorite parts of Williams? I’m much better at least favorites than favorites. My least favorite part of Williams is the expectation that you’re going to do as much as you possibly can while you’re here. We all tend to be overcommitted. I think there’s just an attitude that to brutalize yourself with school work and extracurriculars is to be the ideal citizen of this campus … that this is how you prove your worth, that this is where your worth comes from on some level. I’ve never had fewer commitments during my time here than right now, and I love it because I just feel like I’m so much better able to con-

nect to the people around me. I think the best part of Williams is the people and the place. Williams wasn’t on my radar until I visited in October of my senior fall. The interactions I had with the people were so much deeper than at any of the other schools I’d visited. I turned around in two weeks and applied early decision. That has kind of rung true throughout my time here. There’s no shortage of wonderful people here, and the more time I invest in my relationships, the happier I am. Last fall, you’d often be at Tunnel by 6 a.m. But you seem like you’re taking a more relaxed approach to senior spring. Every semester here for me has been so dramatically different. This fall, I was taking five classes, one of which was an independent study. It was a lot. I had this attitude that I was going to work really hard, get those classes done with and take it easy this spring. This ties into what I was saying about recovery and being gentle with yourself generally. The injury and recovery processes I have been through during the past two years have taught me a lot about the balance between working hard and taking downtime. My hip injuries were all overuse injuries from running too hard and too often without giving my body time to recover. Since then, I've had to dramatically rethink how I approach running. I've learned that it’s not about how hard you train, but how smartly and attentively you train. This change in mentality has carried over to how I approach life more generally, too… Last fall, it was getting up early and going to bed early. This winter and spring, it has been staying up later and letting myself sleep in. It's all part of a process of being gentler on myself and being responsive to the present.

Spotlight on Research: Professor studies marriage equality By JEONGYOON HAN FEATURES EDITOR Living in the Berkshires in the 2000s gave Professor of Political Science Darel E. Paul a front-row seat in witnessing the legalization of same-sex marriage. Amazed by the nation’s unprecedented and rapidly changing cultural attitude toward queer couples, Paul embarked on an eight year-long project to observe and analyze the main change-makers whom he believed to have paved the way for the legalization of samesex marriage: America’s business and academic elites. Out this month, Paul’s newest book, From Tolerance to Equality: How Elites Brought America to Same-Sex Marriage, argues that members of the American upper professional class led the cultural change through three primary phenomena: lived experiences of elites, promotion of diversity and the “class(ification) struggle.” With Massachusetts being the first state to allow gay marriage in 2004 and the College acting as a platform to academically analyze the nation’s evolving position on same-sex marriage, Paul felt that there needed to be a better explanation of the how the nation’s cultural attitude toward queer couples had so rapidly changed. From 2008 – a year after California eliminated the right for same-sex couples to marry through California Proposition 8 – to 2017, Paul researched this very question. “Being an academic, I couldn’t help but notice that academics, but also, in a larger sense, professionals, were the cultural avantgarde to this movement,” Paul said. But to him, nobody “was trying to answer this very broad question about how American society overall had changed from a social science perspective.” Existing literature explaining the legalization of same-sex marriage was not convincing for Paul. The “enlightened toleration argument” or the “contact routine hypothesis” – the belief that as more people came

into contact with queer people, American society became more accepting of same-sex marriage – did not explain the rise of conservative backlash against same-sex couples. Likewise, legal analyses and philosophical approaches to the question of marriage did not look at the social phenomenon of the samesex marriage movement to the degree that Paul sought. It was the elites – the professional, managerial class of doctors, professors, managers, engineers and other higher professionals – on both American coasts that were the “social and geographical locus for change,” Paul argued. “They are the pioneers.” Paul argues that as the elites laid the foundations for the movement, lower professionals and lower managers of smaller operations expressed positive perspectives on same-sex marriage to the rest of America. Changing perceptions of family structure also influenced the increasing acceptance of homosexuality. Data from the National Survey of Family Growth asking Americans aged 15 to 44 about their opinions on sexual habits and family practices was informative for Paul. “People’s views on same-sex marriage are a function of their views on marriage, sex and procreation,” he said. Additionally, Paul argues that companies and large organizations began to incorporate values of diversity, including acceptance of samesex couples, which helped spur greater national support for same-sex marriage. Paul explained that corporations, as the greatest proponents of making same-sex couples “normal,” are “animated by an interesting and unusual phenomenon” of increasing diversity, given that the common conception of capitalist, large-scale companies is that they are more conservative in ideology. Yet, in the early 2000s, LGBTQ and human rights organizations began to identify corporations as leaders. As proof,

after the United States Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision in 2015, many companies immediately showed their support for the ruling on Twitter within the first six to 12 hours. This included companies in the airline, liquor, hotel and technology industries. Advertising strategies also played a large role in corporations’ initiatives to promote same-sex marriage. Paul referenced a two-minute advertisement that Tylenol ran in 2016 about what an American family might look like today, which included a family with lesbian parents. The advertisement’s catchphrase was “Family is what you make it out to be.” In another example, Frito-Lay released limited edition rainbow-colored Doritos chips in 2015 to support the cause. To clarify, however, Paul said that elites are not especially open-minded toward all other social groups compared to the rest of the population. “Elites are not any more tolerant than any-

body else,” he said, referencing data collected by the American National Election Studies. “They have more positive opinions toward gay and lesbian [people] than other social classes, but they have more negative opinions towards what’s called in this survey ‘Christian fundamentalists’ than other classes… They’re not more tolerant [than others], just differently tolerant.” Nevertheless, Paul believes the elites’ tolerance and acceptance of diversity was key to America’s perceptions of samesex marriage. “Diversity as an ideology [arose] in corporate America at the very same time that elites in particular [began] to change their minds about homosexuality,” he said. In fact, Paul calls diversity “a managerial ideology,” in that the promotion of certain social groups to elite ranks is an indicator of success. According to this ideology, “managers are essential for the smooth and efficient functioning of a pluralistic society,” he said. And for these

“managers,” the best marketing strategy is to use same sex-couples in their advertisements to display an embrace of diversity. “[Corporations] want to be associated with homosexuality because of its connotations of authenticity, individuality and material success,” Paul said. That elites were at the forefront of the same-sex marriage movement reaffirms a notion in the social sciences that Paul elaborated upon. "According to managerial ideology, in an increasingly pluralistic society, … you need expert managerial skill to produce social harmony and corporate interests in efficiency and profits,” he said. “Without that expert managerial skill, people won’t be able to cooperate.” This allowed for changing attitudes toward homosexuality, which resulted in a ripple effect of change in broadening definitions of equality to include same-sex marriage leading up to the Supreme Court’s reinterpretation in 2015, Paul said.

Supporting same-sex marriage was crucial for elites, Paul argues, because pro-normalization of same-sex marriage “[became] part of what it means to be a professional.” This idea is an example of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s notion of the “class(ification) struggle,” or how social classes are, fundamentally, practices of cultural distinction. Paul’s research has implications not only for understanding the causes of same-sex marriage legalization, but also for understanding how America’s cultural landscape is changing. In his book, Paul said, he does not “try to be a moral philosopher or a legal theorist, but to be a good social scientist.” He strives to observe how certain individuals influence American social issues. And for Paul, examining significant moments in history by observing main actors is important in light of the sociopolitical issues that America faces now and will face in the future.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE VERITAS FORUM AND BAYLOR UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Professor of Political Science Darel E. Paul recently published a book examining the influence of elites in legalizing same-sex marriage.

March 14, 2018

7 FEATURES

The Williams Record

First annual Comedy Festival brings laughs to campus By LYDIA DUAN FEATURES EDITOR Amidst midterms and skyhigh stress, there is no better way to cheer up than by watching live comedy. The first annual Williams College Comedy Festival took place this past weekend. The two-part event kicked off with stand-up comedy on Friday in Perry House’s Goat Room and ended with a bang with improv comedy on Saturday Currier Hall’s ballroom. Pitched as performances including “only the brightest and weirdest minds this campus has to offer,” the Festival came together through coincidentally perfect timing and a large collaborative effort. “Treestyle and Combo Za each invited improv groups from other colleges to perform on the same night without realizing it,” Treestyle member Rob Hefferon ’18 said. “When we found out, Chris D’Silva [’18] brought up the point that, rather than try to host different shows on the same night and cannibalize each other’s crowds, we should make it a whole event. And after hemming and hawing over the name, the Williams College Comedy Festival was born. When the stand-up show ... had to be moved to [Friday], it really became a festival.” D’Silva, a member of Combo Za, humorously added, “Thus, the First Annual Williams College Comedy Festival was accidentally conceived.” Hefferon added that he hopes the Festival becomes an annual tradition. In the weeks leading up to the Festival, there was a buzz of anticipation in the air, but the practice schedules for the College’s improv groups stayed consistent with what they are like throughout the semester. “We prepared the same way we would for any show, by running through the games we were planning on playing during the show for a week or so before the show,” Hefferon

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS D’SILVA.

Third Wheel Improv (above) was one of the visiting groups that performed in this past weekend’s first annual Comedy Festival. said. “Now, we’ve got a bunch of new exercises to try out over the next weeks and months.” Combo Za and the PAC, the College’s sketch comedy group, took a similar approach. “For improv, we just stuck to our normal practice schedule and did a huge warm-up with all four groups on the day of the show,” D’Silva said. “For stand-up, TJ Nykorchuck [’20] ran workshops the week before the show to help comics develop their sets.” The Festival also included performances from other colleges’ improv comedy groups, namely Third Wheel Improv from Columbia and Awkward Kids Talking (AKT) from Skidmore. Collaborating with groups from different colleges both

strengthened the sense of community among these comedians and provided an opportunity for the exchange of tips and tricks of the trade. “It was great! AKT and Third Wheel are both awesome groups, and it was cool to learn about the different ways that they practice and perform,” D’Silva said. “It [is] also just a lot of fun to party with people from other schools, but I feel like everyone knows that.” Hefferon echoed the sentiment. “Treestyle hosted AKT last year, so it was nice to see a lot of them back again,” he said. “We got a chance to practice together and share improv forms, games and warm-ups. Both AKT and Treestyle are younger

groups, so it is cool to see the ways in which our experiences have been similar or different.” Both Hefferon and D’Silva expressed an interest in exploring not only the similarities, but also the differences between the various improv groups, such as ideas about how to improvise and what is comedic. For D’Silva, it was the differing details at the margins that captured some of the fun in performing together. “We all kind of came from the same general school of improv,” he said. “The differences become more about the ways that individual performers interact with each other and how performing for different audiences influences the premises and ideas you gravi-

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tate toward. It’s always a ton of fun seeing how much different groups can vary.” Evidently, the stream of rehearsals and preparations beforehand paid off. Opening night was a smashing success, with an energetic atmosphere and a high-spirited audience. The stand-up comedy show provided endless amounts of fun, entertainment and warmth on a particularly chilly Friday night. The audience’s responses ranged from light chuckling to literal laughing out loud. Single lines that were particularly spoton elicited a mixture of stamping feet, clapping hands and snapping fingers. While it is impossible to predict the course of show business,

there were, luckily, “no major snafus,” Hefferon said. Funded by the Office of Student Life and the Entertainment Committee, the Festival even had a shrimp cocktail bar. Over the course of the two nights, the performers offered their best wit for hours on end, feeling encouraged by the audience’s engagement. “It was a lot of comedy,” Hefferon admitted. “I was personally exhausted by the end, but the audiences, to their credit, stayed lively the whole time.” Saturday night had a similar atmosphere. The improv show was chock-full of sassy wit and snappy banter. The performers played off of each other’s spontaneous characters seamlessly – two seconds into an improv game, someone would have already picked up on a story thread that would continue as an inside joke for the rest of the night. Throughout the evening, performers created storylines that started with hilarity and ended in hysterics. In their reflections after the Festival, Hefferon and D’Silva both found the weekend rewarding and expressed enthusiasm for what’s around the corner. “Starting something new is always super exciting,” D’Silva said. “Julia Cochran [’19] and Evelyn Elgart [’19] are Za and PAC members abroad, but they have already started talking about their plans for next year, which might involve inviting professional comedians, including some alumni, to perform and give workshops. It was also great hearing from a lot of new stand-ups on Friday.” “It was really fun to hang out with such creative, high energy people and to see the comedy scene at Williams [that] has really taken shape over the last few years kind of culminating in this festival,” Hefferon added. “I’m excited to see what this festival might turn into in the future.”

JA excursion or group of friends hanging out? As the days get longer and students look toward the fall, JAs to the class of 2022 congregate amidst regular Paresky goers for the annual ritual of the JA excursion. Thus arises the question: JA excursion or group of friends?

"Yeah, but he's 33." - Naomi Francois ’18, Danielle D'Oliveira ’19 and Abigail Matthew ’18 PHOTO COURTESY OF AUDREY LEE.

Verdict: Group of friends

Mentored by Audrey Lee ’20 and Darla Torres ’18, Mount Greylock’s MUN team debated at a conference in Boston.

College students mentor local MUN club By TARAN DUGAL COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Last weekend, students from Mount Greylock Regional School, mentored by Audrey Lee ’20 and Darla Torres ’18, competed in a Model United Nations (MUN) conference at Boston College High School. Four students received awards for their stellar individual performances. The successes enjoyed by the high school and middle school students owe a lot to the work of Torres and Lee, who both participated in MUN in high school. Lee founded the current version of the Mount Greylock MUN team, a decision that was primarily motivated by the lack of similar extracurricular activities at the College. “Coming here, it made me really sad that we didn’t have a team because I wanted to stay involved,” Lee said. “Deciding to continue my involvement by teaching this great group of kids has been super rewarding.” According to Torres, the program would not have been possible without the involvement of the Center for Learning in Action (CLiA). “I would encourage students to pursue their interests through CLiA,” Torres said. “They were the most supportive, were extremely receptive to our interests and, ultimately, are the reason that this thing got off the ground in the first place.” The transition from competing to teaching has been challenging for Lee and Torres, but it is one that they have

embraced wholeheartedly. “It’s definitely different being on this side of things,” Torres said. “As a high schooler, being in MUN was fun, but it’s also fun to teach and relive that high school life, which is something we get to do when we take the team to conference.” Their students expressed enthusiasm and gratitude for Torres’ and Lee’s mentorship. “[Lee and Torres] have done a really incredible job of both being kind and supportive to us students, while also doing a really effective job at teaching us how to navigate [MUN],” Avery Powers, a junior at Mount Greylock, said. Mount Greylock first-year Victoria Melkonyan agreed. “Audrey and Darla find a way to perfectly balance out everything, such that you get enough practical advice but also a lot of advice on the different subtleties that come with [MUN],” Melkonyan said. The positive response to the club is reflected in its increase in membership. Lee and Torres believe that they have a leg up on the competition because they are college-aged mentors, as opposed to the high school teachers who normally advise MUN clubs. “I think in working with such young people, being young yourself makes it easier to try new strategies out,” Torres said. The mentees also believe that their advisors’ ages have played a significant role in the team's success. “The fact that they are that much closer in age really

helps with their connection to us,” Powers said. “There are only a few years separating us, not a whole generation, which is the case at other schools. And I think it allows them to understand us more, which in turn allows them to do a better job of teaching us.” Melkonyan concurred, saying that she has found comfort in her advisors’ approachability. “We can talk about the [MUN] process, but we can also talk about the drama at Mount Greylock this week,” she said. “And it helps because if you can be friends with your advisors, you’ll be more comfortable texting them at midnight the day before a conference with any questions.” Despite the closeness in age, however, Lee and Torres have ensured that they maintain a balance between friend and teacher. “Initially, I was a little worried that the line between mentor and friend would be blurred, but I think we’ve done a pretty good job of making sure that everyone respects one another,” Lee said. Torres will be graduating this spring, a fact that her mentees are very aware of. They plan on attending her graduation, a small detail that is indicative of the kind of close-knit community that Lee and Torres have worked to foster with the team. Looking ahead, they hope to continue their strong performances, and they encourage other College students to get involved with MUN here in Williamstown.

"Can we paint one of the common room walls as our flag so other entries won't steal ours?" - Julia Choi ’20, Melinda Kan-Dapaah ’20, Drew Cohen ’20 and Nate Jones ’20 Verdict: JA excursion "You have a lot of earthenware." - Kevin Zhou ’20, Crystal McIntosh ’20, Hannah Goldstein ’20 and Jeromy DiGiacomo ’20 Verdict: JA excursion

"Hold on. Now I gotta do 10 push-ups." - Surabhi Iyer ’21, Nicolle Mac Williams ’21 and George Yacoub ’21 Verdict: Group of friends

8 ARTS

The Williams Record

March 14, 2018

Molière’s classic comedy satirizes 17th-century France By ZOE CHEVALIER STAFF WRITER A bigoted man trying to steal the family’s fortune, an oblivious father, a whiny daughter who refuses to abandon her lover and a hilarious maid who does not follow orders: these are the perfect characters for a Molière comedy. Tartuffe, first performed in 1664 for King Louis XIV at Versailles, was revisited by the College’s theater department in a production directed by Professor of Theatre David Eppel. The five shows, running from March 8 to 11 at the ‘62 Center for Theatre and Dance, concluded the career of Eppel after 32 years in the theatre department. Tartuffe recounts the story of an aristocratic family in 17th-century France. Orgon, the father, rescues Tartuffe, a poor and seemingly pious man who pretends to help purify the family’s soul. The first half of the play depicts the devotion that Orgon and his mother have for Tartuffe, including a hilarious scene in which Orgon, coming back from his travels and hearing that his wife has been sick, asks instead about the wellbeing of Tartuffe. A man of excesses, Orgon decides to orchestrate a marriage between his daughter Marianne and Tartuffe, letting him enter his family indefinitely. After Damis, Orgon’s son, disputes Tartuffe’s marriage, Orgon decides to disinherit him,

PHOTO COURTESY OF KEITH FOREMAN/THE ’62 CENTER.

‘Tartuffe’, originally banned for speaking against 17th-century French monarchy and the Church, now serves as a mockery of the past. thus making Tartuffe the only beneficiary of his fortune. The plot expands during the second part of the play. Dressed in all white with Catholic crosses and a rosary, Tartuffe’s constant flagellation with a whip adds to his ridiculous appearance. Despite his clever manipulations, Tartuffe has one weakness: his love for Elmire, Orgon’s wife. Through a long and cringe-

worthy discourse, he confesses his love to her and tries to make romantic advances. When both Damis and Elmire recount this incident to Orgon, they make a plan to confirm these accusations. Orgon is to hide under a table while Elmire plays into Tartuffe’s seduction game. Thus begins an unsettling scene in which Tartuffe forces himself onto Elmire, chasing

and grabbing her in a predatory way, while Orgon, witnessing this, refuses to intervene. When finally convinced, he unmasks Tartuffe as a fraud. Tartuffe then plays his last card: since he is now master of the house, he wants them all to leave. While the family is trapped in an inextricable situation, Molière used a case of deus ex machina, saving the situation by the unexpected

power of the king who, having heard of the story, sends his guards to arrest Tartuffe. Eppel’s direction of the play was magnificent and provided a modern twist to the French classic. Using a modernized English translation of the text by Richard Wilbur, the director managed to bring the characters to life and interact with the public, often breaking the fourth wall of theater. The set,

representing the inside of a palace, extended the entire length of the stage, providing a large playing field for the actors, who ran in and out from the many doors on the sides. With a show of sounds accentuating the actions of the characters (and apparently judging their verse proficiency by playing different sounds in response to the quality of their rhymes), the play had a liveliness not often found in classic works. Finally, the costumes, in a mix of orange, blue and green, gave each of the characters a ridiculous look. The play was first banned in the 17th century, as it was too critical of the Church and the monarchy. Molière then re-wrote it, making the king the savior and dedicating a whole monologue to singing his praises at the end. But its timeless story makes it applicable to any era. In light of the #MeToo movement and the recent uprising against sexual assault across the world, Elmire’s reaction to Tartuffe’s forceful address seem exceptionally timely. Elmire first decides not to tell her husband what has happened, saying, “Yes, I am of opinion that one ought never to break in upon a husband’s rest with such idle stuff, that our honor can by no means depend upon it and that ’tis enough we know how to defend ourselves. These are my thoughts of the matter.” Ultimately, though, she helps unmask the fraud.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VARIETY.COM.

Hamlet, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, energizes Shakespeare’s tragedy with introspective solliquies.

Clark screening of ‘Hamlet’ brings world-class theater to Williamstown By KARMEN LIANG CONTRIBUTING WRITER As part of an international encore of the original 2015 production in London, the Clark Art Institute presented a screening of Shakespeare’s Hamlet this past Sunday. National Theatre Live (NTL), which aims to to increase the accessibility of world-class theater, records live performances by carefully stitching together shots from multiple cameras to ensure that “cinema audiences always get ‘the best seat in the house,’” according to NTL’s website. After announcing that Benedict Cumberbatch would star in the play’s title role, there was a frenzy of hype and excitement, and tickets sold out almost immediately. The English actor, best known for film and television works such as The Imitation Game and Sherlock, has a massive fan base that eagerly anticipated his interpretation of one of the most well-known Shakespearean characters. The production, however, was received with mixed reviews. The dimly lit stage opens to reveal a moody Hamlet sitting alone and listening to music playing on a phonograph. Horatio, bespectacled and sporting a canvas knapsack and a plaid button-up, enters soon after. The audience is given little time to puzzle over what decade to place the play in before a vast banquet hall is revealed and Claudius and Gertrude enter, wearing ceremonial costumes reminiscent

of an era a few centuries before the phonograph. Confusing anachronism aside, the set – designed by Ev Deslin – is astonishingly rich in realistic detail and convincing grandeur. Scene changes take the audience to uniquely spectacular settings inside and outside the castle of Elsinore. The lighting and other atmospheric techniques successfully enhance the mood and drama of every scene. Just before intermission, a storm of debris blows in from every doorway, serving not only as a representation of Claudius’ evil, but as one of the most stunning visual effects in the play. The kingdom of Denmark is brought to life onstage. Its inhabitants and the plotline they portray, on the other hand, are a little less believable. Director Lindsey Turner tweaks the characteristically dark story to add whimsical charm that, unfortunately, comes across as comical. These directorial decisions raise several questions: Why substitute the gripping first scene that introduces the ghost of King Hamlet with Hamlet brooding to the soundtrack of a Nat King Cole song? Why does Ophelia carry around a film camera, snapping close-ups of props on the ground? Is the wheeling out of a castle playset and giant wooden soldiers really the best way to convey Hamlet’s (who is also dressed like a toy soldier) “antic disposition?” Despite the seeming prioritization of visual effects

over narrative and characters, there are still a number of impressive performances. Ciaran Hinds makes for a compelling villain as Claudius, Sian Brooke fully embodies Ophelia’s distress and Jim Norton provides comedic relief as the sincere but gullible Polonius. Cumberbatch beautifully delivers as Hamlet, bringing both an energetic physicality and a deep introspection to his soliloquies. The intensity with which he engages with his role, in fact, makes the audience wish for a little more in other aspects of the play. Dazzling visuals can only do so much, and while there have been countless interpretations of this classic tragedy, it feels like Turner’s version susbstitutes too much substance for stage tricks and odd gimmicks. Though it received a lukewarm reception, it is still worthwhile to consider the broader implications of productions such as this. Though hardly a smashing success, the excitement around this production of Hamlet is a microcosm of a wider, ongoing interest in Shakespeare’s 400 year-old works. The theatrical exploration of timeless themes such as loss, vengeance and uncertainty makes Hamlet relevant to the present. And while there are no substitutes for live theater, screenings at the Clark still offer excellent opportunities to engage with a time-honored form of entertainment that, while not always readily available, allows for deeper investigations of complex ideas.

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9 ARTS

The Williams Record

March 14, 2018

Movement, music and film combine in dance symposium opener By CECELIA MESSBAUER STAFF WRITER What do museum installations, Grammy Award-winning Benninese singer Angelique Kidjo and short films have in common? On Friday, all three were brought to life through the medium of dance at the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA). WCMA kicked off the twoday Dance/Performance in Interdisciplinary Perspective symposium, held in partnership with the ‘62 Center for Theatre and Dance, with a brilliant triple-threat performance celebrating the use of movement as performance to preserve memory. The set opened with Walking, a collaboration between Director of Dance Sandra Burton’s Kusika ensemble and sculptural artist Maren Hassinger that served as a performative installation of her 1978 work of the same name. Walking’s individual pieces consisted of wire spun together into 148 distinct elements that were made to blend sculpture with movement improvisation on the part of the viewer. These pieces were carried in by the dancers in a slow procession following an initial dance by Burton, each dancer navigating the space with a distinct style before placing their element on the floor of the rotunda. Initially conducted in an atmosphere of silence, various noisemakers gradually created

PHOTO COURTESY OF WCMA

Individual wire elements (above) were carried into the gallery by members of Kusika; the pieces will remain on view in the WCMA rotunda. an immersive background ambience that rendered an almost musicality to the interactions of the dancers with the space and each other. When the final elements were placed and the ensemble members dispersed, the installation stood as any other in the art museum; future patrons can now view it as visual art, but the art that brought it into the museum was a one-time experience. Following the installation of Walking was Explorations

in Embodying Diaspora, a performance by Associate Professor of Africana Studies Rashida K. Braggs. Based on her research in female jazz artists of the African Diaspora, Braggs played the part of Kidjo in her dance excerpt. Making use of scarves as her primary prop and a voiceover narration as a framing device, Braggs embodied Kidjo’s travels to France, Germany and the United States. She used her powerful sing-

ing voice to evoke various other Diasporic artists, and she challenged the stereotyping of African music by validating cross-cultural influences in artistry. Closing the performance with a call to the audience to join in a Yoruba blessing, Braggs delivered a performance that was imbued with in-the-moment energy, even as she used dance to explore the past. Finishing off the evening was a presentation of a short

film, Triggers, by Assistant Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Kai M. Green. An adaptation of a script also used for live performance, the film used Green’s voice, a jazz band, a trio of dancers and stencil art to explore the trauma inflicted on black girls and women who have witnessed and/or experienced domestic violence. Referencing not only his own life experiences, but also the infamous case of

Marissa Alexander – who was sentenced to 20 years and served three years in prison for firing a warning shot to stop her abusive husband – Green created a film that is a powerfully personal interrogation of an issue that looms large in countless lives. The title, Triggers, served as a motif that questioned how we deal with memory's ability to harm. Its use within a poetic and musical narration, replete with repetition, complemented the energy of the dancers to create a performance that found its voice in collaboration. Green specifically praised the chemistry he achieved with the band during a post-performance panel discussion. While all three performances dabbled in the abstract, their thematic grounding in the performance of memory and its relation to various aspects of black identity, as well as the ways in which their different media complemented each other, made the evening an engaging experience beyond one’s reaction to any of its individual parts. As an introduction to a weekend of dance events, it provided a compelling snapshot of how dance intersects with other arts and humanities in order to tell stories, raise questions and invite introspection while also serving as a strong example of how artistic creation can contribute to broader personal and academic discourse.

Glynn discusses capital, construction By ANGELA TANG STAFF WRITER On Thursday, Los Angelesbased artist Liz Glynn gave a riveting talk at the College. Glynn works in a variety of media including sculptural and installation-based art, incorporating found objects and materials into her work. Much of it revolves around institutional critiques, and her most recent work, The Archaeology of Another Possible Future, is currently on display at MASS MoCA’s signature Building 5 gallery. Her talk, like her installation, encouraged public engagement and participatory performance among her audiences and drew upon several interesting points of discussion. Glynn was born in Boston, Mass. and received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard in Visual and Environmental Studies in 2003 and her master of fine arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts in sculpture and performance work in 2008. Her work has been shown around the country and internationally in museums including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum and the J. Paul Getty Museum. Glynn began her talk by expressing gratitude to the College for having her, presenting herself in a humble and composed demeanor. Her talk focused on how her work deals with the subjects

of labor and production. She is interested in the rapid shift from materials-based firms to technology companies and particularly how “conceptual” capital is accumulated in the digital age. She espoused the idea of shifting conditions of democracy and questioned the significance of dematerializing labor, asking the question: What happens to issues of access, equality and opportunity? Glynn’s works deal with class-based distinctions between public and private spaces. She introduced her first participatory performance in 2008, titled “24-Hour Roman Reconstruction Project, or, Building Rome in a Day,” in which the artist and a team of collaborators built a model of the Italian capital in the New Museum’s lobby and then destroyed it. Such labor and destruction call into attention how buildings and infrastructure reflect political and economic conditions. Glynn noted how the project commented on productivity and efficiency without the structural and administrative barriers of social contractors. Through this work of art, Glynn started to see that destruction was as much a part of her creative process as the creation itself. The Archaeology of Another Possible Future highlights the tension of attaching meaning to objects in an increasingly digitized world. Glynn explained how meaning is attached to

objects through narrative and how the feelings sometimes associated with objects affect us. However, what happens when economic value is identified as a factor? What happens when value can be built up in just seconds through digital platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat? These are some of the questions that Glynn meddles with and brings forth in this installation. Another recurring topic highlighted in this installation is the idea of growth. Glynn cited Friedrich Nietzche and his concept of historic recurrence – if history repeats itself time and time again, where does growth occur, and where does it end? The progression from one stage to another in Glynn’s installation is a reflection of circulatory histories that contest the traditionalist notion of growth. To conclude, Glynn explained that the installation is not about solving problems, but more about insisting on conversations and pointing to questions. Moreover, Glynn intends to open up spaces for people to think about them more. As she closed her talk, Glynn said, “I never see [my work] as an endpoint. It isn’t an end. People say my work is dark, but I find solace in that because [that] means that something can be changed. The feeling of ‘what have we done,’ is meaningful. Destruction had to be violent in order to have

PHOTO COURTESY OF ARTNET.COM

Using historical narratives, Glynn creates sculpture, large-scale installations and participatory performances.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROLLINGSTONE.COM

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, with openerTashi Dorji, explored the avante-garde last Saturday night.

Experimental music collective transcends conventions By HANNAH TAGER STAFF WRITER Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s performance on Saturday evening at MASS MoCA was a fully synesthetic event; the group played in front of black-and-white projections, and the soft scent of vape pens coupled nicely with the vibrating undulations of the music, creating an immersive experience that was only interrupted by intermittent slaps from the ponytails of head-bobbers. The show’s museum venue was aptly chosen, as the group, and certainly its opener, the Bhutanese guitarist Tashi Dorji, played music that at times could only be categorized as sound art. The minimalist opening performance featured Dorji alone on stage playing a few fully dissonant songs. Nevertheless, the guitarist managed to simulate the effect of multiple musicians, playing intricate percussive and almost electronic beats on his guitar. The artistry and skill of Dorji’s method merits appreciation, but there was only a certain ascetic pleasure to be achieved from enduring his atonal music. Admittedly, there was a moment of relief when Godspeed You! Black Emperor finally assumed the stage. The experimental Canadian ensemble included keyboards, guitars, bass, brass and woodwinds. Their set was comprised of songs from the band’s newest album Luciferian Towers and its

early 1998 EP Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada. A subtle and endlessly extended note opened their act, a beginning reminiscent of the C-major chord that builds at the beginning of Wagner’s Ring Cycle to signify the birth of the universe. Indeed, Godspeed You! Black Emperor accomplished a similar genesis effect in its musical progression. In most of its songs, after beginning with one held note, the band diversified its instrumental parts and sculpted its songs’ sonic complexity, building up to what could loosely be called a melody. “Moya,” from Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada and the evening’s second song, exemplified this progression. As the song reached its climax, the crowd followed along, swaying, which mimicked the undulations in the music. Such mob movement was contagious while listening to the group’s soporific sounds. Their songs, however, void of all vocals except some sound bites, also lent themselves to being a soundtrack for a more individual experience. Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s music and the visual projections behind the group combined to create a supernatural effect. The screen behind the band was first filled with spliced footage of subway trains, Brooklyn’s Gowanus canal and pre-fab style apartments. One overheard concert-goer described the projections as “urban decay,” but the black-and-white footage

could better be categorized as a visual representation of white noise. The film had no discernable plot and paired well with the group’s songs. At one point, the band played a particularly climactic passage while the film featured a long shot that scaled up the side of a skyscraper. The pairing produced an ethereal effect and simulated a flying experience for viewers. As the set progressed, the musicians adopted a more political edge. In addition to lacking any sense of regulation in their music, the artists of Godspeed You! Black Emperor are also self-proclaimed anarchists. With their latest album, the group also released a manifesto of sorts calling for, among other things, “an end to borders” and that “the expert f***ers who broke this world never get to speak again.” During their show, the projector showed footage of rallies for Donald Trump with people in “Make America Great Again” hats juxtaposed with clips of heavily clad officers breaking up protests. The group also played the song “Blaise Bailey Finnegan III,” which includes sounds bites of somebody fighting vehemently against paying a parking ticket. While rejecting any musical confines or political borders, Godspeed You! Black Emperor nevertheless managed to enchain its audience. In a Dionysian experience, the crowd bobbed together, enthralled by the divine performance of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

10 SPORTS

The Williams Record

March 14, 2018

Tricia Hellman Gibbs ’82 pursues medical, skiing ambitions

PHOTO COURTESY OF WEXNER FOUNDATION.

Gibbs has founded a ski academy as well as a free medical clinic. By CASSIE DESHONG SPORTS EDITOR At the age of 2, Tricia Hellman Gibbs ’82 started heading to the slopes in California, where she would visit her grandparents. Gibbs’ father’s family loved skiing, and her father considered skiing to be the family sport. When she was around 6, her parents would drive to

Vermont from New York, where they lived, to ski on the weekends. That is when she started skiing. However, Gibbs became involved in ski -racing seven years later. Her early start eventually landed her on the U.S. national skiing team for two years. “My parents decided that we would need to do more skiing if we wanted to be competitive,” Gibbs said. “It

got serious when I was about 13. I started skiing during the week and in the summer. Then [my parents] founded a ski academy… It is really because of my parents that I got the opportunity to take it to the next level… [They] provided an opportunity for us [to ski] and get a good education at the same time.” After being on the U.S. ski team from 1976 to 1978, Gibbs abruptly decided that she wanted to attend college. Gibbs took her first class at the College during Winter Study. “By the time I got to Williams, I was so ready to use my brain again,” she said. “I loved my first Winter Study class and jumping into the pre-med courses.” A psychology major on the pre-medicine track, Gibbs was not sure if she wanted to ski competitively at the College. She eventually realized that she couldn’t give skiing up. “As soon as the winter started up, I realized that I absolutely had to keep on ski -racing,” Gibbs said. “It was really fun to ski for a college ski team as opposed to as an individual. It was a different kind of approach, where you are actually trying to help the team place in the team standings. Being a team member was really new and different for me.” Gibbs joined cross country in the fall of her sophomore year after running a marathon during the summer. “After getting in shape for a marathon, I figured I might as well try

cross-country running,” she said. Both sports made her time at the College memorable. “I made very lifelong friends in both sports,” she said. “Being on their side and having them on my side created deeper and more long-lasting friendships. I have to say, it was great to be able to do both.” Gibbs was a two-time AllAmerica skier and a national qualifier in cross country. After graduating from the College, she went to Yale for medical school. After finishing her residency, she moved to San Francisco with her husband, Richard Gibbs, and they started a private practice together. Richard used to be a professional ballet dancer, so the two were first drawn to providing care to dancers at the San Francisco Ballet. Their time in private practice left them feeling unfulfilled, however. “It became pretty evident over the few years that we were in private practice that there were a lot of uninsured people, and it was hard to care for them in a fancy downtown private practice,” Gibbs said. “If they didn't have insurance, they would have to pay upfront to cover their costs, and that started not feeling quite right to us. We didn’t seem to be really using our family practice training to the full extent. We realized one evening that we could actually turn the whole thing around and use all of our equipment to do the opposite thing and take care

of the uninsured… We just had to find the location and early operating income from nonprofit donors.” In 1993, Gibbs and her husband founded the San Francisco Free Clinic. Gibbs noted that the need for their clinic and its services has remained pressing since its opening. “When we first set up the clinic, there was some tremendous need for doctors caring for the uninsured because it is impossible to pay for the extreme cost of medical care for people who don’t have insurance,” she said. “We have a very simple mission. It was very easy to explain to people why a free clinic needed to exist. We were able to convince donors that we could provide this care and that we had the right training and credentials to make a difference with this population. “There has been a thin waxing and waning of members, but it has never been a case where there are not patients or tremendous need for doctors to care for the uninsured.” After Gibbs had children, her parents convinced her to pass along the family sport of skiing to them. Gibbs founded the Sugar Bowl Academy, a boarding school for young, competitive skiers. Just as her parents had first gotten her involved in the sport, they also influenced Gibbs in launching this endeavor. “I hadn’t really intended to get my children involved in skiing,” she said. “I didn’t think that far ahead.

My parents played a really key role. My oldest child Ruth was 5 or so when they started taking her up to Sugar Bowl on the weekends.” Her daughter joined the ski team, and although Gibbs was busy with her medical practice, she soon found herself in a leadership role with the team at the academy. From there, she took Sugar Bowl from a weekend developmental session to a whole other level. “I guess I was a bit bold because I started this free clinic and thought, ‘Oh yeah, you can just start these nonprofits. It is no big deal,’” she said. “My daughter was 12, and she was about to go back east to a ski academy, and the coaches at the program said, ‘Why are you sending your daughter back east? Why don’t you set something up here like your parents did for you?’” Weather conditions in the Sierra Nevada and funding both challenged the project early on. However, the school was able to build up its reputation and eventually grow. Gibbs served as the board chair from 1996 to 2008 and left the Sugar Bowl Academy with hopes of a new facility and even more success. “Building the Sugar Bowl Academy building was my dream, and my successor was able to fulfill it,” Gibbs said. “They built a really beautiful school building and dorm buildings. They are no longer on the edge of a cliff.”

Women’s lacrosse drops three consecutive games to start season By JOELLE TROIANO STAFF WRITER Women’s lacrosse (0–3, 0–2 in the NESCAC) lost its third straight game of the season on Saturday. The women lost to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) 10-6 on the road on March 6 before falling 15-10 to Trinity at home on Saturday. The women came into Saturday’s contest as the underdog against No. 3 Trinity, with Trinity pulling away late for the win. At the start of the contest, the Ephs opened up a 3-1 lead on goals by Claire Fitzpatrick ’21, Kat Fearey ’18 and Emma TenBarge ’19. However, the women then surrendered four goals in a row to fall behind 5-3. Grace O'Donnell led Trinity with five goals on six shots. It was O’Donnell’s goal at 20:27 of the second half that established a Bantam lead 9-8. Trinity did not look back afterward and went on a 5-0 run. The match ended in a 15-10 Eph loss. TenBarge was the top scorer for the Ephs with five goals, and Kara Wollmers ’20 added three.

Trinity goalie Zoe Ferguson stopped 12 of 22 Eph shots on the day. Eph goalie Kami Cisneros ’20 played the majority of the game, recording three saves on 17 shots. Ana Alvarenga ’19 played the final six minutes in the net, allowing one goal. The Ephs had 15 turnovers on the day, while the Bantams turned the ball over 13 times. Head coach Alice Lee reflected on the loss. “Our team played really hard [on Saturday], and they fought together,” she said. “We told them going into the game that this game was going to be about heads up, hustle play. Those are the little moments that build the momentum for our team. I really liked our composure on our attacks today and our ability to adapt. Defensively, I liked our ability to stick with the game plan and adjust when needed. I felt everyone had little moments where they made a play to help us.” On March 6, the Ephs faced RPI in Groton, Conn. The Engineers scored two quick goals and, though the Ephs continued to fight hard on defense, RPI scored again to take a 3-0 lead.

After a timeout, Fearey netted the Ephs’ first goal on an assist from TenBarge, who won draw control after the return from timeout and made the most of it. The Ephs continued forward with this momentum, and just 40 seconds after their first goal of the game, they had their second, a quick shot into the net from TenBarge that cut the deficit to 3-2. The Engineers responded with a goal of their own, and then the Ephs answered back. Up 4-3, the Engineers scored a fifth goal followed by a sixth with just 21 seconds remaining in the first half, which ended with RPI leading 6-3. RPI scored again early in the second half, but before long, the Williams players struck back. Suzanna Penikis ’19 assisted Wollmers on a goal with 22:18 on the clock, a shot that breezed past the goalkeeper and into the bottom-left corner of the net. 30 seconds later, Penikis netted another goal for the Ephs with a deft low shot. The Engineers scored again at 13:49, and the Ephs called another timeout. They returned to the field with reinvigorated offensive power. Then,

with just under nine minutes of play remaining, Fitzpatrick took the shot that put the sixth Williams goal on the board. Though the women took several more shots, RPI played fiercely and did not allow any more goals. The Engineers managed to add two more goals, making the final score 10-6.

Wollmers scored two of the six Eph goals. Cisneros saved six shots, and RPI goalkeeper Aleena Milinski saved seven. Lee commented on the day's competition. “We gave RPI too many opportunities, and it's a good team [that was] able to capitalize on those possessions,” she said.

Lee viewed this loss as a positive opportunity, saying it would be “helpful for us to refocus our energy in our practices moving forward.” The women play a road game at Connecticut College at 12 p.m. on Saturday. They will then travel to Florida over spring break.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.

Midfielder Emma TenBarge ’19 scored five goals in Saturday’s 15-10 loss to Trinity on Farley-Lamb Field.

CAPTAINS’ CORNER: TOBIAS MUELLERS ’18 What is your background in sports? I played soccer. I think it was my first sport I played growing up. I played in parks and recreation leagues. I played Little League baseball in middle school, track as a summer program and basketball through middle school into high school. Then it became soccer and track in high school. PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION

By CASSIE DESHONG SPORTS EDITOR

Team: Men's track and field Hometown: Burlington, Vt. Residence: Woodbridge Major: Chemistry Snack bar order: Chicken shawarma with side salad

Why Williams? I was offered a spot on the soccer team and just saw it as an incredible opportunity academically to get into a place that was strong in pretty much everything. How did you get into track and field? I guess I was so used to being a three-season athlete in high school that when soccer season ended toward the end of the fall, I just ended up in Coach Thompson’s office – he was the head track coach at the time. I was like, “Hey, I am interested in doing this.” We talked, and it just made sense. I really wouldn’t know what to do with myself [without track and field].

You have been an AllAmerican twice in the heptathlon and decathlon. How have your Nationals experiences been? I feel like after a number of previous trips, this was the first time that I was able to really enjoy it. It’s a nerve-racking experience. The first time I went, I didn’t have expectations, and that was easier. I [was thinking], “I got here, and I am just going to try my best, and I will be happy with that.” Last winter, I had expectations, and it was nerve-racking because of that. Last spring, I handled that a little better, but there was still significant competition anxiety. As far as this year, it’s my last time around, and it was a lot easier to just be like, “I am going to enjoy this as best I can.” Out of all the events you do, which are your favorites? For track, I do the heptathlon indoors and the decathlon outdoors. We have a multi-event training squad, so we do a rotation of every event in about a week and half. We do hurdles one day, pole vault one day, shot put, long jump, high jump and all that stuff. In outdoors, the 400m is definitely my fa-

vorite. It’s what I ran in high school. In indoors, maybe long jump [and] pole vault are my favorites. You are the captain for both the track and the men's soccer teams. What are the differences between how you lead on the two teams? Soccer is a much more intimate group. It’s 30 guys or less. Making really good connections with everyone on the team is crucial. You are always someone to look up to and someone to set an example, whereas the track team is a little bit different. There are groups, and we all come together at different times. In the track team, you focus a little bit more on the people you are training with every day and just try to set a good example as often as you can. How do you prepare before big meets? I visualize a lot before meets, which is just going through each event, watching film and thinking about exactly what I am going to do. This year, I was really focused on being relaxed – not worrying about

failure so much. [I was] just trying to give it the best shot I could. If that meant I hit a hurdle and fell, I would be okay with that.

That open exchange, respect and responsibility for yourself really allows a collaboration in coaching, and that is really special.

What are your goals for the outdoor season?

Some of your bucket list goals are floating down the Hoosic River and spending a night in the library. Have you done them yet, and what are your goals for the rest of your time here at the College?

For team goals, NESCACs is really big on our list - so is Div. III New Englands. We had a decent amount of guys go to indoor Nationals, but getting enough people there to break into the top five would be amazing. I know we can do it. Side note: I think the women’s team can [be national champions]. I really want them to win the NCAA Championship. For individual goals, I really want to break 7000 in the decathlon. My reach goal is to be the best Div. III decathlete in New England. What is your relationship with head coach Ethan Barron like? I think we have a really strong relationship. [We have] very open feedback. He talks about relationships with athletes like an assistant coach. You are very much responsible for coaching yourself and thinking through things like injuries – where your body is at.

Not yet [laughs]. It is a little too cold to float down the Hoosic, so I am waiting on that one. The library one is going to have to happen pretty soon. For the rest of this year, I think it is going to be really important for me to feel like I spent the time I wanted to with the people I care about here and tried to meet some new people along the way as well. Anything else to add? I think it is important that I recognize my teammates and everyone from staff to facilities. Being an athlete here means you are incredibly supported by more than just yourself or your family, but by the entire institution and your teammates.

March 14, 2018

SPORTS 11

The Williams Record

Three-sport athlete Rebecca Brooks ’00 recalls journey to coaching to reach 1000 points for the Ephs. In 2006, Brooks was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. Growing up in a family of athletes and having college tri-athletes as brothers, she was cognizant of both the challenges and rewards of the commitment. When asked if one sport in particular stood out from her College career, Brooks said, “They were incredibly different experiences, and the success for me individually looked different.” As a goalkeeper on the soccer team, Brooks cited her first three years serving as a backup as emphasizing the importance of teamwork and “building empathy.” This unique nature of teamwork was driven home by a joint goalkeeping effort with Laura Brenneman ’99 in an NCAA tournament game. While Brenneman started the game, Brooks was the keeper for the penalty shootout, helping the Ephs to victory. “The ability to not play as much but still to contribute that way was an awesome memory,” Brooks said.

By REED JENKINS EXECUTIVE EDITOR Although still in the gymnasium, Rebecca Brooks ’00 finds herself these days across the sideline from her position in the low post in Chandler Gymnasium. Today, Brooks paces the sideline as head coach of girl’s basketball for the Pomfret School, which recently captured the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council “B” championship in a gritty 43-30 defeat of Williston Northampton. Coaching a group of young athletes, many of whom are attempting to balance commitments to multiple sports, Brooks offers a unique perspective as a former tri-season athlete at the College. Brooks competed and excelled for the Ephs in soccer, basketball and track and field, all of which made deep postseason NCAA runs. Brooks was All-American in all three sports, National champion in the shot put and the sixth women’s basketball player

19

PHOTO COURTESY OF POMFRET SCHOOL

Rebecca Brooks '00 earned All-American honors in soccer, basketball, and track. Brooks recalled making a bigger impact on the basketball squad. Head coach Pat Manning described Brooks’ career. “Reb was a tremendous athlete and competitor and had post moves that no one could defend,” Manning said. “One of my best memories of her is from a game at Amherst. She stole the ball at the top of the key and drove full court for a game-winning lay-up.”

When reminiscing about her career on the court, Brooks extolled the fervor of the Williams fans. The crowds at Chandler “are some of the best in Div. III. They pack the gym,” Brooks said. Brooks struggled at the end of the season in the shot put during her first and second years despite strong regular season results. Her brother's entrance as a track and field

coach for the College helped her to improve her results. “I was able to use the experiences to learn how to prepare better, learn to be confident and [learn] how to perform in high-pressure moments,” Brooks said. The culmination of her four years of shot put was an individual national championship, an experience quite different in kind from success in the realm of team sports. After graduation, Brooks continued competing in track and field and soccer and played professional basketball in France before accepting a position as an assistant coach at Tufts. After serving for two years as a three-sport assistant coach, relishing the opportunity to coach in every season, Brooks accepted a position as girl’s basketball head coach and history teacher at the Pomfret School, where she has worked for the past 14 years. Brooks continues to believe in the benefits of pursuing multiple sports, even in an athletic environment that is increasingly leading young athletes to specialize in a single

sport. Often driven by overzealous parents or club coaches, many athletes are adopting a laser focus on a single sport. In her view, continuing to play multiple sports is only a positive, even for elite athletes. “It’s a shame, especially for these kids who could become better athletes [by] playing more than one sport,” she said. On the Pomfret girl’s basketball team, many of Brooks’ athletes are soccer players first and basketball players second. However, she values the athleticism and competitive fire that they bring to the team as well as seeing tangible improvements that transfer back to soccer. “It’s a dying breed of three-sport athletes, but for physical, mental and emotional health, it’s so important to have something else,” Brooks said. The important lessons imparted by Brooks on the court today have been shaped by her experiences at the College. As then-track and field head coach Pete Farwell ’73 said, “Rebecca was the epitome of a three-sport athlete and leader.”

EPH SPRING SPORTS PREVIEWS 2018

BASEBALL

MEN'S CREW

Baseball finished 19-11 and 6-6 in the NESCAC last season. The Ephs return 2017 NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year Kellen Hathaway ’19 and 2017 NESCAC Co-Rookie of the Year John Lamont ’20. Jack Roberts ’18 looks to build on a Second Team All-NESCAC selection. Head coach Bill Barrale gave his thoughts on this season. “We are all looking forward to the upcoming season,” he said. “Our goal is to execute the task at hand! Our middle of the line up returns, and we have some talented young pitchers who will be tested over spring break.” Baseball travels to Southern California over break to gear up for the spring compeititon.

Men’s crew’s varsity eight finished fifth in the New England Rowing Championship and look to build on last year. "The 33 student-athletes on Williams men's crew are a motivated group to say the least, and I have been impressed by their work-ethic and determination to improve,” head coach Marc Mandel said. “After training consistently on their own during our 3-month league-mandated off-season, we picked up again with organized training in mid-February. Our focus has been three-fold: to improve our fitness, stay healthy and use the ergs and our indoor rowing tank to ingrain several key concepts related to how to most effectively move a boat together. "

SOFTBALL

MEN'S GOLF

WOMEN'S CREW

Softball jumped out to a scorching 31-4 record last April and finished the season with a school record of 38 total wins (and 13 losses). The women won two national championship tournament games last year. The team returns three 2017 National fast pitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III All-New England selections, including captain Lexi Curt ’18, Rebecca Duncan ’20, Mackenzie Murphy ’19. “This 2018 team is looking to start strong and show our improvements as a team,” head coach Kris Herman said. “We love to play the game and expect to show that enthusiasm and excitement every time out. Our overall defense will be better than 2017 and we're excited, as always, to be a strong hitting team.” The Ephs travel to Florida over spring break to play eight doubleheaders in 10 days.

WOMEN'S GOLF

Women’s crew finished second in the 2017 NESCAC championship and return four out of five All-NESCAC selections including co-captain Clara Beery ’18, co-captain Bertie Miller ’18, coxswain Lousia Abel ’18 and Eileen Russell ’19. Head coach Kate Maloney mentioned the team’s approach this season. "We are working on translating words into action and hard work into boat speed,” she said. “The early spring season will be a great opportunity to evaluate how effectively we have done this over the winter, give us time to make corrections and find the late season push that we will need to be successful. We have a tough racing schedule ahead that will require focus and tenacity on the part of all team members but I am confident that this is a group that is up to the challenge."

MEN'S TENNIS

MEN'S LACROSSE Men’s lacrosse concluded its season in the 2017 NESCAC quarterfinals after a 7-9 season record and 4-6 NESCAC record. The team loses two All-American honorable mentions in Michael Fahey ’17 and Riley Hoffman ’17, but have a deep senior class. Head coach George McCormack expanded, “Our nine seniors have done a great job of embracing their roles as leaders in the off-season. The many hours of lifting, running and stick work logged in by the team will pay dividends down the road when we look to get better game by game. As always, we look forward to competing against our traditional rivals and also some very talented out of conference teams.” Lacrosse has already gotten off to a 1-2 season start this spring.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE Women’s lacrosse return after a 4-10 season (1-9 in the NESCAC), headed by First Team All-NESCAC selection Emma Tenbarge ’19. Head coach Alice Lee comments on this year’s goals. “Our focus is on getting better every day andw enjoying the process as we go,” she said. “‘Yard by Yard’ is something we're really embracing this season. I believe we have the bones to be a very competitive team and though we're striving to move up in the NESCAC, we are focused on seeing progress as a team. I get really excited when I see the light bulb turn on and they start executing something that may have been a struggle initially.” The women start this season 0-3.

The Office of Communications recommends ...

Annual Faculty Lecture Series: "Telling Tales in Medieval China" with Sarah Allen, associate professor of comparative literature Thursday, March 15 4:15 p.m.

Wege Auditorium Reception to follow in Schow Atrium

Men’s golf looks to improve on a 16th place finish at last spring’s NCAA championship. Head coach Josh Hillman commented on the spring season after a successful fall season. “Our team is really coming together and with the hard work each of them have put in during the winter months,” Hillman said. “I expect to pick up right where we left off last fall. We had an amazing fall winning 3 of 6 events and accomplishing a really nice team scoring average. While on our spring trip, we have two really solid events. A match against Methodist College and, also, the Camp Lejenue Intercollegiate...Good things are in front of us! It should be a great spring season!”

Women’s golf took home its third consecutive NESCAC championship in the fall. The team is headed by 2017 NESCAC Women’s Golfer of the Year Cori Chan ’19, 2015 NESCAC Golfer of the Year Liz Gudas ’18 and 2016 NESCAC Player of the Year Phoebe Mattana ’18. Head coach Tomas Adalsteinsson commented on the upcoming spring season. “We have been practicing indoors for the past few weeks, emphasizing the short game, to make sure that we are as ready as we can be before we make the trip to Florida over spring break,” he said. “We have a good plan for what we want to accomplish on the golf course this spring season. Overall, the fall season was good for us, especially ending with two team tournament victories. ”

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

Men’s tennis made it to the NESCAC Semifinals last spring and return All-NESCAC selections Brian Grodecki ’18, Alex Taylor ’20 and Sachin Raghavan ’18. Head coach Dan Greenberg mentioned his excitement for this season. “I’m really looking forward to this spring,” he said. “The team’s worked as hard as ever all year, and I know starting to compete will add a lot to their development. We’ll play nine matches over break, so hopefully a lot of guys get experience and come back match-tough for our NESCAC season. If we keep building from now through April, I think we could put ourselves in a really good position for post-season play.” The men head to Southern California over break to prepare for the season.

Men’s track and field finished third at the Div. III New England Indoor championship this winter. They look to three-peat as NESCAC champions this spring, with All-American Tobias Muellers ’18 returning. Head coach Ethan Barron gave his thoughts on the upcoming season. “I think that this has the potential to be an incredibly tight crew for the spring,” he said. “We're in a situation where every single member of the team has the potential to contribute at NESCACs. That is a unique place for a track and field team to be. If each man sees that potential in themselves, then we'll be a dangerous team.”

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

WOMEN'S TENNIS Women’s tennis look to win their fourth straight NESCAC title this season and repeat as NCAA champions. Head coach Anik Cepeda shared her goals and expectations for the spring season. “Our team goal is that we individually give our best effort on and off the court so that we can be at our collective best as a team,” she said. “Our team expectations are that that we continue to lean into discomfort in our dogged pursuit of growth and to hone our awareness of what's inside and outside of our control... They compete their hardest in practice to prepare for match play.” The Ephs will travel to Southern California over break to gear up for spring competition.

Women’s track and field looks forward to winning a fifth consecutive NESCAC championship and to build on a second-place finish at Nationals last week. They look to break even more records this outdoor season. Head coach Nate Hoey commented on the upcoming outdoor competitions. "We are looking forward to rolling the momentum from indoors into the outdoor season,” he said. “As with every year, we have high aspirations, but we will focus our attention on doing the very best we can today with what is in front of us on that given day. To be present and our best selves in that moment."

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK "We are all very happy for Anna. She ran a smart race and competed really well. She has worked very hard each and every day this season and put herself into a great position for this past weekend."

–Head coach Nate Hoey

“George

Peele has been great in cage for all three of our games this year. Statistically, his best game came against Trinity this past Saturday. George is averaging nine goals against and has kept us in every game so far.” –Head coach George McCormack

ANNA PASSANNANTE ’20

GEORGE PEELE ’20

At Nationals, Passannante qualified for the final 800m event and placed fifth with a school-record time of 2:11.51, earning All-American honors and four points for the Ephs.

Goalkeeper George Peel '20 made 15 saves in Saturday's game against Trinity, anchoring the Eph defense en route to a tight 10-9 victory on the road.

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

MEN'S LACROSSE CAPE ELIZABETH, MAINE

12 SPORTS

The Williams Record

March 14, 2018

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION

This past Friday and Saturday, 11 athletes from the women's track and field team competed at the NCAA Indoor Nationals in Birmingham, Ala. and placed second overall with 37 points.

Women’s track and field takes silver at NCAA Indoor Nationals By CAITLIN UBL TEAM CORRESPONDENT 11 athletes from women’s track and field scored 37 points and placed second at NCAA Nationals on Friday and Saturday. The majority of Friday’s schedule was made up of preliminary heats, and only a few events awarded AllAmerican honors and team points. Kennedy Green ’19 sprinted to a 60-meter lifetime best and broke her own school record with a time of 7.73 seconds. She crossed the line in seventh place to earn her spot in the final, ensuring that she would score team points and earn AllAmerican distinction. Earning a seventh place finish in the 800-meter event and a place in the final was Anna Passannante ’20, who ran a controlled and tactical race. Passannante looked smooth and relaxed as she sped up over the last straightaway to hunt down competitors in her heat and cross the line in 2:14.27.

The 4x400m relay team also earned a finals berth with a fourth place preliminary finish, clocking a time of 3:51.97. Kayley McGonagle '18 started quickly out of the blocks and closed on the field over the final straightaway. She handed off to Kate Kennedy '18, who powered down the backstretch and passed a competitor before handing off to Davis Collison '21. Collison ran a strong first lap and kept up the pace, and Megan Powell '20 finished with a stellar anchor leg for the Ephs. Points were awarded in the women's long jump, and Izabelle Ith ’21 rose to the challenge of her first national championship meet. On her third jump, Ith leaped 5.61m into the sand. She placed sixth, earning All-American honors, three team points and a place on the podium at her first national meet. As a testament to the versatility of Williams' jump squad, two Ephs claimed spots in the top eight of the pentathlon. Both Summer-Solstice Thomas '20

and Emma Egan '20 began the day with personal-best times in the hurdles, crossing the line in 9.47 and 9.30 seconds, respectively. Next, they tied for first place finishes in the high jump, both soaring over 1.74m, a personal best for Thomas. In the shot put, Thomas threw 8.59m, and Egan posted 8.97m. The duo proceeded to the long jump runway, where Thomas jumped a stellar 5.34-meter mark, raising her in the overall standings. Egan jumped 5m, short of her personal best but far enough to earn her a spot in the fast heat of the 800-meter run, the final event. In an exciting final event, both Ephs came away with All-American finishes. Thomas ran 2:26.93 to earn 732 points, and Egan had a five-second personal best of 2:32.76 to earn 661. The two stood on the podium, Thomas in fifth place and Egan in eighth place, scoring five cumulative team points. Saturday began with the high jump, a historically

strong event for the Ephs. The trio of Egan, Thomas and Helene Hall ’18 competed well and scored 19 cumulative points in the event. Thomas jumped high under pressure, making two thirdattempt clearances at 1.68m and 1.71m to clinch fourth place. Egan did the same at a slightly higher bar, soaring over 1.74m on her third jump to place third. Hall had a clear card up until the 1.74-meter bar, which she missed once. On her second attempt, however, she had such a powerful takeoff that she cleared the bar with ease. Hall placed second and looks forward to challenging for the national title in the spring. Passannante, after a season best in Friday’s preliminary round, had a breakout race in the 800-meter run. She dueled with a Bates competitor all the way up to the line and moved up steadily over the final lap to cross the line in fifth. Her phenomenal time of 2:11.51 broke the previous school record of 2:12.18, set in 2015 by Victoria Kingham ’18. Passannante far

outperformed her seed time to stand on the podium, earning All-American honors and clinching four team points for the Ephs. In the 60m dash, Green placed seventh for the Ephs, also scoring points, earning All-American honors and ending her stellar season with a time of 7.76 seconds. The Ephs ran in the first heat of the 4x400m relay finals, the last event of the night. McGonagle ran a hard first lap of about 59 seconds and handed off to Kennedy, who blazed down the backstretch to put the Ephs in a good position going into the third leg, despite some jockeying down the final straightaway and into the handoff zone. Ella Dunn ’21 took the baton and ran a season-best relay split to position Powell right behind a pack of three runners going into the final leg. Powell dropped a ridiculously fast split of 55 seconds to sprint by two competitors and secure second place in the heat. The total time for the relay was 3:51.10, posi-

tioning the women fifth overall in the final. McGonagle, Kennedy, Dunn, Powell and Collison, who ran in the preliminary heats on Friday, stood on the podium and earned All-American honors in the event. The Ephs placed second in the championship with 37 points, nine behind the University of Massachusetts, Boston. They were followed by Ohio Northern in third with 30 points and Washington University in St. Louis in fourth with 27. Head coach Nate Hoey was pleased with the results. "What a weekend. To see as many [personal-record] and [season-best] performances as we had this weekend was outstanding,” he said. “They competed with heart and intensity. I could not be more proud of this amazing team. They carry a positive, hardworking attitude each and every day. It's a privilege to be able to work with them." The outdoor season begins on March 22 at the University of California, Riverside.

Men’s lacrosse defeats Trinity Bantams By WILL GENTILELLO STAFF WRITER On Saturday, men’s lacrosse (1–2, 1–1 in the NESCAC) defeated Trinity 10-9 on the road. The two teams played tight defense until John Hincks ’20, assisted by Kevin Stump ’20, scored three minutes in. At 3:55, Bantam Brian Crowe tied the score at 1-1, and less than a minute later, captain James McFarland ’18 answered back. Trinity countered McFarland’s goal

in the final minute of the first quarter, which ended tied 2-2. The Bantams transferred the momentum of their last goal, taking the lead for the first time 10 seconds after the face off, thanks to a fast break by midfielder Andrew Collins. The Ephs soon tied up the score with a goal from Stump. Four minutes later, the Bantams took control and netted three goals in a row by Ben Knaus, Drew Kozub and Ben Ferrucci, carrying a 6-3 lead into halftime.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.

Kevin Stump '20 scored two goals and an assist in the game against Trinity.

Coming out of halftime, the Ephs closed the gap to two goals. First, Brendan Hoffman ’20 scored for Williams. Four minutes later, Stump netted his second goal of the day, assisted by Jared Strauss ’21. Less than 15 seconds later, Calvin Collin ’21 scored, evening out the score at 6-6. With 7:12 left in the third quarter, Strauss gave the Ephs a lead over the Bantams once again. In the final 30 seconds of the third quarter, Trinity answered back with a goal of its own, tying the score at 7-7. In the first minute of the fourth quarter, the men gained control of the game on Hoffman’s second goal of the day at 14:14. The Ephs then scored again, this time off a shot by Cory Lund ’21. Trinity answered back with a goal from Ben Ferrucci, assisted by Morty Fearey. At 2:58, Hincks converted a stellar shot once again for the Ephs, bringing them to a 10-8 lead. With nine seconds left in the matchup, Knaus tallied for Trinity, bringing the final score to a 10-9 Williams victory. Goalkeeper George Peele ’20 played the entire game for the Ephs, making 15 saves. Bantam goalie Woody Hamilton made 12 saves. Stump, Hoffman and Hincks led the Ephs with two goals each. Head coach George McCormack was pleased with Saturday’s results. “I was very happy with our second -half play,” McCormack said. “We outscored them 7-3 and won the ground ball battle. I felt we really moved the ball around well and played together as a team today.” The Ephs return to action this Saturday at 1 p.m. on Farley-Lamb Field to take on Connecticut College.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.

At Div. III Nationals, Tobias Muellers finished fourth overall in the hepthalon with a school record of 568 points.

Men’s track competes at Nationals By EZEKIEL COHEN TEAM CORRESPONDENT Seven athletes from men’s track and field competed in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship, and the team placed 34th overall. On Friday, Dan Renwick ’21 and co-captain Tobias Muellers ’18 competed in the first four events of the heptathlon, while Kevin LaFleche ’20 competed in the preliminary round of the 800-meter run. Later, LaFleche joined Peter Kirgis ’20, Tristan Colaizzi ’20 and Lucas Estrada ’20 in the distance medley relay. The day began with the heptathlon. Muellers and Renwick each got off to a strong start, both contending for AllAmerican positions. In the 60m dash, Muellers won his heat, finishing sixth overall in 7.33 seconds. Renwick finished ninth overall in 7.39 seconds. In the long jump, Muellers shook off two fouls to finish second overall, jumping 6.64m. Renwick placed 11th with a jump of 6.21m. In the shot put, both Muellers and Renwick continued to flirt with All-American positions, finishing eighth and 10th with throws of 11.33m and 11.17m, respectively. Finishing the day

with the high jump, Renwick finished ninth overall, clearing the bar at 1.81m. Meanwhile, Muellers was 12th with a mark of 1.78m. At the end of the day, Muellers stood in seventh and Renwick in 11th. LaFleche had a great day in the 800m. He finished fourth in his heat and seventh overall in 1:53.12, qualifying for the final on time. Later, LaFleche competed in the distance medley relay along with Kirgis, Colaizzi and Estrada. Kirgis opened the race with a strong 1200-meter leg, handing off to LaFleche in the 400m. Colaizzi worked hard in his 800-meter leg before handing off to Estrada for his 1600-meter leg. Estrada ran a fast 400m to catch up with the pack but unfortunately lost contact at the end. The relay team finished 11th overall in a time of 10:12.97. In the second day, Muellers was ranked seventh in the heptathlon after four events. Renwick was ranked 11th but unfortunately had to scratch the final three events due to injury. In the 60m hurdles, Muellers ran a personal best of 8.72 seconds for eighth overall. He tied for fourth in the pole vault, clearing 4.30m.

In the final event of the day, the 1000-meter run, Muellers finished second with yet another personal best of 2:39.17. With that last sterling performance, Muellers moved up to finish fourth overall in the heptathlon with a school record of 5068 points. LaFleche competed in the 800m final, finishing eighth overall in 1:57.19 for All-American honors. In the 3000-meter run, Liam Simpson ’18 ran with the leaders for the first 2000 meters. Although he faded in the last few laps to a 14th-place 8:32.87 finish, Simpson looks poised to compete well for the Ephs this outdoor season. Head coach Ethan Barron was pleased with the team's performance, “I thought it was a good meet,” he said. “[Renwick’s] injury was tough, but I was impressed with how we competed. We had a lot of guys in their first trip to NCAAs, and they didn't miss a beat. We didn't beat ourselves in any way.” The Ephs finished 34th overall with six points. This meet concluded the men’s indoor season. They will return to competition on March 22 at the University of California, Riverside Multi Invitational.