ARTS P. 9 A Boogie wit da Hoodie performs at Spring Fling
SPORTS P. 12 The Independent Student Newspaper at Williams College Since 1887 VOL. CXXXII, NO. 20
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018
Women's crew wins Donohue Cup in Worcester
Department of Justice requests that College preserve Early Decision records By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN EXECUTIVE EDITOR Last week, the College received a letter from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) instructing it to preserve all information relating to communications between colleges and universities about students admitted via Early Decision (ED). This letter, which has been reported about in The Wall Street Journal and Inside Higher Ed, was also sent to other selective liberal arts colleges including Wesleyan, Middlebury, Amherst and Pomona. The letter appears to be in anticipation of a potential broader investigation into whether or not ED admissions and the sharing of information between institutions to enforce the terms of ED’s binding agreement is a violation of federal antitrust limitations on competition between colleges and universities. The DOJ declined to comment for the Record regarding this letter or any potential investigation. The College plans to follow the instructions of the letter and await further information or requests from the government. “All I can share right now is that on April 5, Williams and other schools around the country received a letter from the U.S. DOJ instructing us to preserve documents and information related to ‘a potential agreement between colleges relating to their ED practices,’” Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Liz Creighton ’01 said. “We are complying fully with the DOJ's discovery process, and we're eager to learn more about their thinking on the issue.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.
The Department of Justice has requested that the College and other small liberal arts instiutions preserve documents relating to the Early Decision process. Creighton noted that the College does not share applicants’ information with peer institutions. “Each institution develops its own admission methodology,” she said. “I can’t comment on other schools’ practices, but we take an applicant’s right to privacy very seriously and do not share information about applicants with other colleges and universities.” While the College does collaborate with other in-
stitutions in developing its approach to financial aid, it uses a unique methodology, and it does not share information about financial aid applications, according to Creighton. “Our approach is informed by our participation in the 568 Group, an affiliation of colleges and universities that works together in an effort to maintain a need-based financial aid system that is understandable and fair and will
bring greater clarity, simplicity and equity to the process of assessing each family's ability to pay for college,” Creighton said. “However, we never share information about specific students’ financial aid applications with other institutions.” Similarly to many other peer institutions’ programs, the College’s ED program allows applicants to apply by Nov. 15 and receive a decision by mid-December. If admit-
ted, ED applicants are expected to attend the College and withdraw any other applications. Importantly, this means that a student can only apply to one institution under binding ED programs. While ED agreements are not legal contracts – a college would not sue for tuition if a student broke one, for example – reneging on one can jeopardize other college acceptances. “Opting to maintain applications at other institutions
once admitted ED could put a student’s acceptance to Williams in jeopardy,” Creighton said. “The only exception to that rule is if the student is released from ED to pursue comparative financial aid offers, but that happens very, very rarely.” This investigation falls within a broader pattern of DOJ investigations into higher education admission practices. In January, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) received a similar letter requesting information about its newly updated code of ethics. The request to NACAC, according to Inside Higher Ed, also focused on whether its rules for professional conduct in the admission process might violate antitrust laws. The exact legal basis for the DOJ’s interest in ED practices has not been made public, but previous cases lend insight into the current situation. In 1991, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled in United States v. Brown University that setting common financial aid offers between all eight Ivy League schools and MIT, so that no applicant would receive a greater aid award from any one school, was a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. This precedent could potentially be at issue, as an ED acceptance eliminates an applicant’s ability to compare financial aid offers before deciding which school to attend. However, most selective colleges meet 100 percent of an applicant’s demonstrated financial need, ostensibly obviating the need to compare such offers.
Casa Lina to open tonight in Maud Mandel visits College for first former Hops and Vines venue time since accepting presidency, By WILLIAM NEWTON EXECUTIVE EDITOR In January, the popular Water St. restaurant Hops and Vines closed permanently. Today, Casa Lina, a new restaurant under different ownership, will open in its space. Named after owner Melahat Karakaya’s daughter, Casa Lina will feature two entirely different menus: one side will serve upscale Italian cuisine with a bar and private dining room, and the other side will have a more casual atmosphere and serve tapas and drinks. The Italian side will stay open until 10 p.m., and Karakaya plans to keep the tapas bar open until midnight, likely extending the hours until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays to accomodate students who want to stay out later. The restaurant will feature live music almost every night.
Though this will be the first restaurant Karakaya owns, her restaurant and hospitality ties in the Berkshires run deep. Karakaya is the general manager of The Porches Inn, a boutique hotel overlooking MASS MoCA in North Adams. Her husband, Fahri Karakaya, is the owner of Pera Mediterranean Bistro on Spring St. Karakaya has spent a lot of time helping her husband at Pera, and he plans to do the same once Casa Lina opens. The Karakayas are hopeful that Casa Lina will fill a void in the Williamstown dining scene. "There is no Italian restaurant in Williamstown, and we have no tapas in this area with live music," Fahri Karakaya said. "This is a college town, but after 8 p.m., nothing is going on here. The town needs a space for the young generation to go out late at night and socialize and listen to music."
Hops and Vines contacted the Karakayas about buying the property, and they officially bought it a week later. In that time, Melahat Karakaya has worked on altering the decor and making small-scale renovations that, as she told The Berkshire Eagle, she hopes will make the restaurant "warmer and more welcoming." Fahri Karayaka emphasized that, like Pera, Casa Lina will always serve fresh, locally grown food. "Everything will be made from scratch, and [our food] will be sourced from three different farms." Casa Lina will officially open at 4 p.m., but Fahri Karakaya is only calling this a "soft opening." The grand opening, he said, will occur three or four weeks from now, so that the restaurant does not become over-crowded at first. This way, Casa Lina can always provide quality service.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANNA BRUCE.
Casa Lina, an Italian restaurant and tapas bar, will open tonight, replacing Hops and Vines on Water St.
meets with students and faculty
By SAMUEL WOLF NEWS EDITOR On Friday and Saturday, incoming President Maud Mandel visited the College for the first time since accepting the offer to become the College’s 18th president. During her visit, she gave prepared remarks, attended a reception, participated in discussions with a number of students and participated in an exclusive interview with the Record. On Friday afternoon in Chapin Hall, Chair of the Board of Trustees Michael Eisenson ’77 and Interim President Tiku Majumder formally introduced Mandel to the College community. Eisenson emphasized the grueling application process, including 13 hours of interviews with Mandel and 14 consulted references. Majumder used his time on the podium to reflect on his interim presidency and praise Mandel for her work as dean of the college at Brown University. When Mandel took the stage, she immediately expressed enthusiasm for the chance to address the College community. “It’s hard to capture how thrilling it is for me to finally have the chance to say hello to Williams,” she said. She conveyed gratitude to the College community for its warm welcome and thanked Majumder for his service. “I’m intensely and immensely grateful to Tiku for steering this community through this uncertain period,” she said. Mandel then discussed the unusual circumstance of her acceptance. “Most of you may not know that I received the call while I was standing at a gas pump in Providence on a cold February day,” Mandel said. “I took this experience as a sign of the energy that will
propel this period forward for me and my family.” Mandel continued with a discussion of her fondness for liberal arts education, a sentiment she reasserted in her interview with the Record. When Mandel heard last year that the College was searching for a new president, it was its strong liberal arts curriculum that made her immediately interested. “[The College] is a famous institution with a profound educational impact in the space of the liberal arts, which is the arena in which I’ve spent my professional life,” she stated in the interview. “I went to a small liberal arts college myself, so part of the appeal was going back to those roots and connecting with a school that shares the same values as the school that I had studied in myself.” Mandel further emphasized the value of an explorative attitude toward education, which she helped foster as dean of the college at Brown. “Brown is really good at encouraging students to explore. It is built into its curricular model, but you don’t have to have that curricular model to really emphasize the power of exploration that comes with your stage in life,” she said. Mandel also referenced diversity of thought and background when discussing the lessons she has taken from her time at Brown. “We learn more when the people we learn with come from all walks of life,” she said. “It became very clear to me at Brown that, as the institution has changed and as that richness has come to the community, the whole community has benefitted from the broader range of communications that we can have.”
Mandel expressed similar sentiments during her speech, encouraging students to interact with those from different backgrounds and with different viewpoints and assumptions. In regards to the current political climate, she encouraged students to reach outside of their nearest political communities and engage in discourses with broad, diverse groups. SEE MANDEL, PAGE 5
WHAT’S INSIDE 3 OPINIONS A discussion on participation in JA discourse 4 NEWS Comedian Marc Maron visits College 6 FEATURES An inside look at Peace Valley Farm 8 ARTS Mass MoCA starts program for Puerto Rican artists 12 SPORTS Women's tennis extends 13-game winning streak
USPS 684-6801 | 1ST CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID WILLIAMSTOWN, MA PERMIT NO. 25
2 OPINIONS
The Williams Record
Editor-in-Chief Rachel Scharf
April 18, 2018
Arts Editors Faris Gulamali and Kaira Mediratta
Managing Editors Reed Jenkins and Tesnim Zekeria
Sports Editors Cassie Deshong and Charles Xu
Communications Director Taran Dugal Executive Editors Shaheen Currimjee, Nicholas Goldrosen, Brooke Horowitch, Danny Jin, William Newton, Jane Petersen, RB Smith and Li Yu
Photo Editors Katie Brule and Sophia Shin Business Manager Isabella Wang Financial Manager Teo Pollini
News Editors Rebecca Tauber and Samuel Wolf
Financial Analyst Mark Sisco-Tolomeo
Opinions Editor Haeon Yoon
Head of Advertising Esther Baek
Features Editors Lydia Duan and Jeongyoon Han
Subscriptions Manager Chris Fleischer
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE SINCE 1887 WILLIAMSRECORD.COM
Word on The Quad Who's your prof crush?
JESSICA CHEN ’18.5
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM MAUD MANDEL’S FIRST VISIT
We're all excited to join the #MaudSquad.
NIGHT MARKET
Join MinCo groups for tasty and diverse Snar alternatives tomorrow night!
SPRING FLING
Were you "Drowning" in the crowd or in the music?
COURSE CATALOG
We finally got to access the course catalog ... until it crashed.
By KATIE BRULE AND SOPHIA SHIN PHOTO EDITORS
PETER LE ’21
Jeffrey Israel.
"SPRING"
The weather's been so bad this week that we can finally write about it.
SHANE BEARD ’20
Rashida Braggs.
COLY ELHAI ’19
I have so many. I can't choose.
KEARAN BURKE ’18
Robert Jackall.
ON THE RECORD “That is a big commitment of mine: the diversity of the student body and also the inclusion, making sure folks feel welcome and well-supported so that they can be successful until they graduate.” Incoming President Maud Mandel during her visit to the College, page 5. “We must create strategies for change that address stigma and discrimination in addition to the historical root causes of oppression. In the process, we must uplift each other.” Madeleine Elyze ’18 on attending a reproductive justice conference, page 5. “Having to follow the precise path with all its
twists and turns gave my brain something physical to do, so I was easily able to calm down, zone out and reflect.” Caleigh Forbes-Cockell ’19 on the Labryinth provided by the Chaplain's Office, page 7. “And when A Boogie was able to elicit the heart-pumping, sweaty enjoyment that he occasionally did, the sight of the set – coupled with the presence of the crowd – created that sense of escape from college life.” Ahad Qureshi ’21 on Spring Fling, page 9. “I think there's room to find more speed, which is always exciting.” Maddy Boutet ’20, a member of women's crew, on winning the Donahue Cup , page 12.
CORRECTION In the April 11 article “JA Week opens campus dialogue,” the dates of the JA Week events were mistakenly listed as March 2, March 3, March 4, March 5 and March 6. The actual dates of the events were April 2, April 3, April 4, April 5 and April 6.
WRITE FOR THE RECORD. MEETINGS: PARESKY 209 | 8 PM WEDNESDAYS
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.
DARIN LI ’21
Reflections on JA Week
Standing up for survivors e impor a ce o ac i e empa A
W
OPINIONS 3
The Williams Record
April 18, 2018
R
I remember when I was in second grade, and I was so excited for “the teddy bear people” to come to our school, just like they had the year before. I was thrilled to have visitors come to class, and I thought their teddy bears were so cute. The teddy bears always had swimsuits on, which made me giggle back then. Now, 10 years later, those teddy bears mean something completely different. Now, they remind me of a childhood innocence afforded to only the luckiest of us. The teddy bear people were from the Kankakee County Center Against Sexual Assault. They used teddy bears to subtly yet effectively communicate their mission. Asking each child if they’d ever been touched by anyone in their “swimsuit areas,” they used the teddy bears as means through which kids felt comfortable talking about grown-ups touching their private parts. They assured us that we could come to them or our teacher if we had been touched in our swimsuit areas. I remember wondering why they would ask such absurd questions. In my 8-year-old mind, the only possible answer I could imagine was, “Yes, my mom washes me in my swimsuit area during bath- time.” But that was it. Now, I can’t help but think about how many of my peers at that age really had been touched in their swimsuit areas. I was ignorant then as to why the teddy bear people really came to school. The teddy bear people first introduced me to the concept of what I would later understand as sexual assault. But in middle school, it was never discussed. In high school, I don’t think I ever heard the term “consent” brought up. I knew people got raped, but it was as unfamiliar to me as those who went to war or lost a parent. I’m ashamed that, for most of my life, all I did was feel bad. I felt bad for all the kids who were touched in their swimsuit areas. I felt bad for all the people who were raped. But that was it. I felt bad. I never really knew of the harsh realities those teddy bears represented, and it wasn’t until my own mom began working for the Center Against Sexual Assault less than two years ago that I really began to understand it all in a new light.
My mom’s clients are survivors of sexual assault, sex trafficking and/or abuse. Hearing their stories from their own mouths, in their own words helped me realize that sexual assault and sex trafficking are not things to just feel bad about. They’re epidemics that aren’t discussed because we don’t like to admit that our golden boys are rapists. We don’t like to say the words penis and vagina. We don’t like to call it what it is. “Boys will be boys,” they say. “Wear a longer skirt,” they tell her. It was “just locker room banter,” the president said. And for a long time, I played into that rhetoric. I didn’t take the time to understand the people who had been saying “me too” for years. I dismissed it all because I wasn’t affected by it all. That was selfish of me. And it was and is a toxic mindset in any circumstance. The unwillingness to sympathize puts a stop to any and all progress. No two people will ever completely understand each other, but a willingness to extend sympathy, care and compassion will help bridge that gap. I think our society is a lot like second grade me. We leave it to the teddy bear people to worry about the survivors of sexual assault. Second grade me wasn’t touched in her swimsuit areas, so she didn’t care to understand what it could have really all been about. And now, I think many people don’t care to talk about sexual assault or take a stand against it because, in simplified terms, they’ve never been touched in their swimsuit areas. Teddy bear people come in many forms. They come in the form of people like my mom, in the form of RASAN [Rape and Sexual Assault Network], in the form of SASS [Sexual Assault Survivor Services], in the form of a protest, in the form of asking for consent. I joined RASAN because I wanted to be a teddy bear person, too. I wanted to be one of the many who vocalize their care for a community often slut-shamed or silenced. And being a teddy bear person doesn’t mean you are certified in one way or another, with one degree or another. It means you care. You stand up, and you fight back. You tell it like it is and say the words society needs to hear.
rea i A
a d par icipa i
i co s r c i e dialo e
a d RA
about the system the opportunity to voice their opinions and participate in the dialogue. JA Week followed As former Junior Advisors (JAs), JAAB’s JA Forum event in Februmembers of the Gargoyle Society ary, which was similarly dedicated and/or the Junior Advisor Advisory to providing a space for students to Board (JAAB), we’ve spent a lot of reflect on and engage in conversatime thinking about the JA system. tion about the JA system. We don’t write on behalf of any of Everyone at Williams has come these groups, but rather to reflect into contact with the JA system, on the experiences we’ve had as whether they have/had a JA, were/ members of them. are a JA or know a JA. It makes In recent years, problems with sense that many students have the JA system and position have strong opinions about the syscome to the forefront tem and the role. But of campus conversawhen opportunities tion. These include If students don't take arise for students to lack of support for engage constructively these opportunities, and voice these opinJAs of marginalized and underrepresented ions, many don’t. Of the actions of these identities and the exthe approximately 20 groups will remain tra labor they are exstudents who attendpected to provide, uned the JA Forum, few confined to their clear expectations of were not on JAAB. the JA role (which ofmembers' viewpoints. Even fewer were not ten lead to JAs shoulJAs. Throughout JA dering undue responWeek, events were sibility) and the unique economic similarly sparsely attended; most pressure felt by low-income JAs, of those who did attend already had among other issues. These issues a connection to JAAB, Gargoyle or are undoubtedly real, and these the JA system. critiques are valid; they have inWe’ve heard criticisms that formed many of the recent changes groups like JAAB and Gargoyle to the JA system. These problems are insular. We agree. This is why have been discussed extensively, events like JA Week are so imporboth among the student body and tant; they offer opportunities for within organizations like JAAB and everyone to express their thoughts Gargoyle, which are dedicated to and opinions, contributing to improving what it means to exist change. If students don’t take these in and be impacted by the JA role. opportunities, the actions of these Still, these problems have not been groups will remain confined to resolved and will continue to moti- their members’ viewpoints. vate changes yet to come. We would have loved to have seen Toward that end, the first week of passionate students making their April was JA Week, which consist- voices heard at the JA Forum and JA ed of events dedicated to provid- Week. One of the wonderful things ing spaces for discussion about and about Williams is students’ strong critical engagement with the JA sys- opinions regarding campus issues. tem. The week sought to offer mem- But, too often, this passion takes the bers of the student body who aren’t form of vitriolic Facebook posts or part of groups that regularly think complaining sessions with friends
A
ARA RA
A
and fails to reach the spaces where it could be constructive. Passion doesn’t inspire change if it manifests itself within an echo chamber. And conversations surrounding the JA system should be more than an echo chamber. As recently as four years ago, the rhetoric surrounding the JA role only accounted for the positives. Besides being unproductive, this narrative failed to represent the broad spectrum of JA experiences. But just as focusing on only the good parts of being a JA is incomplete, so is a narrative that presents the JA position as overwhelmingly detrimental for JAs and those they serve. As part of JA Week, we hoped to call attention to positive aspects of the JA role alongside negatives in order to balance the conversation. Everyone’s JA experience is valid, and not everyone has a wholly enjoyable and easy experience. But including the positive parts of being a JA doesn’t contest or erase the validity of different experiences – it supplements them. Usually, it’s not as clear-cut as having a “positive” or “negative” JA year. Just like any other experience, being a JA has both positive and negative moments, all of which are real. Conversations about the JA system should reflect that. JA Week has ended, but the conversations shouldn’t. Students are still engaging with these issues. But rather than privately reiterate the JA system’s failures, we hope that students will create spaces for dialogue and fill those spaces with constructive opinions that can effect positive change. The more voices that contribute, the better. Emmy Maluf ’18 is an English major from New York, N.Y. Apshara Ravichandran ’18 is an anthropology and chemistry double major from Cleveland, Ohio.
Halle Schweizer ’21 is from Bourbonnais, Ill. Her major is undecided.
Discussing our faith Discovering religious identity at the College A
interests coming together to share their spiritual backgrounds and learn A few years ago, I came to Wil- and discuss who Jesus is and why Jeliams with high hopes of hav- sus died. The third week is this Sating the best four years of my life, urday and is still open to anyone who creating lifelong friendships with is interested in coming along. people from all around the world, In my own faith journey, it wasn’t majoring in math and economics really until friendships that felt soland positioning myself for a job id fell apart, counseling didn’t propost-graduation in finance. I think vide lasting healing and investment a lot of students, though certainly banking offers didn’t satisfy my not with those exhunger for success act same ambitions, that I started to feel are excited to have disillusioned and a rich and memoquestion if there was I think we owe it to actually more to life rable college experience that fits neatly this. I began exourselves, regardless than into the grand plan ploring faith and reof achieving a rich of what we came to member finding Pasand meaningful life. Wager, though college believing, to cal’s Between the homecrude, compelling. work, pre-games, make adult decisions A rational person meals, meetings should at the very about what and sparse hours of least invest in explorsleep, though, we ing if God exists and we believe. don’t often get to acif they should believe tually ask ourselves in God: “If God does if there is more to not actually exist, life than getting it all right – I know such a person will have only a finite I certainly didn’t. loss, whereas they stand to receive Alpha is a three-week series ex- infinite gains (eternity in Heaven) ploring life, meaning and faith that and avoid infinite losses (eternity I brought from the U.K. (where in Hell).” the course content was invented) I think we all owe it to ourselves, to the College because I felt there regardless of what we came to college ought to be a space on campus believing, to make adult decisions where people can air questions and about what we believe and to be chalform beliefs during this critical lenged in understanding why. time in our lives, in this uniquely I was certainly surprised to find diverse place. As someone who was out how much my life and my Wilnot born to Christian parents and liams experience was changed by eventually made a decision to fol- Jesus, who gives unending love, low Jesus at Williams, I wanted to forgiveness and joy to those who create a welcoming environment choose to walk with Him. While I (with free, home-cooked food!) for am on my way out of Williams havpeople to ask questions, learn more ing accomplished everything I set about Christianity and explore who out to do here, I know it was all by Jesus is. It’s a space created by stu- the grace of God, and being able dents, for students to take a step to discover Him is certainly what I back, have some fun and good food expected the least but will treasure and explore questions about life. the most. The first two weeks of Alpha involved over 30 students from a wide Stephanie Li ’18 is an economarray of countries, religious back- ics and mathematics double major grounds, class years and academic from Long Grove, Ill.
DARIN LI ’21
What defines our generation? o sideri A
AR A
The Class of 2021 is the last ’90s generation of students, those born between 1990 and 1999. We are the end of the Millennials and the beginning of what many refer to as Generation Z. Some defining elements of our childhood, like watching VCR movies, reading books, listening to MP3 players and playing with dolls and action figures will fade to distant memory as younger members of Generation Z become adults. Yet, reflecting on what defines the last of the ’90s generation reveals layers of complex social, cultural, technological and political changes that have shaped us in greater yet more subtle ways than the summer days of riding bikes to hang out with friends. Our generation witnessed the upheaval of tactical warfare, specifically marked by terrorism. This form of psychological warfare is unique in how it has shaped our perceptions of daily life. The fear we may feel when entering a concert venue or waiting in line to check bags at the airport is one learned from listening to the news as kids. An article in The New York Times cites the depth of this influence on our lives: “Millennials, after all, were raised during the boom times and relative peace of the 1990s, only to see their sunny world dashed by the September 11 attacks and two economic crashes,
e
i e e perie ces o
in 2000 and 2008. Theirs is a story of innocence lost.” (“Move over, Millenials, here comes Generation Z,” Sept. 18, 2015) In this sense, we are the last generation to know a world without terrorism. We continue to observe and influence an era marked by political polarization. Arguably one of the most memorable political movements of our youth will be the Trump presidency. Notably, it continues to challenge our generation to vocalize our opinions. It has also defined our political identities. While older generations traditionally sway from liberal to conservative views, an article by The Washington Post cites that Millennials are exhibiting a lesser tendency to shift toward more conservative views as they enter adulthood (“Here’s how Millennials could change politics,” March 2, 2018). To elaborate on this point, the article notes that our generation identifies as politically independent more than any generation before. The current political environment has also taught us to be unafraid to question the status quos of both democrats and republicans. Witnessing the growing influence and accessibility of media is a hallmark of our lives. Older generations criticize our overuse of iPhones and iPads and the instinct to photograph or Snapchat important moments. However, just as quickly as they criticize our use of
ille
ials
technology, they will place iPads in front of their young children as a form of entertainment. In contrast, as kids we used our minds to entertain ourselves, whether through drawing, silly playground games, reading books or creating imaginary worlds with action figures and dolls. In this sense, not only are we the last generation to know a childhood without the omnipresence of technology, but also the last to fully engage our imaginations. Those born between 1982 and 2004 were originally classified as Millennials. Then, the Pew Research Center announced in March of 2018 that people born after 1995 would no longer be considered Millennials, and currently there is no agreed-upon label. Perhaps the cut-off date was changed because our generation’s influence is greater than the previous one’s. This suggests that our generation is so unique that we are undefinable. Psychological warfare has made us mentally tougher. Political turbulence has made us more thoughtful consumers of news and fearless to stand up for our beliefs. Technology has equipped us with a plethora of information right at our fingertips. To all of this, I would say that our generation is far from perfect, but we might just be able to change the world. Julia Mariani ’21 is from Locust Valley, N.Y. Her major is undecided.
April 18, 2018
NEWS 4
The Williams Record
Marc Maron speaks at ’62 Center on comedy and Jewish identity By REBECCA TAUBER NEWS EDITOR Last Thursday, the College welcomed actor, comedian and podcast host Marc Maron for a show in the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance titled “Marc Maron in Conversation: Jews, Comedy and the Secular Jewish Art of Intimacy.” Maron has gained popularity through stand-up comedy and WTF with Marc Maron, a podcast in which he interviews various
celebrities. He has published a book, The Jerusalem Syndrome: My Life as a Reluctant Messiah, and a collection of essays, Attempting Normal. Maron is also currently acting in the Netflix series GLOW. Professor of Religion and Jewish Studies Jeffrey Israel interviewed Maron on stage before a live audience, asking him questions about his life, career and Jewish identity. In his responses, Maron turned the event into a comedy rou-
tine, never missing a moment to tell a joke or perform a bit. Israel began the discussion with a question about maintaining balance between authenticity, performance and public intimacy. Maron responded that his initial draw to stand-up comedy was not for its role as a performative space, but as a space to speak his mind. “The primary reason I did stand-up was to occupy, to have my own space up there, to be seen,” he said. “I got on
stage to have my own voice… It was always about authenticity.” Maron’s podcast helped his career as a comic and provided another medium through which he could express himself in direct conversation with others. “When I started doing the podcast, it was an act of desperation… It was me having celebrities over to talk about my problems,” Maron explained. However, Maron’s openness on stage did not always come easily to him. “It wasn’t un-
til four or five years ago that the actual fear went away… If you’re in stand-up, 80 percent of the job is pretending you’re not afraid,” he said. Maron recounted the challenges of starting his career as a comic, doing small gigs throughout the Northeast, including in North Adams. He described himself as an “angry, neurotic Jew.” “It was just me yelling at New England townies,” he said. Next, Israel, who has been teaching a course on Jewish
REBECCA TAUBER/NEWS EDITOR
Israel, right, interviewed Maron on his career and Jewish identity. Maron took every opportunity to turn an answer into a comedic story, recounting his rise in stand-up, his upbringing and more.
America this semester, questioned Maron about his Jewish background. “I’m curious about how your sense of Jewishness and your connection to New York and New Jersey helped your comedy,” he said. Maron talked about how Jewish parts of his performances come naturally to him, slipping in and out of a classic old New York Jewish accent while describing his experience working in a Jewish deli in Boston. “My own Jewish identity is based at different times on different things,” Maron explained. “I identified with mediated depictions of Jews in movies… I gravitated towards a lot of Jew comics.” He also recounted an old comedy bit describing how he “came out” as a Jew on stage. “I had never really brought it up because I couldn’t think of a way to do it that wouldn’t reinforce the stereotype of what being a Jew was,” Maron said. “I can’t stand comedy that trivializes the Jewish type into a set of pathetic behavioral idiosyncrasies.” The Beat Generation also had a profound influence on Maron as he began developing as a stand-up comic in his 20s. “I loved Allen [Ginsburg] and Jack [Kerouac]... You kind of romanticize a movement,” he said. After a combination of stories, bits and responses to Israel’s questions, Maron opened the room up for questions. The audience, a mix of students and community members, posed questions ranging from advice on stand-up comedy to specifics about his podcast episodes. Maron then concluded the night with a book signing. In the final few questions, Maron reflected on his development as a comedian. “As I get older, I’m not tethered by all the stuff that used to define me, and I’m better off,” he said. “I’ve learned how to put on a show, and I challenge myself stand-up wise.”
Faculty strengthen prohibition on student-faculty relationships By SAMUEL WOLF NEWS EDITOR At the faculty meeting on April 11, the College faculty voted to add language to the Faculty Handbook strictly prohibiting sexual relations between students and faculty. Previously, the handbook stated that “sexual relationships between faculty and students are almost always inappropriate,” but it did not outright forbid them in all cases. New language, however, makes clear that “all faculty are in a position of power with regard to undergraduate students; hence, sexual relationships between faculty and undergraduate students are prohibited.” The motion was introduced by the Faculty Steering Committee, an elected group of six faculty members that organizes faculty meetings and seeks to represent faculty interests. Gregory Mitchell, assistant professor of women's, gender and sexuality studies and a member of the Faculty Steering Committee, described other changes in language as a catalyst for this revision. “The administration was updating the language in its policy regarding staff,” he said. “We try to maintain policies that formally cohere across the College, so we began to look at the language of the faculty policy at that time. The Steering Committee felt that the language was not strong enough or clear enough.” The language that had previously been in place in the Faculty Handbook, categorized under the heading “Potentially Coercive Relationships Between Students and Faculty or Staff,” was first implemented in May of 2015 and was mildly revised in November of 2017. In addition to calling student-faculty sexual relations “almost always inappropriate,” it prohibited all such relations when “a faculty member has teaching, evaluative, formal advising or supervisory responsibilities for that student, even if the parties involved view the relationship as consensual.” Faculty members were additionally prohibited from teach-
ing students with whom they had ever had sexual relationships under the threat of future disciplinary action. The Steering Committee ultimately decided that this language was not sufficiently precise. “Around three months ago, the Steering Committee began to consider how to make this language more clear so that no one would misconstrue the policy to think the College condones sexual relationships between faculty and students or think this was a loophole,” Mitchell said. “We voted on the larger unified non-discrimination, harassment and sexual misconduct policy and unified grievance procedures in November, and so this issue was fresh on our minds,” Safa Zaki, professor of psychology and chair of the Steering Committee, added. Members of the Steering Committee had previously been cognizant of the fact that, on occasion, faculty members have encouraged their spouses to enroll at the College. This led the Steering Committee to its previous designation of student-faculty relationships as “almost always” rather than “always” inappropriate. However, the Steering Committee was ultimately united in the decision to strengthen the language and ban all sexual relationships between students and faculty. “The Faculty Steering Committee was unanimous in supporting this motion,” Zaki said. The faculty present at the April 11 meeting voted in favor of the resolution by a 48-10 margin, with three faculty members abstaining. “I think the fact that this motion was not controversial during the meeting and that the vote passed by such a wide margin reflects the fact that this is a pretty clear area in terms of ethics,” Mitchell said. “I can't speak definitively to the motives of the few faculty who voted against it, but the only concern that anyone raised on the floor of the meeting was about whether there was enough procedural clarity about how this policy related to the non-discrimination,
harassment and sexual misconduct policy and unified grievance procedures. No faculty member in attendance argued against the motion on the basis that such relationships might be appropriate.” Despite the lack of vocal opposition, however, the vote was not unanimous. In the blind vote, 16 percent of all voting faculty were against the resolution. When asked about the attitudes of those in opposition, Zaki said that she could not “speak to what may have motivated people one way or another.” During the faculty meeting, one member brought up the fact that sexual relations were expressly forbidden, but romantic relations were not. Members of the Steering Committee had considered adding that language, but they decided against it as a result of anxiety over definitions. “What constitutes a romantic relationship is notoriously difficult to define, and so we opted to keep that part of the policy the same as it was,” Zaki said. Relationships between faculty and graduate students are still permitted in cases where the faculty member does not have evaluative, advisory or supervisory responsibilities over the student. This was left in place with the logic that, unlike undergraduate students, graduate students could conceivably come into no educational contact with a professor in a different field, making any resulting relationship less likely to be influenced by unbalanced power dynamics. Faculty members are still permitted to seek exemptions to this rule. “The dean of the faculty may grant exemptions to this policy in reasonable cases of pre-existing relationships,” the Faculty Handbook states. “Any faculty member who wishes to request such an exemption should submit a written statement to the dean of the faculty explaining the reasons for the request.” However, such a request would likely only be granted in the extreme case in which a relationship predates the enrollment of the student or the employment of the faculty member.
Monday 4-9-18 10:34 a.m. Chaffee Tennis House: An officer responded to a burglary alarm for the office door and office motion detectors. The officer found the office door unlocked. The officer secured the door and re-armed the system. Tuesday 4-10-18 11:56 a.m. Mission Park: The south entrance emergency phone was activated. Dispatch reported that they could hear a lot of voices. An officer found a large group of middle schoolaged children walking up the sidewalk towards Williams Hall. No one was around the phone. A student stated to the officer that he saw one of the little kids from the group that walked by pressing buttons. The phone was working properly. 7:29 p.m. Stetson Road: Dispatch received a call from an unidentified woman reporting that there had been a vehicle, driven by a person that she believed to be a member of the baseball team, driving in reverse at a high speed near Cole Field. The woman was upset that there are no signs along the roadway advising drivers to slow down and to be aware of the heavy pedestrian traffic. An officer responded to Cole Field and found that there was nobody left at the field. Wednesday 4-11-18 12:24 a.m. Susan Hopkins: An officer observed, through the front window, students running out of the first floor common room and up the stairs. There was a smell of burnt marijuana in the common room. Along with the strong marijuana smell, there was an open window and multiple lighters. Thursday 4-12-18 11:05 a.m. Lasell: An athletics department administrator
reported a small hole through a south window at the Lasell administrative offices. The hole appeared to be from a projectile, possibly a BB or pellet. There was no glass or projectile found either inside or outside. The Williamstown Police Department was called to respond. Staff there were unsure of how long the window had been damaged. 11:32 a.m. Williams Hall: Officers received a complaint of the smell of smoke from the E entry. Friday 4-13-18 3:40 p.m. Cole Field: An officer was patrolling the area, traveling south on Stetson Road, when he witnessed a black vehicle with Maryland plates that he recognized as a student vehicle traveling north at an excessive speed. The driver swerved erratically to avoid a bicyclist who was also traveling toward the field. The officer was doing a transport and, after dropping off the passenger, they responded to the field to record the vehicle information. The officer issued a citation for unsafe operation.
ed in getting into the locked stall. The student was still unresponsive. The student was very uncooperative but was eventually transported to Berkshire Health North. 12:47 a.m. West College: Officers responded to a welfare check on an intoxicated student. Upon arrival, officers found the student sitting up on the bed, coherent and talking. The student had been vomiting, but had since been eating food and drinking fluids. The caller advised the officers that he would be staying with the student for the night and taking care of them. Officers deemed that this was all right and the student did not need further assistance. 3:59 p.m. Gladden: An officer was dispatched to do a room opening. While there, the officer observed, in plain view, that the smoke detector in the room was covered with a sock. The smoke detector also had a zip-lock baggie taped around it. The student was advised that they would be hearing from Fire Safety for tampering with a smoke detector. A $250 to $500 fine will be issued. Sunday 4-15-18
6:23 p.m. 32 South St.: A tenant called in a report that there was a water leak in his upstairs bathroom and that the smoke detectors were going off. Electrical tradespeople were called and responded. They replaced the heat detector once the ceiling dried. Saturday 4-14-18 12:31 a.m. Paresky: Officers responded to a report of a male student passed out face down in a bathroom stall. His only response to questions was groaning, dry heaving and spitting on the floor. Due to his condition and his inability to communicate, 9-1-1 was activated. Custodians assist-
11:41 a.m. Gladden: Officers responded to multiple noise complaints and a report of someone overhearing something about starting a fire. Officers found a group of students being loud and drinking beer outside the entrance and in the basement. The group included both students and visitors. They all said that they were not setting anything on fire outside but that they were smoking cigars. Officers checked the area outside and found no evidence of anything being burned. There was underage drinking occurring. They were advised of the complaint. The party ended, and the area was cleaned up.
April 18, 2018
NEWS 5
The Williams Record
Incoming President Maud Mandel visits College CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 When asked about her initial impressions of the College student body, Mandel expressed admiration for the close bond between students and faculty. “One of the things I really enjoyed about the conversation that I was able to have [with students] was seeing how connected students felt to their professors and to their academic studies here,” she said. “I’m not sure it was surprising, but it was actually moving to hear students feel connected to the academic pathways here so strongly.” Mandel also said that she enjoyed the wide range of topics and issues in which students have already tried to engage her, emphasizing that such a diversity of concerns was another reflection of the diversity of the campus itself. Mandel hopes that her tenure will foster inclusion and will help students draw the most from their liberal arts educations. “Access to affordable and well-supported opportunities for students from all backgrounds is so important to me,” she said. “That is something that all institutions of higher education are really working on right now, and that is a big commitment of mine: the diversity of the student body and also the inclusion, making sure folks feel welcome and well-supported so that they can be successful until they graduate.” Mandel also emphasized the role that administrators must play in making sure that students feel ready for post-graduation life. “The liberal arts trains students in a number of key areas that are transferable skills no matter what you’re going to go on to do,” she said. She added that sometimes students need help figuring out “what they want to get out of their educations [and] how to build those skills in a really thoughtful way using classes that really engage them.”
BROOKE HOROWITCH/EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Maud Mandel, who is currently dean of the college at Brown, will assume the presidency on July 1. In preparation for her new role, she has met with students, faculty and staff. Mandel believes that her experience in teaching will help her serve the College community as president. “Faculty believe deeply, and I share this, that the best people to run the institutions are the faculty that come out of particular disciplines,” she said. “Being in the classroom with students is what drew me to this whole endeavor to begin with… I really love to engage around ideas in a classroom, where we’re questioning and talking and challenging and critiquing and thinking through together. If you hear those words that I just used, those are the things that I want to do when leading the whole institution.”
Mandel finds her role as a historian particularly conducive to her new position. “I’ve often thought that the historical discipline is a fantastic one for university leaders because, in fact, they’re engaged in thinking about how to move institutions forward and what’s possible,” she said. “Historians have a pretty good sense that change is slow and requires a lot of input from a lot of people and tends to be better when it’s thoughtful over a span of time rather than quick and disruptive.” Mandel also pointed specifically to her scholarly work on Armenians, Jews and Muslims in France. “I work a lot on issues of minority inclusion in broader
societies, and I think that has given me a particular interest in those questions of diversity and inclusion,” she said. The differences between Providence and Williamstown are stark, but Mandel voiced excitement about joining the broader community. “Obviously, I would never come here if I wasn’t drawn by all of the things that make Williams different,” she said. “It’s really exciting for me, actually, to be in this location and working with the community here.” Mandel plans to start her tenure by listening to campus and community voices. “I think it’s really important for a college president to spend some time listening before deter-
College students attend reproductive justice conference at Hampshire By JULIA BILKE CONTRIBUTING WRITER Last Friday, a group of 10 students and staff members from the College traveled to Hampshire College for the Civil Liberties and Public Policy (CLPP) Conference. The next morning, an additional 30 Williams students, staff, faculty and community members followed for the opening plenary of the annual Reproductive Justice (RJ) conference, which has been held at Hampshire since 1983. Collectively, 40 people from the College and the town attended the conference. The event was organized and hosted by CLPP, which defines itself as a “national reproductive rights and justice organization dedicated to educating, mentoring and inspiring new generations of advocates, leaders and supporters,” according to its website. CLPP represents one of the largest global conferences that centers on and celebrates RJ activism and organizing. Led by RJ activists and attended by nearly 2000 people each year, the conference consists of a series of nearly 75 workshops organized by students. This year’s seminars ranged from “Power,
Pleasure, Profit: Radical Visions of Consent from Young Feminists,” to “Transforming Reproductive Justice: Trans Healthcare Access,” to “Immigration Justice in Dangerous Times.” RJ, a framework developed by a group of black women in 1994, is defined by SisterSong, a women of color RJ collective, as “the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.” As its definition suggests, RJ is a framework that can encapsulate many subsets of social justice. Feminist Collective co-chair Olivia Goodheart ’18.5 explained the wide-reaching applications of RJ. “RJ is intrinsic to all political movements and is a necessary framework for intersectional political work,” she said. “The workshops, speakers and participants at CLPP demonstrated the way RJ is linked to everything from indigenous activists fighting big oil in Oklahoma, to the treatment of women and trans people in prisons, to justice for sex workers everywhere.” Berkshire Doula Project (BDP) board member Madeleine Elyze ’18 explained that
the scope of RJ goes beyond the issue of reproductive rights. “RJ is about shifting power through a historical and community approach,” she said. “We must create strategies for change that address stigma and discrimination in addition to the historical root causes of oppression. In the process, we must uplift each other.” BDP board member Alice Westerman ’21 connected the conference to the Berkshire community. “CLPP is an empowering and energizing conference that puts the work we do with the BDP [at Williams and in Berkshire County] into the context of a much larger movement,” she said. CLPP resonated with conference attendees in diverse and nuanced ways. Roshny Vijayakar ’17, who helped found BDP, reflected on the experience from a recent graduate’s perspective. “As an alum who does not get to participate in RJ activism or advocacy in my current job, CLPP was a refreshing and inspiring experience,” she said. “To share space and conversation with so many bold and beautiful souls who are doing the hardest work of all – dismantling systems of oppression in compassionate ways – really
grounded and re-centered my purposes in life, both personal and professional.” Elyze also appreciated the atmosphere of the conference. “CLPP offered a space for unconditional, radical love,” she said. “United in our passions for human rights and social justice, we brought our entire selves into a uniquely intersectional, safe community. This was a space for learning, teaching, healing and loving. CLPP was empowering.” Grace Fan ’19 experienced CLPP within a larger framework of activism and education. “CLPP reminded me that learning and unlearning are continual processes that I need to foster actively, otherwise I become stagnant,” she said. “CLPP served as a stark reminder that – as someone who isn’t very well-versed in RJ activism – I have a lot of work to do in breaking down the lingering traces of stigmas that were taught to me while growing up in a conservative home.” For many, CLPP stood as a reminder of many things – to continually educate ourselves, check ourselves, love ourselves and, most importantly, organize ourselves against the systems that continually prevent us from doing so.
PHOTO COURTESY OF JULIA BILKE.
Dozens of College students, faculty, staff and community members travelled to Hampshire College to take part in an annual reproductive justice conference.
mining directions, because the thing about leadership in a college is that you’re working in collaboration with faculty and students and staff and alumni to think about the best directions for change and growth over time, and it requires some good listening and conversation-building,” she said. Mandel plans to continue to listen during her next visit to the College in May. “I’m only going to be here for a day that time, too, so I’m going to have to be practical in terms of what I can accomplish in one day. I see these visits as just the beginning of long conversations,” she said. “I want to start broadening the circles and meeting more faculty so that I can start
hearing what they’re excited about and what their concerns are, and of course figure out how to interact with ever-larger numbers of students.” Mandel will assume the presidency in July and plans to use the fall of 2018 to continue those conversations. “Of course, in September, I’ll be able to really have extensive conversations that are required for really getting to know a place,” she said. Though the transition will take some time, she expressed enthusiasm to be joining the College, physically and in spirit. “We are incredibly excited and moved to join this community,” she said in her speech, speaking on behalf of herself and her family.
Provost’s office releases building report detailing construction process By NICHOLAS GOLDROSEN EXECUTIVE EDITOR This past month, the provost’s office released a report on construction at the College. This document traces the College’s process for construction and renovation on campus from its initial conception and design through its funding and completion. It was created in large part by Provost David Love and Associate Provost Chris Winters ’95 and aims to “ensure that we all share the same understanding of the process the College uses to decide when to invest in buildings,” as the document’s introduction states. The report falls at a particularly construction-heavy point in the College’s history. “We are doing a lot of building right now, so it's on people’s minds,” Love said. “It's important for people to know how we move from the inception of a project through all its stages, including programming studies, design work, conversations with the Committee on Priorities and Resources (CPR) and the board and funding options.” After beginning by detailing the history of building and expansion at the College, a large portion of the report is dedicated to explaining how the College plans and finances buildings. First, the report outlines the College’s planning process. Once a building project idea is brought forward, senior staff and CPR allow projects with clear need to begin drawing up specifications. This process is led by a building committee tailored to the specific stakeholders involved in the project. Projects then progress to the design stage, which typically involves an outside architect and internal design committee, which aim to “ensure that new buildings harmonize with the rest of the campus,” according to the report. After exploring funding options, projects then proceed to
CPR and the board of trustees to await green lighting in the annual budget process. Construction projects are prioritized based on several factors: how central the project is to the College’s educational mission, the condition of the current resources and the availability of financing. Financing for buildings, the report explains, typically comes from direct giving, debt sales and the endowment, in that order. One of the major misconceptions that the provost’s office hoped this report would clarify is related to funding. “The report corrects several common misconceptions, including the ideas that: a) We pay for buildings out of the endowment – in fact, philanthropy and tax-exempt debt are the most important sources of funds – and b) That donors exert undue influence in the process,” Love said. “We’ll only build things we want – though we love it when donors want what we want!” Love also stressed the importance of construction and frequent renovation to support the College’s educational mission. “On a campus with over 130 buildings, there will always be structures in serious need of care,” Love said. “Construction often reflects the necessary reinvestment in our physical assets that allows us to do the important work of teaching and learning.” Love hopes that this report will spark a campus conversation on building. “Building is one of the highest profile things that we do,” Love said. “Our goal in producing the report was to make sure that anyone who was interested in the topic could get a comprehensive picture of not only the projects that we’ve undertaken, but the process that got us there. Almost everyone has an inner architect, and most are not shy about expressing their opinions about what, where and when we should build.”
FEATURES 6
The Williams Record
April 18, 2018
One in Two Thousand By SHAHEEN CURRIMJEE EXECUTIVE EDITOR From serving in the military to researching in Kuwait, Landon Marchant ’20 has gathered fascinating experiences, all the while living with the most adorable pup, Malibu. I sat down with them at the Bookstore to hear more about their interests and dig up some dirt on their furry friend! So do you mind telling me about some of your previous work in the military service before you came to the College? I served in North Dakota on B-52 bombers as a welder and machinist. We did a lot of fun stuff, like building and refurbishing airplane parts. Some parts aren't in production any more. We had one guy come in and say, “This is the last part we have. Can you make this change so it works better?” And we did. But then this one time, my supervisor put caster wheels on tricycles. I made a light saber, and one of my sergeants told a story about making an electric guitar! So we did a lot of cool things with metal. What was it like serving as a person within the trans community? I was not out when I was there, and I didn’t know anything about trans-ness other than that I was very uncomfortable with my body. I did not figure out what trans was or any kind of gender identity theories or how I could relate to the world until after I had left the service, so I served identifying as a lesbian.
What do you think was the most challenging part of your service?
LANDON MARCHANT ’20
I enlisted to leave where I was from, which was rural Wisconsin, and I ended up in rural North Dakota, so that was probably the worst part. I wasn’t really prepared for the long hours we worked, either. Our schedule taught me to appreciate weekends and half days when they happened!
So it was a holiday and an academic project all in one. Okay, so the real question: We all know that Malibu is the campus celebrity sweetheart. How did your story with Malibu begin?
That must have been tough! Speaking of which, I hear that you’re taking five classes this semester, including a senior seminar. How's that been?
So Malibu is originally from a kill shelter in West Virginia. I was at an adoption event, and the trainer told me to find a puppy. I came home with what (we think) was a 2-year-old dog. Bu sat on my foot and would not move, so she came home. The trainer told me, “Landon, you brought us a cat.”
Oh my god. Schedule in time for sleep, and then pick which classes you want. Good advice! What is the most interesting class you’re taking? I'm torn because my classes fit so nicely together. I’m in a philosophy tutorial with Professor Pedroni, a free speech philosophy class with Professor Gerrard [and] an independent study in which I am conducting research with a team of doctoral candidates and masters students all across the nation. My portion of research is being overseen by Professor Rappaport from the economics department. We are doing a longitudinal phenomenological study, and my manuscript is about the career choices of trans military troops. It's been really interesting combining that with Professor Schmidt’s [course] “Gender and Economics” as well as Professor Mitchell’s senior seminar on queer ethno-
What’s the relationship between you two like?
LANDON'S HOMETOWN WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS.
Malibu is really smart, and she would do things as if to say, “Oh, I know how to sit. You know I know this. I’m deciding not to listen.” She takes her time – she still does – like, “I’m off duty. I’m coming … on my own schedule.” JULIA CASSELL/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER It’s been five years. Her Gotcha Day date was this week, and HIGHLIGHT OF LANDON'S SPRING BREAK some of my friends sent her a RESIDENCE THOMPSON TRAVELLING TO KUWAIT doggy cake. I wouldn't trade her for the world.
graphic writing. In all, I have been learning a lot of skills that I probably would not usually be learning until senior year, but they really play nicely together, even though they come from a variety of different fields.
Writing clubinbegins firstHistory chapter This Week Williams By LYDIA DUAN FEATURES EDITOR Athletes go to practice, and actors go to their rehearsals, but where do writers go? It is hard to mentally picture the space for the literarily inclined on campus, and while there is no shortage of wordsmiths at the College, gathering them all into a single room to interact and share their work is another story. This problem of the invisible writing community is something that Sarah Creighton ’21 and Henry Newell ’21 are seeking to address with the creation of the new creative writing club on campus, Williams Writers Overground (WWO). The story behind WWO begins three hours away from Williamstown, in the heart of New York, N.Y. Creighton and Newell had gone to the same high school back in the city, and while there, they both had been part of a literary-based club that had students writing poetry or prose at its weekly meetings and receiving collective feedback on the spot. It was very freeform and lent itself to a low-stakes, inclusive atmosphere of collaborative creativity. Upon arriving at the College, both Creighton and Newell sought out clubs of a similar vein. When they did not find any that fulfilled quite the same function, they decided to take matters into their own hands. “I really wanted a space to carve out time to write,” Creighton said. “Then Henry was like, ‘We did this back in high school – why can’t we do it now?’” From there, the process of building a club from the ground up involved a lot of “normal club bureaucracy.” Streams of emails were sent out, dozens of forms coordinating with the Office of Student Life were filled in and, after tracking down a faculty advisor, Senior Lecturer in English Paul Park, and someone to handle the financials, Erinn Goldman ’21, WWO finally gained enough momentum to burst onto the student organization scene. Creighton and Newell are excited because, though the club is in its fledgling stages, a sizable number of students have expressed genuine interest in committing to WWO. The
She’s a fully-fledged, functioning human! I wanted to combine seeing her with my classwork, so I went to Kuwait, saw her, spent time doing homework by the beach and also interviewed some expats for a research project.
Creighton agreed, noting club’s first meeting was held this past Thursday, and the the benefits of writing on the fly. “There’s something special turnout was promising. “I was so scared no one would about sharing something imshow up, or that people would mediately after you’ve written show up, and I would have to it because you don’t have time do things – I’m an all-oppor- to get self-conscious about it,” tunity worrier,” Creighton said, she said. “Nobody’s expecting it laughing. “But there were a to be perfect, but maybe I’ll salvage the goods good number of that I like.” people who were As for the super excited to be there.” And “You get peeks into prompts themNothing after introducpeople's writing, and selves? is so strict. “We tions had been made, everyone they're all going places say prompt, but –” Newwas more than you would've never ell began, but willing to do just Creighton cut what they came thought of. ” him off. “It’s for – the writing. like a nudge,” “What I reshe said. ally like is the fact Sarah Creighton ’21 “People have that I’m getting been known to the sense that WWO Co-Founder prefer to refer people who have to these things expressed interest are pretty committed to this... as ‘writing invitations,’” NewIt’s sort of reassuring that we’re ell said. “If you’re Sarah, you not just following our own star probably think about it and that no one else [cares] about,” come up with good prompts… If you’re me, I’m the type of Newell said. Both Creighton and Newell person who’s like, ‘Let’s write are eager to foster a sense of about antelopes,’” he joked. camaraderie with the members The club is looking at exof club. Such fellowship only ploring a variety of prompts, develops with time, but they which range from structural are confident that friendships types like sonnets or sestinas will fall into place with succes- to thematic suggestions. Ultimately, the students can sive meetings. WWO is geared towards generating writing write about whatever they desire. within a group of people who Accessibility is a tenet of WWO, are equally passionate about the where no student should feel barred from joining because of written word. For students who are hesitant stylistic or content restrictions. about whether or not their writ- For the founders of WWO, writing is up to par, Creighton and ing can be an immensely personNewell encourage them to take al and evocative act of expression. a chance. They both empathized Writing is where Creighton and with the feeling of lacking the Newell hope the club members “writing chops” in one setting will find an inspiration for their or another. They acknowledged artistry, a solidarity in their comthe realities of writer insecu- munity and a catharsis amidst rity and explained that WWO the seemingly insurmountable is meant to be a space where challenges of life. “We’re the literary equivalent students can grow in their own of a support group,” Newell said. voices as writers. “Everybody feels at certain “We’re not competing with one points like they can’t write, and another or other people – we’re to some extent, that’s true of ev- just doing this.” “You get peeks into people’s eryone because writing is fundamental, and it’s not something writing, and they’re all goyou can perfect,” Newell said. ing places you would’ve never “But at the same time, I think the thought of… And when you write thing that really makes a writer and you’re writing about yourself is simply the desire to write and, or about something that feels more importantly, the fact that true, no one can tell you that you’re wrong,” Creighton said. they are writing.”
And you took some of these ideas with you to Kuwait for spring break. Yes. So my partner is a high school history teacher – she has her masters and is teaching internationally right now.
She’s adorable, but she was recently sick, right? Yeah. She had pneumonia so badly that the first doctor thought it was a disk disease. She was just not herself. We went to three different vets,
and finally we got her into Greylock, and they ran all her tests, and I left her with them over spring break. With the right medication, rest and lots of love, she made it. There was a GoFundMe page as well. Yeah! The bills, you know, they could have been worse. But my friend Emmie Hine [’20] was like, “You know, this dog is so loved – let’s see what kind of help we can get for Malibu because this is a lot of money.” The response – it blew me away. She’s so loved. There’s actually a really sweet picture somewhere of a student in Doddrich petting Malibu and reading to her at the same time. Aw. What’s the funniest thing she’s done since you’ve known her? Oh, she farts in retaliation. So if I pass gas and she’s curled up on the bed, she’s known to get up, turn around, come closer, put her butt towards me and within three to five minutes will fart back. Oh my god. Malibu, how do you feel about this? Malibu: [Disgusted sideways glance directed toward our general vicinity.] LM: She's also figured out how to open Tupperware. And the desk drawers. Other than that, she falls over all the time. She does some stupid dog stuff. Malibu: [Gives another sideways glance towards Landon.] LM: She works her audience.
Peace Valley survives cold, maintains fruitful partnership with College By ANDREW RULE CONTRIBUTING WRITER Spring has taken longer than usual this year to arrive in the Berkshires. But while the persistent low temperatures have merely been an annoyance to students at the College, they have had a real impact on Bill Stinson’s work at Peace Valley Farm in western Williamstown. “It’s not exactly the nicest weather we’ve had in the last 20 years,” Stinson said. “It’s been pretty brutal this spring.” Stinson founded Peace Valley Farm with his wife Susie in 1977, well before most restaurants and colleges made buying local produce a priority. Decades before the farm-to-table movement burst onto the scene, the farm was an anomaly. But then came the year 2000, when the College, encouraged by students involved in the local food movement, began looking at farms in the Williamstown area to supply a greater share of its produce. Peace Valley was ready. Now, two decades after that fruitful partnership began, the Stinsons provide the College with a vast array of produce, from standard fare like lettuce mixes and cherry tomatoes to kohlrabi, Asian greens and, starting this year, parsnips. Non-staple vegetables like these sometimes take longer to find customers; Peace Valley’s sugar snap peas, for instance, have yet to gain much popularity with local restaurants,
even though Stinson believes that they are “the most incredible vegetable ever.” Nevertheless, providing these unique crops has always been one of Peace Valley’s core commitments. Stinson knows that by refusing to cater to specific demands for popular items and running the farm without pesticides, he is inevitably raising the price of his produce. Yet he remains determined to plant the crops that make the most sense in the particular soil, terrain and climate of his corner of Massachusetts, confident that the results will justify the effort. “Good food is always going to cost more,” he said. Students from the College have gradually become indispensable parts of Peace Valley’s operations. “It’s always a wrestling match to get everything right on a small farm,” Stinson said. “It’s incredibly difficult.” Fortunately, with the help of the 135 or so interns who have worked at Peace Valley over the years, not to mention the students who participate in the Williams Outing Club’s Farm Fun P.E. class, the Stinsons have kept their farm going strong. One of Peace Valley’s key innovations was to begin using soil solarization 11 years ago as an effective organic alternative to herbicides. Under this system, seedbeds lie under a plastic covering both before and after the seeds are planted; the heat under the covering kills weeds,
offering crops some reprieve during the vulnerable period of germination. Without solarization, a small organic farm like Peace Valley might have to devote enormous amounts of labor to weeding, severely limiting the amount of produce that could be harvested and sold. With this year’s abnormally long winter, Stinson has been forced to delay his regular spring routine by almost a month. He recognizes that there may be consequences in the summer and fall, but, after four decades at Peace Valley, he faces the hard work ahead with resolve. “It’s like being a sea captain,” he said. “You have to be there 24/7. You have to be in it to win it. You have to be involved with it all the time... Every day, 14 hours a day, you have to take care of the problems that arise. So I’ll adjust. I’ll do whatever I have to do.” Stinson is still seeking parttime or full-time interns for the summer to help Peace Valley meet its commitment to producing organic, high-quality crops. College students have been helping out with this effort since 1990. Stinson even hopes for an assistant to document the effects of his new soil techniques. It is students who help the Stinsons bring the crops out of the ground and students who eat that produce in the dining halls, and this cycle is fundamental to Peace Valley’s long and productive relationship with the College.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PEACE VALLEY FARM.
Peace Valley Farm is the College's go-to local source for fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables.
April 18, 2018
7 FEATURES
The Williams Record
Vegetarians at the College weigh in on dietary choices By JEONGYOON HAN FEATURES EDITOR For some students, the notion of becoming a vegetarian seems challenging. Given that a large majority of Americans eat meat – 87 percent of the population, according to NPR in 2013 – being a vegetarian can feel isolating and impractical. But for some vegetarians at the College, maintaining a healthy, balanced and satisfying plant-based diet is not that difficult, nor is it a matter of following a rigid or restrictive meal plan. Elowyn Pfeiffer ’18, who is a life-long vegetarian and codirector of the vegetarian Log Lunch series, said that a successful diet of any kind should depend on a person’s motivations and goals. Pfeiffer orients her food choices by thinking about what appeals to her in general. “I try to make foods I’m excited about guide my eating because eating should be enjoyable,” Pfeiffer said. “Then, eating should become a matter of getting the necessary nutrients.” Brittany Chung ’18, who co-directs the Log Lunch series with Pfeiffer, still eats some meat. Regardless, Chung said that changing attitudes towards eating more plant-based foods can make all the difference. “It’s not like [if] I’m not eating something, I’m eating more of something else,” she said. “Vegetarianism isn’t about just cutting out [meat]; it’s about adding to your diet… I approach my dietary lifestyle as eating a lot of vegetables and enjoying that because it works for me. It’s all about adding in and looking for things that I
SOPHIA SHIN/PHOTO EDITOR
Paresky, Driscoll and Mission Dining Halls all offer vegan and vegetarian options, ranging from leafy greens to curry tofu. find delicious and that [are] excellently produced and served. It’s about seeking the things I enjoy rather than limiting myself.” Many students have found that this idea of eating food one enjoys instead of simply replacing meat for the sake of being vegetarian can be less restrictive and pressurizing when it comes to making dietary choices. Madeline Rawson ’21 similarly crafts her vegetarian meals based not on the mindset of substituting meat (especially chicken), but on looking for foods she enjoys.
“I just focus on establishing a routine that I know I like,” she said. Jake Eisner ’21, who became a vegetarian when he was 9, said that by thinking about his diet in a similar light, adhering to a plantbased diet as a student at the College is not as challenging as some might make it out to be. Eisner discussed several practices that help him maintain a nutritious diet. “Something I’ve thought about ever since I was young was something that my parents told me, which is to have color on a plate,” Eisner said.
Labyrinth offers meditative space By KSOOSHA RAMRAS STAFF WRITER In January of 2005, two dozen members of the College community created a giant portable labyrinth made of canvas to be spread out and made available for students and faculty a few times each semester. The process of walking through the maze and then back out along the same path usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes, as some prefer to linger in the center, while others walk the path more fluidly. Each individual experiences the labyrinth in their own unique way. Catholic Chaplain Father Gary Caster said that the Chaplains’ Office makes the labyrinth available “around times of increased stress.” Walking barefoot along the complex turnings of the labyrinth’s path quiets the mind as one loses track of direction and forgets about the outside world along with any cares and concerns. The process can be an intense meditative experience, relieving stress and anxiety. This can be helpful to anyone, especially the stressed-out student. One can also think of labyrinths in a sectarian sense as places of devotional activity. Labyrinths were even used throughout the Middle Ages as a substitute for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for those who could not embark on the arduous journey to the Holy Land. One can choose to walk a labyrinth as a symbol of pil-
grimage, ascending toward enlightenment or salvation in the center. The labyrinth can also be taken as a metaphor for a spiritual journey. The circular, winding path to the center provokes thoughts about the journey of life, the paths that we choose to take and destiny. The center can serve as a place of prayer or meditation, where one can receive clarity about personal struggles, religious questions or even just life itself. Then, as one exits from the center, one is empowered by the will to move forward, act and, perhaps, change. This semester, a class cotaught by Visiting Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology Sarah Politz and Professor of Music M. Jennifer Bloxam, entitled “Music and Spirituality: Cross-Cultural Perspectives,” visited the labyrinth. Alex Bank ’20 was skeptical at first but was quickly entranced by the experience. “I remember starting the walk and having very little connection to what I was doing,” he said. “It felt more like a homework assignment than a spiritual ritual. One thing you don’t realize about the labyrinth is that it’s much longer than it looks. As I progressed further into the maze, the experience began to change. It became more fluid – it came to me more easily. I felt like my turns were more graceful and my steps more purposeful.” For Caleigh Forbes-Cockell ’19, having this extended pe-
riod of time to follow the long path allowed for her to be reflective, calm and relaxed. “Having to follow the precise path with all its twists and turns gave my brain something physical to do, so I was easily able to calm down, zone out and reflect,” she said. Bank said that getting to the center of the labyrinth was particularly meaningful for him. “When I finally got to the center, I had this weird moment of paralysis,” he said. “It wasn’t that I couldn’t move, but rather it felt right to take a moment just to stand there. It was an intensely meditative experience. It surprised me how much I enjoyed the experience and how deeply connected I felt to the ritual.” Forbes-Cockell shared a similar experience. “After I completed the path, I sat in the center of the maze for a while before I was ready to leave,” she said. “I started thinking about whatever came to mind, and I found that, by the time I finished walking the labyrinth, I had thought about and reflected on almost all of the important people or things in my life.” With another opening of the labyrinth to come soon, Forbes-Cockell suggested that the labyrinth can offer students a break from all types of stresses. “Walking the labyrinth forced me to slow down and take a break from the day,” Forbes-Cockell said. “The maze offered a space to reflect, which can be a rarity when life on campus is so fast-paced.”
“So, when I see just beige on a plate, it makes me sad.” This motivates him to make sure he always has vegetables on his plate. “The sautéed leafy greens [at Whitman’s] are really exquisite,” he said. Indeed, an aspect of vegetarianism that can often be overlooked is the importance of nutritional balance. Ana Maria Moise, a licensed nutritionist and clinical director at The Nutrition Center in Pittsfield, said that maintaining high protein and iron intake is especially important for vegetarians. This is because by not eating meat, vegetarians and
vegans do not get heme-iron, a form of iron that the body absorbs better than others. To address this, Moise tells her patients who seek healthier diets to take a vitamin B12 supplement and to eat foods with larger amounts of iron and vitamin C for increased iron absorption. “Overall, it is recommended for vegans and vegetarians to have higher iron intakes than those who eat animals,” Moise said. Striving to get sufficient protein is certainly on the minds of some students on campus. Anna Lietman ’20,
who was a vegetarian for 16 years and has been a vegan for two years now, tries to make sure that she gets enough protein every day through “lots of nuts, beans, legumes, leafy greens and tofu,” she said. The availability of such options at the dining halls makes managing these diets that much easier. Even Snack Bar has great vegan and vegetarian options. Both Pfeiffer’s and Chung’s go-to Lee order is an omelet with spinach, cheese and mushrooms. Eisner recommends the veggie burgers, and Elsa Björnlund ’20, a lifelong vegetarian-turned-vegan, said that she appreciates that the pizzas at ’82 Grill have soy cheese as a topping option. For Chung, the fact that the College makes having plantbased diets so convenient only further proves that, with some core vegetables and complex carbohydrates, crafting a vegetarian diet can be not only manageable, but genuinely satisfying. “Meat tasting better than vegetables is not always a given,” Chung said. “Vegetarian food, and often vegan food, tastes just as good as a meatbased diet, if not even better.” Nevertheless, Pfeiffer said that possibly the most important thing to keep in mind as a vegetarian is to not come across as judgmental of those who eat meat. “Explaining why you’re vegetarian, being able to talk about your decisions without coming off as judgmental is an important thing,” she said. “Being able to engage in conversations with others in a way that’s non-judgmental is important because eating is a way that people live.”
Professors’ Corner: Computer Science Department This week, the Record asked faculty from the computer science department about their favorite apps. Keep reading to see an array of responses about their digital favorites. BILL JANNEN “Of course my favorite app is the Valt password manager, a local startup founded by entrepreneurial Ephs! But other than Valt, definitely the ‘phone app.’ My family bullied me into getting a smartphone, and I hate it. I can be smart, or my phone can be smart – not both. I miss my Nokia 301.”
JEANNIE ALBRECHT “I like Google Maps. I’d simply be lost without it...”
BILL LENHART “I’d have to go with Super Monkey Ball— the first game I got for my first iPod Touch (about a decade ago). Tragically, it was removed from the App Store a few years ago, and I never got to complete all of the levels. On the up side, I’ve gotten much more productive since it stopped working.”
DUANE BAILEY “The New York Times Crossword. This is a nicely-crafted interface whose ‘congratulations’ sound makes me feel good every time I complete a Monday crossword.” PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHAPLAINS’ OFFICE.
The Chaplains’ Office brings out the labyrinth during high-stress times to provide a space for College members to reflect.
8 ARTS
The Williams Record
April 18, 2018
Mass MoCA awards residencies to artists impacted by Hurricane Maria By CARLOS CABRERA-LOMELÍ STAFF WRITER “A period of time between three and six weeks is enough for people to get away, be able to think creatively and not have to worry about power, water or whether the grocery store is even open.” This is how Assistant Professor of Art Mari Rodríguez Binnie described one of the many benefits of the new initiative at Mass MoCA: an artist residency program specifically geared towards artists from Puerto Rico. This emergency residency program will include a private studio for each of the selected six artists, housing, a travel and grocery stipend and optional business coaching. “Even with power restored in the metro areas, it is still difficult to get around. Many roads still don’t have power or are still affected. There’s a lot day-to-day that is grinding people down,” Binnie said of Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. “For artists, many of their studios were affected, if not destroyed. Others have studios in places where there is still no power. The lack of space for creative thinking, which is a little less easy to quantify, is a very big problem. We wanted to address that need for separating for a little bit but also knowing that, on a practical level, people need a place to stay.” The program was conceived of in November of 2017 by groups both inside and outside of the College, like the Rhode Island-based
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WILLIAMS COLLEGE ART DEPARTMENT.
Binnie’s initiative takes advantage of Mass MoCA’s residency program to provide resources for a cohort of Puerto Rican artists. Alliance of Artists Communities, just two months after Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20. Within two days, the entire electric grid of the island was destroyed, several towns had more than 90 percent of their buildings ruined and hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans did not have access to clean water or communication. Throughout this series of events, Binnie was considering all the ways she and her network could get involved.
“In many ways, it seems at first overwhelming [to see] how to help, especially being this far,” she said. She and her husband, artist William Binnie, then began having conversations with Mass MoCa. “The museum already has an existing residency program, and we just thought it’d be a good idea to approach them with this initiative to see if they could have one or two artists from Puerto Rico. They were so receptive that we have been able to work and fundraise so that the program includes six artists,” she said.
Mass MoCA and Binnie conducted extensive research before and throughout the project to make sure that a program like this was relevant for the Puerto Rican art community and to ensure that a great variety of artists applied. Vital in this process was thenresident artist for Mass MoCa, Carlos Rodríguez, himself Puerto Rican. His expertise filled in knowledge gaps that the selection committee had on the present state of art on the island. “He was able to give us a more nuanced sense
of the needs of the artists in Puerto Rico,” Binnie noted. By December, Binnie, her husband, Rodríguez and the rest of the selection committee had received in total more than 90 applications to the program. “It was important for us to represent a range of media and a range of artists, in terms of where they are in their careers,” Binnie explained. The chosen cohort of six includes both up-and-coming young artists and established artists like Ada Bobonis, a professor at
the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico. The full list includes visual artist Gamaliel Rodríguez, the creator of bigger-than-life wall pieces only using ballpoint pen who will be in residency from April 11 to May 1; Lilliam Nieves, a multimedia, video and installation artist who will be staying at Mass MoCA from May 2 to June 12, the same time period as fellow installation artist, painter and draftswoman Ivelisse Jiménez and photographer and installation artist Ada Bobonis; performance artist Natalie Falero, who will be in residency from June 27 to July 17; and Rogelio Báez Vega, a photographer, painter, sculptor and installation artist who will reside there from August 1 to Sept. 11. Gamaliel Rodríguez will be the only artist present during the current semester; Binnie and the rest of the art history department have already scheduled a talk by him for Tuesday, April 24 at 6 p.m. in the Spencer Art Building Seminar Room. The Williams College Museum of Art will also be hosting a performance piece by Natalie Falero as part of its summer schedule. Binnie strongly encouraged any student that is interested in learning more about these artists and their practices to email her directly. For Binnie, this program will not only bring a wide array of artistic talent to the Berkshires, but it can also be “a demonstration of solidarity, which is absolutely paramount and can go a really long way,” she said.
9 ARTS
The Williams Record
April 18, 2018
Curator surveys Romantic art in Clark lecture By LI YU EXECUTIVE EDITOR On Thursday, Matthew Hargraves, chief curator of the art collections and head of college information and access at the Yale Center for British Art, presented the last in a series of three lectures in conjunction with the current Clark exhibit Drawn to Greatness: Master Drawings from the Thaw Collection. Entitled “Visionaries: Romantic Drawings from the Thaw Collection,” Hargraves’ talk covered Romantic drawings by William Blake, J. M. W. Turner and Caspar David Friedrich, among others featured in the collection. After joking about Williamstown’s gloomy spring weather, Hargraves began his lecture with the historical context of the period of Romanticism, which spanned from 1789, the beginning of the French Revolution, to about 1848, the year of revolutions throughout Europe. This, Hargraves said, was a period of great turbulence, commonly known as the age of revolution. It was also known as the age of unease; after the French Revolution, it seemed as if anything could happen. “Drawing during this period underwent revolutions of its own,” Hargraves said. Hargraves discussed J. M. W. Turner and Caspar David Friedrich, two artists of the Romantic period who, he noted, were both born around 1775 into a world powered by horses and died in the 1840s, an age mobilized by the power of steam. These advancements in transportation fueled rapid and powerful social transformation. Travelling by sea in 1775 meant going by sailboat; by 1840, it meant going by steam-powered ship. The sense of dislocation
PHOTO COURTESY OF THEMORGAN.ORG.
Etienne Louis Boullée's Interior of a Library is one of many Romantic works featured in the Clark's Drawn to Greatness show. during this period is captured in Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire, which depicts HMS Victory, Britain’s flagship, being towed away by a steampowered tugship to be dismembered into scrap in front of a sunset. What makes this painting interesting, Hargraves explained, is the dialectic between nostalgia for the old bygone era of ships and an excited optimism for the new age of steam, a dialectic which he identified as “quintessentially Romantic.” The French Revolution also played a significant role in shaping drawings during the Romantic period. With the execution of the king, France’s neighbors feared that revolutionary sentiments would become contagious, while those within France worried that the Revolution would
be put down by surrounding enemy powers. This resulted in two decades of continuous warfare. Owing to the leadership of Napoleon, by 1812, French dominance had spread down through Italy and into Germany, rewriting the European map. Not surprisingly, national identity became a point of interest in artistic representations, emerging in Henry Fuseli’s Kriemhild at the Wake of Siegfried, a drawing that depicts a scene from the Nibelungenlied, an epic poem of Germanic and Norse mythology. Later popularized by Wagner’s Ring Cycle, the Nibelungenlied was a relatively obscure text when it was discovered by Fuseli’s friend in a German library. In the epic, Siegfried, a hero in the same vein as Achilles, is rendered invin-
cible except for one vulnerability, which Siegfried’s enemies discover by tricking his wife Kriemhild into telling them. Fuseli’s drawing represents the moment when Kriemhild, knowing that her unconscious betrayal has cost the life of her husband, is being tormented by three furies, who may be either physical entities or represented psychological states. Hargraves related this drawing back to the time period, discussing the source’s significance in establishing a distinctive Northern and German national identity that did not defer back to classical tradition. The Nibelungenlied became a symbol of German resistance against Napoleonic France, and Fuseli’s drawings put him on the vanguard of this movement towards a Germanic identity.
Another drawing from the Thaw Collection that Hargraves identified as having revolutionary underpinnings was Etienne Louis Boullée’s Interior of a Library, produced at the beginning of the period. Boullée’s drawing proposes an enormously ambitious plan for the royal library. His plan depicts an immense, multi-tiered, hall-like space with an open ceiling and attendants, which Hargraves referred to as “an enlightenment fantasy of what a library should be like, an unrealizable vision” that toes the line between Enlightenment rationalism and something fantastical. Boullée also designed two Cenotaphs for Newton, architecturally unrealizable drawings that could only live on paper. Boullée’s work evidenced how drawing in this
period was freed from the constraints of reality, allowing artists to project their visions. In this period, they were liberated from purely utilitarian functions to convey grand, intellectual ideas that were previously believed to be communicable only through the medium of oil painting. Another more personal dimension of the Romantic movement was a sense of interconnectedness between man and nature. Samuel Palmer’s Pear Tree in a Walled Garden depicts a flowering pear tree in a Shoreham garden. A deeply religious artist, Palmer retreated from London to Shoreham to work in an agricultural community with a religious brotherhood he had formed in the 1820s with a group of similar artists. A disciple of William Blake, he was interested in pointing towards a higher world through the material world. In Pear Tree in a Walled Garden, Palmer gives thanks to God for the natural bounty represented by the flourishing pear tree. However, Hargraves suggested, the pear tree is also Palmer in disguise, representing his own evolution into a charismatic young artist and leader among his colleagues and connecting back to the Romantic concepts of interconnectedness and seeing oneself reflected in larger natural phenomena. To end with a meditation on the Romantic spirit, Hargraves gave the last word to Eugene Delacroix: “If by Romanticism they mean the free manifestation of my personal impressions, my effort to get away from the types eternally copied in the schools and my dislike of academic recipes – then I admit not only that I am a Romantic, but also that I have been one since I was 15.”
Historian fosters dialogues about Chicano movement via photography By ANGELA TANG STAFF WRITER Colin Gunckel, a historian of Latina/o media and art and Latin American cinema at the University of Michigan, gave a talk last Tuesday titled “Thinking about La Raza: Photography and the Chicano Movement.” In it, Gunckel discussed the possibilities and challenges posed by the sudden availability of over 20,000 images, which remained largely unseen for over 40 years, in the photographic archive of the Chicano-movement publication La Raza. Gunckel also talked about his current exhibition and newly published catalogue on La Raza. In conducting an ongoing research project on the Chicano movement and organizing the opening of this new exhibition, Gunckel opens up these forgotten stories to encourage us to recognize them as not the end but the beginning of an ongoing dialogue bridging the past with the present. La Raza began in 1967 in the basement of an East Los Angeles church as a community-based organization during the early days of the Chicano movement; the newspaper was created by an all-volunteer staff of writers and photographers. The images and articles brought attention to the protests and demonstrations against social inequity and police abuse happening at the time. The introduction to the catalogue for an exhibition at the Autry Museum of the Amer-
ican West describes La Raza’s photographers as crucial artists, journalists and activists during this period of social change. Gunckel described his own role, both in the exhibition at the Autry Museum of the American West and in collaboration between the museum and the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, as one of examining photos through both aesthetic and social history lenses. The exhibition houses a collection of nearly 25,000 La Raza photographic images. Such a large archive of overlooked media in Chicano art speaks towards the broader category of the “Chicano photographic.” Through his studies, Gunckel shows how photographs can function from a historical vantage point as visual evidence and social movement. In analyzing these photos from La Raza as both visually beautiful and historically important, Gunckel destabilizes the function of photographs in general. Photography becomes a documentary and a performance of storytelling in itself. As he observes, there can be a certain level of metaphysicality; there are photographs taken of photographs, and photographs are sometimes taken of photographers themselves. As a result, there are multiple nuances and layers to each shot that a photographer takes, making it difficult to represent a single interpretation. Perhaps what makes the exhibition itself so interesting is its perspective showing the
ways in which these 25,000 photos supported the Chicano movement. In extending the power of these images to the present, museum visitors also have a role in the story. In fact, visitors are encouraged to add on to the ongoing archive by identifying the people in the photographs. Gunckel described the exhibition in his talk as a space that is “transforming our ways of analyzing visual production and the history of photos. It suggests an ongoing conversation among these spheres.” Through his exhibition, Gunckel aims to raise important questions: how do we appreciate these images as works of art and social movement without taking them as reductive image production? How do we simultaneously honor a legacy while the legacy is just beginning to be understood? Stories are told both out of a remembrance for the past and a desire to revitalize the present. In its original form as a newspaper, La Raza’s aim was not to make money, but to organize and encourage people. In a similar manner, Gunckel’s work for the La Raza exhibition was a way to reanimate the words of La Raza visually for people today. His investment in the archives of the existing narratives is only the beginning of a larger inquiry into what it means to think about the events of the Chicano movement in relation to and as part of the history of the United States.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LINKTV.ORG.
La Raza, launched in 1967, was used as a tool for community-based organizing in the Chicano movement.
PHOTO COURTESY OF EMILY ZHENG.
This year's Spring Fling, featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Chelsea Cutler, elicited mixed reviews.
Spring Fling falls short of expectations By AHAD QURESHI CONTRIBUTING WRITER On Friday, several hundred students attended the College’s annual Spring Fling in Towne Field House. Despite the excitement surrounding the musical talents of A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Chelsea Cutler, this year’s Spring Fling fell a little flat. In spite of their statuses as up and coming and exciting new artists, neither act was able to provide that "wow" factor. The opening act, Chelsea Cutler, was an artist who is currently attending Amherst. Indeed, adorned in a Williams Women’s Basketball jersey, she seemed more like a fellow student than an artist popular nationwide. The electronic sound that has led to her success was in full flow during the concert, but while pleasant to listen to, it lacked the energy to really get the crowd fired up. As a fellow attendee eloquently put it, her work is “headphone music – not really something to blare on the speakers.” Her music may not have been the most hype-inducing, but her great vocals and the effective electronic beat drops elicited an almost involuntary swaying of the body. Many students probably were not familiar with her music catalogue, yet her electronic/indie sound was accessible enough to be enjoyed by any. The main act, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, promised to be
a livelier affair. A Boogie, whose real name is Artist Julius Dubose, had a great 2017, breaking out with his debut solo studio album The Bigger Artist. A New Yorkbased rapper, A Boogie has collaborated with the likes of Trey Songz, 21 Savage and Kodak Black. He was even named one of XXL’s 2017 Freshman Class and one of Forbes’ Five Breakout Artists to Watch. Delivering the hip-hop sound that has taken over the music scene recently, A Boogie created moments that sent the crowd into a frenzy. When the bass pounded out of the speakers with the intensity that it occasionally did on Friday, it created an excitement that few other sensations can. There were other moments of magic, such as when a few students joined A Boogie on stage. Some songs with particularly good beats managed to transform the crowd into a unified, jumping beast. Aside from these highlights, however, there were several lackluster moments. As impressive as A Boogie’s achievements are, hearing him detail which records of his have gone Platinum was pretty tedious. In general, A Boogie’s ability to hype the crowd with his chatter in between songs was poor. His talk was either so distorted by the microphone that it was indecipherable, or it fell into the category of “good for you.”
While the set itself was impressive and exciting, providing another sensory delight, the Towne Field House’s grim reality dulled the escapist pleasure. The gold and black designs of A Boogie’s set, however, did feed into the incredibly popular hip-hop vibe. Looking at the stage, you felt as though you could be at any other hip-hop concert in a more populated part of the United States. And when A Boogie was able to elicit the heart-pumping, sweaty enjoyment that he occasionally did, the sight of the set – coupled with the presence of the crowd – created that sense of escape from college life. During the low points of his performance, though, the empty expanse behind the crammed collection of people became more apparent. The lows had the effect of taking one out of the experience and highlighting the oddness of using Towne Field House as a venue, potentially killing the mood. Overall, this year’s Spring Fling was a mixed bag. Chelsea Cutler’s set was accessible and acted as a good setup for the livelier A Boogie wit da Hoodie. Although his inability to control the crowd intermittently brought down the energy levels, there was indeed a lot of fun to be had at A Boogie’s show. Even if you did not particularly like his music or know his songs, he was able to elicit that fistpumping enjoyment that anyone can appreciate in the company of friends.
10 SPORTS
The Williams Record
April 18, 2018
Women’s lacrosse splits weekend games, losing to Colby but defeating Skidmore
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
Kara Wollmers '20 totaled three goals in the loss against Colby and four in the victory against Skidmore. By JOELLE TROIANO STAFF WRITER Women’s lacrosse (6–7, 2–6 in the NESCAC) split a pair of matches last week, beating Skidmore 14-5 on Sunday after losing to No. 16 Colby 18-7 on Saturday. On Sunday, the Ephs hosted Skidmore on Farley-Lamb Field. The women dominated on the offensive end for the game's entirety, finishing with a 14-5 win.
The Ephs were in command for the game's first half, posting nine goals to their opponents' one. The game began with draw control for the Thoroughbreds, but the Ephs quickly gained possession of the ball and cleared it. Just 1:14 into the game, Claire Fitzpatrick ’21 put the first goal on the board with a high-angle shot. Over the first seven minutes of play, the women scored four more times. Kara
Wollmers ’20 scored two of these early goals and assisted on one more. Skidmore took no shots during this time. After the fifth consecutive Eph goal at 23:32, the Thoroughbreds called a timeout. 13 minutes into the game, Skidmore recorded its first shot on goal, and goaltender Kami Cisneros ’20 made the save. Five minutes later, after a Thoroughbred goalie change and another Williams goal, Skid-
more’s Natalie LaBeau put the visitors on the board. Th Ephs scored three more goals before the end of the half, all from different players. At halftime, the women led 9-1. In the game's second half, competition grew more intense. During the first 12 minutes of play, the Ephs fired in two more goals, giving them a 10-goal lead, which meant the game was being played with a running clock. Skidmore quickly retaliated, and, after the Ephs won the draw control, the Thoroughbreds took advantage of an unforced turnover to run the ball to the other end of the field. At 16:30, Skidmore’s Shelby Boland netted her team’s second goal, narrowing the gap. Boland followed with another goal just a minute and a half later, this time with Lilla Seymour providing the assist. The Ephs scored twice more – both times by Olivia Polk ’18 – and the clock went back to running time. With the clock at 8:25, Simone Veale ’21 netted her third goal of the season on a highangle shot. The game ended in a 14-5 Williams win. “We were doing well across the field and connecting across the field,” head coach Alice Lee said. “We just came out hot.”
Wollmers led in scoring, with each of her four shots taken resulting in goals. She was closely followed by teammates Emma Tenbarge ’19 and Polk, who each scored three times. On Saturday, the women took on Colby in an away match. After a four-score streak from the Mules, the Ephs began netting goals, leaving the team with a deficit of only two going into the second half. The 8-6 score quickly changed after the break, as the Mules scored 10 goals while the Ephs only had one. Colby’s Kendall Smith opened the scoring on a free position attempt after a Williams turnover. Of the three consecutive Mule goals that followed, two were netted by Sasha Fritts. About halfway through the period, the Ephs answered. After a groundball pickup by Isabel Perry ’20, the women rapidly cleared the ball, and, after maneuvering to avoid the opponents' defense, Wollmers sent the ball swiftly past the goalie. Her score was followed within a minute by another from Tenbarge, who was assisted by Fitzpatrick. The teams exchanged goals for the next several minutes, bringing the score to 6-3 in Colby’s favor, before a threegoal Williams streak began. Two were scored by Tenbarge, unassisted, and the third came
from Wollmers, with Fitzpatrick on the assist. The game was tied 6-6 with 1:33 remaining in the period. The Mules made the most of the half, however, and used the final seconds to gain a twogoal advantage. At halftime, the score was 8-6. The second half opened like the first, with four consecutive goals by Colby, two of which were scored by Smith. The Mules were interrupted by one Eph goal at 18:35, but Colby then scored six unanswered goals to close the game. The single Williams goal of the half was netted by Tenbarge, her fourth of the game. After a free position attempt by Sophia Millay ’21 went high, Tenbarge was able to get to goal and score without an assist. Smith led the Mules with six goals, and Fritts netted five. For the Ephs, Tenbarge dominated the offensive with four goals, and Wollmers scored the remaining three Williams points. “[The] highlight was our draw with Emma Tenbarge,” Lee said. The Ephs won 16 draw controls in the match to the Mules’ nine. “Colby played a great game against us and put us under pressure,” Lee said. “We learned a lot and will look to adjust a couple of things and move forward.” The women host Bowdoin on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Men’s tennis extends its winning streak to seven after defeating Tufts, Trinity By KEVIN COAKLEY STAFF WRITER No. 4 men’s tennis (11–2, 4–0 in the NESCAC) extended its winning streak to seven matches, defeating No. 15 Tufts and Trinity last weekend. On Sunday, the Ephs defeated the Jumbos 7-2 in Lansing Chapman Rink. The match was not as lopsided as the score suggests. Although the men won all three doubles matches, two of them featured backand-forth swings, finishing
9-7. The other match saw Alex Taylor ’20 and Calvin Chung ’21 win in dominant fashion with a score of 8-1. The doubles success gave the Ephs some breathing room as they tried to clinch a victory. In singles play, the Ephs won four of six matches, with both losses hotly contested. Tri-captain Sachin Raghavan ’18 brought his match to a super tiebreak before losing 6-4, 6-7, 10-6, while Taylor lost 7-5, 7-5 in a match that could have gone either way.
A highlight for Williams came by way of Austin Barr ’21, who won his match in three sets against Tufts first-year Boris Sorkin. The hard-fought win propelled his team to the match victory, finishing off yet another strong weekend. “We got off to a really good start in doubles, and even though we got a little sloppy after that, we finished strong at each spot,” head coach Dan Greenberg ’08 said. “Singleswise, I think we’re getting better every match, and it
showed. This was a good win for us.” On Saturday, the Ephs faced the Bantams in their first away match and first outdoor contest since their spring break series in California. Tested early, the men recovered down the stretch to win comfortably 8-1. In doubles, the men had an early scare when Deepak Indrakanti ’19 and tri-captain Brian Grodecki ’18 lost 8-4 at No. 1 doubles. However, the other two pairs were able to close their matches out in
dominant fashion, giving up only two games combined. The Ephs led 2-1 going into singles, and they continued to extend the lead throughout the match. The men won every singles match, with only one contest resulting in split sets. That match featured Grodecki against Rex Glickman, both senior leaders of their respective teams, and it went down to the wire. The first two sets required extra games to decide, including a tiebreak that went Grodecki's way in the second
set. The deadlock led to a super tiebreak, which Grodecki won 10-7 to win the match. “It feels good to have gotten the job done in our first match outdoors since California,” Greenberg said. “It's never as clean as it could be, but we focused well and finished strong.” The men’s next match will be their most difficult yet, as they go on the road to face No. 2 Bowdoin. The match will take place in Brunswick, Maine on Saturday at 10 a.m.
CAPTAINS’ CORNER: LEXI CURT ’18 the men’s and women’s club teams, which has been a lot of fun. But I would say both the sunshine year-round where I grew up and the bonding with my mom pulled me strongly toward softball as opposed to water polo. Why did you choose to come to the College?
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
By CHARLES XU SPORTS EDITOR
Team: Softball Hometown: Moorpark, Calif. Residence: Horn Hall Major: History What sports did you play as a kid? I played every sport as a kid growing up in sunny southern California, but I really liked the sports where you had actual physical contact with your competitor, which knocked out a lot of sports I was playing at the time. I always really liked softball. I had a good time with it. My mom is extremely knowledgeable [about] the game, so it’s fun for us to bond over that. And I lived in a cul-desac, so all the neighborhood kids and I had a batting cage on one of the lawn sections of our cul-de-sac. We would always hit ground balls to each other in the actual culde-sac, so I think that probably facilitated my continuing to play softball. I also played water polo pretty competitively in high school and continue to play here on
I was playing in a showcase tournament, where college coaches watched you play. I was a freshman in high school at the time. [Head] coach [Kris] Herman kept emailing me, and I decided to email her back. We got on the phone, and I really liked her. We had an immediate chemistry, and I liked what she had to say. I liked that she was a no-BS kind of a person and told you how it was. I really liked her sense of humor, and I vibed with her a lot, so I decided to give the College a look. I came out here and really liked how it was so rural. I liked that there weren’t a lot of places where I would spend my entire bank account [laughs]. I really liked the people I met here, and it just seemed like a cool place for me to mature and find myself in pretty formative years of my life. I remember you mentioning that you didn’t know the College too well when you decided to come here. No, I had no idea what Williams was. My high school guidance counselor thought it was a community college in Minnesota and asked me, “What are you doing with your life?” Basically saying it was a horrible decision. I knew it was a good school, comparable to the Ivies, but because no one I knew back home knew what it was, I really didn’t understand how privileged I was to have the opportunity to come here and to have my application supported by my coach. And then since I’ve been here, I have just grown in gratitude and appreciation for being able to
go here. The alumni network is incredible, and anytime I’m in any city or airport wearing something [Williams-related], someone stops me. It never ceases to amaze me, the connections of even something like, “My long-lost godchild went to Williams, and she’s awesome!” Every connection I hear about or am introduced to is somehow positive and never negative. What’s your relationship with the other two captains, Margo Beck ’18 and Brenna Martinez ’18, like? They’re my two best friends. We were a very close-knit crew from the very beginning. We are very, very different. But I think we found ways to use our differences for a very productive leadership style. We are very supportive of each other, and we have very different interests. Margo is a musician. I had never been to a concert before, and Brenna and I went to her concert in Chapin Hall, which is something I never would have done if Margo hadn’t had that interest. And Brenna really likes to work with kids, and when we volunteered for softball at the Make-a-Wish Foundation in Florida, I witnessed her become so happy from simple interactions with children. It's cool seeing someone being passionate about things you had no idea people were passionate about, and that has been really special. I think our differences make us stronger, and they will forever be two of my best friends. I really think I came to Williams to meet these two people. I noticed that during games, even when the team is losing, players will dance between innings. Can you talk about that positive atmosphere? We do this thing called 30-second dance parties, which originated from Grey’s Anatomy. A lot of us are huge Grey’s Anatomy fans. We find that, as players, we do better
as a whole when we are loose and relaxed and having fun. It not only keeps you physically loose, but it puts you in a good mental state. At the end of the day, softball’s a game. And while we are head-over-heels in love with it, and we are super passionate about it and commit an egregious amount of hours a week to it, it’s still just a game. And we are there to have fun. We are there to win because winning is fun. But at the end of the day, we are there to enjoy being around each other and enjoy hitting a sphere with a stick as hard as we can and fielding it with a piece of leather. And these are memories that I look back on. Even my freshman year, I don’t really remember the pitchers that I saw or the hits or the strikeouts. I remember dancing around in the dugout. I remember hackey-sacking in between games. Your elders tell you that those are the things you should remember, and as I start to get older, the moments that I do remember in my softball past are those 30-second dance parties and just being a kid and remembering why we fell in love with this game. There’s that famous saying: “You should always play for that 8-year-old you who fell in love with the game.” How do you think you have developed as a player in these four years? College is very different than high school ball. You usually have two teams in high school: your high school team and your travel ball team. They are usually very different. But then you come to college, and it’s one team. And it’s a very different mindset shift that is kind of a struggle as a [firstyear]. You also come off of the idea that travel ball is far more important than high school, and in travel ball, there’s really only one tournament that is elimination-based, so there is always the mindset that you have next weekend. But you don’t always have next week-
end in college. And we have a very short season in the NESCAC, so adjusting to that was really tough. I also injured my spine my freshman year, which I struggled with. I had never dealt with a permanent injury before — everything I had before would be like a sprained ankle, where you give it eight weeks and you’re good. But the spine injury was pretty serious and still affects me today. I used to be the player that would try to take 1000 swings a week, and my peak performance was practicing as many hours as I could. But after getting injured freshman year, I wasn’t able to do that, so I had to figure out a different way to define being the best player I could be. Maybe that means I only get 15 swings in a day, and I need to make those 15 swings great. And if they aren’t great, I need to take away big lessons from them. Using my reps more wisely has been a necessary adaptation I’ve had to make in the past four years, and just the idea that every game counts has also been a big adjustment. Any favorite moments in your college career? Obviously, going to the World Series last year was No. 1, but my favorite off-field victory was during my sophomore year, when we hosted NESCACs. On Friday and Saturday, it had rained all day, and the Williams team had to be down at the field all day for games we weren’t playing in to be ready to pull the tarp. Then, on Sunday, in the championship game, it was Tufts and us, and we had played maybe three pitches, and it just started pouring. I think everyone kind of knew we weren’t going to get the game finished, so we changed out of our cleats, got into our running shoes and tarped. And Tufts helped us tarp, which is incredible because that tarp is really heavy, and usually opponents just sit there and have that mantra of, “We’ll let them tire themselves out.” But Tufts
hopped in and helped us. The Tufts head coach played at Tufts when my coach was at Tufts, so there was a lineage of relationship there. We were friendly with the girls at Tufts, but not really friends per se. But we started to get to know them in the 20 minutes of tarping, and then we were in our respective dugouts again. It was raining pretty hard, and they played the song “Aint’ No Mountain High Enough.” And we thought, “Everyone knows this song. Let’s see if we can get Tufts to sing it with us.” So in our dugout, we would scream, “Ain’t no mountain” and look like we were throwing [the chorus] to their dugout, but their backs were all turned to us. All of a sudden, someone from Tufts came out of the dugout and requested a song. Then a song came on, and all the Tufts girls turned at the same time, and out hopped one of the most character-filled players I’ve ever seen, and she ran into the pouring rain on the tarp and started dancing. We were on the floor laughing so hard. We realized they were challenging us to a danceoff, so we did a similar thing and kept sending people out. Eventually, we all decided to come out because we knew we weren’t going to play in the rain. We were all in the circle dancing, and the live stream was still going, so our parents at home were still seeing this. We were all intermixed. That was the best part — there were blue and purple jerseys all intermixed. Then we decided the dance-off was a tie and asked, “Who’s going to break the tie?” Coaches. So our coach came sliding in, sopping wet, and started dancing. And then their coach did the worm across the tarp. And we all bowed down, praising her, and we conceded to victory to Tufts for that. But that will forever be one of my favorite softball moments, and, to this day, we are still very good friends with the Tufts team.
April 18, 2018
SPORTS 11
The Williams Record
Softball takes one of three against Amherst, sweeps RPI By KRIS DUFOUR SPORTS INFORMATION
Mammoths retook the lead in the top of the eighth. With one out and Audrey Hensen on first, Kido hit a laser to center field for a two-run home run and a 4-2 lead. It was the first home run hit off Duncan this season. Down to their final at-bat for the second time, the Ephs rallied against Pagan in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, tri-captain Brenna Martinez ’18 beat out a slow roller for an infield hit, and Riley Salvo ’20 lined a single to center. McElhinney hit a grounder that resulted in Martinez being forced out at third for the second out. An Amherst error on Kim’s grounder to short loaded the bases. Tricaptain Lexi Curt ’18 fouled off a couple of Pagan offerings before grounding a 2-2 pitch into left, scoring Salvo and McElhinney to tie the game at 4-4. Pagan then got a strikeout to end the inning. After Duncan (9–2) got through the top of the 10th without giving up a run, Salvo sacrificed Martinez to third in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Kim singled up the middle to score Martinez for the game-winning run. In the second game of the series, Ukanawa (12–0) went out on the mound again and pitched a complete game for Amherst, striking out eight batters and allowing only three hits. Amherst opened the scoring with four runs in the fourth inning on singles by Audrey Hansen and Julia Turner and a double by Annie McCluskey. Williams pushed back in the fifth inning with a home run by Mapes, but Hansen countered with a three-run home run to put the game out of reach. The Ephs committed
No. 13 softball (21–6, 6–3 in the NESCAC) took one of three games against No. 15 Amherst last weekend after sweeping RPI in an April 11 doubleheader. The Mammoths widened their lead over the secondplace Ephs in the NESCAC West. The rivalry series began on Friday at a gusty Cole Field, with the game suspended in the ninth inning at 4-4 due to darkness. Play resumed at Amherst, where the women fell 5-4 in the marathon contest. Amherst took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on Julia Turner's RBI single to center. They upped that to 2-0 with a run in the top of the sixth when, with two outs, Ally Kido singled up the middle and scored on Allyson Plaman’s double. Kido raced home and was called safe on a bang-bang play at the plate. The women got one run back in their half of the sixth when Amherst starter Lorena Ukanwa hit Rebecca Duncan ’20 with a pitch and Margo Beck ’18 lined a single to center. Kirstin Mapes ’20 then grounded a single back up the middle that scored Duncan and put runners on first and second. Gina Pagan replaced Ukanwa in the circle, and, after a strikeout and a force-out at third, a walk to Cris McElhinney ’21 loaded the bases for Jessica Kim ’19. However, Pagan induced the Ephs' leadoff batter to hit into a force-out at third to end the threat. Amherst led 2-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, but Mackenzie Murphy ’19 stroked a one-out solo home run to tie the game and send it into extra innings. The
three costly errors that led to six unearned runs. Murphy (8–1) suffered her first loss of the season in the circle, going 4 2/3 innings and allowing nine hits and seven runs, only one earned, while striking out four. In the third and final game of the series, Amherst's Annie Murphy opened with two RBIs in the second inning. Martinez homered for the Ephs in the third to make it 2-1, but Hansen had her second home run of the day, a two-run shot, in the third inning to push the Amherst lead back to 4-1. The Ephs rallied in the fifth, as Martinez led off with a single and Casey Pelz ’19 followed with a double. Kristina Alvarado ’19 beat out a bunt single to score Martinez and raced to second on an error as Pelz took third. After an out, Curt lofted a sacrifice fly to score Pelz and make it 4-3. Curt’s dramatic solo home run off Ukanawa with two outs and nobody on base in the top of the seventh tied the game, but Amherst answered in the bottom of the inning. Duncan (9–3) retired the first two batters of the frame before Plaman and Hansen laced singles to put runners on first and second for Falasco, who launched the gameending three-run homer. Both teams had 10 hits. Martinez finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Falasco was 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored for the Mammoths. Head coach Kris Herman reflected on the rival series. “We are disappointed in the results of the series for sure and look forward to building on the things we learned as we head into the final two
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
Mackenzie Murphy '19 crushed a home run to force extra innings in the first game against Amherst. weeks of the season,” she said. “There were many great individual performances and team comebacks. However, we were not the team that we will soon be.” On April 11, the Ephs launched six home runs en route to a 13-2, 5-0 sweep of RPI on Cole Field. In the opener, the women recorded eight hits – four of them home runs – and six walks to win 13-2 in six innings. Mapes went 3-for-3 with two home runs and five RBIs in the victory and picked up the win from the circle. Beck, who homered in both games, went 1-for-1 with three walks, four runs scored and four RBIs. Her walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning closed out the contest by the eight-run mercy rule. The Ephs broke open the game in their half of the third
when Curt tripled to rightcenter and Murphy followed with a laser to left that hit off the foul pole for a two-run home run. After walks to Duncan and Beck, Mapes drilled a shot that hit off the roof of the video stand beyond the center-field fence for a three-run homer and a 7-0 lead. Mapes (4–1) got the win, going 4 1/3 innings and allowing five hits and two runs while walking three and striking out five. Duncan finished up with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. The nightcap was a pitcher's duel for much of the game between Murphy and RPI’s Jaime Cleasby. Martinez again opened the scoring, crushing a frozen rope to center in the bottom of the second for a solo home run and a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, Beck hit a towering drive to left-
center for a solo blast and a 2-0 advantage. RPI put a runner on second with less than two outs in each of the first two frames but could not score. After Murphy retired the Engineers 1-2-3 in the fifth, her teammates broke it open with three runs to take a 5-0 lead. Salvo drew a leadoff walk, and McElhinney lined a shot off the top of the left-field fence for a double. Kim lined a single to center that scored Salvo. Curt lofted a sacrifice fly to right, and Murphy's ground out scored the final run. Murphy improved to 8–0 on the season, scattering four hits over a full seven frames, walking just one and striking out three. The women play a doubleheader against MCLA today and will close out division play on Saturday and Sunday, hosting Middlebury on Cole Field.
Women’s track and field falls to MIT in close contest
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
Victoria Kingham ’18 (#2) finished in the steeplechase with a time of 10:52.44, a performance that will qualify her for Nationals. By CAITLIN UBL and KATE KENNEDY STAFF WRITERS
long sprinter, tested her speed in the event, placing third with a speedy 12.63. Both returned to run strong races in the 200m, Powell in second with a time of 25.57 and Green in fourth in 26.19. Davis Collison ’20 came in third in the event with a personal best of 25.86. Collison also won the 400m in a one-on-one duel against an MIT athlete, cross-
Saturday’s Div. III rivalry matchup on Lee Track ended with No. 1 women’s track and field falling to No. 9 MIT 107-92. In the 100m, Kennedy Green ’19 ran a season best of 12.22 seconds. Megan Powell ’20, a
The Office of Communications recommends ...
Sigma Xi Spring Lectures with Leo Goldmakher, assistant professor of mathematics Thursday, April 19: "A Brief History of Primes" Friday, April 20: "Structured Randomness in the Primes"
4:15 p.m. Thompson Chemistry Wege Auditorium
Followed by a reception in the Science Atrium
ing the line in an outdoor best of 58.67 seconds. Anna Passannante ’20 was the Ephs’ sole scoring representative in the 800m, racing to a 2:17.32 finish for second. Brianna Bourne ’21 made a strong move midway through the 1500m and hung on for fourth in her collegiate best of 4:45.63. On the distance side, Audrey Rus-
tad ’20 had a great first 5000m, running away with the victory in an astounding 17:26.35. Emma Herrmann ’20 ran a season best of 17:47.19, followed by co-captain Emily Sundquist ’18 with a time of 18:03.40. Pulling out a fourth-place finish with an excellent kick in the final 600 meters, Emily Harris ’19 crossed the line in 18:35.67.
In what might be the best comeback story of the outdoor season, co-captain Victoria Kingham ’18 ran an excellent race in the steeplechase, sprinting to a 10:52.44 finish, a time that will likely qualify her for Nationals. Tyra Wynn ’19 ran a strong debut in the event, crossing the line in 12:01.17. In the 100m hurdles, Izabelle Ith ’21 won in 15.03 seconds. Customary long-hurdler Kate Kennedy ’18 ran a 15.39 for third, followed by Caitlin Ubl ’19 in 15.66 for fourth. In Kennedy's staple event, the 400m hurdles, the second hurdle was missing in Kennedy's lane, and her winning performance was disqualified. However, co-captain Kayley McGonagle ’18 raced for a second-place finish in 1:02.01. Mid-distance runner Leah Rosenfeld ’20 crossed the line in 1:10.06 for third. In the field, co-captain Helene Hall ’18 won the high jump with a leap of 1.64 meters. Ubl followed with a fourth-place jump of 1.44, also taking fourth-place in the javelin with a heave of 26.10 meters, a personal best. In the same event, Morgan Dauk ’21 threw a lifetime best of 33.99 to win. She also placed fourth in the discus with a season best of 28.70 meters, behind a personal best of 35.63 for her teammate
Lauren Crist ’20, who finished second. Crist came back to throw 36.36 meters in the hammer throw for fourth place, and she clinched third in the shot put with a throw of 9.81 meters. Mazie Alexander ’21 was fourth in the shot put at 8.82. In the pole vault, Kelsie Hao ’21 and Maggie Murphy ’19 faced off against strong MIT competition and placed third and fourth, respectively. Ith proved her prowess in the horizontal jumps with a second-place 5.37 meters in the long jump and a third-place 11.04 meters in the triple jump. Hao turned in a 5.24-meter effort in the long jump for fourth. The Ephs finished first in both the 4x100m relay and the 4x400m. Isley, Green, Powell and Ith combined their efforts in the 4x100m to lean across the line in 48.65 seconds. Kennedy, Rosenfeld, Collison and Powell ended a long day with a 4:22.36 performance in the 4x400m. Head coach Nate Hoey commented on the loss. “While we came up short to a very good MIT team, I am really proud of the strong effort we showed,” he said. “We competed with pride and energy the entire day.” The women will compete next on Saturday at Lee Track for the Williams Invite against strong Div. III competition.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK “[Julia's] recent match against Amherst was gritty, aggressive, focused and passionate. I would expect nothing else and am grateful the team has her around to remind them of what it looks like to give everything you have on court. Her competitive spirit and passion will be a source of inspiration for her younger teammates in the years ahead.” - Head coach Anik Cepeda
“Jake definitely ran an incredibly smart race this weekend. However, the biggest thing Jake did happened before the gun even went off. Jake was matched up against MIT's top steeplechaser, who qualified for Nationals last year and on paper was 30 seconds faster. Jake mentally made this a non-factor, assembled a great race and out-kicked MIT over the final 400 meters.” - Head coach Ethan Barron
JULIA CANCIO ’18
JACOB KAHRS ’19
WOMEN'S TENNIS CONCORD, MASS.
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD HUNTINGTON STATION, N.Y.
Cancio won in her doubles and singles matchups against rival Amherst on Saturday, contributing to a 6-3 Eph win.
Kahrs had a strong kick in the 3000m steeplechase and bested an MIT All-American to win the race in 9:32.02.
12 SPORTS
The Williams Record
April 18, 2018
Women's tennis extends 13-game winning streak over weekend By JOHN TOOMEY STAFF WRITER No. 2 women’s tennis (13–0, 4–0 in the NESCAC) kept its undefeated season alive last weekend, defeating No. 8 Amherst on Saturday and Trinity on Sunday. Due to weather, the Ephs faced the Bantams indoors on Sunday, prevailing 8-1. “We adjusted to indoors well, rolling with the weather punches once again,” head coach Anik Cepeda said. The duos of co-captain Juli Raventos ’18 and co-captain Julia Cancio ’18, co-captain Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio ’18 and Korina Neveux ’19, and Chloe Henderson ’20 and co-captain Mia Gancayco ’18 swept doubles, sending the Ephs into singles matches needing just two wins to clinch. The Ephs ended with a surplus, with Raventos, Henderson, Gancayco, Cancio and Neveux all earning their second wins of the day. Trinity's only victory came in the sixth singles match, due to forfeit. "[We are] looking forward to recovering and working on what
we learned from our weekend match play," Cepeda said. On Saturday, the Ephs defeated the Mammoths 6-3. The women previously defeated Amherst 7-2 on September 23. "[Saturday's] match was a mental test," Cepeda said. "We stayed composed in spite of the winds, dropping [temperatures] and trailing 1-2 after doubles." Raventos and Cancio started the day with a win for the Ephs, overcoming their opponents 8-4. Amherst bounced back, however, taking the next two matches. Vickie Ip and Jane Fraley defeated Henderson and Rachel Cross '21 8-3, while Maddie Dewire and Camille Smukler defeated McDonnell Nieto del Rio and Neveux in a 9-7 battle. Down by a match after doubles, the women would bear down in singles. The Ephs lost just one match, with Ip getting her second win of the day over Cross. Ip won the first set 6-2 before Cross battled back with a 6-2 win in the second set, only to fall in the third 6-1. Raventos defeated Smukler 6-3, 6-4 for her second
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
Chloe Henderson '20 won both of her singles matches against her opponents, helping the women to win against Amherst and Trinity. win of the day, and Cancio also earned her second win in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. In her first action of the day, Gancayco battled back after dropping the first set to Anya Ivenitsky for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Henderson and Nexeux each bounced back from losses in doubles for singles victories with scores of 6-2, 6-1 and 7-6(3), 6-1, respectively. "Our willingness to embrace the circumstances and fight for
one another continues to be a trademark of Williams tennis," Cepeda said. "Shout-out to Chloe for putting up a quick point on the board in singles and to Kori for switching the mindset when it mattered the
most and coming up with a huge win." The women will put their 13-match winning streak on the line on Saturday at 2 p.m. against No. 14 Bowdoin in an away match.
Men's lacrosse takes down Colby 16-12 on Farley-Lamb Field By WILL GENTILELLO STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
James McFarland '18 had six goals in the win against Colby.
Men’s lacrosse (6–6, 5–3 in the NESCAC) defeated Colby 16-12 last Saturday on FarleyLamb Field. The Ephs won the opening faceoff, and two solid possessions translated to a 2-0 lead. Kevin Stump ’20 and Jared Strauss ’21 each scored just three minutes into the first quarter. At 8:12, co-captain James McFarland ’18 dodged and found the net, giving the men a three-goal lead. Four minutes later, Mason Brady scored for the Mules from 20 yards out. At 1:38, Colby scored its second goal as midfielder C.J. Hassan’s shot found the bottom-right corner. The men led 3-2 entering the second quarter. Early in the quarter, Tucker Dietrick tied the game for the Mules, scoring off an assist from Don Vivian. The men struck back with
two goals in 15 seconds, one by Michael Greenberg ’21, assisted by Cory Lund ’21, and one by McFarland. At 10:32, Dietrick ripped another shot from more than 15 yards out, but McFarland quickly matched the score with a spectacular behind-the-back goal, assisted by John Hincks ’20. Four minutes later, the Ephs scored again when Lund netted a feed from Stump to extend the Eph lead to 7-4. With 1:22 left in the half, the Mules’ Riley Bergstrom scored, but that tally was soon matched by two Eph goals: one from Lund, assisted by Stump, and a goal by McFarland with four seconds left. The men led 9-5 at halftime. The Mules came out looking for a second half surge, and after battling it out with the Eph defense, Vivian scored at 11:59 to bring the score to 9-6. Six minutes later, McFarland scored his fifth goal of the game to give the Ephs
a 10-6 lead. After picking up a ground ball, Charlie Lynch scored for the Mules to make it a three-goal game. The men soon countered with three straight scores: a goal at 3:36 by midfielder Zachary Harleston ’21, his first of the year, one at 2:52 from Lund and one at 2:31 by Greenberg. With under two minutes left, McFarland scored another goal for the Ephs, providing a 14-7 advantage going into the final quarter. The Ephs came out of the get-go hot and, in a great display of defense, forced a turnover that led to a goal at 11:10 by Stump. Colby soon countered with four unanswered goals by Joe Paolotto, CJ Hassan, John Pappas and Dietrick to bring the deficit down to four. The Ephs got back in the groove after a feed from Hincks to Stump, bringing the score to 16-11. A rip from Dietrick at 1:27 for the Mules made
the final score 16-12 in the Ephs’ favor. The Ephs used one goalie, George Peele ’20, who finished with 12 saves in 60 minutes of play. C.J. Layton made 16 saves in 60 minutes in the net for the Mules. The Ephs were led by McFarland with an amazing six goals and one assist, followed by Lund and Stump with three scores each and Greenberg with two goals. McFarland received NESCAC Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. Head coach George McCormack was proud of his team's performance. “Our team offense was very effective, while our defense generated muchneeded turnovers throughout the game,” he said. The men visited Western New England University last night, but the results came in too late to report. They return for a conference matchup at Bowdoin on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Men's track and field defeats MIT Women's crew sweeps competition in Worcester, winning Donahue Cup By EZEKIEL COHEN TEAM CORRESPONDENT
No. 19 men’s track and field defeated No. 13 MIT on Saturday at the Dick Farley Invitational, an annual dual meet between the two programs. Hosting the meet on Lee Track, the Ephs defeated the Engineers 104-93. In the pole vault, Pierceson Brown ’18 cleared the bar at 4.25 meters, finishing second on a tiebreaker. Marshall Borrus ’20 cleared 3.80, finishing sixth. Jacob Kahrs ’19 prevailed in the 3000m steeplechase, outlasting an All-American competitor with a ferocious finishing sprint. Kahrs crossed the line in 9:32.02 for the win. Kenneth Marshall ’20 had a great race himself, finishing third in 9:38.98. Jake Lange ’21 was fifth in his event debut, coming in at 10:39.48. In the 4x100m relay, co-captain Tom Riley ’18 anchored his relay to victory, leaning at the line to edge the Engineer team. Karol Regula ’21, Trent Hall ’21, Jeremy Thaller ’19 and Riley finished in 43.47. Riley returned for the 110m hurdles, finishing second in a personal-best time of 15.41. Ben Hearon ’20 won the 1500m with a late surge, pulling away over the last 400 meters to finish in 3:58.60. Co-captain Ben Decker ’18 came in third in 4:02.81. In the 100m, Hall returned for a strong performance, running a 11.14 for second place. Regula was fourth in 11.45. Regula would return for the 200m, finishing second in 23.05. In the 400m, the Ephs swept the first four spots, with co-captain Tobias Muellers ’18 finishing first in 49.03, followed by Cole O’Flaherty ’21 in 49.76, El-
liott Fong ’19 in 51.43 and Dysron Marshall ’20 in 51.62. The men pulled off the same feat in the 800m. After a slow first lap, Kevin LaFleche ’20 took command, pulling away over the last 300 meters to win in 1:55.70. Tristan Colaizzi ’20 was second in 1:58.65, followed by Lucas Estrada ’20 in 1:58.77 and co-captain Alex Cowen ’18 in 1:59.11. In the 400m hurdles, cocaptain Ian Mook’18 finished second in 56.56. Isaki WadaLaw ’21 followed Mook for third at 58.56. In the 5000m, a group of Ephs went out at 15:00 pace, a tough assignment in the windy weather. Ryan Cox ’20 held on for the win in 15:07.57. Zach Dulabon ’18, racing for the first time after a long layoff, finished third in 15:22.04, a 16-second personal best. Mitchell Morris ’19 rounded out the scorers in 15:28.00. In the field, many Ephs had fantastic performances. Dan Renwick ’21 won the javelin with a throw of 49.23 meters. Muellers followed in second at 46.90, Riley was third at 46.64 and James Heinl ’19 was fourth at 46.00. Renwick returned to finish second in the hammer throw with a mark of 46.46 meters. Riley finished second in the long jump at 6.44 meters, just two spots ahead of Bariki Innis ’21, who jumped 6.03 meters. Innis returned for the triple jump, where he finished third with a 12.40-meter leap. In the discus, Liam Pembroke ’18 finished fourth with a mark of 39.01 meters. Lloyd Campbell ’18 finished second in the shot put with a 13.93-meter throw. Mykel Miller ’20 finished fourth at 12.93. In the high jump, Ian Kagame ’19 cleared the bar at 1.78 meters for third overall.
On the track for the last running events, the 4x400m relay and the 4x800m relay, the Ephs led 94-93, needing a win in one of the two remaining events to clinch the meet. In the 4x400m, Fong handed the baton to LaFleche with a small deficit. LaFleche caught up over the course of his leg, handing off to Colaizzi having gained a small lead. Colaizzi held the gap, handing off to O’Flaherty for the anchor leg. O’Flaherty held the lead for the last 400 meters, securing the win for the Ephs with a 3:22.63 and a 48.7-second split. The 4x800m was also competitive, but it was less dramatic, the meet victory having already been secured. Estrada led off with a 1:59 leg and handed off to Cowen, who held a small lead. Nick Gannon ’19 also had a good leg, handing off to Hearon, who secured the win with a 1:58 leg, finishing in 8:08.68. Winning the final two relays delivered a 104-93 victory for the Ephs. Head coach Ethan Barron was pleased with the team’s performance. “This meet was a great opportunity for us to showcase our whole team and practice a championship meet,” he said. “Everyone mattered today, and at every moment, there was an Eph on the track, in the circle, at the pole vault. I thought we all competed well and kept the momentum going. Keeping the momentum and energy going despite the cold and windy day like today is especially great practice for NESCACs, where there can be big swings in momentum we need to be ready for.” Men's track and field will return to competition on Saturday at the Williams Invite, hosted on the College’s Lee Track.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION.
On Lake Quinsigamond, the women's team earned the Donahue Cup with four first-place finishes. By GRACE CHAMBERLIN TEAM CORRESPONDENT No. 3 women’s crew won all four of its races on Saturday at the Donahue Cup in Worcester, Mass., winning the 1v race for the 14th consecutive year. With the sun shining down on Lake Quinsigamond and the wind holding at manageable levels, the women looked to replicate their successes from previous seasons. The 1v raced WPI, Simmons, Connecticut College and the University of Rochester. The women were first off the line and had already pulled ahead by the 250-meter mark, where their fellow teammates were cheering them on. The 1v kept ahead for the rest of the race, crossing the finish line with a time of 6:43.40 and setting the tone for the rest of the day. "At the end of the day, we got the job done,” 4-seat Maddy Boutet ’20 said. “We definitely had a lot of positive
takeaways from our piece, and it was an improvement from last weekend. But at the same time, I think there's room to find more speed, which is always exciting.” The 2v raced against WPI, Simmons and Connecticut College. Despite starting out behind, the Ephs kept the winning momentum going. The women crossed the line 14 seconds ahead of the second-place crew. “[Head] coach Kate [Wachala] told us to go out hard and hammer it all the way down the course, and I feel like we did that,” 3-seat Stephanie Brown ’20 said. “We started out behind because we were still adjusting our point at the start, but we walked through. There's still a lot to learn, but it was a good race.” The 3v took on WPI and Simmons, finishing first with a time of 7:23.0, 13 seconds ahead of second-place WPI. “There was a pretty strong wind coming out from un-
der the bridge, but we had a strong start and maintained a lead for the whole race, which was really fun,” 7-seat Harper Johnson ’19 said. “I was proud that we kept pulling together to do the best we could, even after we'd pulled ahead." The last boat to enter the course was the 4v. The women were determined to finish what their team had started and end the day with a fourth and final victory. WPI took a lead of a few seats with a strong start, but by the 1000-meter mark, the Williams boat had definitively achieved its goal. The women finished with a time of 7:40.6, 21 seconds ahead of their competition. Every team member finished the day with a win. “Racing in Worcester is always fun,” Johnson said. The women will be back on the Lake Quinsigamond course in a few weeks, but first they host the Little Three Championships on Saturday at Pittsfield’s Onota Lake.