Sept. 27, 2017: Changing the first-gen student narrative

ARTS P. 10

SPORTS P. 12

'Viceroy's House' opens

Football wins again

The Independent Student Newspaper at Williams College Since 1887 VOL. CXXXII, NO. 3

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017

Changing the first-gen student narrative

Dean Rosanna Ferro reflects on tenure at the College ahead of move to Ithaca By JACK BRENT GREENBERG MANAGING EDITOR “I remember looking at the window and seeing cows,” Rosanna Reyes Ferro, associate dean of the College, said of her first trip to the Purple Valley. “I hadn’t seen cows in a long time since leaving the Dominican Republic. So I thought ‘Oh, okay, we are going back to my roots.’” More than four years after encountering those cows, Ferro has planted her own roots in the community of the College and found a sense of home in a small, liberal arts environment after spending her educational and professional career at Rutgers. Yet just as college is marketed as a four-year experience, Ferro now feels like she is the one graduating, leaving the hills of the Berkshires for the gorges of western New York in taking on the role of vice president for student affairs and campus life at Ithaca College. For Ferro, the journey to the College was guided by a drive to engage in work that was both deeply personal and that allowed her to engage in critical institutional work. After earning a master’s degree in social work and a doctorate in education – writing her dissertation on high-achieving first-generation college students – Ferro committed herself to focusing on people and structures alike. “By the time I finished my

dissertation, it was pretty clear … I was always curious to hear people’s stories,” Ferro said. “It was clear that the issues weren’t around the students but the institutions. The institutions were not built to support the students. I said, ‘Alright, I want to work in an environment where I can change the structure and not ask students to change themselves.’ That’s really what drove me to Williams. They were looking for someone who was going to come to this very unique place and build a program that was going to support some of the most talented students in the country and in the world. That was really exciting.” By applying for a position that would center on promoting the first-generation experience at the College and performing the work of the dean’s office more broadly, Ferro initially fostered some skepticism about the College and what work she could do in the Purple Valley after spending the entirety of her adult life at a large, public, more urban institution. “I came in with a few preconceived notions,” she said. “I thought this was going to be an uptight, pretentious place. That’s not me. I am all about relationships and knowing people and, if I couldn’t do that, this isn’t a good place for me. It was a very unfamiliar territory and environment. I wasn’t sure what the need was.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSANNA FERRO

Dean Rosanna Reyes Ferro, who focused on restructuring the narrative of first-gen students at the College, is accepting a job offer at Ithaca. Particularly, Ferro had trouble initially pinpointing why the College was, at that time, interested in bringing on someone to focus especially on first-generation students. “They seem to be graduating at a very high rate.

College hires Ric Grefé as part of pilot design-thinking program By WILLIAM NEWTON NEWS EDITOR This fall, the College hired Richard Grefé as the Design Thinker in Residence as part of three-year design thinking pilot. The College’s design thinking program, which has been in ongoing development for several years, focuses on humancentered methods for problem solving and innovation rather than more traditional business methodologies. “Design thinking is simply a technique that encourages creativity and risk-taking in addressing difficult and complex problems, always seeking outcomes that are human-centered,” Grefé said. “It can be used to provide experiential or project-based learning, for encouraging new approaches to solving old problems or to help students explore ways to use the power of their Williams education in solving social challenges.” Grefé will serve as a liaison between students, faculty and staff interested in approaching problems with design thinking, educating the community on this innovative problem-solving style. The more detailed specifics of his job, however, will develop and grow to fit the needs

of College community throughout his tenure. “One of the virtues of having a newly developed position is that the role itself emerges as you discover the needs and wants of your stakeholders — faculty, students, staff, institution, community,” Grefé said. “I anticipate I will be serving as an advocate, a missionary, and a coach for challenges of all types.” While Grefé has many longterm goals and ideas for the design thinking pilot program, he has spent the majority of his time thus far developing a Winter Study course for students and communicating with various faculty and staff. “With three weeks in the position, most of my time is spent listening and planning a Winter Study course that may travel to the Stanford School or the IBM design studio in Austin,” Grefé said. “I have begun conversations with individual faculty who are interested in testing ways to introduce design thinking charrettes in their courses and students who would like to use these techniques in projects …[and] several administrative departments have also approached me to help them reimagine services.” Before coming to the College, Grefé served as the director of

AIGA, the professional association for design, for over twenty years. He has also taught and/ or developed design thinking programs at Wesleyan University, Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management. While he enjoyed his past work, Grefé said his choice to join the College community was an easy one. “Exploring an opportunity at Williams became a natural [choice]: a liberal arts college that respects diversity of opinion and perspective; students exposed in terms of both breadth and depth to a variety of academic disciplines; an enlightened approach toward exploring how design thinking might be made available to faculty, students and staff; and a setting that allows one to escape from the distracting intensity of global hubs while giving up little in terms of cultural exposure,” Grefé said. “The Williams community is extraordinary: bright, thoughtful, curious, accomplished. If one is seeking stimulation, engagement and service, all in a valley that gives you the chance to pause regularly to reflect on nature, there are few places to compete with the Williams experience.”

VISTA HOLDS REMEMBRANCE FOR THE 2014 DISAPPEAREANCE OF 49 STUDENTS FROM AYOTZINAPA RURAL TEACHERS' COLLEGE IN MEXICO

What is the problem?,” she asked herself. “It wasn’t until I spent some time here that [I realized] it’s not necessarily that there was a ‘problem,’ but that there was a need for students to realize what they were already bringing with

them. It took talking with a lot of [people] to understand what the need was because, from an outside perspective … what else do you need? What’s the problem? They’re not dropping out! There was another conversation that

needed to happen with students not [being satisfied] with their experience on campus, which is just as important. I didn’t think they were going to hire me. … I thought

SEE FERRO p. 5

Goodrich reopens in Dodd By FRANCESCA PARIS COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR After weeks of set-up, Goodrich Coffee Bar opened its doors in the Dodd dining room on Sept. 20. Colloquially referred to as “Doddrich,” Goodrich has reopened with slightly altered hours but a nearly identical menu. The coffee bar will serve from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., with swipes functional until 11 a.m., compared to its 7:30 a.m. opening time in previous years. Its night hours are limited by its residential location: Goodrich is open from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but will have no night hours on Monday or Thursday evenings. Mairead Reynolds ’18, personnel manager for Goodrich, said that the former dining hall space in Dodd was never intended to host a coffee bar, but the transition has gone well. “We’re excited that we get to remain open for this year,” she said. “It’s a work in progress, and it’ll probably be an interesting year, but also an exciting year.” Goodrich will be in Dodd for the 2017-18 academic year to accommodate a year-long renovation of Goodrich Hall, where the student-run coffee shop was originally located. Goodrich staff has worked with the Office of Student Life (OSL) and dining services to make the transition possible. Reynolds and the rest of the management team spent hundreds of hours setting up the space and hiring new baristas after arriving back to campus in late August. Over the summer they communicated with both OSL and dining services to determine the extent to which they would be able to use the space in Dodd. While the initial plan was to give Goodrich limited access to the dining hall space, Reynolds says dining services “really opened up” and worked with the coffee bar, including helping to fund the repair of the kitchen’s walk-in fridge.

“A lot of people at the College worked to make sure we could stay open for the year,” Reynolds said. “We had a lot of support. People were really dedicated to making sure we would open our doors, no matter how that would look.” Dodd dining hall’s walk-in fridge is one of the surprising upsides of the challenging relocation. Reynolds says it will allow Goodrich to stock more of each product and experience fewer shortages. The entire Dodd setup was originally designed to serve as a commercial kitchen, which now makes it possible for more baristas to work more efficiently behind the counter. On the other hand, Goodrich faces an entirely new set of challenges, most significant among them the coffee bar’s physical location. Dodd is far removed from Goodrich’s previous location adjacent to Currier Quad, Lasell Gym and the Science Center. Reynolds says that, while it is difficult to tell so far what the average volume of customers will be, it is clear that the new location is inconvenient for a large portion of campus, especially those living across Route 2. She pointed out that there’s already a visible decrease in once-frequent customers, like students with classes in Science Quad and athletes with morning workouts. The location is more convenient, however, for firstyears in both Mission Park and Frosh Quad. According to Rob Hefferon ’18, catering and events manager, the new location has translated into a noticeable increase in first-year customers. “First-years are always the hardest group to get in the door,” Hefferon said. “But we’ve seen a much earlier adoption of Goodrich by the frosh this year.” Ultimately, Reynolds says, Goodrich is a different space from previous years, with a different focus. Between its low ceilings and communal tables, the dining hall is more intimate and conversational than the previous-

large performance space of Goodrich Hall. “It’s a different use of what Goodrich is,” Reynolds said. “Now it’s more of a place to come and study and hangout, versus a place to stop by before class.” The new space also lends itself to various events and collaborations, like an international club coffee hour or a Combo Za show. “We see the future, both in terms of profitability and Doddrich as an enjoyable space, comes in large part from events,” Hefferon said. “We want to give the space the use it deserves.” Throughout the process of recreating Goodrich in Dodd, the management team has had to grapple with the frustration of making significant investments in a temporary

SEE GOODRICH, p. 5

WHAT’S INSIDE 3

OPINIONS Faculty, staff unite to rebut Kane's op-ed on "what it means to be the best"

5

NEWS Look back at this week in the College's history

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FEATURES Ephs go spelunking

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ARTS New exhibition 'Pink Art' at WCMA

11 SPORTS Alice Lee takes the reins of women's lacrosse USPS 684-6801 | 1ST CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID WILLIAMSTOWN, MA PERMIT NO. 25

2 OPINIONS

The Williams Record

Editor-in-Chief Emmy Maluf

Arts Editors Shaheen Currimjee and Li Yu

Managing Editors Marit Björnlund and Jack Brent Greenberg

Sports Editors Brooke Horowitch and Danny Jin

Communications Director Francesca Paris

Photo Editors June Han and Janeth Rodriguez

Executive Editors Michael Green, Rachel Levin, Maddy McFarland, Neena Patel, Lucy Putnam, Skylar Smith and Tesnim Zekeria News Editors Nicholas Goldrosen and William Newton Opinions Editor Taran Dugal Features Editors Jane Petersen and R.B. Smith

Business Managers Scatt Macdonald and Isabella Wang Financial Manager David Madding Director of Outreach Hayley Tartell Head of Advertising Esther Baek Subscriptions Manager Greg Andreou

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THE WILLIAMS RECORD BOARD The recommendations of David Kane ’88 in his op-ed last week (“What does it mean to be the best?: An alum considers the relative importance of admission criteria,” Sept. 20, 2017) not only insult many valued members of the College community, but also rely on a fundamental misunderstanding of the College’s educational mission. The piece’s categorization of the College’s current admissions process as one in which student are labeled as “academic” or “other,” where those comprising the “other” category are athletes, racial minorities or low-income students, is both misguided and, more crucially, demeaning. We at the Record strongly believe that racial minorities, low-income students and athletes are valued members of this community, and every student is worthy of being here. Striving for diversity and inclusiveness

On being ‘the best’ Recognizing the potential and value of all members of the community is a critical part of our mission as a liberal arts institution. In particular, we emphatically denounce Kane’s implication that already-marginalized members of our community, specifically students who are racial minorities, low-income or both, are less deserving of their spots at the College. The suggestion that students identifying as such gained admission to the College on illegitimate grounds discredits all the hard work and talent required for any student to gain admission. Furthermore, the categorization of these identities as mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive is egregiously ignorant. Beyond its degrading dogma, Kane’s piece misunderstands the College’s mission, centering on the idea that the mission is “to be the best in the world” in the exclusive terms of having the most “academically talented” student body possible while ensuring that

students will “thrive at the College more than they would at an alternative institution.” This analysis misses a fundamental point: Academics are far from being the exclusive concern of the College. Indeed, the College’s “Mission and Purposes” emphasizes that the goal of this institution is to “provide the finest possible liberal arts education by nurturing in students academic and civic virtues, and their related traits of character.” The College’s mission is not first and foremost about “being the best” by picking solely the top academic applicants; it is about supporting its students in their endeavors to learn, to challenge themselves and to grow as human beings. Implying that the College’s “success” depends crucially on having a student body with an average SAT score of 750 is grossly misguided. Additionally, it is well understood that SAT scores are a poor metric of the quality of academic

work that will be undertaken when a student comes to the College. To privilege one student’s acceptance over another based solely on their scores is to deny students’ achievements in the classroom as well as outside of it. The College makes a conscious effort to accept students who bring a diversity of backgrounds and experiences, driven by a fundamental belief in the equal potential of all students who attend the College. Kane’s op-ed is the antithesis of that spirit. What does it mean to be the best? It means reaching a point where every community member embraces the College’s comprehensive mission wholeheartedly and recognizes the worth of other members in achieving that goal together. If we really want students to “thrive at the College more than they would at an alternative institution,” we need to ensure that students feel supported here rather than demeaned.

Note: The Opinions section spans pages 2 through 4 this issue.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: ON OPINIONS PIECES On Sept. 20, we published an op-ed entitled, “What does it mean to be the best?: An alum considers the relative importance of admission criteria,” by David Kane ’88. Since the publication of this piece, it has come to our attention that the Record’s policy regarding the content in the Opinions section may be unclear to the community. The Record is an independent student newspaper, which means it is not controlled or directly funded by the College’s administration. The Record publishes op-eds written by anyone in the College community – students, faculty, staff, Williamstown residents, alumni. Per our editorial policy and institutional charter, the Record does not publish anonymous op-eds, opeds authored by an organization or op-eds consisting of promotional material or simple statements of fact. Op-eds must relate meaningfully to the College or to an issue relevant to the College community. We edit

opinions pieces sparingly to ensure that they remain faithful to writers’ voices and visions. Part of the reasoning for these criteria is that the Opinions section is intended to reflect the opinions of members of the College community. We endeavor to present a variety of opinions in the hopes of representing the varying viewpoints within the community. Contributors to the Opinions section write on behalf of themselves and themselves alone. As is stated on page two of the Record each week, “The opinions expressed in signed columns are not necessarily those of the Williams Record editorial board.” Each opinion is written only by its contributor(s) and is not endorsed by the Record. As journalists, we at the Record are especially committed to protecting the freedom of speech and of the press. We publish opinions whether or not we agree with them. The Opinions section is a forum for mem-

bers of the community to express their views and beliefs; we do not censor them by interfering with their right to do so. As long as they adhere to the Record’s aforementioned criteria and do not contain attacks on individuals, we publish the opinions pieces that are submitted to us. This has always been our practice, and we will be clarifying our editorial policy as it is written on the Record website to attempt to prevent any confusion in the future. Ultimately, the purpose of the Opinions section is to generate discussion within the College community. We encourage readers who feel strongly about something they read in the Record to write a comment, Letter to the Editor or op-ed in response. In this way, the Opinions section can continue to serve as a space for ongoing dialogue and reflection that can move the community forward.

CORRECTIONS

to attributions: Mikaela Smith took the photo of Bertie Miller for “Artist Otherwise Known As,” not June Han. Austin Huang took the photo of Carol

Ockman’s performance, not Randal Flippinger. Lastly, Anastasia Tishena took the photo for “Word on the Quad,” not Janeth Rodriguez.

Last week’s issue (Sept. 20, 2017) contained incorrect pho-

September 27, 2017

Emmy Maluf Editor-in-Chief

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM NEW OPINIONS EDITOR

It's me!

DINING HALL AVOCADOS

Don't mind if I avoca-do.

CAREER FAIR STUDY AWAY LICKETY CLOSES

Employment opportunities are through the roof ... if you want to work in finance or consulting. “There are so many exciting places to study abroad ...”

all the first-semester seniors said wistfully. See ya next spring, I guess.

ON THE RECORD “If you ever need something to do and you've got $45 to spend, I suggest you snuggle up with someone close to you and watch Naked Brothers Band – you will not regret it.” Jason Adulley ’19, featured as One in Two Thousand, page 7. “If I end up succeeding as a writer, I’ll always consider that day my ‘welcome to the real world’ moment.” Mandela Namaste ’19, on attending NBA Draft Media Day as a Sports Illustrated intern, page 11.

“I believe that great things can be accomplished when we focus on the greater good and what we can do as a unit.” Alice Lee, new women's lacrosse head coach, page 11. “And why has it suddenly become impossible for people who have coexisted in spite of religious differences for centuries to continue doing the exact thing?” Writer Wendy Hernandez, on film “Viceroy's House,” page 10.

WRITE FOR THE RECORD. MEETINGS: PARESKY 209 | 7 PM WEDNESDAYS OR EMAIL ERM1@ WILLIAMS.EDU

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

Op-Ed and Letter Submission The Record welcomes op-eds and letters from all members of the Williams community. The Opinions section is designed to reflect the varied views and ideas of the Williams community, and the publication of any letter or op-ed does not indicate an endorsement of the views contained therein. Submissions should be sent to tsd1@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.

KEVIN SNYDER ’09

Redefining ‘the best’

The importance of orientation for athletes

Clarifying the College’s mission By ADAM FALK and LIZ CREIGHTON The recent opinion piece by David Kane ’88, “What Does It Mean to be the Best?” (Sept. 20, 2017), is based on two premises that are, to be charitable, retrograde and profoundly ill-informed. First, the “mission” of Williams is not, as Kane claims in his opening sentence, “to be the best in the world.” Rather, our mission is to use the considerable resources that we are fortunate to have to provide the best possible education to students who can benefit deeply from it. With a Williams education, our graduates go into the wider world and make that world a better place. That is our mission. The second false premise of this piece is narrower but far more insidious. It is that the “best” students, the only ones we should admit to Williams, are those applicants with the highest standardized test scores. The false corollary is that we should design our admissions processes to maximize the average SAT scores of the entering class. This is a ridiculous proposition for at least two reasons. First, the very notion that the “quality” of students can be defined on a single linear scale is preposterous. To be sure, we only admit applicants who we are confident can be successful in our rigorous academic environment, and our graduation rate of over 95 percent shows that we are successful in this. But all students who enroll at Williams bring with them a wide variety of attributes – personal, academic, artistic, athletic, religious, linguistic, social and so on. Our community is by far the stronger for it, and the education that every student receives by far the richer. The notion that our students, bringing to Williams their remarkable whole selves, can be ordered by who is the “best” is to misunderstand completely the nature of our students. It is to misunderstand completely the nature of human beings. Second, it has been well known for decades that standardized tests such as the SAT aren’t measures of intrinsic intelligence – and certainly not measures of personal value – but rather of academic preparation. Of course, we are interested in the admissions process in the academic preparation of our applicants. But any academic measure, whether it’s a standardized test or a grade-point

OPINIONS 3

The Williams Record

September 27, 2017

average or the strength of an applicant’s curriculum, has to be understood in the context of the challenges the person has faced and the opportunities that have been made available to them. As we all know, we live in a society that distributes educational opportunities incredibly unevenly and unfairly. To find talented students whom we want to bring to Williams, we have to consider what they’ve done in the context in which they’ve grown up and imagine the incredible things they’ll do when obstacles are replaced by opportunities. It’s just not the same thing to go to a poorly-resourced public school as it is to go to a well-resourced private school. (If it were, the private schools would all close!) We value students from both of these backgrounds, but we have to work harder to find the talented and high-achieving students who, by accident of birth, have been given fewer opportunities to develop and demonstrate their abilities. And we’re proud of that work. Just last week, 127 students attended the first of our Windows on Williams (WOW) programs of the fall. These are prospective applicants who have not been given the same opportunities as others in our society. Many of them ultimately will enroll here, and we will be absolutely thrilled to welcome them to our community. Which brings us to two very important points. First, every single student who is here at Williams is here because we believe in them, we want them here and we hope they will bring their full self to our community. Williams is a better place, and can only aspire to be the “best” college, if we have a student body drawn from every part of our society. The alternative, a school with students whose only characteristic is high SAT scores, would be a college not only much the poorer but ultimately doomed to irrelevance. And second, we’re not going back. We are committed, in fact we are recommitted, to this work. The strength of our student body – the strength of Williams itself – rests both on our students’ talent broadly defined and on the wide diversity of backgrounds from which they hail. This is who we are, it is who we want to be and it is who we will be in the decades to come.

mp asi i By DAN GREENBERG I was disappointed to read last week’s op-ed “No team in TeamEph: How orientation can divide us” (Sept. 20. 2017). As a coach and former student-athlete at the College – as well as co-coordinator of the TeamEph orientation program with Assistant Athletic Director Jen Chuks – I’ve been fortunate to see how far we’ve come in athletics in the last 13 years. Athletic ability has strengthened but, more importantly, so has our department’s and student-athletes’ commitment to the community. We’re spending more time and resources recruiting more diverse teams, engaging our student-athletes in alcohol, sexual assault and leadership trainings and, in general, translating the values we develop on the courts/fields/tracks/pools to our lives outside athletics. TeamEph, now in its 10th year, is a great example of these efforts. Developed by Donny Brooks (former assistant athletic director), the program allows first-year fall athletes to experience traditional orientation alongside pre-season practices. Before 2008, first-year fall athletes had to choose between the two, but TeamEph made it possible for them to interact with their teams during pre-season while also joining a larger team and community. It allows them to meet new people, including other student-athletes, Junior Advisors and faculty affiliates, as well as staff from the Davis Center, libraries, din-

t e merits o

eam p

ing services and the career center. We’ve collaborated with other Ephventures programs, watched eyeopening documentaries (including amazing “30-for-30” documentaries by a recent alum) and played Williams trivia with professors. Perhaps most importantly, these first-years get to spend time with their program leaders, all upperclassmen committed to creating a comfortable, welcoming environment. As leaders of any program, we have the opportunity – essentially a blank slate – to develop our culture and move it forward, and we believe our leaders have embraced this role, modeling what it means to be a student-athlete who serves more than just their team. It’s worth mentioning that each firstyear comes in with a different “comfort zone”; Ephventures, then, aims to ease first-years’ transitions via different programs. Exploring The Arts (ETA) is tailored towards students interested in the arts; ROOT to social justice and sustainability; Williams Outdoor Orientation for Living as First-years (WOOLF) to nature; Leading Minds and Where Am I?! to civic and community engagement and TeamEph towards students who find their fuel by engaging athletically with their peers. Ephventures is only an introduction, but we’ve found that, for about 55 first-years, being able to join a team while meeting supportive people outside that team is a great start – and certainly better than having to choose one over the other. The

other 75 percent of first-year athletes (i.e. non-fall sports) are enrolled in other Ephventures. That said, I realize last week’s op-ed was less about our orientation program and more about the horror of athletics, a theme that is commonly recycled and often propagated by anecdotal evidence and generalizations. I hate nothing more than white/wealthy/athlete arrogance and aggression – and we continually work to eradicate this element – but I also believe that athletics done well breeds the opposite: confidence, competitive poise and a deep, lifelong care for one’s teammates and community, regardless of background. It’s been extremely helpful to have resources like Meg Bossong ’05 and Paul Gitterman as well, who work proactively with our student-athletes on issues of sexual assault and mental health. As a coach, it’s my job to make my students better athletes, teammates and people. This involves a lot of critique, but also a lot of praise. It involves teammates holding each other accountable and building each other up. It involves programs like TeamEph, teaching our first-year fall athletes that being an athlete is an amazing privilege, as is being a part of a community where people care about what they do. Whether it’s math or athletics or keeping a common room looking fresh, let’s celebrate that spirit instead of eliminating it. Dan Greenberg ’08 is the head coach of men’s tennis.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Adam Falk is the president of the College. Liz Creighton ’01 is the dean of admission and financial aid.

JENNIFER SLEEPER ’07

Standing with all of our students ac lt , sta

It sounds so easy: Drop a few dozen mostly low-income and minority students, admit more students with very high SAT scores and voila! Excellence achieved. Who needs a whole admissions office working year-round to identify the students who can contribute to making the College the vibrant, challenging, transformative place we all want it to be, and convincing them that Williams is the right place for them? Just run it by numbers! But this model would be morally wrong and educationally corrupt. We, the undersigned faculty and staff, reject unequivocally the idea of defining educational value in terms of quantitative measures that are non-definitive at best, biased at worst. The notion that the College is somehow sacrificing excellence for economic and racial diversity is offensive; more than that, it’s absurd. Those of us who have been here a long time know that the opposite is true: The harder the College has worked to recruit and admit students who are genuinely diverse in backgrounds and perspectives – and then making sure that they can thrive here – the more intellectually stimulating our academic environment has become. We reject as unhealthy, dangerous and, in the case of the College, thankfully inaccurate the notion of a purely linear ranking of “quality” when it comes to the young people who apply for and attend college. Williams and other institutions of higher education should model another paradigm in which the value of whole people and of many-faceted experience is paramount. In these times, when hate, bias, power-mongering and self-aggrandizement rule the day, colleges and universities must resist the sloppy practice – all too common – of using ill-understood quantitative pseudo-analysis to justify the perpetuation of existing structures of power and influence. Experts in the field of education have long recognized that SAT scores are highly correlated with family income and privilege, and that they can be improved through things like test prep and tutors that cost money. Admission

works hard year after year to craft a wonderful class without being biased by family background and privilege. When we look at our students, talk with them across our office tables, stand beside them in our labs and see them succeed in their post-Williams lives, we see young people who have come to the College to become their best selves, to be transformed and to transform the world, to reach out into realms they had never encountered before. Words like “best,” “smarter” and “most talented” are largely irrelevant to what education is all about at its core. Instead, a Williams education involves learning how to recognize each other and how to think critically about ourselves. The College must broaden and deepen its commitment to educational equity, not reduce it. To all of our alums and current students, especially those who feel targeted by calls to make the College less inclusive: We who work here are lucky to know you, to teach you and, in the end, to learn from you. We are humbled every day by what you all bring to the College, and we are here for you. To the new and prospective students who enter campus: We will work to make sure that the environment you find here will be open to your contributions, and we stand ready to welcome you, whatever your life experiences have been. Signed, Wendy Adam, Integrative Wellbeing Services (IWS) Colin Adams, Mathematics and Statistics Zaid Adhami, Religion Jeannie Albrecht, Computer Science Laylah Ali ’91, Art Baktygul Aliev, German and Russian Bilal Ansari, The Davis Center Michelle Apotsos, Art Juan Baena ’06, Alumni Relations Tracy Baker-White, Center for Learning in Action (CLiA) Andrea Barrett, English Melissa Barry, Philosophy Magnus Bernhardsson, History Alexander Bevilacqua, History Mari Rodriguez Binnie, Art Julie Blackwood, Mathematics and Statistics Jimmy Blair, Chemistry Robert Blay, Special Academic Programs M. Jennifer Bloxam, Music Meg Bossong ’05, Dean’s Office

ite a ai st

a ti i

Emily Bourguignon, Development Ralph Bradburd, Economics, Environmental Studies Cheryl Brigley, Development Deborah A. Brothers, Theatre Jerry Caprio ’72, Economics John Carasone, Development Ashley Weeks Cart ’05, Alumni Relations James Cart ’05, Provost’s Office Matt Carter, Biology Alison Case, English Julie Cassiday, German and Russian Maria Elena Cepeda, Latina/o Studies Cecilia Chang, Asian Studies Sophie Chatas ’16, Development Kerry Christensen, Classics Eddy Ciobanu ’15, Admission Cassandra Cleghorn, English Phoebe A Cohen, Geosciences Cory Colbert, Mathematics and Statistics Jeremy Cone, Psychology José Constantine, Geosciences Paula Consolini, CLiA Abigail Conyers ’14, Admission Andrew Cornell, American Studies Ronadh Cox, Geosciences Becky Crane, IWS Sam Crane, Political Science Annelle Curulla, Romance Languages Mary Ellen Czerniak, Corporate and Foundation Relations Charles B. Dew ’58, History Lisa Dorin, Williams College Museum of Art Georges Dreyfus, Religion Helga Druxes, German and Russian, Comparative Literature Lori DuBois, Libraries Sara Dubow ’91, History Carolina Echenique ’15, Admission Holly Edwards, Art Amal Eqeiq, Arabic Studies and Comparative Literature Laura Ephraim, Political Science Patti J. Exster, Corporate and Foundation Relations Ezra Dan Feldman, English Amy Filson, Development Tracy Finnegan, CLiA Jessica Fisher, English Brooks Foehl ’88, Alumni Relations VaNatta Ford, Africana Studies Jennifer French, Romance Languages Sarah Gardner, Center for Environmental Studies Amy Gehring ’94, Chemistry Steve Gerrard, Philosophy Paul Gitterman, IWS Mike Glier ’75, Art Susan Godlonton, Economics Christopher Goh, Chemistry Matthew Gold, Music Stephanie Gonzalez, Admission Eva Grudin, Art, emerita Kim Gutschow, Anthropology, Religion Amie Hane, Psychology Pamela E. Harris, Mathematics and Statistics Laurie Heatherington, Psychology Guy Hedreen, Art Kate Heekin, Admission

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Brent Heeringa, Computer Science Brianna Heggeseth, Mathematics and Statistics Janine Hetherington, Development Jacqueline Hidalgo, Latina/o Studies, Religion Celia Hilson, IWS Amy Holzapfel, Theatre Kiaran Honderich, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) Vivian Huang, WGSS Jeff Israel, Religion, Jewish Studies Sarah Jacobson, Economics Cathy Johnson, Political Science Kevin Jones ’77, Physics Jason Josephson Storm, Religion Peter Just, Anthropology and Sociology Paul Karabinos. Geosiences Katie Kent ’88, English and WGSS Don Kjelleren, Career Center Anthony Yooshin Kim, American Studies Roger Kittleson, History Steve Klass, Campus Life Pia Kohler, Environmental Studies Neil Kubler, Asian Studies Ken Kuttner, Economics Karen Kwitter, Astronomy Sara LaLumia, Economics Tim Lebestky, Biology Joel Lee, Anthropology and Sociology Sulgi Lim ’06, Admission John Limon, English Colleen Little, Development Gretchen Long, Director of the Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford, History Dukes Love, Provost, Economics Kimberly Love, English Charles Lovett, Chemistry Peter Low, Art Dan Lynch, Biology Molly Magavern, Special Academic Programs Lauren Magrath, Development Tiku Majumder, Physics Angie Marano, IWS Luana Maroja, Biology Laura Martin, Environmental Studies Martha Marvin, Neuroscience Elizabeth McGowan, Art Gage McWeeny, English Karen Merrill, History Robin Meyer, Career Center Gregory Mitchell, WGSS Mariko Moher, Psychology Alejandra Moran ’17, Admission Ralph Morrison ’10, Mathematics and Statistics Laura Muller, Center for Academic Resources, Dean’s Office Peter Murphy, English Donna Myers, IWS Kenda Mutongi, History Steven Nafziger, Economics Lama Nassif, Arabic Studies and Comparative Literature Richard Nesbitt ’74, Admissions Gail Newman, German and Russian Nimu Njoya, Political Science Carol Ockman, Art Doug Paisley, Art Lee Park, Interim Dean of the Faculty, Chemistry Paul Park, English Shawna Patterson-Stephens, The Davis Center

Kashia Pieprzak, Romance Languages Peter C. Pihos, History Molly Polk, CLiA Kailani Polzak, Art Christopher Pye, English Lawrence Raab, English Jay Racela, Center for Environmental Studies and Geosciences Ashok Rai, Economics Mark Reach, Development Anne Reinhardt, History Mark Reinhardt, Political Science, American Studies Jim Reische, Communications Bernie Rhie, English David P. Richardson, Chemistry Neil Roberts, Africana Studies, Faculty Affiliate in Political Science and Religion Barbara Robertson, Admission Tyler Rogers, American Studies Shawn Rosenheim, English Mérida M. Rúa, Latina/o Studies and American Studies Sophie Saint-Just, French and Francophone Studies Marlene Sandstrom, Dean of the College, Psychology Noah Sandstrom, Psychology Rob Savage, Biology Jana Sawicki, Director of Oakley Center, Philosophy Lucie Schmidt, Economics Gillian Sciacca, Development Michelle Shaw ’95, Career Center W. Anthony Sheppard, Music Olga Shevchenko, Anthropology and Sociology Lara Shore-Sheppard, Economics Emery Shriver, Libraries Christina Simko, Anthropology and Sociology Shanti Marie Singham, History and Africana Studies Stefanie Solum, Art Steven Souza, Astronomy Rick Spalding, Chaplain’s Office Laini Sporbert, IWS Anand Swamy, Economics Jay Thoman ’82, Chemistry Christian Thorne, English Stephen Tifft, English Chad Topaz, Mathematics and Statistics Dave Tucker-Smith, Physics Amanda Turner, Registrar’s Office Janneke van de Stadt, German and Russian, Comparative Literature Courtney Wade, Provost’s Office Chris Waters, History Tara Watson, Economics Seth Wax, Chaplain’s Office Kaatje White, CLiA Rob White, Dean’s Office Bernadine Williams, Development Lauren Williamson, Psychology Scott Wong, History Ben T. Wood, IWS Sharifa T. Wright ’03, Development Saadia Yacoob, Religion Kasumi Yamamoto, Asian Studies Li Yu, Asian Studies Betty Zimmerberg, Psychology

4 OPINIONS

The Williams Record

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR In my brief four years as a faculty member at Williams, I have been struck by the number of students whom, during one-on-one conversations with me, have confided their beliefs that somehow they “snuck into” Williams. “I only got into Williams because I’m an athlete,” some have said. “I only got into Williams because I’m an underrepresented minority.” “I only got into Williams because I’m from an underrepresented part of the country.” Indeed, “I only got in because _____” is more common than individual students think, and I even know of some faculty who feel the same way about their own job offers. Of course, from my vantage point, each of these students has not only deserved to be at Williams, but has contributed much to my courses, my lab and just about every corner of campus. Nevertheless, these feelings persist and can lead to pessimistic views that “my best work will never be as good as the students who actually deserve to be here.” I am so sad when I hear these feelings, especially because they remove a sense of optimism about assignments, exams and meaningful projects in and out of the classroom. Therefore, the opinion piece by David Kane ’88, “What Does It Mean to be the Best?” (Sept. 20, 2017), does great disservice to our community by suggesting that some students actually don’t deserve to be here and that they gained admission for illegitimate reasons. Even forgetting the absurd argument that SAT scores should be the main determinant of college admissions, or that the ultimate goal of Williams is “to be the best,” Kane’s article has great potential to reinforce self-doubts and anxieties among some of our students that they snuck through the admissions process. In truth, we know that our colleagues in the admission and financial aid offices collectively work hard to admit exceptional students who each bring unique and lasting contributions to our community. We want students who will excel beyond Williams and have an impact on the world after they graduate, not students whose sole purpose for attending Williams is increasing indices on the U.S. News and World Report rankings. All students should know that they deserve to be here, that they are ex-

ceptional in ways that standardized test scores can’t measure and that they make Williams an outstanding college because of their presence, not despite it. I can actually understand why some students feel like they snuck through a selective admissions process because I occasionally experience these same feelings myself. These thoughts are common, especially at high-achieving institutions like Williams. The key is to recognize the universality of these feelings, to realize they are unproductive and to ultimately ignore them. We should do the same with Kane’s unthoughtful article. Matt Carter Assistant Professor of Biology

In his op-ed “What Does It Mean to be the Best?” (Sept. 20, 2017), David Kane ’88 is right to wonder about how to make the College the best that it can be. But his account of what we mean by “best,” and the changes he recommends to achieve that – such as reducing the pursuit of under-represented minority and low-income students – are based on a dangerously abstract notion of how learning actually takes place. For instance: I’ve taught MobyDick a dozen times as part of a 300-level English course. For the last three years, I’ve also taught the book in the Summer Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) program. Without question, the SHSS classes have been better – in fact, they have been some of the most serious and electric courses that I’ve had the privilege to teach. My pre-frosh brought unusual guts and heart, as well as brains, to their work – at times challenging my assumptions, at others finding unexpected resonances between their personal histories and Melville’s. Their diversity of experience was a fundamental resource for what we learned. I don’t know whether my students had SAT scores of 600, 700 or 800. I never had reason to look. I do know that, for myself and many of my colleagues, SHSS has reaffirmed our sense of why teaching matters. Kane would do well to pause before prescribing further aggressive changes to admissions policies. I welcome him to sit in on any of my courses, and to see for himself whether those

changes would damage or improve the college that we both love. Shawn Rosenheim Professor of English

I did pretty well academically in high school. I received high marks on my SAT, and I turned down a “top university” to attend Williams. But that didn’t stop the financial aid office from telling me international students were exempt from the school’s “need-blind” policy after I had made my decision to attend, despite having told me otherwise during the application process. (My parents had to take out an emergency loan; they quietly brought up whether I should take time off after my freshman year.) It certainly didn’t stop a fellow student from asking me during my sophomore year, to my face, what it was that students like myself contributed to Williams. (I smiled and changed the topic.) While I greatly appreciate the generosity of David Kane ’88 to address students “like myself” in his absurd, misguided and quixotic op-ed “What Does It Mean to be the Best?” (Sept. 20, 2017), I would like to point out that the treatment of international students at the College does not end at, or even begin with, what percentage of the student body we make up. I would also like to point out that I believe that diversity, especially in an institution of higher education – and especially in one notorious for its long insularity – is often a virtue in and of itself, and by that measure what I contributed to Williams is very similar to what American under-represented minority students contribute to it. Underrepresented minority students are not, unlike what Kane seems to suggest, the reason why there are few international students at Williams. Finally, I would like to point out that I am not some “model minority” Williams can put in orders for, and definitely not a clever little punchline that may give a semblance of sanity and balance to a thoroughly ridiculous proposal. I never was the most vocal or active member of the Minority Coalition during my time at Williams, but if all those hours of having to sit through weekly meetings taught me anything, it was that solidarity exists primarily among minority students, not petty divisions or fictional rivalries. Joon Hun Seong ’14

FROM THE ARCHIVES

September 27, 2017

‘Best’ as harmful metric Rejecting admissions based on academic superiority By MI YU The mission of Williams is not to be the best in the world. A comparison is implied in the superlative. We find a painting entrancing, and we call it good, but not “the best.” We reserve “the best” for those who emerge triumphant from a competition: at a sports meet, for example, the best runner is the one who outruns their opponents. The best runner, then, is defined relatively: They are considered the best only in relation to other contestants at that meet. It is clear why this picture can be agitating for those involved. The runner mentioned above has to go through rigorous training to finish the race faster than any other athletes. Their identity of “the best” is lost once someone else finishes faster, even by a fraction of a second. If all the endeavors of this athlete – all the exhaustion, anxiety and loneliness – were only for “the best,” it would be easily catastrophic. What is the meaning of their struggles, then, now that they have lost the competition? Say we admit students strictly in accordance with their academic performance. What would Williams be? Surely, “the best” – sitting comfortably at first place in various college rankings, occupying the headlines after every admission season has ended, touting “the hardest school to get into” – in all its glory. But what would Williams be, really? Presumably, a school with a marginally higher average SAT score than Harvard. We would, at that point, completely lose our identity. After an arduous climb in the Forbes college list, all we would earn is some bragging rights, perhaps a tiny bit of self-righteousness: “We are just like Harvard, but better!” And if Harvard were to follow suit, we would find ourselves in a vicious cycle of self-affirmation and denial: Either we win the competition, and claim to be the most elitist of the elite, or we lose, and salvage nothing from our failures. More poignant, however, is the fact that schools, and their respective identities, cannot compare. We seldom say a painting is “the best, period.” Why would one pit Rembrandt’s paintings against Picasso’s? It is perhaps a human drive to seek concrete and measureable standards among nature – it would be a human flaw, then, to impose arbitrary standards upon the unmeasurable. Imagine the confusion, the vain questions we subject ourselves to, when we subscribe to the philosophy of the best! Are we to say, “Since I am

rejected by [some elite school], I am obviously inferior to its students”? Worse, are we so arrogant to believe that we are obviously superior to students in lowerranked colleges, simply because we are enrolled at Williams and they are not? A person is so much more than an SAT score; they are more than their SATs, APs, GPAs, recommendation letters and extracurricular activities combined – indeed, those criteria point more to underlying social factors than to that person’s intellectual capacity. They are more than their school, their family, the society they came from – they are what a school, a family, a society will be. It is, finally, not hard to come up with an alternative vision for our college. Confucius came up with it thousands of years ago: The mission of Williams is to educate, indiscriminately. By proclaiming “to educate,” we escape the grim implications of “the best” by shifting the focus from vanity back to its students. Finally, then, students become the true beneficiaries of the institution instead of a mere tool, an inconvenient string of numbers producing a suboptimal average SAT score or a glorified banner for someone to show off. By indiscrimination we look beyond the problems of comparison: We look for curiosity and capacity in addition to intellectual prowess. We should not only look for the smartest: In diversity, we learn from each other and nurture a new culture, a new view of the world. A more courageous version of it might just become the dream of every liberal arts graduate, however utopian it sounds: a liberal arts education, for all and any that are willing. And yes, it is utopian – one hastens to point out the reality of institutional obstacles and material constraints. One worries, legitimately, what the admissions process would look like if it were truly to seek intellectual curiosity. But in the face of difficulty we should not cower from our progress, reinforce the hurdles or manipulate the numbers of some arbitrary categories of students in favor of “a trade-off.” Our time is much better spent seeking ways to overcome our constraints and to offer, hopefully some day in the future, under the name of Williams or another, a universal education. Even then, Williams will not be the best – but by then, there will not be a competition, and everyone wins. Mi Yu ’20 is from Hangzhou, China. He lives in Thompson.

WORD ON THE QUAD What is Ephelia’s zodiac sign? By ANASTASIA TISHENA CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

ARIA MASON ’21

Ephelia is super sassy so I think she’d be a Capricorn.

AUDREY RUSTAD ’20

Libra via Williams College’s Wiki page informing me that she first graced us with her presence in October of 1952.

JUDAH DEVADOSS ’19

The dog, like the Chinese zodiac sign.

LIZA LAVROVA ’18

I don’t do horoscopes.

SARAH GOTTESMAN ’14

September 27, 2017

CSS conducts fire drills across student residences By SAMUEL WOLF CONTRIBUTING WRITER On Sept. 19, Campus Safety and Security (CSS) conducted a fire drill on every residence hall in the College, testing the emergency phones and fire alarm systems across the campus. Over the course of the drill, during which students had to evacuate their rooms, each room was checked individually and scanned for both fire safety violations and other banned substances. CSS recorded a total of 37 violations, including five students who had failed to evacuate their rooms, nine students who were in possession of marijuana or related paraphernalia and eight students with prohibited appliances such as Crock-Pots, toasters and Keurigs. Director of CSS Dave Boyer emphasized that these searches were standard procedure and perfunctory. “Officers made a plain view scan of the room for violations of College policy and Massachusetts state law,” Boyer said. “All searches [were] in plain view and in most cases took a matter of

NEWS 5

The Williams Record

seconds.” The purpose of the drill, he added, was not to seize prohibited products, but rather to ensure the College’s preparedness for any future fires. The sanctions for violations during room searches vary greatly, but expulsion is possible for repeat offenders. Students who failed to leave their rooms were given a written warning for their first violation, and an additional $100 fine for their second. Evidence of smoking carried a stricter $250 fine for first offenders, and students were eligible for suspension or dismissal on their second offense. Though no smoke detectors were covered up during this fire drill, 10 rooms were found with other signs of smoking, including odors, ashtrays, burn marks and cigarette butts. For students found with marijuana, CSS immediately contacted local police authorities and students faced both campus disciplinary measures and Massachusetts state law. Possession of an amount less than one ounce carries a civil fine of $100 in Mas-

sachusetts, but possession of larger amounts can result in prosecution and ineligibility for financial aid. In all cases, College policies and/or Massachusetts state law, rather than CSS, determined penalties for forbidden substances found in rooms. Additional infractions included two traffic cones, one unauthorized pet and one inflated pool. “I didn’t see it, but I believe it was a large kiddie pool,” Boyer said. According to Boyer, CSS found far fewer infractions during this year's drill than in other drills over the past 10 to 15 years. “I’d be the happiest guy on campus if student violations disappeared; enforcement is never enjoyable,” Boyer said. Indeed, only 22 rooms contained appliances or materials that were a direct fire hazard, with the other 15 violations including illicit substances, animals or a failure to evacuate the room. CSS and Facilities are responsible for the conductance of all of the College’s fire drills, which occur on a biannual basis. Another drill will take place this spring.

SPRING STREET BLUES From the files of Campus Safety and Security Monday 9-18-17 7:00 a.m. Bronfman Science Center: Electricians responded to a custodian stuck in the elevator on the second floor and tried to free him. The doors were jammed closed and had not lost power. After approximately 45 minutes of trying to get the doors to open, the electricians contacted Bay State Elevator for assistance. At approximately 8:05 a.m., the College electricians were able to pry the doors open just enough for the individual to slide out of the elevator. The electricians shut off power to the elevator so it could not be used until Bay State arrived and repaired the elevator. 1:50 p.m. Mission Park: Officers activated 911 after a custodian reported a student with a head injury. North Adams Ambulance responded and transported the student to Berkshire Health North. 2:35 p.m. Clark Hall: Officers responded to a call from a construction site superintendent regarding some vandalism found at the steam tunnel. The southwest corner door facing Bronfman Science Center had been damaged by a very large rock in an attempt to break the door handle and lock at the tunnel entrance. Tuesday 9-19-17 6:44 p.m. Wood House: While performing fire drills, officers found drug paraphernalia, along with a small amount of marijuana, in a student room. Officers seized, bagged and documented the evidence. 7:20 p.m. Currier House: While performing fire drills, officers found a glass tube with marijuana inside. The room and the hallway leading to this room had a strong odor of recent smoking. Officers seized, bagged and documented the evidence.

to find parking because the lot was full. The officer assisted the student into an alternate parking spot and issued citations to an illegally parked vehicle with a Thompson lot parking decal. 2:15 p.m. Hopkins Hall: Two facilities tradesmen came to CSS to report separate incidents involving a pit bull in Poker Flats acting aggressively toward them as they entered the building. They filled out statements concerning the behavior of the dog. Friday 9-22-17 1:16 a.m. Mission Park: Officers responded to Mills for a report of an intoxicated student in need of assistance. They activated 911 for a Village Ambulance response; the ambulance transported the student to Berkshire Health North. 10:07 a.m. Perry House: Safety and Environmental Compliance staff received a call concerning marijuana smoking materials in Perry. Officers responded to the room and also found it to have the odor of recently smoked marijuana. Officers seized, bagged and documented the evidence. 9:26 p.m. Mission Park: Dispatch overheard on the scanner that an ambulance had been dispatched to Dennett. CSS officers responded there. Village Ambulance arrived and evaluated the student; the student signed a refusal for treatment form and stayed on campus. Saturday 9-23-17 3:19 p.m. Cole Field: An officer working the athletic event on Cole Field witnessed a WPD officer on Stetson Road. The officer was taking a report concerning a dog biting a small child. Sunday 9-24-17

8:15 p.m. Dodd House: While performing fire drills, officers observed a student leaving Dodd House and Poker Flats with a pit bull on a leash. Officers were aware that this dog was not approved to be in a student residence and was supposed to have been removed from campus. 8:29 p.m. Spencer House: While performing fire drills, officers found two grinders with marijuana inside them, a baggie with marijuana, a plastic rectangular container with marijuana inside and some tobacco mixed with marijuana. Officers seized, bagged and documented the evidence. Wednesday 9-20-17 10:40 p.m. Gladden House: Officers received a tip line complaint: “Shouting is coming from Gladden again, on a weekday. Again my night has been ruined by two people aggressively shouting!” Officers responded to the area and did not hear anything close to what was being described on the tip line. Greylock Quad was very quiet. Thursday 9-21-17 12:12 a.m. Agard House: An officer responded to assist a student with an Agard decal

12:25 a.m. Mission Park: Officers responded to Dennett to a report of an intoxicated student in the fourth floor bathroom. They activated 911 for Village Ambulance; the ambulance evaluated the student and transported the student to Berkshire Health North in North Adams. 12:50 a.m. ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance: Officers responded to the back of the building for a report of an intoxicated student lying on the ground outside of Sears House. Someone had already called 911 to seek assistance for the student and North Adams Ambulance was on the way. The student was unable to wake up and stand up. North Adams Ambulance evaluated the student and transported the student to Berkshire Health North in North Adams. 4:46 a.m. Spencer House: Officers responded to Spencer for a report of a head injury. Dispatch called 911 and Village Ambulance responded. Another student reported finding a friend lying on the ground outside of Morgan Hall about an hour prior and then helping him walk back to Spencer House. Village Ambulance evaluated the student's condition and transported the student to Berkshire Health North.

Goodrich relocates CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 setup. Hefferon pointed out, however, that there is room in the process to grow as an organization. For example,

the efficiency of the cleaning set-up in Dodd dining hall has already prompted the team to start thinking about how it can improve upon its set-up in the old location.

“We have to be a lot more forward-thinking than past management teams,” he said. “It’s a good learning experience. It’s going to teach us a lot for our return back to Goodrich.”

JUNE HAN/PHOTO EDITOR

Goodrich Coffee Bar opened for the year in its new location of Dodd House dining room on Sept. 20.

Dean Ferro looks back CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 I was going to be too much of an issue.” While at the College, Ferro effectively built the firstgeneration program from the ground up. Along with conceiving and executing a firstgeneration pre-orientation program that precedes First Days and includes one full day of family programming, Ferro created expanded opportunities for first-generation students available throughout their college careers and lives after the College. Throughout the year, first-generation students can engage in a variety of different programming – professor dinners, local trips and social gatherings – supervised by Ferro and managed by the First-Gen Advisory Board, a team of students who consult Ferro on her work. “The rationale with the advisory board was … to have a group that was well-informed advising me on what they felt their peers needed but also creating programs in their own way from a student perspective,” Ferro said. “I do the larger-scale programs, but the advisory board does programs that bring the community together. They’re having consistent conversations with a big group of students. … If there are big policy questions or needs, we have invited senior staff to come to meetings. If they have some major concerns that they’re hearing, they let me know. That’s the group that is going to continue this work. I wanted to make sure there was no gap, no stop in that work and the institution is committed to making that happen.” Brian Benitez '18, intern for first generation initiatives, emphasized this continuity. "We intend to keep up all of the great work that has made the first gen community as vibrant as it is today," Benitez said. "We hope to keep a natural rhythm of event following Dean Ferro's departure. The First Generation Advisory Board (already elected and in place!) will be instrumental in continuing to shape the first gen experience at Williams in Dean Ferro's absence. With their leadership and feedback, we are confident that the first gen spirit will remain alive and well in the coming weeks." Moreover, first-generation students at the College are given the opportunity to connect with first-generation students across different academic institutions at the First-Generation College Student Summit, an experience Ferro believes helps to broaden the perspectives of

the Ephs who participate. “Williams has participated in the first-gen summit for the past few years and we were happy to host two years ago,” she said. “It’s a really good opportunity to connect first-gen students here to first-gen students at other places. This past year, we took a group to Tufts … and a lot of the feedback I got from students who went was, ‘Wow, being first-gen is bigger than being first-gen at Williams.’ A lot of students came back saying, ‘We have a lot in place [at the College,]’ which is nice, because I think students sometimes don’t realize how much they have until they look around. They were saying, ‘We’re really grateful for the resources we have,’ and that the experience pushed them to dig a little deeper to build a community that takes advantage of those resources. I hope that we continue to have a group of students attend that summit. It’s been a really nice partnership.” On top of all these accomplishments, Ferro, in collaboration with Associate Director of Alumni Relations Sharifa Wright ’03, recently launched an alumni network for firstgeneration students who have graduated from the College. In evaluating the potential of the program, Ferro emphasizes the importance of the mentoring opportunities it offers. “My vision was to have a program that was four years and beyond,” she said. “Being firstgen doesn’t go away once you graduate. It’s an identity that lives with you and I hope it’s a positive identity that lives with you. Now, first-gen alums can start mentoring first-gen students and mentoring each other. It’s a lifetime experience. The programming has that in mind.” Nevertheless, the role of a dean requires grappling with daily issues on campus alongside long-term projects. Throughout her work to modify structures at the College, Ferro asserted her commitment to always being available to students who sought her out: “If you have all of these programs in place but students don’t feel safe and don’t feel that sense of commitment from the institution, it doesn’t matter. You can sit behind a desk and say, ‘I’m here for you,’ but you’re sitting behind a desk. You’re not accessible. You’re not there. You’re not vulnerable. You’re not allowing students to see who you are. I think, for me, it’s been critical in those difficult times to be outside of my office, to be in those spaces, to have students cry on my shoulder,

to say, ‘Yeah, this really isn’t right and shouldn’t be happening to you.’ I think sometimes students don’t understand that being an administrator, we are in this interesting place where we work for an institution, but we are people and that these things do impact [us]. You can be both supportive of the institution you work at and be critical. You can say, ‘I love this place, but we need to do better.’ I think you can do that. We have some issues we need to work through. There's nothing wrong with saying that.” After seeing a first-generation program grow from the ground up, the share of firstgeneration students growing to about one-fifth of the student population and more than 2000 students become alums, Ferro is enthusiastic to once again start something from scratch. Given that the division of student affairs and campus life is an entirely new creation at Ithaca, Ferro will have ample opportunity to leave her mark within the Bomber community. “The exciting part is it’s a newly-created division. I am going to be able to come in and work with the existing team to really get folks excited and create our own brand,” Ferro said. “I am really excited about spending time with students and understanding what the Ithaca experience is, what it should be and where the gap is. That is going to inform a lot of the work I am going to be doing. I hope to take with me the sense of community and the shared responsibility of making Ithaca a better place, which I learned at Williams. Its students, faculty, staff and alums. Everyone is invested in their own way. People do [this work] differently, but it’s on all of us to make the place better. I’m also going to looking at those students who don’t really have any connection. … You have this group of students who feel like they don’t really have anything … [and] I’m going to spend a lot of time with those students, figuring out why [they] don't feel like this place is for them, which is what I did here with our first-gen students. We want to focus on what the institution isn’t doing to make you feel like you belong here. ... Let’s not put it on them to figure out … we need to be doing [it] right. That’s a philosophy I’m bringing to Ithaca: Take a hard look at the institution and own what’s not working but also celebrate what’s working well. You can be both critical and proud of the institution at the same time.”

6 NEWS

The Williams Record

September 27, 2017

This week in Williams Record history...

Sept. 30, 2009: President Adam Falk's arrival at the College graced the Record's front page.

Sept. 26, 1958: Sen. John F. Kennedy campaigned in North Adams.

Sept. 24, 2002: Baxter Hall underwent redesigning.

Sept. 26, 1967: First Lady Lady Bird Johnson visited campus to speak at fall convocation.

Sept. 27, 1988: Students exposed questionable summer job opportunity.

September 27, 2017

The Williams Record

FEATURES 7

One in Two Thousand By TESNIM ZEKERIA EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Okay, can you tell me about your high school?

Jason and I met during Windows on Williams (WOW) our senior year of high school. I met up with him to discuss his political aspirations and Naked Brothers Band fandom.

I went to Regis High School. It’s an all-boys school, predominantly white. I was there four years, 128 boys in my class and two black kids, which was jarring. I made a lot of good friends – a good chunk of them go here. We were all in the same friend group. It’s actually pretty funny how we all came here, because Liz Creighton, who’s now the dean of admissions and financial aid, sent an email to my friend Monserrate DeLeon to apply to WOW, and when we all heard Monserrate got that email we were like, “Yo, bro, want to send that link?” and Monserrate was like, “No no no, I can’t send it,” … but after a while he sent us the link, and then we all applied and all got in; it was wavy. It was me, my friend Minh [Tran ’19], Patrick, Breidy [Cueto ’19], Joey [Boncardo ’19], Monserrate, all of us got in [to WOW]. And we came through, had a lit time – I honestly don’t remember a single class I sat in on. ... We hung out, we met some kids, kids from like D.C., this girl named Tess [Zekeria ’19] – she’s pretty wavy, can confirm. It was a good time, and we all decided we were going to apply here. And when we applied here, most of us got in. Monserrate didn’t come, so every time I see Liz Creighton I laugh a little bit because she didn’t want us, she wanted Monserrate, but she got all of us instead, so I laugh. So, it was me, Breidy, Joey and Minh, and Jonathan Hall [’19] too. He’s wavy too, can confirm. So, I go to college with all of my best friends from high school. And we were some goons in high school – we’d just trap around McDonald’s and spend a bunch of time in places; we’d trap on Barnes and Noble until we got kicked out. But it’s okay, because now we’re all here, in Sawyer!

What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was a wee lad, I wanted to be the President of the United States. When I was three, me, my dad, my mom and my uncle were all watching CNN (I don’t know why they let me watch CNN, but I was watching CNN) and I saw President [George W.] Bush on TV. It was a year into his presidency, and I remember my mom was like, “Jason, that could be you someday!” and I was like, “Why not?” And that was kind of it. I don’t know – he had a big platform, he talked a lot and a lot of people, obviously my dad and my mom and my uncle, listened, and I was like, “Maybe that could be me too.” Has anything changed? Not much has changed to be honest; I still want to be a major public figure, or I think I want to have an important role in deciding policy for the future of this country. Whether that’s me going into office, or as an advisor, or running one of the operations of state like Intelligence or Housing and Urban Development, or being an analyst on the policy scene, seeing what works and what doesn’t, checking politicians and things like that. Or working with campaigning and transcribing heavy political jargon into everyday language – I think I’d like to do that in the future. What would your slogan be? “It’s all good! – I suppose.”

JASON ADULLEY ’19

JANE PETERSEN/FEATURES EDITOR JASON’S HOMETOWN BRONX, N.Y.

JASON’S RESIDENCE SAGE HALL

Cool, so what else do you do on campus? So, I play rugby, and I do Kusika as well, but not this semester. I’m also a JA [Junior Advisor] of Sage A, so that’s pretty cool. My first year I had an infatuation with the High School Musical franchise, and there was an individual named Troy Bolton, played by Zac Efron, and he did the sports and the arts, and I was like: “I could be Williams’ Troy Bolton.” So, I went out for rugby – going out for rugby is probably the best decision I’ve made ever – because it’s a super supporting sport, for real, and so it’s just guys that don’t take themselves that seriously, so we’re always having a good time. And then I

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did Kusika because I love making music. I didn’t know how to make music, like I didn’t play an instrument until I came here – I knew how to make beats with my hands on trash cans and shit like that, but nothing else. That was really cool, to be doing a sport and the arts, like Troy Bolton. What is your favorite genre of music and some of your favorite artists? [Laughs.] I think rap’s my favorite. I’m getting into Brock Hampton – so wavy – Saturation II. My favorite song off that album is “Summer.” It has such great summery sunset vibes – that’s kind of my wave. And I think Kendrick Lamar is the greatest

rapper out right now, probably top 10 right now, top five when it’s all said and done. I love telling stories, and Kendrick tells such great stories in such an artistic fashion, it’s really inspiring. And then music for the times is To Pimp a Butterfly and DNA, which is absolutely phenomenal, like musically, lyrically, all of the above. I also am partial to one boy band of the 2010s: One Direction. I think they’re absolutely phenomenal. I feel like everyone says they’re for kids, but I’m like “no.” One Direction has made phenomenal music. Their last album, Made in the A.M., is absolutely marvelous from top to bottom, from “Hey Angel” all the way to the bonus tracks. I think their album Four is probably their best album, if you start with “Steal my Girl” and you go to “Ready to Run,” then “Where do Broken Hearts Go,” to “Eighteen.” I listen to their music pretty often, actually, if not every day. So yeah, I do like Kendrick, so shout-out to Kendrick, and shout-out to ASAP Rocky. I have a poster of ASAP Rocky in my room – it’s kind of ripped, but that’s okay. It’s ASAP Rocky, it’s got the middle finger up, like he’s saying, “Fuck that ripped poster,” so it’s okay, because I fuck with you Rocky, so word. What are your thoughts on the Naked Brothers Band? They are an inspiration to musicians everywhere. They were Big Time Rush before Big Time Rush became Big Time Rush. Everyone and their mother loved Nat and Alex. They made a song, I think it was called “Yes We Can,” supporting [President Barack] Obama, and I was like, “Wow, these little boys have more finesse than some of these rappers,” and I was like, “Ah, you can’t touch the Naked Brothers Band.” Also, the Naked Brothers Band was so explicit for a juniors’ show – they revolutionized TV; they made saying words like

“naked” on network TV so lit. On my birthday my freshman year, I was with my friend Tess, and we watched season one of Naked Brothers Band, and this summer I actually re-watched the entire show, start to finish. It’s the best $45 I’ve ever spent in my life, can confirm. If you ever need something to do and you’ve got $45 to spend, I suggest you snuggle up with someone close to you and watch Naked Brothers Band – you will not regret it. Can confirm, whoever you’re with, that individual will come running back. Can confirm, indeed. Can you tell me about your personal style? I always like having a plan fit for the day. What that means is I have to plan my outfits, either mentally, or I have to physically put a shirt with some shorts – like wear some white canvas shoes with high white socks. Eventually I’m going to invest in some knee-high socks. Some people don’t know, but I’m about to shock the world, or shock the campus at least. I think my style is from my friends, how they dress. Sometimes Joey’s a little more out there than most individuals, but I think where I am is where he was two years ago, so I’m coming up. And Minh, Minh taught me the pin-roll; I love the pin-roll on my pants, showing off my socks – you know I only wear white socks. I like wearing a lot of navy blue and white or navy blue and gray; I think that’s just a really dope color combination. Getting into kicks, I got these New Balance 998s, and I love going on eBay, finding some discounts. I also love to thrift shop – thrifting is like my passion. I have a blouse that I found in Brooklyn – it’s so colorful, it’s so nice, the fabric is pretty soft, I found this and I was like, “Yo, I have to acquire this immediately.” And I’m not ashamed of it. Once I put it on, I’ll be like “to-DOW” on this campus. It’ll be great.

Farmers market carries produce, charm Local caves offer unique opportunities for cramped but exciting adventure By SARA HETHERINGTON STAFF WRITER

On Saturday morning, I wandered to the end of Spring Street with a friend and came upon the beginnings of the Williamstown Farmers Market. In the usually quiet parking lot space was a row of tents and colorful displays. Musicians played violins and little kids ran between the stalls. Vendors had set up tables with baked goods, candles and fresh produce. I was quickly distracted by a stand of bouquets, and started talking to Lawrie Nickerson, who was more than happy to tell me about how she started Hay Berry Farm LLC. Nickerson has been coming to the farmers market for just over a year, but her journey here began in 2008 when, after retiring from teaching, she bought a piece of land in Hoosic Falls. The move was unexpected – while she had experience in landscaping, she’d long ago put to rest her dream of having a hobby farm. With the help of a friend, she was able to prepare the soil and start planting in 2009. The you-pick farm – at which customers pick their own produce – now specializes in lavender, blueberries and flowers. Though the farm isn’t officially certified organic, Nickerson explains that she adheres to those growing principles. “My farmers of the month are consistently the worm and the seed,” she said. “We don’t use toxins. We rely on the diversity of plants to keep away

pests.” She pointed out each of the flowers in her bouquets on offer, and also showed me a stack of dried sunflower heads. As we spoke, a young girl and her family wandered over to buy one. “People use them to plant more sunflowers or to feed birds in their yards,” she said, smiling at the little girl’s enthusiasm. Her joy seemed to be shared with many of the other vendors. For Steve Beach, the carpenter who’d set up camp right next to Nickerson, showing people his work is his favorite part of coming to the farmers market. His Shakerinspired furniture, made from reclaimed wood, is sold in four locations, from Great Barrington, Mass., to East Chatham, N.Y., but “the Saturday market is the only one I come to in person,” he said. Like Nickerson, Beach said he is surprised by how he came to be a vendor at the farmers market. While he’s worked in a range of professions throughout his life, from leather shops to logging, he’d been an amateur when he started his woodworking hobby. It started when he developed shingles and meningitis and couldn’t work. “I was laid up for the summer, but my wife said I had to start doing something,” he said with a laugh. “I started making furniture in the barn.” He “got early American books and learned about the Shaker style.” While honing his new hobby, Beach also made another

serendipitous discovery. While driving in the country, he saw a barn with a bad roof and stopped to talk to the owner. Whereas Beach had wanted to advise her to put a tarp over the roof to protect it, the owner informed him that the town had declared the building dangerous and was going to charge her to have it dismantled. Beach was aghast. “The barn in New York was from 1790,” he said. “It seemed a shame to let that history go.” Beach offered to take down the barn himself, on the condition that he could reclaim the wood and use it for his carpentry projects. Because of the period in which it was built, the barn had been made from a variety of lumber. This variation called for artistic choices. Beach pointed out the grain of one lightweight box, explaining, “I couldn’t make a table out of wood like this.” He admits that knowledge like this comes with experience. Because he isn’t formally trained, “of course you make mistakes sometimes, but that’s how you learn.” “It’s been a real labor of love,” Beach said. “This is the most creative thing I’ve ever done. It doesn’t feel like work.” As I made my way around the other stalls, waving at Nickerson as I passed, I realized that this was what made the farmers market feel so special: Everyone there, no matter what they were offering, was there because they were doing what they loved.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMSTOWN FARMERS MARKET

The Williamstown Farmers Market offers a platform for local growers and craftsmen to share their wares.

By RB SMITH FEATURES EDITOR When most people hear the term “outdoor recreation,” their first image is often majestic mountain peaks and wide open skies. There is a black sheep in the world of outdoor sports, however, and that is caving. Commonly known as “spelunking,” caving is, as the name suggests, the exploration of underground caves. It is a dark, wet, cold and claustrophobia-inducing activity, but popular nonetheless. Every year, the Williams Outing Club (WOC) leads a handful of trips to caves around the Berkshires, and this past Friday I got to tag along and experience firsthand the otherworldly thrill that draws people to this bizarre hobby. It was a warm and humid Friday afternoon when we trudged the mile from the road to the small hole in the ground called Bentley’s Cave. Upon arrival, we tugged on our helmets, headlamps, kneepads, climbing shoes and layers of long underwear, and one by one descended into the cave. The first few meters consisted of veritable rock climbing, until the passage leveled out and cooled off, and we were standing single-file at the bottom of a deep underground canyon. Although caving is a relatively technical and higher-risk activity, WOC is well-equipped to run trips. All of the required gear can be borrowed from the equipment room, and Assistant Director of WOC Dave Ackerson (who accompanied us on our trip) is well-versed in cave safety and is familiar with many local spots. The student leader of the trip was Glen Gallik ’18. Although not a particularly experienced caver, he was eager to share his enthusiasm. “It’s a very popular trip,” he said. “It’s something people have a lot of interest in, but it’s not something that people can really try by themselves.” Thankfully, WOC has the equipment and the expertise to help students get outside and underground. One of these students was Emily Elder ’20. Despite know-

ing nothing about the world of caving, the trip summary in the weekly WOC email captured her curiosity. “It struck me as very mysterious and exciting, and I’m always looking for new forms of adventure,” Elder said. “My expectations were based exclusively on the description of cold, dark and dank fun from the WOC email.” Although we were warned, most of us were still shaken by the underground stream that we had to belly-crawl through, and awed by the expansive room that we crawled out into. Despite the chilly, unlit and cramped confines, we began to feel some of the exhilaration that more experienced cavers boast about. It was a liberating feeling to shimmy out of a tight pinch and have room to stretch, and the inky, yawning blackness of the room quickened all of our pulses. After a few minutes of catching our breath by the small stream, we embarked on a series of “loops.” The loops were tight tunnels that started and ended in the main room, and presented an extra challenge for those looking to test their mettle. Jared Bathen ’20, who had already done some caving around his native Tucson, Ariz., jumped into these with particular vigor. “It’s such a unique environment,” he said. “The experience of being in a cave is not really an experience you can get anywhere else.” His favorite part is “blackout,” when everyone turns off their headlamps and sits in silence, without any audiovisual stimulation. “It’s super cool to do for like five or 10 minutes,” he said. “You just completely lose track of time.” Due to time restraints, we only experienced blackout for a couple of minutes. The varying levels of experience, size of our

group and limited time there restrained the trip in a number of ways. The cave we visited was much smaller than others in the area, but the largest within the range of a reasonable afternoon trip. We took frequent breaks to ensure everyone stayed together, and posted people at particularly difficult pinches to make sure no one got stuck. The slightly clunky nature of our group, and the lack of individual freedom that came with it, ground on some of the more experienced cavers, who were looking forward to a more exploratory experience. That said, it also offered a welcome sense of security for those of us trying caving for the first time. Whatever the shortcomings of the trip, veterans and newbies alike all seemed to be smiling when we finally emerged in the fresh air and the setting sun. As far as the future of caving at the College is concerned, the biggest barrier is not the College or the caves but the calendar. Due to white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease that has decimated bat populations over the last decade, the caves are closed to visitors for most of the school year, so trips are limited to the first few and last few weeks of school. Despite this, though, interest in caving remains strong, and WOC hopes to lead a longer, all-day Saturday trip in the spring to a much larger cave near Albany. While some are drawn to the thrill of the unknown and others to the unique physical challenge, caving offers an odd but exciting experience for anyone with an open mind. “I was just happy to be spending my Friday night in a cave with some of my closest friends,” Elder said. “It was the perfect way

“It’s such a unique environment. ... The experience of being in a cave is not really an experience you can get anywhere else.” Jared Bathen ’20

8 FEATURES

September 27, 2017

The Williams Record

Former IT specialist, psych Ph.D. explores implicit cognition By JEONGYOON HAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER What started as a decision to take a psychology course on a whim during his sophomore year of college became a life-long passion for Jeremy Cone, assistant professor of psychology. In his second year at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Cone bought his textbooks for his spring classes during winter break. One of those textbooks was for a psychology class, which he decided to enroll in to get a change of pace from his regimented computer science major courses. He finished reading the entire textbook before the class even began. “[Social psychology] was this way for you to try to answer questions that we all have exposure to, and that we have intrinsic interests in, but that we could do scientifically, that we could use this rigorous method to try to come to an understanding about the building blocks and mechanics of [human interaction] … and I just love that element of it,” Cone said. Now, it’s no surprise that Cone is making big strides in the world of social psychology. As a specialist on the study of implicit cognition – subconscious attitudes and how different situations can impact impressions people have of others – he has found substantive evidence suggesting that implicit cognition can change more quickly than traditional belief suggests. Much of his research, in fact, takes place on campus at the College’s Implicit Cognition and Evaluation Lab (ICE), which Cone founded in 2015. It currently has seven student research assistants. Surprisingly, Cone did not, in fact, conduct psychology re-

PHOTO COURTESY OF AUSTIN HUANG

Although he started his career studying computer science, Jeremy Cone found his true passion in studying psychology, particularly implicit bias. search immediately after graduation. Instead, he worked as an internet technology specialist in the suburbs of Toronto. Cone realized, however, that his true passion was in psychology rather than IT. “[I] knew very quickly that it was a very poor life choice for me,” he said. Transitioning from a job in IT to forge a new path in his life in psychology, though a deliberate choice, also happened by chance in some ways. “None of these were systematic ideas that I was hoping to study for 10 years,” Cone said. “These were things that I sort of randomly fell into and developed a passion

for while I was getting exposure to them.” But he views the 10-year process of getting a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate in psychology as the best decision in his life. During those years, he met several professors who shaped his interests in social judgment (psychological decisions people make in everyday life), introducing him to areas such as human cooperation and the relationship between subconscious thinking and achieving goals. Much like the rest of Cone’s academic journey, his introduction to the College was also by chance: A colleague at Cornell University hap-

EPH DICTIONARY “Linguistic isolation” is a term used to describe what happens when a small population cut off from the rest of the world develops its own linguistic variants. In other words: slang. We’ve assembled a list of weird words that Ephs like to throw around and their Williams-specific definitions.

“Purple Bubble” Definition: Williamstown’s affectionate nickname as well as a nod to our insularity; after a few weeks, you might forget that there is a universe outside of the College. JANE PETERSEN/FEATURES EDITOR

“Croom” Definition: Common + room. A multi-use space, the croom can serve as a study spot, hangout central and site of many a latenight poker showdown.

MARIT BJORNLUND/MANAGING EDITOR

“Let’s get a meal sometime!” Definition: “We’ll be saying this every week until we graduate but never actually do it.”

pened to mention an opening for a visiting professorship in the College’s psychology department for the 2012-13 academic year. Cone got the position, and his time teaching at the College was, he said, the secondbest year of his life (the first being the year he went back to get his bachelor’s degree in psychology). It was the culmination of his studies to discover a passion not only for researching psychology, but also for teaching it. “I felt like I had purpose and meaning in my life in a way that wasn’t true when I was working in internet technology,” Cone said.

And it wasn’t just teaching in general that made Cone feel fulfilled. It was teaching specifically at the College, a place that is a perfect environment for both research and interaction between professors and students in the classroom, according to him. “I honestly believe there’s no better place to teach in the world. ... The environment here is just so invigorating and the students are so amazing and motivated and there is this amazing effort-to-reward ratio in teaching,” Cone said. The College’s educational philosophy, Cone said, is one that prevents either lab work or teaching from taking precedence over the other; such “synergy,”

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as he describes it, between research and education makes for the best project ideas. Now, much of his work involves learning more about the impact implicit cognition can have on real life situations. The group of research assistants in the ICE lab conducts online tests to see if certain information changes the subconscious impressions participants get of different hypothetical characters and people. The results from these tests have challenged traditional pedagogy, which suggests that implicit evaluations take gradual amounts of time to change. Katie Flaharty ’18 is a member of the ICE lab and is working with Cone on her senior thesis about psychology and visual representations. She said that ICE explores the unintuitive aspects of the human mind. “I think the most fascinating thing about the research in the ICE lab is that most of it has to do with cognitive processes that we aren’t quite aware of,” Flaharty said. “The ‘implicit’ in the ‘Implicit Cognition and Evaluation’ title of the lab indicates that most of what we study is the relationship between attitudes and evaluations that can be accessed by our conscious processes versus those that are more automatic and potentially subconscious. It’s really cool to see the mismatch between what we think we feel and what our automatic ‘gut response’ says we feel.” With endless possibilities for more projects, Cone and the rest of the ICE lab have their hands full, but not without some fun, thanks to the exciting and invigorating work environment Cone creates for the team. So, to all sophomores: Think carefully about what class you’ll take in the spring! It might just change your life like it did for Cone.

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“Sager” Definition: The go-to Friday night plan for many a frosh, both a blessing and a curse for some Sage residents (proximity is good, smell afterward is bad). Beware of people crawling on floors looking for ping-pong balls. PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE

September 27, 2017

9 ARTS

The Williams Record

WCMA’s ‘Pink Art’ takes on all-new rosy approach By SHAHEEN CURRIMJEE ARTS EDITOR Algorithms are the rules that a computer follows in order to produce an outcome. In the exhibition Pink Art, algorithms are the device of choice employed to produce the answer to the question, “What is pink?” Enclosed in peachy colored walls, Pink Art presents the product of two processes coming together: art curation and algorithmic calculation. The carefully mediated intersection results in an exhibition filled with work composed of corals, rubies and more. Tina Olsen, former director of the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) asked, “What is pink?” In other words, what makes up pink? Or better yet, what doesn't? Nowadays, pink is most commonly associated with breast cancer awareness and “millennial pink,” which is further associated with Wes Anderson’s movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel. Then, of course, there is the argument that pink is the Pluto of colors: People have fought over the fact that it is not a color – rather, it only exists as a pigment of our imagination. Pink draws from reds and violets, from both sides of the rainbow spectrum. Therefore, the color is created in the mind’s perception by mixing together reds and violets. Perfectly displayed in Philip Guston’s Game, the hybridity of pink is evident in bold strokes of crimson and navy. Through a single lens, through a single color we can see the different ways that Game creates this tension

PHOTO COURTESY OF NICOLE CHIA-TIEN

‘Pink Art’ brings together art curation and computer science in a beautiful exhibition which looks at the multiple ways of defining the color pink. between shades and ideas, leaving the viewer simultaneously puzzled and relaxed. In pilot project Accession Number, which ran from Feb. 16 to Aug. 20, the museum played with showcasing its collection through a unique perspective. It was a straightforward way of revealing the data and collection of artwork. Pink Art, however, dives deeper into the theme of exposing

relationships between data, which is what makes this exhibition so fascinating. Last spring, students and faculty in a computer science class wrote five algorithms – PIXEL, CRAYOLA, RECOLOR, TOON and ISLANDIZE – to comb through all 15,000 artworks to find the pigment pink and rank the works by a mean score of “pinkness.” For example, Eduardo Paolozzi’s Fifty-Nine

Varieties of Paradise has the highest composite score of what it means to be pink. Each algorithm takes a different approach to the color pink; one algorithm, CRAYOLA, sees the image through “Crayola-colored” glasses and matches the percentage of pixels with the eleven types of Crayola pink. The other four algorithms repeat the similar process of matching pixels.

Pink presents exactly what it means to combine forces and use resources from a college. It portrays exactly how science and art can work together; however, what is more notable is the exhibition’s specific process of curation. In Pink Art, curation starts and finishes with humans: Humans teach the computers the algorithms, machines find the data and then humans, the curators,

intervene to pick and choose works to create a more pleasurable experience. This exhibition also shows us that algorithms can contradict not only each other, but also our perception of pink. Richard Hawkin’s Special Appearance uses hot pink and fuchsia, yet all five algorithms fail “to recognize the painting as a top 100 pink object.” According to most algorithms, Monica Baer’s L hardly has any pigments, yet the faint smudged pink circle leaves impressions of bubble gum and cotton candy. Even more curiously, in Wesley Lea’s Flowering Shrubs we can clearly point out splashes of baby pink and magenta, yet, again, none of the five algorithms registered pink as a notable color. The science behind this exhibition is supposed to help achieve a more objective outlook, but does it do so successfully? It is hard to tell, especially since everyone’s notion of pink will be different. “We want people to come in and ask why an artwork is considered pink or not ... or think, wow, the museum owns a lot of works that are pink,” Jessica Sentivan, curatorial assistant, said. All these artworks present subjective interpretations, whether colored by “machine, artist or viewer.” The point is, whether or not the algorithm finds high percentages of pink, all of the artworks fit and complement each other. With WCMA’s innovative use of algorithms as a tool in the curatorial process, perhaps we will see other exhibitions come together through a similar process.

Images’ German Film Festival opens with sobering look at exiled writer’s final years By CECELIA MESSBAUER CONTRIBUTING WRITER On Sept. 18, as the first installment of a three-week German film festival, Images Cinema screened a 2016 partial biopic centering on the self-exile of one of the 20th century’s great European writers in response to the ultimately continent-destroying rise of Nazi Germany. Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe, directed by Maria Schrader and starring Josef Hader as the title character, is a film with a remarkably specific scope – its visual storytelling is almost incidental to its character study of the renowned Austrian Jewish novelist. That study narrows to the final years of his life in the midst of the second World War; in so doing, the film provides a haunting portrayal of how even a man of considerable wealth and prestige could suffer enormously by being forced to flee from his home country to escape the Nazi regime. The film strips away any pretense of being a flowing dramatic narrative, instead dividing itself into chapters with title cards that provide the date and location for each vignette of Zweig’s exile. The first of these opens with a still shot of colorful flowers, which are then revealed to be table decorations in a room overflowing with opulence and prestige. In this first setting, Zweig’s character is defined as a culturally revered writer and public figure, even as he has been forced to leave his home behind. When asked to take a stand on the events occurring in Nazi Germany, he refuses, thinking such statements to be perfunctory when he has no power over the situation. While at first he has the opportunity to express this opinion in academic terms at a conference of writers, the reality of his powerlessness becomes increasingly crushing as the film moves on. Zweig lacks not at all in material resources, and his facility with multiple languages means he has little trouble communicating in New York, Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro. He cannot speak his native tongue consistently, however, which serves

as a constant reminder that he is entirely alienated from Europe, the continent that his seminal work The World of Yesterday sought so earnestly to understand and which is in the process of being consumed by one of history’s darkest cataclysms. While conversations with family and newfound friends provide some measure of nominal optimism, the tenuousness of his new life is omnipresent, especially in a difficult exchange with his ex-wife Friderike. That the film positions its finale as a postmortem after his and his wife Lotte’s suicides provides a brutal check against the outward illusions of contentment, including his own naïveté about Brazil being an anti-racist antidote to the genocidal war-zone of the Europe he never saw again. Despite being unable to see beneath the surface of idyllic upper class life in his final home, the pressures of being a refugee prove inescapable. With such morose thematic material to work with, the cast acquits themselves admirably, with Hader and the ensemble carrying a dialogue-heavy screenplay with both the ease of casual conversations and the tension of intractable misery. The film’s laser-focused narrative, while thematically provoking in its own right, is not easily appealing to all audiences – and it does not try to be. While a base level of knowledge about Zweig’s life and work would certainly enhance the experience, the decision to only include the chapters of his life after exile from Europe works in that it grounds the context of Zweig’s illustrious career, whether known to the audience or not, in a profound sense of displacement and loss. That Zweig’s means allow him to escape the Holocaust and that nonelite refugees face much more imminent danger and horrific abuse ensures that this film will not be the most important contribution to an ever-topical subject; however, Farewell to Europe understands the scale on which it operates, and the quiet humility with which it stages a deeply intellectual story provides a clarifying gravitas to one small human vector amidst an atrocity the horrific ramifications of which can never be truly processed.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

'Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe' centers on the theme of isolation in the midst of the Holocaust.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HERCAMPUS.COM

Princess Nokia debuts her album, ‘1992 Deluxe,’ which explores the role of mysticism and childhood.

Princess Nokia’s ‘1992 Deluxe’ reaps success By HANNAH TAGER CONTRIBUTING WRITER On its own, the album 1992 Deluxe delivers catchy tracks and impressive lyrics. 1992 Deluxe’s full allure, however, lies in Destiny Frasqueri, the artist otherwise known as Princess Nokia. The self described “hoodrat” raps and sings about her life growing up on the streets of New York City. The album reads as an impressive autobiography of the artist’s life, as its name, Frasqueri’s birth year, suggests. Frasqueri, who has also been known as Destiny and Wavy Spice, began her career by releasing singles on SoundCloud. After “Bitch I’m Posh” earned rave reviews, she rose to recent fame with more impressive singles, most famously “Tomboy.” Last year, she compiled nine singles to create the 1992 mixtape and the newly-released 1992 Deluxe features remastered versions of these singles, as well as eight fresh tracks. As her first complete album, 1992 Deluxe successfully exudes the magnetic energy of Princess Nokia that has made her career blow up so rapidly. The female, Nuyorican (Puerto Rican and New Yorker) rapper is easy to root for. After her mother’s death from AIDs, Princess Nokia spent her childhood under the guardianship of an abusive foster parent. Then, as a high schooler, Princess Nokia emancipated herself and left home with “$3 and a cell phone with 75-percent battery,” she says in her documentary that came out last year, Destiny. The cell phone, a cheap phone given to low-income earners by the government, lent its name to the rapper, and Destiny Frasqueri became Princess Nokia. Nearly every song on the album speaks of Princess Nokia’s less than ideal childhood. In “Bart Simpson,” she raps, “Trying hard to pay attention/ But I have no real direction/ So I say, ‘yo, fuck this lesson’/ Spark the leaf, my back is stressing/ Who I am and where I'm headed/ Cutting school and acting crazy/ Foster care done got me crazy/ Living with a crazy lady.” In this first verse, Princess Nokia sings of the struggles she faced and her tumultuous school career. Like most songs off the album, however, “Bart Simpson” is, overall, an optimistic track. In the second verse, she raps, “Looking to my future is like looking at the sky/ Inner city orphan with my hand in apple pie/ A liar, a schemer, a cheater, I do it all/ I used to switch schools each coming fall/ I skipped all my classes and/ Still managed to pass

them all/ Reading comics in Forbidden Planet.” Scheming her way through adolescence, Princess Nokia overcame any hardships inhibiting her. Instead, she has embraced her background, creating an album that celebrates the soiled New York streets she grew up on. In an interview with the French music media company The Drone, Princess Nokia called hiphop “a joyful, yet also tragic form of expression.” The genre “comes from poverty, and creating celebration in poverty. And that’s what I do with my music,” she said. In her remarkably reflective album, Princess Nokia is able to highlight the joyous moments of her impoverished childhood. Throughout her childhood, Princess Nokia sought refuge in comic books and video games, as “Bart Simpson” alludes to. She would skim the stacks of Forbidden Planet, a comic store in New York, and play Mortal Kombat. In the most upbeat and memorable song of the album, “Kitana,” Princess Nokia sings of the Mortal Kombat character Kitana, creating an unconventional feminist anthem. Her hook, “Kitana, Kitana, Kitana, Kitana/ Mortal Kombat, I'll see you mañana!/ … I step in this bitch and I do what I want/ I don't give a damn and I don't give a fuck (yeah, hoe!),” is paired with a repetitive, bass-heavy beat, conducive to moshing. Unlike Migos or A$AP Mob shows, girls fill the pit at Princess Nokia shows. In a male-dominated field, Princess Nokia unapologetically asserts herself. In “Tomboy,” Princess Nokia spits lyrics about her unconventionally attractive female body – “my little titties and my phat belly” – over a militaristic, repetitive beat. In “Bart Simpson,” she raps, “I really like Marvel ’cause characters look just like me/ And women don’t have roles that make them look too sexually.” Shattering expectations, the rapper spits lyrics aggressively and speaks of her awkward and unpromising girlhood. Yet Princess Nokia is shameless, and has not changed her comic book-loving, nerdy ways. Unlike many other female artists, she dresses in baggy men’s clothes, as seen on the album cover of 1992 Deluxe. Through its catchy hooks and rebellious lyrics, the album exudes the personality and politics of the quirky artist. Princess Nokia is proud of her unorthodox ways, and, at an event at Brown University this spring, laughingly quoted the Nicki Minaj lyric, ‘I’m the iPhone, you the Nokia.’ “Well, that’s me, definitely the lower grade,” she said. “But I’m alright with that – the Nokia got the Snake game on it, so come on.”

10 ARTS

The Williams Record

September 27, 2017

‘Viceroy’s House’ provides subtext for more humane policy By WENDY HERNANDEZ STAFF WRITER The year is 1947. Britain, having just exited World War II, lacks the manpower to maintain its foothold in an India teeming with civil unrest. In a sharp departure from 300 years of imperial rule, Lord Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville) is appointed as India’s final Viceroy, or de facto president. This is the stage for Gurinder Chadha’s historical drama, Viceroy’s House. The film opens with the arrival of Mountbatten and family; Mountbatten is responsible for facilitating the transition of India from British rule to sovereign-state. Simultaneously, a new servant, Jeet (Manish Dayal), is hired. Mountbatten provides insight to the inner workings and complex politics of pre-partition India. Meanwhile, strong supporting characters, like his wife, daughter and Jeet, prove just as crucial. They serve as our lens to ordinary life. Far from being a unified front, the only thing India’s people seem to have in common is the desire to finally free themselves from 300 years of imperial rule. Through Mountbatten’s statesman meetings, which feature prominent figures like Mahatma Gandhi (Neeraj Kabi) and Jawaharlal Nehru (Tanveer Gani), we become privy to the delicacy of the situation. Gandhi functions as a mouthpiece for secularism. While Nehru advocates for the creation of Muslim-state Pakistan, Gandhi leans toward preserving India as a single entity. It’s difficult to avoid sympathizing

PHOTO COURTESY OF TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

‘Viceroy’s House’ delves into the partition, which was the separation of India into Hindu and Muslim majority countries. with either figure. Gandhi, having weathered most of British imperial rule, is so overjoyed by the possibility of shaking oppression that he remains open to the idea of compromise – so long as it occurs within one nation-state. Nehru, on the other hand, is cognizant of how Muslims are a minority – outnumbered by Hindus “one to four.” He fears that, when India reverts back to a single entity, Muslims might become second-class citizens. Gandhi remains inflexible, this time pushing for constitutional protections and provisions under the new India even though, as Nehru points out, it’d be the “equivalent to the treatment of African Americans in America.” As a statesman, Mountbatten is supposed to remain impartial.

But with all of these conflicting views attempting to steer him in disparate directions, arriving at the logical conclusion becomes increasingly difficult. Where, for example, do good intentions end and alterior motives begin? And why has it suddenly become impossible for people who have co-existed in spite of religious differences for centuries to continue doing the exact same thing? Though Mountbatten is anxious to transfer power and by extension wash his hands of the situation as quickly as possible, his wife Edwina (Gillian Anderson) and Jeet remind him that these are people’s lives he’s dealing with. People’s entire lives will be restructured depending on how arbitrary boundaries are drawn on policy maps.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NPR.ORG.

Jo Ann Beard teaches at Sarah Lawrence College and her work has appeared in ‘The New Yorker.’

Writer Jo Ann Beard delivers engaging reading of her works By ANGELA TANG STAFF WRITER There is something special about reading an autobiography by an author you really admire. However, there is something even more special about listening to that author reading their own words aloud. The fiction reading Jo Ann Beard gave at the Williams Bookstore on Sept. 20 offered that experience for me. Beard, a recipient of a 1997 Whiting Foundation Award, a 2005 Guggenheim Fellow and the author of essays that have appeared in The New Yorker, was unassuming in figure, and did not carry herself in a manner that I expected. She wore a gray sweater, a pair of cargo green pants and a pair of Birkenstock shoes. If I had seen her on Spring Street, I would not have thought that I had just met the woman who, according to the event description, had “achieved cult status among a whole generation of young writers with her essay collection The Boys of My Youth, which came out in 1999.” However, looking around at the room full of people who had shown up for her reading, it was clear that Beard did not need any external validation to affirm her expertise and literary success. She began by reading an essay she had written recently; it centered on the subject of her father’s death, and her feelings and emotions afterwards. She read sitting on a table next to a microphone, but her voice projected across the room in a calm and melodious manner. She spoke about her father’s role in the military, her childhood memories

and her time eating dinners at home. All the while, she tiptoed around the topic of her father’s death – the narrative circled around emotions and feelings rather than any direct action. Beard wove in and out of the linearity of the story, eventually landing on the act of writing the essay itself. She admitted that it would sometimes take her hours to construct one sentence, and explained how she was currently sitting down and sipping tea at her table as she was writing the very words on the page. She then described how she was looking forward to eating her lunch of hummus and carrots and something that she did not prefer to share that she liked to eat. (It was a bag of Pringles, by the way.) The reading was particularly memorable for me because of the way in which Beard performed her writing to the audience. Her reading was exploratory, carrying the audience through both her inner and outer thoughts. She sat with her feet crossed, one over the other, and held her essay on white copy paper in front of her, just below her face so that the members of the audience could still read her expressions as she passed over each word and phrase. Beard would arch her eyebrows in response to the rhetorical questions that she would ask about her past life, and she would offer dramatic pauses after certain pivotal moments. Other times, she would transition from one scene to another, making it purposefully confusing for the audience to try and make sense of the narrative. She ended the event with a reading of one of her favorite poems, Denis Johnson’s “Now.”

While Mountbatten juggles politics, his wife and daughter give us glimpses of India beyond the viceroy’s house. Edwina makes diligent efforts to retract assimilation. At one point, she encourages house staff to nix British recipes in favor of traditional Indian cuisine. Their daughter, Pamela (Lily Travers), even dabbles in some Hindi and becomes an adjunct schoolteacher. However, violent massacres and riots fueled by an “us versus them” mentality disrupt these periods of relative calm. Jeet, who is privy to most of Mountbatten’s policy meetings, stands at the epicenter of the brewing turmoil. Through Jeet, we see how quickly the most seemingly harmonious of relationships dissolve into cel-

ebratory chants that “Pakistan is in the bag” or how a neighborhood party can quickly erupt into a physical altercation. Jeet also has to deal with his strained relationship and feelings for Pamela’s assistant, Aaila (Huma Qureshi). She’s Muslim, he’s Hindu; this cultural barrier is further complicated by a physical one as partition and the separation of Muslim and Hindu majority states draws closer. Fearing that Mountbatten will rush into a hasty decision, Edwina scolds, “This is why you’re not a good chess player,” before cautioning him to “give [partition] time.” Mountbatten’s reluctance is understandable. Realizing that his decision will spark outrage either way, he lets Nehru and

Integrated Programing

Kenny Garrett Quintet

Panel Discussion Joining In: Participatory Performance and Social Activism

Sept 28 - 8 PM

Panelists

Kenny Garrett saxophones

Bryan Doerries Taibi Magar Rebecca Schneider Moderator Walter Johnston Visiting Asst.Professor of English THUR, SEPT 28 5 PM Directing Studio Free

MainStage ‘62 Center featuring

Corcoran Holt bass Rudy Bird Percussion Marcus Baylor drums Vernell Brown piano Free

Reads & Records Thursday, Sept 28, 7–8 PM Coffee, tea, and vinyl recordings set the mood for socializing and study.

Close Look: Pink Art Tuesday, Oct 3, 4 PM We discuss the cultural, psychological, and digital associations of the color pink.

Season Celebration Thursday, Oct 5, 5–8 PM

CenterSeries

Celebrate our fall exhibitions:

Antigone in Ferguson

Pink Art Object Lab The Presence of Absence: Medieval Art and Artifacts

SAT, SEPT 30 8 PM MAINSTAGE $10/$3 (students)

413.597.2425 62center.williams.edu

others cajole him into divvying up India. This in turn sparks a massive refugee crisis, with millions of Muslims and Sikhs displaced. The cramped conditions at refugee camps meant cholera-induced death was commonplace, as were reunions with loved ones. Later on, it’s revealed that Mountbatten’s predecessor and Winston Churchill had drafted plans for partition with similar boundaries. Those who pressured him into accelerating his decision, like Nehru, claim they had to feign ignorance to keep Mountbatten impartial. What seemed to be arbitrary demarcation lines are revealed to be convenient locations for port and oil reserve access. This chess conceit is then extended if we consider how Mountbatten has become the pawn of Churchill and others. He, indelibly associated with the plan, will be who people hold accountable for the unrest in partition’s wake. A common adage is that history is written by the victors, but Mountbatten’s character comments, “There are no victors here.” I’d have to disagree. There’s a certain triumph in Chadha, who is herself the granddaughter of someone who survived displacement after partition, crafting this film. The film doesn’t let the history overshadow the humanity and beautifully underscores the importance of shying away from “one-size-fits-all” domestic policy. Some of these issues remain relevant and, while the slates of imperialism and extortion can’t be wiped clean, the warning bells of failed policy and calls for compassion ring as loudly as ever.

413.597.3146 music.williams.edu

413.597.2429 wcma.williams.edu

September 27, 2017

SPORTS 11

The Williams Record

Alice Lee succeeds Chris Mason as women’s lacrosse head coach By JOELLE TROIANO STAFF WRITER Born in Queens, N.Y., Alice Lee did not take an interest in lacrosse until she moved to Northampton, Mass. Now, barely an hour from where she first learned to love the sport, Lee is taking on her first head coaching role at the College. Lee said that her main focus in coaching is “cultivating a team-before-self mentality” in her players. “I believe that great things can be accomplished when we focus on the greater good and what we can do as a unit,” she said. “I believe in taking care of each other and genuinely investing in people.” This people-first mentality is paramount to her coaching philosophy. Lee began playing lacrosse in a Greenfield, Mass., pickup league during her freshman year of high school. While playing at Central Connecticut State, she spent her summers immersed in lacrosse as well. “I chose to coach at different lacrosse camps during the summertime, instead of pursuing internship opportunities,” she said. “I really enjoyed teaching

the game to the youth and high school players and watching them progress throughout the week. It was incredibly rewarding to see the lightbulbs click in their heads, and to help them overcome those mental and physical roadblocks.” These experiences and sentiments laid the groundwork for Lee’s coaching career, but one experience at the end of a particular summer confirmed that this was the path for her. “At the end of camp, a freshman in high school came up to me and gave me a hug along with a handwritten letter,” she said. “In that letter, she thanked me for helping develop her lacrosse skills and, more importantly, her confidence as a person.” This small gesture from a player reinforced Lee’s decision to pursue a career in coaching. It also influenced her approach to coaching, as she learned the importance of supporting the whole person, not just the player. Consequently, Lee hopes to foster a sense of collaboration and purpose on her teams. “Teamwork is an important aspect in all the different intersections of our lives,” she said.

She often asks her team, “What does it meant to be a good teammate within the lacrosse team, your family and even the Williams community?” Lee still has the letter from that young lacrosse camper; it serves as a reminder of what she deems “the bigger purpose” in her career as a lacrosse coach. Lee also hopes to help her players grow on the field. She tries to tap into the element of competition present in athletic teams. “I believe in competing and having our athletes challenge each other in the weight room, on the sprints and every time they step onto the lacrosse field,” she said. “It’s fun to compete and to challenge the limits.” This healthy competition is intended to help athletes improve their skills both as individual players and as a team unit. Lee has also used her collegiate studies of entrepreneurship and management to her advantage as a coach. In a sport that is constantly adapting to new rules and in a department in which personnel are constantly changing, it is important to embrace new techniques and learn to work with such frequent chang-

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE INTERCOLLEGIATE WOMEN’S LACROSSE COACHES ASSOCIATION

Alice Lee spent two years as an assistant coach at Middlebury, which won an NCAA Championship in 2016. es. In athletics, like business, she must “constantly reassess and evolve business models in order to adapt to changing demands.” “Having a strong set of core values is constant, but outside of that, you have to be adaptable in order to avoid becoming stale,” she said. “The best coaches are

the ones that can stay true to themselves, yet reinvent their techniques and strategies as time goes by.” By continuing to apply what she learned from her professors, Lee hopes to become such a coach. Following Chris Mason, who coached women’s lacrosse at the

College for 33 years, is no easy task, but Lee is looking forward to the season to come with great confidence and expectation. “Our goal is to get better every day and to do so by taking risks, making mistakes, competing and being fearless in the pursuit of that goal,” she said.

Teal completes internship with Houston Rockets Namaste spends summer with ‘Sports Illustrated’ By NINA MCGOWAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Cole Teal ’18 has an undeniable passion for athletics that can be traced back to his very first word as a toddler: “ball.” He played three sports in high school and is a co-captain and guard for the men’s basketball team at the College. He hopes to channel his love for the game toward a career in sports industry. After finishing his sophomore year at the College, Teal spent his summer in Boston

interning for Fenway Sports Management (FSM), a global sports marketing agency that represents the Boston Red Sox. Despite his positive experience with FSM, he had his sights set on a future with the NBA. “I was reaching out to everyone in the Red Sox who had worked in the NBA to begin building connections for the future,” he said. As he entered his junior year, Teal searched for opportunities through TeamWork Online, a website that

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION

Cole Teal ’18 plans to pursue a career in basketball operations.

The Office of Communications recommends ...

Hopkins Forest Fall Festival Celebrate the changing of the season – apple butter and cider production, an active honeybee hive, canopy walkway, shakesplitting and cross-cut saw competition, and refreshments. Shuttle from Paresky.

Saturday, September 30 Noon to 3 p.m. Hopkins Memorial Forest For more events, see: calendar.williams.edu

compiles a variety of available positions in the sports industry. Teal was a final candidate for internships with the NBA League Office, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets. With the help of FSM Senior Vice President of Sales John Clark, who previously worked with the Rockets, Teal landed a position with the Rockets as a corporate development intern. The job included a variety of responsibilities and tasks, and as the only intern in the office, Teal did everything from sporting the mascot costume to collaborating with high-level executives over the summer. As the weeks passed, he gained the respect of those around him through his commitment to learning and maintaining meaningful relationships. “It was a phenomenal opportunity to network and meet people by helping out in all different departments,” he said. After two summers of interning in the sports industry, Teal received a return offer from the Rockets with inside sales, which entails cold-calling individuals for ticket sales. While he is thankful for and excited about the return offer, Teal has a clear vision for his future: basketball operations. Basketball operations involves the management of a team itself, a task that includes scouts and general managers, as well as the director of player personnel. “Now that I have my foot in the door, I have my sights set higher,” Teal said. With this goal in mind, Teal reached out to Will Hardy ’10, head assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs and former basketball standout at the College. When Hardy heard of Teal’s interest in basketball operations, he invited Teal to

the NBA summer league, an opportunity for teams to develop and evaluate prospective players, in Las Vegas this past July. After an exciting and informative weekend of tours and conversations with the Spurs basketball operations staff, Teal prepared to board his flight back to Houston. While standing in the airport, he began a conversation with a man sporting a Rockets tshirt, who turned out to be the director of player personnel for the Rockets. Creating yet another relationship from a friendly and fortunate conversation, he deepened both his connection with the Rockets and his understanding of how to attain his longterm goals. In order to break into basketball operations, Teal hopes to find a position as a video coordinator, which would allow him to demonstrate his basketball IQ. As he works to develop his video editing skills and distinguish himself as a candidate, Teal has already attracted interest from several NBA teams. In addition to his auspicious start in the sports industry, Teal still has one last basketball season as an Eph. He started 31 of 32 games during the 2016-17 season, averaging 9.7 points per game and a team-leading 2.0 3-pointers per game. Last year, the Ephs reached the Final Four of the NCAA Div. III tournament for the eighth time in school history. “It was the coolest basketball experience I’ve ever had,” Teal said. “It’s not a oneperson thing – everyone and everything has to be clicking. It’s a bond we’ll have for the rest of our lives, and we’re so much closer for it.” The team’s success reaffirmed his love for the sport and his decision to pursue a career in basketball operations.

By ALISON ROBEY CONTRIBUTING WRITER Many students at the College are intimately familiar with the year-long struggle to obtain a summer internship that they are not only passionate about, but that is also useful for their career ambitions. Few find as good a match as Mandela Namaste ’19, who spent last summer at Sports Illustrated writing and factchecking for the magazine. Namaste has always loved learning about sports. Since his arrival on campus, he has been extensively involved with both sports coverage and sports trivia. Last February, he competed on Crackle.com’s Sports Jeopardy!, where he achieved second place and earned a prize of $2000. “When I was younger, I developed a fascination with general trivia and facts, so sports trivia was the logical extension of that hobby,” Namaste said. He has continued to build on that passion throughout his life. He spent four years participating in Quiz Bowl-style trivia contests on his high school’s Mastermind team. Sports Jeopardy! was a natural continuation of this pursuit, and he now hopes to continue deploying his extensive knowledge with “trivia night at the Log or [an] appearance on another iteration of Jeopardy.” His love of sports has extended far beyond trivia. At the College, he has been highly involved as a Sports Information assistant, having worked as a men’s soccer writer and a commentator for basketball, softball and baseball. “Mandela is a bright young man who knows what he wants to do in life and is willing to work for it,” Sports Information Director Dick Quinn said. Namaste’s enthusiasm went beyond the purple bubble last summer when Sports Illustrated offered him a summer of long but rewarding hours filled with a

variety of assignments. “[I did a] combination of research, writing for the website, creating graphics for the magazine and much more,” he said. Working with such a company also gave him opportunities to interact with big-name athletes. While Namaste was nervous when talking to famous figures like Abbey D’Agostino, a decorated runner who became an internet sensation during the 2016 Summer Olympics, “every single person I interacted with – from athletes to agents to PR reps – was generous with their time and easy to talk to,” he said. Namaste said his favorite part of the internship was “the unforgettable 24 hours … when both my interview with Chris Boucher was posted and I attended NBA Draft Media Day.” His lifetime aspirations of working in sports media were reaffirmed through this work. “If I end up succeeding as a writer, I’ll always consider that day my ‘welcome to the real world’ moment,” he said. Namaste said he felt that his college coursework prepared him for the job. “The internship was demanding and could require a lot of different skill sets on any given day … not unlike a typical day on campus,” he said. The work provided Namaste with a real-world outlet for his knowledge and enthusiasm, as well as further confirmation of his “love for sportswriting and media.” He left with an even stronger incentive to “try to write as much as I can for whoever will let me” in order to pursue a career in the field after college. “I can’t recommend applying for an internship at Sports Illustrated highly enough,” he said. Namaste is studying abroad in South Africa for the fall semester. Upon his return, he will be welcomed back to several commentary teams and will continue learning about and sharing sports stories.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK “Grant has been playing solid golf all fall, and he is starting to peak at the right time with the NESCAC Championship coming up. He is also a fantastic team leader and always pushes and challenges his teammates, helping them become better golfers.”

“Libby is a scoring machine. She is incredibly deceptive with the ball and manages to beat defenders in the offensive circle. While she is an offensive powerhouse, she is also a great teammate who will do anything to help the team.”

–Head coach Josh Hillman

–Head coach Alix Barrale ’93

GRANT RAFFEL ’17.5

LIBBY DOLAN ’19

MEN’S GOLF PALO ALTO, CALIF.

FIELD HOCKEY BARRINGTON, R.I.

Raffel shot a two-under 69 on Sunday at the Williams Fall Invitational. His two-day total of 143 placed him second individually, as the men finished second to Trinity in the team standings.

Dolan scored just six minutes into Saturday’s loss to Amherst. She added two goals, including the gamewinner, on Sunday versus Bates. Her 10 goals this season make her the top scorer in the NESCAC.

12 SPORTS

The Williams Record

September 27, 2017

Football improves to 2-0 with 24-7 victory over Colby By KEVIN COAKLEY STAFF WRITER After breaking a 13-game losing streak in its season opener, football (2–0) topped Colby 24-7 on Saturday in Waterville, Maine. The team has now won two consecutive games for the first time since 2013. The Mules beat the Ephs 9-7 last season, but the men rolled out a vastly different lineup on Saturday, starting 10 first-years. The game began with Colby receiving the kickoff and marching deep into Williams territory. Just outside of the red zone, the Eph defense forced a fourth down. Colby faked a punt, but an incompletion led to a turnover on downs. The Ephs punted on their first drive, and the Mules started on their own 20. Colby was methodical on its way up the field, sticking to short throws and runs. The Mules marched into the red zone and converted the opportunity into a touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Jack O’Brien to Brandon Miner. The teams traded possessions, being forced to punt due to limited offensive success. The Ephs then began an efficient drive down the field. Mainly with a mixture of long runs by Connor Harris ’18 and completions by quarterback Bobby Maimaron ’21, the men soon threatened to score. After a 14-yard catch by Justin Nelson ’21 that brought the ball to the Colby 1-yard line, Harris punched it in for a score at 7:01 of the second quarter. Building off of the momentum, the Eph defense caused another three-and-out. TJ Rothmann ’21 and Desmond Butler ’19 stopped two plays for short gains, and O’Brien’s attempt for a third-down con-

version was stopped by Jameson DeMarco ’19. Colby then brought out its punter on fourth down, but the snap was muffed and recovered by Christian Dumont ’19. In great field position, the men looked for a second score. The Colby defense, however, was up for the challenge. On fourth and goal from the 3-yard line, head coach Mark Raymond faced a choice between going for a touchdown – risking a turnover – or settling for a field goal. Raymond took the safe option, and Min Kyu Park ’21 sent the 20-yard kick through the uprights. With a 10-7 lead and possession to follow after halftime, the men ran out the clock. Despite a 30-yard kickoff return by Nelson, the men were forced to punt. Adam Regensburg ’18 lofted a 48-yard punt that pinned Colby at its own 4-yard line. The Mules were forced to punt, and a 9-yard return by Frank Stola ’21 gave the Ephs good field position. Maimaron nearly linked up with a wide-open Stola in the end zone, but the Ephs were brought to fourth down. Park came on to attempt another field goal, but the kick sailed wide left from 34 yards out. The Eph defense was unyielding in the third quarter, as it had been for the bulk of the game. The unit had its greatest test towards the end of the quarter when O’Brien led a strong drive with a mix of completions and quarterback runs. The Ephs, however, forced a field goal attempt for the Mules. Yet again, special teams stepped up, and Rothmann blocked Colby’s potential game-tying attempt. After punting in five of its last six possessions, the Eph offense had another opportunity. On

third and long, the men broke out with a big play. Maimaron threw into a crowded area, but Nelson somehow was able to catch the ball for a first down. He fumbled the ball after the catch, but Rashad Morrison ’21 recovered for the Ephs. Harris then took a catch-and-run 13 yards, breaking multiple tackles. To finish it off, Maimaron hit tight end Justin Burke ’21, who found the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown. After Park’s kick, the Ephs led 17-7 with only 3:18 remaining. After a few changes of possession, Colby had one last chance to cut the deficit. However, on first down, linebacker Austin Thomas ’19 sacked O’Brien and forced a fumble. Picking it up in stride, tri-captain Christopher Hattar ’18 returned the fumble 13 yards for a touchdown, extending the lead to 24-7, the final score. The two teams were almost identically productive on offense, with the Ephs racking up 248 total yards to the Mules’ 241. Maimaron completed 16 of 29 passes on the day for 166 yards and a touchdown, while O’Brien was 24 of 43, with 129 yards and a touchdown. O’Brien was an aggressive runner, but the Eph defense limited him to only 36 yards on 22 rushes. Harris rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, while Colby’s Jake Schwern gained 71 yards on 15 attempts. Nelson led all receivers with 98 yards on six catches, and Ethan Smith paced the Mules with 49 yards on eight receptions. Rothmann, NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week, had 19 tackles, including two for a loss. Jarrett Wesner ’21 had 14 tackles, Ben Anthony ’20 had 12 and Luke Apuzzi ’20 had nine. DeMarco and Thomas had 1.5 sacks each. Colby’s

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION

Safety Luke Apuzzi ’20 recorded nine tackles and a pass breakup in Saturday’s 24-7 win over Colby. Don Vivian had 12 tackles, including a tackle for loss and a forced fumble. Regensburg was named NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week. He finished with seven punts, averaging 42.7 yards

per punt. All five of his secondhalf punts placed Colby inside its 20-yard line. Raymond said he was pleased with his team’s performance on Saturday. “I’m very proud of the effort we showed,”

he said. “We got contributions from a lot of people, especially in the most critical points in the game.” The men face a tough matchup on Saturday against Trinity, last year’s NESCAC champion.

Men’s tennis tops Springfield, Vassar Women’s soccer beats Amherst, ties Bates without dropping a set in first week By DANNY JIN SPORTS EDITOR

By ALEX OKINAKA CONTRIBUTING WRITER Men’s tennis (2–0) began its fall season last week with 9-0 wins over Springfield and Vassar. The men defeated Vassar in a dual match on Friday at home without dropping a single match. Alex Taylor ’20 and tricaptain Brian Grodecki ’18 began the action with an 8-3 victory over their opponents. Ben Lebowitz ’20 and Arturo Kam ’21 followed suit with an 8-2 triumph of their own. To round out the doubles contests, Austin Barr ’21 and Calvin Chung ’21 won 8-2. In singles, Grodecki won 6-2, 7-6 (4) at the No. 1 spot. Tri-captain Sachin Raghavan ’18 kept the ball

rolling with a 6-2, 6-3 win. Barr, Chung and Taylor each added victories, and Ananth Raghavan ’20 completed the shutout with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 sweep. Before their contest against Vassar on Friday, the men kicked off their season on Sept. 20 with a 9-0 home victory over Springfield. Barr and Chung earned their first collegiate victory with an 8-2 doubles win. Kam and Lebowitz mirrored their success with an 8-0 victory. To finish the doubles sweep, Taylor and Grodecki shut out their opponents 8-0. Chung, Barr and Kam kept the ball rolling with consecutive 6-0, 6-0 sweeps in singles. Taylor and S. Raghavan dispatched their opponents, and Grodecki won a hardfought battle against Spring-

field’s Alex Romaine, with a score of 6-2, 7-6 (5). Head coach Dan Greenberg ’08 commented on the team’s impressive first week of matches. “We had a great opening,” he said. “We are a young team, but the players competed well. The first-years are jumping in smoothly, and our seniors and upperclassmen are setting a great example of how we want to compete.” The Ephs have now completed the only two dual matches of the abbreviated fall season. They will travel to Middlebury, Vt., next weekend to compete at the ITA Regional Tournament. The seeded tournament begins on Friday and will run throughout the weekend, with the final matches played on Sunday.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION

Arturo Kam ’21 won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 singles in the men’s season-opening win over Springfield.

Women’s soccer (6–0–1, 5–0–1 in the NESCAC) continued its unbeaten start to the season, playing two home games last weekend on Cole Field. The women edged archrival Amherst 3-2 in a tight contest on Saturday and battled Bates to a 1-1 draw on Sunday. In the first half of Sunday’s game against Bates, both teams played with an urgency that led to a host of chances. In the 25th minute, Georgia Lord ’21 had a shot from the edge of the box that was cleared near the post by Bates defender MacKenzie Kelly. The Bobcats then went on the attack, and a corner kick led to a header for Cassidy McCarns that went wide. A dangerous sequence for Bates in the 29th minute nearly led to a breakthrough. A cross connected with Hannah Behringer in the penalty area, and Behringer ricocheted a shot off the right post. The ball was sent back in, and Behringer had another shot, saved brilliantly by Olivia Barnhill ’19. In the 37th minute, Ilana Albert ’21 lofted an inviting ball for Erika Jung ’20 in the box, but Bates goalkeeper Sarah McCarthy punched the ball out. The visitors went up 1-0 in the 40th minute. Bates forward Caroline Bogue laid the ball off for Olivia Amdur, who took a touch around a defender and hit a wonder strike from 25 yards out. The powerful shot sailed in just beneath the crossbar. The score at halftime was 1-0 Bobcats, and the Ephs went into the break behind for the first time this season. Williams held a 7-6 advantage in shots and a 6-2 edge in corners in the first 45 minutes. In the 53rd minute, the Ephs equalized. Natasha Albaneze ’18 traded passes with Sarah Scire ’20 from a corner kick, and Albaneze sent a ball in that found its way to Victoria Laino ’21 in the box. Laino knocked the ball into the net, scoring for the second straight day. Williams created more opportunities in the latter part of the half, but the Bates back line and goalkeeper Sarah McCarthy stood strong. McCarthy saved a shot from Scire in the 84th minute and one from Alison Lu ’20 in the 88th minute to send the game to extra time. The Ephs continued to threaten in the extra period. In the 91st

minute, Natalie Turner-Wyatt ’19 won the ball on the left side and fed Kelly, who dodged defenders to get a shot on net. Lord forced another save from McCarthy shortly thereafter, when she headed a free kick toward goal. One of the best chances for a decider came in the 99th minute, when a Bobcat handball set up a free kick from just outside the box. Lu slid onto a delivery from Albaneze, but McCarthy was there to make the save. The Ephs kept the pace quick in the second overtime period, and Lauren Brown ’19 had a shot go just wide into the side netting. Bates forward So Kim sent a shot on goal in the 106th minute, but Barnhill dealt with the threat. After extra time, the game finished at a 1-1 tie. Williams commanded a 24-8 advantage in shots and an 11-2 edge in corners. The Ephs enjoyed most of the possession after the first half, but the Bobcats kept the ball out of the net. McCarthy made six saves, while Barnhill had three. “We didn’t finish today,” head coach Michelyne Pinard said. “That was the key. If we finish, it’s a different game. That’s soccer, though, and we’ll keep working. We need to take shots when we get them. We can’t always wait for the perfect final ball.” Pinard said she liked her team’s response to the first-half deficit but wishes the players could start the game at that level. “Our tempo was faster after they scored,” she said. “I’m hoping we can start with that tempo and do that for 90 minutes or 110 minutes. That would give us a better chance to win.” On Saturday, the women beat archrival Amherst 3-2. The game was closely contested from the kickoff, and the first half saw a rapid pace of play. The home side opened the scoring in the fourth minute. On the counterattack, Laino picked out Scire on the left wing. Scire played a pass through to Albaneze in the penalty area, and Albaneze beat Amherst goalkeeper Chelsea Cutler to the ball. Albaneze, the previous week’s NESCAC Player of the Week, tapped in for her third goal in as many games. Amherst, last year’s NESCAC champion, equalized in the 15th minute. A long ball forced Barnhill to come off her line and clear. The ball fell to Amherst forward Hayley Roy, who passed to Rubii Tamen at the edge of the box, and Tamen’s shot found its way into the net.

Laino broke the tie in the 25th minute, scoring her first collegiate goal. A beautiful ball from Scire found Laino in the box, and the first-year volleyed in a left-footed shot to make it 2-1 Ephs. Tri-captain Evan Gancedo ’18 had a chance in the 40th minute. Madison Feeney ’19 played a long ball to Gancedo in the box, but Cutler made a big save for Amherst. Kristina Alvarado ’19 brought the lead to 3-1 just before halftime. In the 41st minute, a free kick from Mikayla Kappes ’21 bounced off a defender to Alvarado, who converted from just outside the six-yard box. Barnhill and Cutler each finished the first half with a save, and the Ephs had a 7-5 advantage in shots at the break. Chances were fewer in the second half, with the pace of play diminished. The visitors had the bulk of the possession in the final 45 minutes as the Ephs looked to maintain their lead. The Ephs had a chance for an insurance goal in the 65th minute. Alvarado hit Albert on a run into the box. Cutler, however, stepped up to make a key oneon-one save. The Mammoths cut the deficit to one in the 81st minute. Delancey King sent in a corner, and Claire Nam headed a shot on goal. Barnhill made the save on Nam, but Guzzi was there to capitalize on the rebound, scoring her conference-leading fifth goal. Down 3-2 in the final 10 minutes, the Mammoths sent players forward, ramping up the pressure. Amherst’s best chance at an equalizer came in the 84th minute when Guzzi sent a shot into the side netting. The final whistle blew with the Eph lead intact. The Mammoths finished with a 16-11 advantage in shots and a 6-3 edge in corners. Barnhill made five saves, and Cutler had two for Amherst. “3-2 is a very typical AmherstWilliams score,” Pinard said. “It’s always a high-flying game, and that’s what it was today.” “I’m very pleased with our conversion rate this year and certainly today,” she said. “That helped us sneak this one out. Possession-wise, we could have done a better job. They put a lot of pressure on, so it felt like we didn’t have time and space.” The women will return to Cole Field on Saturday to host Connecticut College at noon.