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NRC final report outlines short-term adjustments - By Katy Gathright
The recommendations in the report provide ways for the College to work within the framework of the current neighborhood system. After spring break, the NRC plans to release part two of the report, which will take a broader look at residential questions that require further exploration. Part one recommends gender-neutral housing, a quiet housing option and the institution of a neighborhood affiliation lottery for all members of the Class of 2014. Its other recommendations include removing room draw penalties for students who switch neighborhoods, reinforcing the Baxter Fellows program, changing the makeup of Neighborhood Governance Boards (NGBs), incorporating neighborhood representatives into the structure of All-Campus Entertainment (ACE) and investigating the co-op system.
Will they bring us together? - By Katrina Tulla
Without such communication between the social planners on campus, the Williams community has suffered because, for instance, on many occasions different events have been taking place at the same time, while there have been whole weekends without major events in sight. In addition, there have been occasions when ACE and the neighborhoods were not able to make certain events happen due to a lack of funds. These problems could be effectively resolved through the resolutions stated in the report. Once it is clear what role the NGBs and ACE should have on campus, each institution would be able to return to its original responsibilities. The neighborhoods could focus on housing and making their residents happy, while ACE could reassume its traditional role of an all-campus entertainer.
A day in Williams history: the epic Cane Rush of 1910 - By Heath Goldman
Apparently, the Cane Rush was an intensely competitive game meant to amp up rivalry between first-years and sophomores. Freshmen had to hide a bundle of canes off-campus and then carry them back onto campus, fending off the sophomores who made every attempt to steal the canes. The canes, be assured, were not ordinary. In fact, the 1910 canes were ordered all the way from a New York City firm during Thanksgiving – four months before the Cane Rush occurred. A certain Mrs. Arthur Moody agreed to hide the canes in her house, which was “on the first branch road beyond the railway track.” And that year’s freshmen were especially sneaky, ordering a second set of fake canes that arrived on the same day in a flashy trunk. So the plot unfolded, masterminded by a special committee of elected freshman, and to go along with the sneaky fake canes, a fake committee gave false information to sophomore spies. [...]
Their journey was arduous enough to put any proud sunrise-hiker or Mountain Day champion to shame: The men leaped over a fence to the embankment of Hemlock Brook, hastily forded the brook, cut to the left over the mountain back of Northwest Hill, crossed the Hoosick River, reached Mrs. Moody’s house but met pickets, retreated half a mile, crawled along a railroad embankment for a mile, boarded a passing freight train and finally jumped off the train onto a bridge near Mrs. Moody’s house at 5 a.m.
The circle game - By Isabel Griffin-Smith
The exceptional sense of cooperation, support and enthusiasm across campus facilitates our ability to pursue our ideals. The ways in which we improve the world can also be achieved by simple activities that we can build into our everyday routines. Williams has many avenues to do this, including becoming a member of the Lehman Council, the Thursday Night Group, Wraps or Catalyst, taking part in the community service work advertised around the campus or tutoring at Hancock Elementary School. These commitments form a special bond with the community and transform people’s lives. But you cannot form this connection to the community unless you make the initial effort to show your interest in helping others.
The greatest lesson that I took from this experience is the realization that it is always worth pursuing your ambitions. It’s tempting to avoid committing yourself to something because you feel inexperienced or unsure about how it will turn out, but if you want to aim high it is clear that Williams College has the facilities and the people to help you achieve your goals.
And I've got an
op-ed in this edition as well:
Ultimately, no one knows what’s wrong with your experience at Williams but you. We walk around in a myth of “effortless perfection,” pretending that everything is wonderful for us and Williams, but there are issues everywhere. All of us struggle. If you feel that no one is responding to what aggrieves you, do something about it. In every moment I’ve reached out to change something at Williams, I’ve either been successful or come away understanding what makes my idea difficult – I’ve yet to be discouraged or given the cold shoulder.
On this campus, more than anywhere I’ve ever been, anyone can make change. There’s nothing to stop you but your fear: Go change your Williams for the better.
College Council presidential candidates explain primary goals - By Zach Evans
Foster and Leon
Foster and Leon are running on a platform of creativity, innovation and fresh perspective. If elected, they aim to alter the way CC interacts with the campus at large and focus on achieving smaller, short-term goals that affect the campus as a whole.
“There is a lot of uneasiness about the upcoming transitions and instead of stable, business-as-usual leadership, CC needs to be creative and fresh,” Foster said. “It can’t stop its job of improving student life.” He added that CC needs to be “fun and inspiring and offset the negativity we feel during the economic crisis.”
The candidates believe that their experience at the College has prepared them to become the next CC co-presidents. “I have personally lived and worked at Williams outside of CC and committees – we’ve lived as Williams students,” Foster said. “We would be a fresh set of eyes to address student concerns that have not been traditionally heard.”
Inyang and Yekutiel
Yekutiel and Inyang base their platform on strong and experienced leadership during a time of transition and the difficult economic climate. The candidates presented three pillars as their core platform: capable student-administration mediation, reutilization of underused spaces and the revitalization of older College traditions and history to foster a sense of belonging.
Citing their leadership roles in a variety of capacities, Yekutiel and Inyang focused on their collective ability to serve as capable student liaisons to the administration and to ensure that student voices remain heard through changes in College administration, the residential system and financial policies.
“Our experience over the last two years in many campus organizations will allow us to reach out to the student body in a unique way,” Yekutiel said. “We will make sure we are a proactive and transparent organization. Having capable student liaisons is extremely important at this point of transition. The first thing we promise is to be those leaders.”
WCF resolves to draft constitution - By Matthew Piltch - Executive Editor
As discussions regarding the separation of Athletes’ Bible Study (ABS) from Williams Christian Fellowship (WCF) have continued over the last week, WCF has begun the process of formulating a constitution to direct the group in the future. [...]
Among the possibilities for WCF are division into several groups or an end to WCF’s affiliation with InterVarsity, a non-profit that works with Christian groups on campuses nationwide. Another option is that the group may continue its affiliation with InterVarsity while enacting a constitution that accommodates both the College’s non-discrimination policy and InterVarsity’s stance that the only appropriate context for any sexual interaction is marriage between a man and a woman.
WCF members are currently working to develop a constitution that abides by the College policy and allows students to openly discuss their religious beliefs. At an all-day retreat on Saturday, WCF members and InterVarsity staff member Matt Mascioli will discuss the constitution, as well as WCF’s affiliation with InterVarsity and other options for WCF going forward.
Purple Politics - By Chris Fox
There is no denying that If and Manny are experienced. Both have been working hard since they got to campus, and even if they lose you will see both of them continue working to better our community. If and Manny consume everything this college has to offer, and like a Purple Cow, have four times the stomach for it and reliably produce milk … I mean results.
On the other hand, Mike and Jon are looking to bring “A Million Little Changes” to Williams College. They embrace technology, making YouTube videos for CC, and are looking to have press conferences. In times of economic crisis they turn to FDR (to advocate “fireside chats,” not spending). They are the enthusiastic underdog. They command a crowd and sound great (except when they’re being Waterstreeters). Sound familiar?
Despite their respective advantages, when asked about Adam Falk’s first year or the neighborhood system by the moderator, both tickets dodged the questions. Instead they repeated mantras. And you can’t fault them for it. We exist in a world where politicians repeat talking points instead of solving problems, and while Sunday’s debate was not the best venue for the necessary level of discussion, what I saw felt more like a product of the time we live in than of the time allotted. The problems of modern campaign culture have made their way into our pristine purple bubble, and they will remain because we know what wins elections.
Worth their weight - By Thammina Songkaeo
“How much sense does it make that a college somewhere in America is giving some international girl thousands and thousands of dollars with no strings attached?” was the way she posed the question.
As a whirlpool of flashbacks whizzed through my mind, my answer was, “All the sense in the world.” My thoughts revisited the many students I had met while living, studying, or traveling in Uganda, Rwanda, Thailand, India, China, Malaysia and Singapore throughout high school and college. I still remember them asking me where they were supposed to go after high school ended. The beads of sweat emanating from their hard-working, yet penniless bodies, some walking on dirt roads with no shoes, some studying in regions regenerating from decades of civil wars, or some in cities but still poor, bubbled in my nostrils again. The beads of sweat in those poorer regions didn’t look or smell any differently from those beads of sweat that permeated my classroom in Beverly Hills. Those students were no different. They were no different at all.
Claiming Williams elicits reactions - By Taylor Bundy
Lynch also emphasized the fact that Claiming Williams is only the beginning, only a catalyst for discussion on campus. “I think the College has made a lot of strides to institutionally change this place, but I think the culture has not yet changed,” Lynch said. “We’re not attempting to be a panacea for this community. Claiming Williams has not made allies out of everybody,” she said, adding that part of change is up to the individual.
Growing socioeconomic diversity contributes to subtle inequalities - By Yue-Yi Hwa and Matthew Piltch
When the Record spoke to a number of students about their individual experiences with class on campus, most agreed that socioeconomic status is not obtrusive in the College’s rural, self-contained campus. However, many said that it is visible in “little things”: vacation plans, work study, purchasing textbooks, possessions in dorm rooms and choices about eating out at restaurants. “You’re not always conscious of it,” said Mike Nelson ’12. “But something’ll happen and you’ll think: This person has a lot more money than I do.”
Passive activism - By Mariah Clegg '12
However, the members of these groups and other potential activists on campus are held back by two forces: the will of the apathetic who do whatever suits their shallow self-interest and the persuasion of postmodern thought, which holds that all ideas are relative and should be honored without scrutiny. These two impediments cripple the young activists’ will to make change.
While postmodern relativism and apathy are not novel to our generation, they do appear to be our zeitgeist. One could almost construe that activism has been reduced to this: refusing to take a stance for fear of ostracizing others and of being wrong, and appeasing the masses with convenient protests that do not tax the mind, the soul or the heart. We give everyone a pat on the back for having good intentions, regardless of whether or not they follow through. Look at the recent BSU sit-in. It suggested that we commemorate past activists by holding a sit-in in which every individual considers his or her own issue, silently, without trying create dialogue with anyone else. We’re supposed to feel proud of ourselves for such minimal acts.
Prying into privileged places, secret spaces - By Heath Goldman
Once Narver and Lauber found the elusive entrances, they had to perform a series of gymnastics to actually enter. “I would use some combination of keys, credit cards and butter knives to pull back the latches,” Lauber said. One of the main entrances was right under the nose of security in the basement of Hopkins Hall. “You had to tiptoe past the old retired police officer sitting on his chair asleep. No fancy glassed-in security station back then,” Lauber said. “There was a hole in the ground and you climbed down a ladder that took you right into the steam tunnels.” According to Lauber, they used their privileged knowledge for nighttime revelry: “A party would end late, and we’d be like, who wants to go skinny-dipping?”
According to Pete Haig, foreman of Facilities’ mechanical trades shop, the real-deal, licensed men who enter the tunnels nowadays to do things like turn on the steam in late September must take many safety precautions before entering. “You have to take out a permit, have someone stand in a tunnel entrance with a break in radio and wear a monitor so you can keep track of oxygen and carbon monoxide levels,” Haig said. Nonetheless, he admitted that the tunnels are pretty cool. “You can walk from the heating plant to Greylock dining in one direction, to the CDE in another direction, to Poker flats in another and to Sawyer library in still another. That’s sure a darn long way underground.”
Students mobilize in Hardy for LGBTQ support - By Laura Corona
In a flood of all-campus e-mails and WSO posts, members of the campus community have learned over the last week of the vandalism and homophobic bias incident that took place in Mission over Thanksgiving break. Since the incident, members of the student body have occupied Hardy House in an act designed to draw attention and pressure the administration to give greater recognition to issues surrounding homophobia and institutional support on campus.
The silent majority - By David Michael '13
Almost the entire campus disapproves of the vandalism and graffiti perpetrated in Dennett nearly two weeks ago, even if only at the level that writing on a wall with sharpies is just destructive behavior. Some, more than others, are upset at the homophobic slur written on the entry’s wall.
Although the hurt is very understandable, a response that adds to the factionalization of our already fractious Williams community is counterproductive. The impulsive reaction would be to immediately try to blame a perceived “other” – members of the majority – and assume antagonism on behalf of this large portion of the student body. If this is done, then there arises a false aggressor-victim paradigm that leaves allies in the woodwork uncomfortable with speaking out.
Restoring our academic integrity - By Lawrence Levien '68
Four years at Williams produces a lifetime of learning. Forty years past graduation, I can affirm that seemingly inane platitude with real life experience. We cannot allow one man’s folly to tarnish that truth, and by acting quickly and decisively we will not. Far more injurious than the fraud itself is the inevitable human tendency to ignore it or, worse still, cover it up. We have Richard Nixon, even before Martha Stewart, to prove that point. And closer to our intellectual home, the current furor over the subversion of legitimate science in the climate dialogue illustrates that academics and their institutions are no more virtuous and self-regulated than the rest of us. Williams need be better.
One in 2000 - By Adam Century
I saw you in the parade today – how’s life in the marching band?
Will Harron: Ah, the Mucho Macho Moocow Military Marching Band. When I told the director that I was doing this, he told me that every time I say, “Mucho Macho Moocow Military Marching band” he’d buy me a slice of pizza. I’m shooting for a whole pie. Mucho Macho Moocow Military Marching Band. Three slices. Hold on, what was the original question?
