No posts!

You can still watch the bar to the right for more consistent updates of links, but I simply lack the time and intellectual firepower to write anything worth publishing. Sorry! (I'll probably write more during Spring Break)

Great Mashup

Best of the Record - 3 March 2010

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.

My Resume

William L. Slack

Best of the Record - 24 Febuary 2010

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.

Student Aims to Play Golf Across US, Make Williams Golf Team

By Williams Sports Info
12:40PM / Wednesday, February 24, 2010

50 MILES EAST OF HOUSTON, TX -- Dylan Dethier ‘14 is a Williamstown, Massachusetts resident who has been admitted to Williams College, but has deferred for a year so he can travel the 48 contiguous states and play a round of golf in each in the hopes of making the Williams team next fall.

Along the way Dylan has been compiling a blog, Eighteen in America, [http://eighteeninamerica.blogspot.com/] which he may turn into a book at the end of his trek.

Dylan Dethier appears on Page 3.0 on Page 3C in the February 24th edition of USA Today under Blogging “Golfer hopes saga lands him on right course.”

[...]

I think the idea of traveling is a good one, period. Maybe I should play a round sometime; I've never been on a golf course before.

study break.

Date:	Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:35:35 -0500	7 of 10920
From:	10ebb(at)williams.edu
Subject:	study break.
To:	WILLIAMS-STUDENTS@williams.edu

All-campus snowball fight.  Paresky Lawn.  11pm.  Tonight.

Lizzy and Mike
CC Co-Presidents

PS Vote in the CC elections beginning tomorrow!

A 5 Year Old on 911

Maybe the cutest and greatest thing ever:

Let it Snow?

It's snowing.

A lot.

I'd waited for about three weeks for some proper tape of snow to send off for a project, but now that it's here, I'm too busy to shoot it, and both of my tapes are in the mail. We're crossing into that time at Williams when written work starts being due - there are essays to write, problem sets to solve (and grade), and a College Council election.

While I wish that every race was being contested, I'm especially glad that we have multiple candidates for the Co-President position. While I think Manny and If have literally been preparing for this for over a year, I'm glad that voters will have a real choice. My ra-ra WSO post after the jump.

When it comes down to it....

One of the experiences at Williams that I will value most is the opportunity to be the person at the other end of the hiring table. Our student body is filled with huge numbers of leaders, and one of the more difficult tasks is sometimes discerning who is to take our place in the coming years.

The great revelation, which can be applied to national politics, is that there is a huge, and even insurmountable, difference between those who are hiring, and those who are being hired. My goal in helping to select those to ring the Thompson bells is to get the best group possible; complete equity isn't nearly as much of a priority as getting the best group.

That doesn't mean that I won't do this fairly (indeed, I'll be reading the applications blind), but it does mean that  I'll know a lot more about the other side of the interviewing table the next time I want a job. That's experience that I can truly value.

More on Susie....

Per Jr. Mom's request:

The map at right is an excerpt of an actual map of campus. There aren't too many of them, but unfortunately, the website's map isn't exactly to scale. You can see the President's house at the top, just over Route 2, and proceeding south from there, one goes over West, the Science Center, Morley Circle (home of the MCC, BSU, QSU, etc), Doughty co-op, and finally, at the very bottom, to Susie Hopkins house.

That it's a little off the beaten path is a bit of an understatement, but with a campus as small as Williams's, that means Paresky is less than a 1/2 mile away by foot. In addition, you're very close to Tunnel City and Spring Street. It's nothing difficult, especially by bike, and although the contour lines are hard to see, Susie's on a nice little hill with a great view up campus.

The real genius of Susie, however, is all found in the floor plan (PDF). As you can see, the whole house holds but 9 residents, and there's a giant kitchen with a breakfast nook, and a magnificent pantry.

An added bonus is in our good pick # and the rooms my group got. I'll almost certainly be in 201, which has a real closet (gasp), access to the private porch/balcony that looks out over the woods, and might also be in the Top 10 list for largest rooms on campus.

Add in a large living/common room, a working fireplace w/ mantle, a nice staircase, two fridges (maybe we'll unplug one and save energy?), great housemates, and lots of friends coming to cook without the interruptions in dorms, and you have a great place to spend your last year. How's that do it?

PS: One interesting pattern I noticed: Last year, Susie had at least two folks who were at WEPO my freshman year, and this year, there are also two WEPOers living in Susie (at least). Next year, I have two WEPOers living with me in the house. The chances of this happening have to be absolutely minuscule, but that's life, I suppose.

Getting Closer to Star Wars.....