Press Record

In the shadows of Griffin Hall, CSS dispatch officer Paul Oleskiewicz led a ghost hunt for over 30 students, faculty, and staff at the College on Sunday. As a leader of the Northern Berkshire Paranormal Research Group — a local organization that performs paranormal investigations throughout the region — Oleskiewicz has many hair-raising tales and personally recorded audio clips to prove it. In an interview with Press Record, he shared his stories from the field.

This week on Press Record, designer, geologist, and Academic Director of the Stanford d.school, Carissa Carter '01, discusses her new book, Assembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future. Assistant Professor of Statistics Anna Neufeld ’18 also shares her experience returning to teach at the College as well as insights into her scholarship.”

The return of the Press Record podcast includes interviews with music faculty at the College to celebrate 25 years of their chamber players ensemble. The podcast also features an interview with Visiting Professor of Africana Studies Kristen Calhoun, who discusses her playwright craft, the political significance of the black theatre, and more.

This week on Press Record, hear from Nahier Tafere '26 on her reflections on socioeconomic class at the College. Inspired by Claiming Williams panel "Why are you jealous of my book grant?": Sociooeconomic Class at Williams," Pat Klugman, Section Editor for Press Record, and Nahier Tafere have a more casual conversation about navigating class at Williams.

This week on Press Record, we speak with senior Class Speaker Taylor Braswell and Class Gardener Lydia Von Shwanenfluegel on their roles at graduation. We also host Professor Nelly Rosario, professor of Latino/a Studies, for a conversation about her work in progress the novel How the Medicines Go Down.

This week, Press Record goes behind the bar at Goodrich, Williams' student-run coffee shop. You'll hear from audio from baristas behind the bar and patrons about their favorite drinks and attraction to the cafe. Student managers also discuss how Goodrich runs since being closed during the early portion of the pandemic and what makes the student-run cafe special.

This special episode marks our second edition of Track Record, a mini-series centering the unique, powerful, and often overlooked extracurricular experiences of Williams students. This week, we talk to Beza Lulseged '25 who took inspiration from late food critic Jonathan Gold and visited restaurants he popularized and some of her childhood favorites during Winter Study. She talks local hot dog shops, uncomfortable fine dining experiences, the importance of eating with others, and the legacy of Gold’s attention to casual dining. 

This week, Press Record delves into the world of WCFM. In interviews with students, we learn about WCFM's new fuller-than-ever schedule, the joys of being a radio DJ, the new group Open Decks, and what WCFM hopes to achieve on campus.

This special episode marks our first edition of Track Record, a mini-series centering the unique, powerful, and often overlooked extracurricular experiences of Williams students. This week, we talk to Sam Youngwood '25 who worked at Flocons de Sel, a three Michelin star restaurant, in Megeve, France during Winter Study. He talks food, the exquisitely choregraphed fine dining, spiky celery, his experience with French culture, and how the opportunity impacted his view of the future. 

This week on Press Record we talked to two professors, Joe Cruz '91 and AnneMarie McClain '09. Professor Cruz's classroom philosophy involves drawing students into discussions and relies on a blind grading system, which mitigates bias but also requires that students actively seek out help from him. Professor McClain was interviewed as part of our Prof Pod series, discussing her research on the usage of media by Black families to talk about race with their children. 

In our first episode of the semester, Press Record speaks to student who were off-campus––in the U.S. and abroad––for winter study. Hear stories of ancient temples, exploding water heaters, and mind-boggling sandwiches.

This week on Press Record, you’ll hear from student bands, some of whom performed at WCFM’s Coverchella a couple of weeks ago. They spoke about the formation of their bands, the sense of community they find outside of school structured music opportunities, an emphasis on fun, and the importance of bringing live music to the social scene on campus. This is our last episode of 2022! Thank you for listening and we’ll be back in January. 

This week on Press Record, we give a behind-the-scenes look at the students who play the bells. Then, you'll hear from the students who lead Asian American Students in Action.

This week, Press Record's episode is food-themed! Exploring the sense of community and comfort from the home-style Log Lunch, you'll hear from different visitors to the weekly meal and the students behind the counter. You'll also hear from dining staff about the surprising story behind the music that plays throughout Paresky. Staff played their own music until about a year ago, when administrators took over with a centralized sound system.

This week on Press Record, you'll hear a selection of stories from three seniors who were abroad this spring. They discussed everything from exploring the Scottish countryside to being pickpocketed to having a long-winded and culturally illuminating night out. Mountain Day occurred last Friday, so the Press Record staff collected sounds and experiences of the glorious day of no classes and enjoying the outdoors. 

This week on Press Record, you'll hear from leaders and first-years reflecting on their experiences of different EphVentures. There's a WOOLF trip with an unexpected twist, fond memories of community-building, and, at the very end of the episode, three seniors sharing their impressions of campus after returning from semesters abroad.

This week on Press Record, the podcast talks to students old and new about their college experiences. At the end of the year, we're looking back at our time in Williams and checking in. We've grown and changed; here are some of our stories. 

This special edition of Press Record follows members of the podcast team while we look at our college admissions files. From our expectations beforehand, the actual experience of reading it, to takeaways and discussion afterwards, you’ll get to hear it all! We also interviewed Sulgi Lim ’06, Director of Admissions, and Lance Ledet ’21, Admissions Counselor, about the admissions process. We also talked to Connor Middleton ’22 about his thoughts on the College’s new all-grant financial aid policy.

This week, Press Record talks to current and founding members of the college's step team, Sankofa. Members present and past speak to the supportive, challenging, and fun space that Sankofa has become over its 25 years of existence--you'll even get to hear some step. 

This week on Press Record, the podcast talks to transfer students, pre-frosh, a student admissions ambassador, and members of the Record board about how we end up at Williams, why we do so, and what happens right after we get here.