Williams College | Admission | Explore | Student Life

Percent of first-year students who consider it “important to influence the political structure”
58
Students participating in community service projects each year (many of which include tutoring and mentoring)
500+
Williams faculty and administrative committees/those on which students have full vote and voice
17/12
Percent of first-year students who did volunteer work in high school
91
Percent of first-year students who consider it "very important" to keep up with politics
59
Number of continuing service projects overseen by the student umbrella organization The Lehman Community Service Council
40+
Number of Williams students who tutor in the America Reads Challenge program in local elementary schools annually
~75
Number of religious denominations represented on campus
27
Number of campus cultural organizations
25
Endowment for Alumni Internship Fund, used to provide 50 students annually $2,600 each to be used to support eight weeks of summer internship work
$3,000,000
Number of Mead Endowment Grants/Loans given annually to support public sector/government internships
25
Amount raised by the Hurricane Relief Coalition – formed in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by members of the Williams College community – in a single week
$16,000
Percent of first-year students who participate in the “Where Am I?!” program, which introduces the entering class to the region, its issues and history, and our neighbors, during three of their first days at college
25

Quick Links

At Williams, the bulk of learning is done beyond the borders of the classroom; the exchange of ideas is not confined to a given organization’s meetings or events. Political debate (sometimes heated, almost always respectful) is commonplace in our dorms, athletic fields and dining halls. We attract bright students with a strong interest in expanding their understanding of the world, its people, its politics and its many complexities.

Speak Out!

The level of discourse at Williams is made all the richer by an appreciation for what forms others’ opinions. A willingness to step beyond one’s “comfort zone” is engendered by facets of a Williams education such as Winter Study, the tutorial system and study abroad. In that tradition, Williams professors and students alike are accustomed to debating sensitive topics. The brilliance of a Williams education is apparent when one sits in on such a discussion and comes away feeling that preconceptions were held in check long enough for something to be learned from both sides of a debate.

"We attract bright students with a strong interest in expanding their understanding of the world, its people, its politics and its many complexities."

Conservative v. Liberal

A majority of Williams students would identify their politics as liberal, yet there is a vibrant and public conservative presence among the student body, ensuring that political dialogue on campus represents highly divergent perspectives. “Political correctness” is largely absent from the political culture of Williams and debate is frequent, well-informed, and usually civil.

Student Organizations

Democrats of Williams strives to support the values of the Democratic Party and its candidates and to promote involvement by Williams students in Party activities. The Garfield Republican Club (name derived from Williams-educated US President James A. Garfield) provides a similar home for Republican Party initiatives and involvement.

The Minority Coalition (MinCo) was formed in response to a call for a more unified voice against prejudice and discrimination at Williams. Its goals are:

To create an atmosphere of respect and understanding by enhancing campus awareness of such issues as racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. that affect both member organizations and the Williams community in general.
To provide a forum for member organizations to develop strategies to deal with difficulties and challenges that, in spite of the diversity of Coalition organizations, are common to its constituent groups.
To assist in funding cultural awareness activities by its member groups.

Students for Social Justice is one of the largest organizations on campus dedicated to issue-based political activism. Along with the Williams chapter of Amnesty International, it aims to educate the student body about important global issues ranging from human rights abuses abroad to troubles with the welfare system closer to home. Greensense is the central outlet for environmental activism at Williams. In addition to running the campus recycling program, it provides important advocacy for issues of ecological concern on campus and around the world.

Williams for Life is dedicated to promoting respect for human life from conception to natural death, while the membership of Voice for Choice advocates a pro-choice stance toward the abortion issue. As is common at Williams, the two engage in respectful yet stimulating debate across the divide of irresolution. The Williams Feminist Alliance works for the recognition and celebration of women at Williams and beyond. The Alliance serves as a forum for support and discussion and holds as a mission the education of the campus community in such issues as domestic violence, sexual assault and women in academia.

Several organizations exist to promote student awareness of and involvement in the political process. The Queer Student Union (QSU) is one of the most visible and politically active organizations on campus. The devoutly nonpartisan Voter Information Service exists both to provide students the logistical support they need to become registered voters and to provide access to quick online sources of information about candidates.

The Purple Bubble

The Purple Bubble is an organization committed to promoting and facilitating discussion at Williams about social, economic and political events. Through the Newspaper Delivery Program, the Purple Bubble delivers the New York Times to the campus each weekday of the school year. These papers are free of charge for Williams students and can be picked up in Goodrich, Mission Park and Greylock.

Lissack Forums

Professor Gail Newman, the current Lissack Chair for Social Responsibility and Personal Ethics, has initiated a set of forums on a variety of topics. During the spring of 2005, in response to President Morty Schapiro’s Diversity Initiatives, the focus was on diversity issues. Topics included open forums on “minority” status, the Diversity Initiatives (with President Schapiro), affirmative action (with Director of Admission Dick Nesbitt ’74), diversity in the first year, socio-economic diversity (with Former Provost Catherine Hill ’76), and diversity in the classroom. In 2006, forums have tackled such issues as limits to free speech and students' roles in the Williams classroom.

Gaudino Fund

The Gaudino lecture series, funded by money from the Robert L. Gaudino Memorial Fund, helps to foster political dialogue within the community on issues which range from campus crises to international strife. Recent Gaudino topics and speakers include:

New Freedom Day: Conversation with Robert P. Moses on the Right to Learn. Moses is the legendary civil rights leader who directed a thousand college students (including several from Williams) in the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964 that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The Future of Liberalism. Eric Alterman is the media columnist for The Nation and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
The Gay New Wave & Its Discontents. Norah Vincent ’90 is an essayist and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Talks with Andrew Erdmann ’88. Erdmann is a member of the National Security Council and a member of President Bush’s Policy Planning Staff.
A Conservative Vision of U.S. Foreign Policy. John C. Hulsman is a Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, specializing in European security and NATO affairs.
On the Palestinian Struggle. Diana Buttu is legal advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Darfur and the Politics of Genocide. Eric Reeves ’72 is Professor of English Language and Literature at Smith College.
Lessons Learned: 9/11 and the War on Terrorism. Thomas Kean was Chair of the 9/11 Commission and the former Republican Governor of New Jersey.
A Conversation with Howard Dean, hosted by Stephen Frazier ’74. Dean is Chairman of the Democratic Party and the former governor of Vermont. Stephen Frazier is news anchor for CNN Headline News.
Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism: A View from the United Kingdom. Lindsay Clutterbuck serves as a Detective Chief Inspector for Scotland Yard.