Happenings on Campus
Q&A with a Senator
This winter, students in history classes had the chance to talk with U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. In the one-hour Zoom session, the senator—speaking from his office in Washington, D.C.—answered questions and talked with students about current events as well as a wide range of policy and legistlative issues.
BSU Hosts Filmmaker and Comedian Zul Manzi
During Black History Month, filmmaker Zul Manzi, creator of the animated series The Matumbilas, met with members of the Black Student Union to talk about culture, identity, and how Black culture is portrayed in the media. Zul returned to campus in April to talk about culture and community with the entire school as the keynote speaker for Why Not Speak Day.
Speech Contest, Round 2
Home was the theme of this year’s second all-school speech contest, hosted by the English department. All Upper School students took part, and the contest culminated in an all-school assembly at the end of Trimester 2 featuring four finalists. Gabby Kim ’28 took home the golden microphone by giving a gripping speech about being with strangers on a beach in Hawaii during the 2018 false missile alert crisis.
MOMA Conservator Talks Technique
As part of the Grum Project visiting artist series, students heard from Michael Duffy, the Paintings Conservator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. After meeting with AP Studio Art students, Duffy spent time with a larger audience discussing the skills he uses in his work, which he describes as “a mélange of science, art history, and studio art.” One particular highlight was hearing about his conservation work on a recent Matisse exhibit.
Day Student Pride
Day students and day student alums have been showing up strong this year. In January, the day student squad took first place in the annual Lip Sync contest with their mashup of Justin Bieber songs. One month later, day student alums took first place on the “dorm” leaderboard during Founders Day. Boarding students had their moment, too, when Mem West won the whole enchilada during Willympics.
The classics are alive and well at Williston. This year, Hailey Kwak ’30 won the 2026 Classical Association of New England’s Latin Motto Contest. Hailey’s winning entry of Vivere est in memoria teneri—which translates as “to live is to be held in memory”—makes her the third consecutive Williston winner of this award.
Back to the Page
An inspiring workshop is helping put pens—and thinking—front and center in English classes
Walk into any English classroom this year, and you’ll notice something missing—computers. While students still use them for homework assignments, in class, the only allowed materials are books, pen and paper, erasable marker on desktops, and discussions.
To support this old-school style of teaching, the English department spent a day in December working with members of Bard College’s Institute for Writing and Thinking. In an era where AI can generate essays at the push of a button, IWT’s mission is to slow down the process, and help students focus on critical thinking, analysis, collaborative learning, and revising skills. During the workshop, Williston teachers themselves stuck to pen and paper— reading and writing together, sharing ideas about teaching, and responding to one another’s work. “Our entire department got inspired,” said English Department Chair Matt Liebowitz. “It was great to spend a day thinking about how to get students writing and thinking on paper and with one another. No computers involved.”