Letter: Reject Article 41

To the Editor:

Town meeting should reject Article 41 because sexual orientation, color of skin, health and wellness, gender, environmental issues and changes in the meaning of English words (including the word rainbow) are not well-represented by a flag in any community.

Work in the community to make the American flag ensure inclusivity, support, a sense of belonging, respect for others and acceptance among human beings who have the right to live with dignity.

If this flag is added to the three now recognized we could ask: Where does it end? The American flag represents the hope we all have for our community.

Martha Dailey
Williamstown, Mass. 

Mount Greylock Regional Class of 2026 'Embraced the Unexpected'

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
04:38PM / Saturday, June 06, 2026

Speaker William Apotsos says the class took the red pill, embracing the unexpected; classmate Madison Powell tells them they're still becoming the people they will be. 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Mount Greylock Regional School sent 67 graduates off with diplomas and a cap toss on Saturday. 

 

The seniors queued up to enter the school gym with "Pomp and Circumstance" and scattered out the doors to "Choose Joy." 

 

It was the choices to be present that had gotten the Mounties to this day, said William Apotsos, whom the class had selected as their graduating speaker. "They didn't just decide to be present, they refused to be absent."

 

When one little girl had thanked him for being there to referee a youth soccer game, it drove "home the importance of not only being present but refusing to be absent," he said. 

 

Being present had been difficult in the transition between remote learning during the pandemic and returning to the school, when the class had to figure out how to be present together — physically, mentally and socially. 

 

"There is always the safe route. Stick to what you know, stick around people you know, and never really leave your metaphorical shell that you built up over your time at home. ... Then there was the more dangerous: put yourself out there, embrace your impact option,"  Apotsos said. 

 

"It's very much a red pill and blue pill situation, and what I am most proud of, that pretty much every single person on this stage took the red pill. They chose to embrace the unexpected and decide that they wouldn't let a couple years of isolation determine who they were going to be."