Member of Williams Community — Now in Another State — Tests Positive for COVID-19

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williams College on Friday notified its community that a member of the college community who was on campus as recently as Sunday has tested positive for COVID-19.
 
The person, who was not named, is self-isolating at home in another state, the email said.
 
"This is the first confirmed case within the Williams community," the email read. "We are notifying you all because this person was on campus from Saturday, March 14, through Sunday, March 15, and interacted with people, especially students, during that time.
 
"Out of an abundance of caution, we are notifying all of you and using this moment to remind everyone of the need to maintain such distancing at all times, and to practice thorough hygiene."
 
The college's medical director, Deborah Flynn, signed the letter along with Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom and Vice President for Campus Life Steve Klass.
 
They said the college is working with the infected person to create a list of people they contacted while on campus. The person in question "has reached out to many of those people already, and we will get in touch directly," the college's email read.
 
Last week, the college announced that it was sending its students home for the duration of the spring semester and moving to an online learning model. The last day students were allowed on campus was March 17. The overwhelming majority of Williams College students live in college-owned housing.
 
"Williams has been preparing for the likelihood that this rapidly spreading virus would eventually affect our community, and we are now taking measures in accordance with our plan and with expert public health advice," Friday's email read. "Even so, we recognize that this news will cause concern. We assure you that we are taking the necessary steps, and we thank you all for doing your part by keeping to a strict regimen of social distancing, limited interaction and careful hygiene."

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WCMA: 'Cracking the Code on Numerology'

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) opens a new exhibition, "Cracking the Cosmic Code: Numerology in Medieval Art."
 
The exhibit opened on March 22.
 
According to a press release: 
 
The idea that numbers emanate sacred significance, and connect the past with the future, is prehistoric and global. Rooted in the Babylonian science of astrology, medieval Christian numerology taught that God created a well-ordered universe. Deciphering the universe's numerical patterns would reveal the Creator's grand plan for humanity, including individual fates. 
 
This unquestioned concept deeply pervaded European cultures through centuries. Theologians and lay people alike fervently interpreted the Bible literally and figuratively via number theory, because as King Solomon told God, "Thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight" (Wisdom 11:22). 
 
"Cracking the Cosmic Code" explores medieval relationships among numbers, events, and works of art. The medieval and Renaissance art on display in this exhibition from the 5th to 17th centuries—including a 15th-century birth platter by Lippo d'Andrea from Florence; a 14th-century panel fragment with courtly scenes from Palace Curiel de los Ajos, Valladolid, Spain; and a 12th-century wall capital from the Monastery at Moutiers-Saint-Jean—reveal numerical patterns as they relate to architecture, literature, gender, and timekeeping. 
 
"There was no realm of thought that was not influenced by the all-consuming belief that all things were celestially ordered, from human life to stones, herbs, and metals," said WCMA Assistant Curator Elizabeth Sandoval, who curated the exhibition. "As Vincent Foster Hopper expounds, numbers were 'fundamental realities, alive with memories and eloquent with meaning.' These artworks tease out numerical patterns and their multiple possible meanings, in relation to gender, literature, and the celestial sphere. 
 
"The exhibition looks back while moving forward: It relies on the collection's strengths in Western medieval Christianity, but points to the future with goals of acquiring works from the global Middle Ages. It also nods to the history of the gallery as a medieval period room at this pivotal time in WCMA's history before the momentous move to a new building," Sandoval said.
 
Cracking the Cosmic Code runs through Dec. 22.
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