WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williams College President Maud Mandel on Friday sent a community-wide email announcing that school's commencement and reunion weekend weekend will not take place as scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Seniors, while I am heartbroken that graduation cannot happen in the conventional way at the conventional time, I am determined that you will have your moment," Mandel wrote. "Rather than deciding for you what that should look like, my colleagues and I want to start by asking you."
Mandel announced that members of the Class of 2020 will receive a survey seeking their ideas about alternative ways to celebrate their graduation from the liberal arts college.
Traditionally, commencement exercises are followed one week later by the reunion weekend, which invites back alumni from across generations with particular efforts to bring back members marking signficant class anniversaries — fifth, 10th, 15th, etc.
"My heart goes out especially to the class of 1970, whose own senior spring term was canceled due to protests over the bombing of Cambodia, and who are now having their 50th reunion disrupted by a global pandemic," Mandel said. "I promise that we will find other ways to celebrate these milestone anniversaries, which are so important to alumni and college alike."
Like the graduating seniors, the alumni in key classes will be contacted by the college to seek alternatives, according to Mandel's email.
Mandel early last month announced that the school would be moving to a remote instruction model after classes ended on Friday, March 13. The overwhelming majority of students were told to vacate their college housing by March 17. A handful of international students with more difficult travel plans were excepted from the March 17 date.
Commencement had been scheduled for Saturday, June 7.
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Williamstown Charter Review Panel OKs Fix to Address 'Separation of Powers' Concern
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Charter Review Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse an amended version of the compliance provision it drafted to be added to the Town Charter.
The committee accepted language designed to meet concerns raised by the Planning Board about separation of powers under the charter.
The committee's original compliance language — Article 32 on the annual town meeting warrant — would have made the Select Board responsible for determining a remedy if any other town board or committee violated the charter.
The Planning Board objected to that notion, pointing out that it would give one elected body in town some authority over another.
On Wednesday, Charter Review Committee co-Chairs Andrew Hogeland and Jeffrey Johnson, both members of the Select Board, brought their colleagues amended language that, in essence, gives authority to enforce charter compliance by a board to its appointing authority.
For example, the Select Board would have authority to determine a remedy if, say, the Community Preservation Committee somehow violated the charter. And the voters, who elect the Planning Board, would have ultimate say if that body violates the charter.
In reality, the charter says very little about what town boards and committees — other than the Select Board — can or cannot do, and the powers of bodies like the Planning Board are regulated by state law.
The Charter Review Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse an amended version of the compliance provision it drafted to be added to the Town Charter. click for more
Developer David Traggorth asked the trustees to make the contribution from its coffers to help unlock an additional $5.4 million in state funds for the planned 54-unit apartment building at the south end of the Cable Mills site.
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The donors, who wish to remain anonymous, say the gift reflects their desire to not only support Williams but also President Maud S. Mandel's strategic vision and plan for the college.
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Neighbors of a proposed subdivision off Summer Street last week asked the Planning Board to take a critical look at the project, which the residents say is out of scale to the neighborhood. click for more