Dear Williams Students:

I see you, I hear you, I have helped many of you and I have been here for you. Therefore, I feel the need to share how disheartened I am about the recent article in the Record and the negative perception about Campus Safety and Security. Not sure how this all happened, this change in perception. I have lived in Williamstown and walked on this campus since 1957. This college has brought me so much joy.

Since I was 10 years old, the students at this campus have had my attention. I witnessed the Hopkins Hall takeover. There have been so many new student faces, decades of history, and conversations which have always been about giving you the tools to change the future.

The allegations made against the men and women who work hard to keep you safe from yourselves and outside the purple bubble saddens me deeply.

We didn’t ask to be a part of your struggle. You put us in it because it was easier to blame us. You didn’t work to make change in a productive manner that this college stands for. You fail to communicate.

I was raised, as a Black woman, to communicate my frustration and work for solutions. You choose to blame and not see it worthy to come to the table and meet us as people. You say, “why do I have to, we shouldn’t have to.”

I would suggest that you look at yourselves and history. Talk to those of us who have experienced racism, fear, struggles and injustice so that you can learn. It’s a journey. We’ve all taken it.

It’s clear to me that you struggle due to being born in the late ’90s, into the millennium. You’re scared; you don’t have all the tools yet and you lack the coping mechanisms. You see coping as a weakness. Compromising as giving in. You are ready to fight all the time because you are afraid. I understand it!

What you don’t know is that those around you are not afraid. They are experienced in life and excited about the next chapters. They want more and are willing to push through to make a better community at Williams.

Disappointed, saddened I am for you…

Respectfully,

Nancy Macauley

Campus Safety and Security