The College will require faculty and staff to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, President Maud S. Mandel announced in a June 1 email to faculty and staff. But College employees can request exemptions on medical or religious grounds or due to “strongly-held beliefs on the subject,” according to Mandel’s email.
The College will loosen its COVID-19 restrictions in accordance with state rules, as well as broaden participation in the Class of 2021’s graduation ceremony, President Maud S. Mandel announced in an email to the College community on Tuesday.
A wildfire burned nearly 1,000 acres over the weekend, tearing across East Mountain, Pine Cobble, and Clarksburg State Forest to become the largest fire in Massachusetts since 1999.
With the Senior Celebration approaching and guest limits loosened, seniors are excited to graduate. They are also distinctly aware, however, of what the pandemic has taken away.
Responses from the the College’s 2021 EPH Community Attitudes on Sexual Assault (EPHCASA) campus climate survey, sent to all students in February, indicate a decrease in the prevalence of most types of unwanted sexual contact compared to previous years. Director of Sexual Assault Response and Health Education Meg Bossong '05 provided the Record with preliminary data from the survey.
The Record sent out its biannual approval ratings survey this past week to 500 randomly selected students, who were given the option to indicate whether they approve of, disapprove of, or feel neutral about various campus figures, institutions, and policies.
With COVID-19 rates rising in many countries and travel restrictions still in place, international students at the College face a decision as the end of the spring semester looms: to return home — for the first time in over a year, for some — or to stay on campus through the summer.
The College partnered with Northern Berkshire Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Berkshire Health Systems, and the Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative to run an on-campus vaccination clinic on May 12, which came after the College was unable to offer vaccines on campus for the first few weeks after eligibility had opened to all adults in Massachusetts.
Associate Dean of Students Chris Sewell ’05 will leave the College to take a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) position with the New York City startup Praxis Labs at the end of this semester, Senior Associate Dean of Students Rachel Bukanc announced in an email on May 14. Through research, data, and “immersive learning experiences, Praxis helps companies diversify their workforces and become more inclusive, according to their website.
In fall 2021, all EphVentures orientation trips for first-years were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Orientation was held entirely remotely instead. In light of the College’s plans to relax COVID restrictions for the fall, Williams Outdoor Orientation for Living as First-Years (WOOLF), the most popular EphVenture program, is slated to occur as normal for the Class of 2025.
Ninety-six percent of students living on campus have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a Record survey sent to the entire student body on Saturday estimates. Only 9.6 percent of the 751 on-campus students who responded, however, are fully vaccinated, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines as occurring two weeks after the final required dose.
