Email from College Marshal Lee Park to the Participating students, April 25 2024
Dear Graduating Seniors and Mid-Cycle Seniors –
Commencement is fast approaching! We look forward to helping you celebrate your Williams graduation with your classmates and your families and guests. This email contains details about Commencement Weekend. Please read through the end for important information about tickets and caps and gowns.
Below is a summary of the major weekend events. Please mark your calendars and share with your family and friends.
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Schedule for Commencement Weekend
SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2024
Ivy Exercises. Seniors assemble in the First-Year Quad at 12:50 p.m., the ceremony begins at 1:10 p.m. on the Williams (Library) Quadrangle. Rain location: MainStage, ‘62 Center.
NEW- Commencement Rehearsal. Seniors assemble in the First-Year Quad at 3:15 p.m. This is new and it is optional. However, the more seniors who can attend, the smoother the line-up and ceremony will be.
Baccalaureate. Seniors assemble in the First-Year Quad at 4:30 p.m., the ceremony begins at 5:00 p.m. in Chapin Hall. Tickets required.
SUNDAY, JUNE 2, 2024
Commencement. Seniors and mid-cycle students assemble alphabetically in the First-Year Quad at 9:00 a.m. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. in the Williams (Library) Quad.
President’s Reception. Enjoy a picnic lunch on Chapin Lawn, immediately following Commencement (~12:15 p.m.)
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Seniors process into Ivy Exercises, Baccalaureate, and Commencement in their caps and gowns. The Class Artist, Devika Goel, carries the class banner at the front of each procession. The elected Class Marshals, Hannah Bae and Obi Nwako will lead the class. The appointed Class Marshals, Gwyn Chilcoate and George Taylor, are the last to process.
Ivy Exercises is an informal celebration of the Class and its achievements. The Class Officers organize it and preside. Class Gardener Zoe Getsin plants the eponymous ivy, Olmsted Award recipients are recognized, Class Poet Ethan Richmond presents a poem, Class Historian Hikaru Hayakawa speaks, Class Musicians Adithya Vaidhyan performs, Dean Gretchen Long awards over 100 prizes, Class Bell Ringers Sara Stebbins, Paige Anna Busse, and Paul Kim will ring the bells, and in a 100-year-old tradition, Class Officers drop a watch from the tower of Thompson Chapel. (Legend has it that if the watch breaks, your class will have good luck!)
Baccalaureate is the interfaith service held in the early evening on Saturday. Siddhartha Mukherjee, pioneering physician, oncologist, and author, will deliver the Baccalaureate Address.
Commencement on Sunday morning begins with an academic procession across campus and culminates with awarding your degrees. Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, will deliver the Commencement Address. The ceremony is live-streamed for those unable to attend and will be available on the Commencement website beginning 9:45 a.m.
TICKETS and RAIN PLANS
All of the official events of Commencement Weekend are free of charge.The Baccalaureate service requires tickets, due to limited seating. If you reserved tickets, you will find them in your Paresky mailbox during senior week.
- Indoor Commencement: Weather permitting, Commencement is held outdoors on the Williams (Library) Quadrangle, facing Stetson Hall. No tickets are required but we do ask that you limit the number of guests in the venue to six. The ceremony is also simulcast into Chapin Hall and live streamed for friends and family who cannot attend.
We favor an outdoor ceremony even under threatening skies and/or moderate rain.
- In case of extreme weather, the ceremony will be moved indoors. Tickets will be required in the event of indoor Commencement. Each student will receive four guest tickets for the Ice Rink if the weekend weather looks questionable. Additional seating is available in the ‘62 Center where the ceremony is broadcast on a large screen. Tickets are not required for seating in the ‘62 Center. As with the outdoor ceremony, indoor Commencement will be live-streamed and available for viewing off-campus from the Commencement website.
- Tickets for Baccalaureate: Members of the senior class do not need tickets to attend this event. Each participating student may request up to two guest tickets online until May 20 or until all tickets have been claimed. If you are unable to get tickets to Chapin Hall or have additional guests, your guests are welcome to view the simulcast in Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall or Presser Chorale Hall. No tickets are necessary for these venues.
CAPS AND GOWNS
Seniors and mid-cycle seniors may pick up regalia at the Williams Bookstore with your Williams ID 11am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday of Senior Week. They will also be open from 8AM – 9AM on Commencement Sunday.
Seniors traditionally wear caps and gowns at Ivy Exercises, Baccalaureate, and Commencement. The college supplies, free of charge, caps and gowns for all seniors receiving financial aid. Students who wish to place an order for store pick-up can enter their order through the bookstore website May 1-15. Please note that there will be plenty of robes available, however pre-ordering will make the pick-up run much more quickly, so you are encouraged to do this. Ceremony participants can use their student ID to charge regalia to their term bill. The cost is $25.
Seniors and mid-cycle seniors who did not get regalia for Convocation may pre-order cap and gown May 1-15 at this bookstore link. You may then pick up regalia at the Williams Bookstore with your Williams ID 11am-5pm, Tuesday-Saturday of Senior Week. They will also be open from 8AM – 9AM on Commencement Sunday. Please visit the Commencement website for further details on pre-ordering your cap and gown. If you need a replacement cap and gown, you will be able to purchase a set at the bookstore.
DIPLOMAS will not be handed out at Commencement. They will be mailed to graduates in early July.
I will email you with more information in late May. In the meantime, please visit the Commencement website.
If you have questions, please send email to [email protected]
Please note: We are relying on digital communication with you at this time. We will forward this email communication to your families, but we realize not all families have registered their email addresses with the college. If you could please ensure your friends and family have this information, that would be greatly appreciated.
Best,
Lee Park, College Marshal
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Lee Park (she/hers)
College Marshal and William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Chemistry
Department of Chemistry, Williams College
* Office of the College Marshal phone: (413) 597-2347
* Email: [email protected]