Mon 30 Jun 2008
At graduation three years ago, class speaker Ben Cronin ‘05 said (HT to Jonathan Landsman ‘05):
Merit, of course, is important, but it is not what makes Williams distinctive. The entire university system incubates merit, each institution in its own way. Indeed, I will be so un-nationalistic as to say that even Wesleyan and Amherst serve much the same function. But what truly makes this place distinctive is its physical location, up in this mountain valley, far from the madding crowd. Henry Thoreau remarked on this after visiting Williams, saying “It would be no small advantage if every college were thus located at the base of a mountain.” It is a comment which the College has reproduced in so many advertisements and brochures that seeing it will leave the practiced Williams eye a little queasy. But this does nothing to diminish its truth. These mountains, these hills that surround us and fence in our little valley with their beautiful, almost amorous shapes, truly set this place apart, from other campuses and from the outside world. This has no doubt been a source of dissatisfaction to those of you who remember, a little wistfully, the bright lights of New York and Boston. But the cities shall pass; the hills will not. They have stood in mute witness to ten thousand years of human history in this valley, and they have watched over us as well — in the throes of first adversity, in the ecstasy of final triumph, watched us glow and sorrow in first love, old love, new love and true love; they have accompanied us, unmoving, through every season under the sun. In the fall they explode into a vibrancy made poignant by its ephemerality; in the winter, sere and white, they are Ethan Frome’s country. In April and May a slow vernal tide works its way up their living sides, while in the summer, they simply exult. And now, they will see us off, out into the world.
What makes Williams distinctive, a different place than all the many excellent liberal arts colleges? Is it really the physical location?
What makes Williams Williams?
June 30th, 2008 at 8:27 am
This quality is uncommon but not so uncommon as to be the sole, or even primary, cause of the College’s self-styled distinction from all other small, “excellent” LACs.
June 30th, 2008 at 9:34 am
From an academic perspective, here is what the college proposes:
http://www.williams.edu/admission/academics_difference.php
From an overall perspective, I’d say a combination of three things: (1) the dual excellence in academics / athletics and the sheer number of really accomplished student athletes and overall sportiness / outdorsiness of the student body, (2) the overall excellence in arts: the art museums, the unparalleled facilities, the huge number of impressive student arts groups, the incredible group of arts alums (especially art history and on broadway), the Williamstown Theater Festival (and now film and jazz festivals to boot), and (3) a certain campus quirkiness / unpretentiousness that is hard to define, but is epitomized by the purple cow mascot, trivia, mountain day, the “eyes”, the ironic columns, free university, and so on ….
June 30th, 2008 at 9:52 am
The quote from Ben was a gift. Thanks.
From the inside, the setting plus #3 (a certain campus quirkiness / unpretentiousness that is hard to define) of Jeff’s list (and the closeness with/accessibility of the faculty, not that that is unique to Williams) have been what have lived on with me . I think that’s why the ‘62 Center (”The Strip Club” or “The Donald”), Paresky, the loss of several small buildings around the new construction, and all the construction and new large-scale buildings hit me so hard.