The Social Justice and Outreach Series at Bard College at Simon’s Rock
GREAT BARRINGTON - The Simon’s Rock Women’s Center, the South County Unitarian Social Justice Outreach Series, and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation are sponsoring a lecture by Nancy Talanian at Simon’s Rock. Talanian will be speaking on "The War on Terror: Its Toll on Freedom" on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Lecture Center on the Simon’s Rock campus.
Nancy Talanian is the director and co-founder of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee based in Northampton. From her writing and activism background, she acted on the possibility of converting local successes in Western Massachusetts into a national movement. Her work not only deals with local issues, but addresses larger issues on national and international platforms as well.
She has written and spoken on various civil liberty topics, and has developed a national coalition of organizations devoted to the restoration of civil liberty. Some of her previous activism includes working to end apartheid in South Africa and military dictatorships in Nigeria and Burma. In the lecture, Talanian will explore these issues and she will elaborate on the progress of the grassroots movement to restore civil liberties.
The next event in the series will be on Oct. 23, when internationally renowned feminist writer, journalist and photographer Margaret Randall will speak at 7 p.m. in the Lecture Center.
All the events are free and open to the public, and are made possible by many individual community donors as well as the three sponsoring organizations.
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Taconic High Names Top Students of the Class of 2026
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Taconic High School Principal Matthew Bishop has announced the valedictorian and salutatorian of the class of 2026.
They will speak during the graduation ceremony on Friday, June 12, at 4 p.m at Tanglewood in Lenox.
Gavin O'Donnell, son of Kevin and Colleen O'Donnell of Pittsfield, has been named valedictorian with a grade average of 103. Hunter Bentz, son of Heidi Bentz of Pittsfield, has been named salutatorian with a grade average of 102.4.
Throughout his high school career, O'Donnell has exemplified the values of leadership, commitment, and excellence that define the Taconic community. He achieved high honors all four years and made significant contributions to both the school and the wider community. He was an active member of the Link Crew, Green and Gold, and Class Council, just to name a few of his activities.
A dedicated athlete, O'Donnell played soccer and baseball all four years and was named captain of the varsity soccer and baseball teams both junior and senior years. His commitment to service extended beyond athletics, as he volunteered with Unified Games and was a math tutor at Taconic. He has also been an active part of Pittsfield Soccer Club, where he has helped
referee youth soccer games and assisted in getting the fields ready for game days.
He has earned several awards, including being a member of the National Honor Society, the John and Abigail Adams Award, and being an AP Scholar and an AP Capstone Graduate.
O'Donnell plans to pursue a degree in finance at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he will continue to play baseball and hopes to excel as a student.
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