St. Stanislaus School benefit, 9 to 4 in Kolbe Hall, Adams. Bake sale, snack bar, games, Chinese auctions, money raffle, crafts, and pierogi.
Blackinton Union Church, 1373 Massachusetts Ave., North Adams; 10 to 2. Crafts table, bake sale, Chinese auction, the Christmas table, and kid's grab bag. Lunch $4, $2 kids.
First Congregational Church, North Adams, 9-2.
Nov. 28 Becket Federated Church, Route 8, holiday bazaar from 9-3. Lunch, crafts, baked goods, holiday and other items. Information: Mary Peltier, Parish House, 413-623-5217.
Dec. 5
Holiday Fair at First Congregational Church, 25 Park Place, Lee, from 10 to 3; handcrafted items, raffles, children's shop, bake sale, cut Christmas trees and lunch from 11 to 1. Includes angel-themed goods from SERRV. Information, 413-243-1033 or www.ucc-lee.org.
Dec. 12-13
North Adams Country Club, crafts 9-4; food from That's a Wrap from 11-2. Information: Sheryl Morehouse at 413-822-3329.
Planning a bazaar this season? Submit information to info@iberkshires.com to have it listed here.
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Send press releases and announcements to info@iberkshires.com. Need to contact someone at iBerkshires? Here's how.
Mammography Dispute The government's issued controversial new guidelines stating that women shouldn't get annual mammograms until age 50, rather than age 40.
iBerkshires will be meeting with local medical experts Monday. Have a question you'd like answered on this issue? Send it info@iberkshires.com with "mammogram" in the subject line.
By Jen Thomas iBerkshires Staff 06:35AM / Sunday, May 18, 2008
Jeffrey King, of Pownal, Vt. and Jonathan Goranson, of Groton, look over the Commencement Edition of the school newspaper before Saturday's ceremony.View Slide Show
NORTH ADAMS — For the 370 students who crossed the stage at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' commencement ceremony on Saturday morning, stepping out into the "real world" couldn't have come at a scarier time.
More than others who came before them, the class of 2008 is going out into an uncertain future, where talk of a recession and fears about a dwindling job market dominate conversation.
Along with the typical apprehension about life after college and the fear about "opening a new chapter" as President Mary K. Grant called it in her remarks, graduates are now thinking about the effects of the economy on their chances to find careers.
"It's definitely scary. It's what I'm most scared of. It's the reason I don't want to leave college," said Kimberly Huska, 22, of Pittsfield, who earned her degree in sociology after transferring from Berkshire Community College two years ago.
In his keynote address, U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry addressed the nation's ecomomic woes and warned graduates about getting caught up in a fast-paced life where it is "difficult to be a citizen."
"In the 1980s, in America, the top one percent of income-earners took home eight percent of the total of America's income. In the 1990s, when we had the tech bubble, the top one percent of income-earners took home about 16 percent of America's income. Today, because of the institutional unfairness that is legislated and allowed to be put in place, the top one percent of income earners in America take home 23 percent of America's income," Kerry said, his voice hoarse after battling a surprise bout of laryngitis.
A candidate for the presidency the first time many of these students could vote, Kerry told the 2008 graduates and parents who filled the seats in the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium that the time to take action on making "this great nation of ours great again."
Their Turn
"When I was graduating back in the 1960s, when I was your age, Bob Dylan asked 'How much do I know to talk out of turn?' Well, let me tell you something. You know everything you need to talk out of turn and it's not out of turn — it's your turn," Kerry said.
The Boston Democrat charged the class of 2008 with holding the system accountable and working to make change.
"You have to transform your action, your sense of right and wrong. You have to give life to the notion that Ben Franklin challenged us all to embrace when he walked down those steps at [Independence Hall at the Constitutional Convention of 1787] after they deliberated and a woman came up to him and said, 'Tell us Dr. Franklin, what do we have — a monarchy or a republic?' And he looked at her and he said, 'A republic, if you can keep it.' Our job is to keep it," Kerry said.
"Your job is to keep it."
Kerry, who was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree at the ceremony, kept the speech light, alternately poking fun at himself and his close race in 2004 and lampooning current Republican leaders.
"I did a little research on your speakers at commencements and I know that, last year, Attorney General Martha Coakley was here and before that, it was my good friend Ted Kennedy. And I couldn't believe the big name the school got as its first commencement speaker back in 1894 — John McCain," Kerry said immediately before launching into another joke aimed at the Republic presidential nominee.
"You know, when you run for president nowadays, it's very tough. They ask you any kind of question in the world. And, of course, the famous question is — boxers of briefs? And I won't tell you what I said but Barack Obama recently said 'I wear both because I look great in both.' When they asked John McCain, he said 'Depends.'
Despite the jokes, the message was clear.
"When I came back from Vietnam in 1969 and demonstrated against the war in 1971, we were challenged for our patriotism, much as we were in '04," said Kerry. "When someone would shout at us, 'Haven't you ever heard the words, my country right or wrong?' — in other words, don't challenge, don't ask questions, don't fight to change, my country right or wrong - we'd say to them 'I agree with that.' My country right or wrong. When it's right, fight to keep it right. When it's wrong, make it right. That's what I hope you'll do."
Kerry left the ceremony immediately following his speech to be bedside with Sen. Edward Kennedy, who suffered a seizure early Saturday morning.
Beyond the Neutral Zone
In his address to the graduating class, senior Jonah J. Slattery, a Pittsfield native, said MCLA, as a community of congeniality and kindness, had transformed its students from "wee pups with nervous smiles to grown adults."
"College is like the intermediary between our immature childhood and our complex adult life. It's like the referee at a wrestling match, the neutral zone separating the warlike Klingons from the peaceful Federation. It is the gateway by which the foundation of our future is laid," said Slattery.
And the future for many of MCLA's newest alumni is bright.
Brothers Roberto, 27, Giovanni, 24, and Fabricio Viquez, 24, of Williamstown, all received their degrees in business administration on Saturday and all three are moving on to work at Met Life after graduation.
"We're looking forward to it. I think it's scary but if you work hard, you should be able to make it," said Roberto.
Friends and frequent theater collaborators Matthew Tibbs and Doran Hamm recounted fond memories and fielded hugs and offers of congratulations from teachers, parents and students on the Murdock Hall lawn after the ceremony.
"I have so many favorite memories," said Tibbs, 23, who recalled a time where he returned to his dorm room to find all of his possessions covered in tin foil. "I'm just going to miss this place."
Plans for the boys postgraduation include some traveling, some theater work and some time off to relax before moving onto the next major life event.
Ariana Wilder, representing the master's of education candidates in a speech during the ceremony, reflected on her life as a student and educator.
"Here at MCLA, we have encountered a vast array of educators and professors, each with a different style and way of engaging students, some we will emulate and others whose mistakes may have been the best lesson of all. When I think about what I learned in school at MCLA, I am struck by a common thread — the need for self-reflection and growth to make change," Wilder said.
Put Me Coach
For Grant, whose own commencement took place 25 years ago, the lessons learned at MCLA will help the class of 2008 clear the obstacles ahead.
"From what I know of you, you will not be content to sit on the sidelines. You will be in the game. And, this is a very good thing for the rest of us, because, my friends, you have some work ahead of you," Grant said in her charge to the class.
"This commencement does not deliver you to a perfect world — if only that were the case. I know it does not surprise you that you will face some serious challenges," she said. "For the many challenges ahead, knowledge alone is not enough. Knowledge must be tempered with wisdom and experience, with humility and humanity, with grace and with humor."
