WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School District on Saturday announced that the racist Zoom-bombing incident in a high school classroom this week was the work of a student from another school district.
Superintendent Jason McCandless made the announcement in a letter to the Mount Greylock community that was posted on the middle-high school's social media accounts.
"On Friday afternoon, the principal of Mount Greylock Regional School, Mr. [Jake] Schutz, was emailed an apology from a student in another school district who is taking responsibility for their own action of impersonating a Mount Greylock student online and playing music with highly offensive lyrics containing a racial epithet," McCandless wrote.
He wrote that "local school authorities will have the opportunity to hold this student to account."
On Saturday evening, McCandless confirmed in an email to iBerkshires.com that the other school district was aware of Mount Greylock's determination, "and in fact brought their suspicions to the Mount Greylock administration."
McCandless thanked the Williamstown Police Department for its work since the Jan. 21 incident and the Berkshire County District attorney's office for its offer of assistance during the investigation.
The student who admitted to the incident apologized for their actions and asked that the apology be forwarded to the individual Mount Greylock student whose identity was used to trespass in a virtual classroom.
"I now realize how bad, unacceptable, and disgusting my actions were," McCandless' letter quotes the student's apology. "It was never my intention to hurt or make anyone feel targeted.
"I truly apologize to the students, teachers and administrators who were affected by my action. I am especially sorry to the student who felt targeted and hurt by my decision. It was never my intention to make someone feel targeted or hurt."
McCandless indicated that the fact that the incident appears not to have been the work of a Mount Greylock student, the conversation it has sparked about school climate will continue.
"No matter the 'who' or the 'where' of this incident, the incident has served as a stark reminder that hate, fear, intimidation, and language that disrespects not only an individual but an entire people, and all who stand with our neighbors, are real," McCandless wrote. "We are reminded that neither these beliefs nor actions will be tolerated or overlooked in our community.
"This incident serves as a stark reminder that we must continue to find ways to ensure that every student and every family member have the absolute and inalienable right to feel safe, to feel welcome, to feel they belong, and to feel they are home."
McCandless also addressed a separate concern arising from Saturday's announcement itself: the security of the versatile classrooms that figure to be a major part of public education as the COVID-19 pandemic continues this winter and spring.
"School officials will continue to seek how the student from another district had one of our class links, and the school has instituted further security protocols to keep this from happening again," he wrote.
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Williamstown Library Committee Looks to Advance Renovations
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Milne Library's Building and Grounds Committee on Thursday recommended that the director move ahead with several repairs to the building.
On a vote of 4-0, the committee recommended that the Board of Trustees accept a bid from Bennington, Vt.'s, Vermont Roofing to fix the roof over the bathrooms in the front of the library.
And in a separate 4-0 vote, the building committee told Director Angela Zimmerman to issue a request for proposals to redo windows and doors, two major issues raised in a report the Trustees commissioned from Bennington's Centerline Architects.
In June of last year, the trustees learned that the Centerline report was recommending a number of "critical issues" to be addressed in the building, including the windows and doors, with an estimated price tag of nearly $262,000.
At the May 2023 annual town meeting, members authorized up to $300,000 toward capital repairs at the library.
On Thursday, Zimmerman, who came on board in March, told the Building and Grounds Committee that the $300,000 needs to be committed by the end of fiscal year 2025 next June.
"We at least need to have the projects in motion," Zimmerman said.
The Milne Library's Building and Grounds Committee on Thursday recommended that the director move ahead with several repairs to the building. click for more
The exhibit, "Edgar Degas: Multi-Media Artist in the Age of Impressionism," coincides with the 150th anniversary of the first impressionist exhibition, which was held in Paris in 1874.
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The Select Board on Monday discussed how the town communicates to residents during an emergency and whether residents unaffiliated with Williams College should have access to the same information as college students and staff about incidents on campus. click for more
The Prudential Committee on Wednesday discussed the need for a policy for all call-volunteer firefighters who reach the state's mandatory retirement age.
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