For 乐播传媒 mason Ron Tardif, installing the class ivy stone each May is a labor of respect for the graduating class.
鈥淥n behalf of the whole Facility Services crew, I wish the Class of 2020 the best of luck. Congratulations!鈥� he said while expertly placing this year鈥檚 stone into brickwork near the Pettengill Hall entrance.
Commencement 154
What: 154th 乐播传媒 Commencement
When: Noon, Eastern Daylight Time, May 31, 2020
Where: The ceremony will be conducted remotely via livestream.
How to Watch:
乐播传媒 Web: bates.edu/commencement/live/ (via Facebook embed)
Facebook: 听听听听听听听听听听听 The two locations will afford the same viewer experience.
乐播传媒 mason Ron Tardif installs the Class of 2020 ivy stone near the front entrance of Pettengill Hall. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)
Paying close attention to detail, Tardif chiseled, adjusted, and spread mortar on the four sides of the stone, before cleaning away the excess and inserting the stone into the side of the building.
Showing the Hathorn bell tower, the favored design is by Hazel Simpson 鈥�20 of Katonah, N.Y. She did the work before the pandemic put a premature end to the Class of 2020鈥檚 campus experience. Collette Monuments of Lewiston engraved the design into the stone.
The Hathorn Hall bell tower is the focus of the Class of 2020 ivy stone, shown being inset on a front wall of Pettengill Hall by Facility Services mason Ron Tardif. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)
鈥淚n a way, the stone I designed no longer seems fitting,鈥� she says at first. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 reveal anything about the Class of 2020鈥檚 unique and challenging graduation and senior year.鈥�
But after reflecting a bit more, Simpson changes her mind. While the pandemic has cast a long shadow over their senior year and graduation, the class still has a precious trove of positive 乐播传媒 memories.
The focus on Hathorn reflects some of her experience. 鈥淚 have great memories of Hathorn: classes I attended there, walking up the steps in the snow, and taking photos outside in the fall. My friends and I took a photo on the steps on our last day at 乐播传媒.鈥�
Installing the ivy stone is a labor of respect for Facility Services. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)
鈥淚 spent three and half years at 乐播传媒 before COVID-19,鈥� Simpson says. 鈥淭he pandemic does not define my college experience. I want our class to be remembered as the Class of 2020, not as the COVID class.鈥�
Installation of a class ivy stone is a 乐播传媒 tradition dating to the 1870s.
