March 20, 2020
Dear ’71 Oxford Travelers,
Since we last wrote with an update, so much has changed in the world. Yesterday, we sadly came to the decision with colleagues at Wiliams that we must cancel your pre-50th June Oxford trip due to the globally growing concerns of COVID-19. We are so sorry, this is such disappointing news to share at a moment when that’s all we seem to be receiving.
Sadly, this news likely comes as no surprise to you. Indefinite travel bans and the unknown personal and public health risks of traveling anytime soon were obviously our primary concerns. For Oxford, specifically, our current students at the Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford have already been sent home, and Oxford University is likely to be closed for an extended period of time. Therefore, even if we were able to and many of you chose to travel in a few months, we could not be certain of any of the planned trip activities happening. We hope this notice gives you plenty of time to change your travel plans for June.
We are in the process of canceling arrangements with all of our vendors, lecturers, and partners in Oxford. We will begin processing reimbursements to each of you for whatever deposits or fees you’ve already paid to the college. We hope to be able to return them to you in the next week by check or directly to your credit cards depending on how you paid us.
Some of you have asked already what might be possible in rescheduling this trip or some other special pre-50th gathering for your class. We can’t know yet, of course, but we will explore possibilities with your class leaders as soon as we’re able to think that way. Rest assured, we will do all we can to help you gather together in fun and meaningful ways through Williams as soon as possible.
We are thinking of all of you in this moment and hope that you and yours remain healthy and safe in the days ahead. We are most appreciative of all you do for each other and for Williams and look forward to seeing you all very soon. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mark & Kate