In some ways, Connecticut College's Fall Weekend 2020 was a microcosm of broader American life: An annual event typically held in person was moved online, featuring discussions on COVID-19 and the state of science, running an election in a pandemic, health disparities and the experiences of people of color.

This, of course, was by design.

"We wanted to be very intentional about the events we put on for alums and parents," said Kim Verstandig, vice president for college advancement. "We wanted to make them relevant."

Once it became clear an in-person event wasn't feasible, Verstandig said her team still felt like it couldn't just not do anything.

The three-day virtual event kicked off Thursday with a panel conversation on career resources and then an online convocation ceremony. Videos of the various talks still are available to watch after the fact.

"In that time we call B.C., Before COVID, the college would've held convocation on the evening of the first day before class," college President Katherine Bergeron explained. But COVID-19 protocols this year had students in quarantine until the second week of September, "so convocation had to be postponed and reimagined."

Noting that "convocation" comes from the Latin word meaning "to call together," Bergeron noted, "The pandemic has so far prevented us from doing this in all the ordinary ways this year, and yet if there ever were a time when we needed to be called together, it is now."

Those new to campus this year include the 436 members of the Class of 2024, 13 transfer students, nine faculty members and three staff members. Bergeron said 1,125 students are living on campus, 175 are commuting from off-campus apartments and 375 are taking courses online from home.

Michelle Dunlap, professor of human development, gave the keynote speech for convocation, analyzing Tupac Shakur's poem "The Rose That Grew from Concrete" in the context of the movement for racial justice.

"Imagine the amount of work to push through this crack and the danger of being trampled on in the process by people who may not even grasp one's presence, nor potential, and most importantly, one's right to be there," she said.

Dunlap questioned who put the concrete there, who is benefitting from its presence and on whose backs the concrete was poured. She asked people to question whether they are the rosebud seedling pushing through, or the concrete, or the dirt that pushes the rose to grow, or the fresh air, with "the benefit of being on the other side but also hopefully serving or partnering as a restorative ally, who fights to change oppressive structures."

Drawing a comparison between schooling, a form of learning that maintains the status quo, and real education, Dunlap said these are the types of questions for which a liberal arts education should aim.

After convocation on Thursday was a Zoom networking event for men's soccer, which Verstandig said about 55 alums and current soccer players attended. Normally, Fall Weekend would include games and athletic events.

Fall Weekend continued Friday with three talks: chemistry professor Marc Zimmer on his new book, "The State of Science," government professor Mara Suttmann-Lea on voting in a pandemic and economics professor Monika Lopez Anuarbe.

Verstandig said Friday that while in-person lectures on Fall Weekend might draw about 30 people each, more than 100 had signed up for each virtual event this year.

On Saturday morning, Bergeron gave a video address, touching on both the state of the college as it relates to the coronavirus pandemic and to existing initiatives, such as the Dialogue Project and the expansion of a partnership with The Posse Foundation to include New York City.

Connecticut College has completed more than 19,000 coronavirus tests to date, with the low positivity rate of 0.08%. With the backdrop of upbeat music, the video showed masked and socially distanced students sitting in classrooms, learning outside and grabbing to-go meals.

Fall Weekend last year included a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Palmer Auditorium renovations, and this year, construction is in full swing. Bergeron expects the auditorium to reopen in August 2021, and she said with the current prohibition on large gatherings, it's "the perfect time to have Palmer offline."

She said after Palmer, the next big project will be the revitalization of the College Center at Crozier-Williams, or Cro.

e.moser@theday.com