Proclamation

Proclamation 2024 will be held on Sunday, 8 September at 1 p.m. in the Cannon Memorial Chapel.

Proclamation is one of Westhampton College’s longest lasting celebrations, founded by the first dean of Westhampton, Dr. May Lansfield Keller. Led by the current Dean of Westhampton, Dr. Mia Reinoso Genoni, this ceremony brings together new and senior Westhampton students to emphasize the importance of the Honor Code and the Westhampton community. An alum returns to share their thoughts about their experience at the university and as a Westhampton student. The chair of the Honor Council speaks to the value and importance of the Honor Code, and each new student signs the pledge and is officially recognized as a member of the College community. In addition, all new students write letters to themselves, which contain their thoughts about arriving on campus, and their hopes and ideas about how they will grow, develop, and change during the coming years. At the same time, senior students have their letters returned to them, and, in a moment that is both touching and incredibly entertaining, two seniors read their letters to the entire community.

As one of Westhampton’s oldest and most beloved celebrations, Proclamation has a number of symbolic items that are given out or featured in the ceremony.

All incoming students are given a special Westhampton College pen, designed specifically for Proclamation.  Students use the pen both to sign the Honor pledge and to write their future selves a letter, which they then open during Proclamation their senior year.

Likewise, all seniors are given a one-of-a-kind Westhampton College cuff, which they can wear throughout their senior year and beyond.  The cuff was also designed especially for Proclamation by the Westhampton deans, and it is presented by the University of Richmond Office of Alumni Relations – a joint gift to symbolize our students’ lifelong connection to Westhampton and to the Spider Family.

The class colors, alternating blue, yellow, green, and red, are another long-standing Westhampton College tradition, featured in Proclamation in the class banner.  Senior members of the Westhampton College Government Association work together to create a banner for the first-year students, which they unfurl and display on stage. The senior class banner is also re-introduced at Proclamation, as a reminder of the gift given to them during their first-year Proclamation and in celebration of their ascension to senior year. At the end of the year, the senior banner is cut into small pieces and distributed to seniors in the spring to be worn on their commencement robes as a Westhampton memento.

Proclamation also features the symbol of the daisy, honoring our first dean, May Landsfield Keller, who identified with and led May Day celebrations because of her name. To honor this history, daisies of varying colors are given to all participants in Proclamation and we start the celebration with student leaders carrying in a contemporary vision of the daisy chain, marking the importance of leadership and community in the College. 

 Finally, Westhampton’s colors are blue, white, and black, and we hope that all students will be able to wear one or more of these colors in some way, be it the clothing itself or any kind of accent or accessory. Equally importantly, we encourage students to wear something that is comfortable and authentic as an expression of themselves, whatever that may be.