Well, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference is now over, but the consequences of an uncontrolled Covid-19 outbreak may continue for quite some time.

When last we left the situation, more than 10% of conference participants had become ill. Leadership responded by continuing activities as scheduled, including a dance, with masking suggested but not required. The infected attendees were sent home — or should I say were ousted from the conference. The departees, including some who had written about their experiences on Twitter, were not offered refunds or any help with unexpected travel costs.

Sometime during the day Friday, after several writers took to Twitter and I wrote about the situation in this space (and the paywalled Publishers Marketplace also covered the outbreak), leadership changed its stance. According to former participant and now Covid patient Caitlin Eichorn, Bread Loaf reached out to infected participants with an offer of prorated refunds for tuition, room and board — but only after, as Eichorn noted, “the bad publicity” around the Bread Loaf outbreak had begun to spread.

Better late than never, but it would have been preferable if leadership had acted on principle instead of damage control.

Conferences like Bread Loaf are practically sacred spaces for writers and aspiring writers. Their purpose is to nurture and develop writers. Participants ought to be a conference’s top priority. But Bread Loaf, until it was called to account, placed its own interests above those of its participants. Conference participant Sienna Zeilinger:

Been thinking a lot about Bread Loaf and how tenuous anything good feels as an “emerging” writer. How that attitude made it difficult to admit to myself (after 3 close, extended exposures) that I felt unsafe. I spent Monday deliberating in a meadow, then drove home to isolate.

That is the exact opposite of what Bread Loaf and similar gatherings promise. No attendee should feel “unsafe.” No attendee should be given reason to doubt the good will of conference organizers. This is a matter of principle. It’s also good business practice. You don’t want to squander a reputation built over a century due to a momentary lapse of reason.

Or perhaps not so momentary. This isn’t the first time that Bread Loaf and its parent/host Middlebury College have prioritized reputation over principle, or changed course only after a situation got too hot to handle. Maybe it’s time for college and conference leadership to take a long, hard look in the mirror. If that happens, at least something positive will come out of this unfortunate situation.