• Reunions '96

• Commencement '96

REUNIONS '96

About 14,000 alumni, relatives, and friends flocked to campus to take part in Reunions, some 2,000 more than in past years. The festivities took on a special flavor this year. In addition to the usual array of activities, including arch sings, nature walks, rock climbing, receptions for black and Latino alumni, among other groups, and art, theater, and music programs, alumni were bombarded with events commemorating the 250th anniversary.
The most spectacular was a fireworks display on Saturday night. Designed by Dorothy L. Bedford '78, the executive director of the 250th anniversary, and August Santore of Garden State Fireworks, the show combined music and a light show that dazzled viewers on Poe Field and left many proclaiming it the best fireworks they had ever seen. A kaleidoscope of colors and images lit up the sky and seemed to envelope the crowd, which numbered in the thousands. Before a breathtaking finale, the crowd was led in singing "Old Nassau." Meanwhile, a pall of drifting smoke from the display set off fire alarms in nearby dormitories.
Other anniversary events included community-service projects organized by several classes; a series of programs sponsored by the Class of 1936 highlighting the historical ties between George Washington and Princeton; a slide presentation by J. T. Miller '70, the illustrations editor of Princeton University: The First 250 Years; and an anniversary salute to Princeton's founders, presidents, teachers, students, and alumni, titled "Going Back: An Anniversary Salute to Princetonians of 250 Years."
Throughout the weekend, alumni returned to the same lecture halls, where they had once taken classes, to further expand their minds. They could choose from some 30 lectures, symposia, and panel discussions, ranging from "The Politics of Queer Theory" to "Free Trade: Risk or Reward."
A panel discussion on health-care reform, moderated by Uwe E. Reinhardt, a professor of political economy, attracted a sizable crowd, a fifth of whom were physicians. Reinhardt seemed to champion HMOs, which can do what government can't-regulate doctors. With the shift from traditional health plans to managed care, he observed, money is being redistributed, and less is going to doctors, insurers, and pharmacies. Panelist Stanley S. Bergen, Jr. '51, the president of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, said he's afraid of how support for medical education and public hospitals will fare in the future. "We feel very vulnerable," he said. Brian H. Breuel '66, who advises employers on buying health-care coverage, predicted that medicine would no longer be a profession, but instead become a business.
There wasn't enough space in Dodds Auditorium to seat all the people who wanted to attend a panel discussion on education. James W. Wickenden, Jr. '61, a former dean of admission and a consultant on secondary education, believes schools must develop clear missions and better define what students need to learn. He also warned against schools carrying multiculturalism to an extreme and consequently destroying community. Neil L. Rudenstine '56, a former provost and the president of Harvard, predicted great changes in higher education in the next 25 years, among them the importance of international education and technology. Research and curricula, he said, will have to change accordingly.
A lively discussion ensued at a Saturday morning panel entitled "Balancing Family, Career, and Community Life in the '90s." The consensus was that it's not easy for parents to find balance in their hectic lives. Panelist Alina Z. MacNichol '81, who works part-time at an engineering-consulting firm, has three children, and volunteers in her community, finds she doesn't sleep much. The biggest problem in her life, she said, is overcommitment, which strains her relationships with her children and husband. Reacting to what some saw as the panel's implicit endorsement of the "super parent" who manages to do it all, one stay-at-home mother in the audience lamented society's lack of respect for full-time mothers, who are made to feel that they are wasting a Princeton education.
Professor of Religion David L. Carrasco lectured on "Religion and the Latin American Imagination." He examined different notions of sacred space in the Latin American experience: cities, shrines, internal space in an individual's body, and artwork. Sacred space, said Carrasco, is an "opening to the transcendent," where people seek access to the gods.
As usual, Reunion goers couldn't get enough of fellow Tigers and partied into the wee hours. The Class of 1971 tried to keep Friday night's main attraction, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, a secret. But before long, word spread and people clamored to get near the stage. Smokey came out wearing the class jacket and shiny black pants. Packing the dance floor, fans clapped and swayed to the tunes of "Tears of a Clown" and "More Love," among other hits.
The Class of 1986 tent was decked out in an "X marks the spot" pirate theme. Classmates wore black vests with a pirate's map on the back. The fifth-reunion Class of 1991 gets the award for the largest crowd, with young alumni rocking well past midnight. The Wawa convenience store saw lots of business at 4 a.m. on Saturday morning.
Later that day, P-raders snaked across campus for several hours under warm and sunny skies. In tribute to the 250th, past presidents William G. Bowen *58 and Robert F. Goheen '40 *48 flanked President Shapiro at the head of the P-rade. Members of the Class of 1971, some of whom marched in antiwar protests 25 years ago, carried signs whose messages such as "US out of Cambodia" and "Take a toke, it's springtime" recalled those tumultuous days. Following the graying baby boomers were members of the Old Guard, who inspired the crowd with their vigor and health. Members of the 30th-reunion Class of 1966, who carried Route 66 signs exemplifying their theme, "On the Road to 250," were accompanied by two vintage cars from 1966, a mustang and a Pontiac GTO. The Class of 1976 was the most creative in its P-rade display. Participants carried umbrellas designed to look like they were covered in green leaves, and they wore matching T-shirts. The class's theme-"Back from the jungle"-registered support for the environment while winking at the competitive world of careers. Members of the senior class, the youngest group of alumni, marched, ran, and danced, some arm and arm, chanting "96!" After a long wait, they dashed, fists in the air, through a triumphal arch on Poe Field.
Attendance at Reunions was up significantly this year, says Donald W. Altmaier '55, associate director of the Alumni Council, because of the 250th celebration and the great weather. Two classes-1991 and 1971-set unofficial records for their respective reunions. Overall attendance for major-reunion classes was estimated at 3,727, about 10 percent above the last five year average.
-Kathryn F. Greenwood