Tiger tiger tiger, Sis sis sis, Boom boom boom Ahh!

REUNIONS 2008!

The Wikipedia entry for Reunions includes phrases like "most well-attended college reunion in the world," "brings back to campus upwards of 20,000 alumni, and at least that many guests," and "four-day celebration featuring large outdoor tents, elaborate costumes ... fireworks, bands ... and oceans of beer." Another blog I stumbled across awhile ago called Reunions "the most absurd event that occurs, ever, in the United States."

Combine the two (overwhelmingly enormous + ridiculous) and you get a pretty accurate description ... Don't get me wrong, Reunions are unbelievably fun and I can't wait for Reunions '10 (sadly I'll still be in Africa during my 1st Reunion), but like many things at Princeton, the whole Reunion experience is pretty surreal.

Case in point: it is illegal to have open beverages outside in New Jersey, so the University puts up miles of fences around portions of the campus, rendering most of campus "inside" for the weekend. Oh and the likelihood of seeing more than a handful of the 20,000+ alumni (or their families/guests) not wearing one or more items of orange clothing throughout the entire weekend is extremely low. Better yet, of those orange outfits, the vast majority are exceedingly ugly (whether or not you think the ugliness is wonderful is a pretty good indication of whether or not you're a Princeton alum...). On top of all that, there's the knowledge that despite spending an inordinate amount of money on Reunions, by the end of the weekend, the University's endowment will be larger by many millions. So, fun? Yes. Crazy, over-the-top, ostentatious, and bizarre? Yes, yes, yes and YES.

While Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night are packed with revelry and 80's cover bands, the main attraction really starts a little after noon on Saturday: the annual P-Rade. Literally every alum (and their families, pets, etc.) process through campus in the parade. It starts off with the 25th Reunion, and then is followed by the rest of the classes from oldest to youngest, with the most recent senior class bringing up the rear (a good 4 or 5 hours later!). Costume and props-wise, ALL the stops get pulled out for the P-Rade ... here are some shots from this year's craziness :)

(L-R): Me and 2 of my roommates: Patrice, and Emily
(L-R): Patrice, Emily, Dave, Me, Amanda (the jackets we're wearing are our class's beer jackets (another Princeton tradition); note the mass of people in the background - multiply that by at least 25 and you can start to get an idea of what the P-Rade looks like!)

The oldest alumni attending Reunions this year - from the Class of 1925!

The older alumni get to ride in style :)

Blazer, hat, gloves, necklace ... decent chance his polo shirt is '42 gear too!

"Veni Vidi Viagra Vici"
"Too young for Zelda, Too old for Brooke"
"Love is grand - Divorce is a hundred grand"

"You can't stay young forever, but you can be immature for the rest of your life"

"Where the hell is Easy Street?"
"I'm marching in my 61st consecutive P-Rade!"

"Take a good look at the Golden Years!"

Golf carts, antique cars, detailed VWs, calliopes ... like I said, all the stops get pulled out!

One of the lessons of Reunions: there's no such thing as 'too old' or 'too young' when it comes to loving Princeton :)

Another lesson: as long what you (or your pets) are wearing is orange and/or tiger-striped, you'll fit right in :)

(My favorite thing about this picture is that it's not even the most absurd outfit I saw this year...)

(One of my favorite outfits)

Class of 2008 getting ready to start marching!

About to walk on to Poe Field (the end of the parade)

Poe Field!

Another example of what passes for "normal" during Reunions :)

Random clown on stilts entertaining at the 25th Reunion (which was right outside my dorm)

Fireworks after the P-Rade

Campus Tour

This post is for anyone who hasn't ever visited Princeton and consequently only has a vague idea of where I've spent the last four years of my life (or for anyone who either didn't believe or wasn't satisfied with my description of "it kind of looks like Hogwarts"). Enjoy!

Fitz-Randolph Gates If it's nice out, Commencement is held on the lawn inside the gates and the graduates process out of the gates after the ceremony. According to superstition, anyone who walks out the gates (before Commencement) won't end up graduating.

Blair Hall & Arch Blair Arch used to be the entrance to the school back in the day - the train tracks came the whole way up to the lawn in front of the stairs. Now Blair Hall functions as a dorm and the Arch is a favorite spot for a cappella groups' performances.


University Chapel

Nassau Hall Princeton's first building ... we like to brag about how it held the entire American government and hosted the Continental Congress in its library when Princeton was the capital of the US in 1783 and about the fact that you can still see where it got hit by cannonball during the Battle of Princeton in the Revolutionary War ... and then while people are still impressed, throw in the info about how it is (decidedly less exciting) current function is to serve as office space for President Tilghman and other administrators ...

Aaron Burr Hall There's a decent chance that the majority of Princeton students don't even know this building exists, but since it's home to the Anthropology Department I'm quite familiar with it. And no worries - Princeton isn't in the habit of naming buildings after Vice Presidents who shoot people (just when you thought the next picture was going to be of Dick Cheney Hall...) - the building's actually named after Aaron Burr Sr. (the VP's father), who was the second President of the University.

Firestone Library 3 floors above ground, 3 floors below ground, and over 75 miles of books...supposedly Firestone has the highest books to student ratio of any American university, which would be fitting I guess since Princeton's ratio of nerds to non-nerds is on the higher side of things :) Firestone also houses a number of classrooms as well as carrels for seniors, grad students, and professors not lucky enough to get offices in less dungeon-like buildings :-P


Frist Campus Center Our student center.

48 University Place Home to the Daily Princetonian & the Yearbook Office (ie - several offices where I spent a considerable part of my time over the course of 4 years!)

Feinberg Hall My freshman year dorm :)

1939 Hall Sophomore year...

Patton Hall Junior year...

Fisher Hall Senior year :)


Whitman College A partial view of the newest residential college (which I was lucky enough to draw into senior year).

Witherspoon Hall Another dorm (named for John Witherspoon, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (how's that for history?) and Princeton's 6th President.

Walker Hall And another underclassman dorm...don't think it's named for anyone exciting :)

Pyne Hall Another upperclassman dorm. According to Wikipedia, it's named for this incredibly wealthy alum (whose estate is now the official residence of the Governor of NJ and has the fantastic name "Drumthwacket") who supposedly used to cover the annual deficit in the University's budget with a personal check. wow.

Patton Hall The rear view of my junior year dorm.

Alexander Hall / Richardson Auditorium The concert hall.

Cannon Green Walkway

East Pyne / Chancellor Green In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful sights on campus - the rotunda of the library in Chancellor Green has a stained glass ceiling that is absolutely stunning...I wish I had a picture to include but am sadly empty-handed and can't find any worthy alternatives online :(

Courtyard We have a lot of these (courtyards, I mean. although we also have a lot of trees...). This particular one is located near Firestone Library.
"By this route Washington and his army retired to Morristown after his victory at Princeton. January 1777." I just think that's cool :)

If you're still curious and/or interested in filling in some of the many gaps in my little tour, check this link out :)