BAKER WAS THE BACKDROP
Dartmouth wasn't just in town again, it was back on the Green.
An overwhelming majority of the class of 1996 voted to have Commencement on the Green, rain or shine, and they got it except for the rain or shine part (it was cloudy). Baker has been the traditional backdrop ever since Dwight Eisenhower came in 1956. Last year Bill Clinton was the backdrop, and it poured on the caps and gowns in Memorial Stadium. This year the ceremony was on the Green, a bit farther back from Baker so that everybody could get a view. The 1,041 bachelors and 491 advanced degree recipients stayed dry as the rain held off until evening.
Pulitzer winning journalist David Halberstam gave the main speech, revealing that he was fired from his first job at "the smallest daily in Mississippi" within a year of having graduated in the bottom third ofhis 1955 Harvard class. The moral: "The price of failure when you are young is much lower than when you are older."
Robert Binswanger '52,former head ofthe Boston Latin School and now an education prof at Dartmouth, told students gathered in the Bema for Class Day that their analogous tie to Dartmouth is not an umbilical cord but a bungee cord. "Your bungee cords are colored green, have great elasticity, are easily transportable, and connect you for life with the life of this community," he said.
Valedictorian Mark Allen Ginsburg was equally conscientious at being unstuffuy. The combined biology and Asian studies ma jor confided to his classmates that his philosophy stems from his three favorite movies: Caddy shack, The EmpireStrikes Back, and Disney's Jungle Book."Set goals, go after them with all you've got, and take time out to relax." Ginsburg, by the way, distinguished himself during his sophomore year by identifying a new gene one that affects gonad development in a particular nematode while volunteering in the genetics research lab of assistant biology prof Eric Lambie. His biological accomplishments have helped steer him toward a job in health consulting (and not, thankfully, film reviewing).
While the weather, if not the speakers, was dry for Commencement, the same could not be said for Reunions; the skies opened up now and then to keep things interesting, clearing up temporarily for an evening of star watching at the Observatory. Two hundred braved the annual 10-K alumni run. The winner was a ringer:JimSapienza'85,whoa; an undergrad anchored Dartmouth's national champ cross country team. Seven classes reuned instead of the usual five, bringing more than 2,100 alumni and 2,200 guests to campus.On campus housing sold out for the third time in history. One hundred babysitters mobilized to watch over 300 children aged six and under. The late parenting class of 1971, average age 46,requested the most sitters.
Which goes to show: Not only can you come home again, you can bring your mm kids.
1) The moose should be Dartmouth's new mascot, says Chuck Sherman '66. To prove his point Sherman commissioned traditional reunion paraphernalia emblazoned with a Dartmoose logo and the motto "Alces clamantis in deserto."
2) The Earth Sciences open house brought together volcanologist Dick Stoiber '32 and Tom "The Dorf" Holdorf '56.
3) The entire Schnabel family entered the reunion mini-marathon. Mom Edie and dad Bobby'71 came in third and fourth respectively. Heidi and Cory went the distance. Cory came in first among the kids.
4) Scott Sylvester'9l performed selections from his newly released CD, "Sign-On."
5) Beth Grey '91 smiles after being told she has the wrong oars. That's women's varisity coach Barb Kirsh shouting directions to the right ones.
6) Derek Weiss '85 is fashionable in argyle. Nick Midas '87 is merely amused.
7) George "Scotty" Scott '26 (right) remembers sitting on the senior fence and signing Arthur Stack's cane.
8) Bob Charles '87 and daughter Rachel enjoy the calm before a downpour at the '85-86-87
9) Project Chair Mike Murphy '61 and wife Helene pose with the Robert Frost statue commissioned by his class. "This will be so kitsch," said Murphy, referring to the photograph.
10) Sandy McDonald '51 issues official reunion regalia to Neal Crampton '51.
11) Jenkins Marshall Jr. and Jenkins Marshall '84 dig Storrs Pond. Reuning Linda CooperMarshall '85 is back at the picnic tent.
12) Jim Stephens'36 bought his fancy pants more than 50 years ago. Nobody else wears them anymore, says he."They all got fat."
13) Vita Mark and Gene Stollerman '41 greet incoming'41s.
14) '85s Dan Studnicky, Veronica Jenkins, Karyn Marsh, MaryJane Whitten, and Todd Sanford gather at the farewell brunch.
15) Bert Ibelle '46 displays his copy of Seeing India With Lowell Thomas. The book, a childhood favorite for Ibelle, was autographed by LowellThomas Jr.'46.
Visit the "Virtual Homecoming" at for more reunion photographs.
Trudy Muller '96 embraces Katherine Hu '96.
Lara Burgal '96 substituted flowers for mortarboard.
Keli'iOpulavoho '96accessorizes his gown.
COMMENCEMENT & REUNIONS
