1933

Invitations have been sent out for a Leadership Weekend on Sept. 17-19, just about the time when this issue of DAM will appear. Class, club, and affiliated group officers and Alumni Fund volunteers were invited and an extensive program of meetings and entertainments were scheduled. Although we approved this initiative of the College, we had already become involved in a previous commitment that prevented our attendance. Nevertheless, president Sprague, newsletter editor Lord, Alumni Fund volunteer Masten, and class agent Ripley, and possibly others had planned to attend so that '33 promised to be well represented.

We noted that two hours had been set aside for a "conversation" with the Trustees and students on the social and residential life initiative (which means "what do we do with the Greeks?"). It will be interesting to see how much of an exchange has been intended and has been possible with such a large and diverse crowd of attendees. At any rate, with the Alumni Association also meeting, perhaps some clarification as to where the proposed "initiative" stands will have been forthcoming. It is essential if the administration is to obtain constituent support. It was significant, we thought, that Ned Lord's poll of the class on fraternity policy showed 73 percent favoring fraternal retention but with reform, 15 percent were for retention as is, and 12 percent thought they should be abolished. All this without a Parkhurst proposal to cast a vote on if, as appears doubtful, such an opportunity will be afforded.

We found our onetime swimming partner, Jack Taft, remarkably perky when we caught up with him at home in Marion, Ohio, recendy. Another of our active members, he plays "a lot of golf' and "a great deal of bridge," although he claims not to be doing a great deal. Jack got a B.S. in business and engineering administration from M.I.T. in 1935 and after employment at Bird & Son and Ernst & Ernst, went to work for Fulfillment Corp., an organization servicing the publishing industry and (get this) employing 500 women. After 36 years in this delightful environment, much of the time as treasurer, he retired in 1984, wintering in Naples, Fla., where he swings a tennis racket from time to time. On the Greek problem, he feels that Parkhurst "jumped the gun" and would like to learn a lot more about what the specific proposal is before making up his mind.

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