Commencement and Reunions: A Sketchbook

GRADUATION DAY

Midway through Dartmouth's 230th commencement ceremony on June 11, the skies opened up—and so did the umbrellas. Spirits, however, were far from dampened. In her address, speaker Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, told graduates to "employ a broader perspective." Valedictorian Shreeram Akilesh '00 defended the Greek system and implored fellow graduates to live their lives "with intensity." Number of degrees conferred: 1,519. Number of guests: more than 10,000.

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FACES IN THE CROWD

Counselor to the president and librarian emeritus Edward Connery Lathem 50 has missed but two commencement ceremonies since his own. As college usher, a ceremonial title provided for by Dartmouth's royal charter of 1769, Lathem carried Lord Dartmouth's Cup in the procession. Meanwhile, baseball great and honorary degree recipient Hank Aaron braved eager autograph seekers, while graduates spent their first moments in the Real World smiling bravely as parents scurried to capture precious Kodak moments.

GOOD OLD DAYS

Hanover's green jacket season got under way June 9 with classes holding reunions: 1925, '30, '35, '40, '45, '50, '55, '60, '65, '70, '75 '79, '80, '81, '95. Attendance topped 4,500, setting a new record. With alumni in such large numbers, rocking chairs at the Inn did not go lacking for occupants. Over at the Bema, country singer and Dartmouth favorite Jerry Jeff Walker—of "Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother" fame—performed an evening concert for the classes of '79, '80 and '81. (Alas, his 1981 Reunion album is now out of print.)

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MR. PARTY PLANNER

Always the big man on campus when classes return, reunions coordinator David Orr '57 dashed from lobster feast to clambake with his cellphone ringing like crazy. "With all those picnics going on, I try to keep moving," he says. Orr's next reunion will be his own; he retired at the end ofJune after 40 years at the College. Other reunion activities included stargazing at Shattuck Observatory, plenty of receptions, and the traditional 2-mile race around Occom Pond and the 10K run to Storr's Pond. Future legacies also participated in reunion festivities, as alums brought more than 700 of their children along for an early taste of the college life.