1979
Thirty years ago. Spring term 1976. Our class enjoyed spring weather and longer daylight hours by flinging Frisbees and listening to Beach Boys surfing music blaring out from open, second-story dorm windows. We celebrated our last teenage birthdays. Gerald Ford was president. Dartmouth's own Nelson Rockefeller '30 was vice president. John Kemeny was the College president.
Mel Thompson, as N.H. governor, was ex officio member of Dartmouth's board of trustees. The Gong Show premiered. The first regularly scheduled commercial flights of the Concorde began. The median household income was $12,686. Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" went to gold. Red-colored M&Ms were first removed from the traditional color mix (to be returned in 1987). Channing Cox Hall opened south of Thayer School with apartments for students. The phrase "personal computer" first appeared in print in the May 1976 issue of Byte magazine. Apple Computer began. Saturday Night Lives Chevy Chase won an Emmy for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Variety Show.
Dartmouth's annual tuition fee was $3,580. Grammy Awards went to "The Hustle," Paul Simons "Still Crazy After All These Years," and Captain & Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together." First-class stamps were 13 cents. Many were American Bicentennial commemoratives. Jelly Belly candies were introduced. Jack Nicholson won Best Actor Oscar for his performance in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The last broadcast of Marcus Welby,M.D., was May 11. Agatha Christie died.
Dartmouth's first coed class that had entered Dartmouth as a coeducational class graduated. Our own class still had three years left as Dartmouth undergraduates (or had only three years left as undergraduates depending on your point of view). Since June 1976 the worlds population has grown from 4.2 to 6.5 billion people. For every two people living on earth just 30 years ago, now there are three. Meanwhile, Saturn orbited the sun only once. And only 26,000 hour-hand spins remain on the Baker tower clocks until our 30th reunion.
In the meantime, how can we stay in touch better? The Colleges alumni relations office has several new online tools and services to help. All services are accessed with one account using your alumni e-mail login name and password. If you have not activated your account yet, please do so today. Your lifetime e-mail address would be simply "firstname.lastname.79@alum.dartmouth.org."
One of the new services is Dartmouth's own online professional and social networking program or Vox Alumni Network Online Directory, called inCircle. The younger alumni classes (since 1995) seem to be most active. However, inCircle could be quite valuable for our class as well.
To better connect with alumni friends, online groups have formed. These include the traditional Dartmouth clubs of Greater Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Washington. Other organizations represented include Alpha Theta, Psi Upsilon, Aquinas House, Cabin & Trail, Marching Band, Alpha Chi Alpha and many others. Industry groups have formed online including, but not limited to, Dartmouth alumni in finance, in technology and in education.
You can post and find jobs, items for sale, advice, tickets, housing and sports. You can post photos, messages, resumes, blogs and personal interests to reestablish and maintain your own Dartmouth alumni community. You can search the database using any criteria. Hook into this community now. Take at look at https://alumni.dartmouth.edu/services/. See you on inCircle.
What's new with you? Please take a moment and send me a quick e-mail (or please give me a call). What have you seen? What have you done? What have you learned?
Please share your stories, your humor, your perspectives. Enjoy the spring.
17 Southview, Pleasantville, NY10570; (212) 827-8456; mwinkler@marthastewart.com
