100 Years of PAW - July 5, 2000

Princeton Alumni Weekly remembers
Selections from our first century of publication

July 4, 1967

At commencement President Goheen reflected upon coeducation at Princeton, saying that the college was founded to raise up "ornaments of the State as well as the Church." Well, he predicted, some Princeton graduates are going to be more ornamental than others. As an omen, perhaps, of things to come, he spotted marching, sitting and rising in the procession of graduating seniors the most ornamental sight above, Miss Christine Jones, Wellesley '69, from Charleston, W. Va., who on an impulse decided to stand in for her date's ailing roommate. "We just decided it would be a good form of protest" (against Princeton's discrimination against women). Auburn-haired, 5-5, shy but well spoken, Miss Jones would be an ornament indeed to the Princeton alumni body-she even has that most important requisite of being an alumni daughter, of Herbert Erskine Jones Jr. '43! Photo by Ephraim E. DiKahble '39.

July 2, 1929

Conservatism rampant

Conservatism is the keynote of the undergraduate in everything from neckties to ideas. The abolition of the automobile tends to keep him in town more than if cars were still allowed, but the week-ends are still very quiet and the number departing large. Few books are withdrawn from the Library between Thursday and Saturday, and the possibilities for amusement or profit in a weekend at Princeton are not over-exploited as yet, although the proctors look a bit haggard on some Monday mornings. The question of the amount of drinking at Princeton is a delicate one. I can safely assert, however, that Mayor Bunn's attempts to dry up the town are not as yet laurel-crowned. Probably there is less drinking here than at New Haven, but whether more or less liquor is consumed on the campus each successive year it would be hard to tell. -William Milligan Sloane III '29, "Present Day Trends at Princeton"

July 19, 1946

preceptors retire

This month, after 41 years on the Princeton campus scene, the rear guard of "those preceptor guys," the original group of preceptors called by President Woodrow Wilson to implement his new method of instruction, retired from active duty on the faculty. On the retirement list were Edward S. Corwin, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Christian Gauss, Class of 1900 Professor of Modern Languages and former Dean of the College, Gordon Hall Gerould, Holmes Professor of Belles Lettres, and Robert K. Root, Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature and Dean of the Faculty.

July 3, 1953

The Weather

The rains which washed out the Yale Game and P-rade brought forth a plethora of conflicting testimony as to whether this phenomenon had ever occurred before. Within this century, at least, the record seems to bear out those who maintained it was not only the first time the P-rade had not been held, but the first time the Yale ball game was not played on the appointed day.

July 20, 1981

Indoor Commencement

For the first time in 21 years, Princeton's Commencement Exercises were moved indoors last month because of a threat of rain. It was also the first time ever that they were held in Jadwin Gym. Despite heavy downpours earlier in the morning, the sun broke through the clouds when the procession began at 11 a.m. Degrees were awarded to 1,074 graduating seniors and 329 graduate students.

July 15, 1987

Brooking the onslaught

Representatives from about 40 news organizations were on hand to broadcast Brooke Shields '87's graduation to the world. . . . Commencement plans begin taking shape in January, and this year the need for special arrangements was on the agenda. No one doubted there would be media interest, but the degree of it was a bit of a shock. Press officer Justin Harmon '78 . . . sent a two-page memorandum detailing the ground rules to more than a hundred news organizations-an abbreviated version was even put out over a wire service. . . . National Public Radio did a segment on how Princeton prepared for the onslaught and how well the plan actually worked. The New York Times did an advance piece on Brooke's graduation but then didn't bother to cover the ceremony-or even mention the honorary degree recipients or President

Bowen's "finale" as Commencement speaker. . . . Brooke said she didn't mind all the attention, that she was "flattered" by people's interest, and she was proud: "I want everyone to know I did it in four years, and it was hard." Though she was never just another student, she did try to fit in. As for the buttons sported by some seniors-"yes, I went to Princeton; no, I haven't met her"-it did become tiresome.

To order the best of paw

The Best of paw is a 448-page anthology edited by former PAW editor Jim Merritt '66. The anthology will celebrate the history, traditions, character, and culture of Princeton and will be available this summer. To order, send $35pp to Best of PAW, Princeton Alumni Weekly, 194 Nassau St., Princeton, NJ 08542.

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