Class Day 2021
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2021CLASS DAY A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLASS DAY The tradition of the Princeton Class Day dates back to as early as 1856, and in 1898 it was described as “a day over which the Graduating Class has full charge and which we run to suit ourselves, in our characteristic way.” Although seniors no longer smoke long white clay pipes before smashing them on the cannon, Class Day still features student speeches, remarks by the University President, and the presentation of awards. During the twenty-first century, prominent Class Day speakers have come to entertain and advise the class; recent speakers have included comedians, actors, and statesmen. Other elements of contemporary Class Day exercises include the presentation of a symbolic key to the campus by the University President, the wearing of orange-and-black class jackets, and the singing of “Old Nassau.” A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLASS JACKETS Senior class jackets, popularly known as “beer jackets,” are a common sight on Class Day. This article of clothing traces its origins to 1912, when a group of students decided to wear blue denim overalls and jackets to prevent beer from spotting their clothes. The following year, the Class of 1913 followed suit, but chose to wear white instead of blue. After the First World War, costumes were embellished with humorous logos, including jabs at Prohibition. Although overalls were abandoned following the Second World War, beer jackets have remained an integral part of Commencement activities. This year’s class jacket was designed by Victoria Pan ’21. Class Day and Class Jacket Histories courtesy of the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library. RECENTLY SELECTED SPEAKERS 2020 Marshawn Lynch 2011 Brooke Shields ’87 2019 Ellie Kemper ’02 2010 Charles Gibson ’65 2018 Cory Booker 2009 Katie Couric 2017 Baz Luhrmann 2008 Stephen Colbert 2016 Jodi Picoult ’87 2007 Bradley Whitford 2015 Christopher Nolan 2006 Bill Clinton 2014 Al Gore 2005 Chevy Chase 2013 David Remnick ’81 2004 Jon Stewart 2012 Steve Carell 2003 Jerry Seinfeld SCHEDULE OF EVENTS WELCOME Morgan Smith ’21 Kamya Yadav ’21 Michael Wang ’21 Class Day Chairs PRESIDENT’S REMARKS Christopher Eisgruber ’83 20th President of Princeton University CLASS PRESIDENT’S REMARKS Emma Parish ’21 Class President PRESENTATION OF CLASS PRIZES Acknowledgement of Pyne Prize Winners Allen Macy Dulles Class of 1951 Award Frederick Douglass Service Award Harold Willis Dodd’s Achievement Prize W. Sanderson Detwiler 1903 Prize Walter E. Hope Class of 1901 Medal STUDENT REMARKS Ed Elson ’21 PRISCILLA GLICKMAN ’92 MEMORIAL PRIZE PRESENTATION OF ATHLETIC AWARDS Class of 1916 Cup Art Lane ’34 Citizen Athlete Award William Winston Roper Trophy C. Otto von Kienbusch Award STUDENT REMARKS Morgan Carmen ’21 INDUCTION OF HONORARY CLASS MEMBERS Presentations by: Emma Parish ’21 Class President Sanjana Duggirala ’21 Class Vice President Arielle Mindel ’21 Class Treasurer Kavya Chaturvedi ’21 Class Secretary Phoebe Park ’21 Class Social Chair KEYNOTE SPEAKER Trevor Noah CLOSING REMARKS Morgan Smith ’21 Kamya Yadav ’21 Michael Wang ’21 Class Day Chairs HONORARY CLASS MEMBERS Trevor Noah Rabbi Julie Roth Class Day Speaker Executive Director of the Center for Jewish Life Ian Deas Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Robin Izzo Students, Director of Student Executive Director of Environmental Leadership and Engagement Health and Safety Allison Slater Tate ’96 Sameer Khan President of the Class of ’96 Owner of Fotobuddy Photography Gary Walsh ’71 Vice President of the Class of ’71 SPIRIT OF PRINCETON AWARD RECIPIENTS Daniel Benitez ’21 Jonathan Ort ’21 Kelton Chastulik ’21 Chitra Parikh ’21 Kavya Chaturvedi ’21 Phoebe Park ’21 Andy “AJ” Chen ’21 Terrell Seabrooks ’21 Kiara “KiKi” Gilbert ’21 Abraham Waserstein ’21 Rachel Hazan ’21 Noa Zarur ’21 SINGING OF OLD NASSAU Gus Binnie ’21 Gray Collins ’21 Jeanna Joseph ’21 Ingrid Koester ’21 Carina Lewandowski ’21 Celine Park ’21 Dorian Pousont ’21 Remy Reya ‘21 THANK YOU The Class of 2021 would like to thank the following retiring faculty members for their commitment to the education of undergraduates at Princeton: Chih-p’ing Chou Alexander Nehamas East Asian Studies Philosophy, Comparative Literature Lynn Enquist Philip Nord Molecular Biology History Edward Felten James Richardson Computer Science, Princeton School of Lewis Center for the Arts, Creative Public and International Affairs Writing Andrew Laughlin Ford Thomas Shenk Classics Molecular Biology Olga Hasty Yakov Sinai Slavic Languages and Literatures Mathematics Michael Jennings Marta Tienda German Sociology, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs Gerta Keller Geosciences Robert Wuthnow Sociology Sara McLanahan Sociology, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs SIX WORD MEMOIRS FROM THE CLASS OF 2021 Series of rehearsals, performances, and adventures Open the windows & evacuate the dancefloorLife is short, take that nap! unforgettable yet fleeting abberation from realityBlue skies, warm weather, and water Loving each day in God’s presence Best club on the street - Taj Plan Ahead, Be Present, Enjoy Slowly it’s been a hard day’s night you just had to be there My God, it’s full of stars! Late nights with the best friends I am now a coffee connoisseur. Flooding, Bats, COVID, Zoom, Degree. Next? Drinking water from a fire hose Bittersweet. See You Again Soon, Princeton. Focus, late-nights, laughs, friends, opportunity, advocacy Long, long way to Ba-Sing Se Made Friends, Had Fun, Branched Out Little by little, one travels far Unforgettable experience grew as a person What’re the chances on a Tuesday I wish it ended differently. Damn papa you a rare breed Being uncomfortable makes you stronger Keep moving forward, day by day EEB is my home and family Community pushes you beyond the mountains Becoming a tiger I was born to be To P/D/F or not to P/D/F... growth in all aspects (except height) No, I’m not BSE, I’m BS-ing have fun on the way there Made some friends along the way. i am certain of nothing Cachicamo diciéndole a morrocoy conchudo Many thanks to everybody I’ve met Can we take more Princeton classes? All the glory to God, forever Late Nights & Sunrise; Games & Close Friends I learned a lot about myself. Challenging but Inspirational, Intense and Incredible My people make Princeton my home Jump first. Figure it out later. a better world must be built God has done this for me. Pursuer of dreams, taker of naps Dear Princeton, thank you for everything. Friends, I’ll always have your backs :) Learned Lots; Mostly from my friends Sing like nobody is watching you. I shouldn’t have taken the 9-AMs Will miss my friends and professors! rats rats rats rats rats rats Many memories have been made here. Six words is not enough to Pretty good. Pretty, pretty, pretty good. Fifteen, one table. Laughing. “Come join!” Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born too much time spent in library Mom, Dad, and R, thank you! Was a grind but worth it. Nothing but blessings; only the beginning! Friends, I can’t thank you enough. Be the chunks of life’s milkshake 2.75 years on campus aren’t enough Sugar by Maroon 5 can burn New experiences each day; memories forever. From Nassau Hall to Prospect Street That black and orange Superdry jacket. Hard work, good times, great people Everything starts with a dream. There’s so much I don’t know. Two Eggs Scrambled Lightly with Cheese I hope, with time, better days Pursue life avoid death love liberally a transformative and eye- opening experience. Four years of growth and joy! In tumultuous growth, we wreathe upward To the memories, hugs, and smiles :) Love with abundance, laugh even more So lucky so far it’s outrageous Thankful for Black Women at Princeton. Open fields, chalkboards, train-tracks, mind. Mathematical mysteries of biology SENIOR CLASS REFLECTIONS BEN ANGARONE ’21 Best bathrooms – if you’re normal – are in Dod basement, BUT the best bathrooms if you’re a total narcissist are in Firestone Library. Nothing like turning to the side and seeing your pantsless reflection on those shiny black stall walls. I have to imagine this design was intentional. Maybe this is what Black Mirror was about all along. DANIEL BENITEZ ’21 Many of us have had to make a lot of sacrifices. And sometimes they pay off. Like skipping class to go to a diSiac show. And sometimes they don’t. Like skipping class to go see BodyHype. SAM SHAPIRO ’21 I remember on a random Tuesday, after going on a group run with some friends in the pouring rain, one girl suggested we spontaneously jump in Lake Carnegie. We paused for a second, only to shrug and say “sure.” To me, Princeton is the spontaneity of swimming across a polluted lake, only to see the Men’s heavyweight crew team as we are halfway swimming across the water, shouting “1 2 3 row” and look into the water and see people and scream “oh my god people are swimming.” JOE ORT ’21 We discovered that the notion of your thesis being the capstone of your senior year is seriously misleading. It’s really the capstone of your long weekend before it’s due. MARK AGOSTINELLI ’21 During this semester, many of us have been grossly overpaying for meals on Doordash and beverages at A&B. I’m sure we all miss the days before the pandemic, when we would grossly overpay for eating club dues in exchange for decent meals and watered down beverages. REMY REYA ’21 Virtual Princeton hurt the Great Class of 2021. We lost some of our classmates to gap years. We lost many of the traditions that we had looked forward to experiencing as seniors. Even those of us living on campus lost some of the physical dimensions of Princeton that made our lives here meaningful.