Reunion: Saturday Dinner

Reunion: Saturday Dinner

The early birds started to party on Thursday evening. The delicious buffet on Friday was a great welcome for the arriving majority. But the Saturday Dinner was the true culinary apex of the weekend.

The crowd happily visited with old friends, made trips to the bar and restrooms as needed, and stopped on the way to greet and catch way up with even more old friends.

The music program was very different from prior reunions … and quite successful. And the formal parts of the evening were short and very sweet, with recognition …

Silhouette of Tree Photo
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Reunion: Miscellaneous Pictures

Editor’s Note:This will be a spot where reunion attendees can contribute miscellaneous pictures — of close friends (as Derry does next), of meaningful places or activities they explored (as Brad does below) , or … basically ANY interesting, relevant pictures.

We aren’t sure about the final layout yet — check out the Gallery so far. Then just send any of your pix to support@Yale1969.org!

Memorial Service Remembers Those Who’ve Passed
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Memorial Service Remembers Those Who’ve Passed

The Class convened in Battell Chapel on Saturday afternoon to share remembrances of the 45 classmates who have passed away during the prior 5 years. The Rev. J. Douglas Ousley ’69 officiated. Eliot Norman and Dick Williams organized the musical portion of the program. Dan Seiver read off the names (see slides below, one per person) and attendees shared stories and memories of the deceased.

Reunion: Climate and Energy Panel

Reunion: Climate and Energy Panel

Class Program

A panel of ’69ers with some serious climate bona fides reported

  • results from the class survey on our views of climate change (Tom Guterbock),
  • a framework discussing timeframes for science, the public and the economy to react to the reality of a changing climate (Eugene Linden),
  • the latest scientific reports on the extent of the damage so far (Skip Hobbs) and
  • what we Boomers can do about (Wayne Willis).

A robust discussion followed in the Q&A. Click through on the links and resources offered by the panel.

Spirituality in Our 70s as members of the Class of 1969

Spirituality in Our 70s as members of the Class of 1969

Class Program

Our 50th Reunion Survey asked some probing questions about our collective approaches to spirituality. The 55th Reunion Survey sought to determine whether and how our beliefs have continued to evolve.  This presentation examined the spiritual state of our class, raised some questions about why it is and what it is, and presented some individual views and questions to ponder as we age.

Yale’s new University Chaplain responded to the presentation and compare our class to Yale today. Speaker: Michael Baum; Contributors: Michael Folz, Matthew Flynn; Respondent: Maytal Saltiel, University Chaplain.

Class History: 1969 to 2018
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Class History: 1969 to 2018

[Editors Note:  Originally published on 26 May 2019;  This is fifth in a series of re-published Essays from the 50th Reunion ClassBook.]   Back again, your whilom class historian here reviews our half-century of adulthood by examining the world and American culture at the milestones of our graduation in 1969, the 25th reunion in 1994, and…

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Yale and the Shaping of American Foreign Policy, Then and Now

[Originally published on 26 May 2019;  This is fourth in a series of re-published Essays from the 50th Reunion ClassBook.] Even if most of us weren’t thinking of getting into foreign-policy as we entered Yale in September, 1965, foreign policy would get into us, and the consequences would rattle Yalies not only on campus but also in State, Defense,…

Responding To Salovey’s George Floyd Letter

Responding To Salovey’s George Floyd Letter

Editor’s Note: President Salovey sent a letter to the Yale community on Sunday May 31, 2020.  The full text of the letter is here.  Classmates responded with a broad range of reactions.

Fred Morris (JE) sent a letter, reprinted here in full.  Anyone else sending a letter to President Salovey can contact us; we’ll add it below and republish this post as “updated.” Comments welcome.

The Meaning of Yale for the Class of 1969—One Man’s View

The Meaning of Yale for the Class of 1969—One Man’s View

Why is it that the four years from our arrival at Yale early in September 1965, to our graduation on June 9, 1969, have proven so important to so many of us? Most of us will be seventy-two years old in 2019, the year of our fiftieth reunion. Those four years we spent in college constitute a mere one-eighteenth of our lives. Why so important? Why is it that today you can initiate a conversation with a classmate with whom you may not have spoken in a half-century, and it will be as easy to talk to him as it was when we were undergraduates together?