CLASS DAY 2021 - Princeton's Commencement
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2021 CLASS 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 AffairsSIX WORD MEMOIRS FROM THE CLASS OF 2021 Series of rehearsals, performances, and adventures Open the windows & evacuate the dancefloor Life is short, take that nap! unforgettable yet fleeting abberation from reality Blue 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. The Coffee
Club. The public pianos. The eating clubs. Even Murray-Dodge,
dedicated to the fine art of being open.
AUSTIN MEJIA ’21
To try and find the silver lining in a year like this is a difficult
game of half-full, half-empty. And much like a broke frosh
pouring drinks at a pregame, all our cups might feel a little
empty.
MAYA EASHWARAN ’21
There’s no one word to fully encapsulate the range of
experiences and talents we will bring to the world. When I think
about my time here, I think of the friends I have made, the
friends I will make. I believe that the bond we have created here
will last. We’re simply Princetonians, through and through.THE GRAD BAG
The items in this bag have been crowdsourced from our
Commencement Committee, who have been working tirelessly
throughout the year to plan our graduation celebrations.
Throughout our time on campus, we have cherished opportunities
to work with local businesses. With the COVID-19 pandemic, we
spearheaded “Tigers in Town” care packages that brought Nassau
Street to our classmates across the world. It’s not lost on us how
special it is for us to be together celebrating. We want to celebrate
this special occasion with treats, including a custom beer from
River Horse brewery, a custom cheese plate from Olsson’s, and
various items that we may need during graduation.
Your Class Officers,
? Emma Parish ’21, Class President
? Sanjana Duggirala ’21, Class Vice President
? Arielle Mindel ’21, Class Secretary
? Kavya Chaturvedi ’21, Class Treasurer
? Phoebe Park ’21, Class Social Chair
Program artwork, design, and layout by Wendy Ho ’21OLD NASSAU
Tune every heart and every voice,
Bid every care withdraw;
Let all with one accord rejoice,
In praise of Old Nassau
In praise of Old Nassau, we sing,
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
Our hearts will give, while we shall live,
Three cheers for Old NassauYou can also read
