Highlights From This Year’s Major-Reunion Classes

Published May 10, 2019

THE CLASS OF 1954

“Let’s Bow Once More for ’54!”

Our theme since our fifth reunion in 1959 features our “Happi Coat,” which inspired our unique silent “bow” instead of the usual locomotive cheer. Headquarters are at Forbes College, and Friday’s special events include lunch and a tour of the Lewis Arts Center, a memorial service, and dinner at Springdale Golf Club, where we will celebrate the success of the Class Fund to support senior-thesis work. Saturday morning will bring a tour of Firestone Library followed by our class forum featuring professor Douglas Massey *78 and classmate Neal Peirce, all before the timeless P-rade! Let’s bow once more for ’54! Spring cheers!

THE CLASS OF 1959

’59’s class jacket features a repeat of the “Tipsy Tiger,” a replica of the tiger caricature that adorned the class’s beer jackets 60 years ago, in 1959. The Tipsy Tiger has been adopted as the official class logo, and now appears on the class tie, baseball cap, polo shirt, wives’ visors, tote bags, umbrellas, Bermuda shorts, highball glasses, note pads, and skivvies.

The Great Class of 1959 has twice won the coveted Clancy Trophy for the best planned and run major reunion, and is shooting for a three-peat. The reunion logo this year features the Tipsy Tiger standing in the two previously won Clancy Trophy bowls. The class is again headquartered in the promenade between Campbell, Joline, and Holder halls, a site that it inaugurated for its 55th reunion five years ago, and for which it won the Alumni Council Innovation Award for creating a new headquarters site.

’59 will kick off its weekend program on Thursday afternoon with an audio/video presentation on the Battle of Princeton, followed by an assembly of classmates recounting interesting and unusual experiences in their careers. On Friday morning we will hold our memorial service in the University Chapel in remembrance of lost classmates, followed by a class photo on the steps of Clio Hall. On Saturday we will be serenaded at lunch by the Kiltie Pipers and the Hobo Band, who will join us later in the P-rade, during which we will march with our biggest Tipsy Tiger ever, standing 8 feet tall. At headquarters after the P-rade we will be entertained by our own ’59 “Jammers,” an eclectic assembly of musicians from our class ranks who have never played (or practiced) together before. Our headquarters tent will be adorned with oversize copies of our Nassau Herald photos to oversee the cacophony below. On Sunday we will bid farewell with brunch at the boathouse on Lake Carnegie.

THE CLASS OF 1964

“55 Is Not Our Limit!”

We will have our 55th reunion in the courtyard of Scully Hall. We expect 135 to 150 classmates to return; with guests the total will be about 250. We plan to have the Buddy Holly Band on Friday night and a DJ on Saturday night. Bagpipes will lead us during the P-rade.

THE CLASS OF 1969

“Times — They Are a-Changin’”

“Times — They Are a-Changin’” is the theme for the Class of 1969’s 50th reunion. This theme reflects the tremendous change that took place during our four years as students at Princeton. The yin-yang

logo prevails, and our various costume offerings will have more orange and black yin-yangs than you have ever seen in your life. An impressive list of 10 classmates will appear on alumni-faculty forums throughout the weekend, offering their insights on such topics as climate change, neuroscience, free speech, Tigers in the arts, entrepreneurship, and others.

On Thursday, there will be a get-together with our grandchild class — the Class of 2019 — and we will also commemorate our signature community-service project, the Princeton Internships in Civic Service (PICS) program, which the Class of 1969 initiated. We will also have an art exhibit throughout Reunions weekend featuring the work of three classmates, which will be located in the CoLab of the Lewis Center for the Arts. On Friday afternoon, the artists will discuss their work on a moderated panel. Also on Friday afternoon, there will be a gathering of alumni who were in the PICS program as undergraduates, and who will have a chance to meet with their mentors while participating in PICS. This will be followed by a major highlight of the reunion: our fabulous wine-tasting event, occurring late Friday afternoon. A selection of our classmates’ favorite wines will be featured.

Entertainment will be led off on Thursday night with the inimitable Jerry Blavat, known as the “Geator with the Heater” or the “Big Boss with the Hot Sauce.” Friday-night’s entertainment will be Shama Lama from Rochester, N.Y., preceded by DJ Fred Campbell. On Saturday night we will have DJ Fred Campbell again; then Robby George and Friends offering music in the country, folk, and bluegrass traditions; followed by the Bob Campanell Band performing classic rock ’n’ roll.

Our class photo will be taken on Saturday morning on the steps of Blair Arch, immediately followed by the class memorial service. Our class meeting will follow Saturday dinner. Finally, our classmate Barry Miles Silverlight and his group will provide musical entertainment at Sunday brunch at the same site as our art exhibit.

Finally, we expect to make a large and lively contribution to the P-rade! We look forward to a great four days celebrating our time at Princeton 50 years ago.

THE CLASS OF 1974

“Stars in Stripes – Still Brilliant!”

The BRILLIANT Class of ’74 will be celebrating our 45th reunion with a series of events and activities designed to set the stage for our 50th in 2024. Our headquarters will be in Holder Courtyard, where our Stars in Stripes will shine brilliantly!

We are thrilled that we will be enjoying a reception and dinner on Thursday at the Lewis Center for the Arts, one of the newest and most magnificent facilities on campus, and we will be entertained by Roaring 20 — one of Princeton’s co-ed a cappella groups — during dinner. Following dinner, we will return to home base to hear Robby George and Friends play bluegrass and folk music throughout the evening.

Friday breakfast and lunch will be served at Holder Courtyard, where you can enjoy boisterous discussions with classmates or enjoy some quiet time in adjacent Hamilton Courtyard. We will be christening a new dinner venue on Friday evening in the courtyard formed by the Chapel and McCosh Hall. During dinner on Friday, we will be entertained by both the Tigerlilies and Nassoons. When we return to Holder, we expect to see classmates dancing and singing along with Jump Street, a much-sought-after soul/R&B group from the Washington, D.C., area.

Saturday finds us back at headquarters for breakfast and lunch. At noon sharp, we will gather at Clio for our class photo, then quickly return to headquarters for a “picnic” lunch. To get us ready for the P-rade, members of the Aqua String Band, a Mummers group out of Philadelphia, will perform. For those who are not familiar with “mummers,” think Mardi Gras colors, banjos, and jubilation! The Aqua String Band will be joining us in the P-rade, as will members of the Raiders Drum and Bugle Corps. We are sure to wow the reviewers!

Saturday night we will be visited by President Eisgruber ’83 and entertained by the Katzenjammers at dinner at Holder Courtyard. As a special treat, we’ll have a photo booth available from 6 to 9 p.m. Classmates can have serious or “not-so-serious” photos taken and receive a souvenir photo as a reminder of how BRILLIANT we all look and feel. Don’t forget, fireworks commence around 9 p.m. but rock ’n’ roll music at Holder by the East Coast Band will start around 9:30 for those who choose to remain at headquarters. We expect dancing will continue into the wee hours!

Sunday brunch will be served in Madison Hall.

THE CLASS OF 1979

“We Are Family”

The theme of the Great Class of 1979’s 40th reunion, “We Are Family,” was a mega-hit tune during the spring of our graduation year, but more importantly, it represents the strong affection and ties between our class members. Despite where our lives may take us, “We (Still) Are Family.”

As soon as you arrive at our tent at Dod, you’ll receive a special greeting from a member of our welcoming committee. Our tent will again be filled with vintage photos of us, and it will have a “Family Room” for quieter conversation, complete with shag rugs and ’70s posters.

We’ve booked two outstanding bands to perform for us: Liquid Pleasure and the Right On Band, so we hope you’ve packed your dancing shoes! We’ll also have the Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps leading us in the P-rade. We’ll be the most fashionable and comfortably dressed of all the classes — our attire co-chairs have perfected every detail, from the quality of our dress shirts to the boldness of our ’70s style T-shirts!

This year, our formal dinner will be at the beautiful boathouse, where we’ll announce our legacy project, the Class of 1979 FLI Tigers and Friends Mentoring Program. Our memorial service, honoring the classmates we’ve lost in the last five years, will take place in the University Chapel on Friday afternoon.

Many other activities are planned for the weekend. We’ll have “Sip and Paint”; a wine tasting; and the ’19/’79 Revue, featuring the talents of the classes of ’19 and ’79 on Thursday night; and yoga on Friday and Saturday mornings. We’ll be showing the film Satan and Adam featuring our classmate Adam Gussow. We’ll also have a special ’79 alumni panel on diversity in higher education, with several classmates — including three that are university presidents. Other classmates will be featured in various alumni-faculty forums including our Nobel Prize winner, Frances Arnold!

We’ll conclude the weekend with Sunday brunch in Procter Hall at the Graduate College, a Harry Potter-esque setting if ever there was one. We expect hugs will be exchanged and a few tears will be shed.

#79isFamily.

THE CLASS OF 1984

“Mind. Body? Soul!”

We have the Mind. We might have the Body? But we definitely have ’84 Soul!

We are all older, wiser, and much more mindful of our lives, our surroundings, our world, and the universe. It’s now less about getting and more about giving — at least that’s what we should be striving for. It’s about being at peace, being centered, and being present. Our outfit will center around “Zenwear” — loungewear that is both traditional and relaxed for mindfulness living. Basically, looking good and feeling comfortable. We will have morning meditation and yoga to prepare us for the roaring fun ahead.

Friday night we have the Right On Band at Reunions HQ. Saturday night we have Top Shelf (with our own Gene Lewin). So open your Mind. Move your Body? And let your Soul! shine at Reunions HQ. Dinner will be at the boathouse Saturday night. There will also be alumni-faculty forums, Morning at the Museum, the multi-class community service project, and so much more.

THE CLASS OF 1989

“Thirty Dancing”

We sailed through the ’90s, juggled it all and had a ball, said “ankhs for the memories,” and now we’re finally getting down and dirty — dancing, that is. The Class of ’89 will be Thirty Dancing all weekend long in the new-and-improved, waffle-ceiling-no-more Butler College Courtyard with a lineup of events that will make you want to shout.

DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid gets things spinning Thursday night with his unique blend of electronic hip-hop, and then it’s back, Jack, through the decades for some Friday Night Fever with DJ Krista at Studio 89. After we finish slip-sliding our way through the P-rade on Saturday, the food and the music will heat up with Latin American cuisine on the menu at Poe Field followed by the infectious sounds of New York City’s finest salsa band, Los Habaneros. Their rhythm is gonna get you, but if the beat ever gets to be too much and you just want to drift away, stop into the velvet-roped, ’89-only VIP lounge at headquarters, relax like a Grammy-winning diva, and celebrate good times with old friends.

The weekend’s not all “slow dancing, swaying to the music,” though. Friday we’ll join the multi-class community service project in Dod Courtyard, packing meals for Kids Against Hunger. We’ll go formal with class jackets for our official dinner on Friday night, where you might just find yourself thinking, “If I could turn back time…”

The 30th reunion may feel like the end of the world as we know it, but for the Class of ’89 it’s guaranteed to be some kind of wonderful. You’ll have the time of your life.

THE CLASS OF 1994

“Generation xXv”

This weekend, the great Class of 1994 will come together at our 25th reunion to celebrate the common experiences that have shaped us as Generation xXv.

On Thursday, we’ll welcome classmates back with a reception in our “Unplugged Lounge” in Upper Whitman Courtyard beginning at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner in the lower Whitman Courtyard. After dinner, we’ll invite the Class of 2019 to join us on the dance floor for some throwback ’80s tunes with Rubix Kube.

Friday is a packed day for the Class of ’94, as we will be well-represented on the alumni-faculty forum panels throughout the day. In addition, we will honor our classmates who have passed in a special memorial service in the Chapel at 9 a.m. At 2:30, our class and the Prison Teaching Initiative will co-host a panel titled “Educating the Incarcerated to Transform Lives and Break a Wicked Cycle of Mass Incarceration.” On Friday evening, we’ll head over to Poe Field for an elegant farm-to-table class dinner. Back at Whitman, we’ll dance the night away with Saved by the ’90s.

On Saturday, we have face-painting, bouncy houses, games for kids, and a DJ to pump us up for P-rade. Our classmates will gather for a class photo at 1 p.m. on Blair steps. During the P-rade, we will debut our custom-made class jacket, inspired by British rowing blazers and honoring the desire of our class to have a “timeless classic.” An orange-and-cream herringbone fabric is overlaid with a print of prowling tigers and trimmed with stripes of orange “94s” on a black background (in a nod to our senior jackets). Finally, Saturday night, after dinner in Whitman Courtyard and fireworks at the stadium, Party Rock will have us on the dance floor until the wee hours.

THE CLASS OF 1999

“Party Like It’s 1999”

The Class of ’99 will be embracing the energy and flair of the one and only Prince as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our graduation from Old Nassau and “Party Like It’s 1999” in the Little/Edwards courtyard.

Reunions apparel for the 20th includes a custom orange Prince-style jacket, black tees with orange metallic print, and themed accessories. There will be coordinating tees and accessories for ’99 Tiger cubs.

Thursday evening will feature a welcome reception and a DJ list curated by ’99 classmates. Following our class dinner on Friday night, the entertainment kicks off with Dean Ford and the Beautiful Ones, a premier Prince tribute band. They’ll be followed by DJ Jena, who rocked the house at She Roars 2018. On Saturday we’ll stage a spectacular P-rade appearance and dinner, then hearken back to our Princeton days with the cover band Saved by the ’90s before DJ Jena returns to rock the Reunions dance floor again.

Children’s activities will be available onsite throughout the weekend, including a bouncy house, face painting, glitter tattoos, games with current Princeton students, and more. We’ll be partnering with the Class of 1979 for community service and packing meals for Kids Against Hunger Coalition on Friday.

We’ve all been working and playing hard these past two decades so — in the words of the Purple One — let’s go crazy!

THE CLASS OF 2004

“’04 Aces the 15th”

The Great Class of 2004 will be serving up tennis-themed Reunions revelry from Center Court (aka Wilson Courtyard). Our Friday-night entertainment will throw us back to the days of John McEnroe with everyone’s favorite ’80s band — Rubix Kube — followed by some surprise entertainment in store for Saturday night.

We will enjoy meals together as a class throughout the weekend, including Friday breakfast, lunch, and dinner; Saturday breakfast and pre-P-rade lunch; and Sunday breakfast before checkout. We will gather for a class photo at Blair Arch at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday before the P-rade.

In the spirit of the community and #15Love, we have partnered with Kids Against Hunger, the world’s largest nonprofit engaging communities in packaging and distribution as a means of eradicating world hunger, with a goal to pack 15,000 meals for families around the world during Reunions. We are excited to launch this joint initiative, playing doubles with the Class of ’79. We will work together at the Class of ’79’s tent in Dod Courtyard from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the Friday of Reunions. Please join us!

Our tiniest Tigers and their parents will be invited to partake in early-bird family “Music Together” sing-alongs on Saturday morning. For the JV Tigers, we’ll have a terrific magic show, and of course a bounce house, pre-P-rade face painting, and balloon twisting! Plus more exciting surprise activities in the works…

THE CLASS OF 2009

“’09tendo”

The Class of 2009 will trade in our OktoberFifth lederhosen for overalls to celebrate our 10th reunion with a theme that honors our favorite childhood pastime: ’09tendo! Look out for golf carts with helium balloons racing around campus and make sure to stay clear of thrown bananas!

We’ll kick off Thursday night with Party Rock playing hits of the ’90s. Friday evening will start with our class dinner, followed by Tramps Like Us playing homages to the great state of New Jersey. On Saturday, our day begins with a cookout featuring mimosas and our class’s favorite brunch food, Hoagie Haven, before taking a class photo in front of Blair Arch.

For the one and only P-rade, we’ll follow up on our award-winning fifth-reunion costumes with even more of ’09’s legendary creativity and enthusiasm. WE. ARE. READY. After the fireworks, we’ll dance into the wee hours of the morning with more ’90s music, featuring the Fresh Kids of Bel Air.

THE CLASS OF 2014

“Is14nd in the Sun”

Five years out from Princeton and the Class of 2014 has been hard at work. It’s time for a bit of a vacation, and what better way to celebrate than with some island vibes? We all know Reunions can get hot, and the Class of 2014 will be keeping it easy and breezy this year.

It’s a strong collection of musical acts at the fifth this year. We start off on Thursday with some returning acts, DJ Glo and then Bank Z, featuring one of ’14’s own. Friday we open the night with a rare sight at Reunions, country music performed by New York City’s own The Greasy Keys, then return to some crowd pleasers with the ’80s vs. ’90s show. Saturday we bring back fan favorite Hello Brooklyn to bring down the house. With electronic, country, and pop from the ’80s to today, the fifth’s performers should have a little something for everyone this year!

We have a few surprises in store for class meals, including our luau-themed cookout on Friday night. And, of course, we will be living up to theme with some special tropical drinks for class members.

As we celebrate, it is also important to give back. This year, the Class of 2014 will be joining the Great Classes of ’79 and ’89 for a community service project with Kids Against Hunger. Stay tuned for more details and ways to get involved!

APGA

“Gearing Up for a Good Time”

With the theme of “Gearing Up for a Good Time,” the APGA will be joined by graduate students and alumni from all academic disciplines, representing more than 25,000 architects, humanists, engineers, scientists, and social scientists from every field of knowledge. This year’s theme celebrates engineering and expects to welcome approximately 1,500 graduate alumni, graduate students, and guests back to campus.

The APGA will kick off its Reunions activities on Thursday by celebrating with current graduate students who just finished their general exams, followed by dancing to the stylings of graduate-student and alumni DJs.

On Friday, graduate alumni will participate in a variety of alumni faculty forums, sharing their expertise on myriad topics. There will also be an interactive family-friendly demonstration on how to build a Rube Goldberg machine. A welcome dinner will be held at the tent in the evening, and everyone will get to dance to the tunes of Brian Kirk and the Jirks.

On Saturday, the APGA will start the day with a mimosa breakfast, followed by a panel on self-driving vehicles, and then lunch with games and entertainment for children, families, and friends. At the P-rade, the APGA participants will show their Princeton pride with graduate alumni Reunions “beer” jackets, blazers, hats, ties, and scarves.

Additionally, this year graduate alumni will be wearing orange and black steam-punk-themed apparel in line with our engineering focus. After the P-rade, everyone will return to the tent for the third annual APGA photo followed by a sumptuous feast and a special visit from President Eisgruber ’83. After the fireworks, we will dance the night away again to the sounds of the 1980s with the popular cover band Rubix Kube.

This story appears in PAW’s 2019 Reunions Guide. Visit your registration tent during Reunions to pick up a copy of the guide, which features reunion plans for the major classes, new restaurants in Princeton, and more.

Reunions Guide 2019