Linking to a 'birth' class

I was fascinated to read the Class Notes from the Class of ’38 in the Nov. 18 issue and realize that they represent events in a class of alumni who graduated the year I was born. What an interesting insight into the University and history they represent! I plan to write to John Holton Jr., secretary of ’38, and tell him I’ve “discovered” his class and plan to read all their Class Notes in the future to enrich my own sense of the Princeton experience. I don’t know if the concept of a “birth class” or something akin to it has been suggested before, but it might be of possible interest as a way of linking classes. If done early enough in the life of a new student at the University, it might even be a way of creating mentors from the birth class who could assist the newcomers. Members of those classes then would be linked through life.  

I enjoyed the article about the Orange Key Guide Service (cover story, Nov. 18). A guide led my high school class through the University in my junior year. I was so impressed, but Princeton was way beyond my wildest dreams – I was the oldest son of a blue-collar family from northern New Jersey, none of whose family had graduated high school, much less gone to college. After being admitted, beginning, and then surviving my first two years, I joined the Orange Key and conducted many a tour. I have a few stories from those days, too. This year I have volunteered to interview admission candidates as another way of serving the University. The Princeton experience has changed my life in so many positive ways I couldn’t have imagined back then as a gawking high school junior.