Class History

Unfortunately, the acoustics in Commons last night weren't ideal, and some have asked me to post my comments so they could read them.  Here they are:

Class History

Yale Class of 1987

25th Reunion

Twenty-five years ago, Dante Centouri and I stood before you at Class Day to give the Class History -- a poignant yet humorous look back at our four years together.  I have been asked to update the class history for this, our 25th Reunion.  A daunting task, but here goes.

As I stand here tonight, much has changed.

Back then,

• We had computer labs and typewriters
• We had telephones that actually plugged into the wall.
• We had hair.

But, as we gather tonight, we realize that much is the same.

• The architecture of Morse and Stiles is still an acquired taste.
• Science Hill still seems like it is very far away.
• At every party, everyone gets a little more attractive as the night wears on.   

It's working already . . . you are already a much better looking bunch than the people I had lunch with.

As I prepared the class history for tonight, I struggled with how to summarize the lives of our 1,287 classmates over the last 25 years.  We have certainly done a lot.

Many of us have chosen life partners, it seems.  As a group, we appear to have won the mating version of the lottery.  Based on the spouses, partners and significant others I have met, I must say to our class: we are either a very persuasive group or we have an uncanny ability to find people with bad eye sight and poor judgment.  Either way: very well done.

And, in all seriousness, for some of our classmates getting married at all is an important personal and societal accomplishment.  From pink triangles in the 80s, to marriage for some of our LGBT classmates today, we have come a very long way, and we have the leadership of many here tonight to thank for that.

One more word while I am mentioning our spouses -- and really no history of our class would be complete without me making one thing absolutely clear.  For all of you here with a husband, wife, or partner who is in the Yale Class of 1987, please know this:  this was the most studious class Yale has ever seen.  We did not drink, smoke, or engage in frivolity of any kind.  Saturday nights were library nights.  And, sex.  Never crossed our minds.  Not once.  Ever.  We were saving ourselves for you.  Really.

Glad that is cleared up.

As I look around, I see that our classmates have made up for lost time.  Look at all of these kids.  It's so funny.  I see some of them and I know immediately who their Yale parent is.  And when I do, I have to ask myself one simple question:  were we ever that young?

Now, of course I know the answer.  I have seen the pictures.  So have you.  And, as I look at those pictures, I wonder how many of us had the same reaction I did:  we were hot.  No, really.  Young, thin, unwrinkled.  We didn't need spanks.  We didn't need reading glasses.  We didn't drive a minivan.  Hot.

So much youth wasted at the library.  I should have gone to more parties. 

So, anyway, what did the Class of 87 -- this learned, studious and hot group -- do when they went into the wide world?   And, how did our outcomes stack up to our dreams?

From the well worn paths to investment banks, law schools and medical schools, to the less typical and more adventurous paths others chose, we all ultimately settled into our own personal niches.  The two biggest groups of classmates are lawyers and doctors.  However, most chose other careers.  One interesting statistic -- our class has more people who say that they are writers than admit that they are bankers.  Even our class' musicians and actors outnumber the bankers.  Now, that might be a sign of the times -- either the bankers are out of work or now financiers are simply doing it on the down low.        

The numbers don't tell the tale, though.  We have actually done some amazing things:

We have:

            -- Written books

            -- Made movies

            -- Launched companies

            -- Defended unpopular clients

            -- Righted wrongs

            -- Cured diseases

            -- Traveled to war torn countries to build new nations and heal the sick

            -- Served as elected and government officials

            -- Served as judges

            -- Served as diplomats

            -- Spied

            -- Made art

            -- Made music

            -- Made love

            -- Made war

            -- Made people laugh

            -- Produced theater

            -- Sang

            -- Played

            -- Appeared on TV

            -- Researched

            -- Taught

            -- Preached

            -- Experimented

            -- Invented

            -- Protested

            -- Professed

            -- Solved problems

            -- Built bridges

            -- Championed causes

            -- Made a difference

           

It is really inspiring to hear about all of your personal successes, how the Class of 1987 has made a mark professionally and personally throughout the world.  The stories are amazing, and humbling.

But, times have not always been easy for our class.  Some in our class have survived cancer and other serious illness.  Some have lost jobs and faced other serious personal struggles.  As Class Secretary over the last five years, I have heard some of these private and personal stories first hand.  As inspired and humbled as I have been by the personal successes of our class, I stand in awe of our classmates who have faced perilous personal challenges with grace, strength, and the enduring support of their friends from Yale.

Perhaps the one struggle we have all shared is the struggle to define for ourselves what it means to become a Yale alum. Remember the 100th playing of the Game, when we walked through the alumni tailgates? Remember laughing at how ridiculous some of the alumni looked and acted? That's us now. The thought makes me want to burn all of my tweed jackets and whale pants. 

I would note, though, that as a class we have been remarkably active as alumni. We have chaired the AYA and its development counter part. We launched Feb Club Emeritus, the Yale volunteer-led activity with the most worldwide participants. We have received more alumni leadership awards than any other class. And, we even have a Yale Medal recipient. 

We've wondered why we have such an active class. It could be that we are the class with the highest percentage of classmates who got in off of the waiting list. That's apochryphal, but let's go with it. 

I like to think that our place as leaders in the alumni community and beyond is the result of our class being an historical bridge between generations and world views. We came to Yale with typewriters and left with computers. We experienced economic dislocation months after graduating when the market crashed but also benefited from the innovations and expansion of the 90s. And, while we had easy-to-use cameras, they were not yet digital, so the photographic record of our time here is thankfully limited.

Our unique place in history has allowed us to understand the Greatest Generation, who raised us, the baby boomers who preceded us and the Gen Xers who followed us. 

And, it has allowed us to smile knowingly when our children ask us the most profound of existential questions: 

• What was the deal with leg warmers, shoulder pads, parachute pants, and white sports coats?
• How did you get anywhere without GPS?
• How did you "friend" people if your facebook was actually a book -- a real book?

At the end of the day, the Class History really is not about a list of accomplishments and achievements, it is more about how our four years together impacted us.  How the shared Yale experience we joked about 25 years ago at Class Day has shaped our lives.  And it most definitely has shaped our lives -- not just through the classes we took, the things we learned, and the majors we declared but through the friends we made:

• The friends who have cheered us on,
• the friends who have counseled and consoled us,
• the friends who have inspired us,
• the friends who have challenged us and set us straight,
• the friends we laugh with,
• the friends we came back to New Haven to see. 

After our Fifth Reunion, I was sitting in the Morse court yard with Dante.  I asked him what he thought of the Reunion.  Tim, he said, some people really got their shit together, some people really lost their shit, but pretty much, everyone has the same shit. 

Profound words.  From a man with blue hair.  But, true.

What the history of our class over the last 25 years has taught me is something I should have realized the first day Freshman Year. 

The Yale College Class of 1987 is the most intellectually diverse, alive and engaged group of people I have ever known.  It was a true gift to be part of this group 25 years ago, and it is a gift today.  Our lives, our families' lives, are better because we are part of this group -- not in terms of money or prestige -- but in terms of the intellectual vibrancy our classmates bring into our lives.

So, tonight, before we go to the party, I would like to leave you with two personal challenges:

First, let's make the most of tonight.  Look around the room.  Find someone you didn't know at Yale and make a new friend.  Reconnect with someone you knew but haven't seen in 25 years.  And, make a plan for staying connected.  Let's leave the party tonight more connected than we were before.

Second, we are about to write the next five years of our class history.   Let's make a mark. Together.  For Yale.  For our local communities and For the world.

Let's start a Class Council that can act as a clearinghouse of ideas and initiatives.  Let's work together to solve some of the problems we, as a class, might be uniquely positioned to solve.  And, let's learn about and support each other's passions.   We have such a talented group of people who have already done so much.  Imagine how much more full the next five years of our lives will be if we live them with a common purpose.

Thank you.

Now, I think it is time for a song and then a party.