reunion: some background
Before post upon post about the college reunion we went to this weekend, a little background...
The missus went to Vassar College, which was founded as a women's college in the 1860s by brewer Matthew Vassar. (He built the original building with huge halls so that it could be used to store barrels in case the college failed and he needed to find another use for the building. Nothing like contingency planning!) The wikipedia article is actually pretty comprehensive if you're interested.
Vassar was one of the Seven Sisters, private colleges for the daughters of the American upper crust, but catered to women who actually wanted to learn something. It was where poet Edna St Vincent Millay got her start, as did old school rhyme master Chuck D. (The school went co-ed in the 1970s.)
Generally, it seems to draw people that actually want to learn something, which is hard to imagine when you see some of the glam New York City types, but apparently it's true. The campus is pretty well laid out with nice grounds, so both the physical and philosophical bent of the college are a little different than say a big football school located on the fringe of South Central Los Angeles, to pick an example at random.
I mentioned above that the school went co-ed in the 1970s; as time has gone by the kind of student has changed as well. The older adventurous wealthy ladies are dying off, although the class notes in the Alumnae Magazine make me feel lazy all the time -- think of old women who celebrate their 80th birthday by getting a new hip and break it in by walking the Great Wall of China while learning Mandarin with Muffy and Coco, and you get the picture. I went with Rebecca to the 1996 reunion and one class donated an observatory -- that is, the money to build one. As you do. Now that students are undertaking more earnest careers and not marrying as much money, you have to wonder where the donations required to keep the place open will come from in 20 - 30 years.
Anyway, a bunch of smart old broads and younger hipsters in a park-like setting for a couple of days of mayhem: that was what we were heading up north to see.
The missus went to Vassar College, which was founded as a women's college in the 1860s by brewer Matthew Vassar. (He built the original building with huge halls so that it could be used to store barrels in case the college failed and he needed to find another use for the building. Nothing like contingency planning!) The wikipedia article is actually pretty comprehensive if you're interested.
Vassar was one of the Seven Sisters, private colleges for the daughters of the American upper crust, but catered to women who actually wanted to learn something. It was where poet Edna St Vincent Millay got her start, as did old school rhyme master Chuck D. (The school went co-ed in the 1970s.)
Generally, it seems to draw people that actually want to learn something, which is hard to imagine when you see some of the glam New York City types, but apparently it's true. The campus is pretty well laid out with nice grounds, so both the physical and philosophical bent of the college are a little different than say a big football school located on the fringe of South Central Los Angeles, to pick an example at random.
I mentioned above that the school went co-ed in the 1970s; as time has gone by the kind of student has changed as well. The older adventurous wealthy ladies are dying off, although the class notes in the Alumnae Magazine make me feel lazy all the time -- think of old women who celebrate their 80th birthday by getting a new hip and break it in by walking the Great Wall of China while learning Mandarin with Muffy and Coco, and you get the picture. I went with Rebecca to the 1996 reunion and one class donated an observatory -- that is, the money to build one. As you do. Now that students are undertaking more earnest careers and not marrying as much money, you have to wonder where the donations required to keep the place open will come from in 20 - 30 years.
Anyway, a bunch of smart old broads and younger hipsters in a park-like setting for a couple of days of mayhem: that was what we were heading up north to see.
<< Home