When the Class of 1952 roamed the paths of Princeton, the University did not have Frist Campus Center and e-mail — or female undergraduates for that matter. The residential college system did not exist yet, and even construction of the old student center, Chancellor Green, was still a few years off. Yet, as members of the Class of 2002 have found, Princeton students today still have much in common with the students of years past.
Through the '52-'02 program, which pairs this year's junior class with their grandfather class — the class which will celebrate its 50th reunion during the Class of 2002's graduation — many University students have had the chance to interact with alumni. The program has provided for a series of lectures on campus, gatherings at alumni homes all over the country, as well as internships co-sponsored with the Class of 1977, the parent class of the Class of 2002.
According to Loran Gutt '02, junior class secretary, the program gives students "the chance really to get to know someone from a similar background to you who has a lot of similarities to you in their experiences in college but has lived the full term of life.
"The idea was to create bonds between us on campus and the guys who graduated 50 years ago and to talk back and forth about the way the University changed in the past 50 years," Gutt said. He and junior class president Ben Shopsin '02 coordinate the program's activities on campus.
Shopsin said he has become friends with many members of the Class of 1952, whom he often informally refers to as "the guys."
"It's been really exciting to me as an undergraduate that people who've been out of here for 25, 50 years are still so excited about the place and still feel such a bond with it and with their classmates," Shopsin said.
According to Joe Handelman '52, who co-directs the alumni activities of the program, the idea for the program emerged more than four years ago — before most members of the Class of 2002 had even set foot on campus.
"We did at least two or three years of polling our own classmates on what kind of project we would want to get involved with," he said.
Handelman said that members of the Class of 1952 wanted to leave a legacy, something that would endure at the University. "We wanted to do something which was a precedent for others to follow," he explained. The Class of 1952 dining room in Frist was one part of this goal. The second was the '52-'02 program.
After more than a year of planning, representatives from the Class of 1952 arrived on campus in September 1998 to welcome the Class of 2002. The alumni spoke with administrators and residential college staff and asked freshmen to vote on what they would like to have in a program with their grandfather class.
After a few weeks, the new Princetonians decided upon the program's three components: lectures, parties and internships.
The lecture component of the program has brought in speakers like Tony Award winner Roger Berlind '52 and focused on topics ranging from investing earnings from a first job to what alumni wished they had known before they took their first job.
Last November, the '52-'02 program organizers presented two lectures that attracted juniors. Jay Sherrerd '52 presented "Investing for the Long Term," a talk on the fundamentals of investing, giving his views on the meaning of good investing.
That same week Berlind — who has garnered 11 Tony Awards, including two for his Broadway "Kiss Me, Kate" and "Copenhagen" productions last spring — presented "Producing Plays on Broadway."
The lectures seek "to give us some perspective on what they've been doing," Gutt noted. "We have people come back and talk about what they've been doing with their lives."
For the internship program, the Class of 1952 turned to the Class of 1977 — who had benefited from internships offered by the Class of 1952, their parent class, 25 years earlier. Kristina Berglund '02, who received an internship at Mt. Sinai hospital through the program, was one of about twenty students that took part last year.
Berglund, who wrote a research manual on geriatric care during her internship, said she had a great experience with her mentor. "She was just so excited to have us there and she was really a great mentor. She's been in touch with us the whole year," Berglund said. "I'm very happy with the internship I had.
"I think they should definitely expand [the program]," she added.
The third component of the program is an ongoing series of gatherings between 1952 alumni and Class of 2002 students all over the country.
Handelman said that the gatherings were his favorite part of the program and that he enjoyed "just sitting around, having them in your backyard, talking about anything.
"If I was doing it again, I would really be pushing those gatherings," he continued. "Everybody who's had a party repeats the following year. Once they have one, they see the excitement of it."
For both current students and alumni, the gatherings are more than a social event — they are an opportunity to discuss the experiences that each class has had at the University.
"When they come to these parties, the students get up and speak a little bit on their major and on their life," Handelman said.
Similarly, the alumni talk about their University experience. For example, Gutt said that some members of the Class of 1952 feel that "enforcement of the honor code or the ethos of the honor code is less stringent than in their day." The alumni are also interested in the impact coeducation has had on eating clubs and the social scene in general, he said.
The '52-'02 program has also faced problems, however. Geography has proven to be the biggest hurdle.
"The problem is that it's not that often that members of their class come to the University and that's really the most convenient time for the two classes to interact," Gutt said.
For example, Shopsin and Gutt attempted to plan a party for '52-'02 last year during alumni weekend, but their plans fell through. "We were trying to set up a party with them just to have alumni there to talk to classmates, but the problem is they were so busy when they were here for the weekend that they couldn't fit it in," Gutt said.
Handelman echoed the same sentiments. "Our class is spread over fifty states and unless we have these regional parties they can't commute to Princeton to see the students," he said.
Overall, however, most participants in the '52-'02 program have nothing but positive comments about their experience. Gutt, for example, said he considers Handelman and the Class of 1952 president Roger McClean two of his best friends on campus.
"It's sort of the type of relationship I feel people don't have with people who are 72 years old and it's the type of relationship I think people always feel is lacking in this country," he added.
For Handelman, the ultimate goal is to have the program spread to other classes. "The enduring mark would be that we would tell '03 to do it and '04 to do it," he said.
He described the program best with a metaphor. "It's become like a family," he said. "For those of us who lost touch with the campus, its like having our sons and grandsons there."
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