Dear Dr. Blaine: How do you feel about elitism at Princeton and how does it compare to other schools? — Wanda E. Dear Wanda: I really feel like this question is beneath me, but I'll answer it anyway. Inevitably, an institution like Princeton that prides itself on being the best is likely going to attract students and faculty who consider themselves or seek out the best. But for every elite or snobby pocket of students, there are just as many people and groups that combat the "Ivy" reputation. Certainly Bicker clubs and secret societies do not help elitism, but those groups are only as successful as students want to make them.
In the days before commercial recordings, when people made their own music, the senior class would gather on the steps of Nassau Hall for an evening of singing late in its final year. In the days before student evaluations of professors, one of the highlights would be the Faculty Song, in which students sang humorous verses satirizing their professors to a ridiculous old melody. The old Princeton songbooks contain many historically interesting stanzas about Woodrow Wilson and a whole gallery of worthy eminences; for many of them the punchlines are still intelligible. I suggest the dawn of the 21st century might be a great time to restore and expand upon this particular custom. Surely our present illustrious faculty is no less fitting a subject for satire, and no less sportsmanlike about good-natured ribbing. And surely our present students are no less witty and creative, and no less skeptical of faculty pomposity, than students of 100 years ago. What do you think? — Peter J. Dear Peter: This sounds like both an enjoyable evening and a cause worth reviving. But first, I think we need to get a catchy name for the whole affair, something like Senior Sayonara, Senior Sing or Rib-a-Prof. I imagine the first few years would not have huge turnouts, but perhaps you would be willing to pioneer the revival — like the brave soul who dredges his Zubaz out of the closet.
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