Princeton University marked its 279th birthday on Wednesday, Oct. 22, and alumni returned to celebrate the fifth annual Orange and Black Day with a mix of campus festivities and school spirit.
Over the course of the day, Princeton’s official Instagram showcased the campus’s vibrant fall colors, shared alumni shout-outs, and highlighted the StandUp for Princeton movement. Alumni dressed in orange and black were seen strolling through campus and taking photos in front of Nassau Hall. In the evening, as a part of the official Orange and Black Day festivities, each residential college dining hall welcomed alumni volunteers with cake, photo opportunities, and handouts about the history of Princeton’s founding.
At Forbes College, alumni Anthony Fittizzi ’97 and Timothy Calvin ’97 greeted students and served cake.
“We are here to encourage you to make sure you come back to reunions every year after graduation,” Fittizzi said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian. “It’s the biggest party on the planet and it’s a great opportunity to reconnect with your friends who you no longer live with day in and day out.”
Fittizzi and Calvin were close friends during their time in college. After 28 years, they continued to keep in touch through the robust alumni network at Princeton. Both regularly return to campus for events such as Orange and Black Day, football games, and Reunions.
“We are also here to tell current students about what it was like when we were here,” Calvin told the ‘Prince,’ noting that campus life has changed in many ways.
“A bunch of things no longer exist anymore,” Calvin said. The pair reflected on campus transformations, from the renovation of science buildings to the ongoing reconstruction of the Princeton University Art Museum. They also reminisced about the defunct Forbes tradition of sledding down the golf course on dining hall trays.
Dottie Werner, the Coordinator for Alumni Class Affairs, has spent more than 45 years organizing events that bring Princeton alumni together.
“We started maybe 10 years ago trying to get people to recognize Charter Day and it morphed into Orange and Black Day,” she explained. Charter Day, which was also celebrated on Oct. 22, marks the day when Princeton University was granted its charter as the College of New Jersey.
In addition to on-campus festivities, alumni around the world joined the celebration through KudoBoard, an online platform where they shared photos of their own “DIY (Do-It-Yourself) OBD (Orange-and-Black-Day)” gatherings.
The University also made an effort to include alumni joining the celebrations remotely. “We send out party packs with hats and banners and people will take pictures of their parties and send them in,” Werner said.
While the alumni tradition of celebrating the University’s birthday has long been active, Matthew Morgan ’85, an active member of the Alumni Council, explained that Orange and Black Day on campus is still in its “infancy.”
“In the past, it was more of an alumni-focused event, but Princeton is trying to get students to recognize it as well and enjoy it,” Morgan said.
For Henry Cammerzell ’25, one of the objectives of Orange and Black Day is to help students understand that there is a support system that will “pick them up when they fall down if they just reach out and ask.”
Aitana Camponovo is a News writer for the ‘Prince.’ She is from Washington, D.C., and can be reached at ac9353[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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