PACKET EDITORIAL, May 30
By: Packet Editorial
The population of Princeton Borough will double this weekend and the people responsible for this phenomenon will look to the uninitiated like a pack of escapees from the loony bin.
Some will even be wearing stripes.
They’ll be decked out in orange and black hats and orange and black shirts and orange and black ties and orange and black blazers and orange and black pants and orange and black socks and orange and black shoes. Some of the younger ones will have orange and black painted faces. Some of the older ones silver-haired CEOs, corporate presidents, lofty academicians, political leaders and assorted movers and shakers will look utterly absurd attired in orange and black from head to toe. And they’ll love every minute of it.
What is it about Reunions weekend that brings out the sophomore in even the most buttoned-down senior citizen who ever attended Princeton University? Does the university put something in the water that inspires otherwise normal graduates who have gone on to respectable careers to return to Old Nassau once a year, outfit themselves in bizarre apparel, guzzle excessive quantities of liquid refreshment and as a former Triangle Show title put it revel without a pause?
We have no idea.
We do know, however, that Princeton University holds an almost mystical, magnetic attraction to its alumni that is unrivaled in the Ivy League, if not throughout the world. When the university undertook a fund-raising campaign to celebrate its 250th anniversary, the goal was to raise $750 million. What came in was $1.14 billion. But even more astonishing than the total amount of money raised was the rate of return: 78 percent of undergraduate alumni made contributions. That level of participation is unheard of in fund-raising circles.
And where most colleges and universities are pleased if they can draw a few thousand alumni back to the campus for reunions and concentrate their efforts on getting a good turnout among classes celebrating a reunion that’s divisible by five or 10 Princeton manages to pull in 18,000 or so every year. And they come from far and wide regardless of their year of graduation, partying just as long and hard for their sixth or 16th as they do for their 10th or 25th.
Part of the reason may be the quality and quantity of events planned for Princeton’s Reunions Weekend. The famous P-Rade is a major highlight, but just about every other college and university has an alumni parade. What many others don’t have are forums and panel discussions featuring world-class experts on corporate ethics, genomics, homeland security, global warming and health-care costs. Or alumni basketball, soccer, squash and Ultimate Frisbee games. Or debates at Whig-Clio. Or an organ recital in the chapel. Or, of course, the Triangle Show.
But even these attractions seem to be secondary to the campus itself the Gothic archways, the President’s Garden, the reflecting pool at the Woodrow Wilson School, the familiar dorms and classrooms, stately Nassau Hall. Coming back seems to rekindle only the fondest of memories for those who spent four formative years of their lives here, strongly suggesting that getting a Princeton education is not just a rewarding experience but a pleasurable one as well. Again, few universities can boast a corps of alumni who hold such overwhelming affection for their undergraduate days.
So we welcome all the Princeton University faithful who are descending on our town this weekend. And we hope whatever it is that keeps bringing you back stays with you forever. For these few days, at least, it has a way of being infectious.

