P-rade wows thousands at Reunions Weekend.
By: David Campbell
Nassau Street and the Princeton University campus were awash in orange and black as the university’s annual P-rade kicked off Saturday.
The event was the highlight of Reunions Weekend at Princeton, which was estimated to draw about 20,000 alumni and their families to the campus. And by the looks of things Saturday, all 20,000 had turned out to take part in and cheer on fellow Princeton graduates and their families in the P-rade.
Marchers entered through FitzRandolph Gate at Nassau and Witherspoon streets, and wended their way through campus to the Poe-Pardee fields.
Mother Nature smiled on the event on Saturday: The sun was out and the temperature was mild. The campus was thrumming with the atmosphere of a street fair, marching and bagpipe bands, kids playing Frisbee, and the different classes showing all manner of tiger stripes and designs in their particular class outfits.
According to Adrienne Rubin, associate director of the Alumni Council at Princeton and a member of the university’s Class of 1988, the P-rade each year begins with a ceremony to open the FitzRandolph Gate and launch the procession.
As she described Saturday’s ceremony, Grand Marshal Charles H. Rose, Class of 1950, asked for permission for the gate to be opened.
The marshal at the gate asked, "For what purpose?"
The grand marshal replied: "To honor the great Class of 1980 on the occasion of its 25th Reunions and to start the Reunions 2005 P-rade."
After the gate is opened, the procession traditionally begins with the ringing of the Nassau Hall bell. The P-rade Saturday was led by the Class of 1980 the 25th Reunions class leads the march every year which was arrayed down Nassau Street waiting to pass through the gate. The class then proceeded into campus to the cheers of the other graduating classes.
They were followed by Princeton’s "Old Guard," the oldest graduating classes at Princeton. The applause and cheering of the younger classes and their families rose in pitch as they passed the parade route. Then came the younger classes, which were gathered up the line in ascending order of graduating year. They cheered the older classes, and then, when their turn came, they joined the P-rade to be cheered by the younger classes further up the line.
"It’s the most wonderful thing in the world," said Lee Arberg, Class of 1965. He said he traveled from his home in the Atlanta area to attend the Reunions celebrations this weekend, noting that his two children also graduated from Princeton. He said his son could not attend Reunions this year, but noted that his daughter was marching with her class farther along in the P-rade.
"It’s hard to describe," Mr. Arberg said of the annual alumni march. "It brings out such basic emotions. It brings tears to my eyes when I see the classes go by."
Ms. Rubin said the event is more than a parade.
"It is a procession of Princeton history," she said. "It is who we were, who we are and who we will become. It inspires connections among alumni and is an opportunity for graduating students to realize that they are part of a greater whole."
Mr. Rose has served as grand marshal for the P-rade since Reunions in 2003. He is expected to continue in the role until 2007, she said.
The grand marshal himself said it is a great honor to lead the procession. "The P-rade is a cross-section of Princeton, and it is a marvelous celebration," Mr. Rose said.
Jim Davis, Class of 1952, who hailed from Philadelphia, said that, on average, he attends Reunions every third year or so, and he said the biggest thrill for him is seeing people he knew back when he was an undergraduate.
He noted of his graduating class, "We’re the greatest class that ever attended Princeton, and the Reunion is always well attended."
Daniel Mark, a member of Princeton’s Class of 2003, said of the P-rade, "It’s awesome. I really enjoy seeing the older classes march by."
He said the younger classes take great pride in the older ones, and that the older classes felt likewise toward the younger ones: "It’s something very special, and not replicated elsewhere."
Andrew Zelermyer, Class of 1985, which had adopted a "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme for its class dress, said of the annual alumni procession: "It’s great. It’s lots of fun."
The P-rade was perhaps the biggest highlight of Reunions Weekend, which formally began Thursday and finished up Sunday. The annual academic-year-end celebration is the lead-up to Commencement at Princeton. The 258th Commencement ceremony for the university’s Class of 2005 was to take place at 11 a.m. today on the lawn in front of Nassau Hall.
Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman will preside over the event and address the graduates. Several honorary degrees traditionally are conferred, but names are not announced until the event, the university said.