A Wesleyan Weekend

After a week of client visits, I was looking forward to taking a road trip free of pitches and power points, and went with my soul and class mate to our 10th year reunion at Wesleyan University. In tow, an almost-two year old who seemed a lot less nervous about the two hour trip than her parents did. The worries were unwarranted, for we had a wonderful time. I thought it would be a good idea to share with you snippets of the weekend, which exemplifies the spirit of perhaps one of the most dynamic and progressive universities in the country.Saturday morning we watched as members of previous classes (as far back as the 1930’s) participated in the annual all campus parade, which winded past the new," environmentally sustainable" dormitories and into the remodeled campus gymnasium. There each class sat together for the all alumni annual meeting, where new executives were voted on, and prestigious awards were given to a writer and former Tuskeegee airman, a South Bronx community organizer and developer, a financial wiz, and one of the founders of the Blue Man Group.We visited professors at the foreign language and Latin American departments. We skipped the Alumni of Color reception because by then my toddler was nap ready. We went back to the hotel and prepared for the Class of 1998 dinner. There we reconnected with some of our friends from our year, and some “crashers” from some of the surrounding years. For entertainment, two of our classmates bravely hit the stage to perform some show tunes and original compositions. I am still in awe at their nerves of steel.We had four party invitations after dinner, one near the center of campus, one at the tomb of the secret society I belonged to, another at the Latino-themed house I lived in sophomore year, and another at a dorm being used by alumni for housing during the weekend. I saw pictures of all these parties. They looked like a ton of fun.We took the early shift back because the next day was a big one. Senator Barack Obama was speaking at commencement and it was said the crowds would be huge. We had to be on the hill to reserve our patch of grass as early as possible. Sunday morning we sat on the hill and drank our organic, fair-trade coffee while we waited till commencement began with the graduates walking past the clapping cadre of professors congratulating them on their new stage of life. The music was not “pomp and circumstance” or “chariots of fire” but Korean drumming, lest you think that unique, the alumni on the hill recalled their respective procession soundtracks, including Javanese gamalan and Irish bagpipes. Students walked in with various signs on their hats and gowns, most paying some reference to the guest of honor, including the new Wesleyan standard – “Wes, We Can.”Our new University President, himself an alumnus, spoke about the responsibility of each class to question the powers that be, to not accept the arguments that surveillance or preemptive violence will make the world safer. I remember mentioning to my wife that those were strong words coming from a university president.The crowd steadily grew larger, and our group was visited by Alumni from the class of 1978, and we exchanged pleasantries and the excitement of the day. There we were, classmates again, waiting for what we felt was a crystallizing moment in our Wesleyan experience. Later, over a late lunch at the town’s Greek diner, our friends and we commented on how so, well, “Wesleyan” this weekend all was. From the offers to buy carbon credits at registration to the compost barrels outside each dorm, Wesleyan's progressive atmosphere was visible to the observant. Where else would a ten year reunion have this much excitement and different kinds of experiences all rolled into a few days? Where else would an educator publicly talk politics, and where a politician would be treated like a rock star?