Congratulations, Graduates

In honor of Commencement 2021, TigerBlog went back into the archives of the Daily Princetonian to find the earliest references to graduation.

When he did a search, the results came up in a fairly random order. In fact, the first headline was from 2009: "Local Hotels Raise Prices For Commencement Week."

If you want to sort by the oldest, then there is Sept. 1, 1845. The valedictorian was named Furman Sheppard. 

TB did a search for ol' Furman, and it turns out he went on to a career in law, including two terms as the District Attorney in Philadelphia before he passed away in 1893. What was really fascinating was something that TB read regarding Furman's career:

His second term as District Attorney saw Philadelphia host the famous Centennial Exhibition in 1876, during which Sheppard paid close attention to the potential for crime it attracted. He established a Magistrate's Court on the centennial grounds for the immediate hearing of criminal charges. In most cases, he succeeded in having offenders indicted, tried, and sentenced within a few hours after arrest. This rapid proceeding was popularly called "Sheppard's Railroad," and it played a large role in assuring the visitors to the exhibition would be safe.

That's the Philadelphia forerunner of the jail at Veterans Stadium and then Lincoln Financial Field, no? The people who didn't have the Eagles to root for went to the Centennial Exhibition? 

Anyway, that was a fun Commencement story.

Commencement at Princeton was yesterday. The ceremony was held in person, on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium. From Princeton president Christopher Eisgruber's address:

Simply put, our long, unwelcome separation teaches us this: to forge a common good together, we must break bread together. We must, in other words, relate to one another not just as disembodied intellects, interests, or ideologies, or as faces in Zoom boxes, but also as real, three-dimensional people who share basic needs and a common humanity.

Among those who earned an honorary degree, by the way, was rocker Jon Bon Jovi. He's not quite Springsteen, but he's as close as you're going to get. 

Graduation at Princeton is usually held in front of Nassau Hall. It was online last year due to the pandemic, and it was held in the football stadium this year to allow for greater social distancing.

It's the lack of social distancing that for TB is always the best part of graduation. 

He's gone almost every year and sat on a stone bench on the other side of Nassau Hall, watching on the big screen. He waits for his favorite part, which is when the ceremony ends and the graduates file out of, walking down the path towards where he had been sitting and watching.

It's a seemingly endless parade of new alums, walking out into their new post-Princeton lives together with their best friends. It's almost like you could check off every activity on campus as they walk by: band members, musicians, actors and actresses, writers and on and on.

And of course, athletes. 

TB has always loved to see them come by, team by team, smiles ear to ear. He recognizes many of them, even if it's easier to do so in their uniforms than in their caps and gowns. 

The all pose for pictures, often with their coaches. There are hugs and hugs and more hugs, all while family members stand by, beaming.

TB wasn't there this year to see it. He hopes that it returns to the way it's always been a year from now and onward for the rest of the University's time.

Of course, it recent years, there's also been the social media component.

Congratulations to our Class of ‘21 graduates! We’re so proud of you!
🎓🧡🖤 #Princeton21 pic.twitter.com/RreXAZgsfx

— Princeton Track/XC (@PrincetonTrack) May 16, 2021

That's just one example. You can see them all over Princeton Twitter and Instagram.

The Class of 2021 endured a lot to get to Princeton Stadium yesterday. There are so many experiences that they were cheated out of by COVID, but they persevered and came through it all anyway, the better and stronger for it. Now they're part of the most loyal and dedicated alumni base there is in this country, and it would be great to see them all back year after year at Reunions to celebrate.

TB hopes that all of the students who graduated yesterday, 153 of whom were varsity athletes, have nothing but the best of times moving forward.

They certainly deserve it.