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More letters from alumni
about Sixth residential college Sixth college will separate students The university is seriously considering a sixth residential college to house students of all four years and perhaps grad students. Some students and university administrators have been publicly quoted that "one of the problems in undergraduate life is that we don't have ways to interact with one another." While reunion attendance and annual giving seems to be quite strong among the classes of the past 30 years, it obviously is because of a great university and not of the kind of class spirit so special to we oldsters. The present unfortunate class separations created by another college will be worse. Now freshmen and sophomore classes will be divided into six units denying the free intermixture with all classmates we oldsters so enjoyed through freshmen and then sophomore commons. Yes, classes were perhaps 650 and now about 1100, but we got to know by sight and by name most all classmates during those two years. And, we lived in dormitories with juniors and seniors so many of whom remained friends the rest of our lives. Further, by knowing so many classmates and upperclassmen, once in a club we frequented many of the other clubs to mix with friends we had made the first two years. We didn't have the great university to unite us that today's students enjoy. But we had a class bonding with hundreds of classmates with whom we constantly mixed along with so many of other classes. I wouldn't trade that life-long bonding that Princeton created for us that is no longer available to today's students. No doubt 400-500 students in a Wilson or Rockefeller College will form life-long friendships but they have no way to enjoy meeting and getting to know 75 percent of their classmates. Just ask the recent grads - they'll tell you the same. Herbert W. Hobler '44 |
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