’52, Hon. ’96

Arts and Sciences

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We moved to Kingston in 1960 and, living so close to campus, have had occasion to visit almost daily. Trips to the post office, the Emporium, and to various meetings have provided us with a front seat to the incredible growth and extraordinary development of the University, hardly imaginable when I was a student. I love to walk the Quad, which, thankfully, is still the same and overwhelms me with a feeling of a wrinkle in time. What saddens me now is the silence. No more hustle and bustle of traffic and students rushing to class. The magnificent new engineering building reveals, through its glass facade, empty classrooms. The new Welcome Center, with its magnificent Ram, welcomes no one. Lately, a few 2020 grads have met on the Quadrangle to take pictures in their caps and gowns beside the RI2020 sign stenciled on the lawn. They will be missing the experience we have all treasured on Commencement Day. I look forward to the day when they all return and bring the energy, crowded sidewalks—and traffic. I won’t even complain about the traffic.