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Forecasting the P-rade

Will it rain at Reunions? Will a thunderstorm wash out Commencement?

According to Weather.com, isolated thunderstorms on Friday will give way to warm, sunny weather for the rest of Reunions and for the Class of 2009’s big day June 2. But some seniors question that forecast.

“It’s always sunny for Lawnparties and rains during Reunions,” said Jackie Temkin ‘09, quoting a popular belief among students.

Rain during Lawnparties this year debunked the first part of that axiom. And even when sprinkles do come to Reunions, Princeton undergraduates and alumni seem to be able to get the most out of the weekend.

Since the P-rade started in the 1890s, it has only been canceled once for inclement weather — a nor’easter in 1953. A review of PAW stories from the last 30 years found that it has been sunny at all but seven P-rades. Even at those seven, in most cases the heaviest rains held off until the seniors finished their march.

Money, Greed, and the Economy: Views from the Fourth Estate

Hear top alumni journalists discuss today’s economic mess and how it’s playing from Wall Street to Main Street, Saturday, May 30 at 10:30 a.m. in McCosh 50. Panelists will include George F. Will *68, syndicated columnist and television commentator for This Week on ABC; Peter Slevin ’78, Chicago bureau chief, The Washington Post; Joshua Micah Marshall ’91, publisher of Talking Points Memo; Shirley Leung ’94, business editor, The Boston Globe; Kim Strassel ’94, senior editorial writer, The Wall Street Journal; Zachary Goldfarb ’05, economics reporter, The Washington Post; and Catherine Rampell ’07, economics reporter, The New York Times. Author and Washington Post reporter Joel Achenbach ’82 will moderate the discussion.

Hand-held help for reuners

This week, the Alumni Association introduced Reunions Mobile, a new smartphone application that allows returning alumni to access a range of information via the Web, including headquarters sites for major reunions and satellite classes, a schedule of open events, news alerts, parking and shuttle information, and weather forecasts. To use Reunions Mobile, enter m.princeton.edu/reunions in your mobile Web browser.

Bannister’s star turn at Reunions

During Reunions 1949, Palmer Stadium played host to an international track meet pitting a combined squad of Princeton and Cornell stars against top athletes from Oxford and Cambridge. The marquee race featured Ron Wittreich ’50, in black, one of the NCAA’s top three milers that year, and Oxford captain Roger Bannister, in white.

Wittreich, the “Tenafly Flyer,” led at the half-mile mark, but near the end of the third lap, Bannister took over and glided to the finish in 4:11.1. Five years later, Bannister would make history as the first miler to break the four-minute mark.

(Photos: PAW, July 8, 1949)

PAW earns gold medal from CASE

The Princeton Alumni Weekly has been selected to receive a gold medal from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) for 2008. PAW, now a finalist for the Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year, was the only gold medalist among 48 entrants in its category, general-interest college and university magazines with a circulation of 30,000 to 74,999.

The following stories are from PAW's 2009 Reunions Guide, available at class headquarters during Reunions. The guide also includes this year's P-rade map, a trivia quiz about campus architecture, an interview with ABC's John Stossel ’69, a cover illustration by Henry Payne ’84, and more.

Read about: Reunions fashions | Class themes | The Old Guard

Tiger of the Week: Monica Dweck ’76

When she was a child, Monica Dweck ’76 wanted to be a doctor because she wanted to help people. Today, as a leading oculoplastic surgeon, Dweck continues to pursue that goal, performing facial reconstruction for patients who have serious eye injuries, including many who are uninsured or underinsured. WPIX-TV in New York City profiled the Brooklyn doctor last week.

Oculoplastic surgery is a small but important a sub-specialty, said Dweck, who created the oculoplastic surgery curriculum for the ophthalmology residency program at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Each surgery requires precision and an approach tailored to the unique anatomy of the patient's eye. Dweck told PAW that she sees it as an opportunity to be "artistic and creative in a scientific way."

Surgery also offers a chance to change lives by helping disfigured patients face the world again. Dweck, who completed her fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, spent time in private practice before returning home to work and teach at SUNY Downstate. She said that while her choice may have had something to do with the informal motto "Princeton in the nation's service," it really was rooted in advice that her parents gave her: "If we have skills or a special talent, then we should share that with others."

(Photo courtesy Monica Dweck ’76)

Do you have a nominee for Tiger of the Week? Let us know. All alumni qualify. PAW's Tiger of the Week is selected by our staff, with help from readers like you.

Tigers fall to Ivy rival Cornell

By David Marcus ’92

Cornell defeated Princeton 6-4 in the NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse quarterfinals May 16. The game was only the third in the 39-year history of the NCAA tournament in which two opponents combined to score fewer than 11 goals.

“It was nothing short of a slugfest,” said Cornell head coach Jeff Tambroni. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game in which two teams with so many gifted offensive players got shut down like that.”

“Both teams knocked the ball to the ground a lot more than I’ve seen in a long while,” said Princeton head coach Bill Tierney. “I thought both defenses played extremely well.”

Both coaches signaled their anticipation of such a contest by calling timeouts in the first quarter. Tambroni used one to adjust his defense late in the period, and Tierney countered by setting up an extra-man play after Jack McBride ’11 scored to cut Cornell’s lead to 2-1 with 1:52 left. But Princeton was unable to capitalize on the opportunity, and Cornell answered by scoring a critical goal with eleven seconds left in the quarter. “To be honest, I thought it got away from us when they made it 3-1,” Tierney said.

PAW’s Virtual Arch Sing

In advance of Reunions, PAW asked Princeton a cappella groups to submit some of their favorite video and audio clips. Watch the two YouTube playlists below (or click the individual links) to hear a preview of the tunes that may be resonating from campus archways at the end of May.

Part 1:

1. Shere Khan - “1234”

2. Katzenjammers - “Do the Walls Come Down”

3. Nassoons - “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

4. Tigertones - “Runaround Sue”

5. Tigerlilies - “Mean to Me”

Part 2:

1. Tigressions - “Pocketful of Sunshine”

2. Footnotes - “Loving Feeling”

3. Roaring 20 - “Kryptonite”

4. The Wildcats, Tigerlilies, and Tigressions - “Old Nassau”

Encore

Some groups submitted video and audio in other formats and were not able to be included on the YouTube playlists, but you can click these links to get the full Princeton a cappella experience:

1. Old NasSoul - “In the Still of the Night”

2. Kindred Spirit - “A Mighty Fortress” (Facebook video, registration required)

3. Koleinu - “Etz Chaim”

Tiger of the Week: Eric Hagen ’92

Tiger of the Week Eric Hagen ’92 is at the top of his field, according to Forbes.com. Last week, the magazine chose him as the leading brokerage analyst in oil exploration and production, his area of expertise, and ranked Hagen fifth in its "dazzling dozen" of top analysts across all fields. (Rankings are based on a three-year performance history of "long-term calls," compiled by Zacks Investment Research in Chicago.)

Hagen, a onetime Princeton wrestler who served in the U.S. Marines after graduation, began working in the oil and natural gas sector as a consultant and has been an industry analyst for the last eight years, according to Forbes. He currently works for Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research, outperforming his peers with what Forbes described as "data-intensive methodology, an affinity for running 'what if' scenarios, and ... [a] focus on new industry trends."

Do you have a nominee for Tiger of the Week? Let us know. All alumni qualify. PAW's Tiger of the Week is selected by our staff, with help from readers like you.

First midfield leads Princeton men to first-round win

By David Marcus ’92

Mark Kovler ’09 scored five goals and added an assist to lead Princeton University’s men’s lacrosse team to a 10-7 win over the University of Massachusetts in an opening round NCAA playoff game at Princeton May 10. With the win, the Tigers advance to play Ivy League rival Cornell at noon May 16 in a quarterfinal match at Hofstra University.

“It was a tough game for us,” Princeton head coach Bill Tierney said of his squad’s first playoff win since 2006. “It was a big mental hurdle. Now we know who’s waiting for us. We know them and what they do, and they know us and what we do.”

The game turned on a timeout by Tierney in the second quarter. Goalie Tyler Fiorito ’12 was struggling to clear the ball and heaved a pass from his own end of the field into the UMass half. Princeton’s Jack McBride ’11 came up with the ball, and Tierney immediately called timeout with 6:10 left and Princeton leading 3-1. Kovler scored on the ensuing possession and added another goal a minute later. He finished out the half by firing a shot past the Minutemen’s second-string goalie after starter Doc Schneider got an unnecessary roughness penalty. Schneider came into the game with the second-highest save percentage in Division I and made 13 saves against Princeton.

UMass never got closer than three goals in the second half. Fiorito made four of his 12 saves in the fourth quarter to preserve the lead before Rich Sgalardi ’09 scored the last of his three goals with two minutes left to give Princeton (13-2) a 10-6 lead.

Kovler and Sgalardi played in Princeton’s first midfield along with Scott McKenzie ’10, who added a goal and an assist against UMass. With temperatures in the mid-60s and UMass holding the ball for long stretches, Tierney was able to use his first midfield on most of his team’s possessions, a strategy that may become harder to implement in hot weather or a more up-tempo game.

UMass usually opted for a man-to-man defense, and Tierney and his offensive coordinator, Dave Metzbower, countered by initiating almost all of their offense from the midfield. Kovler, Sgalardi and McKenzie finished what they started by accounting for nine of Princeton’s 10 goals and all three of its assists. Attack Tommy Davis ’09 broke their stranglehold on the scoring column with a man-up goal late in the third quarter.

The victory sets up a rematch with Cornell, which defeated Princeton 10-7 in Ithaca April 18. The Big Red won 14 of 19 face-offs that day, allowing them to dominate time of possession. The two teams tied for the Ivy League title (each was 5-1 in Ivy games). The winner of the May 16 game will earn a trip to the Final Four at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

Women’s lacrosse stifles Hoyas in 15-9 win

By Eben Novy-Williams ’10

If there was one play that perfectly exemplified the Princeton women’s lacrosse team’s 15-9 dismantling of Georgetown in the first round of the NCAA tournament May 10, it came with 17:47 remaining in the second half.

Following a free-position save by sophomore goaltender Erin Tochihara, the Tigers pushed the ball up the field in a hurry. After crossing midfield, midfielder Holly McGarvie ’09 found attack Kristin Morrison ’10 streaking toward the goal and fed a perfect pass over the Georgetown defense. Morrison caught the ball in stride and stuffed it inside the Hoyas’ net to give Princeton an 11-7 lead.

Throughout the program’s second straight first-round victory, the Tigers (14-3) were proficient on both ends of the field. Senior midfielder Kristin Schwab had a team-high five goals, while Tochihara made eight saves and the Princeton defense held the Hoyas scoreless for the first 26:48 of the second half.

“This was a really big win for us against a very talented Georgetown team,” Princeton head coach Chris Sailer said. “We came out and really executed our game plan very well. … We’ve been united in a common mission all year long, and we saw that on the field today.”

The Hoyas opened the scoring just 1:44 into the game, but the Tigers responded with four straight goals — from Morrison, Schwab, Christine Casaceli ’09, and McGarvie — to build a lead they would never relinquish. Georgetown pulled within one with 18 seconds remaining in the first half, but the Tigers opened the second frame with five unanswered goals to put the game away.

As impressive as the Princeton offense was, however, the second half belonged to Tochihara, who led the defense in its domination of one of the nation’s most talented offenses.

“I came out in the second half a lot more relaxed,” Tochihara said. “I really just focused on playing my game.”

It may not have been the prettiest of games — the defensive struggles at the end of the first half were eerily reminiscent of Princeton’s loss to No. 2 Maryland two weeks ago — but the Tigers were best when it mattered most, especially in the second half, when they won nine of 10 draws and 11 of 16 ground balls. Schwab led the team with five goals, Morrison added four goals and an assist, and McGarvie, the Ivy League Player of the Year, recorded a team-high three ground balls.

The Tigers now advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament May 16, where they play a familiar opponent: undefeated defending-champion Northwestern.

“We have a lot of experience in the tournament now, and having lost to Northwestern last year, we have a lot of revenge that is motivating us,” Schwab said. “Having played them last year is going to really benefit us going into the game on Saturday.”

Jonathan Schwartz ’10 plays Matt in the off-Broadway revival of The Fantasticks. (Photo by Ellis Gaskell)

Schwartz ’10 makes his New York acting debut

Six days a week, Jonathan Schwartz ’10 takes a New Jersey Transit train into Manhattan to work. The job involves some singing and dancing and being ready for the unexpected, like trying to belt out his lines in front of 200 people with confetti stuck in his mouth.

That’s all in a day’s work for Schwartz, who recently made his New York acting debut as the male lead in the off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks (a role that includes one scene in which confetti is sprinkled over the actor’s head). Schwartz, a sociology major, has been doing eight performances a week since March 30 while carrying a full course load.

The Fantasticks was the longest-running musical in the world, opening in 1960 and playing more than 17,000 shows before closing in 2002. The show’s revival at the Snapple Theater Center in Times Square opened in June 2008. The story is a romantic comedy about a boy (Matt, Schwartz’s role) and a girl (Luisa) who fall in and out of love at the hands of their meddling fathers.

Schwartz, a Cranford, N.J., native, has been acting since he landed a part in the chorus for a community theater production of Oliver at age 4. “I learned my right from my left in that show because I had to wave,” he says. Since then, he has performed in some 30 musicals and plays, starring as Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story and Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. On campus he’s been involved in the Princeton University Players, Triangle Club, and the Nassoons.

When Schwartz was offered the part of Matt during midterms, he considered taking time off from school, but ultimately decided to push on. He loads up on classes during Tuesday, the theater’s “dark” day, and uses his commuting time to do homework. Two weeks ago he handed in his junior paper. “I’m not shooting for A’s,” he says, “but I’m doing the best I can.” By Katherine Federici Greenwood

Last-chance lessons

Classes have ended for the semester, but seniors are still headed to lecture. The Last Lecture Series, which runs from April 27 to May 8, gives the Class of 2009 an opportunity to hear some of Princeton’s best lecturers speak about their fields of expertise. Seniors crowd into McCosh 10 on Monday and Wednesday nights to soak up these last tidbits of knowledge before heading out into the real world in June.

Robert George, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and a constitutional law expert, spoke to the group April 27 on the topic of “Natural Law, God, and Human Rights.” George outlined his view on the principles of justice and human rights from his viewpoint as a natural law theorist.

In his primer on natural law theory, George argued that humans recognize the “intrinsic value” of social relationships, and thereby set the basis for human-rights law. “Natural law theorists do not deny that God can reveal moral truths, but many moral truths can be grasped by ethical reflection even without revelation,” George said. According to this theory, people can reach consensus on human-rights law without the confirmation of an existence of a higher being.

John Fleming *63, the Louis W. Fairchild ’24 Professor of English and Comparative Literature emeritus, tackled the issue of “What Are the Humanities?” April 29. Identifying the humanities as the “artifacts of human intellection,” Fleming stressed the importance of understanding the cultural context when reading literature.

In speaking about Shakespeare and Chaucer, Fleming said that “we are in that string of humanity, but there’s no way that we’re going to become 14th-century people. … The challenge of the humanities is to try and see them against the profile of the stark differentiation that separates us.”

Lectures continue this week with Professor Ed Felten discussing digital media and Professor Eric Wieschaus speaking about cell embryos. By Sarah Harrison ’09

Arts briefs: Romeo & Juliet at Lincoln Center; Alumna’s documentary on PBS

From May 14-17, the Mark Morris Dance Group will perform “Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare” at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater in New York. The ballet is set to the original score composed by Sergei Prokofiev, recently rediscovered by Princeton professor and musicologist Simon Morrison *97. Morrison will speak about the production May 14 at a special pre-performance event for New York City alumni.

Deborah Fryer *93’s award-winning documentary film Shaken: Journey Into the Mind of a Parkinson’s Patient will air on several PBS affiliates in May.