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The Yale Alumni Magazine is owned and operated by Yale Alumni Publications, Inc., a nonprofit corporation independent of Yale University. The content of the magazine and its website is the responsibility of the editors and does not necessarily reflect the views of Yale or its officers. |
The Elizabethan Club recently celebrated the 425th anniversary of the coronation of the good Queen Bess. As the toaster of the Queen’s health (Robin Winks, Lord of Berkeley) implied, the coincidence of the feast with the Super Bowl indicated a remarkable self-confidence on the part of the Lizzie. The almost 300 Elizabethans who turned off their sets and marched off to the Silliman dining hall were richly rewarded. The vision of the English professor Marie Borroff, attired as the Queen, was enough in itself to upstage anything that went on in the Super Bowl. So convincing was the likeness that many fell involuntarily to their knees as the Queen passed.
By this time, even the wittiest among us are convinced that they did not pass Mr. Tinker’s exam in the Age of Johnson. That exam was “hell.” Several others were worthy of the devil. We are at that critical period when the leading scholars among us return to their rooms with long faces, muttering “flunked,” while the morons come back smiling, sure of at least a 60. It is so much nicer to be a moron, because less is expected of one.
Attendance at Alumni Day was so great that a few were of necessity turned away. The invitation extended to the alumni to attend this luncheon as guests of the University is generous indeed, but it does seem that a few take advantage of this generosity by getting a free meal for the whole family, as witnessed by several children from eight to fifteen and even some wives who didn’t seem too interested in the proceedings. I do not suggest cutting out the wives by any manner of means (although I know some do). But if some restriction were suggested, then those few who were actually turned away after coming some distance just for this opportunity to visit with their classmates and hear the President’s report would have been able to attend in comfort.
The underage Yale drinker need no longer break the law to buy his booze. The Connecticut state age of majority dropped from 21 to 18. Students who do their carousing within the boundaries of Yale have traditionally enjoyed a tacit immunity from anti-vice laws, so the new legal sanction won’t profoundly affect social life on campus. Certain social rituals, however, have been changing recently. A seeming decline in the popularity of marijuana during the past couple of years has been offset by a drinking revival. So, cheers.”
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©1992–2012, Yale Alumni Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Yale Alumni Magazine, P.O. Box 1905, New Haven, CT 06509-1905, USA. yam@yale.edu |
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