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A Festive Finale
Although sobered by the events of September 11, the university pressed forward with the plans to conclude its 300th birthday with a flourish. The celebrants included a host of prominent alumni, from Bill Buckley ’50 to Bill Clinton ’73JD, who shared in an event for the record books.
December 2001
by Mark Alden Branch ’86

Although sobered by the events of September 11, the University pressed forward with the plans to conclude its 300th birthday with a flourish. The celebrants included a host of prominent alumni, from Bill Buckley to Bill Clinton, who shared in an event for the record books.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, Yale officials were at first in a quandary over whether and how to proceed with the planned Tercentennial celebration of October 5-7. In the end, the festivities went on largely as planned (just before the United States began air strikes in Afghanistan), with some song and silliness, but with an underlying seriousness of purpose and with a recognition of the importance of higher education in the current uncharted waters of international affairs.

The weekend opened on a beautiful Friday afternoon with an academic convocation on Cross Campus that began with a Commencement-like procession of students (clad in blue robes), faculty, administrators, and guests representing other colleges and universities. The most striking elements of the procession were the flags of 97 countries (a loan from the United Nations arranged by Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed '61), each carried by a current Yale student who is a native of the respective country.

Presidents Lawrence Summers of Harvard and Shirley Tilghman of Princeton brought greetings from their institutions, after which Sterling Professor of English John Hollander read a poem composed for the occasion, in which he called on the University to “celebrate today, with little shame/ Amid our national solemnities/ A yet bright moment in Yale’s history."Addresses were made by representatives of Yale’s faculty (Dean Richard Brodhead), students (Tali Farhadian '97, a Yale law student), staff (Michael Morand '87 of the Office of New Haven Affairs), and alumni (Kurt Schmoke '71, senior fellow of the Corporation).

President Levin used his address to stress five areas in which Yale and other universities contribute to society: by educating citizens and leaders, demonstrating freedom of expression, serving as an engine of economic growth, fostering the development of the surrounding community, and promoting greater understanding among the peoples and nations of the world. He also announced the launch of a “major study of education in Yale College” that will be led by Dean Brodhead and declared his eagerness to improve union relations at Yale by “relying on day-to-day collaboration rather than periodic confrontation.”

On Friday and Saturday, members of the Yale faculty spoke in several campus locations as part of a Tercentennial symposium titled “Democratic Vistas, Global Perspectives.” While some of the talks were adapted from last year’s “Democratic Vistas” DeVane Lecture series, there were also panel discussions featuring Yale international affairs scholars. (The talks also served as the program for an abbreviated Association of Yale Alumni Assembly.)

Friday night at the Yale Bowl, more than 25,000 people sat down to a show called “For God, For Country, For Yale, Forever.” From a stage in the middle of the field built to resemble the Walter Camp Memorial Gateway, President Levin began the show with a short statement about the events of September 11 and asked the audience to join in singing “America the Beautiful.” After that, the crowd was treated to a two-hour mix of songs, skits, video montages, laser lights, and fireworks. The cast of characters was wildly eclectic: William F. Buckley Jr. '50 shared the stage with Sesame Street’s Big Bird, Tom Wolfe '57PhD with Elihu Yale (portrayed by Drama School actor Derek Lucci). A 300-person chorus, including singers from the Glee Club, the Alumni Chorus, and the Camerata, sang a medley of musical theater numbers written by Yale alumni, backed up by an orchestra with personnel from the Symphony, the Philharmonia, and the Concert Band.

The evening’s most prominent surprise guest was an honorary alumnus: Singer Paul Simon, who received an honorary Doctor of Music in 1996, performed his “Graceland” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” to the evening’s loudest ovation. The evening ended with an extended fireworks display that was heard throughout New Haven (to the alarm of some jittery residents).

Before the show inside the Bowl, visitors enjoyed a festival outside that included performances by Yale singing groups, games and activities for children, and exhibits from Yale departments. The weekend’s major union demonstration also took place Friday evening, when 2,500 students and workers rallied in Edgewood Park, then marched to the Bowl carrying candles and wearing shirts with the legend “Hope Not Fear.”

The campus awoke Saturday morning to dark clouds, gusty winds, and rain, in contrast to the clear, warm weather on Friday. But by afternoon, the sun was out, and a record 8,000 people packed the Cross Campus to hear the first major campus address by former U.S. president Bill Clinton '73JD. Not surprisingly, Clinton devoted most of his 40-minute talk to assessing the world situation after September 11, describing terrorism as “simply the dark side” of a generally positive trend toward global interdependence. Responding to the question he said he has been hearing since the 11th, Clinton assured the audience that “we’re going to be all right.” The crowd received the former president with loud cheers, especially when he walked into the audience afterwards to shake hands for several minutes.

The weekend was capped off on Sunday with a special worship service in Battell Chapel, a football game against Dartmouth at the Bowl, and an evening concert by the rock group Counting Crows on the Old Campus. In order to accommodate the festivities in the Bowl Friday night, the game was played on Sunday—a first in 129 years of Yale football. The Bulldogs lost to the Big Green 32-27 in a game attended by about 20,000 people.

All in all, it was a difficult time to be celebrating, but if events at home and abroad dampened the University’s sense of enthusiasm, they only sharpened its sense of mission. At Friday’s convocation, law student Tali Farhadian recalled how a speaker at Yale’s Bicentennial in 1901 had declared that “America needs Yale.” Today, she concluded, “The world needs Yale. We are ready.”  

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