Like a fiddler on the roof

My very first column on this page examined one problem with the modern university, which takes students from hometowns all over the country, brings them to a different town for four years, and then sends them off, often to yet another new place. The question remains: How we can be grounded in a sense of place throughout it all? In freshman year, I suggested something I still advocate, namely a redoubled effort to foster a sense of American identity on campus by offering more surveys of American literature, history, principles and culture.

Another piece of the puzzle is the richness of Princeton’s history and tradition, both of which contribute to a sense of place specific to an individual university. Sure, we have Lawnparties and opening exercises, the Pre-Rade and Cane Spree, Holder Howls and a strong alumni community. But there’s even more richness that we could understand, symbolized by the only vaguely recognized names around campus — Dickinson, McCosh, Pyne, Fine, Hibben and even Madison and Wilson. These names are reminders of decisions, mistakes and achievements spanning over 250 years. We ought to more fully seize our tradition and history as what makes our school, and every school, a unique place.

This isn’t an act of Ivy League narcissism — every school in America ought to look to its history, but Princeton is obviously the most relevant choice for a ‘Prince’ column. For example, two of our most recently observed traditions, opening exercises and the Pre-Rade, without a doubt contribute to Princeton’s identity and thus our own as students here.

Opening exercises have a somewhat unclear date of origin — Mudd Library’s blog lists a ceremony as early as 1802, held in Nassau Hall. Of course, Princeton wouldn’t have its first chapel until 1847. The event moved to its current home when the existing Chapel opened in 1929, replacing the former Marquand Chapel (opened in 1882) that had burned to the ground during Houseparties in 1920. What we can say with certainty is that opening exercises are a longstanding tradition (and that Houseparties chaos is, too).

Opening exercises, long tethered to Christian worship until our University hit its full nonsectarian stride in the second half of the 20th century, could have gone the way of mandatory chapel attendance on Sunday mornings (fully abolished 1964). Instead, in 1981, the event became truly ecumenical, positioning itself to continue to this day. It presently features readings from different religious traditions, not just Presbyterianism or Christianity. Accordingly, opening exercises are an example of a tradition that has been preserved but also changed to meaningfully tie Princeton back to its past, even as it looks to the future.

Or consider Pre-Rade. Many students are surprised to learn that the modern Pre-Rade dates only to 2004, making the Class of 2015 only the eighth to participate. The Pre-Rade is undoubtedly a sharp break with the lengthy tradition of hazing freshman in creatively severe ways, something explored at length by James Axtell in his excellent book, The Making of Princeton University: From Woodrow Wilson to the Present. It is also a safer stand-in for the often dangerous traditional freshman pranks, which were previously defended as forging class unity, something the Pre-Rade does with no risk of bodily harm.

Yet the Pre-Rade does draw on two Princeton traditions, the P-Rade (which dates to 1897) and earlier attempts at a Pre-Rade. Axtell finds a reference to a “freshman P-Rade” in the papers of Adlai E. Stevenson ’22, though this version proceeded from Witherspoon Hall to Whig Hall on a Saturday in October. There is no indication that the modern creators of the Pre-Rade emulated the older version, but as Axtell notes, they were no doubt aware of the symbolism of beginning one’s Princeton career with a Pre-Rade and ending it (really, continuing it forever) with a P-Rade.

It’s a shame that there are so few full treatments of Princeton’s history. A comprehensive book on our entire history should really be available for new students, current students, faculty, alumni and parents. Axtell’s volume is absolutely superb at what he covers, but his story only begins with Woodrow Wilson’s effort to modernize Princeton at the turn of the century.

Ultimately, it’s very unfortunate that some students might not realize the rich traditions of religion, politics, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and scholarship embedded in the very buildings on our campus, whether it be Witherspoon Hall, Firestone Library or Frick Laboratory. After all, college can be a disorienting four years for students living in a new place, asked to do some of the most difficult work they’ll ever be assigned. A fuller sense of tradition on this campus would only add to the pride and determination that comes from our currently limited collective awareness of Princeton’s remarkable history.

Brian Lipshutz is a politics major from Lafayette Hill, Pa. He can be reached at lipshutz@princeton.edu.