Happy New Year! I hope that everyone enjoyed the holidays with their families and friends despite the lack of what we think of as holiday weather. Here in the Carolinas we were in the high 70s and I know in New England it was warmer than usual, as well.

Sad news came across this fall of the passing of Professor John Rassias. He was loved by so many of our class and his methods had a profound effect on us as we learned our various languages. There weren’t many of us who didn’t have to go through the drill sessions that were such an integral part of the Rassias Method. Finger snapping, pointing, looking for rapid-fire responses became a way of life as we made our way through our language studies in preparation for terms abroad. He was one of a kind and will be missed.

The College forwarded news about John Hagelin, Ph.D., that was published in The Huffington Post. It was actually an interview following an open letter to “Presidents Obama, Hollande and Putin—and to the leaders of all nations—proposing a scientific alternative to the conventional approach of creating peace through violence” (International New York Times, December 3, 2015) sent by the Global Union of Scientists for Peace, of which John is president. John received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and conducted pioneering research at the European Center for Particle Physics and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. He is responsible for the development of a highly successful grand unified field theory based on the superstring, and his scientific contributions include some of the most cited references in the physical sciences.

The College is celebrating Dartmouth football’s Ivy League Championship, its first since the 1990s. Coach Buddy Teevens credits the activity of the Friends of Dartmouth Football with being one of the key factors in giving the program the tools to create one of the premier educational-athletic experiences in the country. The friends have generated donations for the improvement of facilities, integration of alumni in identifying prospects that fit within the admission standards and developing programs to help members of the program prepare for life after Dartmouth. Byron Anderson has been a key member of the directorate of the Friends of Dartmouth Football. With the pieces that have been put in place, the outlook for the program is bright.

As a heads-up, Dartmouth baseball coach Bob Whalen has put out word that on April 7 there will be a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Dartmouth baseball program. He’s invited members of all teams back to the College for a Dartmouth-Penn double-header. Survivors of our era’s “Lupe’s Legions” are encouraged to return for a day of celebration, reuniting with teammates and alumni of other eras and share stories (“The guy’s dyin’!,” etc.) and meet the current members of the program. Hope to see you there.

I just received word that Robert Bresticker has recently passed away. An obituary should now be on DAM’s website.

I hope your 2016 has started out well and will be back with more news in another eight weeks.

—Jay Josselyn, 2006 Golden Belt Parkway, Durham, NC 27703; (919) 452-3928; jayjosselyn@hotmail.com