Class Note 1980. I am writing this column freshly back from the dedication of the reimagined Hopkins Center for the Arts. The weekend, led by Hop board chair Laurel Richie ’81, was jam packed and action filled with panels and performances from alumni such as Mindy Kaling ’01, Rachel Dratch ’88, Shonda Rhimes ’91 and Jake Tapper ’91, Sharon Washington ’81, Chris Newell ’96, Alexi Pappas ’12, Mali Obomsawin ’18, and honorary ’19 Yo-Yo Ma. It was celebration of new spaces, renovated familiar places, and newly installed staircases and balcony—all under the familiar arches at the front of the building. I am delighted that, due to the new electronic events marquee, no student will have to follow in my footsteps, hauling individual letters to hang outside in Hanover winter weather!
I enjoyed champagne brunch chat with Ed Goldstein ’62 and his wife, Ronna. Ed was roommate to Steve Roth ’62; the Daryl and Steven Roth Wing reconfigured the space between what we might remember as the front door all the way past the now-gone Hinman boxes. There is a “memorial” wall installation of the boxes as a monument for us who lived during the H.B. years! Ed told me that his student memories of the Hop site was of a “big hole.” Now it is the final connecting piece of the College’s arts campus.
Recognizing that this is Class Notes, I am happy to note that there were ’80s all around. Hans Morris’s family provided support for a new, beautiful space, the Jack 1953 and Mac 2011 Morris Recital Hall, that visibly changes the external outline and texture of the Hop façade. At the dedication of the Roth wing and start to the weekend, I sat with Frank Fesnak (with his son), Rick Gemberling, Rob Ruocco, and Mark Alperin, Hans’ Bones Gate brethren. I spotted Rich Akerboom and met up with Daniela Varon, who came north to do more research in professor Errol Hill’s papers for a Black Shakespeareans project. I was also delighted to greet Prof. Hill’s widow, Grace, outside the Moore Theater, bringing back many memories of drama department productions.
I ran into Mary Ann McGarry and Patti Rae and subsequently was able to sit with Patti to enjoy a conversation about ongoing connection to the College, raising daughters as a single mom (she’s still in it; her younger child is 14), reunions, and freshman year—as she’s recently taken her older child to her first year at George Washington University. We talked about the delight expressed by the alum artists about their time at Dartmouth and the gratitude that the experience contributed to their artist journey. As challenging as some of those early experiences were, I resonated strongly with those expressions of delight and gratitude. I was happy to explore the physical space of the Hop and to renew acquaintance with friends and to meet new people in a continuing shared experience of love for the College, our memories, and our relation to the arts.
I hope your fall was magical!
—Kal Alston, 948 Euclid Ave., Syracuse, NY 13210; alstonkal@gmail.com; Wade Herring, P.O. Box 9848, Savannah, GA 31412; (912) 944-1639; wherring@huntermaclean.com; Jennifer W. DesCombes, 256 W 7th St., Claremont, CA 91711; (909) 921-3402; jennifer.descombes@gmail.com