Class Note 1996

At the time of this writing it feels like a heat wave in New York. Happy belated Father’s Day to all of the dads in our class, the World Cup is at the round of 16, it’s been nearly 70 days since the beginning of the oil spill, and Kagan just began her Senate confirmation hearings. Regretfully, this update will be remarkably brief, but I still hope that it finds you well and in good health.


At our class reunion the class voted on the following officers to represent the class of 1996 for the next five years: president Kim Koontz Haring, vice president Lanea (Eschmeyer) Tripp, treasurer Shervyn VonHoerl and me, Kelii Opulauoho, as secretary. I will spotlight some of the other positions as well in upcoming issues, but stay abreast of class officer news at our website: www.dartmouth.org/classes/96. Special thanks to Lanea for all of her work with the reunion, and kudos to the reunion committee. Thank you! 


I had two random sightings in passing here in the city. First, I ran into Bill Tovell as he was exiting Grand Central Terminal, as I was entering. He looked to be in a rush, but I learned that he was going to be in Russia to meet his wife’s family, as they were unable to attend his wedding. 


I also ran into Mark Ginsburg, this time in the subway. He said he was doing well in the city and told me to look him up on www.xanga.com. It looks to be an excellent blogging community, so be sure to check it out. Based on the creators’ information, Mark appears to have been joined by our classmate John Hiler as well. As of May 1 Alexa Internet ranked Xanga as the 1,151st most-visited site on the Internet. Congratulations to you both, guys.


Barnes & Noble is also a great place to run into ’96s. Nicole Cohen was having coffee with a friend of hers there when Grace Chionuma, recently appointed to the sales trading floor at Morgan Stanley selling derivatives, and I had bumped into her. 


So Leo Stezano is expecting, or rather his partner, Happy Alston, is. I found this out from the reunion grapevine and I am still wondering when I am going to get this update directly from Leo. I’ll put it in the next update. I also hear that Morgan Flatley Johnson is having a baby as well. Congratulations again to you and your husband, Luke. May you have plenty of rest in advance.


Erika Meitner is at the publishing forefront yet again with her poetry and various collections. She has a new publication coming up later this summer. Take a look at her contribution to art and literature at her website: www.erikameitner.com.


I also heard from Matthew Little, who is currently residing in Seattle, Washington, with his wife, Paula. I understand as well from Matt that there’s a little bundle of joy on the way. Congrats, Matt. You get some rest too.


Wishing everyone a wonderful summer and a safe reason, season or a lifetime: Keep on keeping on!


—Kelii Opulauoho, 311 W. 95th St., Apt. 4, New York City, NY 10025; l.alan.keli’i.opulauoho.96@alum.dartmouth.org