Some further reflections on the 50th Reunion Survey - Steve Hauge

Bill Simon wrote a summary of the recent survey that our class took in the run-up to our 50th Reunion; it will appear in our Class Book. Some of the verbatims, however, seemed worthwhile to highlight here.

1) “What adjective or impression best describes your initial perception of Williams College?”
a) To the first question, classmates gave many similar answers: beautiful was the favorite adjective, combined with picture perfect New England setting, bucolic, tranquil, gorgeous, pastoral, and steeped in tradition.

b) These were complemented by welcoming and comfortable in a friendly campus and close-knit community that was intellectual, prestigious, and smart, with strong academics. Together these provided the great openness of both the landscape and the intellectual life with a wealth of opportunity.

c) Some caveats were registered: the college was isolated, small, rural, remote, male, preppy and privileged.

2) “What adjective or impression today best describes your perception of Williams?”
a) Responses to the second question were, like the college now, more diverse. On the positive side remained the college’s good qualities: top-notch academics, really great place to learn and to play, high-energy people, a great educational experience, a wonderful opportunity, and a change agent for me, that was life-changing, transformative, mind-expanding, foundational, appreciated with deep gratitude – and still beautiful.

b) Some classmates also found the college overbuilt and committed to a facilities ‘arms race,’ struggling to become both more affordable and diverse, highly competitive with a high pressure environment, building the analytical skills of the student but not the full growth of the student, privileged, less open-minded, and elite but elitist

.

3) Another question asked about a “prized possession.”
a) Aside from houses, dogs, art and photographs, these included family heirlooms -- my grandmother’s ring, my father’s ring, my grandfather’s gold pocket watch, and a grandfather clock.

b) Others had been picked up over time: a letter from Sandy Koufax, a Tiffany vase, hundreds of first editions, a Winslow Homer watercolor, a 1970 Yamaha classical guitar, a scrimshaw whale’s tooth, a collection of Pueblo pottery, and a Mason & Hamlin grand piano (Model A, 1920)

c) Still others had a more personal connection -- crossing the equator at the prime meridian in the Pacific Ocean, a foul ball caught in Fenway Park – and my new knees.

d) And, of course, there’s nothing like a piece of the Amherst goal post from 1972, and a tie-dyed purple cow t-shirt.

4) Another question asked for “what life wisdom would you like to share?”

As you would imagine, this question provided the greatest range of responses.  The responses fell into many buckets:

a) Keep values:  Follow your passions; Stay true to your values; Figure out ways to make your life add up to something that feels meaningful to you; and Be true to yourself.

b) Values include others: When faced with the choice of being right or being kind, choose kindness; Don’t ever forget to tell those you love that you love them!; Ask yourself in any given situation, “How can I love here?”; Defend the weak and helpless;  Don’t hold grudges; Listen more than you talk; Practice gratitude and acceptance every day; and Judge little -- forgive often.

c) Values offer direction:  Take the path less traveled; Leave home -- return home; Speak the truth, and lead by example; Plans are nice, but an open mind is better; Take time to reflect; and Count your blessings.

d) Use time well:  Live life in full – waste no time – it is too precious; Life is finite – be in the present; and Treat every day as special.

e) Be active:  Compete in the arena of life, win or lose – do not sit on the sidelines; Stay engaged; Always ask yourself, “Am I proud of what I’m doing?”; In retirement, do good and have fun in equal proportions; and Just keep on keeping on!

f)  Have faith:  The failures, struggles and brokenness of life hold within it the buried treasures of humility, faith, redemption, and hope; It’s all about Grace; Honor your God; and Develop spiritual depth.

g) Value others:  Look for the good in people; The best path to happiness is connection with and helping others; Choose to be grateful – pay attention to and care about other people; Be the best parent you can be because your children are your greatest gift and legacy; Let people be themselves; Be forgiving of others; Nurture friendships; A life of service has the highest rewards; Cherish your friends!; Spend less time focused on work and more cultivating and enriching your relationships with family and friends; Hug your friends and family in your heart; Help others appreciate the wonders of life; and Remember that we are all responsible for one another.

h) Finally, a few whimsical thoughts: Aging is about loss – replace it with something; Scar tissue is often mistaken for wisdom;  You can eat well, or you can sleep well, but you cannot do both; and Learn to sing in the rain and stomp in puddles, rather than wishing for sunny days.

Williams Class of 1973 50th Reunion Survey
reviewed by Bill Simon

I am happy to report we received a historically high response rate to our 50th reunion survey in excess of 55%, which is generally considered sufficient to produce reliable findings. The survey questions can broadly be grouped into personal information and demographics, reflections about choices at Williams, career satisfaction, and personal favorites. Those who majored in math may notice that the tabulated responses to each question often add up to less than 100%. That’s because they’re based on the total number of respondents rather than the number who answered a particular question.

Demographics

Close to half the class (48%) live in the northeast, 19% in the south, and 16% in the west. Interestingly, six respondents choose “other,” indicating some of us may live outside the United States. Seventy-five percent of respondents are married, remarried, or in a relationship. Eight percent indicated they were single, and 6% are separated/divorced. Sixty-eight percent indicated they have between one and three children, and 17% indicated none. The class is roughly split on grandchildren, with 52% reporting they have grandchildren and 42% reporting they do not.

Ninety-one percent of us own a home; thankfully, 0% are unsure about this, indicating our memory is still sound. Additionally, 60% of us have paid off our mortgage, with 18% having between 7-20+ years remaining.

Careers

Our primary occupations were Teacher/Professor (16%), Attorney (14%), Financial Services (10%), Business/Corporate (10%), Medical Doctor or Dentist (9%). Roughly half the class (51%) were happy with their career choice, and 45% of us either would have chosen a different career or aren’t sure.

Personal Information

Fortunately, 50% of the respondents report no major health issues in the last ten years. Unfortunately, the most common major health issues mentioned were cancer (34%), with breast and prostate cancer as the most prevalent. One of us wrote "I have a doctor for every body part and keep all busy." An astonishing 81% of us exercise regularly, with 2% unsure, maybe indicating uncertainty as to whether Zooming is considered exercise.

Unsurprisingly, 62% of us have gained weight since college, 17% have not, and 9% have lost weight. Wisely, two do not want to think about it. The weight gain reported ranged from 5-115 lbs, with a mean of 25 lbs. Ninety-five percent of us still drive, 3% don’t at night.

Our top five favorite sports are baseball (11%), golf (10%), football (10%), tennis (10%), and basketball (8%). Thirty-six percent of us reported that we approach life with more confidence as we get older, 8% with more fear, and 42% with a mix of more confidence and fear, perhaps owing to the residual effects of the pandemic. Just over 50% of us classify ourselves as retired, and another 21% as either working or consulting part-time.

Our religious identities are varied, and reflect America’s wide range of religious beliefs and practices. Ten percent of us have changed our religious affiliation within the past 25 years, with the current tally showing Protestants make up 37 percent of the class, 9 percent of us are Roman Catholics, 7% Jewish, and 9% “other.” Interestingly, 26% of us reported “no affiliation,” which likely includes those of us who are religious but unaffiliated and those of us who are agnostic or atheist. We were roughly split as to whether religion was very/somewhat important or only a little/not at all.

Politically, 49% of us identify as Democrats, 9% as Republicans, 28% as Independents, and 2% of us as Libertarians. Perhaps it’s not surprising that 28% of us are independents as we were always an independently-minded class! Ideologically, 42% of us are political moderates, 37% are liberal, and 9% are conservative. Since our 25th Williams reunion, 17% of us report changing our political identification. Among the 29 of us who did so, 59% of us were previously Republicans, 24% of us were Democrats, and 14% of us were Independents.

Choices at Williams

We are pleased to report that 69% of respondents would still attend Williams if they had to do it all over again, with 9% wanting to attend a different college/university, and 15% unsure. A large number of us, 87%, are glad that Williams is totally co-ed today, and 5% of us are either sad or not sure. The significant influences causing us to attend Williams vary widely, but the most common ones reported are a parent (27%), a Williams alum (26%), and a guidance counselor (high school or college) (19%).

Our majors varied, but the most common majors reported were: English (12%), American Civilization (9%), History (9%), Art History (7%), and Psychology (6%).

Surprisingly (or not), only 21% of us would have chosen the same major today. The majors we would have picked today were all over the board, but History was the most often reported major our class would have switched to (6%).

Personal Favorites

The last part of the survey dealt with “What’s Your Favorite” questions: author, book, song, hobby, vacation, food, movie, and prized possession? There were almost as many different answers as respondents to each question, but a few came up frequently enough that they are worth noting.

The most often cited authors included William Shakespeare, Leo Tolstoy, Jane Austen, Ernest Hemingway, and David McCullough, whose recent death is clearly a loss many of us will feel keenly. The most cited books included the Bible, Pride and Prejudice, and War and Peace. Our class certainly appreciates the classics!

Our musical tastes vary widely from church gospel to rock, country to oldies. Various Beatles songs were repeatedly cited, with “Here Comes the Sun” receiving multiple mentions.

Favorite hobbies included reading (lots), gardening, golf, hiking, exercise, and, interestingly, woodworking. As with all of the questions in this section, the answers we received were incredibly varied, with too many to list.

Our class has an apparent penchant for vacationing in Europe, with 21% of the class reporting preferred travel destinations such as England and Spain. Island and beach destinations were a close second, with 16% of the class favoring destinations in those categories. Finally, 9% of you reported preferred vacations involving family.

It is no surprise that various Italian dishes received the most mentions under favorite foods, considering that the mean reported weight gain is 25 lbs! Several of us carnivores enjoy a good steak, and some of us hanker after lobster, probably freshly harvested due to the location of half the class in the northeast. Ice cream and chocolate (in their various forms) were the most commonly cited dessert foods. Those of us who champion “healthy” foods were in the minority, with only a few people reporting a favorite food that your editor took the liberty to classify as healthy.

Two films received more than a few mentions, “The Godfather” and “Casablanca.” “The Princess Bride,” “Dr. Zhivago,” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” each received a couple of mentions, with the remaining film responses ranging widely.

Finally, our prized possessions were truly varied, but a few categories had multiple mentions. First, “dog” received the most mentions (sorry, cat lovers, not one was included as a prized possession). The runner-up was some variation of “none,” either indicating many prized possessions or a mastery of detachment from material objects. Other favorite or prized possessions included our house, farm, vintage car, health, and family. The last two are, indeed, of incalculable value, and show just how much we may have matured over the past 50 years.

Comparison with the Class of ‘71

Now that we have an idea of what our class is like, how do we compare to the class of ’71, which conducted a similar 50th reunion survey? Certainly the biggest difference is that 20% of the respondents in our survey were women, due to Williams’ transition to coeducation.Also of interest, our class reported teacher/professor as the most popular profession, whereas education only ranked fourth for the class of ‘71. I will leave it to the sociology majors to draw their own conclusions.

In terms of similarities, most respondents in both classes remained in the northeast, and a significant number of both classes reported their admissions interview was the biggest influence on their decision to attend Williams, leaving your editor to wonder if perhaps the college would do well to bring back this effective recruiting tool.

In Conclusion

Musings From Your Editor

In reviewing the survey results, I was struck by the diversity of our class as reflected in the choices we’ve made in our lives ranging from career to cuisine. Yet in the middle of this rich diversity, two things stand out.

One is that we are a class of few regrets. The vast majority of respondents would choose Williams all over again, and most would follow the same career paths just as most continue to practice the same religion and remain in the same political party (at least, during the past 25 years).

Certainly we were in college at a time of great transition, as we moved to leave fraternities behind, welcomed female students, embraced more campus activism, and demonstrated against the Vietnam War. Yet in our own lives, most of us seem to have found our equilibrium.

I also like to think of our class as one that likes to pay good things forward. Many of us chose Williams based on what we learned from important people in our lives, often a teacher, a sports coach, or an alumnus, and then thrived on a campus known for its caring community. Many of us, in turn, became teachers or volunteer mentors in some capacity, looking for ways to help the next generation “climb high, climb far” just as we were helped by the generation preceding ours.

As we reflect back on our time at Williams, and in the subsequent 50 years since graduation, I hope you share my pride in who we have become and what we have accomplished, both in our personal and professional lives.

+ + +

I owe a great deal of gratitude to our fearless president Steve Harty, classmate Connie Rudnick, and Mark Robertson, our principal reunion point person at Williams, for their parts in designing and disseminating the survey. Deepest thanks to Nick Tortorello ’71 and John Ackroff ’71 along with my student intern Isaac Peter and my colleague Cary Hemphill (Smith ’76) for critical assistance with preparing, analyzing, and reporting the survey results. Hopefully, the results, as reported, will bring back some fond memories and give us even more to talk about when we get together in June. Enjoy!

Bill Simon ‘73
12/12/2022