As we, the Class of 1999, say goodbye to Tufts, it is hard not to reflect back on the last four years. We came in as unknowing, yet eager freshmen, sitting on the chairs in front of Ballou Hall wondering what would be in store for the future. Little did we know that we would sit here again, remembering the varied achievements which, taken together, have formed what is now the legacy of the Class of 1999.
Our class is filled with activists, actors, and athletes - people from all walks of life who have left their own footsteps on the Hill. Ours is the first class to see Tufts launched into the top 25 of the US News and World Report rankings. We are the last class to remember the old Wessell Library and its new incarnation, Tisch. During our tenure, Brown and Brew took over Curtis Hall, Sweet Hall was demolished, and construction began on a new fieldhouse.
The years were not without controversy. Freshman year we protested CampusLink and took over the Tufts Community Union Senate, beginning a long tradition of activism for the Class of 1999 at Tufts.
Later, we raised our voices in concern when the Senate spent $100,000 for the construction of the new patio behind the campus center. When the UNICCO janitors were fired, we stormed Ballou; when Todd McFadden resigned as head of the African American Center, we did it again. And when Jack Schnirman ran against Josh Goldenberg, some of us supported a block of wood.
The Class of '99 has also witnessed some of the greatest moments in the history of Tufts' athletics. We were sophomores on the 1997 men's basketball team which had no freshmen, making us the last remnants of a dramatic run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Over 600 Jumbos, clad in brown and blue, stood screaming in the stands, and Tufts history was made. Life repeated itself this year, as the football team packed Ellis Oval for its Homecoming game against Williams.
Some of our best memories, of course, are not the ones that the entire school has enjoyed, but rather those late nights hanging out with friends when we realized we had met people that had changed our lives.
The stresses of classes, exams, and papers, and the inevitable relationship problems sometimes made us wish we were anywhere but Medford, but looking back at it now, we know everything was worth it.
We, the class of 1999, are leaving behind our comfortable home and venturing out into the world for a whole new set of experiences. Tufts has given us memories we will cherish for the rest of our lives, and we are already counting down the days to Homecoming.
