November 20, 2002

Dear Class of 1967,

It’s just before Thanksgiving and the weather in Houston is absolutely perfect: sunshine, highs in the low 70s, low humidity, late roses blooming, and little twinkling lights wrapped around trees to ward off the early darkness.

Our class is now one of the “older” classes! Nonetheless, we are wired and can take advantage of the efforts of the College to keep us connected. The Alumnae Association is adding web hosting for class pages at the http://www.brynmawr.edu web site. We can sign up for e-mail forwarding for life. This past summer, an alumnae task force was assembled to assess alumnae needs and to draft policy for e-mail and web-based communication. And, of course, there’s the Bryn Mawr Listserve, which provides addictive enjoyment. Someone described the List as a never-ending back smoker discussion (do Bryn Mawr dorms still have “smokers”?). To subscribe go to http://www.brynmawr.edu/Alumnae/listserv.htm and click on “To Subscribe.” What about the newest class, the Class of 2006? Of the 312 students enrolled, 34 (or over 10%) are international students or Americans living abroad. Twenty-five percent enrolled through the early decision plans. Fashion note: their lanterns are dark blue.

If you go to the Bryn Mawr web site, you will find library exhibits posted. The “M. Carey Thomas and the Making of the Bryn Mawr Campus” exhibit offers views of the very early campus, old plans by Hutton, Vaux & Olmstead, and details from the buildings.

Another surprise on the web site is the Career Development page, which coordinates resources with Haverford. The Career Development Office provides services to alumnae as well as to undergraduates. It furnishes a wealth of easily accessible information. While this format is a clear improvement over our dark, dank day with the Career Office shoehorned into the basement of Taylor, I wonder if anything is lost if everything is available on a computer screen as opposed to talking to as many people as you can manage to meet.

Most of us, however, are not looking for a new job or a switch to a new career. It’s something of a shock to realize we are heading into retirement, or are already there, beginning to enjoy grandchildren, or caring for elderly, frail parents who once were so vigorous. What hasn’t changed is that we still, I surmise, are all avid readers. How many of us will admit that we are readers of book reviews more often than of the books themselves? I find myself in a bookstore without the ability to recall a single title that had intrigued me in a review. It is more efficient, I suppose.

Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to you all and to your families and friends,

Penny Milbouer,
Class President, 1967