News from
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Communications and Publications, Stanhope Hall
Princeton, New Jersey 08544
Tel 609/258-3601; Fax 609/258-1301
October 16, 1996
ADVISORY
for media representatives planning to cover Princeton's 250th anniversary convocation on October 25 at 1:30 p.m.
Princeton University will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the granting of its original charter with three days of events, October 25 through 27. On Friday, October 25, at 1:30 p.m., a special anniversary convocation will take place on the steps of Nassau Hall, the historic building that housed the early college and now serves as the university's main administration building.
The convocation promises to be a colorful event, featuring a processional in full academic regalia, poetry and music, and a keynote address by Toni Morrison, the 1993 Nobel laureate in literature and a professor in the humanities at Princeton.
The convocation will be followed by a big birthday party, complete with musical performances, the creation of a large-scale ice sculpture of Nassau Hall, a special twilight illumination of the same building, and fireworks. These events are open to the public, and will be featured in an evening satellite broadcast to alumni gathered in locations around the country.
The remainder of the weekend will be devoted to a campus open house featuring an array of lectures, panel discussions, films, demonstrations, tours and exhibitions, all of which are free and open to the public.
Media representatives interested in covering the convocation or any aspect of the birthday party should contact the Office of Communications, at (609) 258-3601, by 5 p.m. on October 24. Tickets and press credentials will be distributed from the office in Stanhope Hall on October 25 up until the time of the convocation.
Camera crews covering the convocation will be set up on a platform to the left of the main stage, but they will also be fed an image from a pool camera located on the main aisle. In addition to the platform, still photographers will have access to a press well on the main aisle directly in front of the stage. Portable cameras may be used in the main aisle during the ceremony, provided they remain mobile and out of the way of the line of march.
In the event of heavy rain, the convocation ceremony will be held in Jadwin Gymnasium. The decision to move to Jadwin will be broadcast on radio stations WHWH (1350 AM) and WPRB (103 FM) on the morning of the event. A voice recording at (609) 258-2250 will be updated with information about the day's events. In the event of rain, press credentials will be issued in room 9 on the balcony level of Jadwin Gymnasium.
PARKING will be available only for television trucks. Please call the Communications Office by October 23 to make arrangements, particularly if you anticipate using a satellite truck to relay your images from campus. Space is quite limited.
The University will broadcast an edited tape of the October 25 events via satellite every hour on the half-hour, beginning at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Anyone in North America with access to satellite reception can view the broadcast via Ku-band at SBS-6/Transponder 11 or via C-band at Telstar 402/Transponder 20.