Princeton - News - Class of 1997 Celebrates Class Day

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Date: June 3, 1997

Princeton University Class of 1997
Celebrates Class Day

PRINCETON, N.J., June 2 -- At Class Day ceremonies this morning on the Princeton University campus, the Class of 1997 celebrated class achievements. President Harold T. Shapiro presented the seniors with a symbolic key to the campus, and several special Class Day awards were presented.

The W. Sanderson Detwiler 1903 Prize, awarded to the senior who, in the opinion of his or her classmates, has done the most for the class, went to Christina Cragholm of Lafayette, Calif., an English major earning a certificate in American Studies. She served the Class of 1997 as Undergraduate Student Government delegate freshman and sophomore year, and class secretary junior and senior year. A front row forward on the championship women's rugby team, she has also been an Orange Key campus tour guide. After graduation, she will be an analyst with Andersen Consulting Teleworks in San Ramon, Calif.

Michael Fischer of Wayne, Pa., won the Class of 1901 Medal, honoring the senior who, in the judgment of classmates, has done the most for Princeton. Fischer, who majored in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, was Undergraduate Student Government president in 1996. During his tenure, the USG achieved increased funding for student organizations. He has also been an Outdoor Action leader, a member of the Council of the Princeton University Community, vice president of the College Democrats and treasurer of the Mathey College Council. Next year he will work as a congressional staffer on Capitol Hill.

The Priscilla Glickman '92 Memorial Prize, which honors "independence and imagination in the area of community service," went to Stephanie Benzaquen, a psychology major from New York City; Safiya Daniels of Chicago, Ill., who majored in the Woodrow Wilson School; and Misha Simmonds of Dumont, N.J., a history major. All three have been involved in numerous teaching-related service projects, through the Student Volunteers Council and Community House. Benzaquen will teach in Riverdale, N.Y.; Daniels will be a Project 55 intern with the Ariel Foundation in Chicago, and Simmonds will teach with the Jesuit Volunteers in Nepal.

The Harold Willis Dodds Achievement Award, recognizing the senior who best embodies the qualities of Princeton's 15th president, Dodds "particularly in the qualities of clear thinking, moral courage, a patient and judicious regard for the opinion of others, and a thorough devotion to the welfare of the university and the life of the mind," was shared by Fischer and Suman Chakraborty, of Montreal, Quebec. A Woodrow Wilson School major, Chakraborty has served the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Association in many capacities: as treasurer, peer educator, public relations chair, chair of the governance board and president. He has also been a residential adviser and minority affairs adviser in Rockefeller College and vice president of the International Students Association. Next year he will direct the organization he founded, Operation Pride, Love and Advocacy for Youth--a community service project in Oakland, Calif., focusing on gay and lesbian youth.

The Frederick Douglass Service Award is given to a senior who "exhibits courage, leadership and intellectual achievement and a willingness to contribute unselfishly towards a deeper understanding of the experiences of racial minorities, and who in doing so reflects the tradition of service embodied in education at Princeton." This year's award is shared by Joanne Augustin, of Hempstead, N.Y., a sociology major, and Rebeca Clay of San Antonio, Texas, who is majoring in religion; both earned certificates in African American Studies.

Augustin has been a member of the Race Relations Working Group, treasurer of the organization of Black Unity, a group leader for the Freshman Summer Orientation Program and a student health adviser. She has also been active in the Third World Center, the NAACP and Community House. She will attend the University of Rochester School of Medicine in the fall.

Clay was active in the movement for Asian American and Latino studies on campus. In addition to being a four-year member of Community House, she was co-chair during junior year. Active in the Third World Center, she received a 1997 Spirit of Princeton Award and founded the campus Seventh-day Adventist group. Next year she will study for a master's degree at Harvard's School of Education.

Keith Wilkerson of Philadelphia, received the newly-instituted Allen Macy Dulles '51 Award, to be presented each year to the senior "whose activities while a Princeton student best represent or exemplify Princeton in the nation's service and in the service of all nations." Wilkerson, a religion major, is also earning a certificate in African American Studies. He initiated and coordinated the Princeton University Mentor Program, a community service program involving over 250 high school students in Philadelphia, New York City, Perth Amboy, N.J., and Princeton. Wilkerson and 150 Princeton volunteers conducted writing workshops for the high schoolers, and offered tutoring and PSAT/SAT prep classes, among other activities. He plans to work in community service before pursuing graduate study.

The William Winston Roper Trophy, awarded for "high scholastic rank and outstanding qualities of sportsmanship and general proficiency in athletics," went to Sydney Johnson, a history major from Towson, Md., the only three-time captain in the 96-year history of Princeton basketball, and 1997 Ivy League Player of the Year.

The C. Otto von Kienbusch Sportswoman of the Year Award, presented to "a senior woman of high scholastic rank who has demonstrated a general proficiency in athletics and the qualities of a true sportswoman," went to Amanda Pfeiffer of Davison, Mich., who majored in art and archaeology. Pfeiffer was 1997 Softball Player of the Year and also earned All-ECAC accolades as captain of the women's ice hockey team.

Andrew McClintic, an economics major from Maxwelton, W.Va., won the Class of 1916 Cup, presented to "the varsity letter winner who, continuing in competition in his or her senior year, achieved at graduation the highest academic standing." McClintic, a four-year participant in cross country and track and field, will attend law school at the University of Virginia.

Princeton's Dean of Admission Fred Hargadon addressed the graduates, telling them he hoped their lives would "be as rewarding as you have made mine."

Michael Rothstein, principal of the Hedgepeth/Williams Middle School in Trenton, stepped to the podium to recognize the "service of the Princeton University Class of 1997" to his students through Challenge 97, a mentoring and tutoring project. Sixty Hedgepeth/Williams students attended the ceremony.

Tonino Cifelli of Lawrenceville, janitorial foreperson at Forbes College, and the Rev. Thomas Mullelly of Princeton, director of the Aquinas Institute, were named honorary members of the Class of 1997.