Princeton Weekly Bulletin January 10, 2000 Vol. 89, No. 13 [<] [>] [archive]

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Princeton greeets the millenium Shortly before midnight on the last day of 1999, President Shapiro greeted the crowd in front of Nassau Hall: Nassau Hall at midnight, December 31, 1999 (Photo by Denise Applewhite)   "It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to this historic spot as we anticipate the birth of the year 2000. … We draw together tonight in joy and celebration as we look forward to finding ways to live together more peacefully, to sharing our resources more equitably, and to discovering and committing ourselves to a set of values that will enable all peoples to treat each other with understanding, empathy and dignity. Our hopes are buoyed by our belief that we will find better ways not only to increase our knowledge and understanding, but to develop ideas that will allow us to build better communities and a more humane society.       (Photo by Ron Carter)       "We mark this gathering, therefore, as a moment to renew our efforts to do all that we can to fulfill those basic human needs and aspirations that we all share and to acknowledge that to fully realize our own humanity we must also work to fulfill the needs of people everywhere." Curtain Calls An estimated 2,000 people had ventured onto campus to greet the year 2000 by participating in the community New Year's Eve celebration Curtain Calls. The entertainment culminated with a sound-and-light show in front of Nassau Hall, which was illuminated with candles in every window and an orange Year 2000 sign. A wide-screen television displayed celebrations from around the world, and those who had braved the cold refreshed themselves with hot cider, apples and cookies. Borough Mayor Marvin Reed and Township Mayor Phyllis Marchand offered remarks, in addition to President Shapiro. University Electrical Shop Foreman Kenny Grayson welcomed the New Year with his rendition of "Auld Lang Syne." And as the ball dropped in Times Square, the Nassau Hall bell and church bells resounded throughout the town. The crowd formed a spontaneous conga line that snaked joyfully around the Front Campus in the first few minutes of New Year's Day.       (Photo by Ron Carter)   The successful transition to the new millennium was made possible not only by the efforts of the Arts Council of Princeton and the University's Office of Community and State Affairs, but also by 80 to 100 CIT staffers, 40 members of the Facilities Department, 18 Public Safety employees and a number of administrators who spent the holiday at work. Thanks to the diligence of those who have been battling Y2K bugs over the past three years, all the operations of the University passed "uneventfully" into the year 2000, according to Computing and Information Technology Vice President Ira Fuchs. top