To the Editor,
As a relatively new member of the University administration, I sympathize withThe Statesman’s lament about the lack of tradition among students here at StonyBrook. It’s not just that Stony Brook is young: my own school (Rutgers) hasbeen around almost two hundred and forty years, and the same lament appliesthere.
As you suggest, one way to instill a sense of tradition is to connect currentstudents with their past, because Stony Brook certainly has a storied forty-two-yearheritage. Another is to connect students with their future, by building relationshipswith the over 100,000 alumni around the country who have taken their Stony Brookexperience in 100,000 different directions. The Alumni Relations Office is creatingmany new opportunities to do this, through Homecoming, Reunion Weekend, andthe services of our new online National Alumni Council (coming this summer).
We in Alumni Relations talk about creating new Stony Brook traditions, butof course you can’t ‘create’ a tradition. Either something takes holdof our collective imagination and endures from year to year, or it seems likea good idea at the time but does a quick fade. At Stony Brook, as elsewhere,I think tradition is as much a state of mind as a set of annual activities.It’s a reflection, when we find the time to reflect, that we are all betterpeople for our Stony Brook experience, and that Stony Brook is a better placebecause of the mark we make here. And that’s an idea to last a lifetime.
Bill Simmons
VP Advancement
Alumni Association Website