A Princeton Man Through-And-Through
QUIZ TIME! Which US President's grave is always kept fringed with garlands made of puka shells and macadamia nuts?HINT! He's buried in Princeton Cemetery.HINT! He played a major role in the University's development at the beginning of the 20th Century.HINT! Before becoming president he served as the Democratic governor of a major Mid-Atlantic state.CURVEBALL! Not Woodrow Wilson.
Grover Cleveland, it's time that current students gave you the respect you so richly deserve. And not just because you have a tropical-themed gravestone. (Perhaps the work of some native Hawaiians grateful for your opposition to the annexation of their homeland? Or a fun, beach-y secret cult sworn to venerate the only man ever elected to two non-consecutive presidential terms?)I know you say you're fine with Woody getting all the glory nowadays, and I know you're not the kind of guy who likes to draw attention to himself -- frankly, you're a little embarrassed by that huge Grad College tower we named after you -- but wake up, Cleve! People are starting to forget about you!I also know you might be a little embarrassed that you didn't actually attend Princeton -- but during your time as trustee (1901 'til your death in 1908) you helped the school just as much as Wilson did in that same period. Yeah, he managed to institute the precept and distribution requirement systems -- but you convinced your friend Andrew Carnegie to build the University a lake!And it was you who opposed Woodrow's plan to move the Grad College smack in the middle of campus. You who kept it at a safe distance, far 'cross the golf course's rolling green hills. No wonder the undergrads loved you! No wonder they used to swarm the grounds of your mansion after every big football win! You were their mascot, Grover! Their hero! Their God!Do you remember, Grover? The crowds who'd pack Alexander Hall just to hear you reminisce about your presidential triumphs -- your talks on "The Independence of the Executive," "The Venezuelan Boundary Controversy,'' and (the real crowd favorite) "How I Broke The Pullman Strike -- And How You Can Too!" (How they laughed, for days and days afterwards, at the mere thought of the US Marshals bashing in the skulls of those dirty unionmen!) Do you remember what it felt like to have those supple young minds in the palms of your hands, waiting for you -- begging for you -- to mold them?You could get it back, you know. Your reputation here. If you wanted it badly enough. All it would take would be a few articles in the Prince, a few posts on The Ink, maybe a shout-out in Tilghman's address at opening Convocation. Get your surfer cult minions to look into it.One thing, though: find a way to get Wikipedia to take down the section of your page where they quote you as writing, vis-a-vis women's suffrage, about how
"sensible and responsible women do not want to vote. The relative positions to be assumed by men and women in the working out of our civilization were assigned long ago by a higher intelligence."
That kind of stuff doesn't really fly around here anymore.(Info: A Princeton Companion Photo: Library of Congress, Xurble on Flickr)