Present Memories

During the class of 1972’s thirty-fifth reunion in June, about 80 people showed up for a talk and animated discussion spurred by this...



During the class of 1972’s thirty-fifth reunion in June, about 80 people showed up for a talk and animated discussion spurred by this April 1969 photograph of students gathered on the steps of University Hall. Daniel Gensler ’72, one of those pictured, had invited classmates and others in the image to consider getting together to reminisce; he reports: “I asked if there was interest in people identifying themselves or posing for another photo, but that went nowhere after someone joked about ‘a man going around taking names,’ a line from a song from the ’60s that referred to the political paranoia then. [But the original picture] helped to bring back and enliven all those memories, and their relevance.”

Most popular

In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.

The Harvard graduate’s roundtable talk show touches on hot button issues from religion to sex. 

RSS Creator and Reddit cofounder Aaron Swartz dead at 26

The former Safra Lab fellow was a leader of the open-access movement.

Explore More From Current Issue

University Hall with steps and the John Harvard statue, surrounded by trees and a grassy lawn.

Long-discussed reorganization includes layoffs and the end of the Dudley Community.

Two laboratory researchers, one seated and one standing, in a scientific lab with equipment.

The stakes are high for this husband and wife: one of them will die if they don’t find a cure.

Modern building with large glass windows, surrounded by greenery and pedestrians.

A roundup of University news from the summer of 2026