CENTERPIECES
The “base” of each centerpiece was furled copies of The Harvard Gazette, The Harvard Crimson, The Harvard Independent, and other campus publications. Also crimson tissue paper furled and bunched. All could be dropped into boxes with no damage—they’ll even serve as packing material!
Atop the base, with variations for each meal:
1. Blue books for guests to write in—4 or 5 for each table, to be circulated throughout the weekend from guest to guest, with guests writing about anything Harvard, the years in between, etc.
2. Furled, folded/unfold large-scale campus maps
3. Inflatable globes (maps of the world—where have you been? And how does Harvard prepare us to be global citizens?)
4. Soft measuring tapes (like seamstresses use)—wrapped loosely around the centerpiece as reminders to “measure” where we have been and where we are going
AT EACH PERSON’S PLACE SETTING
1. Laminated placemats: 200-250 with maps of Harvard campus, 200-250 with maps of world. To be placed alternately around tables or different sets at different meals. Permanent markers were on hand to draw on the placemats.
Harvard campus maps were framed with a border of questions to inspire guests to draw on the maps:
- Where did you live at Harvard? Mark with “L”
- What was your favorite building? Mark with “B”
- What was your best library/place to work and study? Mark with “W”
- Where was your favorite place to play? Mark with “P”
- Where were the headquarters of your top extracurricular(s)? Mark
- Any places of special, possible private, significance? Mark with “S”
Maps of world will be framed with a border of questions to inspire guests to draw on the maps:
- Where do you live? Where have you lived? Mark with “L”
- Where are your kids? Mark with “K”
- Where have you been most happy? Mark with “H”
- What is your next dream destination? Mark with “D”
- Where has you work had the most impact? Mark with “W”
- What part of the world most needs our help? Mark with “R”
By the end of the reunion the placemats will serve as a visual “Class Survey!” And each guest can take home a map of their classmates journeys.
2. Foldable timelines printed with Harvard imagery. Guests could mark milestone years/life-changing events/ups and downs and everything in between that has transpired in the past 35 years. To keep or share with others.
3. Bookmarks printed with Harvard crest: VERITAS. Criss-crossed in fine print with synonyms and variations on this key word, such as: REALITY HONESTY CANDOR VERITY AUTHENTICITY THEORIES HYPOTHESIS DOUBT ARGUMENT GROUP-THINK BELIEF TRUST FAITH WISHFUL-THINKING DEBATE DOGMA SKEPTICISM CURIOSITY OPEN-MINDEDNESS CONSENSUS DISCUSSION PUBLIC-OPINION INSIGHT REALIZATION AFFIRMATION CONFIRMATION RECOGNITION RECALL REMEMBRANCE GUESS HUNCH GREY-AREA PERSUASION
On the back, guests could write their own “truths,” name a book that “rang true” with them, comment on what “truth” means to them, etc. Bookmarks can be kept, traded with others, and tucked into a “Book Exchange”
4. Printed postcard that briefly explains the spirit of these interactive designs and how guests could most enjoy them to reflect and to share with other classmates and guests as the reunion progressed.
