Direct Democracy or The “Old Boys Network”?

Direct Democracy or The “Old Boys Network”?

ByWayne Willis

Turmoil on campuses, Yale included, is not just a student phenomenon.  Yale Alumni are challenging the nomination process for the “Alumni Fellow” seat on the governing board of trustees (aka “the Yale Corporation”).

There are two ways to get on the ballot; Nominating Committee or Petition. The next three weeks are critical – will these two Petition drives work? What’s at stake is nothing less than the transparency of the nominating process itself. Learn more; maybe sign a petition?

What were YOUR “Quake Books?”
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What were YOUR “Quake Books?”

ByWayne Willis

I was recently introduced to the concept of a “Quake book” — a book (or other work of art) that profoundly changed the way you look at things.   “Occasionally I stumble across something really wild. Gray matter lurches and heaves.  Neural pathways are destroyed and rebuilt.  When the tremors finally stop, nothing looks the same.”

What were YOUR quake books?   List yours here.  See what books “shook” your classmates … and why.   Who knows, you might see something you’ve been meaning to read!

Announcing Exciting New Features for Yale1969.org

Announcing Exciting New Features for Yale1969.org

ByWayne Willis

Now that COVID constrains travel and large social events, your Class Council and Class leaders today announce some exciting new features supporting onlne sharing among classmates:
* New Home Page.  Check it out!
* Newsletter.  More frequent and simplified. 
* Class Colloquia.  These have been very popular; three more are coming in the Fall.

This is the first step in evolving this Yale1969.org website from a “magazine” format (mostly articles), to more of a “community center” where sub-groups of our Class can connect and extend/maintain […]

Podcasts: Not Yet

Podcasts: Not Yet

ByWayne Willis

Editor’s Note: This is a report from the survey about classmates “consuming” podcasts, including lists of the podcasts they listen to.
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Wow, was I wrong!  I love podcasts and spend more time listening than I do watching TV.  But of the 42 classmates responding to a “quick survey,” 12 had never listened to a podcast on a phone or tablet because they were […]

1969 Gets TWO Delegates to YAA

1969 Gets TWO Delegates to YAA

ByWayne Willis

Our own Harold Mancusi-Ungaro (’69 MC, ’73 MD)  has been elected as a YAA delegate at large for 3 years beginning July 1, 2020.  This is in addition to the representative for the Class of 1969, Ken Brown.

Harold is no stranger to the alumni governing body.  He served as our Class of 1969 delegate to the AYA (predecessor of the YAA) from 2014-18.

He’s also been active for many years in the Association of Yale Alumni in Medicine.

Mayday 1970

Mayday 1970

ByWayne Willis

A number of us classmates were in New Haven on the weekend of May 1, 1970, be it for grad school, working, finishing our undergrad work or just visiting.  The rest of us read about it.

It was definitely a scary time — three weeks before, violent protests erupted at Harvard and major destruction followed.  The Weather Underground promised to destroy Yale, and the announcement of a […]

“Group Email” now available to any ’69 Group. Want one?

“Group Email” now available to any ’69 Group. Want one?

ByWayne Willis

Recently I’ve attended a handful of organizational Zoom meetings for some “Shared Interest Groups” (SIGs).  Each of these SIGs needed an easy way to communicate within the group.  The answer is a group email address.

Concurrently other groups of classmates needed group email, too — the Class Council, a senior society … even my roommate and some of our friends.  🙂
Yale1969.org email now supports group email.  Any group of classmates can have a group email account on Yale1969.org. Want one?

Do you podcast?

Do you podcast?

ByWayne Willis

I love podcasts.  I listen to them when walking.  I listened to them when driving, before being grounded by stay-at-home orders, that is.
I’m curious, though: What’s YOUR experience with podcasts?  Are you a frequent listener?  A podcaster?
 Are podcasts moving into the mainstream far enough to reach educated Boomers like us?

To that end, please answer the following 2-minute survey.  I’ll “close” the survey and […]

First ’69 Classwide Zoom Meeting: Ken Davis

First ’69 Classwide Zoom Meeting: Ken Davis

ByWayne Willis

Over 120 classmates signed up to hear our classmate Ken Davis, CEO of Mt. Sinai Health System, give a short report from the front lines of COVID-19, followed by some Q&As. It was our first classwide Zoom meeting, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Here is a recording of that session and some feedback from classmates who attended.

How To Zoom For A Yale 1969 Online Meeting

How To Zoom For A Yale 1969 Online Meeting

ByWayne Willis

Especially in the wake of the “stay-at-home” orders in Spring 2020, many classmates are discovering how to use their computers, smartphones or tablets to join online meetings.  Several Yale 1969 groups are using Zoom conferencing now. As the Editor of Yale1969.org, I introduced many of these groups to Zoom, and I can tell you that, despite initial fears of dealing with a new technology, almost everyone finds it very easy and much better than the old, telephone-only conference calls. Here’s how YOU can join.

Online Shared Interest Groups for Yale 1969

Online Shared Interest Groups for Yale 1969

ByWayne Willis

The COVID challenge clarified a decision I was struggling to make: How best should Yale1969.org enable sub-groups of the Class to meet and hold discussions as a “Shared Interest Group” (SIG)? 

Should we use video conferencing or a text-oriented, online “Discussion Forum”? Our recent stay-at-home experiences with Zoom (or Skype) make the choice obvious: video conferencing. This article shows how you can find, join (or create) “Shared Interest Groups” of like-minded ’69ers.

Quarantine Special: Tune into “Virtual Events” at Yale

Quarantine Special: Tune into “Virtual Events” at Yale

ByWayne Willis

Do you ever recall looking at the weekly “Yale Bulletin and Calendar” while we were students?  It was a 6- or 8-page newsprint tabloid that listed ALL the events at Yale, e.g., political figures speaking in a Common Room, a visiting prof giving a presentation on some research finding, a concert, something at the Med…

Check Out The New Yale Weekly Newsletter

Check Out The New Yale Weekly Newsletter

ByWayne Willis

Yale has launched a new newsletter for the broader Yale community.  It has interesting, concise stories on faculty research, profiles of alums, interviews with prominent Yalies, media mentions, pictures of what’s happening in today’s Yale and other items of interest.  Check it out!  A sample is shown below.  Click this link to see this week’s issue of “Yale Today.” Subscribe at the bottom to get weekly email summaries of the most important stories.