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On October 18th, a dozen alums gathered for a teatime presentation by Nina Scott '59, who shared her research on the historical journey of the pineapple. Indigenous to tropical South America, this intriguing fruit not only became a celebrated food item, but also inspired writings, works of art, monuments, and decorative motifs in multiple facets of material culture.

On August 12, 2020, 16 area first-years, second-years, and parents met with alums via Zoom for a Launch conversation. In previous years this conversation, called Launch Lunch, was held over an informal face-to-face lunch at Lee Sproull’s house, which, of course was not possible this year. Although missing the face-to-face connection was disappointing, the upside of our Zoom event is that almost twice as many people participated than had been the case in earlier years.

Professor Emerita of Economics Julie Matthaei spoke to twenty-six area alums on September 16 in a program centered on her current book project, From Inequality to Solidarity: Co-Creating a New Economics for the 21st Century.

Lee Sproull provided her annual report on our organization. Her full newsletter details how the Club and College are adapting to the realities of the moment.

A group of 18 alums came together on June 19 to reflect on matters of systemic racism. Alicia Lopez Nieto '91, Justice/Service Chair, led the conversation which was structured around the article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack", by Peggy McIntosh, senior scientist with the Wellesley Centers for Women. Personal experiences were explored in small breakout groups before Martha Hanner ’63 closed the meeting by reading Langston Hughes’ poem Let America Be America Again.

Additional learning resources were shared by attendees including this extensive list and the 2016 Ted Talk "Let's get to the root of racial injustice" by Megan Ming Francis.

*Alums might be interested to register for National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi's live stremed conversation about his book "How to Be an Antiracist" on Monday, July 20 at 7:00 p.m.