By Kiera Reilly, C’93
In January, we asked classmates a few questions about their memories of Penn and our upcoming reunion. As luck would have it, this short quiz only took classmates 93 seconds to complete! The results have been tabulated, and we are excited to share them here.
Have you visited Penn since we graduated in 1993?
- Yes, 77.53% of respondents had visited campus and within the last five years.
- Yes, 20.22% had visited campus but more than five years ago.
- Only 2.25% had not visited campus since we graduated.
Have you attended any of our Class of ’93 Penn Reunions?
- 21.35% said they had never attended a reunion.
- 28.09% said they attended at least one reunion.
- 35.96% had attended more than one reunion but not all reunions.
- And a dedicated 14.61% have attended all of our Penn reunions.
Are you planning to attend our 25th Reunion on campus May 11 – 14, 2018?
- 4.49% had no interest (and that makes us sad).
- 7.87% are interested but unable to attend (which bums us).
- 19.10% were on the fence? On the fence? How about on the button? Meet us there!
- 68.54% are planning to attend and can’t wait to see everyone in May!
Haven’t registered yet? You can register here!
If you are planning to attend the reunion, have you reserved a hotel room?
- 15.66% live locally so do not need a room.
- 4.82% are staying with friends.
- 21.69% had yet to reserve a room (remember this survey was done in January).
- 57.83% had reserved a room already (in January!!).
Who are you most excited to see at our reunion in May?
- 47.36% were excited to see their roommates
- 32.89% were excited to see fraternity or sorority sisters
- 32.89% were most excited to see friends from student groups
- 15.79% looked forward to seeing friends from their major
- 13.16% hoped to see performing arts friends.
- 5.26% were excited to see sports teammates
- 3.95% were excited to see old flames
What is your favorite building on campus?
This was a free-form response, so we were curious to see what everyone wrote.
Some of the more interesting answers:
“my wife.” ??? um, maybe this refers to the question about who you’re most excited to see?
“Subway” – interesting choice, but going down the stairs to take the trolleys into Center City was a new experience for many of us freshman year.
“Does Smokes count?” Yes, yes it counts, and we think this is one of our favorite spots (though technically not “on campus”).
Smokey Joe’s
Twenty-two percent of classmates listed the Quad as their favorite building.
The lower Quad in the snow
The most popular building on campus (according to 38.96% the Class of 1993) is the Furness Building . Classmates may recall that it was closed for restoration for a bit while we were students.
Here are some of the other buildings mentioned by classmates as their favorites.
Receiving five votes
The Palestra! That’s fitting since our Ivy Stone is on the front side of the building
College Hall – probably the most iconic building on Penn’s campus
College Hall
Receiving three mentions each
Irvine Auditorium
Exterior of Irvine Auditorium at the corner of Spruce and 34th Streets
Steinberg-Dietrich
The Wharton School’s Steinberg-Dietrich Hall
Receiving two mentions
The old Bookstore
We can’t seem to locate a picture of the old Bookstore (that was at Locust Walk and 38th Street). The building was demolished to make way for the Wharton School’s Huntsman Hall building in recent years.
Huntsman Hall occupies the area between Walnut Street and Locust Walk along 38th Street, where the Penn bookstore stood when we were students
Van Pelt
Not our favorite building but two people liked it. We should note that inside has been remodeled and it is worth looking inside when you are back for reunion to see how the space has been transformed. And the Button is in front of Van Pelt, so we’ll all be seeing it in a few weeks.
Van Pelt Library and the Button
Houston Hall
Houston Hall, the nation’s oldest student union building
These buildings received one vote or mention
DuBois College House
W. E. DuBois College House – note the large building in the background – those are private off-campus apartments across Walnut Street
Locust Walk (not a building but we’ll accept this)
Locust Walk
The chapel / Women’s Center
The current location of the Women’s Center was a fraternity when we were students. We think the women’s center was located in the Palladium building at one point? Does anyone remember?
Penn Women’s Center at 36th and Locust Walk
Towne Building
Towne Building
Moore School
Moore Building at the corner of 33rd and Walnut Streets
Tannenbaum Quad
We were confused by this since there’s The Quad, which is a dormitory, and then there’s Tanenbaum Hall which houses the Biddle Law Library for the Law School.
Tanenbaum Hall is part of the Law School
University Museum
The Museum’s Middle Eastern galleries re-opened recently and are worth a visit if you have time while on campus. Note in the photo below Penn Tower behind the Museum. Penn Tower is no longer…you’ll have to visit campus to see what’s there now.
The University Museum
Franklin Field
Franklin Field
There are so many old buildings to re-visit during Alumni Weekend, but there are many new additions to campus too. Most of these favorite buildings remain, but it is worth spending time taking a building tour during the weekend or wandering around on your own to see how Penn’s campus has changed since 1993.
Penn Class of 1993 25th Reunion Countdown
The weekend of April 6 – 7, marked 5 weeks until the 25th Reunion of the Penn Class of 1993 (May 11 – 14, 2018)! Meet us at the Button!
Register NOW to attend our 25th Reunion!
Join us we count down the weeks to our reunion #93tothe25th:
- Follow us on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.
- Classmates are invited to join our Facebook and LinkedIn groups.
- Donate to The Penn Fund in honor of our reunion! We want to break the 25th reunion participation giving record and every gift matters!
- Do you have old photos or mementos from our time at Penn? Photos of Spring Fling? Football at Franklin Field? Classes at DRL? We are taking a trip down memory lane and would love for you to share your memories with our class in a future post. Please email us upenn1993@gmail.com!
- Book your hotel room or AirBnB now! See our class website for details.
Frankly Penn 