The psych department reunion must be a real hoot

I've yet to attend any sort of high school or college reunion, and don't think I'll start any time soon. Making small talk with people I barely remember? Sounds painful, at best. But then, what else would you do at something like this? Surely, no school would be so foolish as to take an inherently awkward event and make it actively more uncomfortable, right?

That's what I thought, until I got an invite this week to my alma mater's English department reunion. Gasp with me, will you? From the invite:

We invite you to come to Clark University for the 1st Annual English Department Alumni Reunion on Saturday July 14, from 4-9 p.m. The theme for the evening is fun, community and creativity.

Events:

4-6: Group BBQ at the Anderson House

6-9: Creative Activities

6-7 Creative Writing: We have 20-minutes to write a story about the last 24-hours of a stranger's life. Afterwards, we share our stories. Hilarity (or crushing pathos) ensues!

7-8 Dramatic Performances: We gather in groups and have 30-minutes to rehearse a 10-minute scene from an Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, Harold Pinter, etc., play. We then perform them to everyone's delight.

8-9 Open Mic Hour: Anyone can take to floor for 5 minutes to share part of their creative work: a poem, play, essay, short story, novel, etc.

9 - Anderson House closes up and we enjoy the night.

The last line is the most telling: 9 p.m., the event ends, and then people can enjoy themselves. The school gets an A for effort here, but seriously now: Nobody enjoyed doing this stuff when it was for credit, so why would we subject ourselves to it now?

Posted by Jason Feifer at July 2, 2007 08:14 AM