NYC DINNER: 85th Annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race Dinner

The Program, Thursday, April 5, University Club (click on each page to enlarge)

Photos of the 2018 NYC Dinner, via Cambridge in America. 

Stephen Hawking at 21

Moment of Silence for Professor Stephen Hawking

John Tepper Marlin, Trinity College, Oxford 

It is an honor to rise in memory of Stephen Hawking, who died three weeks ago at 76 years of age. He was born in Oxford, because his parents believed that even Hitler would not bomb Oxford… which turned out to have been true. 

Soon after his 21st birthday, Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, known in this country as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He was given few years to live. He actually lived for 55 more years, and became the Number One Celebrity Scientist as well as the Poster Child for battling disease and disability. He wrote a book called “A Brief History of Time” that sold 25 million copies.

He set out to finish Einstein’s quest for a general theory of everything. He wanted to understand the universe, “why it is as it is and why it exists at all,” and he focused on Black Holes.

Hawking as Cox of the Univ 2nd Eight

Hawking’s life revolved around Oxford and Cambridge. At Oxford, he coxed the Univ 2nd Eight, and reportedly steered with as little effort or propriety as he studied physics and chemistry. Getting into the water-borne shell helped him get out of his own. At Cambridge, he taught for more than 50 years. He said: "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

Hawking also said: "We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special."

Ladies and gentlemen, may we have a minute of silence in memory of this very special inspirational force, Stephen Hawking, whose happiest moments might have been in the stern of the Univ 2nd eight. (284 words, 2 minutes)

Other Posts on Stephen Hawking
Obituaries

The Committee

Committee (R to L): Dhaval Patel (MC), Hervé Gouraige (Chair), John Tepper Marlin,
Lee Li, Andrew Cunningham, Daniel Vasquez Sally Fan, Jack Carlson, Cassie
Llewellyn-Smith, Seth Lesser.

The Newark Boys Chorus

Previous Boat Race Dinners
2017 2016 2015 2014 & Earlier . History of the Boat Race

Alumni Boat Races and Other Reunions
Boat Races 2017 .  Branches Reunion 2012

Other Events
Talk on Oxford Colleges' Coats of Arms,  Oxford-Cambridge Club, April 16, 2018

NEW YORK: 2017 Boat Race Dinner

The New York City Boat Race Dinner was held for the first time ever at the Cosmopolitan Club on East 66th Street in NYC. The venue and food and wine (esp. the La Petite Perrière Sauvignon Blanc) were highly appreciated.
Below the program are the versions of their speeches by speakers who have sent them to me.

Toast to the Queen

Introduction by John Tepper Marlin (Trinity, Oxford):  Bennett Freeman earned a summa cum laude degree in history from Berkeley, following which he was awarded a Churchill Scholarship from the English-Speaking Union to read history at Balliol.

After Oxford, Bennett worked for Walter Mondale and from there spent eight years as manager of corporate affairs for General Electric. Bill Clinton swept him into the State Department where for four years he worked on human rights, developing a standard for oil and mining industries, and helping to recover millions of dollars for the families of Holocaust victims.

In the next nine years of his life he was senior vice president of Calvert Investments, the largest source of socially responsible mutual funds. Ladies and gentlemen, Bennett Freeman.

Bennett Freeman (Balliol, Oxford): Thanks to my friend John Tepper Marlin for that generous introduction. I’ve known John — and his wife Alice Tepper Marlin — for three decades and have had the privilege of learning from them over the years as a fellow traveler in the world of corporate responsibility and sustainability.

Our remarks this evening can’t be political and mine certainly won’t be.  But I can’t resist noting that the General Election has just been called and wondering if the Prime Minister is taking a risk by asking the British electorate to vote for May… in June.

Our two great ancient universities have instilled in us a respect for tradition as well as for innovation in a time of disruption.  And our time in Great Britain — whether it is our country or not — has instilled in us a respect for the institutions and the individuals that anchor that tradition.

Since Victoria queens and kings have reigned rather than ruled. But this Queen commands our singular respect.  Walter Bagehot famously observed of the monarchy that “Its mystery is its life” and advised that “we must not let in daylight upon magic.”

Yet Queen Elizabeth has let in the daylight to reveal that her magic is not mysterious but almost comprehensible — even though her durability is nothing less than supernatural.

Her decency and probity are the virtues that will sustain us in this era of uncertainty and insecurity. Her wisdom and her discretion give her a quiet authority to which we can all aspire whatever our cause, our work or our walk of life.

Please join me in being upstanding…

The Queen!

Other 2017 Boat Race News . College VIIIs . Summer VIIIs Dinners 2017