This is normally a time when many college students are preparing to matriculate.
They’re turning in final projects, studying for final exams, and getting ready for whatever comes after graduation.
That’s still happening in the current difficulties – like virtual commencement ceremonies, for example – but there are still some traditions that are hard to replicate online.
Like the one at Meredith College in North Carolina, a tradition that dates back to 1936.
Each year on Class Day, the day before commencement, the graduating class presents the school with a doll.
Imagine something along the lines of an American Girl doll, but customized to tell a story about what the members of the graduating class lived through during their time on campus.
The dolls have become an interesting way to look back through time.
Some of the dolls in the 70s, for the example, wear pants, the first to do so.
And one has a shirt that says “Ms.” on it, to represent the rise of the women’s movement.
This year’s doll was supposed to mark the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage and the 19th amendment, but as I said, the dolls also tend to represent what students lived through, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there was a change in plans.
Maybe the doll could have a little mask on, or maybe stand six feet or more away from the other dolls.
Meanwhile, it took Graham Walters 96 days to row his way across the Atlantic Ocean.
That makes the 72 year old the world record holder for oldest person to row the Atlantic.
He set off from Spain in late January and got to Antigua in late April, by which point the world had changed considerably.
Walters said while no one in Antigua could give him a pat on the back for his record, he still felt he got a warm welcome.
Beyond Fashion: The Story Behind Meredith College’s Class Dolls (Walter Magazine)
A 72-year-old UK man has completed a solo trans-Atlantic rowing trip in 96 days (CNN)
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