Class of 2023 Marks Year’s End with Softball & Draft-Burning

California

May 5, 2023

After the sophomores and juniors honored the Class of 2023, the faculty, likewise, took its turn wishing the soon-to-be-graduates well — with a little friendly competition! Wednesday witnessed their faceoff at the annual Senior-Tutor Softball game, which concluded with the traditional Senior Thesis Draft Burning Party.

This year’s game was marked by more banter between teams than usual, as Dr. Christopher Oleson played against his son, Thomas (’23), and Brian Dragoo against his twin daughters, Josephine and Claire (’23). In this case, however, age proved advantageous: Despite the best efforts of the seniors, the tutors nabbed an early lead and defended it all the way through, walking away with a win from the annual game for the first time in three years.

Photos: Seniors v. Tutors Softball

After a hearty dinner of burgers, all gathered around a small fire in St. Gladys Plaza, where Dr. John Goyette, dean of the California campus, read a humorous poem congratulating the seniors for finishing their theses. “This strife is o’er, this battle won; after blood, sweat, and tears, your theses are done,” he began. Then one by one, heeding Dr. Goyette’s poetic advice to “spare the wheat and burn the chaff,” seniors consigned early drafts of their theses to the flames, offering epitaphs about their papers, ranging from the sublime to the absurd.

Photos: Senior Thesis Draft Burning