At Class Day this year seniors will drink a toast from clay cups and then break them on the stump of the Lone Pine.
The new ceremony replaces the 100-year-old tradition of smashing clay pipes, which became controversial after Native American students explained that -breaking pipes is sacrilegious in many Native cultures.
The Committee on Class Day announced the decision yesterday.
Senior Class President Doug Chia, who is a member of the committee, said one senior will propose a toast to the graduating class. Then the members of the Class of 1993 will smash the clay cups on the Lone Pine stump, located on a hillock between the Bema and Bartlett Tower.
"What the toasting ceremony will signify is breaking with the College and wishing the best for the future of all of our classmates," Chia said.
He said the clay cup ceremony "will evoke many of the feelings we're trying find on Class Day and accomplish the goal of the day, which is unity."
The committee selected the cup ceremony after deciding that the clay pipes ceremony should not continue.
Other recommendations for replacing the clay pipes ceremony included laying a wreath around the Lone Pine stump or smashing clay medallions. The committee decided on smashing the cups after speaking with a variety of students and student groups. The clay cup ceremony was also endorsed by the Senior Executive Committee.
"The overwhelming consensus was to have this new toasting ceremony," Senior Executive Committee President Bridget Eng said.
Members of the committee were uncertain that the 1,100 clay cups could be delivered to the College in time for Class Day June 12. But Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia yesterday said a pottery company in Virginia agreed to fill the order.
Sateia said she plans to talk to the company next week to see if the cups can be inscribed with a "D" and a '93 emblem.
The Committee on Class Day informed Sateia of its decision last week, and Sateia inquired about whether the logistics could be organized in time for graduation.
Sateia said yesterday that the plan to smash the clay cups "seems like it's going to work."
Eng said she is looking into handing out plastic bottles of water to the graduating class at Leede Arena on Class Day. The class will then march to the Bema, pour the water in the clay cups, toast and then smash the cups.
"I am hopeful that the class will see this as something they can get excited about," Eng said.
Eng said she and Chia will probably propose the toast to their class.
Eng said the toast will be "the only opportunity we have to sum up something unique and special about our class." She said she hopes the toasts are recorded through the years so that each class' toast will reflect its individual character.
Although the toasting ceremony will commence this June, the candlelight vigil that began last year on the eve of Class Day is also set to continue. Sateia said the candles for the ceremony have already been ordered.
The Class Day Committee was formed early this winter to decide the fate of the clay pipes tradition. All four class presidents and vice presidents are members of the committee, which also includes administrators.
