Some Yalies prove age is no barrier to knowledge

Maybe you've seen him in the Cross Campus Library: a handsome, white-haired man studying by the windows. Or maybe you noticed his spotless white bucks, while sitting next to him in Wai Chee Dimock's 19^th Century American Literature class.

Kem Edwards, JE '49, is not a typical Yalie. Along with several students attending Yale classes, Edwards breaks the mold by crossing the unofficial age barrier. Although he graduated almost 50 years ago, this New Haven native has returned for his third semester of auditing classes at Yale.

Edwards, who recently retired from the insurance business, is enrolled in three classes through Yale for Alumni, a program started approximately 15 years ago. For a fee, Yale alumni and their spouses can audit Yale courses or take them for credit. "It's just like being a student again, except that if they're auditing, they don't have to take tests or write papers so it's really ideal," Judith Cushingham, associate director for education at the Association of Yale Alumni, commented. Yale for Alumni students also have access to the University's dining services, gym, and libraries.

While about 20 alumni take advantage of the Yale for Alumni program, other older students at Yale are often transfers from community colleges, veterans of the Army or Navy, or adults who decided to pursue a higher education relatively late in life.

Edwards is struck by the intensity of academic competition at Yale today. "Back in my day, we had excellent scholars and faculty, and to be on the Dean's List was to be admired. But on the other hand, there were a great many of us who got by on the `gentleman's C'," he recalled.

Edwards notes that he spends a lot more time at the library this time around. "The amount of reading and the number of papers just seems to be a lot more stringent than I remember," Edwards said. "Of course," he added, "you tend to see those happy, golden, bygone days and overlook the pains of youth. I'm looking at Yale through eyes that aren't completely diluted of rose color."

Edwards may have been taken aback by Yale's workload, but he was "not particularly shocked" by Yalies' dress, language, or ideas. "As an AYA delegate and an interviewer for Yale applicants, I was fairly well plugged in, so Yale wasn't so strange to me when I came back," he said. "I [am] pleased with the openness of the place and the welcome I got from TAs, students, and professors."

Mark Harvey, CC '98, also speaks highly of his Yale classmates. Harvey, a 36-year-old economics major, transferred to Yale after two years in a community college. "It's very stimulating to be around such a group of bright, young students. It challenges me," he said.

For Harvey, who grew up in Midlands, England, the road to Yale was not an easy one. He left school at age 16 to work in the coal mines for eight years. In 1984, Harvey immigrated to the U.S., where he launched his own construction business in California. While attending community college over several years, Harvey managed to earn 18 credits. With the ultimate goal of attending business school, Harvey decided to apply to Yale. He entered last year as a junior. Married and the father of a one-year old son, Harvey has little time, however, to become actively involved in Yale's non-academic arena.

Benjamin Platt, SY '98, on the other hand, has actively integrated himself into the Yale community. A 29-year-old Navy-SEAL veteran, Platt lives in Saybrook, and can often be spotted in Commons or in friends' dorm rooms. He rowed varsity crew last year and now rides for the club bike-racing team.

After serving in the Navy for six years, Platt "had the drive and the desire to learn more. I wanted to learn how to articulate my ideas," he explained. With many community college credits under his belt, Platt entered Yale as a junior, and is majoring in economics. Although he enjoys college life, Platt is ready to go back out into the "real world."

"I am not daunted by the idea of leaving Yale. Practically, I guess, it's time to say that I better start producing and looking ahead towards my future," Platt said.

In the meantime, Platt continues to interact with students who are sometimes 10 years his junior. "People definitely know that I'm older--sometimes they look at me a little strangely," Platt observed."They expect me to say that I'm in graduate school."

Other older students are also accustomed to their classmates' quizzical glances. "People are especially curious of the `old guy' hanging around here," Edwards said. Yet once Yalies get over the initial surprise, they usually welcome these unconventional students. As Harvey said, many Yalies "think that it's great that I'm making the effort."

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