Reunions

Reunions are get-togethers of CTY students from specific sites, sessions, classes, halls, and/or groups. They can occur right after a session ends, or many years later.

Reunions are useful and fun for several reasons. First, they allow you to reconnect with friends from CTY who you may not have seen in years. Second, they allow you to meet other CTYers in your area who you may become good friends with. Third, they allow CTYers from different sites, sessions, and years to gather to discuss general CTY issues. Finally, they are a neat way to spend an afternoon.

Also they're a lot better than silly little lists of why reunions are useful and fun.

This page once listed past and impending reunions. Old reunion dates have been moved to Reunions/archive. With the advent of Facebook and other social networking sites, however, reunions have become much easier to plan, and contact has become much easier to maintain. This page exists mostly because reunions are a big part of CTY culture. The following, which is a figment of this site's history from years ago, may still be useful for those who wish to organize a reunion for a site/session/group previously a stranger to this form of connection outside CTY.

Eliza's Tips on Reunion Organization

Here are some (rather outdated) guidelines on how to organize a general CTY reunion in your area.

• Pick a Date: In general, I have held reunions twice a year... once in the Spring and one in the Summer. The Spring reunions usually draw a smaller crowd than the summer ones, as people tend to be busy or out of town in the Spring. Summer reunions tend to draw a lot more recent CTYers. Try not to hold a reunion while CTY is in session, as then a lot of possible attendees will be at CTY. I have always held my reunions on Saturdays.
• Pick a Time: Usually, I hold reunions from noon until about 5, though an evening reunion would be interesting, depending on the activities planned.
• Pick a Place: I have always had people meet at the Washington Monument, as it is a pretty easy place to find in the District. I would suggest picking a place that someone who is from out of town would not have too much trouble finding. Be very specific... it would suck to have someone be just around the corner and not find you.
• Plan Stuff To Do: Usually, I have kept plans very loose... meeting at the Monument and then heading out for food. Generally, hanging out is enough fun. However, if you have a specific activity in mind, be sure to find out all the necessary information.
• Decide How Responsible You Are Going To Be: Once or twice, I have been approached by the parents of some younger CTY students, trying to make sure that I was a good and responsible person who wasn't going to let their child get into trouble. If minors attend your reunion, as the organizer you are responsible for making sure they don't get hit by cars or arrested or something. If you aren't comfortable with this responsibility, make it clear ahead of time.
• Get the Word Out: I send my reunion notices to about 15 separate CTY mailing lists, as well as my personal friends from CTY. Try to spread the word as far as you can. Be sure to include all the information related to the reunion... not just when and where, but if money will be needed, should people bring sunscreen (I've been badly burned once or twice because I forgot to put on sunscreen at the outdoor reunions), and anything else you think attendees should know. You can post your own reunion dates further down on this page.
• Show Up: Be there early, and make sure you have a good idea of how many people plan on attending so no one gets left behind. Wearing a CTY shirt if you meet in a public place is a good idea, so that people can pick out who is with the reunion. After that, just have fun.

In addition to the day-trip type reunion, there is the sleepover reunion. This is generally held by a certain group of friends within the CTY community, typically on a holiday weekend. The friends train, bus, or are driven to the organizer's house and then spend the weekend. Many time, a CTYer will ask if he/she can bring a friend, a request almost always granted. Depending on the parental supervision, guys and girls may sleep on seperate floors. Certainly there is always one room designated as the "Girls' Room" and one the "Boys' Room" for any parents leery of the co-ed sleepover.

MIT Splash

MIT Splash is notable as being one of the biggest CTY reunions, especially for sites located near Boston. It is an annual weekend-long program run by the MIT Educational Studies Program in which students can take multiple classes on a huge variety of subjects. Over 400 awesome classes are typically offered, giving introductions to fields ranging from music theory to Hungarian history to aircraft analysis to soymilk tasting. The 2500+ attendees typically include hundreds of CTYers, as well as others from similar programs and with similarly nerdy personalities. It is held the weekend before Thanksgiving. CTYers who get there Friday night traditionally go out to a seafood dinner, and there is usually an RHPS viewing in someone's hotel room on Saturday night. Occasionally, Afterdances and rave circles happen. Many do not show up to their classes because they are busy hanging out with other CTYers. Splash is a good way to integrate school friends and CTY friends, since the program is open to all high school students.

There's also a new tradition at MIT Splash to sing Piano Man when all the classes are over on Saturday. It's more appropriate than you may think: all classes end at 9 o'clock.

There is also a Princeton Splash in the spring that some CTYers go to, but this is only one day and is nowhere near as popular.