The Class of 1970, on the occasion of its 25th reunion, made Governor Jonathan Belcher (1682-1757), Royal Governor of the colony of New Jersey (1747-1757), an honorary classmate as a tongue-in-cheek gesture for his having declined the honor of naming Princeton’s new college building after himself (Belcher Hall?). He suggested Nassau Hall instead, in honor of William of Nassau. For some years a classmate named JT Miller '70 personified the Governor in a rented costume. Teri Towe ‘70 picked up the role thereafter and kept it going for more than 30 years until his last reunion in 2024. His photograph accompanies this exhibit. The current costume was designed and hand-made, down to the tricorne hat, by Halina Bustin s70 who produced it from a variety of second-hand materials , including embroidery from an Indian sari, and ruffles from old lace curtains, using sketches of colonial governor garb on the internet. The decorative pin at the neck, top of the ruff, is a cicada, and that is the emblem of the Class of 1970. Cicadas created a cacophony on the lawn of Nassau Hall during commencement that year. Teri Towe passed away in February 2025.

Jonathan Belcher, incidentally, had served as royal governor of Massachusetts before New Jersey, which was a consolation prize. As royal governor of Massachusetts he sat ex officio on the Harvard Board of Overseers and according to his biography, that experience influenced his desire to create a similar school in New Jersey. In 1748, Belcher confirmed the 1746 charter that created the College of New Jersey, when the validity of the earlier charter was questioned.

George Bustin '70