Calvin, Calvin, sing we all to thee;
Dear alma mater, we pledge fidelity.
Forever faithful to maroon and gold;
Thy name and honor, we ever shall uphold.

We don’t sing the “Alma Mater” any more.

Not at the end of music concerts, not at Commencement or Convocation, nowhere—other than alumni events for grads 25 years out and older.

As alumni director that perplexes me because it was one of the small rituals that connected alumni from every age.

I know there’s critique that the song is too slow or too maudlin, that it doesn’t have enough “energy.” And who really “pledges fidelity” to anything these days?

But in my review of other institutions’ school songs, I don’t see significant differences between theirs and ours.

Here’s a segment of Notre Dame’s “Alma Mater,” which I am told continues to be sung, long and loud at most school events, by students as well as alumni:

Notre Dame, our mother, tender, strong and true,
proudly in the heavens gleams thy gold and blue.
Glory’s mantle cloaks thee, golden is thy fame,
and our hearts forever praise thee, Notre Dame;
and our hearts forever love thee Notre Dame.

Hmm. And you should read the “Alma Mater” lyrics for Yale, Harvard and Michigan. Calvin’s song is too traditional? (It’s a lot shorter!)

A few years ago, members of Calvin’s faculty wrote a new hymn describing the essence of our Calvin experience, “Our Hearts and Hands We Offer.” It is a fine hymn, excellent and stirring, and I applaud the effort. But that song is not something that can be easily memorized and sung anywhere at any time.

Perhaps my obsession with the loss of the “Alma Mater” tradition is silly. New times, new ways of expressing gratitude and connection.

What might that be? I guess I am looking for ways that connect us over the generations. What exactly is it that holds us together as Calvin alumni?

When I talk with Calvin grads about their Calvin memories—whether that’s a 1950 grad or a 2010 grad—most often the conversation turns to a faculty or staff member, or another student, whose words of encouragement or challenge helped shape their lives in significant ways. They clearly remember the exchanges that were so meaningful—and still are.

They see their Calvin years are deeply important in shaping who they have become.

Maybe a traditional old song can’t contain something that big.

What do you think? Should we bring the “Alma Mater” back? Keep the words, but change the music or vice versa? Leave the song be and put our energies into something else to tie Calvin eras to one another? I’m interested. Email spark@calvin.edu with your creative thoughts.

By the way, the second verse of Calvin’s “Alma Mater” (far less memorized than the first) turns our attention from the college to God, where our ultimate “pledge of fidelity” belongs:

Calvin, Calvin, God has been thy guide;
Dear alma mater, thy strength He shall provide.
Be loyal, ever, to the faith of old;
God’s name and honor we ever shall uphold.

Download

Listen to Calvin’s “Alma Mater.” (.mp3)