Maligned or lauded, pranks are part of Exeter’s history and lore. Over the years, the pranks have ranged from simple to elaborate, and many have involved cars. That was the case in 1957, when a Volkswagen Beetle was parked on the Academy Building stage.

We asked Bob McManus ’57 about the car choice. He guessed, “It was likely the only car in sight that could be carried up stairs and through doorways.” To be clear, McManus was not involved in the prank. But he was a staffer at The Exonian at the time and shared the following article “Students and Faculty Counter-Prank,” the original 8-by-10 photo and the name of the credited Phantom Photog, intrepid photo editor Dick Rudick ’57.

“NOCTURNAL GUEST AND UNUSUAL POSE ON CHAPEL STAGE  — The Volkswagen was hoisted on the shoulders of a semi-spon-taneous crew of some 75 upper-class-men, and carried from beside Soule Hall around in back of Abbot, up the path by the Academy Building, through the front door, and up the left-hand stairs leading to Chapel about 9 o’clock Wednesday evening. The advent on the scene of a chance faculty wife, the presence in the building of an evening German class, and the necessity of removing one of the front chapel doors did little to delay the gleeful progress. Over-zealous students hungry for publicity alerted the Boston Herald, which, to confirm the telephone calls, sent its local reporter to investigate the scene. He spoke to the night watchmen, who in turn reported the event to Business Manager Barry, who conferred with Dean Kesler. In less than three hours, a task force of faculty members and wives happily hauled the car back down the right-hand stairs, without removing a door. Evidence of the exodus can still be seen. Mr. Bosetto, owner of the car currently on display in the Maintenance Building, where it is undergoing minor repairs, reported ‘mixed feelings’ Thursday afternoon.”

—From the April 20, 1957, issue of The Exonian student newspaper

This article was originally published in the Fall 2024 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.

Danixza Pinto ’25 spent three weeks in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, this summer shadowing equine veterinarian Dr. Celia Goodall P’24 as part of Exeter’s mentor-based internship program that pairs students with alumni and parents eager to provide meaningful opportunities. Spearheaded by Instructor in Science Anne Rankin ’92, the program supported 22 students this year in 14 internships in such varied fields as engineering, plastic surgery, ocean health systems science and distressed real estate asset management.

Do you remember your first experience with a horse?
All my life I have been surrounded by horses. My parents grew up on farms. My maternal grandfather was a breeder and trainer for Paso Fino horses. My mom attended several horse shows and competed with her own horse, Jabón. The first time I got on a horse, it was for therapeutic reasons. I was a few months old and rode bareback with only the padding of my diaper, but it was purposeful for the hippotherapy to improve my mobility, motor and cognitive skills. Not only did horses make my first steps and words possible, but they also introduced me to one of my favorite sports.

What drew you to this internship?
Out of appreciation for these outstanding and amorous animals, I’ve always believed it important to learn how to care for them so that I could return the favor. Alongside volunteering for ESSO Equine, a club dedicated to working at an animal rescue, back home in Brooklyn, New York, I have enjoyed working with my local stables to rehabilitate abused horses and provide them emotional comfort. However, I had never had the opportunity to learn how to care for horses’ health. I was thrilled by the opportunity to learn how to properly care for horses’ health and be able to identify and address their needs.

Were the days all work and no play?
Outside of working with Dr. Goodall, I would help her feed the three horses on her property and muck their stalls. During my free time, I had access to ride outside and even had a schooling lesson, so it was very much an immersive and fun experience!

What were your biggest takeaways from the internship?
My initial preconception was that equine vets were primarily for routine or sick visits, similar to that of any health practitioner; however, from the very start, I realized that Dr. Goodall’s job was not as simple as people may think. Notably, most horses we treated were seen for lameness, but the health care did not stop at treating the condition; it continued by improving the quality of life and making the horse more comfortable. It was a very enriching experience to see the impact of regenerative medicine on horses. Horses who were once ill-mannered and demonstrated difficulty at the walk/trot became elated, athletic horses who could finally run free of pain — and the best part is that that was made possible through science!

Did the experience also change how you think?
The other most impactful takeaway from the internship was becoming more open-minded, especially about euthanasia. I had always thought that every horse could be saved or that at least every horse had the right to. Dr. Goodall’s bravery and professionalism taught me a new perspective. Sometimes, the kindest option is also the option that may be very difficult to do, but regardless, quality of life, especially for horses, is of utmost importance.

This article was originally published in the Fall 2024 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.

Bob Bauer ’70 is no stranger to political partisanship and controversy. During his 46-year career as an attorney, he has served in various legal roles for Democratic Party organizations and candidates: advising House and Senate Democratic leaders during President Bill Clinton’s impeachment; acting as Barack Obama’s campaign lawyer and White House counsel; and as senior adviser to the Joe Biden presidential campaign on voting rights and election protection. He is a scholar-in-residence at New York University School of Law.

In his latest book, The Unraveling: Reflections on Politics Without Ethics and Democracy in Crisis, Bauer assesses today’s American politics through the lens of his own conflicts and compromises as a political lawyer. He candidly shares moments when he stumbled, contributing to intensifying partisanship, and others when he succeeded in bipartisan conversation, such as with the 2022 Electoral Count Reform Act and recommendation for changes to the Insurrection Act. The Unraveling offers a timely reflection on ways to restore respect and decency to the political arena and strengthen democracy.

You describe your work on the Electoral Count Reform Act as one of the most rewarding experiences of your career. Why?
I continue to be very active in Democratic Party politics, but I have tried to create and preserve a space for bipartisan reform work. In the last cycle, working on the Electoral Count Reform Act, an issue that was fraught with partisan tensions, what I found is that there is a way to mark out common ground. I continue to believe that every now and then you can get Democrats and Republicans together, and a conversation that is properly structured can take place, because there is a set of common commitments to the democratic process that you can ultimately appeal to.

You write about your father, an immigrant to this country. How does he inspire you?
He came to the United States embracing the country as a Roosevelt Democrat, but nonetheless, he wanted to hear what other people had to say. He had tremendous faith in dialogue, and in democratic institutions — and he recognized when they could be dangerously under siege. I write in the book that he was a lifelong, fierce antagonist of Richard Nixon. But at the same time, if he had an opportunity to talk to Republicans, hear what they had to say, understand their arguments, he thought that was all a part of what made politics exciting and rewarding, and so extraordinarily valuable. He inculcated that in me, and I wrote about that because both his life experience and also the way he talked about politics brought that home to me very, very forcefully.

You take readers behind the scenes of some of recent history’s most consequential political battles in some wonderful anecdotes. Do you have a favorite?
With some of the stories about Presidents Obama and Biden, I wanted to give some flavor of how organizational integrity ultimately depends on not just rules or even ethical norms. It depends on, if you will, vibes: the culture that leaders establish, and how they handle these issues. There’s only so much you can do to make ethical prescriptions have the bite that you would like them to have. They have some guidance value, but beyond that, what you really want are people in positions of responsibility who are communicating their commitment to ethical politics by their actions, by how they speak, by their fidelity to truthfulness in the communications and interactions with other people. They set the tone, and that tone is what’s so powerful. If you have people at the top who want you to think hard about these issues and make the right calls, that is going to spread throughout the entire organization. It’s going to affect the younger lawyers; it’s tremendous training for younger lawyers.

You’ve served clients in the highest offices in America. How did your time at Exeter serve you in those roles?
I benefited enormously from having Jack Herney as a history instructor. Another significant influence was English Instructor Charles Terry, whom I just thought the world of. When we talked about responses that we had to works of literature, we wound up talking about fundamental moral issues — how we might think about the moral implications of choices that the authors made, or the choices the authors depicted that the characters made. It was a deeply unique, ethically rich mode of instruction. There’s no question that those early experiences, more subsequently than the ones I had in college and law school, had a really significant effect on how I think about issues of common concern.

What’s the most important lesson you’d like your book to impart?
A couple of years ago, I spoke to the assembly at Exeter about my years of politics, and one of the things that I talked about was the importance of, under these kinds of pressures — and they are enormous pressures and strains on the society, strains on the democracy — the importance of still embracing a degree of humility and an openness to conversation. We have to adopt an ethic that puts us at the table with people we strongly disagree with, and learn both how to listen and also how to persuade. A very good friend of mine, also class of ’70, who lived down the hall from me at Exeter, Bob Gerrard, once said: “Don’t argue. Persuade.” And I mentioned that to the assembly: “Don’t argue. Persuade. Listen — and then try to be persuasive.” When I do my nonprofit work around the country on elections and I sit in the room with Republicans and election officials, those conversations are conversations in which it is really important for me to hear what they have to say, with the understanding that they will also listen to what I have to say. What is needed is a conversation and not a confrontation.

This article was originally published in the Fall 2024 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.