With the loss of the campus, the weekend reunion was bittersweet for the Parsons alumni, who came in from across the country.

"One of the things that is most difficult for us is that we have no bricks or mortar to return to," said John Braidwood of Traverse City , Mich. , who arrived at Parsons in 1964 after a less-than-stellar academic performance at the University of New Mexico .

Maharishi officials welcomed the alumni back for a tree planting ceremony and processional. But absent beloved campus landmarks, the graduates felt more comfortable socializing at an Elks Club on the town square of Fairfield , population 10,000.

The reunion was organized by George C. Jordan III, who first came to Fairfield in 1959. Attending Parsons on and off for 10 years gave Jordan the dubious distinction of personally taking classes with at least two generations of the school's alumni.

The publisher of a small Massachusetts newspaper, Jordan still bristles at Life's characterization of his alma mater.

Parsons also "flunked out kids," he pointed out. "It was academically rigorous. Does taking second chance students lower your standards? I don't think so."

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