Rye Neck Reunion a Flop—Facebook to Blame?

Five was the magic—or not-so-magic—number at the "unofficial" Rye Neck High School reunion on Friday at Molly Spillane's Pub on Mamaroneck Avenue.

It was the five-year reunion for the Class of 2005. There were five balloons decorating the reunion table in the back of the pub, balloons reading, "Congrats grads," "Rye Neck Panthers" and "Go Team!"

And only five people showed up.

The reunion was organized by former senior class officers Justin Cohen, Rosanna Messina and Lucila Farina. They attended the reunion, along with Robin Sanchez and this reporter.

Messina was inspired to organize the reunion by the unofficial reunion her sister's class organized two years earlier. That reunion, held at a classmate's house, was attended by at least 25 people.

Messina, Farina and Cohen gathered at Farina's house to plan the event. Molly Spillane's was chosen for its central location and outdoor deck, which is open for the summer. The officers also thought that meeting up at a pub would allow even those who couldn't stay all night to drop in and say hi.

The next step was logging on to Facebook to create an event.

"It's interesting that when we graduated, social networks were just becoming popular," said Cohen. "But now, when we were organizing, it was automatic – of course we'll create a Facebook event!"

Farina took out her yearbook and the officers went through each member of the class, making sure the classmate was a 'Facebook friend' and then inviting him or her.

Eighty-two people were invited to the Facebook event called: "RNHS Class of 2005 'Unofficial' High School Reunion." Because 89 students graduated in 2005, the officers encouraged those in touch with non-Facebooking class members to advise them of the time and place of the reunion.

By Friday afternoon, thirteen invitees had RSVP'd and thirteen had responded "maybe attending." However, come Friday night, it was a significantly smaller group.

Farina suggested that Facebook could actually be as much of a hindrance in reunion attendance as it was help in reunion planning.

"I think we're kind of lacking that curiosity of, 'What is this person doing now?' or 'Does so-and-so look different?'" Farina explains. "It's so easy to just log on and check it out."

Numerous articles have celebrated Facebook's ability to reunite high school friends and even high school sweethearts. In March, The New York Times ran a wedding announcement for a couple who met in seventh grade, dated in high school, then went off and married other people, only to reunite on Facebook when they were in their late 60s.

However, the excitement factor of a reunion is based on length of time—and the members of the RNHS Class of 2005 haven't drifted too far from one another in five years.

"I still bump into [classmates] on the train when I'm commuting in the morning," says Messina. "I still see them at restaurants, bars, or whatever. I know a lot of us moved back home, so it's not a total surprise to bump into someone I graduated with."

These casual encounters could give classmates the impression that there's really no need for a reunion. And, as the five attendees dove into a cookie cake emblazoned with a panther print, it seemed there wasn't. Instead of reminiscing about prom or graduation, we chatted casually about our days at work and planned a departure time for the whitewater rafting trip we were all going on the next day.

"These are the people I've stayed close to, even while we went away to school for four years," said Messina, looking around the table.

"And I guess this [poor attendance] confirms that I've stayed in touch with who I should be in touch with."