Social Scene Heads Off Campus

Author: Bob Wainwright

It's 8:58 Sunday night, and about 12 seniors have gathered in the living room at 95 Court Street. Normally, such a gathering would have been pre-arranged through phone calls or some method of communication, but not for the group seated in front of the television. HBO's "The Sopranos" is about to begin, and when one of the seniors says over the noise of the surround sound, "This has to be one of the best reasons to live off-campus," 11 heads nod in agreement.
Currently 101 students live off-campus, a figure that does not include special students taking one or two classes. And it greatly exceeds the number 60 that is cited in the College Handbook. According to Residential System Coordinator Mariah McKechnie, the College expects more people to live off-campus next year. But once the Atwater expansion is completed by fall 2005, the number of seniors allowed to live off-campus will be severely cut back to the number that is currently in the Handbook. More students have been accepted for off-campus housing in recent years due to shortages of beds.
Despite the recent or upcoming additions to the number of these beds for current and future seniors, many students express eagerness at the possibility of moving off campus senior year. Often, students are adamant about living in a house, whether it is on-campus or not.
The reasons for these desires tend to stem from a growing need for freedom as students progress through college life. Often, students, who return from living an individualized lifestyle abroad, find it hard to readjust to dorm life. Doug Gascon, a senior who lives at the so-called "Depot" by the Marble Works, explained "Coming back [to Middlebury] after being abroad, I had to live in New Dorms. And I hated it. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to live off-campus this year."
Gascon's three senior housemates, Matt Dragunat, Erik Gilbertson and Dieter Gunkel agree, having all been abroad for at least a semester last year. Gunkel pointed out "simply having your own space, where you can cook, invite friends, and throw parties, without having to worry about [Public Safety], makes living off campus very worthwhile."
From the perspective of a non-college student, one look at the Depot could easily make such comments seem nonsensical. Built in 1825 as Middlebury's original train station, the entire house still shakes whenever a train passes outside. The upstairs hallway includes a toilet, which can be viewed from two rooms and the staircase. The light fixtures do not work in Dragunat's bedroom and the ceilings are low everywhere. A few windows have been replaced by tape and the front porch resembles the Titanic in its final seconds. And, after the landlord alluded to major house renovations last spring, the tenants arrived this semester and found that the kitchen floor and the seat to one of the house's two stools had been painted teal green.
But the house does have cable, four singles, and a driveway. And that appears to be more than enough to make the four roommates content. Even as new college housing for seniors offers kitchenettes, common spaces and single rooms only, the fact that it is still attached to the bustling life of the College seems to turn many students away.
Social life, like freedom, is another word that is thrown around when students discuss off-campus living. Many seniors, who live off campus, feel that restrictions regarding on-campus parties are overly severe. According to senior Denver Smith, who lives on Quarry Road, "It's gotten to the point where simply throwing a party on campus makes you feel as though you're trying to 'get away with something.' We shouldn't have to have that mindset."
The drinking scene on the Middlebury campus has hinged primarily in recent years upon the social houses and various smaller houses, which can register parties. Recent social house probations, as well as the creation of the language houses, however, may have curtailed the number of opportunities for students to drink on campus.
From the College's perspective, there is a limit to what can be done in dealing with the off-campus social scene, beyond offering dances, parties, movies and other forms of entertainment. According to Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Karen Guttentag, "It's hard to develop any kind of meaningful data on off-campus events…. Ultimately, our mission is to educate students so that if they choose to drink, they'll drink responsibly no matter where they are."
Perhaps the College's best hope, as it looks ahead to reducing the number of off-campus students, is the hot-water factor. Sitting with Quarry Road residents Charlie Leonard '03 and Connor Soden '03, Soden mentions, "The one thing I don't like about this year is showering under cold water."
"But we didn't have hot water in the Frames, remember?" Leonard replies.
Soden takes a bite of his sandwich and nods his head. "True."