924 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(03/16/06 12:00am)
Author: Jason F. Siegel and James Dolan Food occupies a special place in the lives of Middlebury students. Many plan their day according to when, where and what they are going to eat. As in other areas of life, students turn a critical eye to their food, questioning its quality, its source, its variety. The award-winning Dining Services, under the leadership of Matthew Biette, takes great pains to satisfy students' cravings, often in many ways that go unnoticed.Dining Services is constantly thinking of new ways to please the ever-broadening palate of the discerning College diner. Last Thursday's Food Fair in Proctor Dining Hall, at which more than a dozen different vendors set up booths and provided free samples of their products, was a perfect example of Dining Services' efforts to involve students in menu-related decisions. Diners perused the booths and tasted products that seemed appetizing, sampling dishes like fried brownies, tortellini, vegan meatballs, gourmet cheeses and beer-battered shrimp. Votes were eventually cast for those foods students would like to see integrated into future menus. A large and enthusiastic Proctor crowd demonstrated widespread interest in the event.Complementing the food fair are other means by which students can involve themselves in the dining experience. In addition to the familiar comment cards on which students gush over tempeh stir fry or complain about cold broccoli, Dining Services accepts recipes from students, which are often incorporated into the cuisine. They also will respond to requests to buy food from new sources. While some 35 percent of food served is produced in the state of Vermont, Middlebury began shiping its free-range salmon from a small village in Alaska in response to complaints about the quality of farm-bred salmon. Students take their own initiative in creating culinary experiences. This past Thursday night, an hour after the food show, students from Wonnacott and Cook Commons faced off in an Iron Chef competition in Ross Dining Hall. In this edition of the popular new activity, students competed to prepare the best dish possible, using pineapple as the secret ingredient. This year Jay Yonamine '07 won for Cook Commons. [See "Iron Chef" on page 16.]Another student-run event is Dolci, held weekly in Proctor Dining Hall. The food is widely hailed as being some of the best in town. Each Friday, student chefs have the opportunity to prepare and serve the classy, multiple-course meals. Using ingredients purchased by Dining Services and following a different theme every week, dishes vary from sweet potato casseroles to lamb chops and other fancy concoctions. That Dolci is both free and weekly only heightens its popularity. Students line up at The Grille the night before and wait patiently for their chance to grab tickets, which are available in limited numbers. Often, students are turned away because there are not enough tickets to go around. Even after all the tickets are given away, students still show up at dinner, hoping to find an extra seat.Also on Fridays, Hillel sponsors a Shabbat dinner in Freeman International Center. Although the dining halls have many kosher ingredients, the Shabbat dinner is the only exclusively kosher meal served on campus. Freeman Hall, home to the Jewish Center, also hosts other special events for Hillel, including a bagel brunch on Sundays of Fall Family Weekend. This week, however, Hillel and Dolci teamed up, uniting the two events in Proctor Dining Hall.On special occasions - at least once per month - the dining halls sponsor a large event to break up the monotony that regular dining can sometimes present. Every year, a Thanksgiving dinner is prepared the Thursday before the holiday, offering turkey, venison stew, mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce. In past years, there has also been a Super Bowl Tailgate Party, infamous for its streakers. There are also special campus-wide events such as the recent karaoke contests, in which students competed for a $500 gift certificate in their quest to become the next Middlebury Idol. According to Biette, the Earth Day picnic is the next special event this spring. He also hinted that there are "a few more up our sleeves that we are currently working on."Perhaps the most beloved tradition is midnight breakfast during exam weeks. Recently moved out of Proctor Hall and split between Atwater and Ross Dining Halls, the breakfast provides a much-needed respite for study-weary students. Whether students are participating in the famous doughnut-eating contest or just looking to avoid studying for their exams, midnight breakfast is a peaceful haven at the most stressful time of year.Sometimes the dish itself is reason to celebrate. When Atwater serves Asian cuisine or Proctor boasts Chicken Parmesan, students flock to the respective locations so they can indulge in the food Middlebury has to offer. In the absence of great food, students will create their own concoctions with spice racks, panini machines and microwaves.In addition to providing meals for the entire campus, dining services is also responsible for catering luncheon seminars that take place in John McCardell, Jr., Bicentennial Hall. Justin Wright '08 commented, "I walk by the seminar room and can't help but indulge in the delicious sandwiches presented in front of my eyes." Many students have admitted they have attended one of these seminars not because they were interested, not because their teacher required them to, but because they wanted to enjoy a sandwich, cookies and sugary lemonade.It is not a stretch to say that Middlebury students have an insatiable appetite for both the food and fun served up by Dining Services.-Jason F. Siegel and James DolanFocus Editors
(03/16/06 12:00am)
Author: SALIM SAGLAM POITIERS, FRANCE - Concerned with their post-university career, the French students are on strike against Contrat Première Embauche (CPE), the new employment law proposed by the French PM Dominique de Villepin. This law enables the employers to fire newly hired employees between 18 and 26 years of age without showing due cause during the first two years of their employment. In protest of the new law, Université de Poitiers, excluding the schools of medicine and higher sciences, has been blocked by politically minded students since Feb. 13. Desks and chairs are piled in front of the entrance doors behind which the protesters camp. It is a common scene to see them with dirty pots, pans and other supplies camping behind the blocked doors.A movement, which started in 13 universities in early February, is becoming national fast. About 40 of France's 84 universities saw student occupations to varying degrees on Friday in protest of the new law. Police intervened for the first time early Saturday to empty the main building of the Sorbonne, which had been occupied by student protesters for the past three days. According to BBC News Europe, tear gas and batons were used, at least two students were injured and some arrests were made. A demonstration will take place today in Paris with the participation of thousands of students from all over France. Recent police intervention and the memories of May 1968 in mind, security is already a concern.France has the highest unemployment rate among youth in Europe swaying at 23 percent, and it goes up to 40 percent among the unskilled youth. According to Villepin, this new law aims at loosening the protectionist state policies concerning the labor market, rendering it more flexible and encouraging the employers to hire more employees. On the other hand the loosening of such socialist state policies, which the French take pride in, arises an anxiety among the youth who think that they will be more likely to be exploited by the employers under the new employment law.Though students are against CPE, opinions on the strike, particularly on the blockage vary. A widespread sentiment among the student body is that the blockage impedes students' right to education. They also find it immature, disorganized and undemocratic, especially that around 300 student protesters shut down a university of more than 15,000 students. The protesters on the other hand assert that the blockage is their means to mobilize people against CPE. They say that there is a general assembly (assemblée générale) about the future of the blockage once in every three days open to the entire student body and those students against the blockage never show up to vote against it. Attendance at general assemblies so far has never exceeded 2,500.With an annual economic growth rate below two percent over the last decade, France is finding it difficult to create new jobs for the 2.6 million unemployed. Though weakening of the socialist system is a likely consequence of CPE, it certainly is an attempt by the French government to tackle unemployment. Therefore, the latest developments constitute, on a governmental level, a good example for how a socialist system with a stagnant economy is readjusting to the new world rule. On the other hand, the French students' revolutionary enthusiast nature, their willingness to take the matter into their own hands and change it in their favor is certainly something to be respected. With the national protest in Paris on March 16 approaching, the political climate is heating up in France. We will see if it ever gets as hot as it was in May 1968.
(03/02/06 12:00am)
Author: Austen Levihn-Coon A four-year-old battle over the construction of the United States' first offshore wind project comes to the forefront this week as Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) proposes an amendment that would prohibit the construction of any major offshore wind farms within one and a half nautical miles of a commercial shipping lane. Young introduced the amendment, which has come to be known as the "Young Amendment," in the Coast Guard Reauthorization Bill in Conference Committee. If passed, this amendment would indefinitely stall the controversial Cape Wind project off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass.The amendment Rep. Young proposes is based off of a recent report in the United Kingdom that addresses the issue of offshore wind farms as safety hazards for marine navigational radar. However, this report calls for a buffer zone of only 500 meters, about one third of a nautical mile, nowhere near Rep. Young's proposed one and a half mile buffer. The UK report also stresses making case-by-case decisions on wind installations, however Young's amendment would prohibit all wind installations in the buffer zone, taking away the authority from the Coast Guard to review any other proposed offshore wind projects within a mile and a half of a shipping lane. In comparison to this proposal, offshore oil and gas rigs need only be 500 feet from a shipping lane. In Denmark, an offshore wind farm sits only _ of a mile from a busy shipping channel and there have been no reports of problems with sea navigation.While the issue of Cape Wind has been somewhat controversial, many Middlebury students and faculty have not hesitated to participate in efforts to support it. Led by Assistant Professor of Economics Jon Isham and Scholar in Residence Bill McKibben students and community members have called Senators to voice their concerns about the "Young Amendment." Many have also signed a letter sent to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. voicing frustration about his opposition to this renewable energy project as a leading Senate environmentalist. Together with other prominent Cape Cod residents, the normally environmentally-conscious Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) has also opposed the wind farm for its proximity to homes on the Cape. These opposition efforts have been centralized under the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. The alliance has spent large sums under pretenses of protecting local marine wildlife and fishing communities. Now, with the Young Amendment in the works, this lobby has formed an unholy alliance with supporters of oil and gas companies as they try to block the construction of the Cape Wind project. The unfortunate result may be that a key stepping stone in the United States' effort to reduce its dangerous dependence on oil will fall by the wayside.
(02/23/06 12:00am)
Author: Jeff Patterson Jay Yonamine '07, a political science major, spent his fall term in D.C. - definitely commonplace - but on Jan. 21 he "did the most extreme thing [he's] ever done," when he fought a mixed martial arts bout. With SPRAWL scrawled across his shorts, Jay won his first fight in an octagonal cage.After watching Ultimate Fighting on TV and reading up on technique, Jay enrolled in a fight school over summer break near his Minnesota home run by his current trainer/promoter Mike Reilly. Within six months Jay was cage-ready. It should be noted that it can take as long as two years for some people to master the necessary skills.On the morning of the fight against Dan Monet, who had three fights under his belt, Jay woke up thinking, "Tonight I'm going to be in the cage." Looking back, he wouldn't describe the feeling as "scared," just "extremely nervous." Yonamine had to be at the Rochester, Minn., arena, which was charging $50 for a front-row seat, several hours before the start of the match, and all he could do was sit around. At 9 p.m. he heard the cage's door lock behind him and there was no chance to back out. "Humans react with either fight or flight. In the cage, you can only fight," he said.Yonamine doesn't remember much about the fight, even though it was four weeks ago, but he does recall being surprised when instead of beginning the match by touching gloves with the other fighter, like he expected, the referee just said, "Fight." Yonamine hesitated a little, but then went at Monet. He thought the fight only lasted several seconds, but his coach said it was more like a minute and a half.Yonamine remembers Reilly shouting, "Break his f---ing arm," when Jay was in the driver's seat. After the fight, Reilly claimed it was only to intimidate the other guy, but in the heat of battle and as a rookie, Yonamine followed his coach's instructions. Luckily for Monet, he tapped out when he did. If Monet hadn't, he would have needed a cast."You have to be super intense. [I call it] calm aggression and you have to save it up," said Yonamine. He feels he was successful because he concentrated on his technique. "Sometimes fighters get too pumped up and instead of using proper technique, they just flail their arms," he said.Yonamine had only positive things to say about the sportsmanship displayed, more often than not with a hug, on the mat after fights. "Nothing is left unsettled and by fighting, [both competitors] see who's boss. The loser [can only blame himself]," Yonamine said. Mixed martial arts was an original Olympic event under the name pankration and Yonamine questions why it is no longer in the Olympic games: "It's the purest form of sport," he said. "Skeleton is not."Mixed martial arts has caught on all over the globe - especially in Brazil, Holland and Japan, where one PRIDE Fighting Championship event was attended by 90,000 - but it has not had the same success in the U.S. Senator John McCain was a big reason for a four-year stoppage in the sport from 1997-2001, but with new rules that carefully define 31 fouls including biting, eye-gouging and head-butting, along with set weight classes, the sport is growing in popularity. Mixed martial arts is especially popular in the Midwest, where college wrestling is just as big as college basketball is on Tobacco Road. McCain's negativity towards the sport is understandable - he was tortured for five and a half years as a POW in the Hanoi Hilton - but he is still a boxing fan, and the two positions seem hypocritical. As Yonamine is quick to point out, no one has ever died in a mixed martial arts fight, but the average number of deaths from boxing is nine per year. Regular cage fights last a maximum of three rounds, compared to 12 in boxing, and as a result the cage fighter's brain is not blitzed with hundreds and hundreds of punches.A cage fighter's diet usually doesn't include 4-5 meals and 3,500 calories a day, but when it is "a lot of oatmeal and bananas" combined with exercise, it'll get you in tip-top shape. Training is "intense, really intense." Yonamine and his dozen or so teammates, so-called because they train together and accompany each other on each fighter's walk to the cage - do various types of cardiovascular exercises "pretty much until failure." His teammates range in age from 18 to 30. Some are high school dropouts, but one is pursuing his M.D. Their favorite conversations typically involve their new rifles or snowmobiles. In practice, Yonamine and his teammates perfect their technique, but obviously don't go all out, as they would against a scheduled opponent. "If you don't tap out [when you're losing a fight] you'll either get choked or some bones will break.Yonamine's left ear is currently full of gauze and stitches, but the injury wasn't from a punch. In fact, he was "only grazed once," and thanks to a "disgustingly" large amount of vaseline on his face, Monet's fist slid away harmlessly. The injury occurred from constantly banging against the firm mat. "I was surprised how hard it was, it was nothing like the wrestling mats we train on.Even though Middlebury has strict rules concerning fighting, Yonamine doesn't see any problems in the future. "I don't have underlying rage... I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it."
(02/16/06 12:00am)
Author: Dan Berkman 06.5 When I was in New Orleans with my J-Term class last month, there were many shops on Bourbon Street selling T-shirts back-lashing the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. The slogans' ranged from "FEMA: the new four-letter 'F' word" to "I looted this shirt during Hurricane Katrina". But the T-shirt that resonated most with my classmates and me had the motto: "Make Levees, Not War." Yes, America is at war with terror abroad, but this government does not realize our country is already being attacked by natural disasters.I would equate the damage inflicted by Katrina and the levee breeches to a war zone. The force of power from flood waters caused cars to be overturned, houses to be torn away and families to flee as refugees. Hurricane Katrina has left close to 1,500 people dead with many more still missing. Since the storm, army vehicles and police continue to roam the streets after the city curfew looking for looters or "suspicious looking characters". This administration is adamant about finding terrorists before they can attack our county, but at what cost? In the most recent State of the Union, President Bush spent 36 minutes talking about foreign policy, but devoted only six sentences to Hurricane Katrina. I think it is important to defend this country from terrorism, yet I think it is equally important to allocate money and manpower to the more tangible threats. New Orleans is not alone in battling the threat of a natural attack.As our country grows in population, along with the rest of the world, people move to areas more prone to natural disasters. And as cities grow in population, the social and economic impact from disasters becomes greater. Miami is vulnerable to hurricanes, Seattle to volcanoes and almost any place in California for a variety of reasons (earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.). In other words, New Orleans is just one example of a city which has been expecting "the Big One." New Orleans is a unique city because it lies 12 feet below sea level on average at the base of the Mississippi River delta. If the Mississippi River levees ever broke, most of the city would be underwater. Luckily, the river levees remained intact during Hurricane Katrina. The man-made levees on the street and industrial canals, which drain into Lake Pontchartrain, broke and eventually flooded the city. In other words, Hurricane Katrina was a horrible natural disaster that tore off rooftops and crashed trees onto houses and lawns. But the levee breeches and city wide flooding which ensued were responsible for the black mold and the eventual loss of homes and property. That was a man-made disaster which could have been averted. The government not only knew the levees were inadequate, but the administration continues to withhold the money required to re-build those levees to higher standards. Not only were the levees not adequate enough to withstand a Category 3 Hurricane (by the time the hurricane made landfall), but the levees are still in ruin and the next hurricane season is less than five months away. The current $1.6 billion repair effort includes building pump stations along the canals and temporary gates at the mouth of Lake Pontchartrain. But this repair job is a band-aid. The repair does not include plans to make the levees higher (which would be necessary because the flood waters came up and over the levees) or a buffer wetland zone which could take the brunt of an incoming storm. A long-term plan of that magnitude would cost upward of $30 billion. Most of that money has gone to the war in Iraq instead, which has cost 240.5 billion dollars so far. It does not take a math major to figure out that part of that money could have been better spent on revamping the New Orleans and Louisiana levees. In fact, the Army Corps of Engineers' levee construction projects over the last few years have seen federal money trickle down to nothing due to pressures of the Iraq War and Homeland Security. That is the same Army Corps of Engineers that had promised the city of New Orleans levees and floodwalls which would be sufficient enough to withstand a category 3 Hurricane.The Army Corps of Engineers and specifically the government department in charge of allocating the money for building the levees should take responsibility. Furthermore, it seems that Washington should bear more costs for the current levee's reconstruction process. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Instead, President Bush continues to spend money outside our borders when we need protection from within.With the levees still in ruins and storm seasons occurring every year, it is hard to foresee New Orleans withstanding another hurricane of equal or greater magnitude in the near future. Still, the people of New Orleans are trying to rebuild their great city. People are coming home to reconstruct the levees, their homes and their lives. They make shirts to show their resolve. One Midd parent proudly wore a "Returnee" shirt. Another shirt with the words of "Make Levees, Not War" could not be a more direct message to our administration.
(01/26/06 12:00am)
Author: Andrea M. LaRocca No longer just a winter frustration, frost heaves are enjoying newfound fame as the namesake of Vermont's first pro basketball team. On Dec. 14, 2005, Alexander Wolff, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated (SI) and a Cornwall, Vt. resident, unveiled his plans for the state's newest minor league team, the Frost Heaves, at a press conference in Barre, Vt. One day earlier, Wolff also announced the team's birth in an SI article entitled "Scorecard: Heaves, Ho!," which featured a playful illustration of Wolff wearing a furry bomber hat and waving a foam "Go Heaves" finger.Wolff is the president and general manager of the Frost Heaves, and his wife Vanessa is the assistant general manager. In the five weeks since the press conference, the Wolffs have devoted themselves to the founding and publicizing of the upstart team, and the Frost Heaves already have an extensive Web site and merchandise line. "Rather than a basketball team right now, we essentially have a T-shirt line," joked Wolff.The Frost Heaves will compete in the American Basketball Association (ABA), and the team's first season will begin in early November 2006 and last until early March 2007. The season consists of 36 games, 18 of which will be played at home. According to Wolff, the Frost Heaves will play in two "lovely old historic gyms in Vermont downtowns," the Barre Municipal Auditorium, a vintage Depression-era court better known as "the Aud," and the Memorial Auditorium in Burlington. Each gym seats about 1,500 fans, and Wolff hopes that each court will get equal playing time, with half the home games played in Barre and the other half played in Burlington. Equally important as the basketball that will be played, however, is the Frost Heaves' overarching mission. Wolff said that the team will be "run by Vermonters for Vermonters," and he is molding the team in the shape of Vermont values, such as sustainability and local and community connections. Accordingly, Wolff hopes to market locally produced concessions at the games and to focus on minimizing the team's carbon offsets. Wolff also plans to innovatively integrate the Frost Heaves with the Internet. Fans who join an online community, "The Bump in the Road Club," will receive regular updates about the status of the team and will eventually be able to affect team decisions through voting. Said Wolff, "It will be like a reality series with a participatory democracy piece built in." He will also continue to chronicle the Frost Heaves' evolution via the Frost Heaves website and SI.com."We're trying to meld the old Vermont - as in the historic downtown gyms we will play in - with the new Vermont - as in the high-tech development and Internet that Burlington is known for. We're using the team as a way to demonstrate what's possible in Vermont," said Wolff.Overall, Wolff said that the reaction from Vermonters and from basketball fans across the country has been encouraging. "It was essentially on a whim that I conceived the idea to start a basketball team, and then I had to fill in the reality of it and figure out how it could work in Vermont," said Wolff, who first daydreamed about a Vermont hoops team over a year ago. "It's in the realm of possibility. The venues are here, the scale is here, the tradition of basketball is indeed here and there's a track record of success for minor league sports in Vermont." Wolff has been in contact with the Vermont Voltage, the state's minor league soccer team, and the Lake Monsters, the state's minor league baseball team, as well as the University of Vermont and the Vermont Basketball Association."It's been very gratifying how willing to help people in Vermont have been," said Wolff. He also noted that several fans outside the state have been supportive, offering to donate season tickets to a local Boys and Girls Club in one instance. "It's kids who will be sitting in our millionaire's row," said Wolff.With kids on the sidelines and team slogans that proclaim, "Stop by our hardwood on a snowy evening" and "We're gonna be the bump in their road," the Frost Heaves plan to keep the fun in the game. But according to Wolff, the team will be professional - in the Vermont way. "There's certain bases that we have to cover seriously, and as we cover those bases it will liberate us to take a little more puckish approach, " he said, "Obviously just the name of the team shows that we're not taking ourselves completely seriously, and that's what minor league sports are. We're mom-and-pop business, not big business."Looking forward to the next few months, Wolff said that the most immediate Frost Heaves plans include "to raise capital to fund the team and then hire a coach. Then we'll work on putting together our roster and game schedule." He predicts that a coach will be chosen in the springtime and that try-outs will be held during late summer into early fall. "We're not going to limit our recruiting to just Vermont, but preference will be given to players with local connections," said Wolff. Sporting an official Frost Heaves sweatshirt, Wolff most recently brought his message about the new team to the J-Term course, "Coaching Young Athletes," which is co-taught by Dee Rowe '52 and Head Men's Hockey Coach Bill Beaney. Rowe, who is the former men's basketball coach at University of Connecticut, said of Wolff, "He is a brilliant intellect who has an incredible passion for basketball. He's a delightful guy who is captured by the mission to bring a pro basketball team to Vermont. He's traveled the world, and now he's bringing the world to Barre.""I have every hope and expectation that he'll make it very successful," said Rowe, who has also put himself on the list for a Frost Heaves T-shirt and who hopes to attend the team's opening game. For more information about the Frost Heaves or to purchase merchandise or tickets, visit www.vermontfrostheaves.com.
(12/01/05 12:00am)
Author: Liz Campbell On Nov. 14, the Parton Health Center announced the arrival of the first doses of flu vaccine for Middlebury College students. But of the 500 doses ordered, only 100 were initially received during the second week of November, followed by a mere 50 additional vaccines a week later. In response, the Health Center has been forced to limit vaccinations to a prioritized group of students. This vaccine shortage has caused significant concern among students and faculty that the flu will be more widespread on campus this winter.The shortage is primarily due to a smaller production of flu vaccine by one of the main vaccine manufacturers and to a delay in its distribution this fall. Although the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that this year's supply of flu vaccine will reach 80 million doses by the beginning of December - a substantial amount considering the United States has never administered more than 83 million doses in a single year - many health care providers have not been able to obtain the vaccine."In early fall, we anticipated conducting a full-scale vaccine clinic for the students," said Terry Jenny, associate director of Parton Health Center. "When it was clear we would not be receiving the vaccine early in the season, we had to readjust our plan - awaiting the shipment of the vaccine. That's why we've had the limited clinic this year."The CDC reported that, while Chiron Corp., a main manufacturer of flu vaccine, was expected to deliver 25-30 million doses of vaccine, it will most likely produce fewer than 18 million, with some estimates as low as 11 million doses. The United States experienced a similar shortage of vaccine last year when British regulators closed down Chiron Corp. following the discovery of contaminated vaccine, forcing the health center to limit the number of vaccines.In accordance with guidelines set forth by the CDC, the doses that the College received this year were made available only to those who are determined to be at the greatest risk for serious complications from the flu. This applies to students who have chronic pulmonary or cardiovascular disorders, including students who are asthmatics or are on steroidal medication, diabetics and students with respiratory diseases.While the first 100 doses were reserved for those students at greatest risk, the additional 50 were put aside on a "first-call, first-serve" basis for the flu shot clinic at the Health Center on Nov. 21. A portion of those doses is still available, and students can call for an appointment for the vaccine until the supply runs out. As the flu season in Vermont typically begins in December or January and lasts through April, these vaccinations would still be effective.Regarding severe outbreaks of the flu and other diseases on campus, the College has adhered to a formal disaster plan since 1996, which was developed as part of a comprehensive risk management program. Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson, Dean of the College Tim Spears and Assistant Treasurer Tom Corbin have been working with Director of Parton Health Center Mark Peluso to revise the College's emergency disaster plan for future outbreaks of disease. "The original plan created in 1996 in many ways was committing to paper a process that was already in place," said Corbin. "Faculty and staff from many departments participated in the creation of the plan. Every couple of years, we review the plan to see what needs to be changed or updated. SARS, Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and now the avian flu have all caused us to review our emergency planning."Increased outbreaks of the avian flu among humans and the government's recent plan to combat pandemic influence have increased awareness and concern of the disease throughout the country. In response, the College is taking significant steps to update its emergency disaster plan.Hanson said, "The College wants to be prepared in case there is an outbreak on campus or in the local community. For this reason we are updating our disaster plan to include this kind of illness. We put together a good response to SARS, and we will use the framework for that to consider how to handle the avian flu." Despite all these concerns, the flu season in the United States has been relatively mild thus far. "We have no documented cases of the flu on campus yet this year," said Jenny. "There is a misconception that all viruses or viral illnesses are the flu."Nonetheless, the best way to avoid getting the flu is to get the vaccine each fall. While it does not guarantee 100 percent protection, it is 70 to 90 percent effective in preventing the flu in healthy people under 65 years of age."We encourage people to follow the health practices outlined [by the CDC]," said Jenny. "And, yes, we do encourage people to get the flu shot. It absolutely helps to stem the spread of infection and is for the greater good of public health that people be immunized."Students may schedule an appointment to receive one of a limited number of flu shots by contacting the Parton Health Center.
(11/17/05 12:00am)
Author: ZAMIR AHMED, SPORTS EDITOR Lyon '07 is offensive POTWFollowing his impressive performance in Middlebury's 21-16 win over Tufts on Nov. 12, quarterback Tiger Lyon '07 was named NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week for this week. Lyon completed 24 of 37 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns and led the Panthers to the game-winning score with less than five minutes to go in the game.With the win over the Jumbos in their season-finale, the Panthers finish the year with a 3-5 record and a sixth-place finish in the NESCAC. The team closed the year with three wins in their final four games for the fifth straight season. On the year, Lyon threw for 1,204 yards, completing 54.7 percent of his passes for 11 touchdowns against nine interceptions. He also added 98 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.All-NESCAC Panthers aboundMiddlebury College athletics were well represented this week when the NESCAC announced its all-conference teams for men's and women's soccer, field hockey and women's volleyball. Overall, 11 athletes were selected to either the first or second-teams when the honors were handed out last weekend.Co-captains Derek Cece '06, John Sales '07 and Zach Toth '07 were all named to the all-conference first-team for men's soccer after guiding the Panthers to a 10-4-1 record on the year. Cece, named to his second straight All-NESCAC team, tallied five goals on the year while Sales, named to the first-team after two years on the second-team, helped lead a stingy Middlebury defense that only gave up nine goals all year. Toth had a great year as the Panthers' goalkeeper, leading the NESCAC in save percentage and goals-against-average.From the women's soccer team, Caitlin Fabian '06 and first-year Ashley Pfaff earned All-NESCAC honors after a 7-6-2 record for the Panthers. Fabian, co-captain on this year's squad, tallied a goal on the year and led the Panther defense. Pfaff accumulated 10 goals on the year, tied for fourth in the NESCAC, to earn a spot on the second-team.Jamie Wong '06 was the lone Panther chosen to the All-NESCAC teams for women's volleyball, garnering a second-team selection. Wong led the team with 500 digs on the year, bringing her career mark to a school-record 2,074 in her four years on the team. Wong's play also earned her a trip to Boston to take part in the All-New England Volleyball Tournament on Nov. 13.After earning a spot in the NCAA tournament, the Middlebury field hockey team was well-rewarded as five players earned all-conference honors. Allison Smith '06, Janie Mackey '06 and Reid Berrien '08 were named to the first-team while Channing Weymouth '06 and Claire Edelen '07 were chosen to the second-team. Berrien tallied a NESCAC-leading 33 points on the year after scoring 15 goals and three assists. Weymouth led the NESCAC with 11 assists on the season and will play in the North/South Senior All-Star game.
(11/17/05 12:00am)
Author: Tom McCann '06 For as long as I can remember, the sports section has looked the same. Each week, every team has been equally represented with a full-length article about the games they played, sure to be read by most of the players, some of the players' parents and a scattering of sports-enthusiasts among the student body. Don't get me wrong, Middlebury students love Panther sports, but few want to read a 500-word article about a game for which they probably already know the result - let alone 10 of them.This is my fourth semester as editor of the section, and along with Ryan Reese and Zamir Ahmed, my co-editors, we have heeded the advice of Alexander Wolff, senior writer for Sports Illustrated, who was kind enough to speak to us last week, and rethought our section. We also took our cues from Tim Bellis '06, star of the "This Is Me" column from Spring 2003, who said that he only read sections such as the Sports Briefs and College Shorts because they are short and easily digestible.As a result, we have added a Scoreboard that will give the results of all games each week, including a brief commentary on every one. We have brought back "By the Numbers," a feature that illustrates statistical quirks of Middlebury sports teams, we are including an Editors' Picks box and we're also pioneering a question-answer style feature with a different athlete each week. Finally, we're reducing the number of weekly recaps for each team, instead placing greater emphasis on in-depth features. Not every team will be written about every week, but readers will learn more about some of the incredible individuals that compete as Panthers.Ironically, while the result of these changes will ultimately be a more streamlined section, this week we're publishing the largest sports section in my time with The Campus. A 'transitional week' that includes the Winter Sports Preview makes for an enormous section, but stay with us - the changes are coming. It's going to be more reader-friendly, it's going to be more easily digestible, and in truth, it's going to be more interesting. In all honesty, though, it's about time. - Tom McCann '06 Sports Editor
(11/10/05 12:00am)
Author: Sarah Poling Luehrman The Panthers' hopes for victory in this year's NESCAC tournament were dashed by a determined Trinity squad in a short three games during the quarterfinals last weekend. Middlebury finished the regular season tied for third place in the conference with Amherst, Williams, Trinity and Connecticut College. The Panthers were lucky enough to draw third seed in the tournament, earning them the right to face the team that drew the sixth seed, which turned out to be Trinity. So the Panthers stepped up to the net to face a team that had already bested them twice, and the match was a difficult one from the outset. It wasn't until "halfway through the third game," according to Head Coach Sarah Raunecker, that the team really started to play, which was, unfortunately, too late to claim the victory.Middlebury lost the first game by a rare 16-point margin, giving Trinity a 30-14 victory and the momentum to carry them through the rest of the match. Play improved for the Panthers a little during the second game, and though they lost once again, they were able to tighten the score margin to 30-23. Things started to look up during the third game as the Panthers finally found their stride and began to give the Bantams a hard time. The two were neck-and-neck for the final points of the tournament, but Trinity ended the game 32-30 and completed the sweep. "I do feel that if we could have won that game, we would have had a tremendous mental boost, and perhaps the confidence to at least go five with them," commented Raunecker, "but…Trinity played well and deserved to win, end of story." Jackie Edwards '06 led the offense with a team high of eight kills, while Lindsay Patterson '09 and Lexie Fisher '08 were close behind with six each. As usual, Jamie Wong '06 manned the defense with 20 digs, gaining support from Patterson '09 with 18 and captain Lacee Patterson '06 with 15.Fisher finished the season with a team high of 305 kills for the season. Adding to the offensive lineup was Edwards, who "really came on this year and was a very important force for us," said Raunecker. Even more notable, however, is Middlebury's defense. The Panthers averaged 21.09 digs per game, the highest in all of NESCAC, largely thanks to Wong, who finished the season with 500 digs total and Patterson '09 and Patterson '06, with 377 and 351 total digs respectively. Patterson '06 stepped up to the position of setter this year, and "did a great job running the offense," said Raunecker. Also deserving of acknowledgement are the team's first-years, particularly Patterson, who played every match, Olivia Minkhorst and Kate Heath, who immediately took on positions "where we really needed them to step up right away." Though the end of the season may have been disappointing, the Panthers can be proud of these and several other very strong players, and the team's prospects for coming years are strong. Wong cites the highlight of the season as the Panthers 2-0 record against Amherst. "That was a huge goal of ours that we achieved," she said. "It was unfortunate that we ended the season with a loss, but we did have a great time playing together and met some good competition."
(11/10/05 12:00am)
Author: James Kerrigan After 29 years at Middlebury College, Russ Reilly is ready for some R & R, but chances are you will still catch him in the bleachers or on the sidelines cheering for his Panthers. Reilly will step down as the College's athletic director, effective June 30, 2006.Eleven years after graduating from Bates in 1966, Reilly joined the Middlebury athletic staff as the assistant men's basketball coach, assistant men's soccer coach and the spring golf coach. Despite growing up with football and basketball, he did not shy away from an opportunity to teach soccer. Reilly devoted an entire summer to reading books about soccer and asking other coaches for advice. Just one year later, his hard work and positive attitude paid off and he was named head men's basketball coach. According to Missy Foote, the women's lacrosse head coach, Reilly developed the nickname "Cowboy Lou" because he wore a cowboy hat while announcing football games. Over the next 28 years, he wore many hats and received numerous awards and recognitions. In February 1987, Reilly received a merit award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for 20 or more years of coaching. In 1988, he was selected by his peers as the NABC Northeast District and UPI New England Division III Coach of the Year, while directing the Panthers to the Most Improved Team Award. In 1979, Reilly took over the reins of the women's soccer program at Middlebury.In 1997 he was named the director of athletics at Middlebury College. John M. McCardell Jr, president emeritus, was influential in the decision to hire Reilly. "He gave us a continuity of leadership philosophy with his predecessor [Tom Lawson]. Lawson developed a successful program with a good staff who understood the College. We were convinced he wouldn't deviate from that. To his credit, he has maintained it." Downplaying his own achievements, Reilly notes that Lawson established a solid department that demanded no major changes. On Reilly's first day as Middlebury's Athletic Director (AD) in 1997, he came into his office with an important document: a "to-do list." Roughly a dozen tasks were to be completed by the time he left the office. After day one, he crossed off not 10, not 11, not 12 items, but zero items. Yet after nine year's as Athletic Director, Reilly has checked a lot off his long-term list, including the addition and improvements of several athletic facilities, 35 NESCAC conference championships and 22 National ChampionshipsIdeally, Reilly would have liked to be both a coach and an AD, but that is a difficult task: "As the athletic director you have to be focused on everybody. You don't just focus on the teams that are winning national championships. It's also important to focus on those teams that are struggling to get to .500 because those athletes are putting in the same kind effort and deserve the same attention and care," he said. Nobody understands what it means to be a coach better than Reilly. Stepping down from that position was the hardest thing he ever had to do while at the College. A lot has changed during his tenure as athletic director. As a conference, the NESCAC has become more organized. It has transformed from a loose group of schools with a manual that was about three pages long to a developed and structured conference. According to McCardell, Reilly has "remained committed to Title IX." In the early 1970s, Middlebury offered 12 men's sports and six women's. Thirty years later, Middlebury now offers 14 men's sports and 16 women's sports. Perhaps aboveall, Reilly has been instrumental in the improvement and addition of many athletic facilities. It's no coincidence his favorite movie is "Field of Dreams." Under the direction of Reilly, Middlebury added the Kenyon Ice Hockey Arena, the Kohn all-weather field, a softball diamond, and renovated and expanded the fitness center, Pepin Gymnasium, the Duke Nelson Recreational Center and "the Bubble," which houses an indoor track and five new international squash courts. Reilly has accomplished a lot, and left his mark on thousands of student-athletes.Student-athlete: It's a term that gets thrown around a lot. Largely because of Russ, the 'student-athlete' scale is more balanced here at Middlebury. McCardell noted, "Russ always uses the term student-athlete. His conscious use of that term is a reminder of how [the College] views athletics." Middlebury views athletics as an extension of the classroom: an education of the mind and body. Reilly believes that coaches ought to have the same goal as their academic colleagues: to teach and shape their students. A coach is merely a teacher in a different arena. As McCardell says, "Coaches are educators. Their roles are vitally important. Russ communicates and lives that." Other institutions may graduate fantastic athletes or qualified scholars, but Russ Reilly preaches balance. He wants the men and women who compete between the lines to be exceptional in the academic field as well. Reilly treasured relationships above all. Memories of wins, losses and statistics wane, but relationships live on.As a coach, he was committed to his team and his players. He deeply values relationships and the "Midd Family." "Everyone has a passion for this place," Reilly says, "because of the relationships they had." Reilly has a genuine concern for others, and as John Humphrey '88, notes, "Other than a few referees in upstate New York, I would be surprised if you could find one enemy of Russ Reilly."Humphrey, a former basketball captain and hardnosed player for Coach Reilly, remembers a time when Russ knew what was best. After a mediocre start to the game, Reilly took Humphrey out and let him sit for a good seven minutes. Humphrey recalls, "When he finally put me back in, I was in full rage. Our play picked up considerably and I had a pretty strong game from that point on. I was still frothing after a comfortable win and said nothing to Russ after the game. While sitting in the whirlpool he came up to me with a wide grin on his face and asked if I knew why he took me out. I said I had no idea. Apparently he had observed that I lacked my usual intensity and figured he would shake me up. Then he said he was glad it worked and glad to see me still upset and left saying, "You always play better when you're really pissed off." So, what is next? Reilly, despite frequent 16-hour days at the College, is a family man. Humphrey could not agree more: "The best way to receive the teachings of Russ Reilly was to observe his behavior on a daily basis. He opened his home and his loving family environment to all of us players and to me on Thanksgiving. The best way for Russ to teach was to invite you into his house and watch him be a father and a husband." There is a future for Reilly post-retirement. "I look forward to being able to reconnect with the lives of my three daughters and their families. In our profession, you spend a lot of time bringing other people's children up and sometimes neglect your own. I'm looking forward to being a fan again and not having to worry about whether we have Public Safety in the right places. This is what we now consider home." He'll probably sneak in some golf too.His number of games coach as basketball coach (433 - a NESCAC record) and as a women's soccer coach (80), add up to 513. Add that to his 299 total losses (including 260 as basketball coach - also a NESCAC record), and you have a sum of 812. Divide that by the number of seasons (28) and we arrive at 29 years of service that Russ Reilly dedicated to making Middlebury College a better place. McCardell says, "People know Middlebury because they know Russ Reilly." They know him because he is successful and passionate, because he understands what athletics are all about and most of all they know him because he cares. Humphrey can remember Reilly walking into the training room on a daily basis, bellowing,
"It's a great day to be a Middlebury Panther." It sure is, Russ.
(11/03/05 12:00am)
Author: Dave Barker I didn't attend Brainerd Commons' pool party screening of Jaws, but I trembled nonetheless at Dana Auditorium while enjoying Tim Burton's interpretation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Sure, Great Whites are scarier than grooving Oompa Loompas, but the real fright centered on the price difference between the two screenings.For the opportunity to bob in the pool for a few hours and hear the movie's hair-raising soundtrack, Brained nearly exhausted its "big event" budget of $6,000. Foam floaties accounted for over a third of that figure. With that kind of sponsorship, I would have expected Director Steven Spielberg and the shark now enjoying retirement at Universal Studios to have been in attendance. Instead, the close to 200 students who showed up throughout the evening were joined by $480 worth of lifeguards. One could be certain that the lifeguards weren't looking for fins cutting through the water; Brainerd had the pool water cranked up four degrees to 87 - Great Whites are usually found in water 20-30 degrees cooler. While Brainerd originally considered 90 degree pool water, increasing the temperature of thousands of gallons of Natatorium water just four degrees sapped oil through the initial heating of the pool and through the ongoing heat loss associated with the higher temperature. At a school that prides itself on veggie oil, wind turbines and a prestigious Environmental Studies program, turning the pool into a bath tub should not have been allowed to happen. I've noticed that energy gets wasted in other ways by the commons. And I'm not just talking about the unceasing stream of e-mails reminding students to mark their calendars for the upcoming blood drive a fifth time. This year's decision to allot an extra $6,000 to each commons for a "big event" was a wise move by the Finance Committee. Well-planned large events draw students from Allen and ADP to a common area. But the commons staff, too often channel their energies into organizing smaller events and activities that compete with the already-packed calendar filled by MCAB and student parties. Events that merit spending the per-capita income of a developing country include big lectures like the Billy Collins reading sponsored by Ross last week, as well as concerts or semi-formal dances with catered alcohol. Ask students if they were able to obtain tickets to the early-October "Tender is the Night" ball and the answer would probably be no because of its popularity. While "Tender" was off campus, there's no reason why, with a little commons sponsorship, the Chateau Grand Salon couldn't be turned into a swanky setting for black ties and Mai Tais. Over in Dana hanging with the Oompa Loompas, I couldn't dip my feet in a chocolate river, but the $500-$750 that MCAB spent for the movie rights left 150 students at the 9:30 p.m. showing satisfied and chlorine-free.
(11/03/05 12:00am)
Author: Zoey L. Burrows On Friday, Oct. 28, Sarah Bray '08 won the 27th presentation of the Paul Ward '25 Prize for excellence in writing by first-year students for her art history essay, "The Erotic Drawings of Augustine Rodin: A Feminist Approach." This year a record 37 students were nominated. Students are nominated by their instructors, who give exceptional papers to an interdisciplinary panel of faculty judges. These judges read the papers and decide on one winner who receives $500, two runners-up who receive $250 each and four honorable mentions. Associate Professor of English Kathleen Skubikowski commenced the award presentation and introduced guest speaker David Haward Bain, a lecturer in creative writing. He said that after 19 years at Middlebury, he is quite proud of the accomplishments of the College's writers, whether students or faculty. Bain spoke of a "bragging shelf" in his office, heavy with past students' work. He proudly listed publications and prizes featuring Middlebury alumni, including the Whiting Award, Harper's Journal, the Christian Science Monitor and personal novels. "The bragging shelf has room for more," he told the prize nominees. Of his fellow creative writing faculty he boasted, "We have a solid core and an identity. I think the department has a lot to be proud of." The professors explained their reason for nominating each first-year student. There were four honorable mentions for essays by sophomores Michael Fletcher, Joseph Giacomelli, Emily Peterson and Jonathan Sherr. Runners-up Alexis Mussomeli and Lauren Sullivan, both '08, both read excerpts from their essays. Mussomeli's essay entitled "Amidst the Commotion, a Beauty in Simplicity," was written for an art survey class and analyzed two water jugs from the Middlebury College Museum of Art. Eliza Garrison, instructor in history of art and architecture, described the essay as "poetic and visual." Sullivan's essay, "Distinct Presence: The Survival of Mary the Magdalene's Spirituality in Art," written for a religion course with Visiting Instructor Maria Hatigeorgiou, compared four photos of the Virgin Mary and argued that Mary was one of Jesus' strongest disciples and "the prime comforter." Her professor described her writing style as "beautiful, lucid and graceful," making her forget that she was reading a first-year's work.Bray read several excerpts from her 20-page research paper written for Professor of History of Art and Architecture John Hunisak's first-year seminar. According to a proud Hunisak, Bray regards herself as an artist and scholar, and "can say exactly what she means." Bray's central idea was that Rodin's "drawings assert the power of femininity." She argued that Rodin's conception of women was revolutionary because although "women are the protagonists in Rodin's late paintings," they are not portrayed as the objects of male desire. Bray also touched on Rodin's relationship of mutual respect with his models, which lent strength to his art. Finally, Bray wrote that women's creativity, like Rodin's, leads to new life. On the selection process, judge Skubikowski remarked that the top 10 essays are ranked separately and then the judges collaborate to narrow them down. She said that "almost always the number one paper stands out unanimously." "The hardest part," Skubikowski said, is that "we're comparing apples and oranges." She concluded that the prize "privileges writing style, voice and originality." The Paul W. Ward '25 Memorial Prize was established in 1978 by his widow, Dorothy Ward '28. Paul Ward was a journalist and diplomatic reporter - careers that brought him the Pulitzer Prize and the French Legion of Honor. In her letter of bequest to the College, Mrs. Ward wrote, "During his long career, he emphasized the use of basic English as a writer's most necessary tool."
(10/06/05 12:00am)
Author: KATHRYN FLAGG Bachelor's degree payoff takes a hit While it still pays to earn that college degree, the financial benefits derived from earning a bachelor's degree are beginning to falter. In a market where the percentage of college-educated young people has never been higher, the wage premium is slowly shrinking for Americans with college degrees.Following the 2001 recession, the typical pay for workers with bachelor's degrees took a hit for the first time ever, and since 2001, the wage premium has decreased five percent. The surge in demand for high-school-educated workers in fields like construction and health has soared, and their median weekly pay is up 3.6 percent since 2000 - four times the pay increase for college-educated workers. However, with college graduates earning, on average, 40 percent more than workers with only a high school degree, a college education remains a solid investment. With more college graduates in the field than unfilled jobs requiring their credentials, new criteria and patterns are emerging in hiring practices. Increasing numbers of college graduates are taking jobs in occupations that do not seem to require a college education, including theater ushers, derrick operators and typists and word processors. The surplus of college graduates and the downward pressure on the wage premium are also encouraging a "sorting process" among employers, in which college graduates are ranked according to potential. Underperformers, those students who did not develop skills in college desired by employers, are increasingly being ranked with high school graduates. While others are sorted by school attended, field of study and postgraduate degree.- The New York Times Students seek alternatives in Teach for America With college graduates in their 20's seeking to put off major life decisions until later, Teach for America - the do-good non-profit that is generating buzz these days - is an exciting alternative for many college students. The competitive program places bright college graduates in poor rural and urban public schools across the country - offering them an opportunity to contribute to society before attending graduate school or transitioning into the more permanent workforce. This year, Teach for America reported a record 17,350 applications, up nearly 30 percent from last year.Nathan Francis, a Yale graduate who was accepted by the program but ultimately decided not to teach, said, "I don't think very many of my peers know what they want to do. It seems very appealing to have something to do that's worthwhile and short term and vies you two more years to think about your career."The group recruits on more than 500 campuses and spends nearly a quarter of its $40 million budget on recruitment. But Teach for America also boasts an impressive track record. According to an evaluation by the Mathematica Policy Research Fund, Teach for America teachers produce slightly higher math achievement and equal English results when compared to other teachers.The program remains intensely competitive and ultimately accepted just one third of its Ivy League applicants and approximately one sixth of all applications last year.- The New York Times
(09/29/05 12:00am)
Author: ZAMIR AHMED, SPORTS EDITOR Hrdina '07 garners POTW Middlebury's Stefan Hrdina '07 will have a hard time matching all he has accomplished this week. The running back was named NESCAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after his great effort in the Panthers' 22-21 loss to Bowdoin on Saturday. Hrdina shares the award with the Polar Bears' Jeff Nolin, who had 10 catches for 203 yards in the game, setting a Bowdoin record.In his first game as a starter, Hrdina led the Panther offensive attack with 38 carries for 238 yards and three catches for 29 yards. His rushing total is the seventh-highest in Division III so far this year. Hrdina also caught a 10-yard pass from Tyler Lyon '07 for the game's first score and added a 65-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give Middlebury an 18-12 lead at halftime. Hrdina currently leads the Division III in rushing yards per game. Hrdina will look to help the Panthers get to .500 and continue his impressive start to the season on Saturday versus Colby at 1 p.m. 'Go' ready for campus debut This Thursday, Sept. 29, the Middlebury College community will have the chance to experience an aspect of Asian culture in a fun and interesting way. The ancient Chinese board game of Weigi, or more commonly known as Go, will be demonstrated in The Grille for all interested students, faculty and other members of the community. Former women's world champion Feng Yun will be on hand to instruct viewers on the basic points of the game and will be simultaneously taking on multiple opponents. Go was founded in China before the sixth century B.C.E., making it the world's oldest board game. In this two-player game, the object is to gain the most control over a board of 19x19 grids. The players take turns placing black and white stones on the board, seeking to surround large areas of the board with their stone. The competition is one of a number of events this semester about Asian culture and board games. This event is being sponsored by the Museum of Art and the Departments of Chinese, East Asian Studies and Japanese. Ultimate frisbee kicks off You may be receiving their e-mails. You may even have seen them decked out in their "flair." But did you know that the weirdest group of people on campus actually plays a sport? The Middlebury men's and women's Ultimate Frisbee teams, also known as the Pranksters, recently competed in Club Sectionals at Dartmouth College over the past two weekends. The Pranksters played well for a team their size, but fell short of qualifying for Club Nationals. Playing against some of the top college teams and clubs in the region, the Pranksters kept to their exuberant style both on and off the field. While the men's team finished winless two weekends ago, the women's team had an impressive run to the second day of qualifying but could not advance further.Despite the results at Club Nationals, the Pranksters' fall season is far from over. Both the men's and women's teams will be traveling to Maine this weekend to take part in the annual Clambake held in Portland.
(09/29/05 12:00am)
Author: ERICA GOODMAN Time to topple an old country myth and let sleeping cows lie.Perhaps it is my role as token farmer among my friends. Maybe it is due to my ag pride, expressed through cow-covered t-shirts and Farm Bureau bumper stickers adorning my walls. You see, time and again, friends have looked to me to unlock possibly the greatest mystery of farm country: Can one really "tip" a cow? The tale goes like this: Country kiddies with nothing better to do on their Saturday nights meander into the nearest pasture. With the power of old Moonshine as their guide, the rowdy bunch uses all their cumulative might to ram into the side of a sleeping cow. The snoozing lady is propelled to the ground, from standing stable on all fours to wiggling her legs in the air like an upturned fly. The young'uns run away laughing with enough entertainment to last until next weekend's revelries. When confronted with the question of whether or not a massive bovine can actually fall with a simple human shove, people provide the vaguest responses. They shrug their shoulders in uncertainty while simultaneously giving a confirming nod. "My friend's second cousin's girlfriend's brother saw his neighbor's nephew tip a Holstein over once." The answer, from a scientific perspective, might very well be that "tipping a cow" is feasible. If the point of push were the cow's hip, and the pivot point her opposite back hoof, the simple physics of levers and torque can be applied to determine the amount of force required to topple her over. With enough muscle, the old broad will tumble. Although I have yet to witness a cow-tipping attempt, I am very skeptical of this simple equation. Cows are heavy - the average mature dairy cow weighs in at approximately 1,500 pounds - making them as easy to take down as a low-built piece of solid concrete statuary. You may huff and puff and ram into the side of her as much as you want, but chances are the lady won't budge. Spend enough time around cows and you will also understand that they only fall into a deep slumber while lying down. What might appear as sleep is merely a cat nap while chewing their cud. And I would hate to be the poor soul who dares to push over a standing bovine. Though they appear timid, cows are a surly lot. Farmers suffer more broken ribs and bruised sides than the Middlebury Men's Rugby team. Even I have suffered the pains of these temperamental beasts - I was once dragged through the dust at a county fair by an unruly runaway heifer. But let fiction remain fiction and the truth come to light - cow-tipping is nothing mor than an amusing tail.
(09/22/05 12:00am)
Author: James Kerrigan The women's soccer team saw eight goals and two shutouts this past week. Unfortunately, they can only call one shutout and five goals their own. A 3-0 loss to Tufts on Saturday offset the 5-0 win over Norwich on Wednesday afternoon.Middlebury traveled to Norwich on Wednesday to battle the Cadets, but it was the Panthers that laid down the law. The final tally was 5-0, but it was not even that close. The women attacked deliberately and defended with ease - they controlled the tempo and dominated possession. Erin Oliver '07 opened the scoring spree with two goals in the first 15 minutes with assists from Kim Kennedy '06 and Kim Walker '07. Once again, Middlebury struck in pairs - this time junior Erin Pittenger netted two goals late in the first half. Assists went out to sophomore Elizabeth Romney and first-year Lindsay Rotherham. Ashley Pfaff '09 converted the fifth and final goal for the Panthers in the 62nd minute. The Cadet keeper was defenseless as the Panthers fired 34 shots. Middlebury survived their low shot percentage, but on Saturday, it came back to haunt them.Coming off a season opening 2-0 loss to Colby, the Jumbos from Tufts came ready to play on Saturday. This time, the shot totals were closer (Middlebury finished with a slight 13-11 advantage) but the Jumbos took the battle of the scoreboard as they converted 27 percent of their shots for a 3-0 win. Unlike their Norwich triumph, Middlebury struggled to dominate play against Tufts.Coach Kim commented, "We were unable to possess the ball the way that we did against Connecticut. We also didn't finish our chances despite breaking through their defense several times." Unable to generate any goals on offense, Middlebury also made several key unforced errors leading to Jumbo attacks. The scoring sheet was less than exciting as Tufts star Ariel Samuelson netted all three Jumbo goals (each assisted by Sarah Callaghan). It seemed as though the squad struggled both offensively and defensively, but Kim noted, "I think [offense and defense] go hand in hand. Had we converted a couple of our clear-cut opportunities, and not turned the ball over during our attack, Tufts would not have had opportunities to score on us. We attack and defend as a team, and everyone is responsible both for preventing and scoring goals."After the loss to Tufts, Middlebury stands at 1-1 in NESCAC league play and is tied for fourth with Colby, Trinity and Tufts. The Panthers travel to face bottom-dwellers Wesleyan on Saturday and hope to get back above .500. The team will go back to the basics, improving their simple possession, team defending and, of course, finishing.
(09/15/05 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] FOOTBALLAfter finishing at .500 for four consecutive seasons, the Panthers look to best that mark this year by fielding a team replete with defensive talent but short on offensive experience. Graduation has taken its toll once again as the team returns only 12 starters from the 2004 campaign - eight on defense but just four on offense. The Panthers boast experience and talent on defense, despite the graduation of all-NESCAC linebacker Rich Decembrele, and are led by two returning starters who garnered all-NESCAC second team selections: Senior linebacker and co-captain Coleman Hutzler and junior lineman Kevin Ryan. "Our defense will be our strength," said fifth-year head coach Bob Ritter. "We're hoping that the defense rises to the occasion and lets our offense catch up a little bit."The graduation of the top three offensive players places the task of offensive production on the shoulders of junior quarterback Tiger Lyon, who has only attempted four passes in his college career. "He has a very good arm, is a very good athlete, plays by feel," Ritter said about his unproven quarterback, "and I think he will be very effective." Lyon will be aided by senior wide receiver Tim Sheridan and junior tight end Jamie Staples, as well as senior running back Dom DiDominico, who will lead a rushing attack that averaged 84 yards a game last season. The team starts at Bowdoin on Sept.24, followed by the vist of Colby on Oct. 1 - Jon BrandGOLFAfter a successful season last year, where the ladies finished second to Division-I Harvard at the Northeast Championship, the Lady Linksters look forward to signing more low scorecards this autumn. While Captain Heather Gallagher '07 is abroad at the "Home of Golf" in St. Andrews, studying both the Old Courses' greens and for her psychology courses, sophomore Karen Levin and junior twins Allison and Kerry Ortega will look to carry the load. If the team plays as well as they have this preseason, the load, even without Heather, should be manageable. Golf Digest's September 2005 issue ranked Middlebury as the 11th best school in the country combining golf with academics, and the ladies will look to back this ranking up when they compete this weekend at the Dartmouth Invitational. The men's team is ranked 22nd in the same category ahead of rivals Colgate and Amherst. Coach Bill Beaney felt that the men's team has worked hard in preseason, and if they stay focused, and keep the ball in the fairway, this season has the making of being "one of the best in a long time." The men have their sights on an NCAA bid and can get closer to their goal: the Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln, Nebraska, if they finish well in this weekend's Duke Nelson tournament. The top Division-III teams in the Northeast will be on our own course, with good weather forcast for the weekend. - Jeff PattersonMEN'S TENNISThe Middlebury men's tennis team is preparing to hit the court swinging this Saturday and Sunday at the Middlebury Invitational after a few weeks of rigorous preseason practices. The Invitational is the only home match of the fall season for the Panthers, who will host Bates, Bowdoin and Trinity, the NESCAC competition for the tournament, among others.Captain Nate Edmunds '06 is optimistic about this year's roster, and notes that preseason training has been going very well for the team. Brian Waldron '06, last year's first singles player, returns to the team looking more promising than ever. Edmunds commented that Waldron "sets the bar high" in terms of fitness and in terms of overall playing this year after finishing last season ranked fifth in the country and earning All American honors. Spectators should also watch out for Conrad Olson '09, the newest addition to the team. "He's pretty solid on the baseline," says Edmunds, "and will definitely improve throughout the season." He speculates that the Panthers can expect significant contributions from Olson this year.The men will look to recapture the form that took them all the way to the NCAA title match last year starting this weekend in their own backyard. - Sarah Poling LuehrmanRUGBYMiddlebury Rugby teams have become infamous for their intensity, and dedication and this year appears to be no exception. With a wide array of former high school athletes the men's rugby team has once again collected a group of talented, athletic, and charming men. Despite a disappointing loss to the Coast Guard last year in the sweet 16 of national tournament, the men have regrouped and created a cohesive team that has managed to integrate novice rugby players perfectly. "There is a strong core of returning students who are playing at all different levels," said Head Coach Ward Patterson. Along with the drive to win, the team genuinely seems to enjoy each others company creating a harmonious group chemistry. "The team is not only a competitive athletic group but it has also been a great social group. Everyone on the team looks out for each other," said Calvin Gardner '06.The women's team will have a team comprised of fairly new players who will be making a strong impact this season. This year they are modifying their tactics to utilize their speed and technical skills effectively. One of the problems the Panthers will face is its lack in number of players. "We had many experienced seniors graduate last year, and several juniors have gone abroad so it will be a building year for us. However, we are hoping for a strong freshman turnout. Our team is quite a bit smaller than a lot of the other teams we play, both physically and in number of participants, but our speed and technical skill more than make up for it. Everyone has been getting along really well so far and we are all excited for the fall season," said captain Kristen Kling '06. -Eri NosakaWOMEN'S TENNIS Coming off their most successful season in school history, the Middlebury women's tennis heads into their fall season with high hopes for the year. The Panthers have added four strong first-years to a team that went to the NCAA semifinals last spring and they will be looking to take home the top prize this year. "Every year we break a record or do something extraordinary and I think this year is no different," said Amanda Berck '08. "I feel that this year we're untouchable. There's no weakest player and no strongest player." The team's first two matches this fall should not prove to be too much of a challenge to the Panthers. The team faces off against Skidmore in their season opener on Sept. 14, a squad they beat 9-0 last year, and then takes on Bates, another 9-0 victim from last year, on Sept. 18. The Panthers' biggest challenge this fall before the winter off-season will be two New England tournaments - the ITA Regional and the New England Women Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament. The Panthers will use the tournaments to tune up and gain confidence for a run at the Division III championship in the spring. "Amy Roche '07 is going to be really important," said Captain Maren Messing '06. "All our doubles players are going to be really important this year and our freshmen should make up for the loss of two seniors who graduated." - Zamir Ahmed
(09/15/05 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] The cumulative reaction of the Middlebury College community to a natural disaster more than 1,500 miles away has proven extraordinary. As national criticism centers on government response to Hurricane Katrina, the willingness of Middlebury students, faculty, staff and administration to take prompt action in a variety of capacities is a refreshing contrast to the negative portrayals of government emergency response that have dominated the national media. Within days of Katrina's attack on the Gulf Coast, a prominent link appeared on the Middlebury College home page that connected viewers to the Web sites of charity organizations. Although the link has recently been replaced with a press release about the visiting students from Tulane and Dillard Universities, the College community's efforts to provide assistance continue to multiply. Despite a rumored shortage in housing, Middlebury College opened its doors to students that were enrolled in colleges and universities in the New Orleans area, joining the important initiative pioneered by several hundred institutions around the country. President Ronald D. Liebowitz approved the expedited admissions plan for students affected by the hurricane just four days after Katrina made landfall, and accepted students that ultimately enrolled at the College will study for the semester free of charge. The unusual circumstances certainly warranted the prompt actions taken and little doubt remains that the visiting students deserve to be at Middlebury 100 percent. The number of students eager to host the visiting students from New Orleans far exceeded necessity. The Dean of Student Affairs Office received 200 host applications from Middlebury students offering to accommodate the nine visiting students that ultimately matriculated at the College. Through various collection efforts, the faculty, staff and students have raised more than $14,000 for organizations such as The American Red Cross.The contributions from the College community have been ideological as well as material. A meeting uniting various student leaders was held Tuesday afternoon to consolidate the large volume of ideas pertaining to Hurricane relief floating around campus. Dean of the College Tim Spears' assertion that the College takes pride in participating in "a larger national drama" proves that when it comes to assisting those in need, Middlebury College does not stay inside a bubble.As the national media's focus gradually drifts away from Katrina relief, it can only be hoped that the College will continue to remember the lives that have been disrupted and will remain proactive. Yet, the College must also strive to make life for students from Tulane and Dillard as comfortable as possible. Providing a normal educational experience should be top priority, and the students should never be made to feel like visitors.
(04/27/05 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] Last Saturday, Hip-hop musician Wyclef Jean came to Middlebury College for the annual spring concert. With 1,500 ticket sales and 1,200 fans in attendence, the concert was called a big success by members of the Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB).The concert ran for about two and a half hours with the audience growing as the night went on. Wyclef, who is from Haiti, has a style infused with blues, jazz and reggae. His performance revealed an interesting ability to blend songs and ideas from the past, other cultures, and the present. He is in a way the quintessential Hip-hop artist. He raps, sings and produces his own sound. Defining his style, Wyclef said, "Even when I'm rappin' there's a melody to it. It's rhymin' singing."Overwhelmingly, the audience seemed to enjoy the show. MCAB President Meredith Kernan called the concert "awesome." She went on to say, "I heard nothing bad from students, and it was really great seeing everyone happy and having a good time." MCAB Concert Chair J. Brito agreed with Kernan, saying, "I feel that the concert went extremely well. We had no problems from a security standpoint, and everyone that I have spoken with since has had nothing but praise for Wyclef's performance. I am pretty confident that Wyclef enjoyed the show as well, and I think his energy and interactions with the students were a good indication of this".Students generally agreed that the concert was a nice change of pace for a weekend of festivities. Elizabeth Bueno said, "It was nice to see a group of over 500 people attending a group event together. There was a sense of unity and actual campus feel." J. Brito echoed this feeling, "It was great to see Middlebury students of all kinds dancing and having a generally good time together in such a high energy environment - something you don't often see here."Many students shared this sentiment, although others were disappointed that Wyclef performed many covers and fewer original songs. Wyclef covered songs such as Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry," the Jackson Five's "ABC" and DJ Kool's "Let Me Clear My Throat." Many students also observed that Wcylef sang over a backing track at certain points during the show -- most notably to the popular song "Perfect Gentlemen." Wyclef also sang his well-known "Gone Till November" and "We Trying to Stay Alive" to the delight of the crowd.Brito and Kernan denied this charge. "If you want lip-synching go to an Ashlee Simpson concert," said Brito. After the concert, Kernan said she was able to go backstage, meet Wyclef and watch him freestyle with the lead singer of the opening band. "It was definitely him and not a tape," said Kernan.Wyclef's performance was notable for his ability to connect to his audience through humor and amiability. Wyclef received cheers when shouted, "Bush needs to smoke marijuana." He later invited students to party with him at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel, saying, "What happens at the Marriott stays at the Marriott." Eventually Wyclef even made his way back to the campus for late night socializing where some students were able to meet him and show their appreciation for the concert and Wyclef's presence at the College.
