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(05/07/03 12:00am)
Author: Christoher Howard I have just learned that the Executive Council plans on overhaul the MiddCard system, eliminating the chip and streamlining all transactions to the magnetic strip. This is said to bring Middlebury College into the 21st century, cut costs and keep Middlebury on par with other colleges across the country. When I heard the news, I was mostly apathetic, but I saw how this could improve the college's telematic network.But there is also a second part of the plan, which is to eliminate the credit system, so that every transaction made with a MiddCard debits a previously filled student account. This, I thought, is going to make a lot of students unhappy. They will be writing letters 10 a day in protest, and eventually the potentially disastrous idea of a debit system will be thrown out.But will students ever write these letters? One of the things I have noticed during my time at Middlebury is that the Executive Council is very good at being unilateral and discreet when it wants to be. That is why it strategically made this decision at the end of the year, when people are too busy to debate it. Has anybody seen mention of this decision in The Middlebury Campus? Has anybody heard any public discussion about it? Did anybody even know that Old Chapel was considering making these changes? There is a reason why the answers to all of these questions is no.Here is why the new debit system will be so disastrous. First of all, money put in the debit accounts by students is non-refundable. This means that if I put $1,000 in the account at the beginning of the year, and I only use $500 of it, then I have just lost the other $500 to Middlebury College. Tough for me. As a way of avoiding this situation, and a lot of angry phone calls, the College will put a cap on the amount of money students will be allowed to deposit into their accounts. On other college campuses, this cap is set at $100. This means that when it comes time to buy textbooks, students could be running back and forth from the bank to the Service Building to the Bookshop. Of course, most will avoid this scenario by just paying cash for the books upfront and avoiding the MiddCard entirely. This is perfectly fine for students with cash, but what about the students who have in the past used the MiddCard as a way of easing the September and February shocks by gradually paying off their pin bills through money earned on campus jobs? Tough for them.What about phone bills? Students who make a lot of long distance phone calls will either have to set up their own phone accounts and avoid the perfectly good Middlebury phone system, or they will have to make sure that their debit accounts are continuously topped off so that their phone conversations are not cut off when their accounts run out. The first time I am cut off from a long distance call with an employer or relative, Old Chapel will be hearing about it.What bothers me most about this issue, though, is the lack of public discussion. The Executive Council decided to exclude the SGA from its decision, as well as the student body, even though this is obviously an issue that affects us all. At a private college, it is unacceptable for an Executive Council to behave like this. It is unacceptable for it to disallow public debate when it senses there could be massive disapproval. It is unacceptable for it to play political games with students and student governments, making decisions in a clandestine manner at the end of the year when nobody is paying attention.I for one have never felt so powerless on this campus since I came here. I do have one drawing card left however, which happens to be a drawing card held by plenty of other students. For now is the time of year when parents and alumni are being hounded by college representatives to make philanthropic donations. I know of one family that will not be making one.Christopher Howard is an international politics and economics major from West Vancouver, Canada.
(05/07/03 12:00am)
Author: Jacob Heller Yogi Berra once said "I ain't in no slump, I just ain't hittin." For the past two weeks the Middlebury baseball team has been playing well but not making enough plays to win. Despite playing solid baseball this past weekend, the Middlebury baseball team fell one game short of the playoffs. To clinch a playoff spot the Panthers needed to take one game from New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Eastern division leader Amherst. The effort was there but Middlebury lost all three games, 10-2, 2-1, 8-7. Not making the playoffs is certainly a disappointment for this Panther team, which started the season so successfully, but the season is a success overall. Middlebury finished the year with an 11-11-1 record and a 7-5 record against their NESCAC divisional opponents. Head Coach Bob Smith explained why this season was truly a successful one: "The level of expectations this team set was as high as any team I have ever coached. Some years I would consider a .500 season a goal to shoot for, not with this team. This team is talented enough to be in the playoffs. We lost some real tough one- and two-run games that kept us out of the playoffs but we proved we could play with anyone."In the final game against Amherst, Middlebury received a strong pitching performance from Tyler Bak '06. Bak gave up four runs in seven innings and allowed Middlebury an opportunity to win in extra innings. The pitching staff held Amherst in check for 10 innings before surrendering the winning run in the 11th. Ultimately, it was the Panthers' 13 runners left on base that caused the team to fall short. Middlebury allowed Amherst to stay in the game for too long and eventually the Panthers faltered. A one-run lead with two outs in the ninth should have sealed the Middlebury playoff dream, but some timely hitting by Amherst ensured another missed opportunity for Middlebury. Co-captain John Prescott '04 was not surprised by what the team was able to accomplish this season: "It is impossible to measure this team by wins and losses. We played a tough schedule and never quit all season. Team chemistry carried us all season and through hard work we had a shot to make the playoffs. Being a senior it is hard knowing how close we came to the playoffs, but despite falling short of our ultimate goal this season was a huge step forward for Middlebury baseball."Smith echoed Prescott's statement about the importance of this season for the Middlebury baseball program. The team is certainly on the rise and has only shown improvement in each of the past few seasons. With a lot of promising young talent already on the team and more coming in each year the goal of the playoffs is closer than ever to becoming a reality for Middlebury baseball. Captain Denny Smith '03 assessed the season and the future of the program: "The entire pitching staff is coming back next season and that is remarkable. Russ Budnick '03 was a workhorse for us all season and next year the rest of our young staff will follow him to the next level. This team came as close as any Middlebury team to the playoffs and next season the team is not rebuilding, but reloading for another playoff run," he said. The team is only losing five seniors and Smith's prediction could very well become a reality.
(05/07/03 12:00am)
Author: Erich Kahner Some of the strongest and swiftest in New England competed against each other at the NCAA Division III New England Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 2-3. The men's team traveled to Bates College and finished eighth out of 23 teams with 38 points, while the women went to Williams College, where they finished sixth out of 27 teams with by tallying 36 points. "It's a very tough competition," said Head Coach Martin Beatty about the track meet. "To finish with both teams in the top 10, I was really excited for that."Several women placed in the top eight and earned all-New England status. Jess Manzer '05 continued to shave time off of her 1,500-meter best. She ran a 4:37.07, nearly two seconds fastest than her previous best, and placed third. Michela Adrian '03 continues to improve after coming back from an injury only three weeks ago. Adrian took 15 seconds off her 5,000-meter time from last week's meet with her third place, 17:45.49 effort at New Englands. Maryanne Porter '04 placed third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.26.Kirsten Nagel '06 and Sarah Berkowitz '05 also won all-New England honors. Nagel placed fourth in the 100-meter dash in a time of 13.58 seconds, and Berkowitz vaulted 10'6" in the pole vault-good enough for fifth place.The men placed a few high finishers last weekend as well. Kristoph Becker '06 won his all-New England merit by totaling 6,103 points in the decathlon and throwing the javelin 187'11". He placed second in both of these events. Kevin Bright '06 placed second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.85 seconds. Steve Atkinson '06 complemented Becker in the javelin with a fourth-place throw of 173'08" and Liam Aiello ran to 5th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.11 seconds.Although there are a few meets remaining for some athletes, Beatty already sees this season as successful. "It makes my job a joy to work with people like this," Beatty remarked on the team. "They've acted really mature and haven't complained about the weather. They've taken what could've been one of the most frustrating years and made it into one of the most fun years ever."The season continues next weekend with the Open New England Championships and concludes with the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 22-25 at St. Lawrence University.
(05/07/03 12:00am)
Author: Caroline Stauffer Last Saturday, the Middlebury College Branch of Habitat For Humanity (HFH) donated $2500 to the Addison County branch of HFH. About half of the money came from HFH fundraisers from previous years, and the other half from this year's fundraising efforts, such as the beans and rice dinner, according to Tim Connolly '04. Because the Addison County branch of HFH is relatively new, the Middlebury branch has set a goal of helping to expand the organization by doing fundraising and providing student labor to assist in construction. A family and construction site are selected by the local branch.This year's donation will be used to construct a house off of Route 116 on Mean Lane. Most construction will take place this summer, and the house should be near completion next fall. "We're trying to make the organization bigger," Connolly said, "and possibly expand construction to two houses each year."In addition to presenting the check, HFH also hosted an Art Auction on May 2 and 3, and approximately $400 in proceeds from the event have been calculated so far. This money will go toward buying supplies for the current project or toward next year's site.The art auction is an annual event at Middlebury College, but was sponsored by HFH for the first time last weekend. Connolly, Emily Egginton '06, Annie Davies '06, Becca Leaphart '03 and Brigitte Frett '06 helped to organize the event.According to Connolly, the organization did not have an easy time finding students to donate art, and the majority of the 45 to 50 pieces donated came from professional and local artists. Still, the auction is considered a success with only eight pieces remaining on Saturday when the auction closed."I thought the auction was so successful because of all the students and faculty who donated their art work and their time to help," Davies said.
(05/07/03 12:00am)
Author: David Barker In the wake of a post-war era, as the United States taps Iraq's prized oil wells to please a nation of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs,) 13 Middlebury College students will be pulling out of the Ross parking lot on May 20 in a yellow school bus powered by little more than french fry grease. Listen to trip organizers Logan Duran's '05.5 and Thomas Hand's '05.5 plans for the 23-day cross-country trip to Conway, Wash., and you'll soon learn that this is not an excuse to party with friends following final examinations. Though the route might be structured around the nation's climbing destinations, Duran maintains that the emphasis of Project Bio Bus is on environmental awareness. And for good reason too. Five trip members are Environmental Studies majors. In addition, Hand's Winter Term workshop offered a crash course in converting tractor engines to run on vegetable oil. Says project member Julia Proctor '06.5, "It is really important to us that we have fun while supporting and demonstrating the effectiveness of renewable resources." "Climbing was definitely a secondary idea," added Stephen Swank '05.5.The cross-country science experiment has stops scheduled in West Virginia, Kentucky, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah to climb. During the three-day breaks from the road, the vegetable oil will be monitored for fuel quality, fuel sourcing, range, acceleration, emissions and long-range feasibility. Why a school bus? It started with a Volkswagen Jetta, but soon more friends became interested, and Duran and Hand began thinking about a vehicle with more space. The 35-seat bus was purchased in Rhode Island for $1,500, and is on its last legs with 200,000 miles recorded on the odometer. "We have to assume that it will break down at some point," Hand said. Members of the team have worked on the bus over the past two weeks to ensure that the tanks will operate to "grease" car standards. On Saturday, Middlebury's Vitality of the Artistic Community (VACA) is helping with exterior design. The team hopes to portray the advantages of alternative fuel on the bus to increase exposure. "If we have a bus, we're a billboard on wheels," said Sam Stevenson '05.5.Pumping veggie oil into an engine as a source of alternative energy sounds cutting edge, but it was the intended method of Rudolf Diesel who, at the turn of the 20th century, showed the world an engine that ran on peanut oil at the World's Fair. Since its creation in 1900, diesel fuel has gradually become petroleum based and a scapegoat for air pollution. The distinctive diesel stench and blackish-blue "aura" emitted from the tailpipes of trucks and other cars contributes to the fuel's negative reputation. Vegetable oil, different from bio-diesel, which is refined with ethanol and lye to remove the glycerin, is a dream for the Department of Environmental Quality. Though the crew will have to start the bus with an auxiliary diesel tank to heat and lower the viscosity of the vegetable oil, a quick flip of a switch triggers the crossover to reused grease. Its carbon neutral emissions contain no sulfur while particulates, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons are greatly reduced. Hand estimates the bus will do roughly 13 miles to the gallon. The road west rambles for 4,103 miles, and as the team is aware, BP doesn't have a "fryer" grade of octane at its pumps. Initially, the bus's tank will be filled with the grease that might have been used to cook your french toast sticks at Ross Dining Hall. Two 55-gallon drums of vegetable oil from Ross will serve as reserves. In Winnetka, Ill, the team plans on making a pit stop at Duran's high school for veggie oil. "Other than that, we're hoping to just roll up to restaurants and say, 'I'll have a cheeseburger, fries and all your veggie oil,'" Duran said. Bio-diesel and regular diesel are last resorts if the vegetable tank runs out.Financing the project is a recent focus. Each member paid $300 to cover food and other trip expenses, but the team is looking for sponsors to cover costs that will arise along the way. Brainerd Commons has come forward as have the Chicago-based Archinomics Group and Adellio.com (Fayetteville, N.C.) to provide support. In an attempt to document and publicize the trip, a Web site (www.project biobus.com) has been set up that will feature daily journal entries and photos from the road. Sponsors can give to the project via the Web site.For now, the bus sits at Middlebury Union High School, where the team is busy supping up the interior and engine. Proctor said the group sends about ten e-mails to each other a day to communicate their excitement. Will an old yellow school bus make it from Vermont to Washington and back on alternative fuel? Said Duran, "I'm looking forward to finding solutions to unexpected problems."
(05/07/03 12:00am)
Author: Andreassano Niccoliano Zimmermannaliazzi Abe Streep is known in many of the little bubbles that make up the big "Middlebury Bubble". In the "sports bubble" he is the right fielder for Middlebury's baseball team. Among the quirky hobbyists throughout the school, he is known as a fly fisherman. And within the large "music bubble" he is the violinist and mandolin player for the Rt. 7 Ramblers. Like so many students at Middlebury he falls into the "so much to do, so little time" category. An admissions officer's dream, Streep actually started his college career elsewhere and later transferred to Middlebury. "I actually went to Yale," said Streep, "and transferred here after a semester." His arrival was just in time to help the baseball team in the 2001 season. Admittedly, his first two years at Middlebury, the team did not meet the success it would have hoped for - each year finishing below .500. But Streep was content playing in a NESCAC setting. "Baseball was not fun for me at [Yale]," said Streep who cites that as one of the reasons he decided to leave New Haven. "But I wasn't ready to give [baseball] up. The coaches at Middlebury were nice and the team had its priorities in order."Its no mystery then, that with its priorities in the right place, the baseball team has turned it around. The 2003 season has been it's best in terms of winning since 2000 when it went 15-14-1 overall. "We've gotten a lot better," Streep said of the team's improvement over his three-year career. "It's been the best year so far. The chemistry in training was great. The team was really getting along and we were going towards the same goal. There didn't seem to be any selfishness either."Middlebury jumped out of the gate and took early control of the NESCAC standings with sweeps of Hamilton and Wesleyan. With Streep providing serviceable fielding in right and veteran hitting from Jason Hanna '03 and John Prescott '03 the team looked poised to make a post-season appearance for the first time in years. After a three game sweep in Wesleyan, Middlebury stood at 11-4-1. "The wins at Wesleyan were the highlight of my baseball experience so far," Streep said. Middlebury won with good pitching and just four errors over the 25 innings of play. "Everyone played amazingly and I definitely played as well as I ever have," he added. It was after that weekend that Middlebury's bubble burst. The team was swept by Trinity and could not recover, losing its remaining games including an 11 inning heartbreaker to Amherst Sunday that dashed any postseason hopes. "In the end we were unbelievably unlucky," said Streep of Sunday's loss. "Jason Hanna almost hit a home run to put us ahead but the [Amherst player] caught it at the fence." Ultimately it was two "dinky" ninth inning hits by Amherst of the "seeing-eye single" variety that foiled Middlebury. "It has been a great season though" added Streep. "It's harder in college to be completely absorbed in baseball. In high school that is what I identified myself with and I had complete faith in the sport. I think this year I got that back. We all had a real fire this season." Streep and the rest of the team all made solid contributions throughout the 2003 campaign. At .340, Streep was second on the team in batting average, collecting 17 hits in 50 official at bats. He and batting average leader, Dave Riester will lead the Panthers next year as they look to take the next step towards success. Streep admitted his senior year on the baseball team will be "big" as it will most likely mark the last of his competitive baseball days. Baseball, as with most sports, consumes its youthful admirers and leaves them in the prime of their lives with no prospects of continuing. Thanks to Streep's involvement within the other "Middlebury bubbles", he will have plenty to keep him busy after baseball is finished and he leaves Middlebury. "I think I am probably going to fish for a real long time," said Streep, who is an avid fly fisherman. "I'm probably going to be an old man sitting by the creek and maybe playing my fiddle on the side."His music and his fishing demand his attention when he is not in season for baseball. Streep is the fiddle and mandolin player in the Rt. 7 Ramblers, a band playing among other things, bluegrass and folk favorites. For the second consecutive summer, he and the band will be touring the Northeast with Circus Smircus. Playing background music for a traveling circus has its perks. "We tour with the circus and live in an old school bus," Streep said. "And we're buying our bus, a 36-foot school bus, at the end of the summer for $1."The band has also made a habit of performing at parties where there is a captive, jovial audience. For Streep, energizing the crowd at a party through his music provides much the same adrenaline rush he gets from performing on the diamond. "You play sports," said Streep, "because it makes you feel for a few moments that everything that you do is really meaningful and its life or death. It's exciting and it gets your blood pumping and it's the same thing with performing sometimes." For him, working to put something together on the diamond has paralleled working to put together good sounding music with his band. For those solitary times when outside pressure and teamwork are too intense, Streep has his fly fishing. "I've found something I really like in fly fishing," said Streep. Summer work in Montana has brought him to some of the premier fishing locales in the U.S. recalling wilderness, sunshine and the classic fly fishing movie, "A River Runs Through It". It is the only type of fishing Streep wants to do. "For me it seems more active than spin fishing," he said. "It's not just throwing out a line and hoping something hits it. There's more skill involved, in placing the fly, and drifting it right and knowing what to put on."In fly fishing, Streep has found a lifelong pursuit that he will take outside the Middlebury bubble and into his adult life. After the circus tour this summer, the American Lit major will venture to Breadloaf for the Writer's Conference, pursuing another passion of his - creative writing. Shy to admit another intriguing fact about his life, Abe is indeed related to a successful Hollywood type who bears the same last name. That aside, this Streep is finding his own way, creating a wealth of memorable experiences at Middlebury and setting himself up for many more after he leaves the "bubble".
(05/07/03 12:00am)
Author: Jonathan White Speaking Friday evening in Dana Auditorium, Vermont's Independent Representative, Congressman Bernie Sanders, helped launch the Middlebury Global AIDS Forum. Sanders told the audience, "The AIDS crisis...is one of the most important concerns facing humanity as we move into the 21st century." He said that he was "glad" students were holding a forum on the subject because AIDS, he said, is "a huge, huge issue in terms of the number of people affected."Sanders' speech highlighted the role of the media in shaping public awareness of HIV/AIDS, the ability of the United States government to work towards alleviating the crisis, as well as the much needed cooperation of pharmaceutical companies in helping to make medicine available. Sanders criticized all three bodies - the media, government and drug companies - for not doing enough to fight the pandemic.Sanders emphasized the media's capability to decide "what is important in the first place, and what is not important." He said that President George W. Bush's landing on the U.S.S. Lincoln aircraft carrier last week claimed headlines when, in reality, more pressing matters beg front-page attention. He questioned whether the media has become "bored" with reporting on AIDS and he lamented the increasing corporate control of news organizations. It is now up to the public, he said, to determine what issues are important. Sanders cited a series of sobering statistics on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. 8,500 people each day die due to AIDS and five million people were infected with HIV last year. "No part of the world knows the devastation of HIV/AIDS more than sub-Saharan Africa" he asserted, noting that there, 8.8 percent of the adult population is infected. Sanders also affirmed that the disease is spreading rapidly in a number of other regions, including India, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, China and Russia. Turning to his second point - the role of the government in responding to the pandemic - Sanders said that while the HIV/AIDS crisis has leveled off in the United States over the past decade, Washington's response to the crisis, particularly in its nascent stage in the 1980s, has been shocking. Before the audience gathered in Dana, Sanders proclaimed: "The failure of U.S. leadership, as well as political leadership around the world, at the outset of this crisis was blatant and unforgivable. Ignorance, denial and a stark homophobia squandered our chance to face up to the threat." Silence, he continued, is no way to deal with any threat to civil society, be it the AIDS crisis in the 1980s in the United States, or the recent outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in China. There is reason for hope despite Washington's record and the rampant surge of the disease around the globe. Sanders said that medical treatments have caused AIDS deaths in the United States to drop from approximately 40,000 each year to a figure closer to 15,000. He also stated that last week saw new AIDS legislation passed in Congress with Bush's backing. The legislation will contribute $15 billion to combat the disease worldwide. "Don't cheer yet," he warned, because authorization in Congress does not always amount to financial appropriation. He said that the president's upcoming fiscal year budget calls for only a $1.7 billion commitment to HIV/AIDS.Finally, Sanders criticized drug companies for trying to turn a profit rather than acting with morality to make HIV/AIDS therapy available to all. The cost of medical treatment is prohibitive for most HIV/AIDS sufferers, he confirmed. Sanders approached the topic of pharmacuetical companies' role in the fight against HIV/AIDS with deep skepticism, noting the pharmecuetical industry is this nation's most prosperous. He used an example of a drug treatment offered by Glaxo-Smith. Glaxo recently dropped the price of this HIV/AIDS medicine to make it more readily available, though Sanders cautioned that this gesture of seeming goodwill was motivated in part by the distribution of the same therapy by international drug companies at much lower rates than Glaxo's. A fundamental moral issue arises Sanders explained. He said, "The right we must uphold is the right of every human being to access to the medicines which can save his or her life." Sanders also recommended that for success in the fight against HIV/AIDS, developing nations need to be relieved of massive debts they owe to institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) so that those governments might use funds for pressing domestic concerns like HIV/AIDS, hunger and education.He concluded by urging the audience to demand that Washington establish "a better set of national priorities," and to make HIV/AIDS prevention one such priority.Simon Isaacs '03.5, organizer of this weekend's Middlebury Global AIDS Forum, said that Sanders was an appropriate speaker to launch the AIDS forum because of his Capitol Hill background. Isaacs said that the U.S. government has the ability to combat the pandemic. Our government, he said, "has the fiscal and legislative powers to mobilize the necessary resources, to pass the necessary laws and to persuade the necessary actors to turn the tide on this pandemic." AIDS, he said, is a highly politicized issue and bringing Sanders to Middlebury demonstrated this fact.
(04/30/03 12:00am)
Author: Erich Kahner It seems Mother Nature has a grudge against New England sports. Last Saturday, the Middlebury men and women's track and field teams traveled south to Williams to take part in the water-logged New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Heavy rains forced most of the field events indoors, while all of the track events had to fight the weather outdoors on the Planksy Track. Last year at Bates frigid temperatures and freezing rain plagued the championship meet. "The kids performed well, considering the weather," said Head Coach Martin Beatty. Jess Manzer '05, a reigning All-American in the 1,500-meter run, was the top performer on the day for the women. Undaunted by the inclement weather, Manzer legged out a victory in the 1,500 and set a personal best in the process. She also bettered her chances for Nationals by lowering her provisional qualifying time to a 4:38.63. She took third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:18.63 and ran a leg of the second place 3,200-meter relay team. Teammates on the relay were Maryanne Porter '04, Allie Williams '05 and Captain Adri Logalbo '03. Kristoph Becker '06 had a big day for the men's team. Becker, who is already set to compete in the javelin throw at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 23-25, took over recent Middlebury graduate Bryan Black's '02 crown of NESCAC champ in the javelin. Becker threw the javelin 184'07", out-distancing second place teammate Steve Atkinson '06 by just over nine feet. Becker displayed his versatility with a second place height of 6'3.25" in the high jump. "We expected Becker to win the javelin, but we didn't expect him to do so well in the high jump," added Beatty. "It was a pleasant surprise."Also having good days for the men and women were Porter and Liam Aiello '05. Along with her contribution to the 3,200-meter relay, Porter won the 400-meter low hurdles with a time of 1:03.6. She scored points for the team in the 400-meter dash as well, placing fifth in a time of 1:00.71. Aiello had two top-three finishes. He ran a time of 11.10 seconds in the 100-meter dash final, good enough for second place. Aiello rounded out his day in the 200-meter dash with a third place time of 22.69 seconds. Another top finisher for the women was senior Captain Michela Adrian. Adrian finished second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:59.11. Middlebury had a handful of other athletes score for the team by finishing in the top eight. On the women's side, Kirsten Nagel '06 ran a 13.62 second 100-meter dash, good enough for seventh place. Williams, who had a hand in the second-place 3,200-meter relay, also contributed with a sixth place, 1:06.9 effort in the 400-meter low hurdles. Sara Smith '04 and Sarah Berkowitz '05 placed fifth and seventh respectively in the pole vault. They both vaulted 9'6.25", but Smith was awarded fifth because she had fewer fouls at lower heights. Jess Kosciewicz '04 placed eighth in the long jump with a distance of 15'7.5". Whitney Creed '06 placed seventh in the shot put with a distance of 37'9.5", and Renee Courchesne '05 threw the discus 119'1" to place fourth.The men had a good showing as well. Kevin Bright '06 managed to score in three events. He placed fourth in the 400-meter low hurdles, sixth in the 400-meter dash and eighth in the 200-meter dash. For those events, Bright ran 55.37 seconds, 49.73 seconds and 23.03 seconds respectively. Jeff King '05.5 placed seventh in both the 3000-meter steeplechase and the 400-meter low hurdles. King ran a 10:14.00 in the steeple and a 57.78 in the 400. Team Captain Mike Mazzotta '03 placed fifth in the steeplechase with a time of 10:12.37.The women's team finished fourth with a total of 70.5 points, and the men placed seventh with 64 points. "Considering what we had, I think we did well," said Beatty. Beatty cited a few last-minute scratches that robbed the teams of some sure points. For the women, Marisa Cawley '05 had to pull out of the steeplechase and the 5,000, while the men lost three of its top runners. The team trainer felt first-year sprinter Greg Lazerus' hamstring was too tight for competition and Nick Digani '05, a probable scorer in the middle distances, was also sidelined by a hamstring injury. One final missing link was Captain Mike DeLeo '03.5. Beatty believes if the men's team was whole, they may have moved up to fifth, or even fourth place.
(04/30/03 12:00am)
Author: Edith Honan Something is rotten in Washington. Reading White House press releases about the Energy Bill of 2003, it almost seems as if war in the Persian Gulf has inspired a transformation of sorts in the American President. His rhetoric is one of fighting global warming and of a radical overhaul of business-as-usual in the energy production industry. But it's actually a game of hide-and-seek. Radiation is being touted as the great alternative to carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases, and, if the Bush energy bill is pushed through, the nuclear industry will receive points for all the good that they're doing to the earth's atmosphere. Meanwhile, over the next decade emissions of heat-trapping gases will increase by 14 percent. And there's more! Never mind the piles of hazardous waste that has already amassed. The United States taxpayer is posed to subsidize the construction of six to eight new nuclear reactors - signaling the first effort to extend the nuclear industry since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. This also marks the first time that so much taxpayer money has been volunteered for the construction of commercial nuclear power plants."While dressed up in slick rhetoric, the administration's proposal is simply the same old voluntary, business-as-usual approach that has done nothing to reverse our ever-increasing emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases," says Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "It has one goal: to mislead voters into thinking something serious is being done to address the global warming threat while, in reality, doing nothing to inconvenience the administration's allies in the auto, electric utility and other polluting industries." Before Bush and Cheney entered the scene, it seemed as if the nuclear industry was on its way out. But the White House has a different understanding: "Since the 1980s, the performance of nuclear energy operations has substantially improved." Never mind recent close call, under the nose of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, at the Davis-Besse. Never mind, also, the barrages of complaints by whistle blowers that safety concerns are systematically drowned out at reactors across the country. And when it comes to creating new nuclear power plants, never mind the communities that are soon to earn the status of "sacrifice communities."Many sacrifice communities are required to sustain a nuclear reactor. In the case of Vermont Yankee, for instance, Vernon, the town that will play host to the plant is the first sacrifice. Residents of Vernon are subjected to routine radiation emissions from the plant, and since there is of yet no permanent, safe storage facility for radioactive waste, Vernon also plays host to the Vermont Yankee waste dump. The group, the Citizen's Awareness Network, whose founders come from Rowe, Mass., a town that played host to the Yankee Rowe power plant, discussed the experience of living in such a community. "Researching the records of the reactor, we learned that it routinely and regularly released radioactive waste into the Deerfield River. Citizens were shocked. Our community uses our river for recreation. Over 500,000 people a year use the river. Since the NRC classified our river a "dead river," it was not required to the meet the EPA standards for drinking water. We fear that the increases in disease observed in our community are related to these releases." Recently, the town of Hinsdale, N.H., identified itself as another sacrifice community of Vermont Yankee. On April 8, in protest against receiving inadequate funds and planning, Hinsdale officials refused to participate in a regular emergency drill. Jill Collins, the Hinsdale town administrator, was quoted in the Brattleboro Reformer as saying that board members "would like to see, during graded drills, more of an actual evacuation process take place." Since Sept. 11, sacrifice communities have been faced with a new fear, that of a terrorist attack, and this stress seems evident in Hinsdale. The nuclear industry is being praised for being friendly to the environment, but what will come of the radioactive waste? Much low-level waste is transported to Barnwell, S. C. - a community that, needless to say, does not benefit from Vermont Yankee's energy production, but that is made to manage the cost of leaky storage casks. High-level waste is set for storage at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, a site which has yet to be approved. In fact, since Yucca Mountain was selected in 1987, no other site has been studied as a final, permanent burial site for America's high-level nuclear waste. This is not to say that Yucca Mountain is ideal, nor that those who make their home in the vicinity of the site have supported the plan. According to the Nuclear Information and Resource Service: "This area is as seismically active as the California Bay Area. There have been more than 600 earthquakes within a 50-mile radius of the site within the last 20 years. A major jolt knocked windows out of a Department of Energy facility in the early 1990s. In 1998 and 1999 there have been whole spates of tremblers, at greater frequencies than previously observed." Yucca Mountain, if approved, will create yet another nuclear sacrifice community in the United States, to say nothing of the towns that sit along the highway routes that separate Yucca Mountain from America's network of 103 operating nuclear power plants.There are better options. Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.), who is the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has introduced legislation to require that by the year 2020, 20 percent of U.S. electricity production shall come from renewable resources like wind, solar and geothermal energy. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and a grand total of 40 U.S. Senators have endorsed this plan. Indeed, President Bush has not been transformed. Rather, his energy plan seeks to redirect American energy policy in radical ways. Among the consequences of this is that more sacrifice communities will be created, and existing sacrifice communities will fall even further from public radar.Edith Honan is a literary studies major from Redding Ridge, Conn.
(04/23/03 12:00am)
Author: Erich Kahner The Middlebury track and field teams ended the pre-championship season with two home meets last week at Dragone Field. The meets, one on Tuesday and the other on Saturday, brought light competition from surrounding colleges, leaving Middlebury athletes to compete mostly against each other in many events. The comfort brought by the accompanying Panther blue-and-white did little to dull Middlebury's competitive edge.First-year Whitney Creed highlighted Tuesday's performers. She set personal records in the javelin, the hammer throw and the shot put. The latter record was also a school record, set with a victorious put of 38'4.75". Creed's fellow thrower Jenny March '04 qualified provisionally for the NCAA championships in the hammer with a throw 153'. Kevin Bright '06 also had a great week. Bright busted out a 50.07 second 400-meter dash in his victory in that event on Tuesday. His time, according to Head Coach Martin Beatty, is likely to land him a first place seed at next weekend's New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championships, held on Saturday at Williams. Taking into consideration Bright's already impressive track season, Beatty assigns Bright a heavy responsibility for next week's meet."Kevin is going to be a real workhorse for the team at NESCACs. He'll probably end up participating in six events." Beatty did not hesitate to mention Maryanne Porter '04 as the female counterpart to Bright. Porter, who has already qualified for the NCAA championships in the 400-meter hurdles, won a few races at that distance last week in preparation for NESCACs. Like Bright, she will be competing in several events."The team really has two workhorses: Kevin and Porter," added Beatty. "We're going to lean on both of them pretty heavily this weekend."Beatty is not exaggerating. The NESCAC championships, historically a two-day event, has been condensed into a one-day affair, forcing Bright and Porter to compete several times in only a few hours.The return of some key athletes during the past week, along with some optimistic performances by others, should make for a less daunting load for Bright and Porter to carry. Women's captains Michela Adrian '03 and Adri Logalbo '03 made successful returns to the track last week. On Tuesday, Logalbo, fresh off the mend of her broken foot, competed for the first time since the indoor season in the 800-meter run. She placed third with a time of 2:23.58, behind winner Jess Manzer '05 and runner-up Porter. Logalbo hopes to quickly recapture some of her trademark-earning NESCAC championship form from last year, where she placed second. Adrian's comeback brought her close to a national provisional qualifying time. She began regular jogging last week after a couple of months of cross training, but her lack of substantial running or track work did not seem to hinder her. Adrian ran an 18:04 in the 5,000-meter run on Saturday, placing first and coming within nine seconds of the provisional mark for NCAAs."We're very glad to have our captains back," said Beatty. "They'll provide some sure points at NESCACs." Nick Digani '05, after a breakthrough week, is poised to place well at NESCACs. Beatty thinks he may even have a shot at the 1,500-meter school record. "With Nick having run a 4:03 on Saturday, he is only three seconds from the record. And, although three seconds in the 1,500 may be a lot, the high caliber of competition may carry him to a fast time."Kristoph Becker '06 cemented a number one seed at NESCACs, and also a high seed at NCAAs, with his throw of 193'06" of the javelin on Saturday. Beatty said that Liam Aiello '05 and Mike DeLeo '03.5, who are already performing great, may still have to step it up another notch due to the questionable status of Greg Lazarus '06. Lazarus pulled his hamstring coming out of the blocks of the 200-meter run on Saturday, but Beatty is optimistic about his recovery.
(04/23/03 12:00am)
Author: Jacob Heller Nothing builds confidence like a winning streak. After six straight victories the Middlebury baseball team is loaded with confidence. Coming off a sweep of Hamilton, Middlebury maintained its high level of play by defeating a veteran Wesleyan team in three close games: 6-5, 6-4, 12-9. Against Hamilton, the Panthers relied on their bullpen to pick up the wins but last weekend taking on Wesleyan the starting pitchers carried the load. In the first game Russ Budnick '05 pitched a complete game, scattering eight hits and giving up only three ERA. Catcher Andrew Pavoni '06 had a stellar game behind the plate, throwing out three runners attempting to steal including the potential tying run in the last inning. Third basemen Jim Muhlfeld '04 led the way offensively with RBI singles in the sixth and seventh innings.The second game of the series featured another solid start by Tyler Bak '06, who pitched a complete game and recorded seven strikeouts. Jake Armstrong '04 had a clutch two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning, adding to his team leading total of 16 RBI this season. Game three of the series was critical for Wesleyan if they wanted to remain above .500 and they jumped on Middlebury with a run in the first inning. Despite giving up several runs early on, Middlebury kept hitting and outlasted Wesleyan 12-9. Abe Streep '04 gave Middlebury the lead with an RBI single in the seventh and Armstrong followed him with two-run single to break the game open. Alex Casnocha '06 picked up his second relief win of the season. With the win Middlebury improved to 7-2 in NESCAC play and they currently lead the NESCAC West Division.From the beginning of this season Coach Bob Smith has looked for consistency from his starting pitching and against Wesleyan he got just that. The ability of the starters to take pressure off the bullpen is critical for a team to succeed late in the season. Dave Irwin '05 explains why this is crucial to a team striving for the playoffs: "Against a veteran team like Wesleyan it is important for the starters to hold them for a few innings. Our starters did more than that and there was never any doubt we were going to win even when we gave up some early runs. Anytime our starters throw back to back complete game wins it is a tremendous confidence boost for the team." The Panthers are ready to make their playoff drive over the last two weeks of the season before a critical final series with division rival Amherst. Middlebury will still get a shot to continue their winning ways this weekend on the road against Castleton and Trinity. The two teams will both bring solid competition for doubleheaders against Middlebury to try and stop the streaking Panthers.After winning six straight games to leave their record at 11-4-1 the Panthers are not losing sleep over the streak and they will not take a loss too hard. Second basemen Dave Riester '05 puts the streak in perspective: "It's baseball. Winning streaks do not last the entire season but when they end you can't worry about it. If we lose it will not be for a lack of effort but you have to blame it on something."
(04/16/03 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] The Middlebury track and field teams traveled to Williamstown, Mass., to compete in the Williams Relays last Saturday on April 12. The previous weekend's heavy snowfalls led to the cancellation of the Panthers' home meet on April 5, but aside from a stiff breeze, the weather proved no problem at Williams.The meet began well for the Panthers with Tom Icard's '06 victory in the 10,000-meter run. Icard's time of 34:20.3 moved him into fifth place all-time for Middlebury in that event. Simon Isaacs '03 knocked a minute off last year's Williams Relays effort in the 10,000 by clocking a 35:26.5 and capturing third place. "Tom really ran great for a first-year," said Head Coach Martin Beatty. "Simon also chipped in with a nice improvement over his time last year."Kristoph Becker '06 and Kevin Bright '06 joined Icard in the first-year assault. Becker won the javelin with a toss of 179'1" feet and took second place in the high jump with a leap of 6'2". Bright continued his stellar track campaign with a victory in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.95 seconds and a second place performance in the triple jump (41'4.5").Sprinters Liam Aiello '05, Mike DeLeo '03.5 and Greg Lazerus '06 took first, second and third in the 100-meter dash, with times of 11.30, 11.38 and 11.39, respectively. Nick Digani '05 turned in a split of 1:59 for the 800-meter relay leg of the sprint medley (200-200-400-800) and, along with the aid of teammates Jeff King '05.5, Matt Engler '06 and Matt Angoff '06, contributed to the medley's victory. The 4x100-meter relay team, composed of members Aiello, DeLeo, Lazarus and Tony Garofano '03, also took first. Lazerus completed a busy day with a second place showing in the 200-meter dash, with a time of 22.72 seconds.Beatty was pleased with Saturday's performances. "We were fortunate to finally have good weather, and I think the athletes took advantage of the opportunity they got."The women also exploited the spring thaw by turning in some strong performances. Jess Manzer '05 took second twice, and both times she had victory snatched away at the end by a hard closing, perennial All-American, Keene State's star senior Mary Proux. Manzer ran a 4:39.95 in the 1,500-meter and surpassed the provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Division III championships. She also ran the 800-meter dash in a time of 2:21.69.Maryanne Porter '04 won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 65.72 seconds and Allie Williams '05 followed in second, finishing in 68.99 seconds. Kelsey Rinehart '06 paced out an 18:55.98 in the 5000-meter run-good enough for a second-place finish. Jess Kosciewicz '04 leapt to second place in the long jump with a distance of 16'7" feet. The women's sprint medley of Williams, Porter, Kosciewicz and Melissa Thacker '05.5 took second place, as did Sheena James '06, Kirsten Nagel '06, Stephanie Salek '06 and Kosciewicz with their time of 51.64 seconds in the 4x100 meter relay.Beatty views these last few weeks before the NESCAC championships on April 26 as an opportunity to prepare for that meet: "The coaches want to see the athletes keep developing and getting faster for the conference meet." The Panthers had, as Beatty called it, a "tune-up" meet Tuesday, April 15, at the Dragone Track atMiddlebury. The athletes will have their last opportunity to qualify for the conference championships this coming Saturday as they host the Middlebury Invitational, also held at the Dragone Track.
(04/16/03 12:00am)
Author: Venessa Wong On Sunday, April 13 the Student Government Association (SGA) unanimously approved a motion to add an amendment to the Middlebury College Non-Discrimination Statement and Harassment/Discrimination Policy Statement to include "gender identity and expression." The proposal, authored by Kevin Moss, professor of Russian, aims to protect the rights of "transgender or transsexual people or those who are perceived to be of a different gender from that assigned to them at birth" and encourages the College to adopt the policy before required to by Vermont state law. "[We want to] send a signal out that we are indeed interested in promoting diversity," said Moss. The current policy in the College Handbook prohibits "discrimination in employment, or in admission or access to its educational or extracurricular programs, activities, or facilities, on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, place of birth, Vietnam veteran status, or against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability." Said Moss, "Inclusion of gender identity and expression is about the future. There are bound to be trans students and staff in the future. People who identify as trans are becoming more open and more evident in society at large." The proposal points out that although Vermont's non-discrimination laws do not protect "gender identity and expression," Minnesota and Rhode Island state laws, as well as a number of municipal jurisdictions, 10 colleges and universities and about 15 Fortune 500 companies do so. In 1990-1991, the College added protection against sexual discrimination to the Non-Discrimination Statement. The authors of the bill believe the College should act again before the state does. Although the proposal mentions diversity as part of its rationale, Moss said, "We shouldn't always ask members of minorities to contribute to a diverse campus. Trans people's contribution may not necessarily be as trans, just as people of color may contribute to the community not just as people of color." Moss is "more interested in educating people about trans issues so that everyone can be a full member of the community. If trans people are harassed or discriminated against they will not be able to participate fully."On the issue of diversity, Bindery Supervisor Joseph Watson, a participant in GLEAM (Gay and Lesbian Employees at Middlebury), said, "certainly transgender people would contribute to a more diverse campus, but I think of that potential contribution as a positive side effect of including the language in our policy, not the reason to do it."However, Gabrielle Fonseca '04, a member of the Middlebury Open Queer Alliance upholds the importance of diversity. "I think transexual/transgendered members of the community can contribute much to the diversity of this campus. I view a diverse student body and wide range of opinions as a positive thing and an asset to a small college like Middlebury." David Edleson, dean of Cook Commons, another participant in GLEAM, points out other benefits of diversity. "People on the margins of what we conveniently call mainstream, bring a fresh (and often ignored) perspective to our campus, our classrooms and our social lives." The College's Board of Trustees will meet in May to vote on this amendment after consultation with the College's legal counsel.
(04/16/03 12:00am)
Author: Megan O'Keefe Vermont's lengthening list of international non-profit groups has recently grown to include Animals Asia, an organization that spans across the globe, now reaching from Burlington, Vt., to the provinces of China. Andi Mowrer, the U.S. representative for Animals Asia, recently set her home base in Burlington, and is now raising awareness about the organization and animal abuses in Asia across Vermont. Despite its rural reputation, Mowrer called Vermont "an unbelievable place for international non-profits," adding, "Vermont is really an outward looking state." A recent visit to the Ilsley Library brought Mowrer's cause to Middlebury. Similar presentations in schools throughout the state are making many Vermonters suddenly aware of a campaign that combats a problem that many people did not know exists.Animals Asia was founded in 1993 by Jill Robinson shortly after she learned about the prevalence of animal rights abuses in China and throughout Asia. Robinson's work began as a crusade to save Asiatic Black Bears, but quickly developed into a broader campaign. Robinson immediately began building relationships with government departments and wildlife groups in China in a resolute effort to bring an end to Asiatic Black Bear farming.In farms across China, nearly 7,000 Asiatic Black Bears, known more commonly as Moon Bears because of the golden crescents on their chests, have been imprisoned in tiny metal cages no bigger than their bodies. These bears are confined in factory farms that milk bears daily for their bile using rusting metal catheters implanted deep in their gallbladders. Bear bile has been used in traditional oriental medicine for 3,000 years, but the practice of bear farming was introduced in the 1980s. Bears continue to be hunted and trapped for their bile, despite the fact that they are listed under Appendix I - the most critical category - on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species list. Additionally, Chinese doctors now agree that bear bile can be medically replaced by herbal and synthetic alternatives, though traders have continued to push bile products on the Chinese public due to the possibility of high profits.Animals Asia reached a crucial goal in July 2000 when the group struck a "landmark" agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association and the Sichuan Forestry Department. The agreement, sanctioned by the Central Government Department of Beijing, is the first pact between the Chinese government and an outside animal welfare organization. Mowrer said, "Our agreement with the Chinese government is to rescue 500 bears from the worst farms in Sichuan Province and ultimately rescue the remaining 6,500 throughout the country." Andy, a bear with only three legs, is one of hundreds of bears who lost his limbs when he was illegally trapped in the wild. There are currently 84 bears living at the Animals Asia sanctuary. "These first 84 bears," said Mowrer, "are the ambassadors ... seeing the horrors they endured and then witnessing their unbelievably forgiving nature and their resiliency inspires us all to know we must and can rescue the remaining bears."When bears arrive at the facility they are often extremely thin, suffering from infection and psychologically traumatized by years in confined captivity. Immediate veterinary attention is combined with extensive surgery to remove the bears' catheters and to mend sliced paws, infected teeth and injuries inflicted by their cage bars. Many of the bears have head wounds that, according to Animals Asia, "indicate the mental trauma they have endured over the years as they repeatedly bang their heads against the bars in a frantic attempt to stimulate their intelligent minds." Some bears in critical condition have undergone surgeries lasting as long as eight hours.Once rescued, the bears can never be released into the wild. Many are permanently disabled or defenseless, and others were bred in captivity or captured as cubs and "have not learned the necessary survival skills from their mothers," but enjoy enormous freedom and interaction with other bears, often for the first time in their lives. While bears now undergo physiotherapy in large cages, they will soon be released into a protected bamboo sanctuary currently under construction by Animals Asia.According to Animals Asia literature, "As a part of the July 2000 Agreement, Animals Asia has agreed to pay a level of compensation to the farmer to ensure that none of the bears are slaughtered for their parts and to help them move into alternative area of employment." The Sichuan Governments have given the organization access to all bear farm licenses and a country-wide policy in China now forbids issuing new bear farm licenses.In addition to the China Bear rescue, Animals Asia is also making efforts to protect dogs and cats throughout Asia. "The live animal markets in China include hundreds of dogs and cats, crammed into cages, then tortured before being killed, in the belief that this will make them taste better," said Mowrer. Animals Asia has instituted a program of 300 volunteers who work across six Asian countries to bring dogs into schools, businesses, nursing homes and hospitals and build awareness that dogs are "wonderful companions."While Animals Asia has enjoyed exceptional success, its current achievements are only the beginning of an ongoing process. Mowrer continues to avidly spread the word about Animals Asia's cause, networking with others, raising funds needed to continue the organization's work and bringing a new awareness to Vermont.More information about Animals Asia may be obtained on animalsasia.org.
(04/16/03 12:00am)
Author: Pascale LaFountain "We would just like to note that no birth control was used in this performance." Although Richard Lutjens' '03 statement was shocking, it was in no way out of line given the themes of the German Department's play about sexuality and relationships in 1900 Vienna and today. Lutjens' comment to the audience followed a smashing performance of "Twist," directed by Assistant Professor of German Bettina Matthias and German Teaching Assistant Yasmin Rabiyan. The play went up in the Chateau on Saturday evening with the help of alumna Carina Beyer '00. "Twist" is Matthias' adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's play "Reigen," written and first performed in turn of the century Vienna. The actors in the play were all students of German: Lutjens, Elif Kiratli '03, Alexander Rhinehart '05, Adam Rahal '05, Colin Ashby-Kuhlman '05, Ryan Gamble '06 and Katherine Peters '06. The original 10-act play is based on a dance in which partners change regularly, with each scene announcing the arrival of a new partner for the character from the previous scene. This constructs a "Round Dance" of sex, love and death. Matthias preserved the general structure of the play. Ashby-Kuhlman provided the twists, namely in the form of an additional gay scene and several entr'actes written as a 500-project this semester. Loosely based on excerpts from another Schnitzler play, "Anatol," the intervening dialogues between a handsome dandy called Anatol, played by Gamble, and his rational friend, Max, played by Ashby-Kuhlman, take a bit of critical distance from the play. Ashby-Kuhlman says of his insertions, "While I was writing them, I had a hard time imagining how they'd work with the rest of the play, but after rehearsing and performing the play with them there, I think both parts fed off of each other."The Grand Salon was overflowing with supporters, as students sat on the floor and stood in front of the doors to see the production. The audience's most energetic response was directed toward the added gay scene in which Rhinehart asks his secretary, played by Lutjens, to step a little closer to look at his "long, slender wrist," until he is standing behind the secretary and the two faces are only inches away. Lutjens said of the scene, "This is an aspect of sexual life that, although not talked about back then, did exist, and I think that this scene succeeded in 'outing' a very real, although hidden, aspect of the times."The play explores sex roles and stereotypes 1900 Vienna, but the questions it asks are still relevant today. Why do people desire prostitutes? What is marriage for? Is your partner telling the truth? Is your innocent-seeming wife telling the truth? Is homosexuality "unholy?" Almost all of the rehearsal for the play was done in German. Gamble commented, "Sometimes we would go to dinner and keep talking German without even realizing it."The German theatre troupe will depart on April 30 to participate in a competition at Mount Holyoke, a competition Middlebury won last year.
(04/09/03 12:00am)
Author: Andrea Gissing Miami U. of Ohio Reveals New Tuition PlanOn April 23, the administration of Miami University of Ohio will present a proposal to the school's board of trustees asking them to approve a "retail" tuition plan that would change Miami's tuition plans to a single dollar amount. If the proposal is accepted, Miami would be the first publicly-funded university in the United States to adopt this private institution custom. The new plan would replace in-state and out-of-state tuition rates with a single price, making all future students pay the same amount for a Miami education. While this will not affect out-of-state students, the university's plan is to increase tuition for in-state students to match the higher rate of $16,300. The change in tuition policy does not mean that Miami will become a private institution. Instead, admissions officers hope it will make students from within Ohio realize the financial value of their education, since right now they receive it at half the cost. The new plan does include financial perks for in-state students, including the "Ohio Resident Scholarship," a scholarship fixed at an amount equal to or greater than the annual per-student funding given by the state.The new plan will increase tuition for high-income Ohio students mostly, because the amount of scholarship dollars cordoned off for the high-income students will be less that that reserved for the middle-income students. The retail plan will leave low-income students fairly unaffected because they are able to get both federal financial aid and grants. The retail plan will go into full effect in the fall of 2004 if approved.Source: The Miami Student OnlineColumbia Professor to Head Up AmherstAmherst College announced April 4 that Anthony W. Marx, a political science professor at Columbia University, will be its new president. Marx will succeed Tom Gerety, who will step down as president June 30 after nine years of holding the office.Marx, a Manhattan native, earned his bachelor's degree from Yale University and his master's and doctoral degrees from Princeton. He joined Columbia's faculty in 1990. Marx announced that his priorities at Amherst will include making the college more active in striving to improve American public education, encouraging students to become more active in engaging in community service and to review the Amherst curriculum with faculty members to ensure that it works across the disciplines.During his time at Columbia University, Marx directed a Gates Foundation funded initiative that established partnerships between colleges and universities and public schools. Marx is also a prize-winning author. He wrote "Making Race and Nation," which was awarded a 1999 price by the American Political Science Association, that drew on his experiences gained while living in South Africa in the 1980s. Source: The New York Times Morris Brown College Faces an Uncertain FutureAfter the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) denied Morris Brown College's last chance bid to win back its accreditation, the future of the 122-year-old historically black school hangs in the balance as administrators decide how to respond.The SACS refused to overturn the decision it made in December revoking the accreditation of the Atlanta school, which is deep in debt and has been cited for substandard record keeping and misspending federal financial aid, giving money to inelligible students or two students who did not enroll. The decision meant that Morris Brown would immediately lose millions of dollars in federal financial assistance, which 90 percent of its student body receives. The decision also severed the school's tie with the United Negro College Fund, a major financial backer.Administrators at Morris Brown plan to reapply for accreditation and have promised to keep the school open. The threat of loss of accreditation has strongly affected the school; only half of the 2,500 students enrolled fall semester returned in the spring. The school also reduced the length of the spring semester so that seniors could graduate before the appeal, thus preserving the validity of their degrees. The school does not plan to start classes again until late August. Source: The Washington Post
(04/09/03 12:00am)
Author: Claire Bourne Picture this. It is your wedding night. The ceremony is over, and you and your betrothed have returned to your Baghdad apartment. Suddenly, your residence is rocked by an explosion, as a bomb from a passing warplane meets the city landscape. Debris rains down on you, and you are forced to flee the building into an urban war zone dressed in nothing but bedclothes. You run, and you never come back.As a therapist to 58 Iraqis displaced by the 1991 Gulf War, Beth Sandel '79 has to picture scenarios like this every day. Sandel works for the multicultural services division of a Seattle-based community agency that oversees the resettlement and assimilation of 500 Iraqi families. Many of her clients spent as many as seven years in Saudi Arabian refugee camps before the United States accepted them under refugee status. They settled in subsidized housing in the northern Seattle suburbs. With the help of Sandel and others like her, they are in the process of rebuilding their broken lives - a feat that has proved much harder than Sandel expected.She counsels mostly women, 98 percent of whom suffer from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), she said. "Theoretically, I am there to help them stabilize emotionally," she explained. "It has been interesting because I'm dealing with so many different layers of issues." Not only has Sandel had to overcome a towering language barrier (the majority the women under her purview are illiterate in both English and Arabic), but she has also encountered enormous cultural disparities."The big question is what kind of psychological concepts we can agree on," she said. "There is all this talk nowadays about whether Iraq is open to democracy. Thirty-five years of dictatorship has its impact on the way people relate to each other." The memory of Saddam Hussein's authoritarian regime haunts those refugees who spent years under his rule. "I have one client who landed in the United States on Sept. 10. It is very real and fresh to her what Saddam Hussein has done to [Iraq]," related Sandel. Similarly, the first Gulf War has left many of these expatriates suffering from open wounds. For example, the woman who fled the Iraqi capital on her marriage night still jumps every time the phone rings or the door slams. "I have scaled back my expectations," Sandel noted. "It is a foreign concept for them to be in control of their own existence and experience. If we can focus on slow breathing for three minutes, that's a success. How can you be a vibrant human being when you are living with a gut fear?"The recent outbreak of war in Iraq has not helped the situation. "In the last two weeks we have been in a holding pattern," she said. "They are glued to the T.V. I call to confirm an appointment and I can hear the news in the background." Despite the refugees' meager residences, they closely follow Arabic television networks by way of satellite feeds since all of them still have family in the region. Fear for their relatives coupled with hope that the conflict will ultimately improve the state of their mother nation places them in "an odd space of fear and hopelessness," Sandel said. Although the refugees have displayed more pronounced PTSD symptoms since the United States launched its military campaign against Hussein, they have become mentally "more present and accounted for, more focused," Sandel pointed out. She has been instructed to avoid broaching political issues during her group and individual sessions, a directive she said she finds hard to follow given that all of those being counseled want to express their opinions. "One point of view is that if the war hadn't started, Saddam would have inflicted more injury than war. Another point of view is that since we supported Saddam in the past, it behooves the States to fix it. A handful says, 'Boy, is the West in big trouble,'" she elucidated.Today, Sandel finds herself in the unique position of seeing the decade-long tension between Iraq and the United States from both sides. "It is very evocative because I lived in Egypt. The buildings look the same. The civilians pictured on the news could be my brothers-in-law," she said. "I am in an ambiguous situation because I am not of the culture, but I lived in the culture."While at Middlebury College, she majored in French, spending her junior year abroad in Paris. While looking for a way to get back to Paris after graduation, she decided to enroll at the College's summer Arabic School. She attended the program's inaugural session in the summer of 1982 and followed up her first-year studies with two subsequent summers at the College. Thanks to a family friend, she ended up working as a translator in Egypt, where she met her former husband, an Egyptian citizen. Following a year in the Arab nation, she moved to Washington, D.C., and secured a job with the Egyptian Embassy's educational programs division. In 1999, she completed a master's degree in counseling, which, when coupled with her uncommon Arabic language skills, opened the door to her current employment. Working with the refugees has provided Sandel with a pretext for introspection. "I am exploring for myself how much cultural baggage is blocking me from being a support to them," she explained. She knows she must continue the uphill battle to improve their quality of life in the United States. "I am supportive in questioning and exploring and leave room open for their own questioning and surviving," she said. A hard task given that the current war in Iraq will postpone her chance to erase the recurring nightmares of dictatorial control and American bombing raids that have troubled the minds of these displaced Iraqis for more than 10 years.
(04/02/03 12:00am)
Author: Peter Faroni On Tuesday, March 18, the Green Mountain State's capital city of Montpelier was host to the 28th annual Odor-Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest.Though it may sound unappealing at first, don't be too quick to turn your nose up at the Rotten Sneaker Contest. What started back in 1975 as a marketing ploy to help a local sporting goods store sell more sneakers has become a national competition in which entrants compete for the title of "Most Rotten Sneakers."Contestants must be between the ages of five and 15 in order to be eligible. They may enter their sneakers in one of the local contests, ranging from Louisiana to Alaska, or online, through the Odor-Eaters Web site.The local competitions award a number of prizes, including a year supply of Odor-Eaters insoles and memberships to local museums. Grand-prize winners from the local contests and the pool of online entries were awarded all-expense paid trips to the national championship in Montpelier, a.k.a. the "Rotten Sneaker Capital of the World."For one entry an exception to the age requirement was made, bringing international competition to the 2003 event. The special entry was a pair of sneakers that were shipped to event organizers from a member of the USS Montpelier submarine.The sneakers arrived in Vermont, double-bagged, from an undisclosed location in the Persian Gulf where the submarine is currently stationed. The acrid smell of fish that permeated the sneakers moved judges to give the shoes an honorary "Most Rotten Sneaker Award," despite their ineligibility.In reference to the military sneakers commentator Dave Moody, who moderated the event, joked, "That's a weapon of mass destruction right there!"Contestants were required to wear their dirty, torn, worn-out and foul entries while the judging took place. Aside from being judged on the overall appearance and smell of the sneakers, contestants were required to provide an account of how the sneakers became so "fragrant."This year's champion in Montpelier was 10-year-old Jeffery Soto, who hails from the Bronx, N.Y., where he won his local competition last November. Although his entry stumped a judge in the "heels" category (as they didn't have any heels to speak of), fellow competitors and judges alike agreed that any contestant who could enter such a truly rotten pair of sneakers surely has a lot of "sole."The fifth grader, who went home with the contest's top prize of a $500 savings bond, refused to take full credit, pointing out that his pit bull helped make his entry the winner. "I had a fight with my dog," he said. "I was trying to get [the sneaker] away from him because he uses it as a chew toy."The contest was a spectacle to behold and all who attended enjoyed the fun-filled atmosphere. Event organizers have already set the locations and dates for next year's local competitions - the finals are to be held in Montpelier yet again.The Rotten Sneaker Contest served as a nice segue into the 10th annual National Sense of Smell Day, which participants will celebrate on April 26.
(04/02/03 12:00am)
Author: Elizabeth Braunstein As the new library and Atwater Commons projects are taking shape on the Middlebury College campus, so too sprout the Courtyard by Marriott hotel and the Hannaford supermarket in downtown Middlebury. The new additions to the Middlebury economy aim to alleviate effects caused by the recession, such as the closing of Ames in August 2002 and the recent vacating of A&P, Brooks Drugs and other stores in The Centre Shopping PlazaConstruction on the Courtyard by Marriott is currently underway on a 3.4 acre site in downtown Middlebury, located across from McDonald's. The project is estimated at $6 million and will result in a 54,500 square-foot, 89-room hotel by Creative Hotel Associates of Rockville, Md., and Butson Investment Partnership of Woodsville, N.H. Opechee Construction Corp. of Belmont, N.H, is building the facility. Rick Kaden of Creative Hotel Associations commented in The Rutland Herald that there are no brand name hotels between Burlington and Rutland. He added that with the demand produced by parents and visitors to the College, Middlebury is an ideal location. Owners of the Middlebury Courtyard by Marriott believe that the new hotel will not pull customers away from the current major hotel in town, the Middlebury Inn, but will rather attract a different crowd than those wishing to stay in a bed and breakfast setting.The trepidation of townspeople who fear the over-commercialization of Middlebury is offset by the design of the Courtyard. The hotel was designed to have the look of a small-town bed and breakfast with white clapboard siding, cupolas, a pitched green and black shingled roof, dormers on one end of the building and a wrap-around porch. The hotel will include two meeting rooms, a breakfast room, library and lounge area with fireplace, spa, exercise room and swimming pool. The Courtyard also hopes to attract larger groups than the local inns can accommodate.While one can easily view the progression of the Courtyard, other developments are less visible. A Hannaford supermarket is in the works to replace Ames in Middlebury's Centre Shopping Plaza. The Ames Department Store chain filed for bankruptcy in August of 2002, closing 12 stores in Vermont and laying off 744 employees. In Middlebury, the closing of Ames has left a commercial gap, especially for rural residents seeking everyday, non-specialty goods. Larry Duffany, the owner of Ben Franklin, told The Herald that he would be reevaluating his merchandise in order to accommodate customers.Last May, Hannaford Food and Drug Superstore began planning to build a new supermarket after A&P left The Centre. The market was scheduled to open in 2005 in the Ames' location after Ames' lease ran out, converting the 48,000 square-foot space and employing about 100 people. Although the Ames' space is currently available, it may remain empty until Hannaford begins construction in 2005.With the passing reluctance to commercialize quaint Vermont towns, Wal-Mart, the ever-expanding commercial giant, is stepping in to fill vacancies throughout the state. Although once thought of as an enemy of the small town, Wal-Mart has been sought out to relieve economic strife in towns that share the problems facing Middlebury. In 1995, Wal-Mart opened its first store in Vermont in Bennington and has since filled two other vacated stores in Berlin and Rutland and built a new store in Williston.Middlebury's small town image has been preserved thus far, but the community, like so many others in the state, may be forced to keep opening up larger and more profitable businesses to boost its economy.
(03/19/03 12:00am)
Author: Erich Kahner This spring, the Middlebury track and field team is all about momentum. The athletes hope to translate the record-breaking performances of the recent indoor season into outdoor success.The men could field what co-captain Mike DeLeo '03.5 says has the potential to be "the best team in years." "I couldn't be any more optimistic about the season," DeLeo continues. "Guys are healthy, strong and we'll be getting one of our best sprinters back from injury in Tony [Garofano '03]. Distance runners set records all over the place during indoors, and we're getting some solid first years in the field events."Kevin Bright '06 displayed stunning versatility in the indoor season by breaking three school records (400 and 600 meter dashes and the long jump). Consequently, he will have an uncharacteristic amount of high expectations placed upon him for a first year. Liam Aiello '05, Craig Pittman '04, DeLeo and Garofano provide the veteran leadership for the sprint squad. Joined with other first years, the sprinters, as they have done in the past, will again play a major role in the team's success. Co-captain Mike Mazzotta '03 heads the resurgent distant squad. Supporting him will be indoor record holders Nick Digani '05 (1500 meter run) and Jon Erwin '05 (3000 meter run). Craig Parker '04 is the leverage for the young throwing unit.Coaches are anxious to get a look at some first years that they did not get to see in indoors. Among this group are hurdler Matt Angoff, sprinter Dom Di-domenico, decathlete Tom Heitkamp and distance runner Nolan Sandygren. A potent mixture of distance and middle distance runners will factor heavily into the women's success. Recently crowned indoor Eastern Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) champion Maryanne Porter '04 (500 meter dash) and fellow New England Division III distance medley relay champions, Jess Manzer '05 and co-captains Adri Logalbo '03 and the prolific Michela Adrian '03 look to lead the outdoor team to even more sucess.School record holders Jenny March '04 (hammer throw) and Renee Courschene '05 (discus) headline a youthful but strong throwing unit. The sprinters and leapers also have experience in Jess Kosciewicz '04, Sarah Berkowitz '05, Allie Williams '05 and Heather Tory '03. First-years that did not compete in indoors and were placed in the "can't wait to get a look at" category by the coaches are: distance runner Kelsey Rinehart, hurdler Katharine Cooley and middle distance runner Kirsten Lundgren. While in past years the team may have relied heavily on either the sprint squad, the throwers or the distance runners, this year the coaches expect equal contributions from all the areas of the sport. This is important if Middlebury plans on making a respectful showing at the NESCAC championships in late March."My goal as a team is always to make a strong showing and/or win NESCACs," explained Head Coach Martin Beatty. "We need to really crank it up as a team and score higher and in more events if we want to do well in this conference."The team will take the first major steps towards its goals when it travels to San Diego during Spring Break for its annual West coast swing. While there, it will compete in two meets and train twice a day. Perhaps more important than the training is the cohesion the team develops in San Diego. According to DeLeo, this cohesion will come easily for this year's team. "Positive attitudes and fun permeate this team, making the daily grind of practices a blast."The teams are coached by Beatty, and he is assisted by Distance Coach Nicole Wilkerson, Throwing Coach Luke Hotte and Jumping Coach Dave Kerin. Middlebury will host two track meets at the Dragone Track, the first of the two on April 5 and the other on April 19.
