924 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(12/04/02 12:00am)
Author: Charlie Goulding Students in "Genetics and Evolution" know Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Robert J. O'Hara as "the new biology professor." Since joining the College this fall, however, O'Hara has provided Middlebury with more than his expertise in science and his acclaimed teaching ability. O'Hara is a bona fide residential college connoisseur -- an expert on the very sort of commons-style college structure currently being developed here at Middlebury.O'Hara got his first taste of the residential college system as a graduate student at Harvard University. There, O'Hara served as a resident tutor in the Dudley House, and quickly became enamored with the myriad social and academic benefits of the commons system. O'Hara then went on to teach at the University of North Carolina (UNC)-Greensboro where he helped set up the university's first commons, Cornelia Strong College. For six years, O'Hara served as head tutor at Strong College, which received high praise. One parent of a UNC student wrote to the college: "Each time I see my son I am again impressed with his happiness and fulfillment as part of Strong College ... He is learning so much and is benefiting from his relationships with faculty and students. Your caring efforts are evident everywhere."Perhaps the most telling sign of O'Hara's commitment to and faith in the residential college system is the Web site he maintains, called The Collegiate Way (www.collegiateway.org). The Collegiate Way functions as both a tribute to and educational resource for the commons system. The Web site is a highly informative, well-organized and compelling exposé of the past history and current social value of the residential college system.An excerpt from the homepage, which critiques the standard University structure reads: "The real crisis in higher education today does not have to do with the curriculum, it has to do with the poverty of student life. At many large universities in the last 40 years the faculty have given up all responsibility for the lives of students outside the classroom, and the resulting vacuum has been filled by non-academic residence life departments. Out-of-control and endlessly rescrambled dormitories, alcohol abuse and vandalism, social isolation, institutionally-promoted segregation and a complete lack of connection between the classroom and student life outside the classroom -- all these troubles have for a generation plagued institutions that advertise themselves as 'caring' and 'student-centered.'"Clearly, O'Hara stands out as one of the country's most outspoken and dedicated advocates of the residential commons system. But what exactly are the benefits of such a system, and can they apply to a comparatively small liberal arts college such as our own?"Harvard and Yale were the first to experiment with a residential commons-type system, and they did so when they were schools of roughly 2,500 students," said O'Hara, "which is only a few hundred more than what we have right now at Middlebury. The funny thing is, at that time, students at Harvard and Yale were complaining how large the universities had gotten and how they wanted to recreate the small college feel."According to O'Hara, a student can realistically hope to be able to identify 400 to 500 students in a college by the time he or she graduates. This equates to about 100 students per year, and renders the hope of truly knowing most members of even a small college such as Middlebury futile. The residential college system, therefore, is far more conducive to better cultivating the limited number of relationships a student can conceivably develop.From a less theoretical standpoint, O'Hara firmly believes in the residential common's ability to strengthen the social fabric of a school, and to breathe life into a school's academic and social ethos. "Residential colleges allow students and teachers to interact on a much more personal level. They give a context into which students can develop meaningful relationships with each other and can also be an enormous outlet of creativity, as students construct their identities in relation to their commons."O'Hara also called attention to two of the most overlooked advantages of the commons system. For one, "People underestimate the importance of the commons system to faculty, in particular," said O'Hara. O'Hara further explained that new faculty often encounter the same phenomena as new students. Thus, the socially accommodating nature of the commons system does much to ameliorate the struggles associated with being new.Secondly, O'Hara identified a misperception of the very purpose of a commons system. "It's a mistake to see the commons system as being solely for the betterment of any one group, such as the students. It should be seen as a strategic way or arranging the college as a whole. [The] faculty sometimes looks at certain social events or traditions and say 'they're just fooling around, playing games with one another.' In doing so, they miss comprehending the true work the system as it strengthens and invigorates the environment as a whole." O'Hara's view of Middlebury's nascent system is an optimistic one, noting that it usually takes five to six years for a newly implemented commons system to "hit its stride." He thinks some outstanding feats have already been accomplished by the system, and looks forward to the completion of the new facilities. O'Hara identified residential dining halls as a core component of a healthy commons system, and believes that in a few year's time, Middlebury will be better equipped to reap the benefits of this facet of commons life.He also stressed the importance of "little things" -- minor events and traditions -- that do more to sustain the life of the system than big events. The Brainerd dinner bell, wrung every Wednesday night, is O'Hara's brainchild, as are the commons journals, which can be found in each commons office and are accessible to all students.Undoubtedly, in what Jean Piaget might term the college's "critical period" in terms of the development of our commons system, Middlebury appears to be an excellent fit for its newest biology professor.
(12/04/02 12:00am)
Author: Andreas Apostolatos After cruising through its first two games of the season with an easy 4-3 win against Skidmore on Nov. 22 and a 8-0 rout of Massachusetts College the following day, the Middlebury men's hockey team was not as successful when it faced Norwich in the Primelink Great Northern Shootout on Nov. 29. A disheartening 5-4 defeat, in a game during which the Panthers led by 4-3 with 13:46 remaining, gave Middlebury its first loss of the season. The loss was especially painful since it was Norwich that ended the Panthers' season last year in the NCAA Division III semifinals.Middlebury struck first when forward Kevin Cooper '04 scored an unassisted goal with 18:02 remaining in the first period. After two Norwich goals later in the first, Middlebury evened the score with 15:39 left in the second period when first-year defender Ryan Cahill scored his first goal as a Panther. A third Norwich goal and a second goal by Cooper, who leads Middlebury with five goals on the season, put the score at 3-3 going into the final period.In the third period, Middlebury got a crucial goal from Assistant Captain Adam Foote '04, which put the Panthers ahead by 4-3 with 13:46 remaining in the game. Middlebury seemed in control of the victory until the final five minutes when they suffered two penalties, which gave Norwich a five on three power play. Norwich took full advantage of the undermanned Panther line and tied the score with 4:07 to play. With the remaining five on four, Norwich managed to score the game-winning goal with 2:05 left in the contest."The [Norwich] game epitomized the type of play that has made the Norwich-Middlebury rivalry what it is today," said Foote. "It was a fast-paced and physical game that could have ended with either team as the victor. Unfortunately, this particular contest was decided by our undisciplined play in regard to penalties, especially late in the game."In the third-place game the following day, the Panthers, perhaps still with minds fixed on their overwhelming loss to Norwich, fell 6-1 to Plattsburgh. The loss gave them a last-place finish in the tournament, and sent them home with two losses on the season, a total that was not reached during the entire 2001-2002 regular season."The Primelink Great Northern Shootout was a good learning experience for us," commented interim Head Coach Neil Sinclair, who is taking the place of Bill Beaney this year. "We played hard against Norwich and that's what is important."Despite losses in both of their tournament games and a modest .500 winning percentage, the Panthers still have the majority of the season to exhibit their ability to contend for the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and Division III titles. On Feb. 21, 2003, Middlebury will have another chance against Norwich, which has dealt the Panthers three of their four losses dating back to the start of the 2001-2002 season."We aren't focusing on long term goals like titles," said Sinclair. "We are more concerned with doing what we do well on the ice, and our short term goals of working hard, being respectful of each other and doing well in the classroom."Middlebury will host the USA under-18 team on Dec. 4, before traveling to Southern Maine on Dec. 6 and Salem State on Dec. 7. The Panthers will not play again until Jan. 4, 2003, when they host Hobart.
(12/04/02 12:00am)
Author: Matt Ross After faltering in their first game this season, the Middlebury men's basketball team is back where it expects to be all season: well above .500. The off-season workouts and new style of play have provided immediate dividends in the form of a 2-1 record. Led by captain Eric Bundonis '03 with 18 points a game, the team is averaging 90 points a game, 19 points ahead of last year's average, and 11 points ahead of their average against those teams. The Panthers are one buzzer-beater from a perfect season. Middlebury stumbled in the opener against Southern Vermont, losing 87-84 in a nail biter. Middlebury let the game slip away in the first half, giving up a 10-point run to put Southern ahead 28-17, and shooting only 33 percent from the field and 11 percent from behind the arc. The game looked like it might turn around in the second half as Nate Anderson '04 and Bundonis worked their way to 20 and 22 points, leading an 11-2 run that cut the Southern lead to one. But it proved to be too little too late when the team failed to get off a shot in the final two seconds of the game. The Panthers wasted no time venting their frustration on St. Joseph's of Vermont, never letting the Mountaineers in the game and winning 102-61. Once again the first half decided the game as Middlebury took a commanding 54-22 lead, holding St. Joseph's to just 20 percent shooting from the field, and knocking down 62 percent of their own buckets. Mike Salek '04 proved to be the offensive star, scoring 17 points and hitting three of his five three-point attempts.Middlebury put the mediocrity of a 1-1 record behind them in their next game against Skidmore winning 84-70. The Panthers came out flat in the first half, shooting only 26 percent from the field as a team and missing all nine three-point attempts on offense and allowing an 18-1 run at the 11:18 mark leaving them behind 41-35 at the break after having led by as much as 10. The second half started just as poorly with the Skidmore lead growing to 13, but the Panthers outscored the Thoroughbreds 35-8 in the final 14 minutes for an easy win. Bundonis again led the team with 22 points while Adam Sinoway '05 came off the bench to record 16 points and seven rebounds, shooting 4-5 from behind the arc.With games at Castleton and Hamilton this week, as well as the Norwich Tournament, the Panthers are looking to head into winter break well above the 4-4 mark they reached at the same time last year. If the offense stays strong, their prospects look good.
(12/04/02 12:00am)
Author: Andrea Gissing Aggie Bonfire Resurrected Off Texas A&M CampusAn unsanctioned bonfire held last week near Texas A&M University revived a tradition suspended since the collapse of a bonfire in 1999 that killed 12 people. A group made up of current students and alumni organized and built the fire on a driving range in Magnolia, Texas, with no cooperation from the university. A crowd of more than 2,500 gathered to watch the burning of the 35-foot tall bonfire. As the fire burned, students rehearsed cheers for A&M's football game against the University of Texas, a game that the bonfire traditionally celebrated. The members spent almost $15,000 to try to prove that the bonfire could be built in a safe manner. Safety was emphasized during the construction of the bonfire. Machines were used to compact the logs, logs were wired together in three different places, and drinking was forbidden during construction and burning of the fire. The stack took about a month to build and was built in the middle of the driving range where irrigation pipes could keep the fires from getting out of control.The on-campus bonfire was banned by Ray Bowen, the university's then-president, after a 59-foot high stack made up of over 5,000 logs collapsed, killing 12 people and injuring 27 on Nov. 18, 1999. A&M's new president, Robert Gates, has not yet made a decision about the future of the bonfire.Source: The New York Times and The Battalion OnlineRiots Rock Columbus, Ohio State UniversityAfter Ohio State University's (OSU) football team's greatest win of the season, celebratory disturbances broke out along Columbus, Ohio's Chittenden Avenue, 13th Avenue, 15th Avenue and High Street early morning Nov. 24, resulting in the worst riots that the city, and OSU have seen since the 1970s.The riots resulted in approximately 20 flipped cars, nine of which were set on fire, and the arrest of at least 48 people. Four of the arrested were confirmed to be OSU students. About 250 police officers were on duty the evening following the game against the University of Michigan, which the OSU Buckeyes won 14-9. The police had been monitoring parties in the university district, the largest gathering of which was on Chittenden Avenue. The commotion was started when a burning mattress was thrown into the middle of the avenue. The flames continued to grow as people added couches, chairs, doors, street signs and tree branches to the flames. Police in riot gear were first seen coming towards the riots around 12:50 a.m.Around 1:26 a.m. rioters on 13th Avenue began flipping and burning cars.Media coverage of the riots compelled hundreds of viewers to write to the university expressing embarrassment, disgust, a call for an apology by the rioters and a demand for action by the university.OSU Athletics Director Andy Geiger said that the OSU players worked hard to gain respect and he does not want the actions of the rioters to cloud the success of the football team. "Any connection to our season and the behavior that took place last night is a gross insult."Source: U-WirePenn Students Arrested After Motor Oil IncidentFive University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) students were arrested last week following an on-campus incident involving a Princeton University student. The students' charges included aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person's life, terroristic threats, conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of an instrument of crime.According to police reports, the assault was the result of a confrontation between the UPenn students and students from Princeton University who were on campus for a weekend parliamentary debate. Approximately half an hour before the assault, between 3 and 3:30 a.m. On Nov. 16, a UPenn student entered the lounge where the Princeton students were sleeping and started to flick the lights. When asked by one of the Princeton students to leave, the UPenn student shoved him, left, and returned around 4:15 a.m. with four other UPenn students. They then proceeded to harass the student and poured motor oil over his head. They reportedly threatened to light a match and set him on fire if he did not promise to never return to the university. One of the UPenn students apparently did throw his lighted cigarette at the student who was covered in motor oil. The five UPenn students involved eventually turned themselves in once the police obtained warrants for their arrest. All five will be charged in a criminal court. The Office of Student Conduct at UPenn is conducting a parallel investigation to the incident and will suggest university sanctions for the students involved. The five students were believed to have been drinking at the time of the incident.Source: The Daily Pennsylvanian
(11/20/02 12:00am)
Author: Christian Holt "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a weekly trip, that started from this New England School, aboard this science ship…" Today I'm going to talk about my Tuesday afternoon geology labs. While all of you are warm and snug in your lectures, I brave the hazardous waters of Lake Champlain to map the lake's floor. While you try to figure out the oxidation rate of copper, we storm the seas aboard the USS Brewster Baldwin. This week, "Holt's Harangue" presents: "A Tribute To Geology," or "Gilligan's Island Is Going To Sue.""The mate was a Manley sailin' man, a geology prof sure. Ten passengers set sail that day, for a three-hour tour, a three hour tour…" Leading our team of ten students is our professor, a brave soul by the name of Tom Manley. Every week, without fail, the man wears running shorts and tee shirts. He needs no "protective raincoat or life saving insulation." Considering the temperature is about 10 degrees on the lake, I've logically theorized that his ability to sense cold and heat were long ago ceremonially removed, the result of a cultist geology ceremony. Now, he can endure intense weather conditions in order to better map the ocean's floors. On weekends, he fights crime.We need his superpowers, for we are on the front lines at labs, battling an impervious enemy. Zebra mussels, hundreds of 'em, crustaceans the size of forks, have invaded Lake Champlain. Zebra mussels are not indigenous to this region, but to Europe. They are slowly choking off the life in the lake, making this the first time the Europeans have ever beaten us at anything. You laugh at my fear of mussels? Well then laugh in about 500 years. At that time, they will have taken over Lake Champlain, but their nefarious thirst for conquest will be far from complete. Nah, they will begin to invade Middlebury. It will be a slow invasion, sure, but in the end victorious. Just imagine: Mead Chapel in the clutches of those oceanic abolitions! "The weather started getting rough, and many lunches were tossed. If not for the courage of the wheelhouse crew, the Brewster would be lost; the Brewster would be lost…" The crew of the Brewster Baldwin is made up of a crack team of researchers, all hardened sailors, every one of them. Several were former navy seals, and two are football players. In order to leave the lake floor as untouched as possible, we do not use gas engines. Instead, the football players paddle us around the lake. Moving a 30-foot boat with your hands is tough work, but to them it is a breeze. One of them is named Noah, as in that Biblical legend about a guy who saves life on earth by sailing on a huge boat. Coincidence? I think not. The other guy is named Paul. He's cool too. I fear for the opponents of our football team, if these guys are regulars. With their strength, what's to stop them from smashing the enemy quarterbacks like ants? That poor Tufts team! (P.S.: Midd 31, Tufts 6 —yahoo!) In all seriousness, the best thing about geology is the people. The professor is an amazing teacher, and is good enough to let me mock him without failing me (right?) .The class is a great group of people, and I recommend the class to basically anyone. A final note: No oceanographers were injured during the making of this column. But many zebra mussels were.
(11/13/02 12:00am)
Author: Kathleen Fleury On Nov. 5, Middlebury voters narrowly rejected a $5.99 million bond to build a new municipal building in town as well as a new municipal police headquarters. The bond proposal was rejected by a slim margin of 109 votes, 1,443 to 1,334.The proposed buildings, which have been in the planning stages for more than four years, included a 13,982-square-foot building on the corner of College and South Main streets, to replace the current run-down facility, and a new 8,500-square-foot Middlebury Police Department headquarters off Seymour Street. The police department is currently located in the basement of the existing municipal building.According to an article in The Addison Independent, town officials feel that most voters support the idea of a new municipal building, but Vermont's current economic climate makes it difficult for taxpayers to see the value of such a costly project. One reason for this could be that Middlebury's property tax rate is among the highest in the state. Residents currently pay $3.51 for every $100 in property value.Economics aside, the town still is in need of new facilities. This week, town selectmen plan to analyze the vote and discuss future proposals for a project that will fulfill the town's needs without putting an added burden on taxpayers.
(11/13/02 12:00am)
Author: Deborah Jones Middlebury College has never been considered a hotbed of political activity. Its own students regularly describe the atmosphere as "sleepy," "detached," and "bubbled-in." Those who dare to shatter the quiet are a minority that is sometimes scorned for disrupting this remote paradise. "Protest" is something that is debated; "activism" is something that occurs elsewhere.Or is this trend changing? Since Sept. 11, The Campus' Opinions section has seen a storm of submissions on national and international issues. New student organizations and traditions, such as The New Left, Middlebury Initiative for Sustainable Development and "24 Hours for Peace," have sprung up and found their niches in record time. In one week last April, various groups of students spoke out against discrimination at "The Art of Kissing" show, handed out pamphlets at a lecture by a World Bank official and orchestrated a "die-in" protest when CIA recruiters came to campus. Over 1,000 people marched on Mead Chapel in an event organized by the Middlebury community's "United for Peace" campaign in October when White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer '82 visited his alma mater. Some experts say that the seed has been planted for a new generation of protesters.This picture appears to mirror that of Middlebury in its most tumultuous years, the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Paging through the archives of The Campus, one observes the rapid development of youth culture and the protest movement. By the late '60s, neat layouts, tasteful portraits and reports on Student Government Association meetings give way to a psychedelic masthead, candid photos of longhaired youths and blaring headlines condemning assassinations, the draft, the war and the campus presence of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC).While Middlebury may not have been the political hotbed that larger, more urban schools like Harvard, Berkley and the University of Michigan were, the energy of the era did not bypass the Green Mountains. Steve Early '70, former managing editor of The Campus and current labor union lawyer, noted that "Middlebury ranked well in the '60s activism department with Wesleyan University, Amherst College and Williams College, its peer group to this day."Anti-war, anti-draft and anti-ROTC groups all found a home at Middlebury, as did the omnipresent Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). The largest and most durable organization, according to Early, was Radical Education and Action Project (REAP), formed in the fall of 1971 and operating into the middle of the decade. Rallies were held, demonstrations were made and op-eds written. The pages of The Campus from that time are saturated with articles about Vietnam, as well as appeals for environmental consciousness, women's rights and socially responsible investment of endowment money, issues that prior to that era were hardly mainstream causes.In the fall of 1969, 200 students — more than 10 percent of the student body — headed to Washington, D.C., for the November Mobilization march following the October Moratorium. Yet, in Early's mind, Middlebury didn't really join the movement until May 1970, following the Kent State University (Ohio) shootings (May 4, 1970).A piece Early wrote for Middlebury Magazine in the spring of 1990 describes the campus' reaction to National Guardsmen's gunning down four students protesting the April 30, 1970, U.S. invasion of Cambodia. The College was one of 500 schools nationwide to cancel classes for the purpose of alleviating personal and community distress in the wake of the tragedy. During the days of "the strike," Early wrote, "the bulletin boards and corridors of Proctor Hall became a kind of 'Democracy Wall' — papered with the latest news clippings, leaflets, posters, sign up sheets and reports from other campuses. Telephone and computer contact was established and maintained with the 'National Strike Information Center' at Brandeis University and a host of strike start-up organizations." The late Erica Wonnacott, then dean of students, recalled the strike as a time when the most distinct members of the Middlebury community "stayed up all night talking together … trying to understand what was going on."Kent State, explained Early, provoked more shock, anger and outrage at the College than ever before because "the casualties of war (at home) were now people most students could relate to – nice middle-class kids, just like themselves, rather than the working class U.S. soldiers and the Vietnamese peasants who'd been dying in much larger numbers for years." Middlebury College records losing five students in the Vietnam War; an indeterminate number served. Many students avoided the draft by obtaining deferments for undergraduate and postgraduate education.Peace and togetherness were interrupted, however, on May 7, when a student — apparently emotionally disturbed rather than politically motivated — set fire to Recitation Hall, a wood-framed building previously located behind Carr Hall. The arson incident exacerbated tensions between the College and the community, as well as within the student body itself. Vermont governor-elect Jim Douglas '72, then a leader of the Middlebury Young Republicans, stated in a 1976 interview with The Campus, "It was only a minority who wanted to shut down academic activity. A total cessation of classes might well have been avoided if some of the leaders in Old Chapel had been a bit more level headed." A compromise was reached to resume classes May 7.The "uproar" of the spring of 1970 faded by the following fall and "the campus went to sleep again" to be stirred from its slumber only by REAP, which Early explained, "started to crank things up more systematically." The spring of 1971 saw 25 Middlebury students and one faculty member arrested and temporarily jailed in Washington, D.C. during the "May Day" demonstration. About 50 to 60 Middlebury students attended that protest, which resulted in a round-up of 7,000 participants, the largest single mass arrest in one day in U.S. history. Yet perhaps Middlebury was not destined to be a political center, and Early, in a Dec. 3, 1970, editorial expressing his disappointment with the lack of activism, wrote, "The very group which should be most aware of what is really happening has fallen silent. Students and members of the academic community in general, at Middlebury and elsewhere, have seemingly accepted the Nixon consensus and come to assume that someone, somewhere is 'winding down the war.'"So the College on the Hill receded into tranquility once more, its collective consciousness stirred only sporadically. The question then becomes, what would it take for it to wake once more?
(11/13/02 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] As drivers make their way north across the Massachusetts border towards Middlebury by way of I-91, a sign sits cheerfully by the highway. "Welcome to Vermont," it reads. But the area can also be defined by another geographical likeness, one that is not marked by any signs. For roughly 10 miles after crossing the border from Massachusetts, drivers make their way through the nuclear emergency evacuation zone of Vermont Yankee. Indeed, for these several miles, drivers unwittingly put themselves at risk both of exposure to routine radiation emissions and, in the event of an accident, something far worse. As the new Republication-dominated government moves to pass an energy policy for the country — for the most part, seemingly unaware of new technologies for harnessing renewable sources such as from the wind and sun — the debate over nuclear energy has intensified. Here in Vermont, the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, located just outside of Brattleboro in Vernon, is small compared to its counterparts in nuclear-rich New England. But it is plagued with many of the same problems associated with privately operated power plants from across the country.No less than 80 percent of electricity produced in Vermont comes from Vermont Yankee, and according to Entergy Nuclear, which operates the plant, enough energy is produced to power 500,000 homes. Consequently, the state of Vermont bestows much trust in the plant's operators, and much of the opposition to Vermont Yankee has come from neighboring states, especially Massachusetts, thanks to its proximity to the plant. And yet, Entergy Nuclear and Vermont Yankee have recently given the people of this state much to worry about. In the weeks and months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the operators of reactors were subject to increased pressure from the federal government to protect the plants against attack. Of the 105 commercial nuclear power plants in the United States, Vermont Yankee tied with one other plant for having the worst security rating. Fifteen months and eight million dollars later, the Associated Press reported, the picture has improved, though critics have continued to keep a particularly careful watch on the plant. On Oct. 6, Entergy Nuclear suffered another great embarrassment, which has caused even greater doubt about the ability of the company, which purchased Vermont Yankee last summer, to run the reactor safely. On that date, employees reported a safety concern to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Apparently, there was a problem in the cooling system of the reactor core; specifically, a certain valve could not be fully closed. On Oct. 11, Entergy issued another correspondence to the regulator — this time to say that Yankee workers must have made some sort of mistake. Indeed, they wrote, the plant "does not have this aforementioned trip devise." Public outcry immediately followed. The New England Coalition, whose principal focus is on the so-called nuclear pollution of Vermont Yankee, joined forces with the Washington-based Union of Concerned Scientists and demanded that the Yankee staff submit to an immediate review. Vermont residents deserve an assurance that those who are operating the power plant are intimately acquainted with the design of the reactor — most especially in what is perhaps the most important, and indeed dangerous, part of the reactor. The Green Mountain State works hard to promote an image of environmentalism, and Vermont Yankee is a blemish on the state's admirable record on environmental issues. The debate over nuclear energy is ongoing; in the meantime, let us not wait for blunt signs to remind us that we must be asking questions. Edith Honan '03
(11/13/02 12:00am)
Author: Abbie Beane Though he may not be Wes Craven, independent Vermont filmmaker Jay Craven still has a daunting audacity for approaching haunting issues. And why should you care? Because his most recent work, "The Year That Trembled" will be screened at Dana Auditorium on Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Based on the novel "The Year That Trembled" by Scott Lax and the subsequent screenplay by Craven, this film is timely, as it concerns the early 1970s Vietnam War peace protests. Furthermore, it is appropriate for Middlebury as Craven conceived the idea for it on Blueberry Hill in East Middlebury where he met Lax. The story features the lives of three recent high school graduates fearful of the imminent draft lottery and their experiences with the anti-war upheaval at Kent State. Furthermore, it spotlights the lives of college activists and another young couple struggling with the prospect of impending war and issues of morality concerning whether or not they should engage in military service.According to "The Year That Trembled" press release, Ron Powers, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and co-author of the book "Flags of Our Fathers", calls "The Year That Trembled", "just the right movie for exactly the right moment in our country's history." Powers adds that this movie is one that has "pierced through the hardened crust of blockbuster-induced voyeurism, cheap irony and outdated sentimental piety, to engage the movie-going public on the great themes of war and youth and courage and comradeship.""The Year That Trembled" was awarded the Filmmaker of the Year Award at this year's Cleveland International Film festival and the Best Film and Audience Award at the Cincinnati Film Festival. Some of its actors worthy of anticipation include Fred Willard of "Best in Show" and "Austin Powers," Bill Raymond of "12 Monkeys" and "Summer of Sam" and Kiera Chaplin, the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, who will make her screen debut. As for Craven, he received The Producer's Guild of America's NOVA award for Most Promising New Producer of the Year in 1995 and currently directs Kingdom County Productions in Peacham, Vt., as well as being a professor of film at Marlboro College. His other films include "Where the Rivers Flow North," starring Rip Torn and Michael J. Fox and "A Stranger in the Kingdom" with Martin Sheen.In a recent interview with The Middlebury Campus, Craven responded to the following questions:The Campus: How did your interest and involvement in film develop?Craven: I made my first film when I was 17 as a college freshman at Boston University (BU). It put images to music, like an early version of MTV and drew upon interests and inspirations of the time from directors Fellini and Antionioni to the Vietnam anti-war movement. It included footage from the massive November 1969 demonstrations in Washington where more than 500,000 people marched. When I attended college, the film culture in Boston was very strong. However, I didn't study film — I majored in political science and philosophy.The Campus: In which film of yours did you find yourself most engaged? Which was the most challenging or draining?Craven: Every film is like one of your own children. You've brought them into the world through years of difficult, but fruitful, struggle. You've done the best to prepare them to go out into the world, knowing that they will face challenges. You fight for them and fight even harder for those that have the most difficulty. Of my films, they've all been difficult. My second feature, "A Stranger in the Kingdom," was the most challenging to make, I guess, given that funding kept collapsing and facing setbacks. "The Year That Trembled" is the first of my films that someone else produced. That means I didn't have to raise the money and manage all of the details of physical production. I developed the screenplay by taking the novel, finding what I felt worked, then opening it up to expand the world of the story, drawing on extensive research into the period and characters surrounding the events of Kent State during 1970. Some research included documentary stock footage and researching the period's music.The Campus: What do you feel is the most important thing to keep in mind while watching "The Year That Trembled"?Craven: I hope audiences will be transported to the time, place and culture of the film, realizing that this is just one story from that turbulent and exciting time. I've found that younger audiences like a chance to visit that time and experience the unique culture and intimate perspective of young people getting caught up in life-and-death decisions regarding the war and the draft — to say nothing of the momentous decisions of relationships, family, school and lifestyle. The Campus: What most intrigued you about the novel by Scott Lax and the prospect of this film?Craven: Scott's novel captured the culture and the "moment" and focused on "regular" guys and gals from the 1970s — a period I experienced quite vividly myself. In April of 1970 I had just been elected student body president of the liberal arts at BU and got caught up in the protest after Nixon's invasion of Cambodia, which is the moment in which the story is set. With war looming again in 2002 and a growing protest culture on U.S. campuses and around the world with concerns about free expression and civil liberties, I felt that the film was very timely. This is fairly recent history, and many of the political and cultural influences of that time resonate today.The Campus: What do you believe are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using the medium of film to convey one's message?Craven: The advantage is that film has become a central medium and art form of the last 100 years, which offers many visual and narrative possibilities and captures intimate emotion and behavior so well. Characters and powerful emotions come to life in a way that audiences can interact with the material and participate in the creation of its meaning.Disadvantages are the cost of production, time pressure and challenges in distribution, which is increasingly controlled by big conglomerates and studios. The blockbuster mentality is always a challenge to getting smaller films to audiences.The Campus: Do you have any near-future film plans that you can give me a "sneak preview" of?Craven: I am developing the third feature film in my Vermont/Howard Mosher series [called] "Disappearances," which is a whiskey-running adventure, comedy and drama set in 1932 along the Vermont/Quebec border. It's a wild and wooly tale with a train derailment, plane crash and tail-spinning chase."The Year That Trembled" will be showing one time only in Dana Auditorium at the College on Wed., Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. For tickets and information, please contact the Center for the Arts box office (802) 443-6433.
(11/13/02 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] Allison Barker '04Hometown: Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec and Baltimore, Md.Major: Environmental Studies-Geography major, Spanish minor.Activities: Co-president (with Naomi Andrews '03) of the Middlebury Progressives, and a student recycling center worker.My Beliefs: In a "globalizing" world I believe it is necessary to put social and environmental responsibility at the forefront of our thinking, rather than letting economics become the overwhelmingly dominant force. As a nation which acts as a global leader, I believe that it is our responsibility to ensure that our relations with other countries focus on equal positive opportunities for everyone; thus we should move away from our old imperialistic practices and begin to look at north-south relationships on more equal grounds. I am also a strong believer in grassroots action, and thus I would suggest that not only do changes need to be made in terms of our interactions on a global level, but I would also suggest that changes need to come from a local level. We need to revise our currently unsustainable consumption patterns. Our modern system of food production is environmentally unsound, and I would advocate local changes to move consumers towards bioregional food production, where food is locally grown and eaten. Furthermore I would say that consumption clearly extends past food; our clothing, for example, is for the most part manufactured by large corporations in sweatshops in the Third World where labor, human rights and environmental abuses run rampant. So what I strive for is not that we all run off and become hippies and live in the woods eating berries, but I am asking for an American cultural revolution.However, despite how we sometimes act, the United States is not the whole world. In order for environmental and social changes to occur in the global south they need to be initiated by movements of people on a local level. The only way for us as a developed nation to aid this process is by dropping Third World debt and giving the global south the technology to empower [its people] to act environmentally responsibly in their own development process. These are my goals, my dream, my mission, and I understand this to be fully idealistic; however I am not a woman bent around words. I am also a realist and that is why I am an activist not a writer.How I Got Involved: I got involved in activism after my freshman year of high school, when I spent a summer in rural Bolivia working in a museum. Bolivia has the highest poverty rate in South America, and after learning what real poverty is I began working for a group called Student Sharing for the Homeless in Baltimore. The summer before my senior year of high school some friends and I started an anti-sweatshop activist and education group. We went around to local high schools and colleges doing in classroom programs about labor rights abuses. That was my basic springboard into learning about the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). Is Middlebury adequately activist? There are only a handful of politically active people in the Middlebury community. However, there are many people who are politically oriented; these are people who are attuned to the issues, are capable of serious discussion and can occasionally be coaxed away from their busy lives to make a statement every now and then. I definitely do not think there are enough activists at Middlebury, I don't think that the College really teaches students the idea of civic responsibility, however, I think education and political orientation is a good first step. Gabe Epperson '03Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah. Major: Environmental Studies-Human EcologyActivities: Executive Board of The New LeftMy Beliefs: 1. Sustainability: Americans consume a disproportionate amount of the world's resources and we're encouraging other countries to develop by adopting our lifestyle. The math's pretty simple. We're already putting too much strain on the world's resources; once you factor in population growth and global warming you have total ecological collapse — it's already happening. I'm not advocating lowering our living standards; instead, I advocate quality over quantity. Who needs to eat lots of junk food and have 10 pairs of jeans? We can consume new goods and materials, but they should be recycled. How much junk is already circulating, not being used or sitting in a landfill? We can produce everything we need without extracting any more raw materials. I advocate efficiency and long-term resource management for the good of the environment and the human species.2. Progressive planning: This is a simple concept: plan with foresight as opposed to hindsight. For every one dollar put into education, $100 are saved on law enforcement and welfare. We're just putting Band-Aids on our societal problems. I would say the same thing when it comes to terrorism. Terrorism is a symptom of gross international inequalities. If people have access to resources, jobs and politics (via democratic governments) they will not resort to terrorism. The war on terrorism is a sham — we're attacking the cancer of our world by hacking it off instead of trying to find a cure.How I Got Involved: I took Professor of Geography Tamar Mayer's "Geography of Development" and "Human Impact on the Global Environment." Also, I spent some time abroad; it gives you a different perspective on the United States and the world.Is Middlebury adequately activist? Politically active means that you're not living in a bubble. You're aware of your responsibilities and how your daily decision-making affects people in other parts of the world. If you're living in the Middlebury Bubble, you're not adequately active in determining your future. You may be preparing yourself for a successful career, but what happens when your life's work becomes obsolete? It will happen if people continue to be oblivious. Imagine Sept. 11 on a large scale — what good will the stock market be then? I don't think that everyone needs to be in a political organization or attend rallies, but we should all be educated about important political issues so we can make voting and purchasing decisions that are informed. Ben Brouwer '04Hometown: Lopez Island, Wash.Major: Environmental Studies-GeographyActivities: Co-president (with Rachel Cotton '03.5) of Environmental Quality (EQ), Yellow Bike program coordinatorMy Beliefs: My interests and concerns in the field of activism are admittedly broad. Generally I am concerned about the inequities and injustices in the world that contribute to or are a root cause of environmental degradation, violence, poverty, racism and discrimination of all forms. More specifically I am interested in discovering how we as individuals, as members of Middlebury College or as citizens of the United States perpetuate these broadly defined problems, and more importantly how we can limit our negative influence and work proactively for positive changes locally and abroad. The issues I have taken to heart include transportation reform as a way of reducing our contribution to global climate change and the range of problems associated with cars and SUVs, marching for peace as a means of voicing opposition to the looming war in Iraq and addressing the question of how investments of the Middlebury endowment can be changed to passively and proactively effect social and environmental change. How I Got Involved: I first became involved with activism at Middlebury in my freshman year as a reaction to the material excess, sense of entitlement and apathy I initially noticed on this campus. Ben Gore '04 and I, as roommates spring of our freshman year, worked on the Ban SUV campaign (which, incidentally, was a huge political failure but was incredibly educational for us and at least a little provocative for t
he rest of the campus). I wasn't seriously involved in activism during my high school years but my relatively progressive family and hometown set me up for my current beliefs and involvement.Is Middlebury adequately activist? I'm gradually becoming more excited about the activist nature of this campus and larger community. The fact that we had at least 1,000 people show up on a rainy Sunday night for a peace march is an impressive testament to the growing activist atmosphere of Middlebury. I think the opportunity exists for all of us to take our education, beliefs and inspiration provided by our faculty to a new level of personal involvement and direct action (driving less, buying less, making peace). Ultimately it's the coalition of active students, motivating faculty and staff and local community members that make the activist network broad and all-inclusive. Joya Scott '03.5Hometown: Northhampton, Mass.Major: Theater major; French minor.Activities: Co-president (with Elizabeth Brookbank '04) of Feminist Action at Middlebury (FAM), co-founder of the new Unitarian-Universalist Society and one of the directors of the 2003 "Vagina Monologues"/V-Day event. Also was a primary organizer of October's "24 Hours for Peace."My Beliefs: I think all the issues I get involved with share certain elements in common. Often, it comes down to human rights in one form or another. I'm interested in women's issues because I don't believe we've reached true equality. I'm interested in peace-building work because I think every person deserves to grow up in an environment free of violence. I'm also enraged by our government right now; I think the Bush administration's agenda is utterly counterproductive in terms of both domestic and foreign policy. Bush stole the 2000 election with the help of the Republican officials in Florida and their deliberate disenfranchisement of thousands of eligible voters. This administration is not leading us towards a more sustainable, peaceful future; instead, they're doing the exact opposite. I am disgusted by the fact that big corporations are in bed with the administration and have stolen the power away from the people, where it belongs. I'm sick of being lied to; we need leaders we can at least trust to tell us in whose interest they are acting. So these are the things that motivate me to action ... anything involving building democracy, human rights, and peace. And since my major, and my big interest, is theater, I am always looking for ways to combine politics and the arts — I think that's where the truly fascinating stuff is. Using art as a metaphor for real political situations, you can create some very powerful material that hopefully makes people question their preconceptions about society.How I Got Involved: I think you get to a point where, if you're paying attention to world events and getting your information from good sources (not necessarily the corporate media), then you are just compelled to act. There is injustice out there (or right here!), and you have to do something. Where your conscience and your natural inclination to be interested in an issue intersect, you can't sit still — you have to help. Even if you can only do a little, every tiny action has an important influence on our world that we may never fully understand. Also, I really do believe that the personal is political, cliché as it might be to say that. For instance, it's hard to talk about feminism without looking at personal relationships. Society is made up of individuals and individual relationships. It's all interwoven, and I think that we should examine these things to see how social systems impact us in our daily lives.Is Middlebury adequately activist? I don't think that our community is adequately activist, but it is increasingly so. I've seen a lot of stuff recently that never would have happened here in the past. A lot of new activist groups have formed, like the Middlebury Initiative for Sustainable Development (MISD) and the New Left. These organizations and the 1,500 people that came out to protest Ari Fleischer '82 and the potential war in Iraq are proof of the fact that people do care. Even people who have never been involved in politics are getting active, and I hope it continues. It is easy to understand why students here can be somewhat apathetic — we're all so busy with schoolwork and other commitments, and the issues are so complicated that they often seem inaccessible. But it is changing, slowly but surely.
(11/06/02 12:00am)
Author: Erika Mercer Imagine that you are trespassing in an old deserted house. You push open the heavy front door, stepping cautiously inside to find yourself enveloped by pervading darkness and the unsettling whistle of air through empty halls. You are uneasy, but your curiosity overwhelms your fear, so, seeking orientation, you bend down to touch the hard floor beneath your feet. Your hand touches cold, grimy tiles and your first finger traces rough, cemented grout. You stand up again and continue walking through the eerie shadows of the hallway, eventually discovering a steep wooden staircase. Its wooden banister feels uneven and jagged as you grope your way along its length to the top, listening as the wood beneath your feet creaks with every step. At the top of the stairs to your left stands a large, dim structure, which your fingers quickly discern as a solid wooden desk housing drawers with stony, metal handles. You contemplate whose fingers besides yours have touched the same floor, the same banister and the same desk and you are suddenly filled with a powerful sense of grief and melancholy at the dejection of the old house and the loss of the people who cared for it.Spokane took shape in 2000 as the side and solo project of singer-songwriter Rick Alverson, former front man in the Virginia–based band Drunk. Enlisting Courtney Bowles on drums and vocals and Karl Runge on violin, Alverson (bass, guitars and lead vocals) began recording Spokane's first album, "Leisure & Other Songs" (2000). Released on Jagjaguwar Records, "Leisure" was a major success, hailed as more personal and more alluring than Alverson's previous work with Drunk.In 2001, Spokane went on to release their EP "Close Quarters" and their second full-length album, "Proud Graduates," both of which profited from the additional sounds of musicians on cello, glockenspiel and violin. Spokane's most recent album, "Able Bodies," recorded by Dan Burton in Bloomington, Ind., was released in May 2002. Besides Alverson, Bowles and Runge, "Able Bodies" features Molly Kien on cello, Maggie Polk on violin and Ben Swanson on vibraphone, creating Spokane's most polished and haunting release yet.Drawing influences ranging from Simon and Garfunkel to Leonard Cohen to Galaxie 500, but sounding more like today's slow-core bands Low, Idaho and Dirty Three, Spokane manages to create unique songs redolent of a slow-motion version of the song "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme." Spokane's bleak, ethereal music echoes the ghostly breath of air through an empty house and evokes the feeling of touching abandoned pieces of furniture. One critic wrote of "Able Bodies," "Spokane makes sad music, to be sure, but it's a satisfying and strangely lovely kind of sad —the kind you need to feel from time to time.''The reminder of conciousness and mortality is ever-present in Spokane's music, especially in "Able Bodies," which was created with this intense sentiment in mind. Namely, during the production of the album, while driving on the interstate between Virginia and Indiana, the band's car spun out of control and overturned on the highway. None of the band members were seriously injured, but the dangerous accident remained poignant and unforgettable for the band and greatly influenced the direction of "Able Bodies," a title conceived one week after the incident. The album serves as a conscious voyage through the emotions surrounding the accident, examining themes of displacement, transience and fate, both through the music and the vocals.Spokane uses chiming guitars, glockenspiel and minimal drum brush strokes to produce a sound that is simultaneously dynamic and subtle, heavy and wispy, cutting and tender. It is frightening and melancholy music, evoking a sense of rural isolation, serene beauty and complete desolation. Just under 32 minutes, "Able Bodies" whisks the listener through a terrifying and engulfing series of emotions, creating the effect of synesthesia in which senses of smell and touch are stimulated through haunting sounds.Alverson's lyrics are equally mesmerizing, acting as a series of fragmented thoughts spoken with heightened awareness and a sense of reality. In the final song on the album, "The Made Bed," Alverson sings, "I took my thin trunk of ribs out the door / By twenty cars I've passed before / I've heard it said the day becomes a chore / Don't make the bed for me." The image of ribs conjures thoughts of death and mortality, while the mention of everyday objects, such as the door or the bed, summon the listener's senses to feel and see the object.One cannot listen to Spokane continually or at any occasion; it is an album that you need to be in the mood for. Its dark, somber tone could bring any high, positive thoughts straight down to the cold tile floor. At the same time, it is an astounding masterpiece of human mortality, emotion and raw senses.
(11/06/02 12:00am)
Author: Alan Topalian I started my habit in February 2001. The Super Bowl had been played about two weeks earlier, and without football to watch on Sunday, I really didn't know what to do with myself all afternoon. Studying didn't feel like an option that day, so I was sitting in my room playing Madden when my friend came in telling me he had something good I should try. Naïve and a little curious, I took him up on his offer, and the sights I saw that day blew my mind. It was the Daytona 500 and also my first taste of NASCAR, and it was spectacular. It started with an enormous wreck that sent Tony Stewart hurtling airborne down a straightaway, and ended with Dale Earnhardt's tragic fatal last-lap crash. The race may have ended horrifically, but it inspired the development of Middlebury's first NASCAR society. Headed by Deuce Daniels, the group was founded on the principle that, in the absence of football and baseball, auto racing was a better TV option than regular season NBA action.Most people at Middlebury either take on an air of indignant superiority or they feign shock whenever I voice support for NASCAR, and then follow with the obligatory foolish and annoying comments like, "you're not from the South," or, "don't you need a mullet to like NASCAR?" The worst offense occurs when people say, "oh, it's so stupid! They just go around in circles!" I really don't want to preach, but if you're ever inclined to say that to a NASCAR fan, it would be best to resist the temptation. It's a statement based wholly on ignorance, and it's frustrating to hear. There is no reason to dislike racing. What's wrong with forty unbelievably loud American cars rumbling at 180 m.p.h. inches from one another, with the occasional multi-car crashes interspersed? When a Busch Series race ends, two 30 packs of Busch are proudly displayed on the roof of the victorious car, because, as we all know, fast cars and beer make a truly winning combination. Furthermore, the TV commentary is simply fantastic: During one race earlier this season, Larry McReynolds, an announcer with a strong Southern accent, proud to show off his geographical expertise, proclaimed, "Last week, team owner Richard Childress went up there to the Yukon Territories, right up there by Antarctica, huntin' polar bear!" The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry seems as fierce as the Bayside-Valley rivalry when compared to some NASCAR feuds. When a competitor's life can be ended instantly by an adversary during a race, perceived acts of disrespect among drivers have much more profound consequences than in any other sport.I know I'm not alone. Watching football on Sunday is a ritual, and when it ends, NASCAR emerges as a savior, distracting us until next Labor Day.
(10/16/02 12:00am)
Author: Samuel Wilson The Middlebury College endowment suffered losses as a result of the current recession, but it is doing well in comparison with the rest of the economy. As of Sept. 30, the endowment stands at $550 million.The total endowment is a pool of different, individual endowment funds. These are funds comprised of gifts to the College, investments into which gifts are put and dividends from the investments. Gifts may be restricted to specific purposes, such as building projects and professorships, or donated to the College to use as it sees fit.The endowment is overseen by the Investment Committee, which in turn reports to Board of Trustees and College Treasurer.Middlebury invests primarily in United States equities and government bonds. Most of the equities are public corporations such as General Motors and Coca-Cola, although the College does hold private investments as well.Middlebury mostly pursues long-term investments. Primarily, they are safer than venture capital. For instance, the College did not invest in the technology boom of the 1990s and, thus, the subsequent fiscal implosion was not a crisis. The endowment is also a continued investment. It needs to support Middlebury today and remain strong enough to do so decades in the future. As Middlebury Investment Administrator and Vice President for Administration and Treasurer Derek J. Hammel said, "The endowment's life is perpetual. We cannot take a lot of bets."The present recession has hurt the entire United States economy. Since 2000, the Standard and Poor's 500 Index has fallen 49.1 percent, a drop second only to the crash of 1929. Overall, the stock market is at a five-year low with everything except government bonds down.However, shrewd investing by the College has kept the endowment's performance above the rest of the economy's. In the calendar year to date, the endowment is down only 13 percent. Middlebury's use of hedge funds, which are generally stronger when the economy is weak but not as potent when the economy is strong, helped prevent larger loss. Twenty percent of the endowment is kept in such funds. In the past 18 months, the College has begun investing in more international equities as well.Hammel remains confident: "On an absolute scale the endowment is sub-par, but relative to everything else it is in good shape. Long term, we will do fine."
(10/16/02 12:00am)
Author: Caroline Stauffer Looking to save money on gas and help the environment? Try running your car on vegetable oil. Ron Schildge '03 does. Schildge describes his project as "my small piece of the alternative fuel puzzle." He adds, "I'm trying to change the world in my own backyard." According to Schildge, cars can either be converted to start with diesel fuel and run on vegetable oil for about $500, or run on biodiesel (modified vegetable oil) like his car. By removing the glycerine content, the viscosity of the vegetable oil is reduced so that it is more inflammable and more liquid, forming biodiesel. Shildge admits that there are disadvantages in both processes. For biodiesel vehicles, he points out that "the chemistry can make fuel creation initially difficult, while converting an engine to straight vegetable oil is a challenge for an amateur mechanic." He believes, however, that the advantages of cutting back on carbon dioxide emission, reducing petrolium consumption, better lubrication for engines and free fuel outweigh any disadvantages. As for other students converting their cars, Schildge says, "I want them to do it with all my heart." Interested students should contact Schildge.
(10/09/02 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] Sunday Sept. 292:30 a.m: The new Ross Dining Hall gets trashed. 6 a.m: The Ross dining crew arrives at work to find frozen yogurt and sticky soda dripping down the machines and all over the floor, cereal littering the floors, a smashed card swiper and broken cabinet doors. They estimate the damage at $4,000.7:00 a.m. on: A discouraged Ross Dining Crew continues to work hard serving up to 1,000 Middlebury students and parents in a dining hall designed for no more than 500 people per meal.Sunday Oct. 66 am: The Ross Dining Crew arrives at work to find their space vandalized once again. A large window is smashed from the inside and food is strewn about the dining hall floor. They estimate the cost for this damage at $2,500. You may be thinking: "My parents pay $38,500 a year for me to go here. I should be able to do what I want." This is a phrase we have all heard some version of a 1,000 times before. But the fact is that $38,500 dollars DOES NOT give anyone the right to vandalize their community and disrespect the people who work so hard to make this our home. What if someone did this to your kitchen at home? Having been college students ourselves for the past four years, we truly do understand the perspective of a student who is frustrated with the College. However, as Commons Residential Assistants, we can honestly say that we know how much more there is more to every situation than meets the eye. If Middlebury students had any idea how many people were involved in trying to make this College a good place for them, I think they'd be shocked, and just maybe some of them would stop taking it for granted.We ask that you consider not what the College has NOT done with your $38,500, but what the College HAS done with your $38,500. A great many people have been disheartened at these incidents of vandalism, and there is no amount of money that can compensate for that. As a community we can and must ensure that this does not happen again. Parham Gardner and Meredith Bazirgan are Ross Commons CRAs.
(09/13/02 12:00am)
Author: Gale Berninghausen What do a Junior National Champion kayaker, a pitcher-magician-pianist-composer, a best selling children's book author and wildlife preservationist from Kenya, a documentary film maker and volunteer at the Tibetan Children's Village in Dharamsala, India and a Junior Olympic freestyle skier have in common? They are all members of Middlebury's Class of 2006.Austin Krissoff, from Reno, Nev., is a swimmer and water polo player here at Middlebury. He has also been a competitive member of the U.S. Junior National Downriver Kayak Team since 1998. Krissoff has kayaked in two pre-World Championships, one World Championship and was the U.S. Junior National Champion in 2000. These competitions, and his kayaking training and adventures, have taken him all over the country and world, including various rivers in California, Washington, Colorado, Austria, Italy, Germany, British Columbia and Indonesia. Krissoff remarked that his favorite thing about kayaking "is the places it takes you and things you get to see!" Downriver kayaking is bigger in Europe than in the U.S. It is a timed race, usually lasting about 20 minutes, in which the kayaker must navigate through class III-class IV rapids in the speediest time possible. Austin spends the majority of his summer training to build up endurance and hone his technique. He is excited about the World Cup, which will be held in California in June 2003, and plans to train for it on the Otter Creek during the spring. Krissoff gave his approval for the water around here, saying that, "the Otter Creek is good white water!" Alex Casnocha is the newest pitcher on Middlebury's baseball team. "Baseball is America's favorite past time…I love baseball." he says with a giant grin. He also happens to be a magician, in the style of David Blaine. Casnocha has been doing magic since the seventh grade when a new magic shop moved into his hometown of San Francisco. He began studying magic books and developing card tricks and routines. Casnocha says that good presentation and an interesting storyline are essential in magic and music, his other favorite hobby.Casnocha began playing the piano at a young age and was composing piano and full orchestral music by the eighth grade. He describes his music as "New Age." After his freshman year of high school he recorded his first CD. During high school he composed pieces for school concerts, a school fight song and his own response to Sept. 11, 2001, called "Rhapsody in Black." These songs were recorded on a second CD during his senior year. Alex enjoys being a baseball player-magician-pianist-composer. With baseball he can impress people but, he says, with "music and magic you can connect to people in so many different ways. You touch people and you don't have to even speak the same language."Xan Hopcraft's home is about 45 minutes from Nairobi, Kenya, on his family's 20,000-acre game ranch. He is bilingual, fluent in English and Swahili. Hopcraft's family had an adopted male cheetah named Dooms until Hopcraft was seven. In 1994, when Xan was 10 years old, he co-authored a children's book, "How It Was with Dooms," which was published by Simon and Schuster. The book became a best seller and won the Children's Book Council and Notable Children's Trade Book prizes. Warner Bros. has since bought the rights for "How It Was with Dooms." For several years, Hopcraft has participated in the annual Rhino Charge, a daylong road race. This race is a fundraiser to build an electric fence around Aberdares National Park, which would protect the wildlife from poachers. In the Rhino Charge, teams of four or five use an all-terrain vehicle to try to make it between a series of 10 checkpoints in the shortest time possible. This past June, Hopcraft raised 339,000 Kenyan shillings, or about $4,250, in the Rhino Charge. He mentioned that someday his father would like to organize a program that brings Middlebury students to their ranch in Kenya to study the wildlife and African plains preservation. Hopcraft encourages people to "be open minded and go to Africa to learn more about it." Divya Khosla, from Saddle River, N.J., was very active in Students For a Free Tibet during high school and founded her school's Human Rights Organization her freshman year. The organization grew from four to 65 people during her four years at Dwight Englewood School. Khosla's experiences with activism for human rights have not only occurred during the school year. Since 1998, Divya has spent three summers in Dharamsala, India, where the Tibetan government is stationed in exile. Khosla was "impressed by the fusion of Tibetan and Indian culture" and remarks that "this sparked a lot of curiosity."She became a volunteer at the Tibetan Children's Village (TCV), which is the home of 2,500 orphaned children, and is directed by the sister of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. During her summers there, Khosla spoke with the Dalai Lama about Students For a Free Tibet. While at TCV, Divya made a three-and-one-half hour documentary film about the children. The film has appeared in museums throughout New York City and Khosla has spoken at several events. She is still in the process of editing the documentary but she hopes to eventually send it to an independent film festival. Divya has plans: "I hope to organize a program that will bring students to work in TCV during the summer."Jono Berliner lives an interesting double life. He's from Connecticut where he attended the Hopkins School in New Haven. Since the age of eight, Jono has traveled to Mount Snow, Vt., every weekend during the months of November through March. When Berliner was 12 he joined the Mount Snow Ski Team as a freestyle skier. He has competed throughout Vermont and New England and at the 2001 Junior Olympics in Big Mountain, Mont. Freestyle skiing is judged for turns in moguls, air off two jumps and time (about 30 seconds). For Berliner, "half of skiing is learning how to cope with the pressure of competing. It's really tough but it's a good learning experience." Berliner plans to train at Mount Snow during winter break this year. While at Middlebury, he hopes to compete on Vermont's mountains such as Killington and Sugarbush. Berliner's biggest goal is to someday make the U.S. Ski Team, and to be a competitive force in the Winter Olympics. Berliner has already qualified as one of the top 50 skiers in country for the U.S. Ski Team. Until then, you can count on seeing Jono at the Middlebury's Snow Bowl as he pursues a spot on the Ski Patrol. At Middlebury, you often discover someone who has a talent, experience or interest that you've never heard of, imagined or talked about. The Campus discovered these five unique first years and we know that there are many more from the Class of 2006 with fascinating stories to tell.
(05/08/02 12:00am)
Author: David Lindholm The Middlebury baseball team finished their campaign on the road as a 2-2 week closed out the Panthers' season. The final four games were indicative of much of the season for the team, which enjoyed a thrilling victory, received strong pitching from some young guns, but ultimately saw it end in disappointment. The Panthers finished with a final record of 12-16, and 5-7 within the NESCAC Western Division, though the season could have been turned by timely hitting in a few key situations.The week started with a 3-0 victory over St. Michael's College, a game that was dominated by pitching on both sides, but especially by sophomore Chris Fraser, who earned the win in a fine outing. His pitching quelled the Purple Knights' offense, and paved the way for a John Prescott '03 two RBI hit in the fifth inning, a lead that the Panthers would not relinquish. Also having strong days at the plate were Richard Hightower '04, who went 2-3, and Denny Smith '03, who had a triple.On Friday the team blew into Lewiston, Maine, finding sunny skies but also blustery, cold and windy conditions. After taking a while to warm up, both teams scored two runs in the fourth inning and one each in the fifth. The Panthers were finally able to take a 6-5 lead in the sixth inning, but Bates would not die and quickly struck back and tied the game. Once again, late-inning drama ensued as Prescott found a pitch to hit and took full advantage, knocking himself in for the game winning run, blasting a shot over the fence for a home run. "John's homer in the ninth was a bomb," said one Panther fan that was at the game. "It sent the Middlebury parents away happy." Prescott and sophomore Jake Armstrong led the team with two hits apiece, while Jon Downs '02 had an RBI double. Ben Christensen '04 pitched well in relief to earn the win.Unfortunately, the drama and momentum of Friday could not carry over onto Saturday's double-header, with a Bowdoin team that had been in last place in the NESCAC Eastern Division coming into the games. Middlebury had not been counting on the pitching of Polar Bear senior Scott Jamieson, who played a major role in both Bowdoin wins on the day.Jamieson threw a two-hitter in the first game, going all seven innings as the Polar Bears mauled the Panthers by a score of 9-1. Armstrong and Brian Hamm '02 accounted for all the offense in the first game, as both had the only hits for the Panthers, and Hamm scored on Armstrong's fifth inning single.While the second game was much closer, Middlebury was still unable to put in their best performance. The Panthers hopped out to a 3-0 lead before Bowdoin scored seven runs in the bottom of the third to take a 7-3 lead. The Panthers cut the margin to 7-5 with runs in the fourth and fifth, but the Polar Bears brought in three more in the sixth for the 10-5 win. Five different Middlebury players had one hit for the Panthers, while Downs had an RBI double."Overall it was a disappointing season," said co-captain Hamm. "We had more talent than our record showed we did, and that's the one thing you never want to do: waste talent. It was a combination of us not playing well and the ball not bouncing our way," continued Hamm. But the senior was able to find a highlight in not only this season, but also his own career, and those of his classmates. "We [the seniors] have done what other classes have never done before. We were only two games under .500 in our career, and [when compared with teams of the past, that's pretty impressive. The seniors have taken our program to a new level, and the team now has enough talent to take it to the next level, and be competitors within NESCAC.With the season now over for the Panthers, the team can be gratified about many exciting close games that they were able to pull out, but it will also be sure to rue the missed chances earlier in the season. The Panthers lost in close games to three NESCAC West foes: Williams, Amherst and Wesleyan, that, with a win, could have totally changed the season. An ten-inning, 11-10 loss to Williams in Fort Myers, Fla., a 2-0 loss to Amherst in 16 innings and 2-1 loss at Wesleyan each, with results reversed, would've put the Panthers in prime position for a NESCAC Tournament run. The team's 12-16 record will be seen as a disappointment, but overall the team accomplished many things, including many gutsy, close-game wins.
(05/08/02 12:00am)
Author: Andrea Gissing Three options are currently available for students wishing to pursue studies in African-American Studies. First, they can minor in African-American Studies. Second, they can pursue a major in African-American Studies through the Independent Scholars program. Last, they can make African-American Studies their concentration within the American Civilizations major. Many students are unaware of this third option, however, as it has not been specifically stated in the course catalog. Associate Provost and Associate Professor of American Literature and Civilizations Tim Spears and Student Government Association (SGA) Director of Academic Affairs Suzanne Slarsky '02 have collaborated this year to ensure that the language in the course catalog will be changed for the upcoming academic year. "Making African-American Studies a concentration within American Civilization does not constitute a change to the major," said Spears. "Rather, we have clarified the language in the catalog so that students are more aware of what is possible to study, and focus on, as an American Civilization major."While this new wording makes the option to pursue African-American Studies within the American Civilization major more visible, there are still some concerns about how much of an effect this will have on the development of an African-American Studies program at Middlebury. "An African-American Studies program examines, from numerous disciplinary perspectives, the experiences of people of African descent in black Atlantic societies," said Randy Cofield '02. "Students should be exposed to the historical, cultural, political, economic and social development of people of African descent. Having African-American Studies as a concentration within the American Civilization department would not allow a student to gain a complete undergraduate understanding of what the black experience has been and still is today.""I believe African-American culture, history and literature should be studied within the American Civilization major. In fact, it already is," affirmed Spears. "Of course, that doesn't mean that Middlebury couldn't also offer an African-American major or establish a program or department in African-American Studies. Should Middlebury establish a deparment of African-American Studies? That is a question about resources and curricular philosophy, which I am sure would be vigorously discussed should it come before the faculty."Among the SGA's initiatives this past year, the development of the current African-American Studies program at Middlebury has been one of the most publicized. SGA President Brian Elworthy '02.5 said that he and Slarsky wanted to demonstrate to the College campus that "the interest [in an African-American Studies major] exists among students and it's time for a sustained discussion." Dialogue on the establishment of an African-American Studies major began last year during Elworthy's campaign, especially through meetings with several student organizations, including the African American Alliance (AAA) and the Pan African Latino Asian Native American (PALANA) Center. "The College attracts an increasingly diverse student body with increasingly diverse interests, and we should continue to reflect this in our curriculum," said Elworthy. On March 13, the SGA published a petition in The Middlebury Campus showing over 500 student signatures supporting the establishment of an African-American Studies major. The latest progress accomplished by the SGA is not an African-American Studies major, but a clarification of a pre-existing option within the American Civilization department. Nevertheless, the PALANA Center honored Elworthy and the SGA last Wednesday night with a certificate of recognition for the group's efforts in bringing the issue of African-American Studies to the public eye. "This recognition shows that the SGA is starting to address issues that in the past may have been inadvertently overlooked," said Elworthy. "It is also a reminder to the SGA that the PALANA [Center], and all the student organizations on campus, are a true asset and an integral component of effective leadership because we represent them, we answer to them and therefore we must listen to them."
(05/08/02 12:00am)
Author: Claire Bourne Media Mogul Geffen Donates $200 Million to UCLAHollywood tycoon David Geffen has announced that he will donate $200 million to the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) medical school. This is the largest single donation ever given to a U.S. medical school. Geffen has not specified how the institution should spend the money. Gerald S. Levey, dean of the UCLA medical school, said that Geffen's gift would go towards training medical scientists, research and financial aid for students.In addition, the school will be renamed the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.The UCLA theater was renamed the Geffen Playhouse a few years ago after he donated $5 million to the university.Geffen, co-founder of DreamWorks entertainment company, has donated millions to various medical-related causes, including gifts of $2.5 million to AIDS Project Los Angeles, $2.5 million to the Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York and $1.4 million to AIDS Action in Washington, D.C.Source: The Associated PressMore and More Small Colleges DisappearingSince 1997, 27 of the nation's 1,600 private colleges have announced plans to shut down, a 35 percent upsurge from the previous five-year period. Dozens more are facing tough financial situations and may risk closing their doors if the national economy does not improve. Marginal private institutions have experienced decreased enrollment due to cheaper public colleges and universities. "Most of the rising demographic demand generated by Baby Boom 2 is being absorbed by public universities and community colleges," explained John Nelson, a vice president at Moody's Investment Service. Whereas 50 years ago half of college students attended private institutions, less than one-fifth do today.Many regional colleges are reworking their curriculums and rewriting their mission statements in an attempt to attract more students. They are also offering more scholarship money to alleviate the cost of tuition. Some, like Marymount College Tarrytown, located just north of New York City, have decided to merge with stronger institutions in order to provide students with more state of the art facilities.According to Morton Shapiro, president of Williams College and an economist of higher education, less than 50 of the nation's 500 private liberal arts colleges are not facing financial crises.Source: The New York TimesSexually Explicit UConn TV Show Deemed OffensiveA student-run television program at the University of Connecticut has drawn ire from community members who claim its content contributes to a misogynistic climate on campus.The show, entitled "I Did Your Mother," broadcasts sexually graphic discussions and skits. Co-host Joseph Kingsley said that the show was meant to be humorous, however critics accuse Kingsley of filling the airwaves with content that is offensive to women. Broadcast on UCTV, a student-run channel on the University's cable system, the show is not policed by University officials because it is run independently by a student board. Eddie Daniels, director of campus activities, said that "the first level of accountability" was with the students."I am more upset that these people have nothing better to do than infringe on my freedom of speech," Kingsley said. "We're doing nothing on the air that hasn't been on Howard Stern or a thousand other shows."Source: CNN.comFairfield University Hostage Suspect to Plead InsanityA former Fairfield University student accused of holding a classroom of students hostage with a fake bomb in February will use the insanity defense during his trial. Patrick Arbelo's lawyer filed documents in Bridgeport, Conn., Superior Court announcing his intention to argue that his client suffered an "extreme emotional disturbance" during the seven-hour standoff because of an emotional disease from which he was suffering. Two mental health specialists are slated to testify on Arbelo's behalf.Arbelo faces 27 counts of kidnapping in the altercation during which a university academic building was cleared and hostages were released without incident over a period of seven hours. Arbelo, who is legally blind, carried a cardboard box with exposed wires into a classroom on Feb. 12 claiming to have a bomb, Bridgeport police charged.Source: The New York Times
(05/01/02 12:00am)
Author: David Lindholm After a split double-header against Castleton College on Saturday, Mother Nature threw a wicked curve ball to the Middlebury baseball team last weekend, as the seniors on the team missed what were to have been their last two home games of the season. Forecasts of rain and snow forced an end to Sunday's double-header against NESCAC powerhouse Trinity College. The Panthers had been poised for a four-game, action-packed weekend against solid teams, but the weather managed to rain on the parade of the team's seven seniors. Although the Panthers were not able to play on Sunday, they can look to the fact that they, as a team, have greatly improved over the past week, yielding a four win, two loss record over that span. Middlebury ace and senior Tyler Conrad was able to throw one final home game, and he made the most of it, coming up with the win in Saturday's first Castleton game by allowing five runs over seven innings and striking out nine batters in the contest. While Conrad kept the Castleton hitters in check, the Panthers launched an offensive of their own. Led by the bat of Dan Colonno '02, who had two hits and two RBI, as well as Craig Hanson '03, who had two runs scored, the Panthers were able to put runs on the board at key points in the game. The Spartans took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but by the fourth, the Panthers had tied the game back up, only to find themselves trailing again in the fifth, this time by a score of 5-4. The sixth inning was critical, as Middlebury rallied for the final three runs of the game, as the score rested at 7-5."It was good to get a win for the seniors, especially during one of our last home games of the season," said first baseman Hanson. "I was glad to contribute any way I could." In game two of the double-header, the Panther pitching remained solid but the hitting was simply nowhere to be found as the Panthers were shut out, 3-0. Middlebury was only able to muster up four hits in the game, two by Richard Hightower '04, and thus it was impossible for first-year pitcher Russell Budnick's seven inning, five hit, five strikeout performance to earn the win.After an up-and-down season, Middlebury now has to close out the campaign with four games on the road. The team first travels for a nine-inning game at St. Michael's College on Wednesday, facing a struggling Purple Knight squad that has lost four of their last five and holds a 10-11 overall record. Then, over the weekend, the Panthers face two Eastern Division NESCAC foes; Bates on Saturday and Bowdoin on Sunday. The teams sit third and fourth, respectively, out of five teams in the NESCAC Eastern division, both with losing records within and outside of the league. The Panthers will be trying for two wins to close out a tough year.As head coach Bob Smith reported last week, the team's 10-14 record is somewhat deceiving, with the team having lost many close games. "We're a run away from beating" such perennially strong teams as Wesleyan, Williams and Amherst, Smith commented, and thus taking the third, and tie-breaking game in each series. Though the team's chance for a .500 season was washed out by the rain, the team has improved by leaps and bounds this year, and shows flashes of brilliance in every game. If the team can put it all together this weekend, they should leave Maine with the satisfaction of having finished the season on a high note.— Neil Onsdorff contributed to the reporting in this article.
