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(05/05/05 12:00am)
Author: Andrea M. LaRocca When Eric Johnson '05 was accepted to Boston University (BU) to play hockey, he jumped at the chance to live his dream of passing the puck for a nationally ranked Division I hockey team. But now, four years later, Johnson, who helped carry the Middlebury men's hockey team to a National Championship last year, will graduate wearing Middlebury blue and white instead of Boston's red and white. And he's that much happier for it.Johnson, a Duluth, Minn. native, matriculated to BU for his freshman year in September 2001 with two of the highest academic honors that the university gives to incoming students: a place in the highly-competitive Arts and Science Honors Program and the title of University Scholar. As a first-year forward on the hockey team at BU, Johnson did not see much playing time, but he trained hard with the Terriers all the same. However, Johnson wanted as much competition on the ice as off, and so halfway through his sophomore year, he decided to transfer to Middlebury to pursue a more academically oriented college education."BU didn't really work out," said Johnson. "I wanted more playing time and the coach said that I would be a great Division III player, so he helped me transfer to Middlebury." In February 2003, Johnson joined the Class of '05, as well as the Middlebury men's hockey team. During his first year on the Panthers' ice, Johnson doubled at playing both attack and midfield and ended the season with a record of two assists in his eight appearances. Last year, however, he played in nearly all the games - 25 in total - and came out with one goal and four assists. Johnson's only goal in his Middlebury career was in a 7-1 win vs. Tufts in the NESCAC Quarterfinal on Feb 28, 2004, when goaltender Marc Scheuer '04 gave Johnson the puck deep in his own zone. Johnson took the puck the length of the ice on his own and fired a shot past the goaltender. Johnson and the Panthers went on to win the National Championship last year, and his ring takes pride of place in a cluttered trophy cabinet in his Duluth bedroom. Coming off the championship title, however, Johnson had to make another decision. His major, International Studies with foci in Political Science and Spanish, required him to go abroad for a semester. Johnson chose to go to Spain and sacrificed his senior hockey season at Middlebury. Johnson, a hockey addict, made the decision after meeting with Men's Hockey Coach Bill Beaney, who still left the door open for Johnson to return to the team after returning from Spain. Johnson ultimately elected to forgo a chance for a second ring.But Johnson wasn't about to give up sports altogether. In high school, Johnson played three years of varsity soccer and golf in addition to his four year career as a varsity hockey player - which included 80 hockey games, 26 goals, 44 assists and two spots on a select team - so he simply decided to take them all up again and join as many intramural (IM) teams as possible when he returned to Middlebury this January."It's all about the competition and the people," said Johnson about why he likes IM sports. "You walk around school and you see people that you might not think ever strive to be good at sports and then you get out on the field and you see sides of those people that you never even imagined.""Edge," as his IM teammates affectionately refer to him, currently plays on the Xi Omega Great White Yaks soccer team at Middlebury, but to say that he simply plays is an understatement - he plays on these teams with gusto, pouring all his varsity athletic prowess into what some consider just an afternoon activity. During the winter term, he anchored the Yaks' indoor soccer team as goalkeeper and led them to victory as the IM soccer champions. He hopes to do the same this spring season.Johnson's athletic career at Middlebury, varsity and otherwise, is fast coming to a close, but while some players will leave with a freeze-frame image ingrained in their memory, Johnson will remember both the Kenyon crowd and the less celebrated but still rowdy IM sidelines. "Playing well in front a large crowd is always a big thrill, but I can't say that I have a single moment that I'll remember, like a big goal or a big play," said Johnson."Edge" will graduate in two weeks proudly wearing Middlebury blue and white, and with his diploma, he will take with him unforgettable memories of the Middlebury ice and the long, competitive afternoons that he spent out on the athletic fields, pouring his heart into his IM sports games. He may not play varsity anymore, but he'll always play like a Panther.
(05/05/05 12:00am)
Author: Sixiao Huo Though it was cold and rainy outside, MIDDance's spring performance heated up McCullough Social Space on Saturday night. A standing-room-only crowd cheered, laughed and shimmied in the aisles to the program's 19 pieces, unified under the theme "Old Skool." By the final curtain at 9:30 p.m., dancers and audience alike were tired yet smiling from the show's contagious energy. The performance opened with a troupe of 10 middle schoolers starring in "Roc Ya Body." Though they were certainly enthusiastic, the youngsters have a ways to go if they want to someday emulate the performances that followed. Attracting support from Middlebury residents was a major goal of the program, according to MIDDance tri-president Tina Velez '05. "We wanted to make it a family show," she said. Including younger members of the community encouraged friends and parents to attend, filling the audience with fans of all ages. In total, 290 tickets were sold. Skip Branch '06, one of the event's MCs, also touted the show's charitable contributions, noting that proceeds from the show went to Equality Now, an international women's rights organization.The rest of the show embodied the group's mission statement, which reads, "We, the students of MIDDance, promise to dance our hearts out and enjoy performing at all levels." The roster covered a variety of dances from countries around the world. Genres such as ballet, tap dancing, a "South Asian Invasion" and plenty of hip-hop ran the gamut of styles. The show's musical choices were also wide-ranging, spanning artists from Elton John to 50 Cent. Ross Commons CRA and avid fan Michelle Rey lauded the program's diversity. "I liked that they covered lots of nationalities," she said. First-time attendees also enjoyed the show. Evan Leitch '06 admitted that he "had no idea Middlebury had such a vibrant dance community." One of the performance's many highlights was a step-for-step reenactment of the final scene from Dirty Dancing. With Bill Medley's "The Time of My Life" blasting over the sound system, Asher Burns-Burg '05.5 and Cyn Hernandez '05 became Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, respectively. Nobody put Baby in the corner as the pair spun and shook to the delight of the crowd. And yes, they even nailed the lift. Another fan favorite was "Back to the 80's," choreographed by Julie Rankin '05. Serving as the gym class embodiment of the "Old Skool" theme, the piece included 13 performers clad mostly in tight fitting neon garb. Headbands and belly shirts for the male dancers completed the authentic look as the group gyrated to a Romanian techno beat. "The most important part was that the people on stage were having fun," quipped Rankin, noting that she also wanted to do "something people could laugh at."Indeed, it was difficult to tell whether the audience or the dancers enjoyed themselves more. The crowd roared during the entire show, often cheering for favorite dancers by name. For their part, many of the performers sported grins for the duration of their time on stage. Having fun is one of the pillars of MIDDance - the group does not hold tryouts and many of its members had never even danced in front of an audience before. "I wanted it to be informal," remarked Rankin. Her group rehearsed for only an hour each week until doubling practice time as the performance approached, and the entire production was not rehearsed until one week in advance. But the polished moves that filled the stage on Saturday suggested much more rigorous preparation. One of the show's few blemishes was a near drop during a particularly difficult Midd Cheer maneuver, but the tumbler in question arose unscathed and the group finished the dance with plenty of good cheer.This was the first year MIDDance received funding to promote the event. Velez suggested that the promotion and costumes that financial support made possible led to "one of the best shows we've produced." Everyone involved agreed with that assessment, and Middlebury's dance aficionados are primed for yet another lively performance when Riddim's spring show takes the stage this Friday. Like MIDDance's "Old Skool," it is sure to be a smash hit.
(05/05/05 12:00am)
Author: Megan O’Keefe After winning laughs on stage last weekend as Joe Farkas in "The Last Night of Ballyhoo," Andrew Zox '05 will try his hand at comedy once again this weekend when he presents "In a Pig's Valise," his senior directing work, in the Hepburn Zoo. The play, a parody of the 1940s detective genre, stars John Stokvis '05 (senior work) as detective James Taxi alongside Eliza Hulme '05 as Dolores Con Leche, a woman searching for her missing sister. Despite the play's mysterious premise, Zox said the work is above all a comedy. "It's a combination of physical comedy with detective-style Shakespeare," he noted. "It's a funny play. We see a lot of dark shows on campus and I wanted to do something uplifting."Written as a musical, "In A Pig's Valise" was adapted by Zox and the play's band director Ari Joseph '05, who together removed 80 percent of the show's original music and reworked the play with a new soundtrack, including new compositions written especially for Zox's production. Despite changes to the play's original musical format, a band shares the stage with actors during much of the show and salsa-dancing sequences take center stage during a nightclub scene.Zox, who has previously directed "Long Ago & Far Away" and "Three Days of Rain" in the Hepburn Zoo, selected "In a Pig's Valise" as his senior directing work after seeing Hulme and Stokvis perform a scene from the play in an acting class last spring. Like Zox, Stokvis was drawn to the script's comedic elements. He said, "People will not stop laughing from the moment it starts to the moment it ends. It's hotter than a freshman in a Catholic schoolgirl uniform."Zox was tight-lipped about the meaning of the play's title, but audiences will have a chance to solve that mystery for themselves when the play opens tonight. "In a Pig's Valise" will be performed in the Hepburn Zoo today at 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
(04/21/05 12:00am)
Author: Angelica Maria Towne '08 On April 1, over 80 Middlebury students filed onto two buses to spend the weekend at a resort for something called a POSSE Plus Retreat. For those who didn't know what a retreat entailed or even what POSSE Plus meant, the two-hour ride to Lake Morey was spent clarifying rumors. If POSSE isn't a gang, what is it? If a POSSE Plus Retreat doesn't just address issues with racism, what does it address? If POSSE is exclusive, why am I here?First-year POSSE Scholar Brian Pacheco explained briefly in between naps. "POSSE is a scholarship program for exceptional students and leaders from urban public schools. POSSE Plus or POSSE Plus People for alliteration, are the students who go on this retreat that are not in POSSE," said Brian to the giggling bus. "And you were invited to this retreat because a POSSE scholar respects and wants to hear your opinions about issues affecting Middlebury." The specifics of the retreat were left semi-mysterious until its start. Most only knew the snazzy topic from reading their invitation - Get up! Stand up! Apathy Empathy and Activism at Middlebury College. The topic was designed by POSSE scholars in response to a growing controversy at Middlebury over what is the most appropriate reaction to offensive incidents on campus. At an all-POSSE meeting, they discussed specific controversial incidents such as contentious parties themed "Cowboys and Indians," and "CEO's and Executive Hoes," as well as the reactions these incidents elicited such as demonstrations, discussions and publications in The Middlebury Campus. Bigger questions arose about the dynamics of Middlebury's social atmosphere. Why are potentially offensive events created and tolerated or not? Is the Middlebury community apathetic? Does Middlebury repress or encourage activism? What are the effective means of communication and mobilization on campus? How can students choose which issues to ignore? Where can a student's voice be heard? Do all students have a responsibility to take action? Does activism even make a difference?The POSSE Foundation staff hoped through the discussions, honest dialogues, fun games, intense deliberations and unique exercises planned for the retreat, that the Middlebury students and faculty in attendance would uncover new insights, tactics of activism and inspiration to contribute to the Middlebury community. It comes as no surprise that many returned claiming they had "an entirely new perspective on the power of an individual at Middlebury and in society," as first-year Lemar Clarke recounted. Charzetta Nixon, a junior POSSE scholar who, although she attends the POSSE Plus Retreat every year, still found the retreat to be life-changing. She said, "The retreat was a wonderful way for me to reflect on what I stand for and permitted me to see that I do not have to feel guilty about being an artist and not a grass roots revolutionary. I realized that through my art I can make a stance and affect change." Faculty responses were equally approving. Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Roger Sandwick echoed this enthusiasm, stating, "It was great fun and I learned a tremendous amount about POSSE, Middlebury students, Middlebury College life and myself. I would say in the three years I've been at Middlebury, the retreat was perhaps the most worthwhile event I've attended."Microlab, arguably one of the most mind-blowing exercises, entailed a small discussion circle of about six members of a group being enclosed by a larger circle of people. While an honest dialogue amongst the members of some of the most marginalized groups on campus took place in the small circle, everyone else listened silently.Homosexuals, athletes, conservatives and feminists groups that are deeply affected by stereotypes prejudices and misrepresentation, answered questions freely and had a chance to be heard. "I'd never heard an intelligent conservative viewpoint before - when Bush speaks I just boo or change the channel. I'm glad I was forced to really listen. It's changed the way I view other people and the way I view myself," said first-year Aaron Gensler. First-year POSSE Scholar Merisha Enoe was also moved, commenting, "Witnessing the groups interact without a condemning voice - such a great way of learning - just listening." However, there was also plenty of time for those who were interested in engaging in some serious discussions. "I finally got a chance to address those so-called sketchy issues. We were an intellectual community at its finest, discussing how our identities shape who we are and what we fight for," declared sophomore POSSE scholar ReNard Rogers who continued, saying, "I have a better understanding of how issues with gender, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, class and privilege divide a community." Senior POSSE Scholar Lauren Curatolo, after a riveting game of butt shuffle, concluded, "Our fire is now burning so brightly that it will, I am sure, light up this campus and the world."The retreat experience is different for each individual depending upon the amount of time one invests in socializing, playing, debating or reflecting. A tight schedule of thought provoking workshops, three-course meals and discussions kept the POSSE Plus-ers engaged and excited. First-year POSSE scholar Aifuwa Ehigiator, for one, left with a new sense of community. "The retreat came at a great time when I needed a break from Midd and needed some POSSE love. The most important thing the retreat did was making me understand that I am loved by many and appreciated by even more," she said.
(04/21/05 12:00am)
Author: Polly Johnson I've driven past that mysterious building overlooking the town green hundreds of times, wondering why it's covered in scaffolding and why I have never heard anything about it. After my Monday afternoon tour of the renovation project with Executive Director Doug Anderson, however, I learned what an interesting history the structure has and what an impressive future is in store for it.The Town Hall Theater has a long history - it was constructed in 1884 by architect Clinton Smith to be the town hall of Middlebury. It included town offices and a theater, and it was once the cultural hub of Middlebury life. In the 1950s, however, the town offices were relocated and the building was sold. It was turned into a bar and the interior was ripped out and gutted and what was once the heart of community life slowly deteriorated into an empty, windowless shell. I toured the building with Anderson, who was a theater professor at Middlebury in the '80s, and who works now with the music and theater departments. The outside of the building looks crumbled in places, due to the bricks that have been removed to unveil the windows. The inside looks like a construction site, although its high ceilings and big stage foreshadow a future of a beautiful theater and community space. The walls show remnants of wallpaper dating back to when it first opened in 1884. Anderson foresees the site as a completely community-oriented space, where shows, weddings and concerts can take place. He also envisions it being used by the local schools for performances. Anderson was eager to share the Town Hall Theater's history and the current status of its renovation."There was a big movement in the 1990s to restore many of the town halls in Vermont, which had a lot to do with our senator Jim Jeffords," who provided state funding, Anderson explained. "The town pretty much forgot it had ever had a theater, and when I taught at Middlebury in the '80s, I wondered why we didn't have a theater." At the time Anderson decided to pursue the project, "it was a bar, there were no windows anywhere, it was a horrible space and only the remains of the theater were left upstairs."Anderson worked with Christian A. Johnson Professor of Art Glenn Andres, going around town and asking local citizens about raising money. Along the way, they questioned if what they were trying to accomplish was even feasible.Remarkably, they "got lots of great feedback from the town and we raised $500,000, with the help of the College as well." Anderson said, "So far, we've raised $1.8 million and we still have a couple million more to go." Although he noted that they will probably never make back all the money they will eventually end up spending on it, he admitted that's just what happens when you do work like this. The ultimate payoff will not be monetary, but rather it will be the excitement of having a cultural center for the residents of Middlebury. On July 3, 2005, there will be a special ceremony, which will include returning the town bell that currently sits in front of the Sheldon Museum to the theater. Anderson told me the story of the bell - in the '50s, Sam Emilo, a controversial town resident, stole the bell from the town hall in the middle of the night because he wanted to melt it into scrap metal and sell it. The townspeople immediately responded, collecting money so that they could buy it back from him. They caught up with Emilo in Rutland and bargained with him so that Middlebury won the bell back, with the provision that Emilo be credited as the giver of the bell. Now, on the plaque next to the bell in front of the Sheldon Museum, there is a plaque that recognizes the bell as a gift from Emilo to the community.In remembrance of that story and the townspeople who had the will to save a valuable part of Middlebury, on July 3, 2005, two Morgan Horses will carry a cart holding the bell through the town. It will be returned to the Town Hall, and will be followed by a community picnic on the town green, during which the townspeople will hear the bell's ring for the first time for decades. The community has welcomed this project with open arms, and as Anderson said encouragingly, "Everybody's behind this, everyone wants this."
(04/21/05 12:00am)
Author: Caitlin Taylor On Friday April 15, the African American Alliance (AAA) Fashion Show transformed McCullough Social Space into an urban center. The walls were littered with newspapers, the lights were dim and a backdrop depicting a "Music Hall" with a sign advertising"Live Shows Daily" hung behind the stage. Colorful graffiti was scrawled across the newspapers with messages such as "NY Express" and "F- the World." To complete the scene, hip-hop beats were throbbing through the speakers on either side of the newly created city-center. An influx of people scrambled to find seats. As Alexis Zain '05 took center stage to introduce the show, the crowd went wild.The annual show, directed by Zain, took on a city theme this year and was conseqently appropriately named "Faces of the City: Past, Present and Future Face of Urban Fashion." When asked about the décor, Zain explained, "the theme was the city and whatever inspiration [the choreographers] got from that they put forth. The newspaper resembles not just the trash in the city, but the beauty of the city, and what you can do with paper." By suggesting a $1 donation, the fashion show raised money for the Four Angels Award Fund, established in honor of four women of color who died in a car accident six years ago. Each year, Middlebury College presents the award to one sophomore woman of color who has made an impact on the Middlebury Community by demonstrating leadership and expressing some of the qualities that the four women embodied.The show, which took about two weeks to plan, accepted everyone who wanted to participate in any of seven different fashion categories. The groups included "Grown and Sexy," "Urban meets Fifth Avenue," "Wicked Street Wear," "Take you Back," "Middlebury's Secret," "Encore: Future Fashion" and "Dance Hall Explosion." Each category was choreographed as an individual piece with various musical melodies blasting through the speakers. The first couples that came onto the stage were part of the "Grown and Sexy" group. They were dressed in formal wear ranging from tight black dresses to elegant silk gowns on the women and black suits on the men. All of the couples strutted onto the runway and walked up and down the "T," doing twists and turns to show all off their gorgeous outfits. "Pop" exuded classiness in the "Grown and Sexy" category by strutting along the runway in his all-white jacket and pantsuit. In the group that followed, the "Urban Meets Fifth Avenue" models were dressed in baggier clothing and looked more casual in their baseball caps, sneakers, fitted blazers and collared shirts. These models, and the models in the next few groups, spent much of their runway time getting the crowd excited. The cheers and shouts of encouragement that burst out of the audience emanated energy towards the stage. In "Take you Back," the music changed drastically from hip-hop to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." The music was accompanied by about 10 girls who ran out onto the stage in various forms of 80's dress including spandex, leotards, colorful streamers, beads and arm and leg warmers. The most shocking moment of the fashion show came when the models of "Middlebury's Secret" emerged on the stage. These girls were scantily clad in high heels, corset tops, thongs, underwear, bras and various other forms of revealing lingerie. The next two acts included "Future Fashion," with models dressed in tinfoil, newspaper, tape and other recyclable outfits and "Dance Hall Explosion," an act that seemed to imitate a Jamaican club scene. At the end of the show, all of the models burst onto the stage and the audience greeted them with an enthusiastic applause.
(04/14/05 12:00am)
Author: Tom McCann A routine a capella practice was rudely interrupted when a flaming ping-pong ball was thrown to the ground in a blind panic. Rolling across the carpet, it set fire to a nearby couch, and once the blaze had been extinguished, the Mamajamas had found the name of their latest CD - Burning Couches.Almost 15 months ago, the members of the Mamajamas, a co-ed a capella group on campus, headed north to a small recording studio in Montreal, owned by a man called Martin in his house full of cats, to record a CD for the first time in several years. Current musical director and soloist in "Man on the Moon" and co-soloist with Josh Transue in "No Diggity," Ryan Reese '06 commented, "I think going to a small recording studio was a pretty intense decision and I feel that ultimately it was a good one. The CD isn't a really clean cut, classy production that has been edited and perfected in a high-tech studio. It's more personal to our group and to our close fans. It actually shows us and how we are as a group." This is clearly illustrated in a "Bonus Track" in which the chatter and dialogue between the members can be heard, adding a very personal touch to the production.While every member will speak to the fun that everyone had over the weekend, sophomore Sally Swallow '07, who is featured as the soloist in "You Sexy Thing," also told of the rigor that went into producing the finished album."We literally sang the whole time, and then we sang more the next day. It was a lot of fun, but by the end of the three days we were vocally tired," she said. She also agreed with Reese in his analysis of the group's representation in the CD, stating, "I think it reflects the fun we were having. It definitely reflects our excitement and how thrilled we were to put the whole thing together." Reese also noted that the weekend was full of "good memories, and I feel like they're contained in the album for me and for the rest of the group too."Swallow highlighted one of the defining characteristics of the CD when she noted, "We have everything from '80s to rap. There's a wide variety, but it's also something we can all relate to and hopefully something that our audience will want to listen to." Certainly the CD encapsulates a wide spectrum of the Mamajama repertoire, from the more well known songs such as "Sunday Morning," sung by Cassidy Freeman '04.5 and "Down Under," by Ben Fainstein '04, to some lesser-known tracks like "Uncle John's Band," sung as a group. While it was inevitable that every member of the group could not have their own solo. Swallow said, "We wanted to make sure that everyone was on the CD or that everyone was happy with what they had contributed to it. Everyone either sings a song or is featured in some part."One only needs to watch the Mamajamas in action for two minutes in order to get a sense for the closeness of the group. Reese commented, "We're a close-knit group and when we accept a new member into the group it's not just accepting someone you're going to sing with, but someone that you're going to share a lot of time with. The relationships within the group mean a lot to people and we spend a lot of time just being us and focusing on the people in the group, not just on the music. That's the part of the group that I've come to enjoy."Susanna Preziosi '05, who along with Teal Tigner '05, missed the recording as a result of studying abroad, added her thoughts on what makes the group so special. "We recognize what makes a co-ed group so special," she said. "It's a family and we're all so close with the guys and girls in it. We go to other extracurricular activities that people are in, eat meals together and rehearsals bring people together too. It's a mixture of music and friendships because we have talented singers, but we try to find the fun in everything."Having finally released their long-awaited compilation, the Mamajamas are already looking to the future. Reese commented, "We're getting to the point where we have enough songs for a new CD, so that might be something for next year." Swallow is also looking ahead, saying, "We're working hard to reach another destination, either a CD or something else that can work as a landmark for us." Ultimately though, she says that the group is "still working towards the best sound possible," and that remains the long-term goal under the guidance of Reese.As it is, "Burning Couches" has finally hit the shelves, and the Mamajamas and their fans finally have a physical representation of the music that they have been sharing for years. No one can deny that it has been a long time in the making, but equally, no one can deny that it has been worth the wait. Sing on.
(04/07/05 12:00am)
Author: JEFF PATTERSON Two hundred-fifty pound David Wells took the mound and maybe some off of it in the time it took for him to throw his 80 pitches, when he opposed the Yankees' 6-10 Randy Johnson. It is arguable that Johnson looked better with a mullet.Both of these over-40 lefties have anything but perfect physiques, yet both have thrown perfect games in their careers. Boomer Wells, with his well-balanced diet of Snackwells and Indian Wells Majovie Gold Premium Lager, and the Big Unit, who is ganglier than a ganglion, are super pitchers, but not supermodels.Many Yankee fans chose to boo from la mer of blue seats when Boomer walked to the visitor's bullpen in order to warm-up. Wells blew on his hand like it was part of his pitching motion, yet opted for short sleeves in the 42-degree weather. He appeared unable to achieve what he had set-out to do: warm-up. He showed signs of a brain freeze when he walked-in the fourth run of the game.The real reason Boston needs to look in the mirror is so its top-notch fans can read the hidden message that is written across the club's road uniforms: (Do) NOT SOB. The Curse has been reversed. Last year, the Beantown Boys looked even worse in their 7-2 loss, on a Sunday night to the Baltimore Orioles. From there they went on to win the World Series. The Red Sox haven't won an Opening Day game since 2000. The first two games of this bitter rivalry were started by National League off-season acquisitions. Carl Pavano (Marlins), the former Red Sox prospect that allowed Boston to acquire Pedro Martinez from the Expos and Matt Clement (Cubs) followed Johnson (Diamondbacks) and Wells (Padres) for the second game of the season. Jay Payton (Padres), Matt Mantei (Diamondbacks) and Edgar Renteria (Cardinals) are now Red Sox, having come over from the NL, while the Yankees brought over Jaret Wright (Braves), Tony Womack (Cardinals) and Mike Stanton (Mets). The number of National League acquisitions for these AL powerhouses raises a question: why would top contenders like the Braves, Cardinals, Cubs and Mets give up star players to their potential opponent in the World Series? Times have changed since the days when baseball players used to stay in the same league for their careers. It wasn't just that the players remained on the same team. They also stayed in the same league. The All-Star game really counted, because fans would root for the league in which their players played. However, now with 19 games against division rivals, general managers have recognized that it would not benefit them to face their former stars over and over again in the regular season. Hopefully, Sunday night's outcome will be reversed during the remainder of the season, and David Wells with start to break pitching records, while Randy Johnson will only break mirrors.
(03/31/05 12:00am)
Author: RICHARD LAWLESS Like any music nerd, I love record shopping in New York. What I don't like are annoying trendy poseur music store clerks in Brooklyn who don't know anything about music. Recently I found myself in a fashionable Brooklyn corner record store, akin to Burlington's Pure Pop Records in the sense that they only carried indie or alternative albums (or mainstream music canonized by critics like Price or R.E.M.). The store clerk was British, so I figured he'd probably have heard of the seminal post-punk, proto-industrial group This Heat, whose out-of-print album "Deceit" I had been trying to track down for months. He hadn't. Instead, he proceeded to tell me about this amazing new band he just heard of called Idlewild. Idlewild? "This Heat" is an incredibly difficult album to track down, even though it was released twice on CD after its original LP release in 1981 - once in the early '90s, and again in 2001 by British label These. Even though the vast, vast majority of people have never heard of this album, let alone this group, the ones who have want "Deceit." Badly. Average prices on Ebay for the album are about $90 or higher, and I'm not even exaggerating. By some beautiful twist of fate, WRMC received (or bought) a copy when it was re-pressed in 2001, so I've had the great fortune of hearing it. So why is there such a massive demand for this album amongst music geeks?While revered by many post-punk/avant-garde fans for years, "Deceit" was put into the upper echelons of must-have albums when those smug Pitchfork journalists ranked it #20 in their Top Albums of the '80s list. Unfortunately, way too many people treat Pitchfork like a Bible, and now every indie hipster feels the need to own this album. Hence, the asking price has been jacked up considerably. I first came across "Deceit" as a vigorous young go-getter at WRMC in my freshman year. It was filed away in the station's small avant-garde section. The intriguing cover - of a colorfully bandaged head against a black background - piqued my interest, not because I'm into bandaged heads, but because it was gripping and not cheesy in the least. I listened to the album, and it literally was unlike anything I had heard before. It's loosely grouped as post-punk because of its release date, and its aversion to mainstream musical elements, but the deceiving thing about "Deceit" is that it's still a pop album, even if the musicians eschew traditional song structures and often embrace abrasive sounds. "S.P.Q.R." is one of the most gripping tracks on the album, beginning with a rhythmic clamoring of drums and cymbals and hyperactive atonal guitar strumming. Vocals come in, singing a beautiful, menacing and melancholic harmony about Romans. Thunderous drum fills punctuate the track before the energy and tension reach a breaking point and the song fades away. The album is full of some of the most original drum beats you'll ever hear on a rock album, taking their cue from improvisational jazz, but wedded to a repetitive groove in such a way that the compositions on "Deceit" still sound vaguely like rock songs. "Cenotaph" begins with such a drum groove, followed by the addition of an atonal guitar solo that precedes the intriguingly harmonized vocals. This Heat is obsessed with history and apocalyptic notions on "Deceit," and the most notorious and repeated lyric in "Cenotaph" is the refrain "History repeats itself." A common tendency for tracks on "Deceit" is to repeat the intricate groove of drums and guitar established while being drowned out by abrasive noise until the song is over. But I'm afraid that these descriptions don't do "Deceit" justice. It's an album that can't be explained except to say that it's a cacophony of free-jazz drumming, atonal guitar riffs, tense Eastern-meets-Western grooves and tape manipulation. It will sound like nothing you've heard before or since. Hey, maybe you'll even shell out $90 for your own copy.
(03/31/05 12:00am)
Author: MATT KUNZWEILER (Quick disclaimer: the following column is intended for the enjoyment of the 80 or so Middlebury College students who don't sing in an a cappella group. I feel obligated to say this because a cappella is a dangerously popular extracurricular activity and the following could turn quite a few people against me. But what the hell.)A cappella, which makes every song sound mysteriously similar to Hanson's "MMMBop," has been politely encouraged for far too long, and we all need to take our a cappella-singing friends aside and tell them the hard honest truth - nobody enjoys this butchery. And no, I will not be purchasing one of your CDs. Please let me enter the dining hall unmolested. I'll be giving my money to the tsunami relief fund at the table next to yours. For the longest time I thought "cappella" meant "talent." Everything a cappella does wrong, Slotter Creek does right. While a cappella groups use guilt tripping and sub par baked goods to attract students to intimate performances where there is plenty of room on the floor to sit cross-legged, Slotter Creek lures people to its sketchy venues with free PBR and obscene volume. It is the volume I appreciate most - a testimony to my thesis - the more cappella, the better. Have you ever seen a George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic concert? There are 15 instrumentalists on stage at any given time, not counting the woman whose only job as far as I can see is to hold joints to the musicians' mouths. And in one form or another, the band has been filling venues for three decades, which is more than anyone can say for Rockappella, the most popular a cappella group in history. The greatest exposure the band ever had was during its five season-long cameo on the educational PBS show for children, "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" They have since enjoyed limited success in Japan.Then why college? Why are we - the supposedly educated - encouraging a dead and aesthetically devoid genre? We need to ask our friends to move on. Sure, I once liked a cappella. But then I discovered that "Saved by the Bell" and "Carmen Sandiego" had competing time slots.The last time I was at Angela's Pub (its slogan is 'Me not drunk!' - seriously, it's on their matchbooks), everyone was dancing sloppily to the DJ's shameless blaring of '80s "butt rock" anthems, the likes of which are often covered by Slotter Creek. A local woman, likely inspired by the liberating hair metal ambiance, propositioned my friend and me for a three person sexual hoorah. I voiced an unequivocal no, but my drinking buddy was disappointed by my lack of gusto and told me to take one for the team. Of course, he is a hopeless romantic. And the rhythm guitarist for Slotter Creek. This was the only time I wished an a cappella CD could be played on the speakers. It would have been the perfect buzzkill.
(03/17/05 12:00am)
Author: Sarah Polling Luehrman Last weekend, Middlebury Swimming and Diving sent a small, elite team of women to the NCAA Division III Championships, where they placed ninth out of 53 teams attending for the second year in a row. The Panthers' strong performance at NCAA's was the culminating event in an amazingly successful season. Senior captain Tessa Truex reflects on "great individual as well as team performances" as well as tremendous team unity throughout the winter. "Some people in the stands [at nationals] and from other teams actually commented on how much fun we looked like we were having and how much team spirit we embodied," says Truex. "It really just felt good to be recognized that way." The team will miss its captains and other seniors who graduate in June, but the strength of the younger team members speaks for itself. Some of the most noteworthy swimmers on the squad still have three seasons ahead of them in fact, almost half of the national team was made up of first year swimmers.Truex, NESCAC diver of the year and national diving champion, contributed incredible skill to her final season as a Middlebury diver. She won the NCAA event with 378.80 points. Truex has won almost every diving event she has participated in since the beginning of the season. Her skills have steadily improved since her strong performance last season. The Panthers boasted not just one, but two national champions upon returning home from NCAA's. Marika Ross '08 came home as the NCAA champion in the 200yd fly event with her time of 2:02.25, setting a new school and NESCAC record. She also earned a second place win in the 400yd IM with a time of 4:29.57, another school record. Her time of 2:06.0 in the 200yd IM earned her All-American status. Ross has had a truly phenomenal season she seemed to break a record every time she stepped onto the blocks. She has brought considerable recognition to the team as a first year, and will undoubtedly continue to do so throughout her Middlebury swimming career. Sara Cowie '08, too, culminated an incredible first season of record breaking swimming with an All-American title in the 1,650m free. She placed fifth in the event with a time of 17:17.10, and 10th in the 500yd free with a time of 5:03.32.In addition to many strong individual performances, both of Middlebury's relay teams finished in the top eight and attained All-American status. Ross, Barbara Van der Veer '07, Liz Rice '07 and Pam Chatikavanij '08 made up the 400yd free relay team, which came in fifth with a time of 3:31.75. The 800yd relay team of Cowie, Ross, Mollie Reed '06 and Katie Chambers '08 placed eighth with 7:46.14.The results that Middlebury saw at the Division III championships reflected a season of hard training and a deep commitment to the team over the course of the entire campaign. The highlight of the season for many was the first NESCAC championship held in the Natatorium, for the team's graduating members, "the perfect way to finish up our swimming and diving careers," according to Truex. She specifically cites "the coaches, namely Lisa Gibbs my diving coach, Peter Solomon the swim coach and Norma Leduc, our assistant swim coach and team cheerleader" as the creators and leaders of an exceptional team. "They are well-respected and loved by everyone."
(03/10/05 12:00am)
Author: Noelle Bullion Children entered a new world filled with underwater excitement upon entering the McCullough social space in the afternoon of Saturday, March 5. The "Dive Into Reading" Carnival 2005, which was co-hosted by Page 1 Literacy and MIX, let kids explore books with 12 stations of crafts based on popular children's literature. This is the third annual Reading Carnival organized by MIX and Page 1. The two groups collaborated their individual contributions well, with Page 1 foused on the literature component of the event and MIX on the culture component. On-campus coordinator of Page 1 Colin Meltzer '05 said the carnival's goal was to "have children from the community interact with college students in an event revolving around literacy."Upon entering, the children received a "passport" to be a "Super Cool Underwater Book Agent." The kids then had Polaroid pictures taken of them and were then sent off on a mission to "dive in and find 12 books!" The craft stations each featured a different book and were overseen by members of many other Campus and student-run organizations including Ross Commons, Xenia, Page 1, MIX, the Pre-Medical Society, Alianza Latinoamericana y Caribena, Dolci, Hillel, Middlebury Asian Student Organization, African American Alliance and Wonnacott Commons.For the event, the social space was decorated with blue and green streamers, brightly painted mermaids, crabs and a variety of other sea creatures - a vibrant set-up for a child's reading adventure. Children, carrying brightly colored winter jackets, filled the room with their laughter and excitement. About 80 to 90 children attended along with their families. MIX President Dena Simmons '05 said, "The carnival was a success. We had more families at the carnival this year than in the past two years." On the stage, a painting of a dolphin announced the "Reading Cove," where enthusiastic college students shared their station's books with the children. Dean Atyia '08.5 read Dr. Seuss' tongue twister "Fox in Sox" and said, "The kids understood it better than I was able to [when younger]."MIX provided food and entertainment, giving families a taste of different cultures with Spanish tortillas, Cajun macaroni and cheese, Japanese garlic teriyaki beef, Mexican wedding cookies, Greek spinach hors d'oeuvres and fried plantains from Ghana. During the event, they received requests for recipes from enthusiastic parents. Families also sampled some tasteful music by Los Guitarristas, a band featuring Simran McKenna '07 and Nikitas Stamatopoulos '07, who sang songs in both English and Spanish.Some of the most popular activites included making sock-puppets and balloon gags based on the book "Walter the Farting Dog." Bright butterflies and a "Harold and the Purple Crayon" coloring table added even more excitement to the room. It was the sponsors' hope that when they left, the children took, along with their passport and art projects, a better idea of diversity and a heightened interest in reading.
(03/03/05 12:00am)
Author: Kellan Florio Feasting on adrenaline and fervent fan support, the Middlebury ski teams posted some of their best results of the season and carved out another third place finish at their home carnival and Eastern Championship last weekend. The alpine squad paced the Panthers with their first overall victory of the season, taking three of the four events held at the Snow Bowl, while the nordic team pulled out their best finish of the season on Saturday with a third overall. When it was all said and done, the Panthers relinquished their eastern title to the University of Vermont (UVM) who won the championship for the 29th time in 30 years, with a total of 903 points. Dartmouth College (875) finished second, followed by Middlebury (852), Williams College (708) and the University of New Hampshire (646). Leading the alpine team to victory on both Friday and Saturday was first-year Megan Hughes. Hughes led the women's team to their second slalom victory of the season with an impressive second place finish, just three hundredths of a second behind UVM's Jilyne McDonald who completed the two runs in 1:34.34. Tara Martin '07 turned in an excellent second run to finish 1.4 seconds back in fourth, followed closely by teammates Lindsay Brush '07 in fifth and Jess Smith '04.5 in sixth. "It was so close in the slalom," said Hughes, who narrowly missed her second slalom victory of the season. "Getting second by only three-100ths is tough, but it made me go for it more in the giant slalom."Hughes did just that. Taking full advantage of her home hill experience and the spirited crowd, she won both runs to take the giant slalom victory in convincing fashion, finishing with a time of 2:01.34. Jamie Kingsbury of UVM was the closest challenger, 1.28 seconds back in second place (2:02.62), followed by UVM teammate Amy Cochran in third (2:02.73).The Panther women dominated the rest of the giant slalom standings, placing four more racers in the top 12. Smith was solid again in fifth, followed by Krissie Poehling '08 in seventh, Molly Russell '05 in ninth and Martin in 12th. "I had a little bobble in my first run coming off the pitch, so for the second run all I was thinking about was skiing clean and aggressive up top and letting it go down on the bottom. I was really just going for the win," commented Hughes on her second giant slalom win of the year. "It was so cool to have so many Midd fans out on the hill and up watching and cheering. I was psyched for the entire team yesterday, we all wanted to dominate on our home hill, so it was great!" The alpine team's victory came at a great cost, however, as Lindsay Brush '07 suffered a season-ending knee injury coming over the final knoll on her final run of the weekend. In perhaps one of the greatest displays of sportsmanship and self-determination the ski team has ever seen, Brush completed the last four gates on one leg before collapsing in the finish area.On the men's side, senior co-captain John Rusten enjoyed another stellar weekend picking up a third place finish in Friday's slalom and a fourth in the giant slalom, making it five top fives and 10 top 10s out of his 12 runs this season. Warner Nickerson of Colby took the victory in the slalom, beating out Charles Christianson of Williams by two 10ths of a second and Rusten by seven 10ths, with a time of 1:22.63. First-year Clayton Reed claimed his fourth top five slalom result of the season, finishing three 10ths behind Rusten in fourth, while Derek Shields '05 moved up nine spots in the afternoon to finish 20th. Saturday, the Panther men came prepared to dominate once again, taking first overall in the giant slalom for the second time in two weeks. Benjamin Drummond of UNH won his second straight giant slalom, with a combined time of 1:56.80, while Nickerson settled for second, a quarter of a second back. Rusten finished 17-100ths behind Greg Hardy of UVM for fourth, while Reed and Joey Swensson '08 were close behind in sixth and seventh respectively. Senior co-captain Peter Phillips sat in ninth after the first run but experienced problems on the pitch in the second run and moved back to 20th place, just two-100th ahead of Shields who vaulted 14 places in the afternoon with the 12th fastest time."The team was ready to race. We knew the hill, and with all of the fan support we couldn't have been more excited," said Phillips. "Racing in front of all our friends and parents was truly special. Those of us who are seniors couldn't have asked for a better way to complete our carnival years."Shields also acknowledged the extraordinary fan support, saying, "Knowing that the fans were out there cheering definitely helped me come back after making some big mistakes in my first runs. They were great." "Ski racing is a tricky sport to forecast considering all the variables involved, but from the young to the old, we definitely lived up to our expectations," said Head Alpine Coach Forest Carey. "To be fast you have to be on the edge, and our guys came through and skied to their potential. We train at the Snow Bowl everyday, so that was a huge advantage," continued Carey. "Our goal was to win, so I'm really happy, especially for the seniors."A mile down the road at the Breadloaf campus, home of the Rikert Ski Touring Center, the Middlebury nordic team also rose to the occasion and posted their best results of the 2005 season in Saturday's freestyle events after struggling in Friday's classic races. Junior Garrott Kuzzy led the Panther men in Friday's 10 km classic with a time of 29:57.8, a minute and 23 seconds out of first place, good enough for 10th. The 10th place kept Kuzzy's streak alive of finishing in the top 10 in every race this season. Teammate Beau Baldock '07 crossed the line 11 seconds behind Kuzzy for 11th place, while first-year Jimmy Ades rounded out the scorers in 20th. Bryce Roche '05, Jake Whitcomb '06 and Dan Skold '07 also turned in solid efforts placing 22nd, 26th and 28th respectively. UVM's Ethan Foster, Lowell Bailey and Jordi St. John finished one-two-three to give the UVM men a clean sweep of the podium for the second time this season."For me, Friday's classic race was exciting because it was the first race at the Middlebury Carnival, being one of the season's biggest races and on our home course," commented Kuzzy. Kuzzy continued, "The excitement got to me and I think I started a little too hard. The other skiers all raced well and I finished a disappointing 10th, despite feeling as if I had had a good race. Knowing I could ski better, I wanted to prove it on Saturday." Kuzzy would have no regrets on Saturday as his third place finish in the 20 km mass start skate matched his season-best and marked his first podium appearance since the same event three weeks ago at the UVM Carnival. Foster and Bailey held their ranks on the podium as Foster edged out his teammate by a fraction of a second for the victory with a time of 49:22.2. Kuzzy was 37 seconds back, while Baldock finished just over two minutes back for a season-best sixth place. Whitcomb and Skold also claimed top 30 results, coming in 22nd and 27th respectively, helping nordic men's team to second place for the day."Before the race, Beau Baldock and I discussed a strategy to spread out the race early and avoid the risk of getting tangled up with other skiers on the narrow course," noted Kuzzy. "The plan worked perfectly and Beau and I made a break early and dropped all but three UVM skiers. Saturday's race ended up much better than Friday's and was a great way to end the final carnival leading up to the NCAA Championships." The women also saved their best for last as they broke into the top two for the first time this season in Saturday's 15 km mass start freestyle. Evelyn Dong '07 led the women as she has all year, matching her sea
son-best in sixth place, followed by Claire Anderson '06 in eighth and Jenny Jorvig '06 in ninth. Taylor Leach '06, Tyne Pike-Sprenger '05 and Liz Torkelson '07 were also solid for the Panthers coming in 17th, 21st and 29th respectively. Dartmouth swept the top three spots, led by Elizabeth Harrington who won for the second time this year.Leach was the top Panther finisher in Friday's 5 km classic in 14th, followed by Pike-Sprenger in 16th, Jorvig in 18th, Anderson in 19th, Torkelson in 20th and Dong in 22nd. Alison Crocker of Dartmouth beat out Harrington for her fourth victory of 2005."I was extremely proud of the team's performance in the mass-start race on Saturday," commented Head Nordic Coach Terry Aldrich. "I believe that our skiers fed off the energy and enthusiasm of the huge crowd which gave us a big lift. I could hear the roar of the crowd in the start/finish area all the way to the top of the Battell uphill which is over a half mile away. With the help of the crowd, I feel we had a huge home course advantage."Aldrich continue, "The team seems to be peaking at the right time and should be able to carry the energy, enthusiasm and momentum from the Middlebury Carnival right into the NCAA's."The alpine and nordic NCAA's will be held March 9 to 12 at Stowe, Vt.
(03/03/05 12:00am)
Author: Polly Johnson If you've ever wanted to meet someone who is the General Manager of a soap store and a beekeeper in his spare time, look no further than Ross Conrad of Middlebury, the acting general manager of Vermont Soap, a company located in town on Exchange St. The company specializes in the production of organic soaps, bath and shower gels, pet shampoo, organic household products and cleaning supplies. Conrad became involved in the company in 2001 when he met the owner and founder of Vermont Soap at a conference. He began working for the sales and marketing team and eventually worked his way up to General Manager. Raised in Manhattan, Conrad decided that New York was just not for him, and moved to Vermont in 1988. He found work and has been living here ever since. But how did he become involved with beekeeping? "During the winter of 1990-1991, I started to do a lot of soul-searching about my life, what I was doing with it and where I wanted to go", explained Conrad. After spending time with the Bear Tribe Medicine Society, he had a "religious experience" where he became "aware of the fact that there is more to this world than what we are able to see, hear, feel, smell and taste." During a specific ceremonial ritual with the tribe, called a Vision Quest, he had his first encounter with a honeybee. "I remember observing many yellow jackets and wasps, but no honeybees. Anyway, this honeybee seemed to be trying to tell me something. It spent several minutes flying around me and landing on various parts of my body before it flew off." Six months after his experience with the tribe, Conrad returned to Middlebury, where he was offered a job as a beekeeper by a local beekeeper he knew at the Champlain Valley Apiaries, Bill Mraz. Mraz's father, Charles, who died in 1999, was a "world-renowned beekeeper and apitherapist" and it was from observing Bill, Charles and the bees that Conrad received the best beekeeping education he could get. Charles Mraz was one of the early pioneers of beekeeping in the Champlain Valley. He founded the Champlain Valley Apiaries in 1931 and wrote a book entitled "Health and the Honeybee," which advocated the use of bee venom therapy. Since his death, beekeeping has continued to flourish in the Champlain Valley.After spending many years learning the ropes of beekeeping, Conrad has become an established beekeeper who sells the honey he bottles at the Natural Food Co-op here in town. But there is quite an extensive process that comes before the bottling and selling. Beekeeping entails "a lot of hard work and the constant threat of being stung," although Conrad noted that "honeybees are a lot easier to work with than most people." Not to mention that the "primary risk in keeping bees is financial," and that there is the "possibility of throwing out your back lifting the supers full of honey." Like any other job, beekeeping requires specific conditions and proper care. "Like other agricultural endeavors, beekeeping is very reliant on the weather. Too much rain, too little rain, extremely hot or cold weather will all have an impact on a hive. In Vermont the average honey harvest is usually between 30 and 40 pounds of honey per hive per year," Conrad explained. And in order to be most prolific, "honeybees typically need temperatures of at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit in order for it to be warm enough for them to fly and gather nectar. Flower nectar is basically diluted sugar water." Beekeeping also needs to be practiced in the ideal climate. "During the winter months," Conrad explained, "the honeybees become inactive due to the cold. When temperatures drop below 50 degrees, the bees will form a cluster. They basically snuggle together and use their body heat to keep themselves warm. As long as they have honey to eat they can flex their wing muscles and generate heat. In Vermont, bees typically need about 80 pounds of stored honey in their hive in order to get them through the dearth of fresh nectar over the winter."Once these conditions are met, and the hive of bees has been established, what comes next? "The beekeeper just lets them live out their lives collecting nectar and making honey in the hopes that they will store more than they will need to get them through the winter. The beekeeper then harvests the excess honey. Of course the conscientious beekeeper will take the time to regularly inspect the bees to make sure they are healthy and disease and parasite free." Conrad is clearly one of these "conscientious beekeepers" - not just in the way he cares for them, but in the way he allows them to be a part of his life. The bees "have taught me many lessons," he said. For one, "they are one of the few creatures in nature that has a tendency to make more honey than they need. Of course what happens to this excess honey is that the beekeeper will come along and take it from the bees. From this I have learned not to hoard and take more than I really need."Additionally, Conrad noted, "The honeybee is the only higher form of animal life I know of that does not harm a single living thing as it goes about its life. All the bee requires from the world outside the hive is fresh air, sunshine, water, pollen, nectar from flowers and some plant resins to keep healthy. In this way the honeybee actually makes the world a better place, simply by taking what it needs to survive. This is a wonderful lesson that I continually work to incorporate into my life - how to take from the world what I need to live my life, and do it in a way that leave the world better than how I found it. When I imagine what this planet might be like if all people endeavored to live this way, I envision a very different world."
(03/03/05 12:00am)
Author: Matt Kunzweiler The '80s cover band Orange Crush took to the stage of the McCullough Social Space last Thursday night, inviting hordes of retro-clad students to crowd onto the humid, confused and notorious dance floor. The scene was a claustrophobic's nightmare but the ideal situation for anyone with a flare for '80s pop hits and that unmistakable McCullough atmosphere. With an unexpected push from someone in the crowd, you might suddenly find yourself dancing with a random nearby student who, chances are, will not really mind.At Middlebury College, Orange Crush is in its element. By delivering sing-along-worthy hits from the decade Midd students have fetishized - and delivering these hits with rapid-fire pace - it is no wonder that "students who keep saying they'll stay for 'one more song' almost always end up staying until the show is over," as Tim Bellis '06 said. He continued, "They really know how to play to the crowd."Orange Crush is in tune with what the Middlebury students want to hear, and frontman Scott Lawson makes this apparent by creating a sense of presence and responsiveness unrivaled by most campus bands. Many students feel as though he is representing the audience and he does this with an air of affability. At the beginning of every song, you can hear the audience cheering as they recognize the intro to a favorite hit. The musicianship is solid, but this can be lost on the masses, who, drunken, giddy and festive, are more excited about the atmosphere than the band's technical skill. And many students come for this atmosphere more than anything else. The music is easy to dance to. The audience is filled with a variety of students - those who come to dance, those who come to see the show, those who came for a combination of the above reasons and those who have no idea how or why they got there.It is obvious that Middlebury students have an obsession with '80s music, and because Orange Crush made its appearance on the first night of the three-day Winter Carnival weekend, the vibe was overwhelmingly energetic. People came to have fun and most succeeded - there was so much exuberance in the crowd that if the band, after playing "Tainted Love," told the students to riot, they would have smilingly obliged. The popular band has consistently packed its Middlebury venues - which included Ross dining hall and McCullough - with their semesterly appearances. But there are students whose interest has waned due to the College's incessant booking of the band. Suzanne Manugian '06.5 admitted, after claiming to have been "Orange Crushed-out," "I showed up to the concert as a joke." And many others who exhibited similar symptoms of being "Crushed-out" decided to avoid the predictable chaos of the Thursday show.But that predictable chaos is also responsible for attracting so many students to the high-energy shows. The atmosphere is guaranteed. And many embrace it with open arms, sideways pony tails and track suits."Orange Crush always saves their best anthems until the end," said Bellis, so when most students leave at the end of the show, they're still hungry for more - and for another excuse to bust out the neon.
(03/03/05 12:00am)
Author: Caroline S. Stauffer Both event organizers and the Department of Public Safety have proclaimed Winter Carnival 2005 a resounding success. Winter Carnival Head Susan Harnett '05 and Amber Rydberg '06, assistant head, confessed to feeling slightly apprehensive going into the weekend, as they had instigated a number of changes in the event and were unsure how students would respond. "So far, though, we've only gotten positive feedback, something we're very excited about," Harnett said.One of the first changes Harnett and Rydberg made involved the sale of Winter Carnival packages. In past years, parents chose between two types of packages - this year parents could create their own packages by selecting a shirt and choosing tickets for individual events. Approximately 250 packages were sold this year, most of which included tickets for all events.The opening night of Carnival featured a Cultural Gala in the Center for the Arts and a First Night Dance in McCullough Social Space featuring '80s cover band Orange Crush. Although attendance at the Cultural Gala was equal to that of last year, the audience included more Middlebury College students, according to Harnett. At one point, at least 600 people filled McCullough Social Space during Orange Crush's performance. "It was the biggest crowd I'd ever seen at the First Night Dance," Harnett said. "Orange Crush has played that event all four years, but this year was by far the best-attended performance." The band had requested that the audience remain off stage to respect their equipment, and organizers had their hands full when attendees attempted to climb on stage during a break in the performance.In past years, Friday afternoon has been reserved for commons-based activities. The board decided that the events had not been popular enough in past years to justify the additional cost. Instead, a series of dance-themed movies were shown in Dana Auditorium. "The attendance at these films was higher than we expected," Harnett said.Another event that boasted significantly higher attendance this year was Friday night's Ice Show. Only one show took place this year, and attendance was the highest in recent history. Also held on Friday evening was an early showing of the Island Calypso Jam-boree Night Club and Battle of the Bands in McCullough Social Space. Harnett noted that attendance was far lower than in previous years, probably due to the scheduling overlap with the Ice Show. Attendance at the second show was about the same as last year. "Over the past couple of years, we have noticed that attendance at the Night Club, which usually takes the form of a talent show, has declined," Harnett said. "At both shows last year there were empty seats, as there were at both shows this year." The Winter Carnival board also decided to run extra shuttles to the Snow Bowl to support the ski teams in their races Friday and Saturday. Harnett and Rydberg estimate that at least 1000 students attended the Winter Carnival Ball Saturday night - a number higher than in years past - and 550 tickets were sold in advance, either included in packages or purchased in the dining halls. Harnett remarked that the arrangement of Nelson arena made the ball appear more crowded than it actually was. "Several people had told me that it seemed so much more crowded than last year, even though this year's attendance was only slightly higher," she said. Public Safety emphasized that Winter Carnival 2005 was an especially smooth weekend. "We had a great carnival," Assistant Director of Public Safety Melody Perkins said. "There were very few incidents and the ones we had were taken care of quite quickly." She described the often alcohol-laden and incident report-wrought weekend as "low key and quiet."Two students, however, were removed from the ball as a result of over-intoxication. One was taken to the Porter Hospital emergency room and the other to Parton Health Center.
(02/24/05 12:00am)
Author: Ben Salkowe A committee of students from the Student Government Association (SGA) and Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB) has decided to extend the College's agreement with Napster, the streaming music service for students being funded through the student activities fee (SAF). "Based on the results of [a] survey and the data we are able to compile about how many students use the service and how many songs they download, it became apparent to us that there was certainly a demand to continue with a downloadable music service," said SGA President Andrew Jacobi '05.What most students surveyed did not know, however, was the amount of money being paid to Napster for its service. Napster's contracts require schools not to tell students how much their service costs. "Contractually we're not supposed to tell what we pay," said Dave Donahue, associate dean of library and information services. While Napster refuses to let schools discuss the program's cost with students, The Campus has learned that the SGA allocated $10,000 this year for Napster and is predicting an annual cost of $20,000 to continue the offering Napster next year. Although only 50 percent of the campus uses the Napster service, all students pay for it through the SAF, an annual $220 fee which all students are required to pay for funding of student organizations. The SAF was raised $20 this year, however according to Doug Adams, director of the Center for Campus Activities and Leadership, that increase was to cover giving yearbooks at no cost to all seniors.The actual cost of providing service for every student is believed to have been just under $40,000, however an unidentified outside sponsor paid part of the costs, and not all students took advantage of the service. None of the students or administrators involved in the agreement would name the sponsor - some of the program's extreme critics believe the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sponsors Napster college programs in their first year to encourage well-known schools to join the program. Napster did not respond to several requests for comment on this article.Next year it is expected that the SGA will have to pay the full costs of the program, meaning the SAF may need to be raised once again, or other programs funded by the fee may have to be cut. None of the students or administrators interviewed would provide firm details of the program's cost next year, however Jacobi estimated it was "likely" that "we would pay around $20,000 next year since some PC users won't register and we already have enough iTunes vouchers from this year for Mac users."Napster cracks down on leaksMost of the students at colleges across the country where Napster has been implemented are also kept in the dark about how much the program costs - intentionally. When Ohio University surveyed its students about a possible Napster program last year, the administrators did mention the costs of the program - which were similar to Middlebury's. Napster quickly contacted the institution and told them to stop disclosing its fees. "They did not present us with a nondisclosure agreement when we began negotiating with them, nor did they ask informally that we keep the details confidential," Sean O'Malley, Ohio University's IT communications manager, told The Campus. "Thus, we thought we were fine in releasing our numbers." Ohio University proposed offering the service by only billing students who used it, rather than taking it from a required fee which all students pay. "Fee and tuition increases are a major issue with Ohio students, so we did not wish to add yet another mandatory fee to the students' bills," said O'Malley.O'Malley said the survey of students was not overwhelmingly positive, and only half of the students responding said they would subscribed to such a Napster service. Ultimately, Ohio chose to partner with Cdigix, one of Napster's competitors."Cdigix offered much better terms than Napster and also seemed to have a better handle on the college marketplace. The availability of movies through their service was a definite plus," said O'Malley. He added that students have been happy with the program and they plan to continue offering it next year.Students unsure about use of feeOther institutions which have adopted Napster's program have also chosen to fund the program through required student fees. At Pennsylvania State University, one of the first schools to implement Napster and use required student fees to fund it, the program angered with some students."Almost every single student I have talked to is outraged that their money is going to a program that they don't even want," Joe Jarzab, a Penn State senior told CNET news, adding, "Their money is being sent to the music industry without their consent." Jarzab and other students posted fliers on the campus attempting to inform students.Officials at Penn State would not disclose how much the University paid Napster. "The business contract between Penn State and Napster is not something we can disclose publicly, that is part of our agreement with Napster," said Tysen Kendig, manager of the News Bureau at Penn State, to The Campus. Penn State offers Napster to all 80,000+ of its students - if the University paid Napster the same rate as Middlebury, such a contract could be more than $1.5million. Kendig refused to confirm or deny the figure.Because Middlebury also pays Napster through a required student fee, the program here is also raising the question of whether all students should pay for a service that only some of the campus uses. When asked what they thought, and told the costs, most students were not as enthusiastic as those surveyed by the SGA without reference to cost.When asked whether she liked Napster, Elizabeth Hammet '05 said, "Yes and no. I think it's frustrating because you can use it, and you still have to buy the songs to burn them or download them on your [mp3 player]."When told the SGA would likely spend $20,000 to maintain the service next year and asked if she thought that was appropriate, Hammett said, "Hell no, definitely not. There are much better things to spend that much money on than a privileged rich kid thing."Speaking on Napster, Caitlin Dennis '06.5 said, "I think it's good. Definitely, because of it, I don't download illegal music." When asked if she thought it was appropriate for the SGA to pay for Napster, Dennis said it was as valid as spending money to bring in bands. But when told of the program's price tag and asked if she still supported it, Dennis said, "No. Probably not. I don't think so."The students and administrators who organized Napster on campus countered that such services are what the SAF was meant for."That's all that the [SAF] is for the most part. It is supporting student groups but there are things that are for the most part entertainment-based and not strictly academic," said Leslie Wade '04.5, one of the original students to work on the Napster initiative at Middlebury.The program itselfBeyond the question of whether the College should pay for a program, is whether Napster is the best program to be had."We looked extensively at all of Napster's competitors and had each of them come to Middlebury and present demos to us," said Jacobi. "I think the consensus was that Napster has been so easy to work with from our point of view, and we really couldn't see anything that the other companies offered that was all that impressive. Napster's program seemed to be the best fit for what we were looking at for Middlebury students.""We looked at four providers: Cdigix, Ruckus and Rhapsody," said Adams. "It [Napster] is as good as or better than the others, and our primary concern was music." Adams said that other companies did not offer
the large catalog of music found with Napster, and services that included movie features cost more. (see SIDEBAR) Students interviewed expressed frustrations with some of Napster's limitations. Many users in general were bothered by the lack of support for Macs or iPods - the program reimburses these users with 15 free songs on iTunes. Tamara Vatnick '07 said she was frustrated with some of Napster's technical restrictions. "It's kind of annoying because you can buy music and only use the burned CDs on one computer," she said. Vatnick did feel that it was appropriate for the SGA to spend money on Napster though, seeing it no different from any other entertainment the fee might be used for.Most of Napster's competitors also do not support Macs or iPods, and carry identical or similar restrictions on the copying and burning of purchased music. Some competitors offer streaming movies in addition music, but in general the movie selections offered by those services were considered meager by the SGA and MCAB. "When the technology and licensing gets better and we have the option of offering students a better selection of movies for a lower price, we will reconsider those proposals," said Jacobi.Another option to the streaming music and movie services is the "iTunes on Campus" program. Colleges using this program distribute the iTunes software, which allows students to copy music from their CDs, purchase tracks for 99 cents from an online store and then freely share their music collections over the college network. The program costs schools nothing unless they want to offer students free downloads to start their collections, and only costs students money if they want to buy something they do not have or cannot find in other students' collections.The students and administrators looking at services stopped considering iTunes last fall, determining that a few students might end up buying all the music, and other students would just be listening to other people's collections.Questions remainingLooking ahead, the general consensus among those involved in the Napster program was that students should consider whether this was something they wanted to spend money on."I'm not completely sold on it to be sure," said Wade. "This year was a good way to be in a pilot program. I'm not completely sold that a program should be paid through a required fee."Wade thought it might be useful to have a survey this spring or a referendum on the issue during the SGA elections.Donahue agreed that at this point the program should be re-evaluated, saying that this year it "was a pretty cost effective way to experiment with a new music service." But he cautioned that in light of increased costs next year the College might ask, "Is this the best way to use this money?"
(02/10/05 12:00am)
Author: Thomas C. Drescher The documentation in the handbook has existed for years with words about fines for removing dishes from the dining rooms. The entire concept is being molded day by day. Director of Dining Services Matthew Biette announced in a recent all-campus e-mail that, as of Feb. 6, College Handbook policy regarding the removal of dishes from dining facilities will once again be implemented. Biette's pronouncement came in the wake of the cancellation of the ultimately ineffectual Dish Recovery System (DRS). According to the Middlebury College Handbook, attempting to remove dishes, utensils or food from dining facilities will result in a minimum $35 fine and additional "disciplinary proceedings." Biette pointed out that the handbook language has always been there, but enforcement difficulties and the adoption of DRS last year made dishware removal/theft fines and related punitive action virtually obsolete. In the spirit of other policy-violation fines, students will be billed by the College for infractions. Entire residence halls will also be charged for unclaimed stolen dishware under the heading of "dorm damage." According to Biette's e-mail, Dining Services plans to hire students to work as door monitors during meals. Additionally, diners who wish to leave with dishes will be required to sign out and sign in.According to SGA Director of Environmental Affairs Clare O'Reilly, SGA members, administrators and Dining Services and Recycling Center staff met during December and January and collaborated on the decision to discontinue DRS and adopt a new fine-based system that will hopefully avoid what Biette called the "room service mentality" propagated unintentionally by DRS. O'Reilly pointed out that DRS was not a failure per se, but its collapse was the result of overuse and to an extent misunderstanding on the part of students.Student Government Association (SGA) President Andrew Jacobi '05 cited a number of reasons for the cancellation of DRS, including an increase in the number of dishes collected by the recycling center, complaints from Facilities Planning that the overflowing DRS bins were unsightly and even reports of rodent problems associated with the buildup of dirty dishes in Forest Hall. In general, however, Jacobi pointed out that the program "seemed to condone taking dishes out of the dining halls, while Dining Services has never allowed students to do so. [They] agreed to work with the SGA for the program despite this concern, because they were willing to do just about anything to decrease the amount of lost dishware."Though he sympathizes with Dining Services and readily acknowledges that DRS was unsuccessful, Jacobi also said he commiserates with busy students who are expected to function in an environment that often demands full academic and extracurricular engagement but does not necessarily provide accessible, on-the-go dining solutions. Biette also recognized the legitimacy of this position, but suggested a number of reasonable alternatives to swiping dishes. Walking out of a dining hall with an ice cream cone or a piece of fruit is completely acceptable, Biette said, as is filling a Nalgene or insulated mug with a dining hall libation.Jacobi said that Dining Service's decision to hire door monitors was made "precisely because it was less expensive" than replacing dishes. Biette estimated that it would cost about $14,000 to employ student door monitors - a trim figure compared to the more than $80,000 spent on plates, cups, glasses, etc. last year. Biette, O'Reilly and others reiterated their request that students return missing dishes and refrain from taking them in the future, though now there exists true incentive to follow the rules: fear of fines. Biette acknowledges that the new system is "being molded day by day," but asserts that it "is necessary to keep the dishes where they belong: in the dining halls."
(02/10/05 12:00am)
Author: Tom McCann The Feb break that provides such a welcome transition from Winter Term to the Spring semester was anything but relaxing for the men and women indoor track teams, as they headed to Dartmouth last weekend. Whether they were coming from campus, home or a cozy New Hampshire cabin, Middlebury's finest headed down to Hanover for their penultimate opportunity to qualify for the Division III New England Championships to be held later this month.On the women's side, Alli Williams '05 stood out for the Panthers in the 800m, coming home in a time of 2:26.01, good enough for fifth place on the day. In the field events, Jen Currie '08 was the star of the show, launching for 12.96m in the weight throw. Her toss was good enough to earn her third-place in the event, the highest performing Panther women in the meet. Williams, one of the captains of the team this year, has been a consistently high performer during the season, and will look to continue that as she leads her women into a meet at Tufts next weekend. The trip down to Boston represents a final chance for some athletes to claim their place at the N.E. Championships just around the corner.Turning to the men, the 200m saw Kevin Bright '06 run the 200m in 23.30, carrying him to the tape in eighth place, while first-year Patrick Swan went two better in the 400m, finishing sixth in a time of 51.41. Jon Erwin '05 was another runner who finished in the top 10, placing eighth in the 800m, while Nick Digani '05 showed Middlebury just what it will be missing when he graduates later this year, breaking his own school record (again), in the same race, finishing second in 1:54.94. While Digani may have broken his record once more, the only Middlebury athlete to claim top-spot went to first-year Jimmy Butcher, who, defying his youth and relative lack of intercollegiate racing experience, turned in a startling performance in the 3000m, winning by a margin of more than four seconds in a time of 9:02.45. The 60m hurdles saw junior Matt Engler finish sixth in the final, breaking the tape in 8.80, while Middlebury's relay teams also performed well, taking fourth place in the 4x400m, and second in the distance relay.With the indoor track season moving into the business end, it's time for the Bright's and Digani's of the world to start honing themselves for a push at Championship honors, while for many others, qualification for the invitationals rest on a final opportunity at Tufts next weekend. However, when the curtain comes down on the indoor season, the curtain is almost simultaneously raised on the outdoor track and field season. Indeed with the weather as it currently is, Middlebury's athletes may be able to get out there even earlier than usual, greatly benefiting both male and female athletes on the field and on the track. For now though, it's all eyes on Tufts.
(01/27/05 12:00am)
Author: Sheila Seles If you happened to pass by a TV in the last week you probably already know that VH1 has unleashed on the world I Love the 90s: Part Deux. The premise of the show is simple - there is one hour-long episode for each year in the decade. A bunch of comedians, actors and musicians talk about news and culture from each given year - the important stuff like Zima, Scary Spice and the fall of the Iron Curtain. This show has great television predecessors - I Love the 90s: Part Deux follows in the footsteps of I Love the 90s, I Love the 80s and I Love the 70s. On the surface we shouldn't love I Love the 90s - or any show of its kind. VH1's nostalgic romp through the pop culture past doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. But that's why it's so great. VH1 seems to have struck gold with its I Love the...series. Who knew the American people were so hungry for nostalgia of the recent past? (If you said The Frankfurt School you get a gold star, but the real answer is VH1.) It isn't really that surprising that people love I Love the... I can't tell you times I've broken the ice in an awkward situation by reminiscing about slap bracelets, Crystal Pepsi and that '90s classic Saved by the Bell. Walking into Urban Outfitters or Hot Topic is like taking a trip back to the playground complete with t-shirts depicting Care Bears, Rainbow Brite and Jem. This yearning for times past isn't in any way unique to our generation. When we were kids people in our parents' generation were shelling out thousands of dollars for Beatles paraphernalia and original Barbie dolls. The commodification of memory is a huge business and no one seems to know that better than VH1. VH1 has built a mini-empire around remembering and they do it very well. My remote always stops on another VH1 show, Best Week Ever. This show is like a mini-I Love the that airs every week. Best Week Ever's premise should sound familiar. VH1 assembles a bunch of C-list celebrities to talk about events in news and pop culture from the past week. Of course, these shows would not be so popular if they weren't as funny as they are. Some of VH1's C-list celebrities are comic geniuses who deserve to move at least to the B-list. Michael Ian Black has become a god in my house for his perfectly perverse deadpan humor. And he's one of the few people I'd heard of - Wet Hot American Summer, anyone?- before his stint on I Love the 70s. For my money, Rachael Harris and Hal Sparks are other standout comedians on the series and Flava Flav always has some deep insights into the American psyche. Don't get me wrong, I Love the 90s: Part Deux isn't the type of show that keeps you rapt, hanging on every word. I Love the 90s isn't even the type of show that I plan on watching (but it's on about 50 times a day and in this mid-season TV lull, it's usually the best thing on). It's the kind of show that just shows up on your TV and won't leave. Not that you'd want it to.
