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(05/01/08 12:00am)
Author: Adam Clayton Throughout the course of human history, politicians and philosophers have often defined social and political interaction in terms of struggle.For sports, the value of struggle in the appeal and importance of a game cannot be underestimated. Particularly in the modern era, the promotion of competition and the singular importance of winning have been elevated at the expense of honesty, sportsmanship and the quality of the game.In football, instances of the sacrifice between appeal and efficiency reflect wider differences that exist across cultures. Spanish football is often deemed the most beautiful, and South American players considered the main proponents of "the beautiful game." In contrast, the passions of the English game are often seen in the intensity and "winning mentality" of the players on the pitch. That isn't to say Spanish football suffers from a lack of passion or determination - it just manifests itself in a different way.Fans of Madrid and Barcelona, rather, demand competitive success from their team, but that isn't enough - they also have to awe the fans. Certain English teams, however, are content to play the most efficient game they can - one reason of several that I despise Liverpool (they're really boring to watch).However, most recently I thought of this because of one of the most controversial tactics in basketball today - the hack-a-Shaq technique. For those unaware of the strategy, it involves opposing teams intentionally fouling Shaq whenever Phoenix (not necessarily Shaq) has the ball, and using players they don't care about to do it. Shaq, the most dominant player until a couple years ago, has set records in basketball for the number of hugs received over the course of a game, which can draw a foul while not making the big man knock you to the floor. The motivation for this lies in the fact that Shaq cannot shoot free throws, and thus, letting him take them is safer than allowing the rest of the team to take shots in open play.This is one of the most ridiculous and shameful instances of modern day competition. Not only does it have debatable advantageous, it can barely be called basketball - and makes everyone not invested in the result immediately switch channels. Sports is not exclusively about competing and getting the win, the whole point is that it provides entertainment in the process. Even the most intense rivalries of football have produced some of the most memorable displays of brilliance in sporting history (think Maradona's second goal against England). By removing any chance for the opposing team to do something remarkable, one also devalues the win. In essence, it's like settling for half - getting the victory but denying yourself that which makes a victory truly great. Some excuse this behavior by saying Shaq is a professional and should learn to shoot free throws (fair enough), but this isn't about Shaq, this is about the game!I don't know too much about basketball intricacies, but I offer up a solution to this passion-sucking problem pertaining to basketball. Football has a system of play-on, in which a foul can be waived away if it favors the affected team and retribution dealt with later. Basketball could very feasibly have this all encompassing rule (it already does when the player is in the process of shooting). Fouling players off the ball could be ignored at the referee's discretion, and at the end of possession the player still hit with the foul. This would ensure both the flow of the game and prevent a tactic which has so far tarnished one of the most interesting series in recent history.
(05/01/08 12:00am)
Author: Dina Magaril Caeli Nistel-Schnabel '08, was one of three Iowans who applied for the Fulbright, but she was the only one to receive approval on her independent project studying secondary education for the cognitively disabled in Wuhan, China. "All of us Iowans would band together in the library and talk about corn and stuff," joked Nistel-Schnabel of the students' bonding experience. The Religion major spent last spring studying abroad in Hangzhou, China, with fellow Fulbright recipient Merisha Enoe '08. It was not until she got back from abroad, though, that she realized she was interested in incorporating China into her thesis for the Religion department. The graduating senior recently handed in a draft of her thesis, a project that focuses on how Chinese religious backgrounds influence attitudes towards disability. It was this senior thesis that made her realize her topic could extend to a Fulbright proposal. "Disabled people are even less visible in Chinese society than in American society," said Nistel-Schnabel, whose involvement in the issue lies closer to home than a thesis deadline - Nistel-Schnabel's sister has Down syndrome.Nistel-Schnabel hopes to conduct interviews to supplement the ethnographic research she will be doing to see how religion and spirituality play a role in how people deal with disabilities in China.Nistel-Schnabel reassured eager applicants not to worry too much about Middlebury's warnings to start your Fulbright application in the summer, though she admitted it could have helped her. "They scare you to start early or you're doomed," she said. Instead, the member of the orchestra (she plays clarinet) and the chamber music group at Middlebury, recommended utilizing all of the College's resources to explore the options out there. "Professors here are really excited to share their expertise, whether it's your major advisor or someone who is into whatever you're doing, you should really take the opportunity of being on campus to pick their brain," she said. As to whether she and Enoe plan to continue their time abroad together for a second round, Nistel-Schnabel lamented that she will be pretty far away from her study abroad friend. "But we are tentatively planning a Christmas get together," she said. When Michael Fletcher '08 bought his one-way plane ticket to Spain this summer he was hoping he would not need to return to his native Katonah, N.Y. for at least a year. Fletcher and Sam Morrill '08 had just received the Deacon Boardman Prize Fund for Peace that would send the pair off on a two-month summer excursion to Madrid, a "middle ground to reconcile Cuba and her satellite communities." Fletcher and Morrill plan to conduct interviews that they hope to later incorporate into a film about Cuban exiles in Spain. To top off what already sounded like an amazing summer, Fletcher was thrilled to receive a letter in the mail from The Fulbright Foundation informing him that his proposal to teach English in Spain had been accepted. "It was really up in the air," said Fletcher, "but I was so happy to get the Fulbright." Fletcher's was the only English Teaching Assistantship Grant accepted out of all the College applicants, and his program will send him to a bilingual elementary school in Madrid this coming September. "I wanted to go to Spain over somewhere in Latin America because it was the only site where I knew I would be working directly with kids," said Fletcher, referring to the focus of the Latin American programs on teaching English to teachers of English rather than students. But this will not be Fletcher's first time in front of the classroom. Last year, the English major was involved with the student teaching program at Mary Hogan Elementary, an experience that he said "intensified his desire to teach elementary school." Nor will his time spent in Spain be the first teaching English as a second language. Fletcher is involved with the ESL program at Middlebury that brings student teachers to Mexican Migrant Farm workers in the community.While excited about the opportunity to be called Señor Fletcher by a classroom of doting children, the Fulbright recipient is equally thrilled to spend his last "free" summer with one of his closest friends. "Since Cuba, Sam and I have been pretty much inseparable," said Fletcher, "and I'm really happy that we're going to have this time together." As for advice to future Fulbright applicants, "Don't be intimidated by the application process," Fletcher said, "because it's definitely worth applying to."A Biochemistry and Chinese double major, Merisha Enoe '08 was inspired to propose her independent Fulbright project after spending a semester abroad in China last year. Enoe will be looking at environmental sustainable development projects in Xinjiang, China, working in affiliation with Xinjiang Agricultural University."I'm from New York," said the Brooklyn native, "and when I got to Middlebury I found a new appreciation for the environment. I've really learned a lot from the students here," Enoe said about regarding the environmental component to her proposal.As good as Enoe's proposal sounds on paper, it was a long journey until she reached her final product. "I spent a lot of time rewriting the grant over and over again," she said. Enoe was not afraid to ask for a little help from her friends either, and cites her discussions with Professor of Political Science Jeffrey Cason and Professor and Director of Student Fellowships & Health Professions Advising Arlinda Wickland as crucial to writing her proposal. "I was keeping an open mind about it and I wanted as many people to read it as possible so I could get as many perspectives as I could," said Enoe. During her semester abroad, Enoe interned with the environmental Future Generation China on the Green Long March, which brought Enoe along 10 different routes in China to promote conservation and expand upon the various sustainable projects that were already functioning there. Her last trip brought her to the province of Xinjiang, where she learned about the Karez Irrigation System, a sustainable system implemented in a community where water is a scarce resource. During her year away Enoe hopes to study indigenous as well as modern projects going on within the region, focusing her research on how people are working to maintain their environment and establish sustainable futures for themselves. As for the summer, Enoe hopes to spend it in New York reestablishing connections with contacts she made during her time abroad, as well as start studying for her GREs. "I'm hoping to take them before I leave the U.S.," she said.
(04/24/08 12:00am)
Author: Melissa Marshall Students jonesing for something sweet and artificial left Kenyon Arena with a bad taste in their mouths on Saturday night. Headliners Cake - best known for their stunningly simple and highly addictive 1996 hit "The Distance" - undeniably proved their prowess as performers. But they also proved that pop is a dish best served without politics as a main ingredient - especially when you add a 30-rack of Pabst Blue Ribbon to the recipe. With quiet confidence and complete stage command, lead singer John McCrea casually took front and center. Framed in front of a set which boasted a lush mountain backdrop, his well-cultivated beard and worn button-down all accentuated the image of a saintly wild-man, his simplicity alluding to a sense of inner peace that apparently only ironic detachment and '90s alt-rock success can bring. And while we may be "building a religion" as McCrea's emotionless yet oddly engaging speak-singing vocals insisted in the crowd-pleasing "Comfort Eagle," the frontman's moralizing did not earn him many followers in the inebriated crowd. Fully embracing his elevated position on stage, McCrea set the pace for the evening's political and moral overtures, opening with "Frank Sinatra" from their best-selling release, Fashion Nugget. As with most of their tracks, "Frank Sinatra's" societal commentary is cleverly obscured in its repetitive jazzy and sensually danceable composition. But lines such as "beyond your latest ad campaigns," tip listeners off to the fact that the Sacramento quintet is not just another product of the decade-old geek-rock movement. After failed attempts to engage the audience in conversation about the Iraq War and unheeded, satirical warnings concerning knowledge as commodity, McCrea decided to show his benevolence by bestowing one lucky audience member with a peach tree - an innovative albeit convoluted stage gimmick. Even though McCrea's environmental sympathies and societal disenchantment were laudable, he underestimated the burning desire of audience to hear "Fashion Nugget," resulting in a concert experience that highlighted Middlebury students' immaturity and McCrea's under-developed and sometimes inappropriate stage banter.While Cake's music may be complex despite its surface simplicity, McCrea revealed his juvenile professionalism, at one point warning, "I am fussy, I'll walk right off this stage." But in the spirit of Middlebury competition, we put up an admirable fight in the battle of childishness. Despite the frontman's warnings, students continued to obnoxiously yell out song titles as well as harassing middle-aged members of the audience. And while security did a flawless job of stopping waif crowd-surfers, some of their energy may have been better spent on removing hecklers from the crowd. I paid $10 to hear '90s white-boy country funk, not the hoarse-repetition of "Guitar Man" by the boy who sits next to me in English class. But despite his alienating sarcasm in between songs, McCrea and fellow bandmates burned with a contagious fervency on all their tracks. While he did not say a word during Cake's entire set, trumpeter Vince Difouri often asserted himself as the focal point - his rich improvisations infused a delectably spontaneous layer to "Frank Sinatra," "Never There" and their cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive." Even McCrea's condescending introduction of "Wheels" from their latest release Pressure Point could not dilute the outstanding musicianship of guitarist Xan McCurdy. It even seemed as though McCrea was having fun on some tracks, a boyish smile occasionally relieving his features as he would tap the distinctive vibraslap, much to the audience's delight. Surprisingly, the band indulged the obligatory audience mantra and came out for an encore. Almost wearily, McCrea delicately delivered "Mexico" before launching into the "ringtone" genre of the show, serving "Short Skirt, Long Jacket" and "The Distance" with a measurably mass-produced mood. In perhaps one of the most disconcerting concert moment, he encouraged a markedly corporate competition between the audience, dividing the front rows into halves and frantically goading them to out-chant one another in the closing beats of "Short Skirt." The final crumb thrown to the audience was the lukewarmly successful single,"Never There." Still, its freshly frustrating lyrics weaved with the energy of the trumpet and percussion was the icing on a thoughtful, kinetic and overall impressive set. And if you have gotten this far, you are probably wondering why I have yet to mention opener Mates of States. And that would be because they were fairly unmemorable. The Midwestern husband-wife duo were earnest and likeable. Unfortunately their keyboard pop as well as Jason Hammel's more shouted-than-sung vocals did not translate well into an arena setting. Powerful performers and openly opinionated, McCrea and Cake lived up to what already promised to be a controversial Spring Concert thanks to an overblown altercation over the ethics of voting earlier this semester. Despite the developed song choices and magnificent musicianship, the frontman refused to abandon his pugnacious politics and the audience would not release their expectation of fluff entertainment on weekend nights - neither party willing to "go the distance" and compromise to make this year's spring concert a truly enjoyable live experience. At least I can console myself with the thought that it would have been way worse if three-hit-wonder Third-Eye Blind had taken the stage.
(04/24/08 12:00am)
Author: James O'Brien It has taken me nearly a full two years at Middlebury College, but I have finally learned that everyone has problems. Paradoxically, most of us seem to believe that the hard-working students around us are crises-free, while, at the same time, we downplay our issues because we have the vague understanding that someone out there certainly has it worse. In other words, we tend to think that no one understands us, but we also believe that plenty of people are suffering more. Technically we understand that the students buzzing around us have tough things going on in their lives, but since we never see this for ourselves, it is nearly impossible not to feel a little out of place. The people around me seem constantly chipper, focused and ready to begin a robotic day of schoolwork and productivity. They are saving lives, promoting causes and getting As. You might feel the same way - you can't quite figure out how they do it, but they must know something you don't.It's strange how we think other students have everything under control while they are looking right back at us thinking the same thing. This phenomenon contributes to our collective psychosis and the desire to seem happy and normal. I'm not sure exactly how to remedy this situation. We can't walk around wearing our issues on our shirts or constantly venting to strangers about family deaths. Maybe, as we pick up our backpacks, the ones bursting at the seams from sheer volume of books we are carrying - books whose contents we will soon forget along with their titles - we can tape signs to the backs. The signs might say: "I understand."The other end of the spectrum - the idea that our personal trials are somehow "easier" than, say, starving Africans or immigrant workers - is a noble but troubling impulse. I can imagine a Middlebury student lying on the slopes after a skiing accident with a bone sticking out of his or her leg, thinking: "I really can't complain. I'm certainly better off than the Headless Horseman." Downplaying our own issues is common - in part because we are constantly bombarded with images of international atrocities and victims that put our daily burdens to shame. It is very important, however, that we do not take our (often admittedly trivial) problems too lightly simply because we know that, somewhere, other people are having a tougher time. In my limited experience with sadness and frustration, I find that human emotions tend to adapt to situations. If we are living our lives at a time of low stress, our minds will somehow find relatively small things to worry about. Conversely, when we are stressed, our minds automatically adjust to the situation and we can usually cope no matter what the problem is. It almost seems desirable to have "real problems" because serious troubles make us feel more justified in our worrying. The recognition and acknowledgement of extreme problems in the outside world can actually make us feel worse about our situation without knowing why.I think, for the most part we, all understand how lucky we are, and we want to be able to be able to do the most with what we've been given. In order to best take advantage of our opportunity, it is crucial that we sympathize for those around us. But it also important to occasionally zoom in on our own lives. We could certainly belittle the impact of a broken leg on our lives simply because there are millions of others around the world suffering with the same ailment. This rationalizing may be healthy at times, but, by this line of reasoning, we would also have to downplay the birth of our first child because, well, doesn't it seem like everyone has kids? Whether warranted or not, I think we sometimes need a certain degree of outer-world denial. How else are we supposed to think that our own lives are important when there are billions of others doing the same things? I remember when I was a little kid on a trip to Six Flags. The roller coasters were great, but I couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. The swarms of people continuously reminded me that I was just one of many. Riding the Ferris wheel, I saw a hot air balloon floating up above, and I thought about how I probably looked like an insect to those people in the balloon. Did the little girl in the balloon understand the implications of her words when she pointed out to her mother that the people below looked like ants? Probably not…I still wonder what ants think they are seeing when they look up at us. Do they wonder why we so rarely say what we want to say? I also tend to wonder how ants could possibly have emotional intelligence to think of that question.I'd like to leave you with a tag-line, variations of which I have heard countless times in promotions for new films and television shows: "A place where nothing is as it seems." Media executives apparently think that this quotation will make their piece of entertainment stand out. I can't understand why. A place where everything is exactly what it seems would be far more unique.James O'Brien is an English Major from Medfield, Mass.
(04/24/08 12:00am)
Author: John Patrick Allen From the very beginning, "Undercurrents" was unconventional. The stage was dominated by a low circular platform painted with a giant whirlpool of black, blue and gray, recalling a Japanese woodcut. There was no pre-show music - only silence. The play began abruptly with the sudden darkening of the stage lights. If audience members were slightly surprised by this, they were more surprised when a recording of powerful taiko drums began to play. They were even more surprised when two figures wearing ghoulish masks and ragged kimonos shuffled across the stage and began chanting in Japanese and English. "Undercurrents" was the senior directing project of Teddy Crecelius '08, featuring the production of a tandem performance of two one-act plays - Kobo Abe's "The Man Who Turned Into a Stick" and Thornton Wilder's "The Rivers Under the Earth." Crecelius selected the two plays and combined them under the name "Undercurrents" because, according to the director's note, "both Abe's and Wilder's plays explore the ways in which our experience influences the kind of people we become." "The Man Who Turned Into a Stick" continued much as it had begun. It was disorienting, dark, ironic and almost comic. The two masked figures, the Man and Woman from Hell (Kuni Suzuki '08 and Becca Wear '10), have come to Earth to take care of some business concerning a small stick sitting near the front of the stage. All their movements were stylized and declarative, referencing the traditional Noh style of Japanese theater. The choice to include Noh influences contributed to the play's juxtaposition of tradition and modernity - although "Stick" was full of mystical and traditional references, it was set in front of a modern department store. Two dazed young hippies (Jimmy Wong '09.5 and Gillian Durkee '11) find the stick and begin playing with it. The anachronistically dressed Man from Hell has a series of quasi-philosophical conversations with the hippies and eventually pays them five dollars to hand over the stick. All the while, completely unnoticed by the other characters, the Man Who Turned Into a Stick himself (Seth Gilbert '10) stands watching the action helplessly, his arms intertwined with a long wooden staff that rests on his shoulders. He cannot move independently, but whenever the stick passes from hand to hand, he thrashes and twirls the staff into a new position. Being transformed into a stick after death is the standard fate of those who, in life, are no more than tools of society. "A living stick has been turned into a dead stick," explains the Man from Hell. The fear in Gilbert's face - strong yet not melodramatic - shows this is a terrifying punishment indeed. The moment in "Stick" that most successfully accomplished the director's goal of investigating the roots of human behavior occurred during a small detour in the play's symbol-laden plot. The Man from Hell, using his ceremonial Japanese fan like a cell phone, calls the Voice from Hell (Martina Bonolis '10.5) to make a report on the stick's successful capture. The Voice, a secretary in Hell's bureaucracy, wears a sinister horned mask but speaks with a ludicrously cheery tone. The lights were somber, the costumes were severe, but the scene was laughable. The Man from Hell asks the Voice from Hell to take a mundane message to his wife. In that moment, the denizens of Hell are shown to be just as human, confused and error-prone as those they punish. In a way, the demons themselves are no more than sticks or tools. Unfortunately, "The Man Who Turned Into a Stick" did not always come together so smoothly. Because the script was full of deep conversations about morality and truth, it tended to slip into pontification. At times, it was more lecture than play. However, "Stick" was an ambitious choice for a student director. It contained rapid scene changes in certain sections, dialogue whose meaning was often tough to decipher and a subtle mix of absurdism and traditional Japanese theater techniques. At times it seemed as though neither the director nor the audience could handle such a potent, confusing mix without feeling disoriented. The second play was more immediately welcoming than the first. "Rivers" takes place on a small point of land near a collection of summer homes. The story revolves around the Carters, a family that has vacationed in the area for years. The members of the Carter family, Tom (Wong), Francesca (Wear), Mrs. Carter (Bonolis) and Mr. Carter (Gilbert) wander in and out of the scene from a nearby party, talking about themselves, each other and the scenery as they cross paths. Both the text and the acting in "Rivers" were subtler than in "Stick," in part because the style was more naturalistic. It was interesting, for example, to see Gilbert play the serene Mr. Carter after the intense fear and despair of the Man Who Turned Into a Stick. Wear did a great job as Francesca, allowing tension to bubble up slowly in her character and making her angry outburst at the end of the play convincing and sincere. There were two strange touches added to "Rivers," one interesting and the other slightly disappointing. First, all of the characters remained onstage the entire time, seated in chairs outside the better-lit area of the stage where the action took place. Even the Offstage Voices (Suzuki and Durkee) that piped up sometimes from the party sat onstage. The decision to include all the characters, even those not "onstage," was a significant one. In light of all of the small subconscious biases and influences that control Wilder's characters, it would be impossible for any character to be completely "gone" from the story. Keeping all characters hidden in shadow but still onstage helped remind the audience of that. The second odd choice seemed less logical. Throughout "Rivers," the lighting was bright and clear. Yet, the play took place in the late evening. In fact, at one point, Mrs. Carter had to be led around the rocks by Tom because it was too dark to see the path completely. Wong, Bonolis and the other actors succeeded in making the scene real, but the lights - clearly indicating day - put up a barrier to that effort. As a whole, the two selections in "Undercurrents" worked well together. As different from one another as they were, they both dealt with the deep motives that underlie human behavior. Without "The Man Who Turned into a Stick," "The Rivers Under the Earth" might have seemed languid and subtle. Without "Rivers," "Stick" might not have seemed grounded enough in humanity.The two plays propped each other up. Although this might not have been the best configuration, Crecelius did create a satisfying structure that stood on its own.
(04/24/08 12:00am)
Author: Michael Nevadomski ALEXANDRIA - I awoke to Hamada shaking my shoulders in the darkness."Sabahal-ful, ya bey. Yulla bina." Morning, boss. Time to go.I stretched under the blankets and pulled on my boots, shivering in the cold. The blue light of morning was breaking to violet, and I could hear Hamada's brother Suleiman scurrying around outside, breaking twigs for the morning fire. We had been traveling for four days together through the Western Desert - across the mammoth sword dunes of the Great Sand Sea to the scorched valleys of the Black Desert, past the Crystal Mountain to here, the White Desert - a pristine sea-turned-wasteland, its chalk cliffs and mushroom rocks ghostly and whistling with wind. This was our last morning together and the end of my hike - the first part of a three-week trip through "The Great Desert Circuit" linking the five major oases in Egypt: Siwa, Bahariyya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga. The fire began to roar, and it pierced the gray mist around us with golden light. We squatted next to it, warming our hands, and Suleiman fussed over the tea things. The white rocks around us turned pink and coppery as the sun rose.Shay, ya basha? Suleiman asked, tying a gray kuffiyah around his head. I nodded, sniffling. Tea would be perfect right now.On our first afternoon together, after he had noticed me sniffling from the cold, Suleiman handed me half a small onion. "For your nose," he said, his mouth half-full. "Eat."As I bit into my half, I began to tear up, and the taste sent me into a flurry of all the swears I could manage in Arabic and English. He and Hamada laughed. But my sniffling nose went away, and hours later, I would ask for another onion in between his eager questions about life in the city."Why did you come to the desert?"You never hear the quiet in Alexandria."But Iskanderiyya is beautiful, no?"Yes. But it is better here. It is not so busy.Earlier yesterday, we had stopped along the dunes to get closer to the cliff escarpment that rose over us like an alabaster wave. Hamada napped as Suleiman and I clambered over stretches of pure white - smooth, pearly domes that rose out of the fine tawny sand like white whales in the sand sea, patches of chalk scattered on the ground like snow receding in the hard, sapphire noon, or the shattered porcelain of other chalk flakes. And, as we walked through the labyrinth of white archways and caves that the wind had carved with its fingers, Suleiman would stop and look around and whisper under his breath, Subhan Allah.And now, seeing the deepening shades of pink on the chalk rocks that loomed around us, the fading mist and the tired, gentle faces of the two brothers in the firelight, I thought the same thing.Yes, my friend. Subhan Allah.
(04/24/08 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] Lilac Wand Hand-OutThe Middlebury Garden Club will distribute lilac wands on April 26 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the parking lot behind Ilsley Public Library. What, exactly, is a lilac wand? When in doubt, consult Google - and remain baffled. Local News's best guesses include some manner of flower arrangement or garden implement, or (the most alluring and least probable possibility) an object which is "sacred to Gemini and brings the root energy of expansion and growth," according to the Web site of Johann & Son Wandmakers, which specializes in crafting "handmade magic wands" from traditional Druidic woods. "It is sacred to bards and bespeakas erotic creative powers," the site reads. "It is well suited to the magic of union, attraction, sexual enhancement, imagination and mental concentration." Isn't ambiguity delightful?Early Season Bike Ride in VergennesStrap on your helmet and get ready to peddle furiously in an early season bike ride from Vergennes to Panton on April 26. For more information about the so-called "easy" 15 to 20-mile trek with "several options," call (802) 878-4873.Vermont Adult Learning Spring FlingVermont Adult Learning will hold its "spring fling," featuring a flea market, plant sale, bake sale and tasty lunch on April 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the American Legion on Wilson Street in Middlebury. Proceeds from the event - to be held rain or shine - will benefit the organization's Student Support Services Fund, which aids those who avail themselves of free classes and tutoring in basic reading, writing, math and computer skills, English for speakers of other languages and work readiness. For more information, contact Kathy Hall at khall@vtadultlearning.org or (802) 388-4392. Wild Flower WorkshopYou know the difference between blue lobelia and butterfly weed, right? And, certainly, rocket larkspur and foxglove? Ringing any bells? No? Really? Well, then, naturalist Alison Zimmer will expect to see you at the Seminary Street Extension parking area by Means Woods at promptly 9 a.m. on April 26 for an interactive lesson in wild flower and herb identification and its accompanying lore. Perhaps your newfound knowledge will enhance your odds of scoring a coveted lilac wand (whatever the heck it is) later that morning. For more information, call (802) 388-1007.Shakespeare's The Tempest in VergennesNot every trip to Vergennes this weekend must be made on bicycle (though it sure would make life more interesting.) Relax, instead, in a cushy seat at the renowned Vergennes Opera House when the "All the World's a Stage" theater company presents a free performance of William Shakespeare's The Tempest on April 26 at 7 p.m. Those who are seeking a dash of the literary - but whose early modern English and attention span are both a little shaky - may be better served by "The Tempest for Children in Middlebury," to be held on April 24 at 4 p.m. at Ilsley Public Library. The performance promises to be "shortened" and "appropriate for children." Phew.
(04/17/08 12:00am)
Author: Nicole Lam, Mary Lane, and Cecilia Goldschmitt Gurard-Levin takes a gap semester to gain perspective on real worldLike many first-years coming to Middlebury in September 2003, Micah Gurard-Levin '07.5, fell into the trap of believing that college was all about getting through intensive academic courses in order to snag that coveted career. Not realizing that college is actually more about experimenting and achieving a balance between the academic and the social, Gurard-Levin began his first semester at the College by taking pre-med classes along with advanced math courses. Ultimately this grueling drive backfired. "By the end of my first semester, I was completely burned out after having put myself in a debilitating cycle of falling behind in one subject, then catching up while falling behind in another," Gurard-Levin said. "Frequent all-nighters led to sleep deprivation and ultimately an unhealthy situation marked by depression."The constant stress and worry led to an inability to focus on schoolwork. "Procrastination became a major issue and I found that I wasn't turning any work in on time," he said. After a full year of being on academic probation, the College mandated in Spring 2004 that Gurard-Levin take time off from school. "I agreed that it was in my best interest to step away from the rigorous academic routine and concentrate on resolving personal issues," he explained.Gurard-Levin spent his fall semester working full time for Gap, Inc. as a retail salesman. "I experienced everything from 3 a.m. shipment arrivals to midnight restocking shifts," Gurard-Levin said. "More than anything, working a rather mundane and trivial retail job motivated me to get back to school where I would be in a challenging environment that fostered personal growth and development - but at the same time, working a menial job gave me a break from the demands of academic life."While working and seeing a counselor on a regular basis during his time-off from school, Gurard-Levin had "the opportunity to reflect internally in a supportive environment." The valuable time off changed Gurard-Levin's attitude and perception of the College when he returned the spring semester of his sophomore year. "The semester I returned was more enjoyable and significantly less academically demanding," he said. "I turned to courses that were related to my passions - music and film. I was excited by the crossover of material in my Sight and Sound film class and my introductory sociology class." Unexpectedly, the sociology class that he took only to satisfy a credit inspired him to switch to a Sociology major. While in control and disciplined in his classes, he became more involved in the College's community by joining MCAB's Grille committee, which related to his passion for music. "With the continued support of my dean and the counseling center, the return to the College in the spring was a far more positive experience than my initial arrival on campus as a first-year student," he explained.Gurard-Levin feels that his semester off has allowed him to enjoy a more balanced life back at the College. "I don't stress out too much if my GPA isn't above a 3.0, but I don't see that attitude mirrored among my peers," he explained. Seeing this as detrimental to a balanced college experience at Middlebury, Gurard-Levin cautioned, "the College needs to revisit the topic of workload and determine whether students benefit more by completing overwhelming amounts of work, or by spending more time gaining a deeper understanding of the course material." Groebe battles Hodgkin's Lymphoma, rallies for RelayWhile many Middlebury students choose to take time off to pursue their own self interests and passions, Matt Groebe '08 was forced to spend his fall semester, Winter Term and the first month of spring semester at his home in Winnetka, Ill., battling an unexpected relapse of Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a cancer that typically spreads in but is not limited to a patient's lymph nodes."It ruined my senior year and put my entire life on hold," said Groebe. "And the effect that it had on my family, especially my parents, was much worse than on me."Having suffered from Hodgkin's in his sophomore year of high school, Groebe was accustomed to periodical checks with his oncologist in Winnetka. Abnormal lumps behind his ear located during a check-up in August did not respond to antibiotics, and PET and CAT scans during the next month revealed a relapse of the disease. Groebe was eager to return to Middlebury for his senior year, and his family quickly began looking at treatment centers near the College, including the oncology centers at Dartmouth and the University of Vermont Hospital in Burlington. "When it became apparent that a stem cell transplant might be part of the treatment and that the treatment itself would be over many months, we decided that he should be treated at a hospital in the Chicago area," wrote his mother Beth Groebe in an e-mail to The Campus. Despite a treatment plan involving intensive chemotherapy treatments and grueling recovery from the stem cell transplant - which involved sanitized isolation for three weeks - Groebe decided to take courses during his time away from the College in order to graduate on time. "I looked at what schoolwork I felt I could handle, and realized I only needed to do one course in the fall, which was all I could handle with the chemo anyways," he said. "I only needed three credits for spring - one for my major, Psychology, and two random distribution requirements," which he is currently taking through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's online program. Given the extenuating circumstances, Groebe was able to receive administrative approval for his transfer credits relatively easily. "There were some administrative hiccups along the way but there was never any doubt in my mind I wasn't going to let credit requirements get the best of me when I was dealing with something as big as cancer," he said. "I think it was important for Matt to continue taking classes (as long as he was able to and he was) while undergoing treatment," wrote Beth Groebe. "It gave him the opportunity to concentrate on something other than the treatment and it allowed him to graduate with his class, which was very important to him."Although keeping up with his schoolwork during treatment for cancer was demanding enough, Groebe's reflections regarding his relapse inspired him to start the Middlebury Relay for Life team "A Cure for Hodgkins," which has raised $17,600 at the time of publication. "When I look around my town and see $10 million houses, I always think of how that money would be so much better spent helping cure cancer," he wrote in an e-mail to friends while still in recovery from his stem cell transplant. "Researchers and doctors are making big strides in fighting cancer, but they're nowhere near conquering it. It might sound stupid, but I think one of the reasons the cancer relapsed was God's way of telling me to start caring."Groebe's parents both expressed amazement and admiration for his ability to graduate on time and organize his Relay for Life team, during his time off from school. "He has had to deal with much more than anyone should have to deal with, and he has done it with a positive attitude and with unbelievable strength," wrote his mother. "Being able to organize the team and the strong support and contributions that followed was a positive factor in his recovery too."Travel abroad supports community-based learning"I got to get outside of the U.S. bubble for a little bit," said Lewis Merl '11.5 on his time in South America before coming to Middlebury. Even with the February admissions program that Middlebury offers, a majority of the students at the College arrive fresh out of high school. Not Merl, though. Merl graduated hig
h school in 2006, and is currently in his first semester at Middlebury as a first-year Feb after returning from an exciting year and a half of traveling through Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru."I didn't feel ready for college. I needed a break," Merl admitted in response to why he chose to take the time off before going to college. In the ninth grade, Merl worked on a project for his Spanish class on Ecuador and got hooked. It was then that he decided that he wanted to take a year off and travel there. "My parents supported it. They thought it was a good idea to get out and travel," he explained, adding that they also were encouraging of his goal of becoming a fluent Spanish speaker. "I trekked, climbed mountains and volcanoes, lived with families, worked a little bit and went to places that literally aren't even on the map," Merl summarized of his time in South America. His travels began in Ecuador through a program run by GlobalQuest. However, when the program ended and everyone returned to the U.S., Merl decided to extend his stay. He found a job in a hostel for six months in Quito, Ecuador, where he received free room and board but had to work long hours for six days a week. One of Merl's most vivid memories from Ecuador was his stay with an indigenous tribe called the Hourani. It took a four hour long canoe ride to find the tribe, and in that time, one of the canoes that was carrying his group's bags sunk. Merl described that during this stay, his group ran out of fresh water while with the tribe and ended up having to boil any water that they wanted to drink. "We were drinking smoke-flavored water for days," he recalled. Additionally, Merl and his group learned how to make poison darts. Merl still has many souvenirs to show of his time with the Hourani, including various spears and a jaguar tooth necklace.Another of Merl's most memorable times during his travels was his one-week stay in a self-sustained town called Kata in the Andes of Bolivia. There was no electricity or running water in the town, and Merl explained, nobody in the town had ever seen white people before. "I don't think they quite knew what to do with us," said Merl, who took part in a huge ceremony led by the town's medicine men.After such distinct experiences, it was not easy for Merl to come back to the United States. "The culture shock of being back in the States was incredible," said Merl, who returned from his year and a half adventure on Jan. 1. After learning to speak Spanish fluently, Merl described, "It was really tough getting adjusted to English again." Upon arriving at Middlebury in February, however, he did not feel that it was too hard to assimilate to life here, one of the main reasons being that he was entering Middlebury alongside other Febs who had "also done crazy trips." Merl's time in South America has inspired him to work to be a Latin American Studies major at Middlebury, and he is hoping to take a semester abroad his junior year either to Argentina or to Cuba.
(04/17/08 12:00am)
Author: James O'Brien Throughout the storied history of my unfortunate column in The Middlebury Campus, I have struggled with how to write an opinion column without having any opinions. As a result, I usually ended up pursuing some sort of polemical rant in order to produce an aggravated op-ed from a small but irate subsection of the student body. I confess - I was simply doing my duty so that our fine newspaper could have more op-eds to print. I now realize, however, that in this way I was contributing to a huge waste of paper and ink - an act which, if revealed, would incite more paper-wasting op-eds about how we are wasting paper. All this aside, I have finally found an opinion that I can stand behind - I have no idea what I am doing.After attending Robert Sapolsky's excellent lecture on stress last Thursday, I asked myself a few questions designed to unburden my mind. Where are you going? What is it worth to get there? Aren't rhetorical questions irritating? Sadly, these questions actually added stress to my life. In attempting to evaluate what I have learned so far this year, the most profound idea that I could come up with is that I have no idea what I am doing here at Middlebury. It isn't that I wish I was somewhere else, because I think I need this four-year incubation period to figure out what I am doing with my life in general. I assume that most of my classmates are either passionate about learning, on a career path or participating in a varsity sport that they love - and that they have problems they are hiding. I do not fall into these categories except for the last one. I used to think that I was passionate about learning, but I was just afraid of getting bad grades. I had been trained to believe in the power of grades and their ability to send us to the right college, which would send us to the right job and get us the right wife whose above-average fertility would lead to the right family, etc. Then last week I just happen to ask myself, "What are you doing?" Suddenly, I am not afraid of grades anymore, and that in itself scares me. I used to be scared into doing homework. Now I am trying to figure out what I actually want to do, and, sadly, I am at a loss. Nonetheless, I have tried to bring my vague new perspective to the masses. The masses have not been receptive. I had a discussion with a friend over the word "procrastination" after she said that Bicentennial Hall is great for procrastination but not if you want to be productive. I don't like the word "productive" because I don't understand what we are supposed to be producing and who we are producing it for. Concurrently, the definition of procrastination is "to put off doing something." So technically socializing is procrastinating from homework. At the same time, I would like to say that doing homework is often procrastinating from the things we really want to do. Once we realize this, it seems like it would be easy to correct our mistake. Unfortunately, if you are like me, you have never understood or even cared about what you really want.We all seem to be working toward or looking for a "point" to our actions. Most of the people I have talked to about this idea have a vague sense of purpose, but they do not exactly understand that purpose. I think we have to realize that life is not a linear progression toward a finish line, and, as we know, we will not find a place to stop and be satisfied even if we have high goals. We have to learn to define ourselves by who we are rather than what we do. I am not saying that life is "pointless," but it is purposeless, in a liberating sense. Nothing is required of us, and we are free to assign our own values to the things that we do. We have the power to question and create. This ability falls under the jurisdiction of Spiderman's Uncle Ben and his "Great Freedom=Great Responsibility Postulate." It is a lot of pressure to find value in our own lives. It's far easier to accept the values of others or to pursue hand-me-down goals which we consider our own simply because they have never been questioned. Just writing that makes me a little nervous. Perhaps, Reader, you know what you are looking for. And after writing all these words, I have this strange feeling some mistake has been made. I want you to tell me what I want.James O'Brien '10 is an English major from Medfield, Mass.
(04/17/08 12:00am)
Author: Maddie Oatman syn·es·the·sia from the Greek (syn-) union, and (aesthesis) sensation; is the neurological mixing of the senses. A synesthete may, for example, hear colors, see sounds - and taste tactile sensations.The Algorithm for Literary TeamworkOn March 31, Italian author Roberto Bui gave a talk at Middlebury College entitled "Who is Wu Ming? Global Fiction from Italy" about his collective writing group Wu Ming and a new wave of fiction called the "New Italian Epic." Even without the support of his Italian mother tongue, Bui's lecture was a breathless blend of intelligent tidbits and insights on the direction that contemporary writing has been taking in Italy and beyond. Many of the terms Bui referenced, such as UNOs (unidentified narrative objects), "lexical cluster bombs" and "New Italian Epics," probably seemed foreign to most Middlebury audience members, probably because most of the authors he alluded to haven't been published in English. As Bui argued, "the Anglophone industry is slow in recognizing a popular trend of literary significance."So what makes Bui so sure that Wu Ming is worth the clamor, that it has indeed produced works of "literary significance?" According to their Web site, Wu Ming is an offshoot of an earlier group of European social activists and writers who first formed a group called Luther Blissett in 1994. The group's online autobiography includes such descriptions as "This Robin Hood of the information age waged a guerrilla warfare on the cultural industry, ran unorthodox solidarity campaigns for victims of censorship and repression and - above all - played elaborate media pranks as a form of art." Four Bologna-based writers belonging to Blissett decided to jointly author the book "Q," published in 1999, set in the 16th century during the time of peasant protests and riots before Luther and the Reformation. That's right, four separate people wrote a sensational piece of historical fiction together. The book has been translated into 13 languages and elicited attention from intellectuals and celebrities such as Radiohead's Thom Yorke. "Medieval church carnage," said Yorke after reading the book, "It's mental. I want to get it made into a film ... A tremendous book that makes the inquisitions of the 16th century Europe sound exciting" (from an interview with The Observer Music Monthly, 2007). After acquiring a fifth writer, the authors formed the collaborative writing group Wu Ming, which means either "anonymous" or "five names" depending on how you pronounce the first syllable in Chinese. The apt title characterizes both the number of men in the group and their attitude that ambiguous authorship may serve the literary scene better than another singular ego. The men go by Wu Ming 1, Wu Ming 2, et cetera, they refuse to be photographed or filmed though they frequently give talks in person, and they willingly publish their works, such as the novel "54," free online as a part of their "copyleft" movement. Their writing belongs to what Bui called the "New Italian Epics," novels that often blend history and science fiction and many times paint historical events or characters in a new light. Bui characterized these novels as large in scope, popular and also highly cognitive and complex, and subversive in their use of language and style. The novels suggest alternative realities, similar to Philip K. Dick's "The Man in the High Castle," which questions what would have happened if Hitler had won World War II. While seemingly postmodern in approach, the New Italian Epics reject the bitter irony and sense of detachment that many postmodern works present. Yet like postmodernist works these epics remain suspicious about unity and cohesion, often doubting the optimism of historical periods that claim a "return to order," such as post-World War II. Cynical about violence and the illusory peaceful state of the world, Bui asserted that." We are not at peace and what's more art should never entertain the idea that we are at peace." In their collaborative creation of such "New Italian Epics," Wu Ming risks putting forth disjointed and choppy work containing a confusion of styles and voices that might arise from five separate minds attempting to merge as one. But so far, the group has enjoyed popularity and success. Bui attributed their accomplishments to the intimacy and camaraderie of the group as well as their meticulous writing and editing process. They do months of research on a particular time period, assign people different chapters and characters to write and then come together to read the product aloud and participate in intense and lengthy workshops. Bui stressed that all five of them were friends before Wu Ming began, and he cited another collective writing group that lacked the friendship factor as producing "cold, sometimes almost bleak" works. Despite the exhaustive nature of collaborating in a creative process often attempted solo, Bui said he now feels lonely when writing alone. "Even my solo novels are collective," he admitted, explaining that he relies on his group for editing and reading aloud. For those sick of the isolation creativity often affords, Wu Ming stands as a tribute to teamwork, a war cry against war and tyranny and an inspiration for disenchanted artists tired of attempting the prickly road of socially active writing alone.
(04/10/08 12:00am)
Author: Scott Greene In a largely unprecedented move, the College's Reappointments Committee last week reversed its decision regarding the tenure-track contract of Assistant Professor of Sociology Laurie Essig after a decision last month by the Appeals Committee found procedural errors in the original review. The ruling was well-received by faculty, students and administrators alike, though it is the next step in a controversy that has brought the College's reappointments system under a microscope of scrutiny. Essig expressed relief at the news of the decision and gratitude for the support her case received from the College community."I was so overwhelmed by the response in the beginning," she said, "and now it is truly overwhelming to think about what people did on my behalf and that they actually turned it around."When reached for comment, President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz said he was pleased with the outcome as a validation of the system's overall effectiveness, as did College Provost Allison Byerly. "I am glad that our review and appeal processes worked as they are intended to, and, because of that, Laurie has been reappointed," Liebowitz said. "The new findings allowed the Reappointments Committee to place its original finding in a fuller context, which was, quite obviously, very helpful to the committee."The Reappointments Committee in December recommended to Liebowitz that Essig's tenure-track contract not be renewed, despite an overwhelming degree of student and faculty support for her reappointment. The College's Appeals Committee then ruled in March that the Reappointments Committee made two procedural errors during its original review of Essig. First, committee members disregarded the most recent course response forms in the original review even though the evaluations had become available five days before the final decision was made to terminate Essig's contract. Secondly, though many members of the faculty believed that Essig was employed by both the College's Women's and Gender Studies [WAGS] Department and Sociology and Anthropology Department, the contract for the initial appointment stipulated that she was employed only by the Sociology and Anthropology Department. As a result, the review only involved feedback from faculty members of the Sociology and Anthropology Department. The second review allowed the Reappointments Committee to revisit its original decision, and it ultimately reversed itself.Essig said that the inclusion of the Women's and Gender Studies faculty in the second review likely played a critical role in the new decision. "Having the opportunity to meet with [Chair of Women's and Gender Studies] Sujata Moorti and to hear what role I play in that program was important," she said, "and she had a lot of letters from [WAGS affiliated] professors who came to my classes." Still, Essig disputed the notion that the end result represented a sign that the system worked."I think that the system is out of whack when the opinion of three non-experts can override both the student evaluations and the unanimous senior colleague evaluations," she said. "I do not know what the solutions are but I think its time to ask questions about what other schools are doing."Many had previously criticized the system of appeals for sending an upheld case back to the committee which conducted the original review. The process has also come under fire for what some perceive as a tendency towards departmental bias and a bias against a more progressive curriculum, something Essig said affects the role of academic freedom in the College's tenure system. Liebowitz said that in all his discussions with the committee, Essig's progressive scholarly focus never came up as a basis for judging her teaching. The College Handbook's rules on academic freedom are adapted from both the 1940 "Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure" of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), as well as the AAUP's 1969 Interpretive Comments on the issue, which clarified several components of the original statement. The College does not adhere to the AAUP's 1989 "Statement on Procedural Standards in the Renewal or Non-Renewal of Faculty Appointments," a statement which Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science Murray Dry said could be interpreted to require faculty-elected reappointment committees to follow the recommendations of academic departments on reappointments, in the name of departmental autonomy. Though this would have certainly given more weight to the recommendations of the Sociology and Anthropology and Women's and Gender Studies Departments during the original review, Dry noted that two people at the AAUP denied that the language of the statement compelled such a conclusion."Speaking for myself, I think it would be a mistake to defer unconditionally to departmental recommendations in matters of reappointment. These are the toughest decisions for a college to make and they affect the long-term character of the institution too much to leave them entirely in the hands of the several departments," he said. "I think there is a place for a college-wide faculty-elected committee to take all relevant information into account and make a recommendation to the president."While Liebowitz defended the system and its guiding principles, he did not rule out future reforms to the process."I believe it is a good thing for the institution and for the faculty to review its rules and procedures for reappointment and tenure every so often," he said. "We have not done that, top to bottom, for 15 years, and so I would like us to do a major review of our procedures and either reaffirm our confidence in them, or propose changes."Ryan Tauriainen '08, co-president of the Middlebury Open Queer Alliance, applauded the committee's decision but said that professors' service should be taken just as seriously as their scholarship and teaching in the review. Associate Professor of English and American Literatures Yumna Siddiqi, unconvinced that the recent decision regarding Essig shows the processes of reappointments and appeals is satisfactory, also proposed several changes to the system."I think that the committee should in the first place consist of five people," she said, "that more weight should be given to the department's recommendation when it is properly backed up and that a different committee should look at a case when an appeal is granted - perhaps that could be the work of the appeals committee."Moorti agreed, adding that an overhaul of the system is easier said than done."We will need to figure out a fair way for an interdisciplinary committee to assess various disciplines and diverse pedagogical strategies," she said. "We will also need to figure out a way where we can balance the needs of confidentiality with those of transparency and accountability."Changes to the system, according to Essig, would go a long way in alleviating a culture among junior faculty of feeling vulnerable because one might have spoken up at a faculty meeting or voiced one's political views on campus. Dry did not deny that this occurs, but doubted that it was widespread. Still, Essig claimed that the presence of such a culture hampers the intellectual vibrancy of the community and prevents it from creating a dialogue of dissent."I think that we can learn lessons from other institutions about how to create an atmosphere in which students and faculty feel free to experiment in the classroom and still be held accountable in their field but not have to feel that creating intellectual vibrancy is a problem," she said. "Giving your opinion on ethical and political issues should be an obligation for students, faculty and administrators alike as members of the community. It shouldn't have to come down to hundreds of people rescuing somebody. The system worked bec
ause hundreds of people stood up and said something is wrong here. I am incredibly lucky, but what if I were not as connected?"
(04/10/08 12:00am)
Author: James O'Brien I was listening to WRMC 91.1 - my favorite on-campus radio station - when one show ended and on came a show called Neo-Con Air. I didn't actually listen to the show, but it did jog my memory about the fun Neo-Con posters that I used to walk by on the way to Ross Dining Hall. I remember one of the posters depicted a constipated-looking John McCain with a caption that read "He Ain't Conservative." The indication here is that if he were conservative he would know exactly where to find a good laxative. Now, I have serious gripes with conservative viewpoints, but we can all agree it is important to have a president with a healthy colon.My main ideological problem with conservatives is pretty simple - there are really few things more frustrating than the whole crusade against gay marriage. This is how Republicans were getting people elected? To quickly summarize, gay marriage is an issue that is, and should be, important to most homosexuals. Heterosexuals on the other hand really have nothing to lose or gain from the existence of gay marriage. If one group of people care passionately about an issue and another is unaffected, why shouldn't the passionate have their way? Unfortunately, the idea of a homosexual union is terribly bothersome to the religious right. They have this notion that marriage is "between a man and a woman." I have to tell these people that just because their Christian, contraceptive-free marriage produced 12 children whose names are all variations of "Cletus" - their God-fearing father's name - doesn't mean that they have cornered the market on the word "marriage." Conservative Christians, a base which appears to somehow control the values of the Republican party, claim that gay marriage is bad because the Bible tells them so. That seems like an excellent reason, unless you have actually read the Bible. Not only is there no mention of "gay marriage" in the Bible, but there are so many ridiculous passages that its hard to take the scripture seriously. Most of the Bible is patently ridiculous. Romans 1:31-32 goes so far as to say that homosexuals are "worthy of death." This language doesn't quite capture the sentiment - since we are all mortal, God apparently considers all of us as being "worthy of death" - but you get the point. So just saying, "It's in the Bible," doesn't really justify anything. The Book of Leviticus - Leviticus is my favorite name in the Bible because it sounds both austere and ridiculous at the same time - states that gay males should "surely be put to death." Even conservatives who are not constipated would agree this is a bit harsh. So I would propose a quick and simple solution to this problem. The religious conservatives allow gay people to get married, but in their minds they can believe that it is a secular marriage and not a religious one. They can also believe that God is watching them to make sure they're not gay. This way everyone wins. The conservative Christians continue to think that they are holier than everyone else, and the rest of us don't have to put up with their emphasis on semantics.In an effort to do justice to Leviticus, I dug up two more pearls of wisdom.1. "While your wife is living, never marry her sister as a rival wife and have sexual intercourse with her." Can you imagine trying to explain to your wife that you just married her sister as a rival and then had "sexual intercourse" with her? She would definitely laugh at you for saying "sexual intercourse." Then she might get angry.2. "And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you." This sounds like the plot of an award-winning pornographic film.I went to a Catholic high school so I've been hearing justifications for the "bad" parts of the Bible for years. The truth, however, remains that if a book that promoted intolerance, slavery, violence and misogyny came out tomorrow, the book would not be widely accepted as holy. It would, however, sell millions of copies due to a media stir and the author's controversial appearance on "Live with Regis and Kelly." If the Bible is the Word of God, then God must really be pissed at us and our sort-of-tolerant ways. This scenario seems unlikely, but on the off-chance that I am wrong and the conservative Christians are right, I'll take my place in Hell knowing that I never really had a chance.James O'Brien '10 is an English from Medfield, Mass.
(04/10/08 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] To the Editor:I found out this week that I have been reappointed to the Middlebury faculty. We won! Don't you just love it when the good guys win? It makes you feel like we really can change our lives and the lives of those around us and make this community and, yes, the world a better place. And who were the good guys? Each and every one of you who took the time to care about Middlebury and change something that just didn't seem right. Each and every one of you who wrote letters, signed petitions, joined the Facebook campaign on my behalf and talked to everyone and anyone that would listen about my case. Each and every one of you who sent me e-mails, called me, stopped by to express your support, cooked me a meal, told me a joke, lent me a cheesy novel to read. You gave me the strength and perspective to keep working on staying at Middlebury, a place that matters to me, a place in which I belong because you said so. How will I ever express my gratitude to the hundreds of people in this community who stood up and said that I matter, that the sort of teaching I do here matters, and that Middlebury matters enough to work on creating a thriving intellectual community of diverse teaching styles and teachers and students? You are the good guys, the ones who can make the world a better place, just by insisting that you are heard and that people listen. And people did listen, and they're good guys too - the Appeals Committee for working so hard to figure out how the process might work better with more information, President Liebowitz for his willingness to talk to me and you throughout this process and the Reappointments Committee for actually being willing to reconsider the situation with new information and for reversing themselves. We are all good guys and I wish we could ride off into the sunset. But now we have to roll up our sleeves and ask a lot of difficult questions about the review and promotion process and whether it's good enough for us, the good guys, or whether we deserve something more codified, more transparent and ultimately, more just. Here's to making Middlebury the best place it can be. You all deserve that because you are my heroes. Thank you again and again and again.Sincerely,Laurie Essig Assistant Professor Sociology/Anthropology and Women and Gender StudiesTo the Editor:From $40,400 in 2004-05 to $49,210 is stunning. And demoralizing to those families not at the top, or highly buffered via subsidization by the College at the bottom. Where else in the economy (except for the oil cartel) has there been a 20 percent increase over four years? Certainly not in wages or cost of living indices. Physicians like me, for example, have been handed actual decreases in Medicare reimbursements. The country is headed into a recession. These fee increases impact students' access to graduate school and parents' ability to retire decently. The annual increases exceed what most students can earn in a summer. I am appalled that the College marches to this tune. Gorgeous new copper-clad buildings, millions to the town for a rebuilt bridge, tens of thousands for a rejected modern logo, junkets for the 100 elite recruits, and - last year's justification - the fig-leaf of so-called carbon neutrality. How many millions for sports? I can only guess. The College seems to have embraced a manifest destiny of opulence. Why not hew to its Yankee iconoclast roots? Reject gratifying the narcissism of wealthy donors with the allure of a showcase and instead focus on the core mission: education. Rather than dismissing the vaunted rankings in words, lead by doing so in deeds by providing fine, affordable education.Sincerely,David RosmarinHarvard, Mass.To the Editor: When I sent my son off to college one and a half years ago my parting words were "Work hard but don't forget to have fun."I am so proud and thrilled to say that he has certainly heeded my advice. As I write this letter, my son Justin Bogart and 16 of his fellow Middlebury Quidditch enthusiasts are having the trip of a lifetime. For spring break, they (and all of their equipment) piled into three vans. The back of each van held two signs, one stating, "Honk if you love Harry Potter," and the other stating, "Honk if you don't love Harry Potter." As you might imagine this created quite a stir from the other cars on the road. On Friday, March 21, I opened up The New York Post and saw that one of the items on the "infamous" Page Six was the Middlebury Quidditch team's visit to Columbia University which was planned for the following Tuesday. Sitting in the stands and watching that game, I was one of many who showed up to enjoy the show. And what a show it was. At one point they even coached a whole group of children 10 years and under! But the excitement didn't end there. This morning, turning on my television set, it was quite a thrill once again to see the Middlebury Quidditch team, this time on "CBS Morning News" playing students from Princeton and Amherst. As a parent bringing up young adults in this volatile world, what a great thing it is to see these students acting as ambassadors of fun and good will.Sincerely,Robin BogartBrooklyn, N.Y.To the Editor: Your article on the "Singing for Peace" event held on Sunday, March 16 suggested that the event was sponsored entirely by the Champlain Valley Unitarian-Universalist Society ("Church 'Sings Out' for peaceful tomorro," March 20). It further indicated that the peace vigils held every Saturday morning in Middlebury were also a project of CVUUS. In fact, both the March 16 songfest and the weekly vigils are broadly based, ecumenical and have arisen largely out of the efforts of the Addison County Peace Coalition. The wonderful crowd present on March 16 included many members of CVUUS, but also a large number of Quakers, Methodists, members of United Church of Christ congregations and doubtless folks from other faith communities, and others from no faith community. The leaders of the songfest included Heidi Willis, a United Church of Christ member from Weybridge, and Ann Rowell, a Methodist from Middlebury. It is great to have coverage of community events in The Campus, but a bit more accuracy in your reporting would be appreciated!Sincerely,Reverend David AndrewsMiddlebury, Vt.To the Editor: I am writing to ask you to clarify for your readers a couple of misrepresentations in the March 20 article "Church 'Sings Out' for peaceful tomorrow." Let me say first that the Addison County Peace Coalition is pleased to have received the notice Nicole Lam's article gave to its presence in the Middlebury community. Its weekly Saturday morning vigil is made up of people from a number of area churches as well as people with no particular church affiliation. College students would be very welcome. Among the people who organized the Sing Out for Peace on behalf of the Peace Coalition, and certainly among those who attended, were local citizens of several faith communities, various religious persuasions and the unchurched. The event was held at the Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist Society (CVUUS) meeting house. Beyond the use of its space, CVUUS had no greater involvement than other churches in the community. It is accurate to have identified me as "one of the organizers" but I would point out that the person who initiated the idea for the Sing Out was Carol Spooner of the Weybridge Congregational Church. Carol's husband Reg heard from a fellow member of Veterans for Peace the story of the woman who wrote a song titled "Making Peace" after she was confronted by someone asking if she didn't have anything better to do than stand in a peace vigil. Relating that story at a Saturday morning vigil, Carol suggested a Middlebury community s
ing-along of peace songs and the idea caught fire! Carol contacted the songwriter (in California) for permission to include the song in a public sing-along and then organized the Palm Sunday Sing Out for Peace. Nicole's article reflects her conversation with the minister of the CVUUS congregation and quotes the CVUUS Choir Director who was one of three song leaders for the event. This may have suggested, erroneously, extra credit due CVUUS for the very gratifying success of the Sing Out. I hope this letter will dispel that impression. Ecumenical events like the Sing Out for Peace are an expression of the deep yearnings of all people for an end to violence in solving conflicts. Sincerely, Ann M. Ross To the Editor:We are delighted that the President and the Reappointments Committee have decided to renew Professor Laurie Essig's appointment to the College. Professor Essig is a gifted and talented teacher as well as a leading scholar. We are glad that the review process has allowed us to retain her. The students and our community will benefit from her contributions within and without the classroom. Sincerely,Holly Allen, Program in American Studies Cheryl Faraone, Theatre Department and Program in Women's and Gender Studies Juana Gamero de Coca, Spanish and Portuguese Department Gloria Gonzalez-Zenteno, Spanish and Portuguese Department Roman Graf, German Department Bill Hart, History Department Barbara Hofer, Psychology Department Jon Isham, Economics Department Antonia Losano, English Department Ana Martinez-Lage, Spanish and Portuguese Department Timi Mayer, Geography Department Claudio Medeiros, Theatre Department Sujata Moorti, Program in Women's and Gender Studies Kevin Moss, Russian Department Kamakshi Murti, German Department Peggy Nelson, Sociology-AnthropologyDepartment and Program in Women's and Gender Studies Ellen Oxfeld, Sociology-Anthropology Department William Poulin-Deltour, French Department Burke Rochford, Sociology-Anthropology Department Patricia Saldarriaga, Spanish and Portuguese Department Paula Schwartz, French Department Michael Sheridan, Sociology-Anthropology Department Yumna Siddiqi, English Department Hector Vila, Writing Program Susan Watson, Physics DepartmentMarion Wells, English Department Linda White, East Asian Studies Department Martha Woodruff, Philosophy Department Catharine Wright, Writing Program
(04/10/08 12:00am)
Author: Andrew Throdahl In recent years, a new breed of dramatic soprano has surfaced in the opera world. The factor that distinguishes these women from sopranos of the past is an "advertisability" - an at-times artificial resemblance to Hollywood starlets. Their voices have always struck me as incongruous to their looks. In the case of Anna Netrebko, perhaps the most famous living soprano, comparison has been drawn (like her idol Maria Callas) to such beauties as Audrey Hepburn. Netrebko, who rose from janitor to opera star in a matter of years, has been oscillating between the art world and the pop world, one minute posing for magazines, the next singing Il Puritani at the Metropolian Opera. This melding of beauty and voice has been lucrative. Apparently tickets to her Salzburg Traviata skyrocketed to 2,000 Euros apiece. Kate Royal, who is prettier than Netrebko in looks and in voice, could be deemed opera's new "it" girl, to use a tacky Hollywood expression. In last Tuesday's concert in the Mahaney Center for the Arts Concert Hall, Royal displayed her wide ranging repertoire and tastes, while striking an uncanny resemblance to Angelina Jolie. Accompanied by veteran accompanist Roger Vignoles, the program traveled geographically from Spain to France, ending in Austria with a thrilling selection of Strauss lieder.Rather than just belting out the tunes, Royal seemed to have made conscious decisions regarding timbre. Her clarity seemed intentionally murky in Rodrigo's "Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios," which opened the evening. Her voice succeeded here in meshing with the heavily pedaled piano part. She treated each movement of the cycle, as she did in the rest of the program, with a different character or personification. Certainly, she is an opera singer even outside of the opera house. Her sassy expressions in the third song of the cycle ("De donde venis, amore?") were effectively comic.The French selection, three songs and one concert aria by Debussy, was, surprisingly, sappier than the Rodrigo. Surely Debussy is at his softest when embalmed by a fellow symbolist. In "Cinq Poemes de Charles Baudelaire," Royal expressed what seemed to be genuine rapture. Her gorgeous, fluffy diction felt quite at home in French. There was an element of her articulation in the sublime quality to the way she delivered the line, "Je sais l'art d'evoquer les minutes heureuses," in "Le Balcon" (1888). The piano transcription of Lia's aria from L'Enfant prodigue was either not thriving in Vignoles fingers, or was just awkwardly transcribed. It may have been better if Royal and Vignoles had just done the whole Baudelaire set and opted out of the transcription. That said, the aria stood out as one of the more lyrically moving in the first half.The obscure songs of Joseph Canteloube, written entirely in Provencal, were interesting to hear, if only for the folksy blood Royal extracted from them. The tongue-twisting lyrics of "Lou Boussu" were a virtuosic feat in their own right. A skeptic might argue that "folksy" only implies less classical control, but from the way Vignoles scrambled through the complex piano part, it seemed some casual aplomb is needed just to get through these pieces. In the closing lieder by Richard Strauss, ("Kornblumen," "Mohnbluhmen," "Epheu," "Wasserrose," "Einerlei," "Ich wollt ein Strausslein binden" and "Als mir dein Lied erklang!") her voices exploded with Wagnerian character. The ecstasy in these examples of Strauss' early output suited Royal well. While Royal came alive, it seemed Vignoles struggled. The piano sounded too harsh, at times even messy. Later in her career Royal could probably make a terrific Arabella, Sophie (from Der Rosenkavalier) or Countess (in Capriccio), given the flexibility, control and clarity of her singing. I would be all too eager to hear her sing Wagner, and the role of Eva in Die Meistersinger might be a nice diving point. It is comforting to know that a voice of the calibre of Gundula Janowitz or Regine Crespin has also made it past the image-centered marketing of today's classical music world.
(03/20/08 12:00am)
Author: Brian Fung Ga. Tech president to head SmithsonianThe Smithsonian Institution announced on March 15 that Dr. G. Wayne Clough, president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, would be taking the organization's top post beginning on July 1.Upon his assumption of the role, Clough will inherit a number of problems troubling the Smithsonian, including a severe budget deficit, aging facilities and the remnants of an embarrassing financial scandal that forced Clough's predecessor to resign.Lawrence M. Small admitted last year to spending Smithsonian funds on "personal pleasures like chauffeured cars, private jets and catered meals," according to The New York Times. "I know the Smithsonian has some challenges," said Clough in a news conference announcing the Smithsonian's decision, which was made unanimously by the organization's Board of Regents. "We will surmount those challenges fairly quickly and move on to what I believe is a tremendous future for the Smithsonian."Before accepting the Smithsonian's offer, Clough served at Georgia Tech for nearly 14 years, established two endowed chairs in poetry, expanded enrollment by roughly 5,000 students and expanded the university's research spending by two-fold.- The New York TimesUPenn dental student held hostage by robbersArmed robbers held a University of Pennsylvania dental student at gunpoint for nearly 12 hours on March 9 during the student's spring break, stripping him of his credit and debit cards as well as his personal identification number (PIN). The student was forced inside his apartment by two individuals at about 11:30 p.m. on March 9, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian. After the incident, the robbers went on a spending spree that allowed police to track down the suspects. One of the attackers, Justin Sheppard, was arrested mid-morning on March 10. The second suspect has yet to be caught.According to Philadelphia police, the dental student continued to receive threats from one robber as the second went to verify that his PIN code was correct.- The Daily PennsylvanianBU students seek help from outside tutorsBoston University students have begun seeking academic help from India-based Web site Uprodigy.com, which offers online tutoring sessions in business, math and science, according to the Daily Free Press. Students can access the tutors, each of whom holds a Ph.D or master's degree, at any hour via e-mail and instant messenger, said Syed Hussain, the Web site's founder and a Harvard University graduate. "We find really smart people in India and subject them to interviews and have them take many different tests to see what they are good in and how good their communication skills are in English," Hussain said.Administrators at Boston University acknowledged that Uprodigy could be useful for answering "small, specific" questions, but suggested that personal tutoring sessions would likely be more effective at handling complex concepts requiring lots of explanation."A professor might stress points which a tutor may glean over," said Educational Resource Center Director Glenn Wrigley.- Daily Free Press
(03/20/08 12:00am)
Author: Colin Foss Audio produced by Radio Arts Middlebury.To find good theater, sometimes you only need to open up your European history books. Shakespeare knew this well enough, and some of his most often produced plays are historical in some sense. So, in true English fashion, modern poet-turned-playwright Glyn Maxwell takes the real events of his country's past and exposes them on the stage. For example, "The Lifeblood," a play seeing its second American production at Middlebury (its first was in New York), is a faithful imagining of the final days of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the political and religious imbroglio she found herself in at the end of the 16th. Maybe imbroglio is too light a word. Her husband was killed, the murder pinned on her, and she was abducted, possibly raped and imprisoned in Staffordshire Castle where she miscarried two children. This, by the way, is where the good theater comes in. She is tried for the assassination of Queen Elizabeth under suspicious evidence - evidence that comes from forged documents, tampered-with letters and false correspondence. To find this kind of dramatic dupe in history is almost too good to be true, and there is an element of legend and fantasy in "The Lifeblood." The play's language is rich and nuanced. Written in verse, the text is enough to make audience members tilt their heads in collective strain, and the French and English accents do not facilitate comprehension. But the elevated language of the play is a hallmark of its creator: Maxwell was a successful poet before he entered theater. The director of the Hepburn Zoo production, Aaron Gensler '08, sees Maxwell's play as a modern restaging of the past. The universality of the story, she said, is what makes it relevant in any time period. An age of letter tampering is not far from wire tapping, after all. Maxwell's play premiered in 2004 in England, so it was written to be applicable to our times, and Maxwell is as conscious as any director would be of the difficulties of staging a historic piece in a modern context.Allison Corke '08 has control of the role of Mary Stuart, a role that is challenging not only for its historical importance, but also in its new, dramatic situation. An audience expects a certain regal authority from Mary - and Corke's interpretation of the queen silences any concerns. As her 700-level project, "The Lifeblood" lets Corke, self-admittedly a usually comic actress, take her vivacity into the confines of Staffordshire Castle, and crown herself after her four years on the Middlebury stage. The 700-level project is, in the Theater Department, the coup de grace for departing seniors. Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki '08, who dons the role of Sir Thomas Gorge, follows another route to this collegiate gateway before the real world. His performance in another historical piece, the more ribald "St. Crispin's Day" performed in January 2008, is the other half of his multi-part senior project. He said he found "The Lifeblood" along with Corke, during their sophomore year. When they were looking for something to do for their senior projects, the choice was inescapable."The play stuck with us," said Tirrell-Wysocki. "We decided we wanted to do a 700-level together, and then, when we were looking through plays to do, this was in the back of our minds the whole time." For Gensler, who directed her 700 project "Lion in the Streets" in January, the selection process works in equally mysterious ways. "Sometimes," she said, "a play finds you." For Tirrell-Wysocki and Corke, this is the last big hurrah before they enter into the slightly less accommodating world of professional acting. The actors, and to a larger extent the people they are, will be determined exactly by what they have done in college theater, and so the choice of roles is very important. And with a look at what they are doing with "The Lifeblood," this performance will show them off better than any agent might try. Tirrell-Wysocki has the panache of a film-noir spy in his portrayal of the conniving Gorge, and Corke's verve and brilliance shine through the smothered splendor of a queen imprisoned. To round out the cast, Willie McKay '11 is Mary's right-hand man Claude Arno, and Xander Manshell '09 sits on the high horse of Sir Francis Walsingham, the puppeteer of the performance and the man who abducted the would-be queen. Eric DePriester '09 is the Puritan Sir Amyas Paulet."The Lifeblood" runs in the Hepburn Zoo April 10-12 at 8 p.m., with another performance on April 10 at 10:30 p.m. Radio Arts Middlebury spoke to the cast of "The Lifeblood" in between rehearsals. Listen online at www.middleburycampus.com to their discussion of the production, and find out why there's so much hype around the 700 project. Radio Arts Middlebury airs every Wednesday at 4:30 PM on 91.1 FM WRMC, or online at radioartsmiddlebury.blogspot.com.
(03/20/08 12:00am)
Author: Adam Clayton After three years and a sizeable effort to amend my ways, I still find myself struggling to appreciate what many Americans consider integral to their sporting calendar. First among these is baseball, which is to the English what Americans must think of cricket, only much more uncouth. Second, however, would be college sports, something that has no place in European history and little recognition among even the most ardent sports fans. While I'm told that the appeal of baseball is a combination of an obsession with statistics, obstinacy and binge-fuelled delusion, it still surprises me that many people consider college basketball more passionate and entertaining than the NBA. For any other country in the world, college sports seldom make any headline or arouse passion among even those who attend the college.So what are we to make of this anomaly in the sporting world? The NCAA championships make just under one billion dollars a year, and analysts devote their intellect discussing the prospects of those considered "student-athletes," the spoken emphasis being on the former. The NBA, MLB and NFL all have rules that encourage the matriculation of potential stars into college, ostensibly because this reduces pressure and allows them to gain life experience. Colleges themselves provide scholarships and the promise of top training facilities and coaching to attract top talent. Players in turn are provided financial assistance and valuable guidance. College basketball is technically worse and pales to the athleticism of the NBA, but I have not once seen people more interested in the NBA Finals than March Madness. Maybe that's because I'm at college too, but I see this transcending all generations.This is decidedly amateur compared to English football's grooming system. By fourth grade in most other countries, players would be signing youth contracts with professional clubs and enrolling in special academies where education is merely an afterthought or a conduit to a profession in sports. Scouts traverse rural enclaves from the Amazon to Cameroon in the hope of finding the next Maradona, while top clubs will entice an entire family or village with promises of health care and employment in the First World if their child will sign a contract - even if he is not yet literate. Messi at Barcelona and Eto'o, previously of Real Madrid, are but two examples of this. But what about the 99 percent who don't make it? There is no college system to provide an alternative and no way to use one's talent to pay for a decent education. When Eto'o disembarked in Madrid as a teenager, the club had forgotten to pick him up. Who's to say how many less talented individuals they've forgotten to provide for? Exaggerated promises by unscrupulous agents and hyper-competitive clubs might work for one in a thousand, but countless others end up spending the rest of their lives thinking "what if," instead of incorporating it into a beneficial "student athletics" combination. Overall, the American system provides a much more responsible and equitable way of preparing the next generation for the challenges of professional athletics, a hard task considering what's at stake for countless poor families and young prodigies. Still, moral superiority is not enough to convince me that American college ball and March Madness is worth watching, and so I wait for the infinitely more talented and single-minded UEFA Champions League to recommence in two weeks.
(03/20/08 12:00am)
Author: Lucas Yoquinto Quite a few people around here talk about "the Middlebury Bubble." This figurative barrier supposedly separates the student body from the rest of the world, keeping out current events and keeping in some of the most devastating diseases ever to make you think twice before opening a bathroom door with your bare hand. When I think about this phenomenon, I picture something out of "Logan's Run" or "Total Recall" - a big glass dome covering up our futuristic city, enclosing our air supply. All that's missing from this scenario are a monorail and laser weapons.However, even as winter turns into … a wetter version of winter, and you are more likely than ever to eat dinner from a vending machine rather than hike over to Atwater, I have some good news. Unbeknownst to most, the Middlebury Bubble is full of holes, perforated like the glass dome is after the bad guy starts shooting at Arnold. You only need to know where to look to realize that we are, in fact, part of the rest of planet Earth. You need to look at the ground. From there, if you keep careful watch, you might see a queen bumblebee the size of the end of your thumb come out of her hole.Bumblebees, unlike honeybees, their famous cousins, can increase their body temperature by shivering their internal flight muscles. In fact, that urban myth you've probably heard is true in a way. A bumblebee does not violate the laws of theoretical aerodynamics when it flies - that rumor is based on fixed-wing aerodynamics, as in an airplane, and does not take into account a bumblebee's helicopter-like rotational wing movement. However, a bumblebee cannot take off unless its muscle temperature is higher than 86 degrees Farenheit, or 30 degrees Celsius. As a result of their thermoregulatory abilities, in the very beginning of spring you're more likely to see a furry Bombus impatiens flying around than just about any other insect.The first bumblebees of the year are always the queens. These are larger than other bumblebees, and you're most likely to see them searching for nectar on the first flowers of the year, dandelions, which will become omnipresent on the less-kempt lawns of campus. Despite her size and her sting, the attribute of a queen bumblebee that most interests ecologists is her potential. When she finds a suitable nest site - usually an abandoned mouse hole - she will lay between eight and 16 eggs. This modest-sounding brood is the genesis of a colony of dozens or even hundreds of workers, fertile males and new queens. In every queen bumblebee you see in the next month on your walk back from class, there is an insect civilization waiting for its chance to exist.Given that this is an ecology article written in the 21st century, you've probably been bracing yourself for it - the bad news. Unsurprisingly, like just about every other wild animal you've probably heard about recently, bumblebees are declining in number. Although this phenomenon should not be confused with the Colony Collapse Syndrome that has been lately plaguing honeybees, it threatens similar effects. Due to declining floral diversity, loss of nest and hibernation sites, pesticide usage and habitat fragmentation, bumblebees are less able to perform their function as pollinators, which is vital to both the ecosystem and agriculture. For you economists out there, pollinator loss comes at a price that is difficult to pin down, but it is decidedly large - estimates for the value of pollinator contribution to agriculture in the U.S. range from $1.6 billion to $40 billion per year. Of this total, most is attributable to honeybees, but many crops are primarily, if not solely, pollinated by bumblebees. Every tomato you eat, for instance, is likely the work of a bumblebee.I didn't write this article to guilt-trip you into getting involved with ecological conservation. If you're a student at Middlebury, you're probably already involved with this already. However, I do want to help lend some perspective. Even as you rush to your room carrying three pieces of pizza in your hand so you can eat while studying for your weekly Orgo quiz, look to your left and right, and most importantly, underfoot. You might see something that's bigger than all of us.Lucas Yoquinto '08 is a Biology and English double major from Clifton Park, N.Y.
(03/20/08 12:00am)
Author: James O'Brien In 1986, Robert Fulgham published a famous essay entitled "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." I'm considering writing a sort of companion piece to this essay called "Everything I Learned in Kindergarten was a Lie."In kindergarten we were taught to play fair, share and not hit people. Those who still followed these rules in high school got cheated, robbed and beat up. That being said, I think the world would be a better place if no one ever left kindergarten. Should they force us to move on, I would like to go directly from kindergarten to second grade in my next life. I didn't like first grade because the word "first" was, and is, intimidating. Also, my teacher, Mrs. Nickerson, smelled like prune juice.In kindergarten I watched Sesame Street's "One of these things is not like the other things" segment for the first time. This periodic one-minute section of the show featured a core Muppet character - like Cookie Monster or Big Bird - looking at four things, one of which was different than the other three, even though it shared similar properties. "One of these things is not like the other things. One of these things just doesn't belong," sang the core Muppet. Now, if this wasn't a blatant attempt to create a sea of prejudiced child armies, then the Pope isn't Catholic - and Mr. Nickerson doesn't throw up whenever he eats prunes.This Sesame Street song goes against our unselfish desire to love things that are different, but I think it captures our national attitude perfectly. Our liberal enthusiasm for diversity is at war with our intrinsic fear of things dissimilar to us. I'm not saying that everyone runs and hides when they see someone who is different from them, but most students I see simply choose to spend time with others who are more or less similar. Here at Middlebury, we are immersed in diversity and encouraged to "celebrate it." In an attempt to take this sentiment to heart, I threw a diversity party in my room this weekend. Unfortunately, the turnout was smaller than that of the Ross Toga Party. It was just me and the Swedish mail-order bride I was iChatting with on my computer. This party was not a reflection of the campus' opinion on diversity but more of a testament to the party's complete lack of publicity and my own lack of friends. I mean, multiculturalism certainly has its strong points, but it has a long way to go to overcome the fact that people naturally feel most comfortable around others who are like them. Breaking out of this comfort zone is tough. As a result, the international students hang out exclusively with international students. Football players hang out with football players. Prominent members of WRMC hang out with other prominent members of WRMC. Meanwhile, I hang out with myself, battling my ninth grade English professor in Scrabulous and listening to S Club 7's Greatest Hits. If this sounds good to you, by all means, I am looking for another one of us.This tendency to seek easy company rather than diverse interactions seems almost hard-wired. For the diversity concept to work, we need people to go against their instincts in order to promote the common good. And, not surprisingly, this rarely works. We can get all kinds of different people and put them together in a room - or a liberal-arts college - but after a while most will simply slink into the corner with other people who are like them.With the help of CBS, I have come up with a solution to this problem. Everyone in America will be split up into his or her own homogenous Survivor-esque tribes. We will then gather together once a year in order to outwit, outlast and outplay people who are different than us - with each team wearing their own distinct T-shirt. Fun for everyone! Each homogenous group would get to create an event, and the other groups would begrudgingly participate, all the while cursing the stupidity of the games which they did not invent themselves. I would imagine that every one of these Diversity Olympics would end in a tie between most groups, while one or two teams - probably the S Club 7 listeners and the prominent members of WRMC - would somehow manage to lose the challenge that they invented. This type of society would completely circumvent the need for understanding of any kind. Is this what we've been waiting for? I hope not. But I do know that I rarely see a diversity of opinions and ethnicities like I did on "Barney and Friends." "C-A-T" still spells "cat," but most of the things I learned in kindergarten were lies.James O'Brien '10 is an English major from Medfield, Mass.
(03/20/08 12:00am)
Author: Ashley Gamell syn·es·the·sia from the Greek (syn-) union, and (aesthesis) sensation; is the neurological mixing of the senses. A synesthete may, for example, hear colors, see sounds - and taste tactile sensations.The Principles of Maira KalmanBy Ashley Gamell"Washing dishes is the antidote to confusion." "Moustache Meatloaf Mother Mocha." Such are the little delicacies to be found in Maira Kalman's recently published "The Principles of Uncertainty," her first book for adult audiences and of adult proportions (336 pages, $29.95). Kalman is an illustrator, designer, artist and author extraordinaire - the creator of 11 New Yorker covers and 12 children's books, including the unforgettable series on Max Stravinsky the dog poet, and the aptly titled "What Pete Ate From A-Z: Where We Explore the English Alphabet (in Its Entirety) in Which a Certain Dog Devours a Myriad of Items Which He Should Not." In 2005, Penguin published a deliciously colorful edition of "The Elements of Style," illustrated by Kalman. "Elements" was, in some ways, the perfect medium for the artist's sardonic wit - Kalman is interested in language as an attempt to maintain dignity amidst undignified circumstances.Kalman's color palate is her trademark - nearly edible, a shade flashier than pastel. Her handwriting is gangly and uneven, as in a child's game of Hangman. A cast of thoroughly outlandish characters parade around her pages, wearing unbelievable accessories. Her self-proclaimed "eccentric aesthetic level," a realm of haute couture hair and poeticizing poodles, might be considered misrepresentative - you find it only on the streets of Paris or New York. And yet, Kalman's obsession with old-world idiosyncrasy is a delight to behold in today's mass culture America."Principles" began as a monthly illustrated blog for The New York Times, which you can check out at kalman.blogs.nytimes.com. However, be forewarned that Kalman's newest work is one of the reasons why people will keep buying books in the 21st century instead of reading them on MacBook screens. This is a book you must own in the flesh. It is a book you must savor in hesitant installments, a book you must have on hand to read aloud to your mother after the funeral of her favorite uncle.The standard existential crisis is at the center of "Principles." Kalman quotes Bertrand Russell: "All the labor of all the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction." She then asks, "So, now, my friends, if that is true, and it IS true, what is the point?" In search for an answer, she calls upon all of the Russians, (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Pushkin, Oblomov) who make cameos in ice cream colors. And yet, the Russians seem antithetical to Kalman's approach - she belongs more to Gertrude Stein's school of language-for-the-sheer-joy-of-it (sweet sweet sweet tea) or to the Joycean tradition of life-affirming proclamations (yes I said yes I will yes).According to Kalman, solace is to be found in people-watching, spotting "superlative tassels" and reveling in an all-consuming admiration of hats, which range from the commendably "jaunty" to the "completely sensational." This is a religion of proper nouns and noteworthy ornamentation, one in which "the Ottoman on the way to the Proust room" and "the odd yet endearing guard guarding Proust's room" warrant more attention than Proust himself. "The Realization that we are ALL (You, Me) going to die" is followed by a series of fruit-platter paintings.At times we don't quite believe Kalman- her sense of humor seems unchecked, her message of everyday sanctity a tad canned. Such suspicions arise when she tells The Times that "it would be as interesting to report on a morticians' convention as it is to write a book for kids," or when we learn that she has named her children "Alex Onomatopoeia" and "Lulu Bodoni," after a vintage font. The January chapter of "Principles," a series of pedestrian photos with inspirational captions, leaves something to be desired. And yet, we are happy to overlook her lapses in sanity in exchange for her unbridled humanitarianism. As Kalman puts it, "The heart breaks. Someone does or does not go mad. It is February. And all is forgiven."We can expect anything and everything of Kalman in the coming years. She shifts easily between mediums, from Faust-embroidered wall hangings to opera libretto, thanks to her iconic style. Running through all of her work is the fusion of the high arts and the mundane. At the debut of an opera based on her edition of "Elements," Kalman's friends and family played backup accompaniment on an array of kitchen appliances. At a recent gallery opening, her mother could be spotted ironing handkerchiefs. When asked whether she might pursue performance art in the future, Kalman replied with typical bravado, "The play, the gallery show, the store front, the Mark Morris, walking to the post office. I think that is one of the places I am headed."
