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(03/05/09 12:00am)
Author: Caleigh Waldman SEA SEMESTER - Awoken at 2:30 a.m. with a rustling of my bunk curtains and a whispered debriefing of the wind and sea conditions, I groggily throw on my shoes, grab my flashlight and a mug of coffee as I stumble up on deck for dawn watch. The next four hours will be comprised of sail handling, time at the helm, looking out for other ships from the bow and helping the science team do some deployments and data processing. Then right about at 6 a.m. is when the star frenzy begins - everyone on deck grabs a sextant and points it in the direction of some of the brightest navigational stars in the sky, bringing in the horizon with this same contraption used by mariners hundreds of years ago, and recording the degree readings that we would later use to pinpoint our exact location on the globe. I live for these 15 minutes or so when the sky is becoming light enough so that you can just make out the horizon, but still dark enough that the brightest stars are visible. Having been landlocked my entire life, living in Kentucky and going to school in Vermont, I had no experience sailing before this past fall. My six weeks aboard the Robert C Seamans, a 134-foot brigantine sailing vessel, opened my eyes to many things I would not have imagined. A landless horizon, for one. The first week aboard the ship I was totally land sick, desperate for just a line of earth on the horizon, yet by the end of the six weeks the sight of land made my heart sink, an unwelcome interruption to our journey across a water world. The importance of a good wakeup. The tone of your day can amazingly be set by the person who wakes you up at some ungodly hour in the night for your next watch. The soothing happy wakeups were in great demand (especially that of our Irish shipmate, her accent just made you happy about getting up and cuddling with a mug of tea), while the bumbling shipmate caught in your bunk curtains barking an abrasive "it's 2:30, get up" made you bolt upright, banging your head in the process and inciting a strong desire to hurl anything heavy and hard in his/her direction. How to speak the seafaring language. Sheets and halyards and clews and stays'ls and gybing and tacking and heaving to. And don't forget galleys and heads and soles. The preferred bird removal tactic: fire hose. There was some crafty fashioning of a giant slingshot made out of science equipment used to shoot rotten limes at the birds aloft, as well as a potato gun propelled by the engineers' air compressor. The fire hose method was the most successful, but still took days to rid the ship of them.The greatest extremes of emotion I have experienced. The highest highs but also sometimes the lowest lows. The long, irregular days, the hard work, the close relationships formed.And this semester was all about experience. Everything we learned was by doing. And though I'm undoubtedly still a landlubber, this experience incited in me a longing to be out on the water, a place I have no doubt I will return someday.
(02/12/09 12:00am)
Author: Grace Duggan Middlebury students looking for a vacation from Vermont's lack of tall buildings and high population density typically use the occasional weekend or a longer break to book it to nearby urban centers like Montreal, Boston and New York. Now students have to walk only as far as the Johnson Memorial Building to get their urban fix, courtesy of Professor of Studio Art Jim Butler's innovative Winter Term course, "City of Your Dreams." Visitors to the Pit Space find themselves in the middle of a miniature metropolis simultaneously futuristic, timeless and nostalgic, constructed entirely of glass. Abstract shapes and ethereal hanging forms push the city into the realm of the imaginary while many components remain firmly rooted in longstanding approaches to urban planning. The latter includes a grid layout that can be traced as far back as the ancient Greeks, a close proximity to water in keeping with numerous urban centers built along coasts and glass skyscrapers that, with the help of steel, grew to make the International style a dominant aesthetic in many real-life twentieth-century cities. Many of the skyscrapers echo iconic Art Deco forms, particularly the Empire State Building. The tallest structures tend to taper in a step-like fashion strongly reminiscent of New York City's infamous setback laws first introduced in 1916. The dominant feature of the small-scale city is a winding river slicing the city in a manner reminiscent of Florence's Arno River or the Seine in Paris. Made out of smashed Ford windshields, the river functions primarily as a pathway for visitors and facilitates a crucial tactile connection to the city's main material. During the Jan. 29 opening, the river briefly served as a dance floor for four members of On Tap. A short stroll along the river reveals countless views of different components of the city: a waterfront, a park strip complete with basketball courts, fountains and a Ferris wheel, houses of worship, dangling mobiles, a blimp and short structures that prompt viewers - or tourists - to crouch down before rising to gaze upwards at airy, surreal high-rises. Butler first taught the course at the Pilchuck Glass School in 2007 with Deborah Czeresko - a glassblower and sculptor known at the international level - with very different results. During the summer of 2008 he invited Czeresko to co-teach the course at Middlebury College as a Cameron Visiting Artist-In-Residence, along with John Chiles, Hank Murta-Adams and Jill Reynolds, all of whom brought to the table extensive knowledge and experience related to using glass as a material for creating art. The 12 students who enrolled in "City of Your Dreams" hit the ground running on Jan. 5. The first four days of class comprised a whirlwind of introductions ranging from flameworking with Reynolds on campus to trips down to HUB Consolidated - a glass manufacturing company owned by Chiles and operated out of Orwell, Vermont - for a crash course in glassblowing. "The objective was," Butler explained, "after four days, to have everyone know what it feels like to gather glass out of a furnace that's 2,000 degrees, blow into a pipe and inflate a shape; also, to use small-scale borosilicate glass and a torch at a table and begin to bend and shape clear glass as a three-dimensional line in space. In the evenings I introduced how to melt glass in kilns, and to shape-shift glass on a larger scale using recycled glass and plate glass - common window glass." The second week entailed appointing three city planners to devise a layout for the installation. The only requirement was to maintain a 1:48 scale (1/4 inch = one foot) throughout the roughly 1,000-square-feet space. Each student was assigned 1.5 blocks of real estate, the goal being to force collaboration between neighbors on shared blocks. Once materials were brought in, "large amounts of relatively low-rise structures started to appear," Butler explained. "A lot of people didn't like what other people were doing, just like in real life. Or they liked what someone was doing across town and wished it was on their side of the river. As a result of this, one side of the river looks entirely different from the other side. It's as if one side is kind of the classy Park Avenue side and the other side is the funkier, more industrial side with a crazy patchwork of architectural ideas." Though a veritable wonderland and truly enjoyable vision, the city suffers from the same problem as many of its real-life counterparts: circulation. The grid layout is ultimately useless for visitors; they stand like Godzillas on top of nonexistent suburbs and on the river, unable to move in for closer looks of large chunks of the city. A wide boulevard evoking Paris would have made the city inherently more walkable. Sobriety seems to be in short supply here as well, as evidenced by a critical mass of distracting beer and liquor bottles. The greatest offenders were a hanging structure of flattened Red Stripe bottles and a conspicuous Svedka bottle that do nothing but remind viewers of the student body's stereotypical drinking habits. Strangely absent from the city? Inhabitants. Though the city teemed with people during the opening, no miniature glass humans jaywalked across side streets or walked hand-in-hand through the park next to buildings made from sliced bottles, beakers and thin tubes. Some might argue that the tube of glass people shooting up to the second floor of Johnson contradicts this observation, but these people emerged from a combined height and abstract concept requirement introduced in the third week. Those people came from a random prompt assigned to that particular student: "the dead." Another prompt -"carnal thoughts" - resulted in an exquisite floral construction hanging down from the second floor. The installation raises questions about how individuals conceptualize urban forms. Taking into account the dominance of glass, the city strikes a delicate balance between the realistic and the imaginary, a line complicated by the ironic use of a standard architectural model scale. "First it's about making art," said Butler. "It's about making sculpture. It's also equally about making and tracking human interaction on a sociological, creative, artistic and political level. So at the same time this is about sculpture, it's also a microcosm of how human beings organize themselves - how we all do." "City of Your Dreams" is on view in the Pit Space in the Johnson Memorial Building until Monday, Feb. 16. It is free and open to the public.
(02/12/09 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] The first challenge in learning to cook at college is finding a suitable and well-equipped kitchen. If you don't have a suite or live off-campus, you can visit Weybridge house or contact your Commons Heads. Be sure to respect others' kitchens and clean up after yourself. Also, be sure to make a little extra of whatever you are cooking and leave some for your hosts. A variation on these rich delicacies first crossed my palate last year at a birthday party potluck. I was standing in the kitchen, sipping champagne, when someone offered me a fresh fig stuffed with a dollop of goat cheese. It was the perfect combination of sweet and salty and dry. I went home, and some friends and I developed our own version, which we call Stuffed Kings! For this recipe try using Jasper Hill Farm's Bayley Hazen Bleu cheese. This cheese is delicious, well blended, and full-bodied. It has a tangy crispness as well as a rich, nutty, grassy flavor. Jasper Hill Farm, run by brothers Mateo and Andy Kehler, is located in Greensboro, Vt. They produce a variety of soft and hard cheeses with fresh raw milk from their own herd of Ayreshire cows. The Kehlers seek to promote and support the local dairy industry through a model business. Stuffed KingsServes 6Total preparation time: 45 minutes Equipment:Baking sheet Ingredients:12 medjool dates2 cups olive oil3 tablespoons fresh rosemary1/4 pound bleu cheese1/2 cup balsamic vinegar Pit dates by slicing along one side, lengthwise, and pulling out pits. Soak in olive oil and rosemary for 1/2 hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Break bleu cheese into small chunks. Stuff soaked dates with cheese and pinch gently to close. Place on a baking sheet. Heat in oven until cheese begins to melt. Meanwhile, prepare balsamic reduction by simmering balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and stirring constantly, until thick. Remove dates from oven and drizzle with balsamic reduction. Feast!
(01/15/09 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] Just because you are a college student doesn't mean you can't cook. Once you dive in and learn the basics, preparing delicious meals can become part of your life here at Middlebury. Learning to cook can also enhance your life after college. And it tastes good too!Growing up I looked forward to the winter weekend mornings because they meant a leisurely and copious breakfast that invariably featured my mom's blueberry, almond, orange muffins. I would wake up to the smell of butter and almonds and hurry downstairs where I would split the muffins in two and watch the steam rising from the blue orbs of last summer's blueberries flanked by rays of orange zest. Then I would eat. Since leaving home, I have baked these muffins many times and I still love them.I encourage you to seek out local ingredients when cooking. For this recipe try using Butterworks Farm whole yogurt. Butterworks is a local, organic dairy based in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. They practice self-sufficient and sustainable farming. They insure that their products are antibiotic-, hormone-, herbicide- and pesticide-free by feeding their cows grains grown exclusively on their own land. Their yogurt is also thick and creamy.Blueberry, Almond, Orange MuffinsMakes 12 muffinsTotal preparation time: 45 minutesEquipment:One large 12-piece muffin tinIngredients:1?2 cup unsalted softened butter3?4 cup granulated sugar2 large eggs1 cup plain yogurt2 1?2 cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking soda2 teaspoons baking powder1/8 teaspoon salt2 cups frozen blueberries2 tablespoons almond extractzest of one orangecanola oilCream butter, sugar, eggs, yogurt and almond extract in a medium sized bowl until smooth with some lumps. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until sticky. Fold in blueberries and orange zest.Grease muffin tin with canola oil and fill with a generous spoonful of batter.Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot!
(01/15/09 12:00am)
Author: Amanda Cormier This holiday season, Middlebury shoppers, like many American consumers nationwide, witnessed the repercussions stemming from the deceivingly abstract crises on Wall Street. But there is reason to believe the casualties were less severe for local businesses, especially in comparison to their counterparts and competitors in other states.Indeed, the changing face of Middlebury's most prominent bloc of businesses - which includes the closing of a store, the opening of a restaurant and a change in ownership of a flagship establishment - is not just a another product of the nationwide economic crisis."Generally, the businesses said things weren't as bad as expected this holiday season," said Gail Freidin, executive director of the Better Middlebury Partnership. "That's not a terribly positive statement in light of the national and world economy, but it's pretty darn good. Although December business was down, the year finished either at or about even, possibly up or down 1 or 2 percent."The holidays provide downtown stores with the majority of yearly income, with the off-season supplemented by college parents, alumni and tourists. High rent on Main Street can make it difficult for stores to withstand the months of May through October. For this reason, Woody Jackson, artist and owner of Holy Cow, Inc., moved his studio out of its prominent Main Street location in late October. Now, it is occupied by his wife's business, Ingrid Jackson Real Estate."The stores that can survive [on Main Street] are the ones who can generate better income, like professional service industries," Woody said. "For Ingrid, it's the perfect location. It gets a lot of foot traffic."The high rent of a Main Street location makes it difficult for businesses on the market to find buyers. Glass Bead Game, a women's apparel store on the College end of Main Street, announced its closing after time on the market yielded no buyers. "The fact that Glass Bead Game will close doesn't mean there won't be a business there - there may be a little shuffling going on," Freidin said. "Sometimes there is a flurry of that, and other years there is not much change. I would say there hasn't been a lot of change lately."The relative stability of business in town - despite the usual difficulty of maintaining a Main Street retail location - can be partly attributed to Middlebury's focus on the local economy. According to Freidin, customers were more cautious with their money this season."I do think that consumers demonstrated stronger loyalty to local businesses rather than just going and spending money anywhere."Real estate shifts have also expressed increased desire to keep Main Street money local. Ben Franklin, Main Street's flagship general store, was recently sold to a local family that plans to retain its identity as a general merchandise store. Bonnie Gridley, owner of RE/MAX Champlain Valley Properties, said the sellers expressed a desire that the business stay in local hands.The strength of the local economy was also the focus of a new restaurant opening on Main Street in the spring. The Farmer's Diner, a diner in Quechee that serves primarily locally-grown food, will open a new branch in late spring in a major downtown space. Rumors of the diner occupying the space currently held by Tully and Marie's could not be confirmed or denied by the diner's owner, Tod Murphy. In December, Murphy held a community dinner regarding the restaurant's role in town to widespread support."I asked people in the community for references [for local suppliers]," Murphy said. "Eggs seem to be the big issue. There are not enough local eggs. Lots of people were excited to hear that a family-priced restaurant that is so locally oriented is coming to town. We spend about 73 cents of every dollar within 50-70 miles of the restaurant."Murphy said he hopes that The Farmer's Diner can have a high degree of involvement with the community and College organizations. The Diner has developed several new menu items to appeal to student budgets, such as a $5 breakfast."We think that having the College nearby is going to be great, and we expect our mission statement to appeal to a lot of Middlebury students," Murphy said. "A lot of the student body's worldviews on local economies seem to be similar to those in Addison County."
(10/23/08 12:00am)
Author: Jeff Klein On the evening of Oct. 14, Conrad Olson '09 arrived in Mobile, Ala. to take part in the Division-III men's tennis national tournament. Determined to get the maximum preparation before his matches, he immediately hit the courts of the tournament site that night to practice, and continued to practice on Wednesday morning.While Olson's efforts did not lead to him reaching his ultimate goal, he nonetheless performed valiantly on the national stage. He defeated James Muliawan of Carnegie Mellon, 7-5, 6-2 in the first round before bowing out in the semifinals to Chris Goodwin of Emory by a 6-1, 7-5 score. The next day, Olson wrapped up his season by falling 6-4, 6-4 to former #1 player in the country and last year's tournament winner John Watts of Washington University in St. Louis.Olson was happy with his performance, but believes he may have left some opportunities out on the table. "I played well," he said, "but felt that if I had played better on some of the most important points in the semifinals against Goodwin, I would have beaten him and possibly won the tournament."According to Olson, the player from Emory could not hold a candle to Olson's athleticism and physical fitness. "I had him starting to throw up at the end of the second set," Olson said, "because physically he was hurting in the 90-degree weather and heavy humidity. But he came up with some aces and great shots which saved him."While it is always disappointing to lose, Olson can take solace in the fact that his first-round victory means he is now ranked 4th in the country on the D-III level. "It was a wonderful experience and a fun event," he said, "and although I am slightly disappointed because I felt I didn't play quite as well as I did at some of the matches at the regional, I am proud to finish 4th in the country, my highest ranking ever."He continued, "I learned that I have some things to work on such as starting out the beginning of the match better, finishing short balls better, getting into net quicker, and hitting the ball deeper and heavier in order to beat the top three in the country."Just two days ago, Olson received an invitation to represent the U.S. at the 2008 USTA International University Masters Tournament in Paris. Clearly, the sky's the limit for this senior.
(10/09/08 12:00am)
Author: Andrey Tolstoy One night, when I was three years old, my mother told me to pack my things and get ready to leave. I grabbed a stuffed animal along with a bag of pretzels, and climbed into the cab with my sister. Four hours later we were in Paris. We stayed in a dingy hotel, the first one we could find at 3 a.m. There was no food left in Russia, my parents explained, so we were going to live here for a while.It was hard starting from scratch. My father, a former dissident, worked at a Russian-language newspaper, earning peanuts. My mother, a genetic engineer, got a job babysitting for wealthy Russian families. Our first Christmas we didn't have money for a tree, and we waited until our Catholic neighbors threw one out, so we could put it up for Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7th.One of the many freelance jobs my mother took up that first year was in cinema. She was hired by a studio to coach local star Nathalie Baye in speaking French with a Russian accent for a film about a Canadian cleaning lady of Russian descent, who returns to the motherland to get in touch with her roots.I'm not sure whether my mom was amused or horrified by the plot. Russia was then run by Boris Yeltsin, an alcoholic who had a degree in construction (senior seminar in cement mixing and all that jazz) that rose through the ranks of the Communist Party as part of Gorbachev's plan to enliven the ranks of the aging and discredited political apparatus. Sensing the imminent decline of his mentor, Yeltsin put himself in opposition, breaking from the establishment and arguing for an independent Russia. The public was captivated by the fact that he rode the bus to work, didn't hide his village accent, and was once caught on camera in a documentary taking shots of vodka after work. Yeltsin was a maverick, in that if there was a number of ways you could do something, he would almost invariably pick the worst. His extreme free-market policies, known as "shock therapy" by their supporters and "economic genocide" by their detractors, left the country in shambles, run by thugs and highway robbers. In the second year of his presidency, he used tanks to shell an uncooperative parliament. Because he was not gifted intellectually, he was easily enamored of various "progressives" and criminals that bled the country dry in the eight years of his reign. He left office with a 2% approval rating.In real life, the village where Nathalie Baye's character ended up is called Provideniya, Russian for "providence." It is inhabited by two thousand Yupiks, a branch of Eskimo, and was administered until two months ago by Roman Abramovich, more famous for his ownership of Chelsea FC. The Yupiks and ethnic minority Russians make most of their money in tourism, showing neighboring Canadians and Alaskans what their homes look like from the other side of the Bering Strait. They also have a statue of Lenin in town, which is kind of a pain to dismantle, so he just stands there, a sixty-foot tall anachronism, with his right arm still pointing toward the bright future. And today, we can hear the echo of bygone lovers, whispering across the Strait:"Darling," he slurs, "I'm going away to Moscow, to serve in the government."A sullen look comes across her imperfectly aligned eyes, and she snuggles into the moose carcass keeping her warm. "Is that far away?""Eleven time zones.""What are those?""It's far." "Like can't-see-it-from-Alaska far?" "Yeah." "Doggone it...""
(09/25/08 12:00am)
Author: Cecilia Goldschmidt On Sept. 17, five Middlebury students shared stories about their participation in the Shepherd Poverty Alliance internships, sponsored by Washington and Lee University and awarded annually to approximately 50 students making strides to assist poor people in achieving higher degrees of civic involvement. In addition, the Alliance for Civic Engagement (ACE) supported two students working locally to help alleviate poverty's effects.Brent Allen '11 spent his summer helping out at the John W. Graham Emergency Shelter in Vergennes, the only homeless shelter in Addison County. Allen explained that he really learned the ins and outs of the shelter and its policies during his time there. "The shelter wants residents to help themselves take charge of their own welfare," explained Allen. "The challenge for me was going in as a 19 year-old kid and trying to assist people with really crucial decisions."Allen started his internship with general introductory work and by learning the rules of the shelter, ultimately taking on a variety of tasks as the summer wore on. He went around Addison County to local organizations such as the Health Department to involve them in helping the shelter, he researched grants for funding and he collected housing applications from shelter residents. His relationships with many of these residents were so strong that at the end of the summer, one of them made him a card and got it signed by all of the other residents. Allen is excited to continue working at John Graham during the school year."The shelter made a big difference for me as a person," said Allen. "I feel like I am a much more compassionate person."Ben Weir '11 saw a very different side of poverty issues for his internship at the Addison County Farm Worker Coalition. There are over 2,000 migrant farm workers currently in Vermont, who are mostly Mexican, and although they are key to the success of Vermont's dairy farming, they do not receive any rights or benefits because they are not United States citizens. "They are an invisible population," said Weir. "I've lived in this state for my whole life but never knew about this."The Farm Worker Coalition recognizes the importance of the migrant farmers' work locally and provides them with humanitarian services, translation services and even playgroups for their children. Weir took on many responsibilities this summer, from applying for grants to organizing transportation for the workers, who are unable to get driver's licenses as non-citizens. He also got to know many of the farm workers and their families from playing soccer with them and attending the playgroups."I gained a huge understanding of how the community and the country works," said Weir.Besides Allen and Weir, three other Middlebury students had interesting and meaningful interactions with impoverished populations through their internships. Christopher Mutty '09.5 worked with the United Way of Addison County, focusing mainly on issues of housing and financial stability. Mutty is hoping to continue his work this year at United Way to produce a financial mapping project. "The goal is to coordinate efforts in communities to have the biggest impact," said Mutty. Robert McKay '09 worked with The Food Project in Boston. Every summer, The Food Project involves inner city children in farming and community building. In his work at The Food Project, McKay had a variety of jobs but discovered that his true interest is in teaching and interacting with youth. He was very impressed by "the power of these agricultural spaces to build community." Hannah Rabinovitch '09 worked at the Rockbridge Area Hospice in Lexington, Virginia. Rabinovitch shared many anecdotes about the people she met and established relationships with through her experiences in hospice care."You start getting into their families, which was such a blessing," Rabinovitch said. These internships are part of a larger initiative to bring a poverty studies academic program to Middlebury College. The Higher Education Act bill, which was signed by President Bush on Aug. 15, 2008, includes authorization for the poverty-related grants - an initiative that ACE has been promoting since 2003. The idea for the proposed program dictates that interested students take certain courses in poverty studies and then participate in poverty internships over the summer, much like the ones that Mutty, McKay, Allen, Rabinovitch, and Weir took part in this summer. Director of ACE Tiffany Sargeant expressed her hope that the program will start sometime in 2010.
(05/08/08 12:00am)
Author: Jeff Patterson In Nelson Recreation Center this past weekend, the Middlebury men's tennis team fought with the determination of Nelson Mandela and the fearlessness of Admiral Horatio Nelson and in so doing won back-to-back tournament matches like the golfer Byron Nelson. As a result, the Panthers - like Willie Nelson - had "Something to Brag About."Forced indoors because of weekend-long rainy weather, the Panthers nonetheless poured it on, blanking MIT 5-0 on Saturday, May 3 and beating Trinity 5-1 the following day. "It was nice to play inside, because of the temperature," said captain Fil Marinkovic '08, who went 3-0 on the weekend - without having finished his singles match against the Engineers because his teammates had already clinched the shutout victory. "Last time we played Trinity at their place, it couldn't have been more than 45 degrees outside. When it's so cold outside, it's not exactly a fun sport to play. We still pulled it off, though."Sporting flashy, yellow Reebok sneakers, that were admittedly his "only shoes," on account of wearing through his go-to pair and forgetting to order some new ones, Marinkovic won all of his matches in a flash - needing only 17 games to dispose of Trinity's Brett Ramsay, 6-2, 6-3, in his number-two singles match.Teaming up with Andrew Thomson '10, Marinkovic helped Middlebury win all three doubles matches on Saturday and two out of three on Sunday. "The thing about doubles is that it's all about momentum," said Marinkovic. "You have two guys out there and you don't play two sets - you only play a proset up to eight. You really want to come out and win the first couple of games because then the other team starts to get down on themselves and starts to feel the pressure of having to come back, especially with the new system of doubles being worth three points as opposed to just one."Against MIT's team of Eric Beren and Ken Van Tilburg, Middlebury's tandem got off to a slow start. Beren slammed Marinkovic's opening return, hitting Thomson right below the ankle. From there, the Engineers won the next three points in convincing fashion and took a 1-0 lead. However, Marinkovic followed suit, holding his serve with four consecutive Panther points. After breaking Beren, the Middlebury duo won the next five games to take a 7-1 lead. From there they coasted to an 8-2 victory.The other Panther doubles teams had tougher times putting away their Massachusetts opponents, but eventually the pair of Andrew Lee '10 and Chris Mason '10 won in a tiebreaker, 11-9, and the duo of Rich Bonfiglio '11 and Andy Peters '11 won without needing a tiebreaker, 9-7. "It's a huge deal if you win all three doubles," said Marinkovic. "If you lose all three doubles, you have to win five out of six singles matches, which is a pretty tough task for anyone."Needless to say, MIT could not build such a comeback. After singles wins by Thomson and Peters put Middlebury up 5-0, the Engineers were already mathematically eliminated.Facing Trinity, the number-one seed in this year's NESCAC tournament, was definitely going to be tougher. Earlier in the year, on April 6, the Panthers lost all three doubles matches to the Bantams and needed what MIT needed - five out of six singles victories in order to escape with an unconventional 5-4 win.On Sunday, Marinkovic-Thomson and Bonfiglio-Peters victories spotted Middlebury a 2-1 lead that it would never relinquish.With a crosscourt forehand winner Lee beat Spencer Feldman 6-4, 6-4 and sent Trinity home. Teammate and classmate Thomson jumped on his back for a celebratory piggyback ride. Straight from the horse's mouth, this horsing around only goes to show that the sophomore from Michigan is back to his normal self. Thomson had been sidelined with a partially torn Achilles since a spring break match with UC Santa Cruz. But now he is back and playing like the number-one ranked doubles player in the country."They told him that it was going to take four to six weeks, which would have put him in the lineup just starting now," said Marinkovic. "But somehow he got back a lot earlier and was able to play."It is not all fun and games, though, for Marinkovic, a double major in economics and biochemistry. At least, not yet. "Unfortunately, I'm taking five classes right now in order to graduate," he said. "Four of them are major requirements. I've got a lot of work, but when you get on the court, you don't really think about that."The Panthers have earned the right to take on 13th-ranked Mary Washington - 5-4 winners over fourth-ranked Trinity (Texas) - in the NCAA quarterfinals on May 13 at Bates College. The Eagles were down 4-1 and had their feathers against the wall, but managed to come away with the victory."It's nearby, the Northeast, a home away from home," said Marinkovic, "so we'll see what happens."
(03/13/08 12:00am)
Author: Jonathan King Audio produced by Radio Arts Middlebury.From delivering sizzling pianos solos at his jazz group's Mahaney Center for the Arts (CFA) Concert Hall appearance to energizing the Beaux-Arts Ball as director of the Sound Investment, music instructor Dick Forman provided the drive behind the Jazz series at last weekend's dedication ceremony of the CFA. The Campus spoke with Forman about the genesis of his passion for jazz and the ways he continues to explore the style with students at the College.The Campus: When and how did you become interested in jazz?Dick Forman: Like most of my students, in late high school I started seeing that there was more to life than what I had long been doing musically. Like most of students, I was classically trained as a kid. Though I didn't want to give up classical music, I saw that there were other things going around, and as I looked to my friends and other people my age who were exploring this rather intriguing jazz music, it just seemed like a very cool thing to do. Through college, I told myself, "Well, this is actually pretty rewarding music to play." That's what started it all. TC: Two years ago, the Sound Investment achieved its status as an official performance ensemble in the Music Department. Has the group's performance capability improved with this increased departmental support?DF: Since the Sound Investment took on the mantle of something a bit more serious, it has attracted students who are interested in doing things seriously to the point that I'm feeling pretty good about where the band is right now. Listen to them at the dedication ball. They're doing some really fine work. It's just a joy. TC: The Sound Investment performs in a variety of different venues on campus, ranging from lindy-hops to more formal concert hall appearances. Do you or the Sound Investment prefer any particular setting? DF: Though working in different spaces and for different audiences always requires a different way of doing things, I think they're all valid and you get different things out of doing them all. The music initially was written as dance music and it's still just a joy to play for people who want to dance. The first public performance we've done in this renaissance for big band was in McCullough for a joint event with lindy-hop. The first time people in the band looked up and saw 50 people dancing in front of them was just a moment that I'll treasure forever. These huge grins broke out. It's a little tricky when you've got reed in your mouth to smile, but, nonetheless, they really enjoyed it. The audience also really loves it. The chance to actually get the music into your body as opposed to just treat it as some sort of formal thing is really wonderful. The next fall, we said, "You know, we're ready for some more difficult material that isn't really dance work and that would involve a different sets of skills." So we moved into the concert hall for our debut performance. This really brought everyone up a notch. They realized that the music can be very serious, and that in order to play it well, you really need to work at it. TC: Tell us about the Dick Forman Jazz Group.DF: It began a little more than 20 years ago when I found myself playing with the same group of people over and over again. It became a vehicle for all of us, but I think especially for me, to really grow. When you start playing with the same group of musicians over time, you begin hearing things differently, you begin working differently and you begin taking risks differently, all of which makes the music richer. So we embarked, with a certain degree of luck, on a series of high-profile gigs at festivals, public radio and things of that sort. Gradually, we became quite solid. Unfortunately, due to illness, people moving and things like that, the band has changed its membership quite frequently. But, that said, you make lemonade out of lemons. I've found phenomenal new people and also held on to people who I think are just the most superb players who have ever crossed my path. That's allowed both me individually and we as a group to play the kinds of things that we wouldn't have attempted before and to work in a variety a styles. Though it sounds cliché, we push the envelope and keep reaching for new and different things. You need new ideas from different people in the process of creating music.
(03/06/08 12:00am)
Author: Thompson Davis Based On a True Story 1980/2008A Play in two actsACT I(1980. Citibank headquarters in Manhattan. Thompson Bennett Davis III walks into an office extremely hung-over or still drunk*)CITIBANK: Jesus, are you all right?TBDIII: Yes. Actually no, I'm going to be level with you here Mr. -CITIBANK: My friends call me JacquesTBDIII: The truth is I feel like crap. I went to a friend's bachelor party last night and simply put, I got plastered. I knew I had this interview in the morning and I take my career very seriously but - you know how it is, right? I have my best friend, in my lap, sobbing like a baby telling me, "I don't know if I love her, man," and over my shoulder is his bonehead uncle, screaming in my ear, "SPIRIT OF '76' DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!," so one thing leads to another and I drink like 15 shots.CITIBANK: Interesting.TBDIII: Look, I feel like a total jerk. I don't normally go to interviews hung over and I don't usually drink 15 shots. But the reason why I came here today, the reason why I didn't stay in bed, is because I really want this job. What happened last night was a special occasion I guess. I grew up with this guy, I went to school with him, and there was no way I was going to let him do something stupid like back out on his fiancée. I had to get down there in the trenches with him. It couldn't have gone any other way.(CITIBANK lets out a big laugh. TBDIII is so embarrassed that he gets up to leave.)All right, ok. Thank you Jacques for this opportunity and I, uh, hope to hear back from you soon.CITIBANK: Sit down Mr. Davis. TBDIII: How do you know my name?CITIBANK: Because I have your resume right in front of me. Do you know what else this resume tells me? It tells me that out of all of the candidates for the position, you're the least qualified. You have no experience with finance and you went to a college I've never heard of. You also seem to be quite a party animal. However.TBDIII: However?CITIBANK: Out of all the candidates, you're the only one with what we French like to call "joie de vivre." You were caught up in the moment at that bachelor party. You had life by the god damn reins! HOHN! HOHN! HOHN! But in all seriousness, what impresses me is that you were dumb enough to come here and tell me the honest truth. And that's what Citibank needs, Mr. Davis - honest people who look out for their friends, welcome to the team.ACT 2(Summer 2008. Citibank Headquarters in Manhattan. Thompson Bennett Davis IV stumbles into an office extremely drunk.)CITIBANK: Jesus, are you all right?TBDIV: I'm fine as a philistine, my man. I'm telling you I got "joy de viver" from here to Madagascar.CITIBANK: You smell like wine, sir.TBDIV: I graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Music.CITIBANK: Middlebury?TBDIV: It's in Vermont.CITIBANK: Get out of here.*Author's note Thompson Davis III graduated from Middlebury College in 1977 with a degree in French. He started his I-banking career at Citibank in 1980 and has been doing it ever since. He is not a degenerate or an alcoholic.
(02/28/08 12:00am)
Author: Sara Black Remember in Mrs. Richardson's class when you got to dress up as Abraham Lincoln and in seventh grade when you dissected the frog? Or how about that time Mr. Rodriguez took your class to the planetarium? For many young people in the United States, the reality of the American education system is quite grim. The average nine-year-olds growing up in low-income communities perform, on average, three grade-levels behind their high-income peers on standardized tests. They do not have the same repertoire of shining memories, a tragedy that AmeriCorp's Teach for America (TFA) is seeking to remedy through the ranks of eager college students it recruits each year.After four years of benefiting from Middlebury's highly involved faculty, many graduates find themselves attracted to Teach for America's mission to bring education to students who are less fortunate."I majored in Political Science and for my first couple years at Middlebury I saw myself going into politics or journalism, but after a run of internships in law and journalism, I realized I would be antsy sitting at a desk or working as an intern after college," said Ben Salkowe '07, who is working for TFA as a fifth-grade teacher in Las Vegas, Nev. "I wanted to have responsibility for something I cared about and I wanted to keep learning outside of the classroom." TFA was the brainchild of Wendy Kopp, the product of her senior thesis - a plan to eliminate the educational achievement gap - while she was a student at Princeton University in 1989. Since its inception as a non-profit organization in 1990, TFA has seen great success due to the work of 17,000 energetic college grads."I teach on the West side, three or four blocks from the suburbs," said Jessica Cox '07, who teaches in Chicago. "You can see the disparity from one block to the next - the huge suburban houses with expansive yards just across the way from the small flats where my students' families live. The reality is that our nation provides an inferior education to students in low-income areas."In the past few years TFA has gained in popularity amongst the students of our country's most prestigious colleges. The number of total applicants is up from 17,350 in 2005 to 18,172 in 2007, with close to 40 percent of those coming from four schools - the University of Chicago, Duke University, Amherst College and Spelman College."I think most Middlebury students either have no idea how uniquely qualified they are to be successful teachers, or have no concept of how much they are needed in these communities," Salkowe said. "Maybe it is a failure of the Middlebury curriculum, maybe of the Teach For America recruiting, but it's too easy to not realize the extent of the education problem in this country."With the increasing emphasis on higher education, many students are unsure what their first post-graduate step should be. TFA provides many students with a career trial run before or while attempting to earn a graduate degree. "Hearing [the experience of a Middlebury '04 alumnus] really helped me to realize the impact that TFA was having on classrooms around the country," Cox said. "Additionally, my time at Midd and before was marked with a strong sense of service, with a particular passion for working with children. It seemed natural."TFA accepts students of all majors with a GPA above 2.50 and U.S. citizenship or permanent residence status. While students do not have to have a teaching certificate to apply, the evaluation of TFA applications is certainly thorough, given that the college grads will be faced with challenging situations each day that they work, armed only with their perseverance and patience.Rachel Dunlap '06, who is stationed in New York, has encountered these difficulties firsthand. "Even in the best-case placement scenario, a Corps Member would probably be working for hours each evening and on weekends, particularly at the beginning of their first year," Dunlap said. "Because you're so busy, a lot of other things get sacrificed - sometimes I feel like I was out of the country last year, I was so cut off from friends and the world in general - so make sure you're convinced this is something you want to do."To prepare its new recruits for this challenge, TFA runs a five-week teaching boot camp, called the Summer Institute, which is based out of various cities around the U.S. Here the recent grads are faced with days packed with classes, meetings, workshops, tutorials and hands-on work. Still, most graduates find that they only begin to understand the full TFA experience once they step into the classroom."While I felt the Institute did give me a lot of information and some important experiences, you can only absorb so much before you start teaching full-time," Dunlap said. "Your real learning comes from your time in the classroom when you begin your position."Currently, TFA has its programs in place in 26 regions, ranging from New York City, Chicago and New Orleans to more unexpected locales, including Memphis, Tenn., Hawaii, South Dakota and Las Vegas."Honestly, who wouldn't want to live in Las Vegas?" Salkowe jokingly said of his new home. "I can see a gigantic pyramid, faux castle, Eiffel Tower and the Stratosphere all from my morning commute." As 10th on Businessweek's list of its "Best places to launch a career," TFA upholds its title with innumerable post-TFA partnerships with reputable graduate schools and companies. Colleges such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University and Stanford University, as well as companies like JP Morgan, Google and Wachovia, all see TFA as a screening process to provide them with only the best and the brightest young leaders of America.Despite her earlier warning, Dunlap has ultimately found her triumphs in the classroom to be fulfilling. "I'm not sure I could have found a job right away that is as rewarding. When a kid gets a concept, takes responsibility for his or her progress or goes ice-skating for the first time, you really feel it," Dunlap said.Cox has felt a similar sense of reward from both her and her students' efforts."One of the most frustrating things is when you are teaching a new concept and it just isn't working," said Cox. "At that point, you have to figure out something new on the spot, try it a different way. While it's frustrating, watching the light bulbs go off for students when they do get it is well worth it."For more information about Teach for America visit its Web site at www.teachforamerica.org.
(11/29/07 12:00am)
Author: Mary Walsh For most Middlebury College students, Winter Term is characterized by taking an easy class in the morning, skiing most afternoons and spending extended periods of time in the cozy Vermont dorms with hot chocolate, movies and friends. The College - which only requires students to spend two Winter Terms on campus - also allows students to spend the month pursuing independent projects and internships off-campus. Emily Coles '09 is one student who took advantage of the latter.Nearly a year later, Coles continues her Winter Term work, supporting Guatemalan women through promoting their locally made wares, which are currently on display just outside the campus box office. Coles spent her sophomore Winter Term in Guatemala working for Mayan Hands, a fair trade program that helps Guatemalan women. By teaching these women communication skills and providing a market for them to sell their products, Coles and Mayan Hands were able to "assist women in their quest to raise themselves out of poverty," Coles explained. Mayan Hands is comprised of roughly 20 groups, each containing about 20 women native to the same area. The women all weave and produce baskets, jewelry, crafts and dolls. Once a month, Mayan Hands volunteers give a presentation to these women with the goal of promoting self-sufficiency and empowerment. "In Guatemala the women are repressed, as they have little say in their work, family, marriage or any other aspect of their daily life," Coles said. Mayan Hands aims to provide these women with the tools necessary to represent and defend themselves. Coles noticed that when the women were together and did not agree on an issue, they were not initially able to have constructive conversations because they had never been given the opportunity to discuss anything before. Typically, Coles worked at Mayan Hands from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day, offering an important foreign perspective to the organization. The organization valued her fresh, unattached perspective and wanted her feedback on the way the project worked. As part of her work she put together a guidebook for future volunteers with information about the town and local attractions. Coles found this to be an ideal opportunity to explore Panajachel, the town she was staying in.While volunteering at Mayan Hands, Coles worked on a project regarding dental health in Guatemala. The opportunity to spend Winter Term abroad gave Coles, a joint Spanish and Anthropology major, the ideal opportunity to gain further knowledge about her two academic passions in a way not available in Vermont. An average Guatemalan meal consists of tortillas and a six-liter bottle of Coke. While most Americans would be disgusted that the only beverage a mother would provide for her child would be Coke, in Guatemala the soft drink is cheaper than bottled water. In addition, the majority of Guatemalans are not aware of the negative health effects of Coke. Coles investigated the state of dental health in Guatemala for her project, and was able to interview Guatemalan doctors. "While it is hard to change the ideology of a group, if you start with a younger generation, change can occur," Coles said.After learning about her interests in Anthropology and Spanish, a member of Coles' church in New York introduced her to Mayan Hands. The prospect of working with the group immediately interested Coles and she started planning the trip that spring. Because it was an independent project not offered through Middlebury, the trip required significant organization, as Coles needed to arrange a host family, and present the independent project to her advisor so she could get credit for her work. James Fitzsimmons, an assistant professor of Anthropology, serves as her advisor and was particularly interested in the project, as he has spent time working in Guatemala. Fitzsimmons was impressed by her determination and results and is considering a Winter Term course that focuses on archaeology and anthropology. "Emily's work could form part of the foundation for such a course," he said. In early January of 2007, Coles left for Guatemala City. An arranged host family, exciting internship and approved independent project awaited her, yet she still felt a degree of uncertainty."I was more excited for a feeling of a higher purpose than taking tests and writing essays," she said. "I wanted to experience the things I had merely read or heard about."Coles settled into her life living with a "modern Mayan" family in Panajachel, in the region of Solol·, Guatemala. Margarita, her host mom, was considered a "modern Mayan" as she comes from Mayan ancestry but, in addition to the Mayan dialect, spoke Spanish and wore conventional clothes.When Coles returned to the United States last February, she knew she would return to Guatemala. This Winter Term, Coles will return to Mayan Hands for six weeks to continue her volunteer work, as well as apprentice with a local shaman. She wants to investigate the balance between modern medicine and religion. While January is the perfect opportunity to enjoy the winter in Vermont and relax a bit after a strenuous first semester, clearly there are other opportunities out there. Coles' experience shows that Winter Term is also the perfect chance to leave your comfort zone, pursue different passions in an unconventional manner, make a difference and take your education to new realms.
(10/18/07 12:00am)
Author: Tess Russell Next time you are standing in line at the mailroom, desperately waiting for that contraband electric blanket from Mommy Dearest, take a random sample of the people around. You will likely find representatives from different nations, races and socioeconomic backgrounds. And yet, as Middlebury looks to the future and takes strides to enrich the College's population with students from diverse backgrounds, there is still one area in which the campus remains shockingly homogeneous. Look again at that sample chances are that most (if not all) of its specimens seem spry and enviably slim.There is certainly a logical explanation for this phenomenon. Nestled amidst the slopes and trails of the Vermont countryside, Middlebury has always attracted outdoorsy types who, simply by nature of the school's setting, become increasingly active upon matriculation. There is, of course, nothing inherently wrong with shedding a few pounds on your weekly jaunts to Mt. Abraham or Camel's Hump, but when those results are coupled with an escalating national fixation on weight and body image, it can put undue pressures on students to stay fit.Personally, I am inclined to pass off my morning trek up the hill from Homestead House as my daily dose of cardio, so the "gym culture" (as it has been dubbed) at Middlebury has been particularly striking to me in my first semester here. In addition to the 28 percent of students participating in varsity sports, another considerably large portion are involved with junior varsity, club,and intramural teams. Countless others hit the weight room, or the ground (running), anywhere from every week to several times each day.Recent events, including the "Surrender Your Booty" party, have incited controversy regarding the ways in which body image and expected gender roles are perceived on campus. Ryan Tauriainen '08, the first male officer in FAM's history, has also filmed two documentaries, focusing on body image concerns at Middlebury, both of which will premiere at the Nov. 2 "Love Your Body" event."Middlebury is unique in the fact that it includes a large population of people who are physically active, attractive and dress well," Tauriainen said. "This is a direct result of the College being inhabited by mostly affluent students. There is an unconscious pressure to be in shape, especially since the dynamic of this campus is to be fit and look good." Indeed, it is impossible to talk openly about over-exercising or restrictive eating without first acknowledging that these problems crop up predominantly in certain strata of the general population strata which are heavily represented at Middlebury. There seems to be a shared, if unspoken, belief among even the most sensitive and enlightened students that an affliction like anorexia nervosa is, to some degree, a "disease of privilege" because it primarily affects Caucasian females from upper middle-class backgrounds. Yet Virginia Logan, from the Center for Counseling and Human Relations, noted that that the incidence of these "critical condition" cases is fairly low on campus, but that general concerns about body image crop up across the board, in students of all demographics."These insecurities are almost always seen in combination with a host of other issues as a result of perfectionism and extreme self-criticism, which occur in a surprisingly high percentage of students," Logan explained."At this age, students are in the process of sorting out their own identities, and are at a stage of engaging with love interests≠ - they are looking to connect emotionally, spiritually, and sexually with someone else, " she continued. "When that's going on, students who are already self-critical can become hyperconscious of how they are presenting themselves."Dealing with this problem is particularly hard, for the very reason that students experiencing low self-esteem or feelings of powerlessness tend to be inherently secretive about and even ashamed of their behavior. Logan admitted that it has been difficult to keep a regular support group operating, because there is just so much concealment on the part of the sufferers. That reticence might help to explain the general lack of discussion on the subject at Middlebury≠.Men in particular are much less likely to vocalize their private qualms over their appearance, even among friends, because any admittance of 'weakness' can be emasculating. "Many people do not realize that the image of male perfection is quickly changing into something harder and harder to achieve," Tauriainen said. "Men are judged physically on their athleticism, which is often depicted through large, defined muscles≠. Societal expectations of this sort can lead to muscle dysmorphia (nicknamed 'bigorexia') in which the person is never satisfied with his level of strength."So what steps can we, as a community, take to foster healthy habits among our members? First, we might do well to follow the lead of the women's cross country team which, under head coach Terry Aldrich, has adopted a proactive approach to nip negative patterns in the bud. Every female runner now undergoes unannounced weekly weigh-ins as part of a collaboration between Aldrich and College Trainer Sue Murphy, who declined to comment for this article. When I first head about these sessions, the concept of a procession of athletes lining up in front of a row of scales struck me as Spartan and, frankly, kind of creepy. But Aldrich maintained that the new policy is the best way to insure the health and wellness of his team members."Health is my number one concern, and no national championship is worth sacrificing the health of my team," Aldrich said. "Bone growth stops somewhere in a person's mid 20s, so inadequate nutrition during the college years can have significant ramifications later in life."Team captains Chrissy Fulton '08 and Ceara Danaher '08 also weighed in on the weigh-ins. Both women believe that a sports-wide requirement, much like the one in place at Amherst, would be in the interest of all athletes."I think it's important for people to understand that this isn't a cold, thoughtless procedure," Fulton said. "If the coaches and trainers think that there might be an issue, they work with that athlete, the college physician and the college counselors to figure out what is wrong. With that said, it certainly felt a little unfair at first, and maybe still since our women's team is the only team participating in the weigh-ins."For her part, Danaher stressed that communication is key."We are constantly striving for a supportive, healthy atmosphere," Danaher said. "There is openness and honesty between athletes, coaches and medical staff, and the team watches out for its own simply out of concern and friendship. When it comes down to it, we just want to run fast and enjoy doing it, now and well into the future." The bottom line is that students entering Middlebury are more informed about nutrition, and health in general, than ever before, and that has many positive benefits including - as Aldrich cited -- a significant decrease in smoking on campus. At the same time, this hyperconsciousness of our physiques can have potentially devastating consequences when it leads to a skewed perception of what is "normal," and what is "healthy."After all, we live in a superficial and image-preoccupied world, and the old adage that we should accept people of all shapes and sizes might be simply unrealistic. Perhaps the best we can do, then, is to create a dialogue that helps students learn to strike the right balance and not take pursue fitness to dangerous extremes."When someone opts for a workout instead of dinner at Proctor, I think they might be taking it too far," said Bente Madson '11. "That kind of preoccupation on campus can make a lot of perfectly healthy people much mor
e self-conscious than they need to be."
(04/25/07 12:00am)
Author: Anthony Adragna The College's fourth annual Relay for Life raised nearly $203,000 and brought over 1,000 walkers to the field behind Kenyon Arena to support the American Cancer Society (ACS) on April 20-21. The current total represents a 2.5 percent increase from last year, and is expected to rise up until the Aug. 15 fundraising deadline.Organized by Co-chairs Alex Braunstein '09 and Chandler Koglmeier '09, the event benefits the ACS, which will use the money to fund scientists performing cancer research and to patient support programs. Braunstein said the fundraising dollars would continue to come in over the coming days raising the final total. "Our final fundraising total, at the moment, is a little over $202,900, but we expect it to keep increasing in the next few weeks," she said. "Still, that makes this year's Relay the biggest fundraiser in the history of Middlebury College."The College does exceedingly well at Relay when compared to other events at schools throughout New England. This year's walk will put them close to the top throughout New England. Currently, the Yale Relay for Life, held on April 14-15, had raised $211,000 as of April 16, making it the top fundraising Relay in the Northeast and the fifth nationally."Middlebury is a Relay gem," Braunstein said. "Youth and community Relays across the nation want to know what our secret is and how such a small school and community can be so successful. We are the number-one youth Relay per capita in the nation by a long shot, and again the top-10 county per capita in the nation."Students, faculty, staff and community members began to gather around 2:00 p.m. Friday to set up for the event. Many teams brought tents so they could sleep close to the track where they would walk.The 18-hour event officially began at 3:00 p.m., with teammates beginning the walk around the field in shifts that lasted throughout the night. With participants filtering in throughout the afternoon and night, organizers were uncertain of a final tally of walkers, but reported that the number topped at least 1,000. Braunstein said she was thrilled by the turnout from the event."I think we got extremely lucky with the weather this year, which helped our turnout," she said. "No one wants to be inside Kenyon [Arena] on the first real day of spring. The event ran so smoothly that I felt pretty useless a good amount of the time - our committee was on task and making it happen all night long. I don't know exactly how many people showed but my guess is around 1,000, maybe more during ceremonies."The top individual fundraisers were Maura Casey '07, John Re and Jeremy Ward, with the top team fundraisers Dawn of A New Day, Life Science and Pirates of the Diamond all raising over $10,000.Event organizers attempted to have a variety of activities that would interest walkers of all ages, such as theme laps and a kids' table. Student organizations helped provide entertainment at the event, with performances by such a capella groups as Stuck in the Middle and the Mamajamas and other performances from Dawn's Basement and Riddim. Opening Ceremonies for the event began at 6:00 p.m. with speeches by President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and Cathy Trudel, a cancer survivor and member of the Relay team Brain Scramblers. Following the speeches came the Survivors Lap, with participating cancer survivors making their way around the track before being met and joined by their caretakers and the rest of the event participants.At 9:00 pm. came the Luminaria Ceremony, when walkers completed a silent lap in remembrance of those who have died from cancer. Walkers lit candles in honor of the victims, and then watched a slideshow of those who have battled the disease."The most powerful part of Relay for me is always the silent lap of the Luminary Ceremony, when the word 'Hope' is lit up behind the hill and you can see over a thousand people walking the track with candles," said Braunstein. "Lighted bags line the track with the names and pictures of loved ones who have passed on from cancer. The silence is almost deafening - it's so eerie and yet incredibly beautiful."Wendy Rodriguez '10 also commented on the powerful effect of the ceremony."I was very happy to see such student involvement and seeing such huge student turnout," she said. "The luminaria part of the night was very emotional and touching at the same time. I have never met anyone who's had cancer, no one in my family has had cancer, but I've heard the intensity of cancer so when I saw everyone crying around me, it really hit home that this is a reality."Braunstein said the efforts of the College's student body impressed her immensely. "When I saw kids from my dorm out on the Relay track at three in the morning on a Friday night, walking in the mud and 40-degree temperature, I felt immense pride in the Middlebury student body," she said. "Midd-kids truly rally for Relay. They make up more than half of our participant total and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the ACS every year. They give our event its energy and power. I can't even describe how proud I am to go to a school with people like that."Kelsey Bakas '10 reiterated Braunstein's comments. "I thought it was great and well-run. It's the first time I've ever participated so it was very moving," she said. "Even though it was just walking, you were out supporting any way you can and getting out and raising money. It was kind of overwhelming to see how many individuals had been afflicted by it. It was really something to see all the light and the candles and the upbeat music. It would have been nicer if more students could have spent the night. But overall I thought the student core was great." While the College supports the event greatly, Braunstein hopes they will some day create a paved track for the event. "It would be great if the school paved us our own Relay track so we don't have to worry about destroying athletic field," she said. "I think as long as we keep bringing in new leadership and volunteers, the event will grow on its own."
(03/07/07 12:00am)
Author: Astri von Arbin Ahlander This season's "American Idol" is in full swing. The show has gained a whole new level of legitimacy since Jennifer Hudson took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, proving that it can indeed be regarded as a factory for fame. But "American Idol," a remake of the British "Pop Idol," does little to compete with the musical event at the heart of every Union-loving European: The Eurovision Song Contest. I bet the name sounds vaguely familiar to you. Middlebury is, after all, an international place, and this time of year the air is full not only of vague hints of warmer breezes, but of heated discussion between international students placing dibs on who they think will win the near-sacred event. Though the show isn't until May, each country is now frantically picking its entering song, which makes the hype for Eurovision as premature as my proclamations of an approaching spring. But so it goes.I recall a sunny afternoon in the spring of my own Middlebury career when a Turkish friend of mine and I huddled in front of his computer to watch a fuzzy stream of the show in a three-by-five inch frame for a good three hours. My friend was unusually excited because Turkey which, though not yet permitted to join the EU, is a proud member of the Eurovision team - had won the previous year and was the host country for the musical extravaganza. My dear American reader, you must understand the gravity of the situation. Hosting The Eurovision Song Contest is like hosting the Olympics, except you only get one year's notice. The previous year's winning country has to build a stadium, choreograph elaborate opening and closing ceremonies and polish up the faÁade of its city so as to look their best for music-loving tourists traveling from far and wide to witness the live, annual resuscitation of cheesy music.Eurovision was created in Switzerland in the early 1950s with the goal of uniting Europe's war-torn nations through entertainment, giving each the chance to exhibit its cultural flavor in a peaceful and joyous forum. Each country contributes a song and the viewers in each country cast their votes, but you cannot vote for your own country. The votes are tallied up and each country represents one vote in the final tally-up. The final product may be zesty and fun - a guilty pleasure for anyone who pretends to have higher musical taste - but it certainly fosters a degree of nationalism comparable to say, soccer's World Cup. At least there are no blood-thirsty Eurovision hooligans singing their way through police barricades - that I know of that is.It's funny how a musical contest can reinforce previously fostered national stereotypes. Take France, for example. For as long as anyone can remember, France's contribution has consisted of a slow ballad, sung strictly in French (even though most other nations perform their entries in English), by an emaciated, doe-like woman in a flowing gown. Typical, non? Eurovision is also a great way to see deep allegiances between countries. Take Sweden and Britain, for example. They always, without fail, vote for one another, no matter how detestable the song. I credit this to the Brit's love for ABBA and neon spandex jumpsuits (fun Eurovision fact: ABBA won in 1974 with "Waterloo"). The contest is broadcast all over the world, even in non-contributing countries. Yet here we can see how the consumption of the contest reflects international tensions. For example, though Jordan broadcasts the show ever year, they only do so after having first edited out Israel's contribution. I wonder what they did the year Israel won? Bet that rang pretty off-key.
(03/07/07 12:00am)
Author: Brian Fung The number of Commons Residential Advisors (CRAs) at the College will be reduced from 10 to five next year, Dean of the College Tim Spears confirmed last Saturday. The change has drawn mixed student reactions and, along with plans to offer junior counselors (JCs) $2,500 stipends next year, has some Commons staff in open protest of the changes.The prospect of increased pressure for future CRAs, according to Cook Commons CRA Jess Horner '05, is unsettling and has driven her, along with a number of colleagues, to speak out against the administration on the issue."I am so discouraged by what's going on," Horner said. "Moving to just five CRAs is a huge mistake. [It] is just unfathomable the amount of work that [next year's CRAs are] going to be shouldering."According to Spears, the plan to eliminate one CRA position from each Commons will reflect a return to student-run residential life. To compensate for the loss, JCs, who will be called First-Year Counselors (FYCs) next year, will assume many of the responsibilities now shared among the 10 CRAs on campus. "In effect," said Spears, "we are shifting resources within the Commons system to current Middlebury students and, I believe, empowering them as well."Initial recommendations for changes in the residential-life system emerged out of a 2006 report by the College's Human Relations Committee, which explicitly advocated revisions to the JC program. "[Providing stipends] would allow students from lower socio-economic backgrounds to serve," the report read. Furthermore, "rising seniors and qualified juniors" who applied for the FYC position could conceivably bring invaluable experience to the mentoring role.According to Horner, however, CRAs already provide effective service under the current system."People come to us all the time, but nobody sees it because it's behind closed doors," she said.CRAs' apparent invisibility has, according to a number of current CRAs, affected the degree to which their concerns have been taken into consideration. Ross Commons CRA Eric Vos '05 claimed that Spears' decision to slash CRA numbers by half was taken unilaterally and with minimal input from the College Commons."My experience at Middlebury taught me that inclusive dialogue and informed decision-making were the hallmarks of a liberal arts education," said Vos, "and yet the process of making these changes has been anathema to these ideals."Cook Commons Dean David Edleson echoed Vos' remarks. "I would have thought that our collective direct day-to-day experience and expertise would have been key in creating the best system," said Edleson. "Instead, we were asked for our reactions after key decisions were made. That was disappointing and for me, somewhat demoralizing."Current first-year students delivered both positive and negative reactions to Spears' plan. Sylvia Mendez '10 praised the move, saying that it would likely draw more applicants to residential-life positions and offer economically disadvantaged students an opportunity to volunteer."Maybe people who wouldn't have considered it before will be encouraged to apply," said Mendez. "I was thinking of applying as a JC next year. Once I saw there was a stipend, I considered it even more."According to Matt Lowes '10, however, offering a stipend may actually draw focus away from the position's mentoring duties. "The money is almost too much," said Lowes. "If incentives could be ranked, this would be way off the deep end."Lowes also addressed concerns that removing one CRA from each Commons would have consequences for other residential-life staff."As they reduce the number of people like that on campus, the pressure will fall on those who remain," he said. "I would definitely be sad if there were only one CRA to go to, one less place for kids to unwind."Serving as a CRA is an intense full-time job in itself, according to Wonnacott CRA Jasmin Johnson '05."Very often, you are the first-call person for students," said Johnson. "The CRAs spend their weekends in the dorms; they're on call 24 hours a day. We help with the move-ins and move-outs, the day-to-day counseling, the roommate conflicts, the custodial and facilities issues, and the Commons events."As the scaleback in CRAs takes effect next fall, Spears said he expects many of the FYCs to take up the slack, but that they will not be alone in doing so."The FYCs will likely pick up some of the responsibilities now assumed by one of the two CRAs in the Commons," said Spears. "At the same time, you need to keep in mind that the Commons are connected to a broader network of people and student life resources."Still, many wonder whether the system can handle the additional strain. Though CRAs have traditionally borne the brunt of student counseling work, some fear that their role on campus has been overlooked and their contributions underestimated. "The CRAs do a lot of unseen work with students that helps keep many situations from getting out of control," said Edleson. Disappointment with Spears' plan is not limited to Cook Commons. According to Edleson, Horner and Vos, virtually all of the College's CRAs and Commons Deans hold reservations about the changes to come and the consequences those changes will have on their ability to serve their respective Commons.Qualms raised by the residential-life reshuffle largely concern the quality and motives of next year's FYC applicants. Some suggested that the shift might adversely affect the relationship between first-years and the administrative structure in place for their support. "It's going to stratify the campus because seniors won't connect with the first-years," said Horner. "It's going to be more of an authoritative role versus a mentoring role."In addition, by treating the FYC position as more of an employment opportunity rather than a chance to meet and mentor new students, new FYCs may diminish the very meaning of the position itself, according to Edleson."[The JC position is] such a great example of giving back to your community, volunteerism and leadership that it saddens me to see it changed in this way," said Edleson. "I think in many ways, the JCs exemplified what I find most valuable in the Commons system and I'm concerned that in the new model, we might lose some of that heart."According to Horner, the shift may actually cause fewer students to apply for residential-life positions, not more."You're going to get a restricted group of [FYCs] that isn't as diverse and exciting as the JCs we get now," said Horner. "I wrote my thesis in Battell [Hall] and it was not easy. A lot of seniors aren't going to want to forfeit senior housing and do their senior coursework in a freshman dorm."Though neither the CRAs nor the Commons Deans intend to draft a formal letter of opposition to Spears' plan, Horner said that many CRAs are considering the possibility of submitting letters of disagreement on an individual basis. Thus far, Spears said he has received three correspondences regarding the issue, but that he could characterize only one as expressing overt dissatisfaction."I have tremendous respect for the work that the CRAs do, and I would certainly understand if they were uncomfortable with these changes," said Spears. "They are a dedicated group, and their concern about how their position might change is a sign of how much they care about the College and its students."
(01/24/07 12:00am)
Author: Ben Salkowe Less than a day after students learned of Former President Bill Clinton's commitment to deliver the 2007 commencement address, rumors were flying as to how it happened. Some speculated there was a cozy golf match between Clinton and College trustees at a posh country club. Others thought there had to be a hefty speaker's fee that the College had committed to pay. "We were joking that they probably used the money they saved on our Commencement speaker," said Hillary Johnson '02, co-president of the Boston Middlebury Alumni Association. Johnson said her class came after the legendary Mister Rogers speech but before a string of high-profile speakers from 2003-2005 that included Bill Richardson, Christopher and Dana Reeves, and Rudolph Giuliani. Johnson's speaker was science writer Dava Sobel. But it was not money that sealed the deal with Clinton. "We do not pay [commencement] speakers or give an honorarium," said Secretary of the College John Emerson. "In some instances in the past we have made a charitable contribution to a related charity, that is the exception."Emerson said he was not aware of any such charitable contribution arrangement made in recruiting Clinton.Likewise, it also was not the nomination or work of the Honorary Degree Committee - as some Vermont media incorrectly reported - that led to Clinton's selection. Members of the Committee, which is officially responsible for submitting a short list of potential commencement speakers to President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and the Board of Trustees, said they did not include Clinton on either of the two short lists they created. Not because they did not want him, but because they thought he was out of their reach."He was mentioned," said Sarah Shaikh '07.5, one of two students sitting on the Honorary Degree Committee. "But we knew he had a huge speaker fee and we did not think we had any direct connections.""They put a strong emphasis on us finding someone who was connected to the College community," said ReNard Rogers '07, the other student on the Committee, referring to the guidelines they were given by College administrators. Completely unknown to the students on the Committee, while they drafted a list of potential commencement speakers, the Board of Trustees had their own speaker in mind. The process of recruiting a 2006 commencement had been a rough one. None of the students or administrators with knowledge of last year's search would comment openly about what went wrong, but several confirmed that the College had held out too long to get an answer from its first choice: a certain celebrity fake news anchor with a show that airs daily. By the time the negotiations were fully exhausted, the clock was running out, which led to the late selection of Former Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman to address the class of 2006 - a choice that faced loud criticism from students and faculty. So for 2007, the Board of Trustees decided to start early and think big. Bill Clinton was the name proposed, and unlikely as it seemed, the Board committed to recruiting the 42nd president. To leave time in case Clinton declined the offer, Liebowitz said there was a mid-December deadline to the effort.Of course this all leads up to the one rumor that has yet to be disproved - that one of Middlebury's trustees called a casual golf match with the former President, told some charming stories about Middlebury students in Vermont and Clinton was persuaded to grant Middlebury a free commencement address. Those involved said it was more complicated than just one meeting, but every College administrator contacted for this article declined to reveal the College trustee (or trustees) who met with Clinton, and where or when they may have discussed the idea. The one aspect of the discussions that is known is Middlebury's connection to Clinton, a connection that the Honorary Degree Committee did not know about: Andrew Friendly '91. After skiing down the Snow Bowl at his February graduation in 1991, Friendly had driven to New Hampshire where he began working on the Clinton campaign. When the Arkansas governor won the Presidency, Friendly became Clinton's personal aide. He later worked as Clinton's trip director - he recalls only one trip to Vermont for a national governors' meeting in Burlington - before he finally switched over to working on Latin American policy.Friendly was not the major player in recruiting Clinton, as he told The Campus he was only "tangentially involved," but he contacted people in the President's office and lobbied those he knew to secure the commitment as the effort reached its self-imposed deadline just before the winter break.The campus reactionStudents on the Honorary Degree Committee said that they did not know Clinton had been selected until just days before news broke to the entire campus. "I was stunned," said Rogers. "At first we were really against having a politician speak because it divides people, but there's something about having a President, having an international figure, that's different."The Committee had been shying away from politicians, in favor of several well-known humanitarians who topped their shortlists. But Shaikh noted that, in many ways, Clinton has become more of a humanitarian than a politician in his post-presidency, making him fit well with what they were seeking in a commencement speaker."The Committee was very, very elated when they got the news," said Emerson. "That was unanimous."Likewise, students across campus were also, at least nearly unanimously, elated. The most common complaints were from those not graduating this year - juniors afraid they would never find something comparable for their commencement, and recent alumni who joked they graduated a year or two too early. But in an open letter to the Board of Trustees, one member of the College community openly criticized Clinton's selection. Jim Cowperthwait, a '94 and '97 Middlebury parent and former head of the Middlebury College Parents' Fund, wrote in his letter that the choice to invite Clinton and grant him an honorary degree sent the wrong message about the College to students and the world."If celebrity is the key to memorability, then President Clinton is a good choice," wrote Jim Cowperthwait, who admitted that he could not remember either of his children's commencement speakers, in an e-mail to The Campus. "My criteria would be somewhat different, and they would preclude inviting and honoring a perjurer and an impeached politician."Several days before news of Clinton's commitment became public, Liebowitz acknowledged that there could be some dissatisfaction with the choice, but everyone involved in the selection said the opportunity was too good to pass up, and pointed to the successes of the Clinton presidency and his work since."I think you need to take the President as a whole," said Friendly. "Certainly people will judge him for those mistakes, but he's also dedicated himself to making the world a better place."Johnson, who described her political views as "very moderate," said she supported the choice of Clinton just as she supported the choice of Giuliani two years ago."This is not the first time that people have complained about a [commencement] speaker," said Johnson. "But they're not looking at all that the person has done."But Cowperthwait wrote that he would no longer actively support the College."I won't be contributing to Middlebury any more," wrote Cowperthwait. "I think Middlebury is one of the best colleges in America. But I have to conclude that Middlebury no longer stands for what I believe in."Shaikh said that students had lived the Clinton presidency and saw him beyond his mistakes. "We all grew up with the news media coverage of Clinton and Monica Lewins
ky," said Shaikh. "Most people have moved past that. Students are really excited about [Clinton] and that's the most important thing.A 'coup' for the CollegeIn the short run, Clinton's visit means Commencement planners have a lot of work to do and, perhaps, revisions to consider for the College's traditional commencement format. A visit by a former American President presents the dual challenges of meeting the security protocols mandated by the Secret Service, while managing unusually high interest and a large turnout by members of the greater College community."The visit by Chief Justice Roberts last October gives us some experience in dealing with federal security officers," said Emerson.The College has yet to begin discussing protocols with Clinton's office or the Secret Service, but Emerson said the administration was in the process of researching and collecting input from other colleges and universities that have hosted U.S. Presidents."One of our highest priorities is to make the event as nice as possible for all of our graduating seniors and their guests," said Emerson. "My guess is that something we're going to have to do differently from years past is have controlled access through tickets."Since the College began holding commencement ceremonies outdoor rain or shine there has not been a cap on the number of guests that graduating seniors could invite."I think it will be a pretty generous limit," said Emerson. "We want to be able to accommodate as many people as we can. That's our biggest priority: to assure that the notoriety of President Clinton doesn't detract from the day."In the long run, Clinton's visit - which Middlebury historians David Bain and David Stameshkin both believe will be the first ever visit by a U.S. President to the campus - could go a long way in expanding the College's international prominence."It's a coup for Middlebury," said Friendly. "What it really will do is raise Middlebury's profile."Johnson noted that the publicity also raises the name recognition of the College. After news of Clinton's commitment was first reported in The Campus on Jan. 10, the story was soon running on Vermont. national and international news media.But beyond raising the College's profile, members of the Class of 2007 and their guests will be among less than a dozen commencement audiences to have been addressed by the 42nd president since he left office over six years ago. And, at least for a while, they could be among the last."Now with his wife running for president, he probably won't do many more," said Friendly, just after Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) announced her candidacy for 2008 over the weekend. Friendly noted that during the campaign, commencement addresses by former President Clinton could be considered political speeches for his wife. So far Clinton has made only two other speaking commitments for 2007 commencement ceremonies, one at the University of Michigan on April 28, and the other at Knox College in Illinois, on June 2.What he might sayThe big question now - one that may only be answered in May - is just what President Clinton will say to graduating seniors. If his past addresses provide any indication, the speech will be closely tailored to the experiences of Middlebury graduates, and to the challenges they face on their commencement.Speaking at the American University in Dubai in 2002, Clinton emphasized the immediate importance of peace in the Middle East, and between India and Pakistan. Speaking at Tougaloo College in 2003, Clinton challenged graduates to defeat poverty, ignorance, discrimination and hatred through service to one another. And speaking just last year to graduates at Tulane University, the former President recognized the struggles of rebuilding in the wake of Hurricaine Katrina and other tragedies around the world.While Middlebury may not have such a clear, defining political event at its core, those who know Clinton, and those who know Middlebury, all suggested his remarks would focus on one big idea: being responsible leaders in a global community."Middlebury's focus is on global issues and challenges, and that's Clinton's claim to fame - being an international ambassador," said Johnson. She said she expected the former President to talk about "the importance of being a global thinker and a global doer, looking at problems and solutions without boundaries."If Clinton does choose to discuss the global community, his 2003 address to Syracuse University graduates may provide the best indication of what he could say. The address, humbly titled "Why America Needs the World," was a mix of policy advocacy and personal reflection. In the speech, Clinton called for Americans to build partnerships between people and nations addressing common challenges."I think America should be just as determined to lead the world against the threat of infectious diseases, the threat of poverty and ignorance, the threat of global warming, as we are about leading the world against the threat of terrorism," Clinton told Syracuse graduates.He closed by noting that throughout history, those who built together had succeeded."Every single time, since people first rose out of the African savannah a hundred thousand years ago, when it came down to it, the builders have prevailed," said Clinton. "The people who believed in our interdependence have prevailed, the people who believed in our common humanity have prevailed. I want you to use your education to make sure that in the 21st century, we prevail."
(01/10/07 12:00am)
Author: Ben Salkowe Former President Bill Clinton will deliver Middlebury's 2007 commencement address on May 27, marking the first address by a modern president to the College. The 42nd President of the United States will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the commencement and address an expected crowd of more than 5,000."It is a great honor to have President Clinton as the Middlebury College commencement speaker," said President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz in an official statement released to The Campus. "His dedication to a career in public service and the philanthropic work he has done since leaving public office are an inspiration to college students seeking ways to change and improve both our country and our world."Clinton will be joined by six other honorary degree recipients - Robert De Cormier, Janet Tiebout Hanson, James Gustave Speth, Marc A. and Dana Lim vanderHeyden and Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi. College officials are expected to formally announce Clinton's commitment, and the other honorary degree recipients, later this afternoon.The idea of bringing Clinton to campus was first proposed by the College's Board of Trustees, who secured the commitment with some assistance from a Middlebury alum who had worked for the former President.Since leaving the Oval Office, Clinton has worked for a range of major national and international causes through the William J. Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS initiatives and prominent collaborations with former President George H.W. Bush to raise funds for victims of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Clinton has also remained in the media spotlight as the nation's potential first First Man, should his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), enter the 2008 presidential contest. Sen. Hillary Clinton has not committed to attending the commencement with her husband. Before first running for the presidency, Bill Clinton served as the governor of Arkansas, chairman of the National Governors' Association and had been an attorney general of Arkansas. Elected president in 1992, and again in 1996, Clinton was the first Democratic president in six decades to win a second term in office. His administrations' accomplishments included a significant economic expansion, major welfare reform, budget surpluses, lower levels of unemployment, poverty and crime and high home ownership and college enrollment rates. While political and personal scandals clouded his later presidency, Clinton largely regained popularity after leaving office. The William J. Clinton Foundation has reduced the cost of antiretroviral drugs for over 500,000 people and works in 25 countries to provide medical services and treatment to adults and children living with HIV/AIDS. In addition, the Foundation's initiatives focus on international development, climate change, the childhood obesity epidemic in America and economic empowerment. Clinton graduated from Georgetown University and in 1968 won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University. He received a law degree from Yale University in 1973, and shortly thereafter entered politics in Arkansas. In addition to Clinton, six other individuals, all with ties to the College or local community, will be awarded honorary degrees.Robert De Cormier, founder and director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus, will receive an honorary Doctor of Arts degree. De Cormier graduated from the Juilliard School of Music and was the former music director of the New York Choral Society. De Cormier has conducted and composed for engagements ranging from Broadway to opera to television. Janet Tiebout Hanson, founder and chairman of $2 billion Milestone Capital Management, and a managing director at Lehman Brothers, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Hanson's Milestone Capital Management is the only women-owned institutional money market fund management company in the U.S. Hanson is also the founder of 85 Broads, an internet-based global network of former and current Goldman Sachs women professionals. Hanson's sister, Mary E. Tiebout, is a 1975 Middlebury graduate.James Gustave Speth, Dean and Sara Shallenberger Brown Professor in the Practice of Environmental Policy at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree. Speth was the administrator of the United Nations Development Program, the founder and president of World Resources Institute and a co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He is the father of Catherine McCullough, a member of the Middlebury College class of 1991.Marc A. vanderHeyden, the president of Saint Michael's College, and his wife, Dana Lim vanderHeyden, will receive an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. St. Michael's 15th president assumed the presidency in 1996 and announced last year that he would step down from the position in June of 2007. Dana vanderHeyden, who has served in various roles as a professor and academic administrator for almost three decades, is currently a member of the board of Vermont Public Radio, Burlington City Arts and the Region I Board of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi, a professor in the Baylor College of Medicine Departments of Pediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, and Neurology and Neuroscience, and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Center, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree. In 1999, Zoghbi discovered the gene mutation that causes the rare, disabling neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome. She is the mother of Roula Zoghbi, a member of the Middlebury College class of 2007.
(01/10/07 12:00am)
Author: Daniel Roberts Over the break, I hopped a Greyhound (metal, not fur) and made my way to New York City for a weekend. I got into town around 10 pm, and took a cab to my buddy's apartment on 79th and Lex. I was wearing my beloved, ratty Midd sweatshirt, and I ducked out from the cab to hear, "Hey, Middlebury!" It was Ron Liebowitz.What are the chances I would run into the president of my college on a random New York street corner late at night? The brief chat itself was not newsworthy (sorry, Liebs). The story took flight when I told my mom what happened, and she asked me if I knew about "six degrees of separation."The theory is that any two humans are connected to each other through a chain of, at most, six individuals. One author, Frigyes Karinthy, has claimed that he feels like due to this increasing sense of connectedness, the world is "shrinking." Certainly we have all experienced this phenomenon. You meet a girl from Philly one night at a UVM party. Only later do you find out your older brother (1) had a girlfriend at Tufts (2) who ended up marrying a Harvard guy (3) and this girl you just met is his younger sister. Small world, right?When I heard this idea I thought of my friend who likes to joke that if we all really come from Adam and Eve then technically, every person on Earth is related by blood. Thus, no matter whom you have sex with, it is incest. Sweet theory, I know. And by sweet I mean terrifying. Ignoring that mess, I like the six degree idea. I like the thought that I am connected to strangers on the street. For whatever reason, I thought next about "The Catcher in the Rye," when Holden finds swear words on a bathroom wall. He laments that if you had a million years, you still could not erase half the graffiti in the world. I realized, if everyone is really connected, why ever be needlessly cruel at all?I know I sound like Mister Rogers, but stay with me here. All I am thinking is, really, wouldn't the "six degrees" theory be a great argument against all forms of meanness? Racism, sexism, plain old rudeness - why act cruelly toward anyone if that person could be connected to you by only a few precious strands of human relationships?I agree with those smart dead dudes: the world is shrinking. Through various connections, I hypothetically have acquaintances all over the country; more friends than K-Fed has enemies. Plus, with facebook, you can see precisely how you are linked to someone. My friend Nick says that at Middlebury, forget six degrees; any two students are probably linked through one single person. Say in Proctor, some Frisbee kid is wearing a dress, and you point and laugh. Then you learn he lives in a suite with the shy girl you crush from Philosophy. Awkward. Now you will have to see him if you ever manage to find yourself in this girl's room. Don't you feel stupid?So don't be mean to people for no reason. Don't flip off the guy who ran that red light: he is probably late for work, where the bad mood you put him in will cause him to mistreat his secretary, who happens to be the daughter of your dad's golf buddy. Six degrees, baby! I love it. I just hope my friend's incest theory is way off, or we are all going to Hell. Flaming hot Hell.
