r a i F 1 N1 D E R Middlebury Magazine PROCTOR H A LL HURTS SO G O O D W inter 1999 Volume 73, Number 1 I t’s 6 P.M. on a snowy night and this intrepid editor is entering Proctor Hall, tray in hand, to find out what all the fuss is about. Why are students, Editor faced with the prospect of decentralized dining as the new commons Rachel Morton system evolves, suddenly upset about losing “the Proctor experience”—an Designer experience they’ve heen complaining about for years? Steven Metzler Will they miss the thrill of dodging and bumping through the crush? This Alumni Editor first-time diner felt like she was walking up the exit ramp of a highway. With Dotty McCarty every collision and misstep, gravy sloshed onto the pie; diet Coke slopped over Contributors the rolls. Over 1,100 students surged through the doorway that night, gather­ Regan Eberhart, Judy Nelson ing and foraging, flowing like a frisky river, parting around outposts of breads and banks of beverages. They coursed through the salad bar with its 53 items, Editorial Office paused at the oil and spice island, made that all-important stop at the breakfast Meeker House, Middlebury College, cereal counter (more on that later), and stood for a moment, taking stock of Middlebury, VT 05753 Phone: (802) 443-5670 the room, before they plunged into the sea of tables and chairs and the general E-mail : middmag@middlebury. edu clatter and chatter of dinner at Proctor. On-line: http://www.middlebury.edu/ Is it the food itself they’ll miss? The sheer number of choices is staggering; ~publish/middmag tonight there are beef stroganoff, shrimp scampi, and pork chops, plus several other main dishes. Many people go straight on to the vegetarian entrées, Advertising Sales Office equally as many, equally as appealing, and according to Smitty, the dinnertime Smart Communication, Inc. head chef, about 30 percent of the students choose vegetarian these days. P.O. Box 283 Between what is offered and what is eaten, however, there is a gap that Vergennes,VT 05491 Phone: (802) 877-2262 would make a mother shudder. Kevin [names changed to protect the nutri­ Fax: (802) 877-2949 tionally impaired] had a dinner plate heaped with rice and a side of canned E-mail: GetSmart(@together.net pears. Ryan had four big fluffy rolls and sides of corn and fries. Heather had hummus and a side of dry Cap’n Crunch. Jake’s tofu salad was complemented The views presented are not necessarily those of by a dish of plain yogurt buried underneath brown sugar, shredded coconut, the editors or the oiBcial policies of the College. and Frosted Miniwheats. A tall sophomore strolled in late with a plate of six Middlebury College of Middlebury, VT 05753, rolls surrounding a big pile of peanut butter and jelly. “I’m gonna get more pubhshes Middlebury Magazine (ISSN-0745-2454), stuff,” he stammered. What? “Pie,” he replied. Oh, the fruit and vegetable four times a year: winter, spring, summer, and fall. © 1998, Middlebury College Publications. groups. For dessert, there was a lot of innovation involving cold cereal. Top Middlebury Magazine is printed at The Lane Press prize goes to this recipe: Mix together Coco Puffs, Rice Krispies, and Golden in South Burlington, Vt. Periodical postage paid at Grahams, throw on marshmallows, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips, Middlebury,Vt., and at additional mailing offices (USPS 964-820). POSTMASTER: Send address then zap it in microwave and eat it warm and sticky with your fingers. changes to Middlebur)> Magazine, Middlebury But as any student can attest, food is only the half of it. Proctor is, first and College, Middlebury, VT 05753. Printed in U.S.A. foremost, a social experience. And that’s the problem. Losing this one great cacophonous dining room means you’ll never get to see absolutely eueryone, they Left. Alison Stoll '00 does a handstand on a glass lament. No more Proctor Crushes (falling for people you’ve never met but only table constructed for the see at dinner). No more Proctor Scopes (checking out the potential date market). photograph, opposite page, that photographer No more Proctor Face (the panic that shows when you survey the room looking Bob Handelman shoots from below. Front Cover. for a friend to sit with and see no one). Of course there’s the Grille now, and Rodney Rothman '95 though they love it, they’re leery of a future without Proctor as they know it. “I outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, know Proctor sucks, but we love it,” one forthright diner offers. “Proctor just photographed by Bob hurts so goodP ■ PJcl Handelman. Sneaking into the rarest speed-skating event in the world. 27 Coasting in Maine A retiree builds a new life in the Deep End. 32 Carded A young comedy writer takes his “Little Pony” to the Late Show. rARTMENTS ers Hill on faculty then and now, multiculturalism. hill/Downhill The Grille heats up, some Commons consensus. Academic Matters Stapler’s hoot camp for scholars. 14 Students Seen Dinner at Dolci—how sweet it was. Book Marks Mel Gussow ’55gives us the best seat in the house. 'Ort Report Heidi Howard '99 helps field hockey grab the gold. Id Chapel Views Remarkable students to arriyp bj^to sse. orthern Exposure The Snow Bowl gets iced. i f ’ Midd Connection Caletidar, lifelong e-mail, the Washington club. Class Notes Your NewYear’s resolution—send news. Educated Opinion Building faith, one cup at a fims: .g % '• ÿ v’ • V LETTERS Middlebury College Praise by Conservatives Rankles win against Williams come to mind), Board ofTrustees I was disappointed to read in the but he earned league and Division III President September 6th New York Times praise honors. Also an ex-soccer player, John M. McCardell, Jr. for Middlebury College by the con­ Eddie-O did not play another posi­ Fellows servative Intercollegiate Studies Insti­ tion. So let it be stated for the record: Frederic W. Allen tute, Inc. of Wilmington, Delaware. Eddie Opler was our team’s “specific Peter I. Bijur Nicholas R. ClifFord In its guide to the top 100 colleges, kicker.” Without him we would not Churchill G. Franklin 71 it criticizes all the Ivy League have been the team we were. Nancy Coffrin Furlong 75 schools, especially Harvard Univer­ Eric Sevigny ’93 Claire Waterhouse Gargalli ’64 Drue Cortell Gensler ’57 sity. I quote from the Times article: via the Internet Robert C. Graham, Jr. ’63 “Middlebury College in Middlebury, Reed L. Harman ’68 Jane W. Harvey ’85 Vermont, is praised as ‘a rarity in Little Eddie the Kicker Betty Ashbury Jones, M.A. ’86 higher education today in that Thank you for the article this fall on Robert A. Jones ’59 William H. Kieffer III ’64 multiculturalist talk seems to be wan­ Middlebury football’s most recent Thomas J. Knox ’84 ing rather than gathering strength.’” kicker, Scott Dudley ’99. As a former Roxanne McCormick Leighton ’67 Louis Marx, Jr. I hope this is a false reading of teammate of Scott’s, I am impressed Garrett M. Moran ’76 where Middlebury is headed. I am by his kicking and his stamina for Michael C. Obel-Omia '88 proud of Middlebury’s long tradition such a lonely and stressful role. How­ Jane Bryant Quinn '60 Thomas P. Salmon of excellence in her foreign language ever, 1 must take issue with the asser­ Frank W. Sesno ’77 schools and her active recruiting of tion that Scott is Middlebury’s first J. Lea Simonds ’69 John Spencer minorities and students from other “specialized” kicker. It was only six PolyviosVintiadis countries. I have also always pre­ autumns ago that the place-kicking Emeriti sumed Middlebury’s curriculum of former Middlebury soccer forward James I. Armstrong reflected concerns of the entire turned kicker Eddie Opler ’93 Mary Williams Brackett ’36 Allan R. Dragone, Sr. ’50 world and not just Western cultures. helped boost the Panthers to our best Willard T. Jackson ’51 Is this no longer true? season in 10 years, including a game­ Arnold R. LaForce ’35 Dai>id Dale ’50 winning, last-second kick against C. Irving Meeker ’50 Jonathan O'Herron Scituate, MA Colby. I’m sure Eddie and the rest of Patricia Judah Palmer’57 his teammates from that 7-1 effort W. Kyle Prescott ’49 Raymond J. Saulnier ’29 Eddie-0 an Early Kicker will remember fondly his habit of David E.Thompson ’49 As a former Midd football player, it arriving at the practice field in his Hilton A. Wick Robert P. Youngman ’64 was great to see the article about the black Saab convertible, fully dressed team’s current kicker, Scott Dudley in pads and helmet. Every day num­ ’99.1 take exception, however, to the ber 2 would crack a Joke, put on a Officers of the Corporation statement in the article that kicking show, and zoom off again, Claire Waterhouse Gargalli ’64, Chair Middlebury has never had a “specific top down. Little Eddie was part of Churchill G. Franklin ’71, Vice Chair Betty Ashbury Jones, M.A. ’86,Vice Chair ‘kicker’ before.” No one from our the glue that helped keep that amaz­ Betsy Mitchell Etchells ’75, Secretary 1992 NESCAC championship team ing championship team together. David W. Ginevan,Treasurer would soon forget about Eddie Tom Elliott ’96 Opler ’93, or call him anything but Norwich, VT our kicker. Not only did he win several games for us that year (a one- point victory over Colby and a 3-0 M I D D L E B U R Y MAGAZINE Mother of Tibetan Prisoner Brings Tears On October 22, I saw a truly awe­ some speaker, Sonam Deyki. She is the mother of Ngawang Choephel, a Middlebury student [Fulbright scholar who both taught and studied at the College] currently held pris­ oner by the Chinese government for researching Tibetan culture. While I knew Ngawang, his unfair captivity became more vivicf with his mother’s speech, and most of the Mead Chapel crowd sat with hollow stomachs or teary eyes after the talk. Some things are not lost in translation. As 1 looked upon the evening’s panel, including Representative Sanders and Professor Margolis with Sonam Deyki holding a large photograph of her smiling son, what startled me was President McCardell’s absence. I wondered why President McCardell would miss an important political event for one of his students. McCardell has been a tremendous fund-raiser and honest politician. 1 enjoyed the College with his guidance and, thus, I gave him the and at benefit of the doubt. The grave situation in Tibet needs attention. It needs bumper- stickers, it needs Tibetan Freedom Concerts, it needs press. If there are political bandwagons to jump on, this is a pure and indigenous one. Led by professors and students. Eastern ideol­ ogy has presence at Middlebury, and Vermont's Only Life Care Retirement we must recognize that Middlebury Community affiliates are more conscious of Tibet’s struggle than most Americans. • Picturesque Natural Setting This is why McCardell’s nonatten­ • Cross Country Skiing and dance matters. America has many Hiking Trails on 135 acres options for future Chinese diplomacy, and 1 would have liked to see • Time to Pursue your Interests Middlebury’s president lead the con­ • New Friendships scientious path with Sonam Deyki in • On-site Long Term Health Care Mead Chapel. 1 think McCardell • A Gift to your Children might have liked it, too. lùiti'imi (Ned) H. Greene '96.5 For iufoniiatkvi about our 1- and 2-bcdroom apartments and cottages Somerville, MA and our Life Care Contract, call 1-802-985-9400 Wake Robin, 200 Wake Robin Drive, Shelburne, Vermont 05482 Opportunity W I N T E R 1999 Sequel to Graff Article? I was moved by Nancy Graff’s article in our Middkbury Magazine, Summer ’98, “A Life Ripped Open.” In it she courageously shared with the entire Middlebury community a very per­ sonal ordeal. It is impossible for me to imagine the damage such a mental condition can cause to your identity as well as your family and friends, but her account gives me some Hmited insight. I think it was her dream descrip­ tion that upset me the most. Mine are rarely nice; mostly they are like the special-effects movies these days, but nothing like hers. Whoever said, “May your dreams come true”? The article leaves me with two thoughts. The first is that having M E R N O N described her terrible journey “to­ c k ward the outer banks of our psyches,” I presume she must have recovered, DESIGN • CONSTRUCTION • INTERIORS • FURNISHINGS for how else could she write so well. It was a long journey indeed from Whether the project is residential, hospitality, resort, health care, thinking and writing one-word-at-a- banking or corporate - new construction or renovation... time to what we read in her account today. My second thought is that the Our professional architectural and interior design staff, coupled with our article begs a sequel about how im­ woodworking artisans and construction specialists provide a far-reaching mediate family members deal with range of service capabilities throughout New York and New England... this debilitating mental condition. To Feasibility Studies - Space Planning and Layout - Estimates and Budget the children it must be very confus­ Planning - Building Design - Interior Design - Lighting Design and ing and to her husband, a matter for Coordination - Furniture and Cabinetry Design and Construction which he may partly blame himself. Custom Architectural Millwork - Landscaping Design At any event, I commend the Specifications and Bid Documents - Purchasing - General Construction editors for printing this article; I Project Management and Interiors Installation Supervision cannot remember reading anything as heavy as this in our alumni magazine. Brandon, Vermont (888) 484-4200 Glens Falls, New York Jock Glidden ’58 www.sover.net/~mckernon Ogden, UT Reproduction 18th 19th C. Vermont homes built on your site Applause for Graff I applaud the publication of Ms. Graff’s article on depression. We need to see more and more education on the issue æ » « in order to reverse the stigma. As she æ 18 » said, it’s not your fault and she didn’t have I i IT to feel shame in seeking treatment. But, the next thing I saw in the magazine was the cartoon on p.3. How cruel. VERMONT VERNACULAR DESIGNS, INC. John Moran RD 1, EAST CALAIS, (802) 456-7020 write or call for portfolio M.A. Spanish ’70 of designs - $20.00 VERMONT 05650 1-800-63 9-17 96 Jackson Heights, NY M I D D L E B U R Y M AGAZI NE Breaking Down the Barriers don’t know what has become of the superior to that of today’s faculty.” Leroy Nesbitt was quoted in the DAC, but am extremely disappointed Neither of us said that—I certainly recent article “Crossing the Cultural to hear that it no longer has a role in didn’t. I said the current faculty were Frontlines,” as saying that: “Among such matters. Perhaps students may not superior and urged “objective certain groups there is an assumption find it a useful tool if they can bring comparisons” with the past. As for that the world is hostile, that we must it back to the public eye. 1 applaud Leng’s blanket assertion, “the two preserve our culture through a kind the efforts of current students, such as [scholarship and teaching] should of loyalty, a code of conduct. At the members of the SCC and complement each other,” that “schol­ times we pass judgment on people Suzanne Minott ’99 (the subject of arly excellence comes at the expense who go beyond that.” I personally “Crossing the Cultural Frontlines”), of good teaching. That does not make have seen the reality of Mr. Nesbitt’s to break down barriers and engage sense in theory.” The hell with theory. statement and believe that it impli­ others in dialogue. Several major universities. Harvard cates the need for Middlebury to Niamli O’Leary-Liii Singh ’96 and Cornell among them, are, as I address diversity not just to educate Atlanta, GA write, undertaking major réévalua­ students in the majority, but also for tions of that very problem—that students who find themselves in an An Educator's Opinion undergraduates are currently being all-too-small minority. There’s something bathetic in the shortchanged through overemphasis As a young alum “of color,” I’ve image of two perceivably semi-senile on faculty scholarly productions. encountered racism, sexism, classism, “old profs” whopping each other Leng writes that compared with and violence, in college and in law with feather dusters sprawling into Flemming and Hill, “my vantage school.These experiences and those the sunset. But I’m not about to lie point for drawing comparisons is of my friends have helped me down and let Russ Leng [Educated better than either of theirs.”What’s become more sensitive to the Opinion, Fall ’98] implicitly dismiss wrong with the word “different”? “1 importance of diversity in education. me now as merely a nostalgic has- am better than you are”—not per­ Sometimes 1 get the sense that been, drooling over cream of wheat, haps the most felicitous manner with Middlebury is paying a lot of lip out of touch with the realities of which to engage an altercation. service to diversity, for the benefit of Middlebury College. During a number of years, 1 alumni and “outsiders” so that it does No, 1 have never been depart­ served on what used to be called the not lose face, so to speak, but at the ment chair, a faculty dean, nor served Appeals Committee, which was also cost of paying less attention to on the Committee of Reappoint­ the Committee on Conference with matters on campus. 1 would like to ment and Tenure. That’s a cheap Trustees, to meet with their counter­ see a Midd Mag follow-up article on shot—sort of like pulling rank, when part twice a year. The Appeals the Student Coalition for Commu­ you’re not sure if your vantage point Committee’s primary function was to nity (SCC) sit-in. Sparked by the is bullet proof While Russ was doing hear and adjudicate cases from fac­ racist April Fools’ Day, 1998 cartoon his things, 1 was merely a teacher— ulty denied reappointment or tenure. that appeared in the Campus, the seven different classes every year, I have never heard any faculty who SCC students demanded the estab­ 25+/- student advisees, plenty of other have been there say other than it was lishment of a Diversity Affairs Office committees. But 1 always have, and the most arduous, thankless, painful, by Spring 1999.The Midd Mag story always will, listen hard to students who time-consuming committee appoint­ did not mention the Diversity Affairs want to transfer elsewhere (usually ment at the College. Leng’s unre­ Committee (DAC) of the SGA, a among our very brightest, who are served praise of our “rigorous re­ permanent committee of which 1 disaffected with their classes). And that views,” his unctuous promotion of served as chairperson during my number has increased over the years. “classroom evaluations of their senior year (1995-1996). The DAC But back to Russ Leng’s “edu­ classes”—well, I’ve seen abuses of was founded during another out­ cated opinion”—the very title of the these procedures, heard them, and it break of racial tensions. It was piece is a gnatlike annoyance. For it would melt the wax out of your ears. established to facilitate dialogue implies that what follows comes from But to end on a positive note; by among various groups on campus one who knou's, an objective correla­ all means “come to Alumni College and between students and the tive to the sloppy-minded sentimen­ next summer and see for yourself.” administration. It was also intended talists. “Hill and Flemming argue that Just this past summer, Peterson, to promote diversity among students, we overemphasize scholarship” and faculty, and curricular offerings. I say that “the teaching back then was (Continued on page 16) W I N T E R 1999 Total transformation of the old pool creates a new hub of student life MI D D L E B U R Y MAGAZ INE Photographs by Bob Handelman ' here once there was water, now there is air. In the space where just one year ago, several dozen swimmers streaked through their lanes, now hundreds of students meet and talk, eat and drink coffee. It’s hard to believe your eyes, but there, where the old swim­ ming pool used to be in McCullough, is the Grille: a two-story, 10,000-square-foot gathering place that provides food, shelter, drink, and lots more. Pros m the food biz call it a food court, but to dazzled visitors it looks like a sophisticated urban night spot has materialized in a corner of dowdy old McCullough. The lighting is a crucial part of the atmosphere. Since there is virtually no natural light in the space, a variety of lighting “scenes” have been created—from nighttime “streetscapes” to cozy interiors. The space has been divided into a number of different levels, each with its own environment. There’s a coffee bar/juice bar downstairs, with a back corner “cyber cafe” equipped with computers, an electronic game room, and a large TV-viewing area. Then up the stairs is the main dining area, with tables, a counter, and an open cooking area. The whole upper 3,000-foot area surrounds a sunken, central pool-table space and is adjacent to the Crest Room, newly streamlined, which has become a part of this food complex. “By bundling as many things as possible into a free-flowing environment,” says Peter Napolitano, dining services director, “we believe we have redefined the concept of the modern-day student center.” That may be so, but the question on everyone’s mind, as we stood in line to order, watching a mouth-watering array of fajitas and burgers, strombolis and calzones being cooked, sliced, heated, or assembled, was,“Is the food any good?” Happily, the answer was yes. And it’s not just quick lunch food that is available. During Family Weekend, parents could order charred tuna, marinated salmon steak, or Mediterranean regional cuisine. ■ Main photo: the upper dining room of the Grille; insets: pool tables are in a sunken, central area; the cyber cafe is tucked in the back of the coffee bar/juice bar. W I N T E R 1999 UPHILL D O W N H I L L LIVING AND LEARNING: AN UNCOMMON APPROACH For over 18 months and staff led by Kathy Ebner tone for, the commons. A dean New Student Hub: Middlebury has been ’87, director of residential assigned to each commons will Planning is under way for a discussing a residential life;Tim Spears, associate have an office there and will new central “hub” of stu­ life initiative which would professor of American lit­ develop strong, long-term dent life anchored by a dramatically reenvision and erature and civilization; and relationships witla the students renovated McCullough and reshape student life on this Jen Close ’98, was then of the commons. One or two a newly expanded Starr campus. In 1997, when approved by the Board of recent graduates wiU live in and Library with student of­ President McCardell first Trustees at its October serve as residential advisers. fices, an updated bookstore, introduced his vision to the meeting. and a copy shop. trustees, he put forward the What Happens to Social idea of creating several resi­ ’What It’Will Look Like: and Academic Houses: When It WiU Happen: dential “commons” that When the new system is The faculty couldn’t come Planning for Phase 1 begins would provide housing, completed, there will be to an agreement on the immediately with these dining, and study space for four or five commons of 400 relationship between the projects: construction of a groups of students, and to 500 students. Each com­ social and academic houses commons dining facility in would also include a faculty mons will include student and the commons. Some Ross Coimnons (a.k.a. the residential component. rooms, a dining facility, social felt that each social and “new dorms”—Ross, These commons would and study space, a computer academic house should have Milliken, Hadley, and Lang); expand the limited, nonresi- room, and offices for deans an affiliation with a particu­ a major addition to, and dential commons system and commons associates. lar commons. Others felt renovation of, Starr Library; with which Middlebury Existing dorms will be up­ they should be independent. two new 100-bed dormi­ has been experimenting graded so there is ecjuity Jay Parini, professor of En­ tories; more improvements for the past six years. among commons assign­ glish, in describing how the near McCullough to fur­ The discussion process has ments, and additional stu­ social houses would hamper ther flesh out a student been lengthy. Students and dent residences will be built. the establishment of the center; and renovation of stafFhave visited other schooLs new commons systems, said, Proctor. with alternative residential How It’Will’Work: Stu­ “We are turning in our old In an era when higher models and reported back to dents will enter Middlebury Volvo for a new Ferrari and education seems to be fol­ the College.There has been and be assigned to a com­ they’re making us drive it lowing the siren call of much debate in scheduled mons, where they will stay with the parking brakes on.” cyberspace, when often a campus forums, in the for at least two years. They The trustees have asked the classroom, or even a campus, is Campus, on MiddTalk, and will develop social and residential life committee to not much more than a at other venues. academic events at their focus again on these issues. loosely associated group of Over time that initial commons and may even people on the same electronic vision has been amended take classes associated with Student Response: Stu­ listserve, Middlebury has taken and reshaped, until this fall that commons. The hope is dent voices have ranged a bold, contrarian stance. By when the faculty voted that they will take their from enthusiastic to cau­ reenvisioning the College as overwhelmingly to support meals there, but students tiously “wait and see.”The several residential commons. a proposal describing a new have the freedom to eat at SGA supported the en­ President McCardeU and the residential life initiative other dining halls. hanced residential plan trustees hope to flirther inte­ which was based on three and offered a proposal on grate the intellectual and social cornerstones: decentralized Team Approach: A faculty how the continuing resi­ life on campus, and to rein­ dining, proximate faculty member will be associated dency cornerstone should vigorate the traditional values housing, and continuing with each commons and he/ work. They also recom­ of community; for wliich membership.The proposal, she will live in a house mended four rather than Middlebury has long been written by a standing com­ nearby and be involved in the five commons. known. ■ mittee of students, faculty. lit'e of, and set the intellectual M I D D L E B U R Y M A G A Z IN E