Middlebury College magazine. Vol. 76, No. 3 : 2002

84 Pages·2002·75.1 MB·English

by  Middlebury College

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E M E R G E N C Y ! • H E A V Y M E D A L • L A M B S A W A Y !
■ m S I D E
S U M M E R 2 0 0 2
16
STUDENT SCENE
Singing on the run w ith M iddlebury s
M chakam chaka.
18
SPORT REPORT
C ham pion diver D erek C hicarilli has
no fear o f flying.
20
ACADEMIC MATTERS
P nntm aker and sculptor Idavid B um beck
teaches the discipline o f art.
22
BOOK MARKS
S um m er R eading: a m iscellany o f prose
and poetry.
24
OLD CHAPEL VIEWS
President John M . M cC ardellJr., reflects
on M iddlebury s first C om m encem ent.
78
ROAD TAKEN
Lessons from a sm all school in the
D om inican R epublic.
oo
tft
TOTAL RECALL
H
Z A pilgrim age to the m agic m ountain w ith
I novelist A ndrew W .M . B eierle.
U
S
H
ce
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a
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a
Cover: off in the M iddlebury River.
Pholoi’mph by Bob Handelman
Contents: Car for sale beside Airjwrt Road, Middlebury.
Photo by Bob Handelman
Inset photoj^raph by Josh Drahe '05

[ F I W P E R I
M i d d l e b u r y
M A G A Z I N E
S u m m e r 2 0 0 2
A Gold-Medal Magazine
V o l u m e 76, N u m u e r 3
Guest Editor
J a k e C h a p l in e
Alumni Editor
N E A FTE R N O O N A FEW W EEKS AGO, I heard a sm all shriek from the far end o f D o t t y M c C a r t y
the M eeker H ouse attic (or the penthouse, as w e like to call it), the luxurious
Designer
® headquarters o f M iddlebury M agazine. U sually such a sound signals an invasion
o f w asps through the fire escape door, w hich w e keep open for ventilation on w arPma m e l a F o g g
days. T his tim e, how ever, the cause w as different: assistant editor Jan B ark had just opened Copy Editor
a letter from the C ouncil for the A dvancem ent and S upport o f E ducation (C A SE), R e g a n E b e r h a r t
inform ing us that M iddlebur)' M agazine had been judged one o f the best college m aga­
Assistant Editor
zines in the entire country.
C A SE is an international organization w ith m ore than 3,000 m em ber colleges, uni­ J a n B a r k
versities, and independent elem entary and secondary schools in 45 countries. E very year Production Assistant
It conducts an aw ards program to recognize college publications that represent “m odels J u d y N e l s o n
o f excellence” based on w riting, editing, design, and other criteria. T his year, the judges Editorial Assistant
honored five college m agazines, including this one, w ith gold m edals. T he other w inners
C l a ir e H a w l e y
are the alum ni publications o f B row n U niversity, C arlton C ollege, D artm outh C ollege,
and the U niversity o f Portland.
Editorial Office
W e had subm itted tw o issues o f the m agazine fo rju d g in g in the com petition: the
spring 2001 issue, w ith a cover story about m ountain biker Jacquie Phelan ’77, and the M eeker H ouse
w inter 2002 issue, w ith presidential press secretary A ri Fleischer ’82 on the cover. In M iddlebury C ollege
addition to recognizing the overall excellence o f both issues, the C A SE judges selected M iddlebury, V T 05753
the article about Phelan, w ritten by Jay H einrichs ’77, as the w inner o f one o f four P hone: 802-443-5670
G rand G old m edals for the best articles o f the year. E -m ail: m iddm ag(@ m iddlebury.edu
M iddlebur)/ M agazine has received m any aw ards from C A SE in the past, including sil­ O n-H ne: w w w .m iddleburym agazine.org
ver m edals in the best-m agazine com petition in five o f the past seven years. It seem s Advertising Sales Office
especially fitting, though, that it should garner the gold m edal in R achel M o rto n ’s final
Sm art C om m unication, Inc.
year as editor. R achel, w ho left M iddlebury in February, just after the w inter 2002 issue
P.O . B ox 283,V ergennes,V T 05491
cam e out, spent six years developing the m agazine into the fine publication it is today.
P hone: 802-877-2262
O f course, she didn’t do it alone, and she w ould be the first to insist that m uch o f the
E -m ail: G et2S m art@ adelphia.net
credit belongs to M iddlebury M agazine’s staff. (She m ade that point quite eloquently in
Other College Offices
her final V iew finder colum n.) B ut not aU o f the people responsible for the m agazine’s
success are listed on the m asthead. W e get a lot o f help from o u r class secretaries and (all area code 802)
from the m any alum s w ho send us articles, letters, and suggestions. W e couldn’t possibly C ollege Inform ation: 443-5000
put an issue together w ithout the help o f students and m em bers o f the faculty and staff A lum ni O ffice: 443-5183
w ho are alw ays ready to go out o f their w ay for us. A nd w e ow e a great debt to the E -m ail: alum ni@ m iddlebury.edu
C ollege adm inistration sim ply for letting us do w hat w e do. A dm issions: 443-300(.)
A num ber o f articles that have appeared in these pages in recent years have generated
T he view s presented are not necessarily those of
controversy in our L etters colum n and elsew here. In fact, both the Jacquie Phelan and
the editors or the official policies of the C'ollege.
A ri Fleischer articles w ere am ong them . B ut in R achel’s w ords, “President M cC ardell
and the other M iddlebury adm inistrators trusted us and allow ed us to stretch the bound­ M iddlebury C ollege of M iddlebury, V T 05753,
aries, to take chances, and to go for the best possible m agazine publishes M iddlebury M agazine (ISSN 0745-2454)
four tim es a year: w inter, spring, sum m er, and fall.
w e could produce.”
© 2002 M iddleburv^ C'ollege Publications. Middlebur)'
W e appreciate their confidence in us, and w e’re delighted M agazine is printed at T he Lane Press in South
that it has paid off. — -JC Burlington,V T. N onprofit standard m ail postage paid
at M iddlebur);V T, and at additional m ailing offices
(U SPS 964-820). PC9STM A STER: Send address
changes to M iddlebur)' M agazine, M iddlebuiy
Cfollege, M iddlebur)', V T 05753.
Printed in U.S.A.
M i d d l e b u r y M a g a z i n e
L E T T E RS
Posse scholars
like Angela
Praise for Posse Boulart '03 are
selected for both
I w as delighted to read in the spring issue their academic
about the Posse F oundation and the part­ potential and
their leadership
nership that M iddlebury has form ed w ith
skills.
it. O n e of the greatest cliallenges facing
M iddlebury is the racial, ethnic, and cul­
tural diversification o f its student body,
faculty, and adm inistration.
W hen 1 w as at M iddlebury in the
early 1980s, I w as convinced that, try as it
m ight, M iddlebury could never succeed in
draw ing urban youth o f diverse racial and
ethnic backgrounds.T here w ere very few
students o f color or im m igrants, no teach­
ers o f color, and only one adm inistrator o f
color. T hough sm all and offering a superb
education, M iddlebui-y prom oted the
essence of m iddle-class and w hite A m erica
(and perhaps still does).
As som eone w ho has devoted her life’s
w ork to social justice, 1 applaud the
school’s efforts to reach out to the Posse
students. N o t only w ill they benefit from a
top-notch education, but their colleagues
and teachers w ill be all the richer for their
Puzzled by Posse One of M iddlebury's
presence, as M iddlebury w ill start to look
Finest
and feel a lot m ore like the w orld outside. O n e quick glance at the cover o f m y
Jodie Silverm an ’85 M iddlebury M agazine this w eek and it 1 w as saddened to read o f the death o f
Bostoi I, M assac!11 isetts knocked m y socks off! Posse students? 1 D ean E rica W onnacott. E rica w as a high-
have been a teacher and in touch w ith school classm ate in M adison, N ew Jersey,
W orking for Diversity
education for over 40 years and, for the and a college classm ate at I )rew U niversity
W e read your article about the Posse life o f m e, 1 have just never heard o f a in M adison, w hich I attended before 1
Program w ith great interest. H ow ever, w e posse student before, anyw here. transferred to M iddlebury.
w ere quite surprised that the article does 1 w ent scurrying to m y dictionaries, E rica C row ley (W onnacott in m ar­
not m ention the CDffice for Institutional w hich w ere not m uch help. W ebster's gives riage) w as one o f the w orld’s very good
D iversity even once. the definition of posse as an “arm ed band.” individuals. She and 1 shared editorship of
T he Posse Program is an essential part T h e O xford D ictionary o f the English the M adison H igh School Dodger, and she
of M iddlebury’s great efforts to increase Eingnage gives the definition as “strong w as alw ays the exem plar o f graciousness
the diverse population and cultures on this force or com pany.” T hese sim ply added to and talent. H er w onderful singing voice
cam pus, a m ission for w hich the O ffice m y confusion, w as often a feature o f our high-school
for Institutional D iversity w as created 1 finally found a synonym in the arti­ assem bly sessions. 1 w ondered if she ever
roughly tw o years ago. Since then, this cle itself It w ould seem that posse probably used that voice in the chapel at
office— and in particular A ssociate Provost m eans team, w hich is a great term indicat­ M iddlebury.
K om an Graf^— has been heavily involved ing unity and togetherness. Please, w hat I am particularly proud o f her bold
in the Posse Program and an im pressive does posse m ean? handling o f the fraternity situation at
num ber o f other initiatives that have J. Allen lyler (M .A . Irench ’56) M iddlebury. W hile 1 suspect she took heat
already changed the face o f this cam pus, Lex 11 igton, Virgii i ia from som e alum s regarding that, 1 d o n ’t
rh e Posse Program is one of the finest rem em ber her ever backing aw ay from her
e.xam ples o f institutional cooperation E d.: Students mho come to M iddlebury through very correct decision.
betw een various offices and adm inistra­ the Posse Eonndation arc sometimes called 1 w ill m iss her, and 1 know the
tors, and it w ould be only fair to acknow l­ Ibsse students. I'hc article explained the origin M iddlebury com m unity w ill also.To m y
edge all of them . of the foundation’s nam e.lhe first definition of m ind she ranked w ith W . Storrs Lee as
Benina M aiihias, Assistant I5ofessor posse in the online edition o/ M erriam one of M iddlebury’s finest deans.
Kaniabslii M arti, BnJ'essor W ebster’s C ollegiate 1 )ictionary is “a large W alter “Scotty" Paterson ’50
D epartm ent of C'.erman, M iddlehury (folle^e group often with a com m on intere.n. ” Coral Springs, Elorida
I’ U O I O (i R A I'11 » Y K A I U 1 1. K N I ) O O 11 1, R S U M M r. R 2 0 0 2
M id d l e b u r y C'o l l e g e
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John M . M cC ardell.Jr.
F e l l o w s
Peter 1. B ijur
^ h e 3 ^ i t l d l e b u r y ^ n n
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M i d d l e b u r y M a g a z i n e
LETTERS
An U nderstanding Ear
Erica W onnacott w as like com fort food or
a favorite t]uilt to this then 17-to-20-
year-old college student. T hough
M iddlebury w as great fun, academ ically
challenging and, m ost im portant, the
source o f lifelong friendships, it w as not
alw ays easy to be there. T his w as as m uch
a factor of tim e-of-life as o f M idtilebury’s
particular foibles. 1 )ean W onnacott w as an
anchor, an understanding ear, a parental
figure w hen your parent w as hours away.
A s K arl L indholm stated, she knew
w hat to deal w ith and w hat to let slide. I
D A Y S
rem em ber going into her office to discuss
som e course issue or other, accom panied i ALONE CAN
by W heat, m y dog, w ho lived som ew hat
R E A L L Y
surreptitiously in Pearson s basem ent w ith
BRING YOU
m e and m y room m ates. 1 w as in a chal­
TOGETHER.
lenging-authority kind o f m ood, 1 guess.
W ell. W heat cam e in, lay dow n at m y feet,
and Erica and 1 had our discussion. A s 1
left, she said “ N ice dog.”
iSSSSS±% ^-
“T hanks.”
www.basinharbor.com 1.800.622.4000
“She doesn’t live in your room ,
right?”
“Live in m y room ? Y ou know dogs
aren't allow ed to live in the dorm s.”
“C iood-bye, M ary.”
G ood-bye Erica, and thank you.
M diy H am iU ou-H om cr '82
Plattsburgh, .Veil'York
R em em bering Erica
W hen 1 saw the photo o f 1 Dean
W onnacott and read the m em orial, 1 w as
im m ediately brought back to the spring
o f 1971, m y sophom ore year. M y dad had
just died after a long illness, and I had
returned to cam pus to finish out the year.
1 w as drow ning in m y grief and having a
very difficult tim e pretending that all w as
norm al. A fter staying up all night trying to
w rite a paper on M oby D ick, 1 realized 1
couldn’t do it and had to leave.
A t 8 the next m orning 1 w as at the
dean’s door, feeling veiy nervous. A s soon
as she saw m y tear-stained face, she
brought m e into her office, m ade m e
som e tea, and w e talked for over an hour.
She never tried to talk m e into hanging
in there just a couple m ore m onths.
K ather, she told m e she w ould take care
o f everything and to call her as soon as 1
felt I w as ready to com e back. For the first
tim e since 1 had com e back to school, 1
LETTERS_______
felt that som eone really did understand. 1
rem em ber thinking that ifl could just
com e talk to her every day, 1 w ould be
O K , but 1 knew I couldn’t.
1 have often thought o f that conversa­
tion and w hat a difference it m ade to m e.
W hen 1 saw E rica’s photo, 1 rem em bered
that it w asn’t just w hat she said that
m orning that m ade such a difference, it
w as the w arm th, caring, and understand­
ing that she exuded. T hat picture w ill
alw ays be a rem inder.
N ancy Lisberger K enney ’13
Albuquerque, N ew M exico
A Tug at the Heart
C ollege, for m any o f us, is our first real
departure from hom e. W hen 1 cam e to
M iddlebury, 1 w as a M idw esterner exper­
im enting w ith getting as far aw ay from
Illinois as 1 could. East felt better than
W est. B ut 1 w as still hom esick at tim es.
E )uring m y four years at M iddlebury,
1 got to know E rica W onnacott better
than 1 knew anyone else w ho w asn’t a
student. She helped to stabilize the em o­
tions and frustrations o f a grow ing boy-
m an. She w as a lot like m y m other; she
even looked like m y m other.
So as 1 turned the pages o f the spring
issue and found E rica looking at m e w ith
her w onderfully soft sm ile and eyes, 1 felt
a tug at m y heart. R eading that she died
in M arch caused a harder tug.
Bye, M om .
John F.W ebb ’74
W ausau, W isconsin
M e a Culpa
I’m probably the 4,000th person to point
it out, but you m ade a Latin gram m ar
error on Page 11 o f the spring issue, in
the heading over D ean W onnacott’s obit­
uary. It’s In M em orim i), not -urn!
Joe Sheppard (M .A . Russian ’10,
M .A . I-'rench ’87)
Ik'pperell, .M assachusetts
lid. : W e didn't get 4,000 letters, hut quite a
few readers did point out our Latin lapse.
All in Favor of Ari
F l e i s c h e r
1, for one, fully support the w ar on terror
and am proud o f the president and his
press secretary. 1 have no doubt that m ost
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LETTERS
o f m y form er classm ates— fam iliar w ith response to S eptem ber 11. It is under­
history and current events, w ell-traveled, standable from the haw ks in the B ush
and naturally skeptical o f politicians and regim e, w ho have cynically exploited the
propaganda— feel precisely the sam e way. deaths of S eptem ber 11 to further their
Jason Boatright ’98 m ilitai'y agenda. B ut w here is the voice of
A ustin, Texas liberal academ ia? Is the legitim acy o f a
“w ar on terrorism ” going to be debated
Sad on the One Hand
w ithin the pages o f M iddlebury M agazine?
' ■ . «an^ T^à-irm Ûλ ‘ “ ' 1 couldn’t help noticing the unm istakable It is alarm ing the w ay the A m erican
criticism o f President B ush and the gov­ people seem to be silently falling in line
ernm ent in your spring issue. It’s sad and behind B ush’s doctrine. U nfortunately,
offensive to m e to read, as one o f your too, in B ritain w e have a prim e m inister
w riters observed, letters about “ideological w ho squeaks, “H ow high?” w hen G eorge
controversies,” and o f the “politicalization B ush asks him to jum p. H ow ever, here it is
F in e C u is in e
o f college cam puses.” As for m e. I'm a still possible to speak out, to question, and
A c c o m m o d a t i o n s conservative to the core. especially to get hold o f uncensored new s,
H arvey Kaplan '55 for exam ple about the huge num ber of
W e d d in g s Ciinm ring, Georgia civilian casualties in A fghanistan, those vil­
lages destroyed by “m istake,” etc. People
C5<3 Dismayed on the Other
here do m ore debating o f the issues on
G eorge B ush on the cover of the w inter television. W e can w atch French, G erm an,
C a ll fo r
issue o f M iddlebnry M agazine? 1 w as dis­ Italian television and get a w ider view .
S e a s o n a l M e n u m ayed. For a seat o f learning such as I alw ays thought M iddlebury w as a
M iddlebury to devote so m uch coverage bridge to other cultures, a prom oter of
a n d to the B ush adm inistration (eight pages), at international understanding, w ith its
tim es like these, is truly disheartening. strong foreign-language departm ent and
D in in £ f T im e s
T hen in the spring issue w e learned that exchange program s. T his is m )' 30th
A ri Fleischer w as to speak at alum ni reunion year, but w hat w ould I find there
reunion. I w ondered if anyone w ould be if I cam e back? Is M iddlebuiw still a place
^ h e there speaking out for peace, international w hich w elcom es questioning m inds, or is
diplom acy, justice. it m erely a pillar o f the establishm ent (read
B ush likes sim ple language: “W e are "M ilitary Industrial C om plex”)?
good; they are evü,” and therefore w e w ill D ana W eiïtivorth Coles ’12
w in this “w ar.” It is m uch m ore difficult O xford, England
U n fo rg etta b le M em ories
(and painful) to adm it that w e, A m erica,
Ari Put M iddlebury
m ust bear som e responsibility for w hat
53 P ark S treet on the Map
happened on S eptem ber 11. T his tragic
B ran d o n , V T 0 5 7 3 3
event did not happen in a vacuum . W e are appalled at the attacks on M r. A ri
(8 0 0 ) 2 2 1 -0 7 2 0 If m y M iddlebuiw education taught Fleischer in the letters in the spring issue.
em ail: lilad n n @ so v er.n et m e anything, it w as to question, to ask H e has and is doing an outstanding jo b as
W eb site : ^v^v'^v. lilacinn .co m “w hy?” T his questioning seem s to have the president's spokesm an. H e is honest,
been strangely absent from the A m erican bright, articulate and verv' know ledgeable
Hoom -Ashby Gallery
G r e g o r y
New York, NY
Nantucket, MA
K a m m e r e r Craven Gallery
West Tisbury, MA
Virginia Lynch Gallery
R e c e n t L a n d s c a p e s Tiverton, R1
Som erville M anning Gallery
Gregory Kammerer ’78 Greenville, DE
2197 Post Road Ferry Road Gallery
Perryville, R1 02879, USA Saunderstown, R1
401-782-8874 Left Bank Gallery
gkammerer.com Cloudbank Oil on Canvas, I2”x 2114” 2001 W ellfleet, MA
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