Middlebury College magazine. Vol. 77, No. 2 : 2003

84 Pages·2003·73.9 MB·English

by  Middlebury College

S P R I N G 2 0
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U PH I LL / D O W N H IL L
2
u 1 2
S COLLEGE STREET
Cell phones, lobstermen, and
h
a Supreme Court brief. No, that’s
not the answer to a riddle—it’s
Hi what people are talking about on
campus this spring.
a
u 1 6
GAME TIME
Twin sisters Amber and Erin NeiU
wrap up their hockey careers—^in
near identical fashion.
1 8
STUDENT SCENE
Art and science converge in the
wilds of Maine.
20
OLD CHAPEL
President John M. McCardeU,Jr.
reflects on the future of higher
education.
22
ACADEMIC MATTERS
Students feast on Bill McKibben’s
words—and vegetable soup.
C LA SS ACTION
44
PURSUITS
Louise Erb Mayr ’52 finds sweet
success in Virginia’s Loudoun
County.
46
BOOK MARKS
The Next Generation; Two Midd
kids make a splash svith tiieir
authorial debuts.
48
NEWSPRINT
When Colin Pine talks.Yao listens.
Coivr (iiul iiisel illmlmtions: Michclk Chiwg
26
FLATLANDERS
«
They may be “from away,” but these
I»
Midd grads have come to call Vermont
home—and the state is better for it.
q
m
\
32
THE VIEW FROM EVEREST
Photographer Anne Keiser ’70 captures
Sir Edmund Hillary’s vision for the
people of Everest.
38
WHERE THERE IS NO
SMALL TALK
Meghan La.slocky ’89 ventures into a
Burmese refrigee camp and returns with
a story that’s both heartbreaking and
inspirational.
VIEWFINDER
LETTERS
NORTHERN EXPOSURE
CLASS NOTES
CLASSIFIEDS
ROAD TAKEN
■ V I E W F I N D E R
K in g of th e H ill Middlebury
M A G A Z I N E
Ho'w can ■70U tell a flatlander from a native Vermonter?
Depends on the flatlander. S IMU N G 2 003
■Volume 77, N umber 2
Editor
M att Jennings
Alumni Editor
)f there ever was any doubt that I WAS A FLATLANDER, it waS quickly put
D otty M c C arty
to rest this -winter in one of those face-reddening moments -when words have
escaped your lips, and you are left silently (desperately!) wishing you had not Designer
dbeen heard. Pamela Fogg
It was the Monday morning following a big weekend snow, and as several mem­
Copy Editor
bers of the magazine team gathered in a colleague’s office, 1 nodded toward the
R egan Eher hart
window and proclaimed: “I climbed that mountain this weekend.”
As heads swiveled toward the small rectangular window, 1 realized instantly that Assistant Editor
their respective gazes were cast on the snow-capped peaks of the Green Mountains Jan Bark
looming in the distance—and not the 20-foot-high snowplow-created “mountain”
Editorial Assistant
in the College parking lot. L indsey W h i t t o n ’05
“Mount Abe?” someone asked.
For a frozen moment, I wondered if I should bluff my way out of this. My child­
ish, king-of-the-hill adventure that had so embarrassed my wife less than 24 hours Editorial Oifice
before was about to come crashing down on my “from away” head. Meeker House
“No,” 1 sheepishly admitted, gesturing toward the pile of snow in the parking lot. Middlebury College
“Flatlander,” the Ripton native chuckled. And so, 1 had been initiated. Somehow I Middlebury,VT 05753
doubt Governor Jim Douglas ’72 had a similar experience when he 6rst arrived on Phone: [phone]
campus as a first-year from East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, in 1968. E-mail: nnddmag(S)middlebury.edu
Governor Douglas is one of a growing number of nonnative Vermonters who On-line:
came to Middlebury as first-years and have now come to call the state home. Some, www.middlebuiy'magazine.org
like Douglas, have been residents ofVermont since their first year in college. And
Advertising Sales Office
others, like writer Sarah Stewart Taylor ’93, left the Green Mountain State after four
Smart Communication, Inc.
years, only to be drawn back a short time later.
P.O. Box 283,Vergennes,VT 05491
Miserable while living in New York City, Taylor moved to a family residence on
Phone: [phone]
the Vermont/New Hampshire border a few years after graduation. “1 immediately felt
E-mail: Get2Smart(^adelphia.net
that this was the right place for me to be living,” she says. “I remember sitting on the
porch and looking out over the fields and feeling like all was right with the world.”
Other College Offices
Taylor wrote for a couple of regional newspapers before falling in love with a
(all area code 802)
native Vermonter, getting married, and moving to Hartland. “When 1 try and put into
College Information: 443-5000
words what it is that 1 love about living in Vermont, 1 always end up with something Alumni Office: 443-5183
that sounds like elegiac nature writing,”Taylor says.“l start to ramble about how the E-mail: alumni(@middlebury.edu
landscape affects me, how I have room to think, room to be.” Admissions: 443-3000
Taylor wrote to Middlebury Magazine last summer, offering to write a story about
alums “from away” who had come to make Vermont home. “I’m always interested to The views presented .ire not necessarily those of
the editors or tlie official policies of the College.
meet other Midd grads who have stuck around (or returned) and hear about the
interesting things they’re doing,” Taylor wrote. Middlebury College of Middlebury', VT 0.57.5.3,
During her research,Taylor found many publishes .Middlebury .Mui^azitw (ISSN 0745-2454)
four times a year: winter, spring, summer, and fall.
flatlander alums (more than could fit in the
© 2003 Middlebury Ciollege Publications.
story, unfortunately), who not only have .Middichiiq' .\la(;aziiic is printed at The Lane Press
made Vermont home, but are adding to the in South Burlington.VT. Nonprofit st.ind.ird m.iil
postage paid at Middlebury,VT, and at additional
rich landscape of the state in myriad ways.
mailing offices (USPS 964-820).
All have interesting stories to tell, and 1 bet POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
that not one was foolish enough to make a .Middlebury .Miii;iiziuc, Middlebury College.
Middlebury, VT 05753.
mountain out of a snowbank.—MJ
Printed in U.S.A.
Photo^mpli of .Matt Jeuniuyis by ile/i Haudebuau
M I 1) I) L E 11 U R Y M A Cl A Z I N E
■ L E T T E R S
F e tte r e d T ro v el
Congratulations to 1 )avid Paifitt and his
class for their exercise during Accessibility
Awareness Week, whereby his students
spent a day using a wheelchair to navigate
Middlebury s campus (“Restricted
Access,” winter 2003). Certainly his stu­
dents opened their eyes, along with the
eyes of the entire community, to the diffi­
culties faced by anybody who uses a
wheelchair.
1 )uring my second year of medical
school, my entire class spent a day in
wheelchairs trying to negotiate city streets,
convenience stores, bathrooms, and even
the hospital where we did our training.
My experience echoes that of Farfitt s
class: The world isn’t an ea.sy place to travel
using a wheelchair.
Clearly this exercise sparked height­
ened awareness of access issues around
Middlebury’s campus. The next step is
developing better solutions to the prob­
lems that impact those who use wheel­
chairs, whether or not on Middlebury’s
campus. HopeftiUy, such a solution will
come as a result of Professor Part'itt’s
exercise.
Peter Steitiber^ ’99
Philadelphia, Petmsylmnia
So Alive
That was a lively piece about a lively
judge, William K. Sessions III ’69, vendor sor from my graduate school); then the After You
Sights such as this were fre­
of goat cheese and shaker of status quo story and photo of Nancy Connell ’75 (I
quent during Accessibility
(“Who Is Bill Sessions?” winter 2003). recently bought a ceUo); then the review
Awareness Week, as students
The photograph of the judge and the hen of the Pane e Salute memoir/cookbook and faculty brought to light the
is a winner. (Caleb Barber ’88 is a classmate, and I’ve daily hurdles faced by those in
It might interest your readers to know stopped by the restaurant on my way wheelchairs.
that the judge’s wife.Abi Procter Sessions, through Woodstock); and, finally, the pro­
serious gardener and principal of Salisbui-y file of the alumni/brothers who are coffee I observed that the professor was not well
School, is a Middlebury graduate (class of roasters (I happened to have the magazine served by your copy editors. The piece
1971).The lively couple met on the with me on a flight through Milwaukee should have referred to a “tinker’s dam,”
Middlebury campus. last week).Thank you for being so not a “tinker’s damn.”The phrase refers to
Xardi Reeder Campion relevant! a piece of solder used by tinkers to mend
Lebanon, New Hampshire Elizabeth Zopby '88 pots, and was likely meant in gentler times
Cambridj^e, Massachusetts to substitute for the coarser homophone.
F ive D e g r e e s of Nancy Ryan Lowitt ’78, M.D., Ed.M.
C o in c id e n c e D am C o n fu sin g Baltimore, Mar)dand
It’s amazing just how much the winter I enjoyed reading Professor Yoken’s piece
issue of the magazine hit home for me: on the wonder and delight of letters Ed.: ProfessorYohen did use the term "tinker’s
first there was the article about Tom (“The Write Stuff,” winter 2003). I am dam” in his essay, and we changed it to the
Cleaver '04 (my brother is taking the same grateful to have several friends who write more prenaient usage, "tinker’s damn. ”.411 of
cutting-edge cancer drug); then the profile lovely letters and tolerate my e-mail the dictionaries we consulted, including
of Professor Mittell (it mentions a profes­ replies. Please forgive this e-mail reply, but Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary,
I’H o T O U R A l> II II Y M U IIA ri S I I'1. S I' R I N c; 2003
M iddlebury C ollege
Board op T rustees
President
John M. McCardelKJr.
Fellows
Peter I. Bijur
Paula Carr C'Limniings ’82
James S. Davis ’66
Churchill G. Franklin ’71
Frederick M. Fritz ’68
Nancy CofFrin Furlong ’75
Drue Cortell Gensler ’57
Robert C. Graham. Jr. ’63
Betty Ashbury Jones, M.A. ’86
Robert A. Jones ’59
James R. Keyes ’71
Retire to Wake Robin where you will thrive on cultural opportunities, William H. Kieffer III ’64
intellectual challenges and new friends. Put down roots on a scenic 137 Roxanne McCormick Leighton ’67
acre wooded site overlooking Lake Champlain. Enjoy the freedom to Louis Mai-x,Jr.
pursue your special interests while you Michael C. Obel-Omia ’88
experience the peace of mind of Frank W. Sesno 'll
on-site long-term health care. J. Lea Hillman Simonds ’69
Discover Wake Robin — a John Spencer
beautiful place to grow. ^porîi°raty"® Karen A. Stolley ’77
Vermonl’s Onh Life Care Reliremeitl Community John R.Tormondsen ’82
For information about onr 1- and 2-hedroom www.wakerobin.com
apartments and cottages, call I-802-264-5100. 200 Wake Robin Dr., Shelburne , VT 05482 Polyvios C.Vintiadis
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Middlebury Magazine
L E T T E RS
American Heritage Dictionary of the
English Language, and Webster’s Third
New International Dictionaiy (electronic
version), cite “damn ” as the first choice and
“dam ” as a variant.
Yonr letter sent ns in search of more infor­
mation about the history of the phrase “not
ivorth a tinker's damn/dam. "Althoiigli some
authorities mention the etymologyj' yon do,
many others state that “damn" was the orf^inal
form. Tinkers were a coarse lot, well known for
their swearinc;, which was so extreme that it lost
all impact. A tinker’s enrsinp^ was meaningless
or not ivorth a tinker’s damn. The second theo­
ry maintains that the tinker would use a bit of
clay or other material when mending a pot to
create a dam for the solder. After completing the
repair, the now useless material was discarded,
hence: not worth a tinker’s dam. Which theoiy
is correct.^ According to iiwd expert Evan
.Morris, author of the newspaper column "The
Word Detective” and a Web site by the same
name, “tinker’s damn" first appeared aronnd
1839, whereas, “tinker’s dam" came into usage www.basinharbor.com < ■ 1.800.622.4000
in 1877 as “probably a prissy Victorian
attempt to sanitize" the word.
Write On!
Kudos to Professor MelYoken for his
enlightening article “The Write Stuff”
(winter 2003). 1 am still an avid letter Travel In Style In Our Luxurious Custom Cmtversion Vans
writer and therefore concur whole­
z M D D L E s U h m A N S lT : « .r
heartedly with Professor Yoken’s astute ! Group
Personalized Regional Transportation -Students
and salient comments. 1 am even going to
write him a letter of commendation.
Barbara Thomas '48
Boston. .Massachusetts
T o b o cco R oad
The photograph on the back of the last
Middlebury alumni magazine (winter
2003), of the child smoking, brought to
mind a passage from Dersn the Trapper hy
V. K. Arseniev.This wonderful book
describes the incredible journeys between ■f rT T/i
1902 and 1930 of the Russian surveyor COTSW OLD
Arseniev and his friend 1 )ersu. the moun­
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you might call a modern native of the
temperate forest. 1 )ersu was a superlative
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his life and success many times over.
Arseniev was sent in 1900 by the Russian workshop & showroom
( ieographical Societv to e.xplore “the REGENCY SERVER 904 SAWYER ROAll • WHITING, VT
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Sihote-Alin, the ridge which runs down
S 1' R I N ( I 2 0 O .1
L E T T E RS
between the river Ussuri and the coast, winter 2003 issue as my grandfather, it idea that Middlebury could become more
and the coastal belt from Olga Bay north­ should also be pointed out that Frank itself and grow seems like a nice paradigm
wards as far as time would permit, and Goss was the father of another for any community. Meaningful relation­
also the upper reaches of the river Ussuri Middlebury College graduate, my mother, ships and lives are sure to be created out of
and Iman.” (Some may know a condensed Agnes Goss Hoxie ’27. The photo of my this lovely model. Hats off to writer
version of Arseniev and Dersu s story grandfather appeared in three books, US. Jennifer Sutton ’86, but especially to John
from the masterpiece dramatization on Camera i 944, Green Mountains and Rock McCardell for the vision and leadership,
film by Akira Kurosawa, Dersu Uzala, Ribs by Keith Jennison (1954), and your Ann DeRosa 'll
which is certainly the reason this book own Middlebury College Museum of Art Atlanta, Georgia
survives outside of Russia.) Dwking Back at Vermont by Nancy Price
In the Second Expedition section, Graff’75.The photo also appeared in R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Not
Arseniev describes the native population Health Magazine in the 1950s, as well as in 1 was appalled by the letter contributed by
of Ussuria, who were subjected to terrible the Burlington Free Press and other local Mike Heaney ’64 (“Walking Our Talk,”
exploitation by the Chinese. “Many of newspapers in 2002. I enjoyed the muse­ winter 2003). I’ll confess to disagreeing
them, especially the women, are opium um’s exhibition in the fall of 2002 very with his excoriation of the Bush
addicts ... All smoke tobacco, including much. Administration, and his naïve, damn-the-
the tiny children. I often noticed tiny tots Hazel Hoxie Greaves ’54 facts pacifism left me scratching my head.
that could scarcely walk, clinging to their Hardwick, Vermont But what really bothers me is his praise for
mothers’ breasts and ... smoking!” the protesters who loudly booed and dis­
Dan Urbach ’82 C om m on G ood rupted President McCardell and Ari
Portland, Oregon The Commons article (“The Commons Fleischer ’82 in the midst of a talk on Iraq
Denominator,” fall 2002) did a terrific job and during the presentation of an
T r a c k in g B a ck of shedding light on the Commons achievement award.That such behavior is
Since the picture of Frank Goss on the System, which, by the way, was one of the inexcusably rude should be obvious to
back cover of the fall 2002 issue of deciding factors in prompting my son to everyone—regardless of where you stand
Middlebury Magazine was identified in the apply early decision to Middlebury. The on the political issues.
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l e t t e r s ;
This is far more than just a case of bad complicated problems are developed. discourteous, and inappropriate behavior
manners, however. Mr. Heaney and the People who are unwilling or unable to against “one of our own” who is indeed,
protesters he admires faii to recognize (or discuss legitimate issues in a courteous, clearly, a success in his chosen field.
simpiy don’t care) that oniy through civil, respectfal way should never be cele­ Virginia Anllion]' Soule ’49
honest, forthright debate and the free brated or encouraged; to the contrai-y New Dmdon, New Hampshire
exchange of ideas, oniy by aiiowing they should be denounced. How disap­
everyone with an idea or an opinion to pointing that there’s evidently a group A Crass P ro tesi
contribute to the discussion, only when within our little College community that In reply to Mr. .Mike Heaney’s letter to
we’re aii encouraged to bring our various just doesn’t get it. the editor in the winter ’03 issue of the
backgrounds, experiences, and perspec­ Daniel E. O’Neil '9t College magazine, I would like to counter
tives to bear on any particuiar issue can Chicago, Illinois that I am appalled by the behavior of the
the best, most informed, most enlightened attendees during President McCardell’s
decisions be made. If we’re going to make D isg u ste d in N.H. Homecoming Weekend presentation
well-reasoned, wise decisions, whether at As counterpoint to the only two letters, of an achievement award to Ari
the college level or as a nation, we need both derogatory, in the winter 2003 issue Fleischer ’82.
to carefully consider every side of on the Ari-Fleischer-at-Middlebury mat­ Mr. Fleischer was not honored for his
important issues. We need to listen to each ter, please allow me to express my disgust Republican or conservative political incli­
other. that many “students, faculty, war veterans, nations; rather, he was recognized for
Shouting down those with different and others” would choose the occasion to having achieved the “pinnacle” of the
points of view, simply because we don’t vent their spleen against the present (U.S.) “profession” of“political spokesperson.”
agree with what they have to say, does our administration (which is supported by a He was cited for his ability to convey to
College and larger society a grave disserv­ comfortable majority of our citizens). I the American public the agenda of the
ice. Those who squash debate and seek to hate to have to recognize that the pennies president of the United States in a thor­
impose their ideologies on others deprive 1 have faithflilly sent to the College every oughly eloquent and yet concise manner.
us of the process by which the most edu­ year since graduation should go into a While politicians receive no respite fi-om
cated conclusions are drawn, the best poli­ pool in support of Middlebury people instantaneous media dissection of national
cies are devised, and effective solutions to demonstrating such narrow-minded. and international crises, the press secre­
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8 M I n 1) L E U U R Y M A (; .Y Z I N E