Middlebury College magazine. Vol. 79, No. 3 : 2005

2005·80.4 MB·English

by  Middlebury College

S U M M E R
2 O O s
M A G A Z I N E
Lv-li'*; '.'À
Wha\
| ; r ; ,
the World ^ """ #
Sounds Like
With a broad range
of singing styles,
Philip Hamilton '82
lends voice
to life's rhythms.
LOOK TO THE CO OKI E ■ THE L URE OF LOS T O R OS
■ S U M M E R F I C T I O N ■
U)
h U P H I L L / D O W N H I L L
Z
1 8
U
COLLEGE STREET
The College seeks to broaden its
s
base for international education,
H
the class of 2005 gets a big
send-off, and a cohort of grads
explain what they’ve learned in
<
four years at Midd.
A
U
24
Q GAME TIME
Contrary to what you may have
heard, Colleen Sullivan ’07 isn’t a
deaf softball player. She’s a softball
player who happens to be deaf
26
ACADEMIC MATTERS
In the name of professional
research, Roger Sandwich is
making chocolate chip cookies,
maple syrup, and French fries
28
OLD CHAPEL
In his baccalaureate address to
the class of 2005, President Ronald
D. Liebowitz expounds on the
role students and teachers play in
the learning process.
C L A S S A C T I O N
46
PURSUITS
Cam Brensinger ’98 just wants to
protect you from the elements—
whether you are in the woods
or on Mars.
48
BOOK MARKS
We have aU the bases covered
when it comes to summer reading.
Com & cotitails photoiiraphs hy Boh Himdclimm
»
W
m
PHILIP HAMILTON HAS
THE BLUES
Not one to be pigeonholed, vocalist and
lyricist Philip Hamilton ’82 has added
another genre to his repertoire.
36
THE GIRL IN THE HAT
A coniing-of-age tale is the winning
entry in the third annual Fiction
Contest,
40
SURVIVAL OF THE
FITTEST?
Biology instructor Matt Landis is
attempting to solve one of the enduring
mysteries of the Northern woods.
THE LURE OF LOS TOROS
What compels people to risk life and
limb in the Spanish city of Pamplona
each July? Last summer, Jaed Coffin ’02
found out.
2 VIEWFINDER
3 LETTERS
lb CONTRIBUTORS
CLASS NOTES
86 CLASSIFIEDS
88 ROAD TAKEN
i V I E W F I N D E R
The B ig P icture Middlebury
M A G A Z I N E
A new documentary captures the essence of Peter Kohn
Summer . 2005
Volume 79, Number 3
The Senator Theatre in Baltimore , Maryland, is one of those historic Editor
movie houses that has survived the onslaught of cineplex homogenization. Matt Jennings
As multiplexes with 25 screens sprout on urban street corners and in sub­
Alumni Editor
urban strip malls across the nation, freestanding theaters from the 1930s
Dotty Mc Carty
and ’40s—though few and far between—maintain a cult following in their
communities, and the Senator is no exception. Favored sons of the Charm City, such Designer
as Barry Levinson and Edward Norton, have chosen to premiere their films at the Pamela Fogg
Senator, and in late April another of Baltimore’s own saw his name up on the mar­
Copy Editor
quee, spelled out in giant red letters: Keeper of the Kohn, starring Myron “Peter” Kohn.
R egan Eberhart
Inside the Senator, a near-capacity crowd was just getting settled when the lights
dimmed. Kohn—clad in a yellow cable-knit sweater, khakis, and docksiders and sport­ Editoriol Assistant
ing a blue U.S. Lacrosse hat—had chosen a seat along the aisle, near the back of the Grace Kronen berg ’06
theater. He was munching popcorn by the handful, but paused at the film’s beginning
when the words “Peter Kohn is a legendary figure in the sport of lacrosse” flashed on
the screen. Turning to his right, he asked the person sitting next to him: “Am I?”
Those two sentiments—the film’s bold statement and Kohn’s humble reaction— Editorial Office
perfectly illustrate who Peter Kohn is and why we should care. Meeker House
Believed to be autistic, Kohn has served as a field manager for lacrosse teams for Middlebury College
more than half a century, the last 25 years of which have been spent on the sidehnes Middlebury,VT 05753
at Middlebury. He is an extended family member for generations of Midd athletes, Phone: [phone]
and for decades he has influenced their lives in ways they never could have imagined. E-mail: middmag(@nuddlebury.edu
Tracing Kohn’s last year as the Panthers’ official manager in 2003, the film by Online:
David Gaynes beautifully captures the essence of Peter Kohn, a selfless person with
WYAAV.middlebuiymagazine.org
a sharp mind and an uncanny tendency for offering profound sentiments at just the
right moment. Originally, the documentary was intended to climax with the men’s Advertising Sales Office
lacrosse team’s attempt to win its fourth-consecutive national title (because it’s a Smart Communication, Inc.
documentary, life intercedes, and several other story lines tug at the heart strings and P.O.Box 283,Vergennes,VT 05491
serve as the film’s true climax). As any Panther fan can tell you, Middlebury fell to Phone: [phone]
Salisbury in overtime that year. Yet it was this heartbreaking loss that set up—in my E-mail: [email protected]
mind, at least—the story’s defining moment.
Other College Offices
The scene has shifted from a post-game locker room full of sullen players with
(all area code 802)
tear-stained faces to the interior of a chartered bus that has started to make the long
College Information: 443-5000
trek back to campus from Baltimore. Kohn stands in the back, surrounded by players
Alumni Office: 443-5183
who, just hours before, had left their championship dreams—and, one would think,
E-mail: [email protected]
their hearts—on the turf of Ravens Stadium. But then a funny thing happens.
Admissions: 443-3000
Someone asks Kohn if he would lead the team in
a singing of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” The views presented are not necessarily those of
—a favored tradition among the players and their the editors or the official pohcies of the College.
field manager. It’s when these supposedly devastated
Middlebuiy College of MiddleburstVT 05733,
18—22-year-olds are belting out the song’s chorus at publishes .t/iMffcnr)' .\Iagasiiic (ISSN 0745-2454)
the tops of their lungs, clapping with glee, that you four times a year: winter, spring, summer, and fall.
© 2005 Middleburç- College Publications.
realize all that Kohn has meant to Middlebury.
Miitrtkbury Magazine is printed at The Lane Press
Thank you Jim Grube for bringing Peter to in South Burhngton.VT. Nonprofit standard mail
campus nearly 25 years ago. And thank you David postage paid at Middlehurs'.VT, and at additional
mailing offices (USPS 9(14-820).
Gaynes for bringing Peter’s story to the world. —MJ
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
Miâdlcbur)’ Magazine, Middleburs' College.
For more information on the film, please see Middleburs'. VT 05753.
Printed in U.S.A.
ii'ii'w. kecpcrofthckohn. com.
Photograph of .Man Jennings by Handelman
M iddlebury M.iigazine
L E T T E R S
A Grave Error
I graduated from Middlebury College
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
American literature in 1982.1 have always
been proud that Middlebury distinguished
this discipline from others, such as English
and American studies, and have valued
that particular perspective in my life and
in my career. 1 am deeply saddened that
I will no longer be able to point to this
distinction and that American literature
will cease to exist as a separate major.
I have written several letters to the
administration on this subject and under­
stand that trying to fight this decision is
now a moot point. However, I have a
seven-year-old son, and I think quite
a lot about the future and what it might Pleased by Merger to Merge,” spring 2005).Your opening
liold for him. It would be my wish that I compliment you on your magazine. It is sentence poses an interesting question, but
he could know professors such as John excellent—readable, beautifully edited, unfortunately, not the right question. You
McWilliams and Stephen Donadio, who excellently illustrated. a.sk, “Should Conrad and Cather, Milton
affected my intellectual development and The present proposal to combine the and Melville live under a collective roof
ultimately my life in such profound ways. English and American literature depart­ at Middlebury?” The answer is, of course,
It would be my wish that he could be ments (“To Merge or Not to Merge,” they should be understood and appreciated
taught how to think, analyze, and love spring 2005) interests me very deeply. by literature students at the College.
the literattire whose roots are inseparable I taught writing courses at Middlebury, But the right question is, cait we expect
from the very beginnings of this country as part of the English department, for 23 students to understand and appreciate
and which continue to run through the years. 1 have a doctorate from Yale in such a vast array of different authors,
worst and best moments of our collective American studies, with a literature con­ books, genres, themes, and political and
history. centration. My dissertation was on James historical contexts in any meaningful way?
Our world is fraught with war and Fenimore Cooper, an early major and The answer. I’m afi-aid, is probably not.
strife, fear of difference, and intolerance of seminal American novelist, some of whose As one of many Am Lit majors who
other points of view. In my opinion, there characters live today. I was trained to chose Middlebury based on its distinction
has never been a more important time for teach American literature in light of art of offering Am Lit in its own department,
Americans, particularly students who will and history contemporaneous to the 1 was so grateful to be able to narrow the
one day be leaders in public service and work being studied.Yet in my 23 years on vast world of literature into a subcatego­
business, to examine themselves through the Middlebury faculty, I was not allowed ry—American—that 1 truly loved and
the voices of their writers, poets, and to teach even one American literature wanted to study above all others. Strange
activists. course. The department was so terrified as it sounds, students need some sort of
Change is never easy and not neces­ that it might be swallowed up by the focus, and a “wider context” will only
sarily a bad thing at times. In this case, English department that no application make it tougher for students to find the
I think Middlebury has made a grave by me, or even Old Chapel, could allow important themes and concepts in
error. It disappoints me to think of those me to teach an Am Lit course. Therefore, American literature. As I’m sure Professor
future students who will never have the I am wholly in ftvor of the combination McWilliams has emphasized, it is a body
same experiences that I did. I don’t think of the two departments. of work that can and should be appreciat­
that 1 will ever be able to consider the John H. Ciaprett ed on its own terms and merits. This in
place in quite the same way again. Middlehnry, Vermont itself is a massive undertaking. But to then
SuMii ,\'. I-lcisIwum ’82 add it to the even vaster realm of English
Lais Aiif>cles, Calijornia The writer is a professor emeritus literature will result in a diltition of foctis
of lin jish at Middlebury for the student, who already faces a read­
Ilic urilcr is a senior vice presirient ing list several hundred titles long—in
for corponilc conmumii'iUions and public aflairs Now, Nothing's Special either department.
at [ vii’crsal Studios Thank you for making us aware of the However, the saddest thing is not that
current controversy surrounding the huge reading list—the lists have always
merging of the American literattire and been too long, that’s nothing new—but
English departments (“To Merge or Not that Middlebury is giving up yet another
I II U S I R A I I O N II Y J O S i. I. M A S S I S U M .M !- ■ R 2005
Middlebury College
Board of Trustees
“A sitiall gem
President
Ronald D. Liebowitz
worth uncovering.”
Fellows
Pamela Tanner Boll ’78
from producer Donald Everett Axinn Paula Carr Cummings ’82
James S. Davis ’66
;51, '89 (D.L., Hon.)
William Delahunt ’63, P’97
Donald M. Elliman.Jr. ’67
Ryan Merriman Frederick M. Fritz ’68, P’95, P’97, P’oo
Tti6 Ring Two, 'Taken", Halloween: Richard S. Fuld.Jr. P’03, P’07
Resurrection,'The Preteorier" Nancy CofFrin Furlong ’75, P’02, P’04
Stanley Tucci Robert C. Graham, Jr. ’63
Shall We Dance, The Terminal, Maitl in Betty Ashbury Jones, M.A. ’86
Manhattan. Road to Perdition James R. Keyes ’71
Dana Delany William H. KiefFer HI ’64
Exit to Eden.Tomhstnoe, Roxanne McCormick Leighton '67
Housesitter, "China Beach" Patrick L. McConathy P’04. P’05, P’o6
Paula Garces Michael C. Obel-Omia ’88
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. Kimberly Collins Parizeau ’79
Clockstoppers Steven B. Peterson ’88
Ruben Blades Elisabeth B. Robert ’78
Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Felix G. Rohatyn ’49
All the Pretty Horses, The Cradle Will Rock
David A. Salem ’78
Jed A. Smith ’88
John Spencer P’88, P’94
Karen A. Stolley ’77
Deborah G. Thomas ’75
John R.Tormondsen ’82
James Edward Virtue ’82
Marna C. Whittington P’99
Linda Foster Whitcon ’80, P’05
Kendrick R.Wilson III P’oi. P'03
Emeriti
James I. Armstrong
Mary Williams Brackett ’36
Dort A. Cameron III ’67, P’92, P'95, P’oo, P'05
Allan R. Dragone. Sr. ’50, P’78, P’80, P’83, P’86
Churchill G. Franklin '71, P’02, P’05, P’07
Claire Waterhouse Gargalli ’64
Willard T. Jackson ’51
John M. McCardell. Jr.
C. Irving Meeker ’50, P’78
Jonathan O’Herron P’8i, P’88
Patricia Judah Palmer '57, P’89, P’92
Milton V. Peterson ’58, P’S4, P'86, P’88
W. Kyle Prescott ’49. P'73, P’76, P’77
Special Celebrations Are Always In Season
Raymond J. Saulnier ’29
David E.Thompson ’49, P’72, P'75. P‘77
Hilton A. Wick P’82
Robert P.Youngman ’64, P’87. P’90
^nn Officers of the Corporation
Frederick M. Fritz ’68, P’95. P'97. P'00, Chair
Ronald D. Liebowitz, President
at Brandon. Vermont
James S. Davis '66, Vice Chair
Bett\' Ashbury Jones, M.A. '86, Vice Chair
Fine Cuisine Accommodations ^ Weddings
Betsy Mitchell Etchells ’75, Secretary
800.221.0720 53 Park Street, Brandon, VT 05733 F. Robert Huth, Jr..Treasurer
www.lilacinn.com ^ [email protected]
M iddle BURY M agazine
L E T T E R S
feature that makes it unique. My major
was a huge part of why I loved the
College. But speaking objectively, there is A Timeless Experience
a compelling intellectual justification for
having Am Lit be separated from English,
and in my opinion it’s a healthy separa­
Stunning scenervc ciiarnung accommodations, exceptional
tion worth preserving. Middlebury
dining, claamptonship goll course, extensive activities
should be strong enough to stand against
and extraordinary value.
challenges “in the national field.” Like
many alumni, I cringe when changes like
this are made. Middlebury’s just becoming
more and more like evei'yone else.
Jeui}ifer Nornmndiii Locke 'gj
Boston, Massachusetts
The Destructive Truth
The title of the article on the proposed
elimination of the American literature
department, “To Merge or Not to
Merge,” provides a facile variant on
Hamlet’s soliloquy while cloaking the
destructive truth. A beneficial merger
occurs only when two units each give
up something in order to create a larger
unit better than either of its components.
In this instance, however, the English
department will give up nothing.
American literature, by contrast, will give
up its long-standing curriculum—the
comprehensive sequence of American
texts—required for the major, that has
C L A R N E R
been made available every year for some
So years to the entire student body. WOODWORKS
If these ill-considered changes are imple­
FINE, HAN DM ADE
mented, English department offerings F U R N ITU R E
will be expanded numerically, but the
comprehensive, historical study of
American literature will most certainly DOUG GARNER
be gutted. Middlebury’s future students, 1994 MIDDLEBURY GRADUATE
whatever their major, will be the losers. 170 Maple Lane
East Burke, VT 05832
Even a major in the new department will
802.626.8935 :: www.clarnerwoodworks.com IS
be clieated; no one specified American
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S U .M .M 1 R 2 O 0 S
L E T T E R S
author, and no specified American text
will be required for a student to graduate
with a major in “English and American
Our excitement is not
" literatures.”
only in creating beautiful, At a time when America’s role in the
wooded home-sites, but in world has become ever more pivotal, why
should Mlddlebury wish to de-emphasize
Jorever conserving the
the study of American literature in order
family farm and its 150 to reduce it to one component of
acres of open fields. m m m “Anglophone” literature? According to
"
the proposed catalogue copy for the new
— Peter Foote ’80 department, American literature will
become but one sub-specialty among
equals, including “post-colonial literatures
from Africa, the Caribbean, Canada, and
• Secluded residential building sites Australia.” As the study of Australian,
tucked in the woods
Caribbean, and African literatures in
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English are expanded, so the study of
in place
American values and ideals, whether con­
• Off Route 125 — minutes from sidered separately or internationally, will
Mlddlebury College
be greatly reduced. Because resources at
Mlddlebury College are not infinite,
choices wiU have to be made. It is clear
? Foote F arm that, if the proposal becomes a reality,
those choices will be made at the
Building Sitesf or Classic Vermont Homes expense of American literature.
§ www.footefarm.net • 866-849-3872 At least one factual correction and
one revealing oversight must be identi­
fied. On the facing page of the spring
FREE Color Catalog article, Professor John Elder is quoted as
1.800.456.0321 “describing the 9—2 vote in the
Department of American Literature and
Civilization.” In fact, the vote was 7—2—1,
Ask for Dept. 14005 with the votes of part-time, untenured
Hundreds of styles, fabrics and colors to
faculty and faculty who teach American
choose from . . . something for every style
^he ^Middlebury ‘dnn of home. Plus matching bedding, studies but not American literature being
and accessories. Marvelous decorating weighted equally with tenured faculty
FOOD • DSRinIcNe K1 82• 7LODGING . . s. oflruotmio nJas n. e. a. nwdo Jnadcekr f(u’4ll8y) aFffitozrpdaatbrilcek ! who have taught American literature for
Mlddlebury, Vermont 05753 decades. Why Professor Elder, who is not
800 842-4666 C o iin t^ C u rta ii3S, a member of the American literature
www:m-iddleburyinn.com Dept. 14005 Sttxkbridge, MA 01262 department, has been cited as the author­
www.sendcatalog.com (Dept. 14005)
ity on the meaning of this vote can only
be explained as a stratagem of academic,
it not editorial, politics. Furthermore it is
surely significant that the four dissenters
Travel In Style In Our Luxurious Custom Conversion Vans
in Professor Elder’s own department have
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Zyo(U )D lÆ BU BjL^lRANSIT .Small Group charter «1 been granted no voice in the magazine’s
Personalized Regional Transportation • Students account. The false impression created by
the article is that there is only one voice
in opposition to the “merger.”
John McU'illlains
Middlchury, I'cmuvn
The miter is a College professor
at Middlelniry
M I 1) 1) L E U U R Y M O .Y Z I N E
Dismayed in Connecticut define itself for the future. Middlebuiy’s
1 read with dismay the piece entitled “To reputation has soared in the past several Tlie Inn at
Merge or Not to Merge” (spring 2005), years (which is positive), but 1 see the
which purports to explain the circum­ potential loss of the American literature
stances surrounding the proposed merger department as a sign that Middlebury is
of the American literature and English losing its sense of self In explaining the
Mary's Restaurant
departments. A 1982 alumna and Am Lit reasons for eliminating the major,
major. I’ve been closely following the American Literature Chair Urett Millier
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events surrounding this story for the past refers to the “national field, which is rap­ •
year, and 1 am troubled at the bias your idly moving towards cultural studies.” Is Weddings
article displays. Middlebury interested in following Bristol [phone]
Where are the other dissenting voices trends, or does it have a strong enough www.innatbaldwincreek.com
in this debate? Why do you not make sense of the value of its offerings to stand
clear that the dissenters in both depart­ behind them?
ments are mostly senior faculty members If this so-called “merger”—and the
who are also former chairs of their events leading up to it—are any indica­ of
respective departments? So much is at tion of the way the College plans to run
stake here, but the article speaks lightly itself in the future, I will feel a powerful
and confidently of this proposed “merg­ disconnect from an institution that used
er” as if it IS in fact a true merger rather to feel like home.
than the evisceration of one major and Betsy Currier Bcacom ’82
enhancement of another. North Haven, Connecticut ..
1 found the glib tone of the article
to be insulting; it puts a happy, un­ Saddened by the Loss
Stay With Us
complicated face on a serious curricular As an Am Lit major, I am very sad to hear
www.vermontinns.com
debacle. Middlebury’s American literature of the plans that are being considered to
department is unique, and many of its merge the American literature depart­ Serving the greater Middleburj’ area
alumni can attest to the lasting impact it ment with its English counterpart. My
has had on our lives. 1, for one, went on decision to apply to Middlebury was
to study American and English literature because of the independence of this
at the graduate level and teach at the sec­ department, its comprehensive and rich
ondary and college levels. After more than curriculum, and unique standing. ! seri­ rr::ii
20 years, the systematic study of the ously doubt we can afford the risk of
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