READERS WRITE

Ask a silly question and you’ll get an… existential crisis. Thanks to all the alumni who offered up what they’d do with a cancelled morning class and a sudden gift of four free hours, but Karen Kirk ’87 takes the prize for her baffled response.

NEXT UP:
Consider this our version of a plastic surgery reality show, only it’s not reality and we’re reconstructing buildings and grounds rather than lips, noses, and whatnot. Think back to the UVM of your era on campus, and tell us what one thing you would have liked to change about the physical campus. Think big. (For example, move Redstone a half-mile closer to Old Mill.) Or think practical. (The water tower could have used a new coat of paint.) E-mail responses to vermontquarterly@uvm.edu or Vermont Quarterly, 86 South Williams, Burlington, VT 05401.

THE PRIZE:
As usual, the author of our favorite letter will receive his/her choice of a print from the stock of UVM Photo. So, write us a great letter and check out the campus scenes that you might win at uvm.edu/uvmphoto.

—Thomas Weaver, Editor

Your professor is ill and has cancelled your 8 o’clock class. You have four free hours. What do you do?

Mistaken Identity
I check myself into the psych unit because as an individually designed major, I specifically chose classes no earlier than 11:30 a.m. Who am I? Why did I think I had an 8 o’clock class? Maybe I think I’m a PT major with chemistry labs.

Karen Kirk ’87
Southbury, Connecticut

Into the Woods
I would escape to the quiet solitude of Centennial Woods. The canopy of green and the running water would allow me to relax. School was so full of transitions, movement, and chaos that the solitude and the peacefulness was compelling. I would walk among the pines and listen to the wind play with the needles and branches. I could sit on the hill and watch the beavers swim around and go about their daily activities. It would bring me to the realization that what I was doing (wildlife/ forestry major) was to preserve what I was enjoying. It was a place I could escape to share a time with Mother Earth and to bring the long struggle of class notes, numbers, and paper to real life. I could see what I was working for. I could take in all the sights sounds and smells of nature and hope to be able to bring this same thing to others.

Maria Germano ’89
Jericho, Vermont

Lucky Thirteen
When I saw “class cancelled” scrawled across the blackboard, I experienced a strange feeling of both great pain and great joy, one swift emotion. I was mad and happy all at once. “Why didn’t I know I could sleep in? Why was I the only one who didn’t get the message?” But today I was going to make my rude awakening worthwhile. I learned early that class cancellations are rare, especially freshman 8 a.m. economics.  
 
It was the dead of winter, the coldest of cold days, a day that made my legs feel like pieces of meat dangling from my body as I walked back from class. I hurried home and grabbed my snowboard; the night before we had a nice coating of snow in Burlington. Halfway down Interstate 89, I caught a weather report on the radio: Stowe got thirteen inches the night before! When I arrived, there was nobody in line at the lifts. The mountain was untracked because it was a Wednesday. I got to the top of the first lift and one of my best friends was waiting to take his descent. He looked at me, then the snow, and then just smiled. Even on the freezing cold day, at 9 a.m. it was perfect. The sun was out and thirteen inches of fresh snow just for the two of us. I did not even regret skipping the other two classes I had that day.

Nicholas Kohart ’05
Yardley, Pennsylvania

Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young & Cones
I’d head to the UVM Dairy Bar, a great place to go at any time of year. Since UVM had a strong agricultural school, the bar was a matter of pride—homemade ice cream and dairy products made right on campus. In the cold months, there was coffee and soup. It was warm inside, and there was always some good music playing. In the early seventies, Neil Young and Crosby, Stills & Nash were popular, and you heard their music often. As far as style went, ours was the generation that invented long hair. Bell-bottoms we borrowed from the Navy. Hiking boots were de rigueur—kind of a badge of honor because UVM students have always thought of themselves as outdoor types.

One of the strongest impressions of deja vu happened to me at the Dairy Bar when I returned to UVM in the mid-nineties. Students had long hair and were dressed in bell-bottoms and hiking boots. I realized that the stools at the counter were covered in the same green vinyl from the seventies. There was still an old-fashioned milkshake maker, one of those big green-steel jobs. Seemingly, nothing had changed in the room for more than twenty years. But the coup de grace was that the moment I entered my ears were filled with Neil Young singing “Harvest”! 

I will always remember the Dairy Bar with wistfulness.

Tina Scharf  ’73 G’99
Lincoln, Vermont

Storm the Lectern
I would call this “thinking inside the box.” Let’s be proactive. I would make an announcement to the class that we, as students, should lead the class, possibly taking turns with the material. Perhaps those who ask the most questions could start the lecture.
If every student took a turn lecturing, imagine the professor’s satisfaction upon his/her return.

Dick Johnson ’77
Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Readers weigh in on other matters…

IN IT TOGETHER
I read your fall issue profile “Climate Change” about Wanda Heading-Grant ’87 and it was both inspiring and reflective. Having been Wanda’s friend at UVM in the ’80s made me reflect back at what an experience it truly was. I can honestly say I learned a great deal from UVM, not just from the classroom, but from the culture, leadership, friends such as Wanda, and about myself regarding diversity.

I don’t think any of us had it all figured out, but we were all in it together. As a person, I made mistakes, but I grew through them. The University made mistakes, but grew through them. Having Wanda Heading-Grant in a leadership position is testament to this. Reading her story inspired me. 

As a student, Wanda was in a place that was evolving. The environment was challenging, including the weather. (I still have fond memories of a mountain hike with Wanda during a summer enrichment program.) She endured the evolving environment regarding diversity, the weather, being far away from family, and many of us figuring it out as we went along. She has worked hard, endured, and succeeded, and now she’s there as a leader and administrator contributing to future generations of learners and leaders. I am honored to have had my  life touched by Wanda Heading-Grant and look fondly at both the good times at UVM, where I met my wife Sharon Guest ’90, and the challenging times.

Jim Fong ’87
State College, Pennsylvania

UNDERGRAD ENVY
Wow. It’s a cold, wintry Sunday morning and as I enjoyed my cup of coffee (which turned into an entire pot), I realize that I spent two hours reading the Winter 2008 issue of Vermont Quarterly. From cover to cover, I studied every word and every photo diligently—even down to the finest detail of noticing the fancy leggings on the woman in the upper left-hand corner photo on page 37. But I digress.

Through the words and photos, I am truly impressed with the new consciously-designed Dudley H. Davis Center and all it has to offer. I can vaguely remember the days I studied at Billings with an ever-present cup of tea in my hands to keep me warm.

They say you can “never go back,” and perhaps that’s true for this rooted fifty-year-old homeowner in Massachusetts, but this morning I became extremely nostalgic for my days at UVM and found myself envious of the young people who can enjoy everything UVM has become today.

I hope each student realizes how fortunate they are to receive their education at such an accomplished university.

Lesley Wassmuth ’79
Hudson, Massachusetts

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