the Bennington Free Press

T H E B E N N I N G T O N C O L L E G E S T U D E N T N E W S P A P E R
Volume 19 Issue 1 | Friday, March 15, 2013

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N
S
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E
NEWS ARTS VOICES
FEATURES
EVA CHATTERJEE SUTTON
BENNINGTON CARD
JUDICIAL REVIEW
UNPAID INTERNSHIPS
NCAA BENNINGTON
SEQUESTER
Bennington College in Food Flux: The Switch to Aramark
On July 1
st
, the multinational corporation
Aramark will take over the management
of dining services at
Bennington College.
The shift to
Armark signifes a
major change. For
the better part of the
last 25 years, the
college has managed
these services itself,
most recently under
the guidance of
Bennington alum Bill
Scully.
The ongoing
project to renovate
the main Commons
building was what
frst prompted the
college to consider
this change. When
administrators like
David Rees planned
to rethink the physical
structure of the dining
hall, they decided to
put everything on
the table, including
the management of
dining services. Four
options were then
considered: one a
continued form of
sel f - management ,
and three others that
involved considering
outside providers like Aramark.
The process of choosing and evaluating
each of these options was extensive.
David Rees, Bill Scully, Laura Krause,
and other members of Bennington College
administration met with representatives
from each company being considered and
visited other colleges and universities to
BY KENNETH OLGUIN see how their dining services functioned.
Finally, they received three proposals,
one from each company being considered.
As David Rees described it, we got the
frst two proposals
from the vendors we
didnt select and they
were very generic and...
fne. But we weren`t
interested. They didnt
meet our criteria on
a lot of levels. So the
last proposal came in
from Aramark, and its
like nothing Ive ever
seen. Even Bill Scully
admitted that Aramarks
proposal was really
strong. Strong enough
that it defnitely rivaled
what were doing now
and especially looking
forward.
In the coming year,
it will be interesting to
see what will become
of Bennington Colleges
new relationship with
Aramark and how it will
unfold. One point David
Rees made clear in
response to concerns is
reassuring: Everything
we have built into it,
both contractually but
also the process is this:
talking.

On Tuesday, March 12th, the Benning-
ton Sustainable Food Project (BSFP) host-
ed a forum in conjunction with members
of the administration to discuss the specif-
ics of the Colleges recently announced
deal with the multinational Aramark Cor-
poration to oversee Dining Services at the
College. In attendance were David Rees,
Senior Vice President of Administration
and Planning, Laura Krause, Vice Presi-
dent and ChieI Financial OIfcer, and Wil-
liam (Bill) Scully 94, Director of Dining
Services.
The forum began with a preamble by
Rees about the general process that led
the College to selecting Aramark. Rees,
Krause, and Scully visited various col-
leges to observe their dining services,
Aramark-provided and otherwise. They
settled on three companies for consider-
ation: Bon Apetit, Sodexo, and Aramark.
Krause stated she had previous experience
with Aramark through a previous job at
the University of California, San Diego,
describing it as a good experience. Rees
also mentioned Aramarks proposal was
stunning and a clear standout.
Questions ranged across broad topics,
but were largely centered on a few issues.
Y CEIENE AkkEkA '15 and
FOREST PURNELL
BSFP Hosts Meeting to Discuss Transition to Aramark and Upcoming Renovations
An immediate concern raised by students
involved the retention of current Dining
Services employees; it was confrmed that
all union Dining Services employees will
continue to be overseen and paid by the
College, and their wages will remain un-
changed as per union contracts. Aramark
will be bringing in a small administrative
team, but keeping Benningtons union staff
was non-negotiable, said Rees.
Concerns about dietary needs were also
addressed, and it was mentioned that a ma-
jor motivator for the Aramark venture in-
volved taking advantage of their purchas-
ing power in order to make Bennington
a player in the organic and local food
market. Improving the quality and taste of
food is of great importance to the College,
as well as continuing to address the spe-
cifc dietary needs oI students as necessary.
Also in the works is improvement of meat
quality. Scully mentioned the possible ad-
dition of chicken, from Misty Knoll farms,
a free-range farm in New Haven, Vermont
which naturally-raises their chickens.
The overall Commons renovation was
discussed briefy. Rees proposed a central
question about the building:
What if the identity of this building was
about food? What would that look like?
It was also theorized that the current
functions of the Student Center as it exists
now could move to the Commons build-
ing, and the vacated space would become
the new location of the Meyer Recreation
Barn, with possible additions including a
basketball court.
Important dates in the upcoming months
include a meeting in April with new Ara-
mark manager Mike Thompson. Bill Scul-
ly will be leaving his manager position ef-
fective June 30th, with Thompsons start
date being July 1st.
The conversation between students and
the administrators also yielded a wealth of
information about the expected changes
that will take place after the corporation
takes over dining hall management this
coming fall. Following that conversation
the Bennington Free Press looked into Ara-
marks past as recorded in Collegiate and
national media sources.
In 2008, Yale University terminated its
contract with Aramark for reasons that are
not completely clear. In an August 2007
report from the Yale Daily News, a union
representative was quoted as stating that
incentive bonuses for reducing operat-
ing costs under the private contractor left
a negative impact on food quality at the
school. Another article about the Univer-
sity of Floridas contract with Aramark de-
scribes a clause giving the corporation an
on-campus monopoly over food and drink.
In one instance, this clause prevented the
opening oI a student-run non-proft caIe.
Other concerns about Aramark expressed
in the media have to do with its record as
a food supplier to prisons. In 2011, a Ken-
tucky state representative ordered an inves-
tigation of Aramark for alleged violations
of its service contract with the states Cor-
rections Department. Representative Brent
Yonts (D-Greenville) accused Aramark of
serving old food to inmates and overbilling
the state. In Tarrant County, Texas, 2004,
an Aramark contract was terminated by a
county court citing unpalatable meals.
Additionally, Aramark runs a relatively
small Political Action Committee (PAC)
which last year donated $27,379 to various
state candidates and campaign committees,
according to opensecrets.org.
These initial fndings raise potential con-
cerns stemming from the companys per-
formance at other academic institutions,
its involvement in the prison industry and
campaign fnance. Our April 26th issue
will contain a fully developed exploration
of these topics and their bearing on the
transition next fall.
HINTERLANDS
HACKERSPACE
2
The BenningTon Free Press / March 15
th
2013 > Vol. 19 No. 1 N E W S
Over Field Work Term, it was announced
that Eva Chatterjee-Sutton would be
resigning from her position as Dean of
Students at Bennington College.
In the interim, Isabelle Roche, Dean
of the College, will be acting as Dean of
Students. She isnt replacing Evashe is
'overseeing the Iunctions oI the OIfce |oI
Student Life].
The OIfce oI Student LiIe, which
organizes housing, keeps track of ID cards,
oversees clubs and althetics, and, of course,
provides free coffee from 9-5, is normally
managed by a Dean of Students. However,
the OIfce oI Student LiIe was always a
part oI the College Dean`s OIfce. 'Eva
was in the position of Dean of Students, so
she reported to me and we worked closely
together on all sorts of things. Now that
there is no Dean of Students, Roche is
taking a more hands on role. Whats
important to say about this moment, said
Roche, 'is that the OIfce oI Student LiIe is
continuing to function as it has.
Currently, the college is not looking for
someone to replace Chaterjee-Sutton in
the position. Each time a job opening
happens, whether it be in the faculty or in
the administration, the college takes it as
an opportunity to re-evaluate an re-assess
the position itself.
For instance, when Ken Himmelman,
former Dean of Admissions, left the
school last September, his position was
taken over by Janet Marsden, Director
of Communications. In having her run
Admissions when Himmelman left, it
was found that the positions are similar
enough that it makes sense to have the
same person organizing them. Its just a
really good pulse taking moment, said
Roche. At Bennington at any point in
time when we have a vacancy, whether it
be an administrative vacancy, any kind of
staII vacancy, or |.| Iaculty vacancies,
we don`t |.| automatically say, We had
this, lets look for that. According to
Roche, Bennington makes a point of taking
advantage of moments to re-examine and
re-evaluate whether positions that may
have made sense when they were created
are still necessary today. We dont at this
point know whether well be looking for
another Dean of Students, said Roche, or
whether well restructure things, and were
really taking this time to reassess.
Regardless of what the outcome of this
assessment is, students will be involved.
Offce of Student Life: Dean of Students Position Transition
Many of you may have been walking
through the hallways of Dickinson
wondering when did that purple couch
get here? and where did the computer
lab go? Summer of 2012 marked
the start of a series of re-construction
projectsDickinson, Commons, Rec
Barn and Student Center being the areas
of attentionthat will ultimately bring the
campus and its residents closer together.
I spoke with Ben Szalewicz and David
Rees, members of Benningtons Safety
Committee, about some of the progression
underway. There are many signifcant
developments in motion, the frst oI which
is Dickinson.
'The primary goal oI |renovating|
Dickinson is really to improve the lab
classroom spaces; ventilation being the
biggest component of that, said Szalewicz.
Currently geology and physics share a lab,
so the plan is to create a separate one for
geology. An improved C-lab (for David
Edelmans octopus research) is also in
the making. Next, the wet lab should be
completed over the summer for use at the
start of fall term. The building is now
forty plus years old, so we wanted to really
create more of a vibrant, public feeling
in the space, expressed Rees. The frst
remodel was done to the exterior deck on
the east side of the building, which had
some structural issues. The bathrooms
were renovated last summer, in addition
to the new elevator which will serve to
accommodate those with disabilities. The
lighting installment will help to create a
more lively atmosphere, and should be
going up in a couple of weeks. Additionally,
pin-up space is being expanded so students
can display their work for their peers,
faculty and visitors. You may have also
noticed that the computer lab has been
relocated to Commons; public computing
originally started in Dickinson because
the building had major power supply.
Now, with the process of renovation, it
has become much more practical to keep
public computing in a central, common
space.
This brings us to the next area to be
renovated. Hint: you pass through it at
least three times a day between meals and
checking your mailboxes. You guessed it:
its Commons. The new idea for Commons
is simple. There will be a cafe, more
dining options, and the Student Center and
Bookstore will be moved to the building as
well. There is a pending thought to move
the Meyer Rec Barn behind the Student
Center, so that most athletics can reside in
one general area (in close proximity to the
soccer feld, basketball courts and tennis
courts). As of right now, this is just an idea.
Remodeling these buildings will make
our campus practical, and our relationship
with it more intimate. This is our home,
and as artists, students, professors, and
staII, we should Ieel completely satisfed
in it. Stay tuned for updates on this
exciting and innovative plan! Check out
the extended edition of this article online at
benningtonfreepress.org
Operation Restoration: Dickinson Science Building and Commons
Before term began, house chairs had a
conversation with Liz Coleman about what
they thought of student life at Bennington,
in a broad sense of the phrase: what should
community life at the college look like,
and how can we have administrative
structures that support that?
Chatterjee-Suttons departure may
have seemed sudden for some students
and perhaps even unnerving considering
the imminent departure of long time
college president Liz Coleman, the recent
resignation of Dean of Admissions Ken
Himmelman, and the news that came soon
after about Bill Scullys leaving as head of
dining services with the schools switch
to Aramark as our food provider. Roche
says, however, that this is a normal part of
a place like Bennington: I think that every
institution goes through periods where
there is more change and periods where
there is less change. Furthermore, having
so many administrative positions replaced
or re-imagined should not have an affect so
sudden as for the students to feel jolted or
disoriented: Benningtons hiring process
makes sure to hire people who understand
the school, and for whom it quickly
becomes part of their DNA. I think
one of the really truly remarkable things
about working here is that theres a kind of
shared mission, value,|.| shared sense oI
what this place is about, and that guides all
of our decision making. Were looking for
people for whom that will resonate, and for
whom that happens very quickly.

Y KkI5TA THCkP 'T5
Y DANIA CIAkKE 'T5
Eva Chatterjee-Sutton
Isabel Roche
3
The BenningTon Free Press / March 15th
th
2013 > Vol. 19 No. 1 N E W S
A new Deans position is being appended
to Bennington Colleges payroll. The new
Dean of Field Work Term will be arriving
in mid April and will work to grow
Benningtons relationships with leading
organizations in the for-proft and not-
for-proft sectors, expanding opportunities
for students and growing the clout of the
College`s unique work-study program.
According to Director of Field Work
Term and Career Development Tammy
Fraser, the new Dean- who has already
been selected- will oversee the Field Work
Last term for the frst time, students began
paying day-to-day charges, such as lost ID
fees, room charges, and shuttle costs, with
their declining balance on their Bennington
card. One of these charges, the parking
fees that students with cars on campus pay
every term, costs $60 dollars. Students may
remember paying the business offce their
fee at the beginning of the Fall semester.
' Beginning next year, it will be a one
time fee of $120 for the whole year to
reduce labor for everyone. In the case
where a student leaves college or does not
One of the many announcements that
students received in their emails over Field
Work Term was that the Bennington Card
can now be used at Powers, Pangaea, and
CVS in the towns of North Bennington and
Bennington.
The current Bennington Card was
implemented at the beginning of the Fall
2011 term, when it replaced the much more
basic meal card that was used at the time.
Now, it`s used for everything from laundry
to paying for room violation fees. The card
became more present on campus last year
when it became the only non-cash option
to pay for day-to-day charges. These
cards represent the college`s relationship
with CardSmith, 'a campus card solution
company.
Even though having so many aspects of
students` lives tied to checking in with an
issued ID card may seem oppositional to
the small, rural community of the school,
the college makes sure to 'make it seem
non corporate, said Laura Krause, Vice
President and CFO of the college. Out
of all the campus card service providers,
this one was 'a much more scrappy,
Bennington kind of product, according
to David Rees, the Senior Vice President
for Administration and Planning.However,
now that the cards can be used in town, the
question arises of how much expansion is
in the future of the card.
The motivation for having businesses
in town accept the Bennington card varies,
but Rees says the general goal is 'more
more win win. The idea is that students
will be more likely to go to a restaurant or
store if they can use their ID card to pay.
Students will have the convenience of
using the same card for food on campus
and for shopping in town. When a student
pays with their ID in town, it serves as
a reminder to the community that the
students have a presence in town, not
only culturally but also economically.
CardSmith encourages the college to create
these sorts of relationships with vendors in
the community; the more people that use
the card, the better off they are. And for
the college, students use their cards more,
therefore creating what Krause calls a
'snowball effect: the more opportunities
students have to use the cards, the more
they will use them. Currently, a list has
been sent to CardSmith of other vendors the
college might be interested in collaborating
with in this way. That list was assembled
by the administration and by house chairs,
who met with Samantha Tymchyn and
Sage Ober earlier this term to suggest other
businesses that students often use. 'We`re
looking at Hannaford, Home Depot, and
some of the local restaurants, said Krause.
Were trying to add as many vendors
that the students are focusing on frst.
The extended card use on campus that was
introduced last term is still undergoing an
evaluation process, which has had minor
setbacks due to the resignation of Dean
of Students Eva Chatterjee-Sutton, who
was working with Krause on the project.
'We made a couple little changes, there
were some issues particularly with health
and psych services co-pays, where we`ve
added in a credit option, said Krause. The
credit card option will hopefully make
paying for student health services more
convenient, and eliminate the running
back and forth that ended up happening
last term while students adjusted to co-
pays and the new payment system. The
college is still considering alternate
options for payment, particularly online
options such as PayPal.
Most schools with a campus card
system use them for something that
Bennington notably does not: security.
'[Using cards for security] is something
well be looking at down the road. Theres
no plans for it right now, but I think it`s
something to think about, said Rees, 'I`d
love to have a broader conversation about
it. While Bennington`s community is
characterized by it`s 'open-door policy,
Rees says that we are on the cusp of the
size of universities that have to implement
some sort of security system in order
to prevent small thefts which 'actually
do happen on Bennington`s campus.
However, any changes likely won`t happen
in the near future. In fact, part of the reason
the school chose CardSmith to provide
this service was because, unlike most of
the other companies, it did not require
hundreds of thousands of dollars to create
a security system. 'A lot of colleges when
you`re freshmen, you get your ID holder
lanyard, and the plastic thing, and it`s like,
you can lose anything in your life but not
this, you know, lose your money, lose your
relationships with your family, but not
your ID, and that`s usually tied to getting
into your dorm. We don`t have that kind of
pressure.
Another fear that may come from the
culture of always having your card is how
much information you`re giving every time
you swipe into the dining hall-and who is
getting it. Rees and Krause responded to
questions about this type of information
aggregation with a resounding 'No. 'That
rumor`s been out there, but it is, I have
to say, a rumor, said Rees. 'we will do
everything in our power to stop that.
In January of this year, over 50 arrests
were made in the town of Bennington in
the biggest drug bust in Vermont history.
The drug bust, called 'Operation County
Strike, started at 8 AM on the morning of
January 16th, when the Bennington Police
Department entered a residence on Main
Street where they found 83 bags of heroin
and 12.5 grams of cocaine.
The arrests and arraignments continued
into the evening. The Bennington Banner
posted photos throughout the day, striking
images of task force members dressed
in jet black against the background of a
snowy Vermont day. Warrants were issued
The process is taking about as long as it
was expected, said Isabel Roche, Dean
of the College, in regards to Benningtons
presidential search.
The hope is that there will be a president
announced by the end of the term.
President Liz Coleman, who has led
Bennington since 1987, announced in this
past September that she will be retiring
at the end of the Spring semester. Shortly
thereafter, the college hired the consulting
frm Phillips Oppenheim to assist with
the search for a new president. Phillips
More more, win win: the future of the Bennington Card
Over 50 Arrests Made in January Bennington Drug Bust
Parking on Campus this Term:
Do I have to pay?
New Dean of Field Work Term to
Arrive Later this Spring
Presidential Search Continues, Committee to Meet Candidates
for 63 arrests, and 48 people were arrested
on the day of the strike.
The charges ranged from the sale
of cocaine and heroin to possession of
marijuana, and included a number of counts
of selling or possession of prescription
pain killers. There were also three counts
of selling drugs on school grounds.
Although the task force- including over
100 different offcers from four different
law enforcement agencies- was heavily
armed, there were no shots fred and no
injuries occurred. Regardless, according to
the Bennington Banner, crowds gathered at
the sites of particularly tense standoffs.
Term offce and work with the College`s
senior staff on high-impact policy issues
such as better incorporating Field Work
Term into the general curriculum. She will
likely spend a fair bit of time on the road
developing new relationships with new
Field Work Term employers similar to the
relationship the College has nurtured with
the Dutch multinational DSM.
The Free Press will be providing more
information at benningtonfreepress.org as
we have it.
BY KRISTA THORP
BY KRISTA THORP
BY PETE FEY
BY MIKE GOLDIN
'The community will be a better place
as a result of this, said Col. Thomas
L`Esperance of the Vermont State Police
Department, 'as long as we continue to stay
vigilant and focus our attention on quality
of life crimes and the activities that come
with drug distribution, consumption, and
abuse. L`Esperance was likely referring to
gang activity, which was also investigated
in association with the drug strike. The
Banner reported that at least twelve of the
suspects appeared to be associated with
serious gang activity. He also may have
been referring to the prostitution ring
allegedly being run by Thomas Lyons,
owner of Bennington Subaru. A warrant
for Lyons` arrest was issued later in the
month.
The Bennington Free Press will provide
more coverage on crime in the community
later this term; look out for a feature in our
April issue.
Oppenheim |.| has organized the entire
process, said Robert Ransick and Susan
Sgorbati in an email interview this week.
This past Fall semester students were
invited to several meetings with the search
committee to discuss their vissions for
Benningtons future. That involvement
will continue this term. All members
of the Bennington community will have
opportunities to engage with the candidates
when they visit campus, Ransick and
Sgorbati said. Although the specifcs are
not yet worked out, the next opportunity
students will have to provide their input
will hopefully be in April, Roche said,
when fnalists will be on campus to visit.
In fact, this coming weekend represents
a landmark in the searchthe committee
will be meeting with the frst round oI
candidates in New York City.
Along with Phillips Oppenheim, the
search committee - consisting of trustees
(including recently graduated trustees) and
faculty- are in charge of the search process.
When asked if there is any chance that
the college will have an interim president,
Roche said I dont think anyone can predict
if that will happen. She mentioned that if
there is a need for an interim president, the
trustees will oversee that appointment.
According to Ransick and Sgorbati,
The process has been very productive and
we are hopeful to have strong candidates
visiting the campus this spring.
bring their vehicle back in the Spring term,
they will be credited sixty dollars back to
their account. said Ken Collamore in an
email interview. However, at the beginning
of last term, students were only charged
sixty dollars, so people who brought their
cars back to campus should go to the
business offce soon to pay for this term.
BY KRISTA THORP
4
THE BENNINGTON FREE PRESS / March 15
th
2013 > Vol. 19 No. 1 A D V E R T I S E M E N T
At the Oldcastle Theatre
331 Main Street in downtown Bennington
Around the
World in 80
Days
Playwright: Mark Brown, adapted from the novel by Jules Verne
Performance Dates: March 22 through April 7, 2013
Performance Days: Thu, Fri, Sat at 8, Thu, Sat, Sun at 2
First Saturday matinee (March 23) is BOGO.
Fast, funny and furious, the Jules Verne classic comes alive on stage
in this comedy/adventure with 5 actors metamorphosing into 39 char-
acters. Critics have called it: "ingeniously adapted...High-spirited" and
"fat-out hilarious."
Benn faculty and staff: $3.00 off single ticket price. ($34. instead of
$37. Use the code BENNFS5 and call the theatre for reservations at
802-447-0564
Student ticket prices are $10.00. $1.00 off if you use the code Steam-
punk. $2.00 off if you dress STEAMPUNK.
At the Oldcastle Theatre
331 Main Street in downtown Bennington
Around the
World in 80
5
The BenningTon Free Press / March 15
th
2013> Vol. 19 No. 1

F E A T U R E S
During an investigation regarding the sale
and use of heroin on campus at the end of
last term, three students who had offered
testimony regarding the matter became
the subjects of investigations themselves
for their proximity to and alleged
involvement with the issue. Sent before the
Administrative Review Committee, banned
from student housing for the remainder
of the year and placed on disciplinary
probation for the remainder of their time
at Bennington, the mishandling of their
investigation and prosecution sparked
anger among much of the student body. The
student responsible for bringing the drug to
campus originally- and the subject of the
Colleges original investigation- withdrew
from the school and left Bennington during
the two day period between receipt of his
hearing date and the hearing itself.
In weeks following that students
departure, students who had come forward
to alert the administration to the problem
and who were peripherally involved in
the incident were questioned; in some
cases, testimonies they had supplied in
service of the investigation and under the
impression that they would not themselves
be prosecuted later had those testimonies
used against them. Throughout the review
process, it was unclear to these students
what was going to happen next. The BFP
spoke with one of those students about the
chain of events leading up to and following
the search of his room. He described the
manner in which he became aware that he
himself was under suspicion:
I got an e-mail from Ken telling me
that he needed to speak to me about a
very important matter. We talked and he
questioned me for about an hour. I fgured
that everything was fnished after that,
because I was under the impression that
it was about [the student responsible for
selling heroin], and I fgured that I had
made it clear that I wasnt involved with
[him]. The next day, Ken asked me to meet
with him again, in his offce, so I walked
down to his offce. He called me once I
got there, or I think I might have called
him because he was fve minutes late. He
said that he was in my room. I went back
there and Ken and Sarah Walcott were
in my room, with the door open I had
to contact Eva and have her come in on
a Sunday and talk to me about what was
going on. I think it was just a couple of
days later because I was nervous, but I was
nervous about cigarette butts in my room
and being charged for them. I wasnt really
concerned about my future at this school.
Which was awfully nave, in retrospect.
During this meeting with Eva, the
student was informed that he would be
going before the Administrative Review
Committee for allegations related to his
original testimony, and that the least severe
of all possible outcomes would be housing
suspension. No evidence of heroin or
related drugs was found in his room, but his
advisor, who was also acting as his faculty
representative, was later told that he had
committed a felony by the Administrative
Review Committee. Students who became
subjects of investigation were told they
could bring character witnesses to testify
on their behalf to the Administrative
Review Committee. In at least one case,
witnesses were assembled, but never called
into the hearing. Another student was
charged because others used the drug in his
room against his wishes- an event which
he described in a report to campus safety
of his own volition after the fact. His case
was eventually dismissed, but only after
his teachers and peers had been made
aware of his fragile implication in the case.
The reaction by campus safety, student life,
and the Dean`s Offce to a sensitive and
complicated case opened a conversation
about a disciplinary process which some
students alleged to be deeply fawed, and
sparked a chain of e-mails over winter
break discussing what action the student
body should take to reform it.
The Policies
The College formally delineates fve
separate entities which process disciplinary
matters of all sorts. Incidents of sexual
harassment and academic misconduct
are each processed through special
mechanisms separate from the three entities
Judicial Review Process Raises Concerns
which compose the Colleges primary
disciplinary system. Trivial infractions
with outcomes clearly delineated in the
student handbook are handled directly by
the Offce of Student Life, usually quickly
and discreetly. For serious incidents and
allegations where expulsion or suspension
are possible outcomes, the Dean of
Students refers cases to the Administrative
Review Committee- a group comprised of
three senior members of the administration
appointed by the president. Incidents
in the margin between the serious and
the trivial are referred at the Dean of
Students discretion to the Judicial Review
Committee- a body formally composed of
16 people: 7 students, 6 members of the
faculty and staff, the dean of students, and
the assistant directors of Student Life. In
practice, however, the Judicial Committee
has been an essentially illusory presence
on campus; nobody interviewed for this
story, from actual student members of
the Judicial Committee to the Dean of the
College, could recall any instance in at
least the past four years when the Judicial
Committee had been assembled to rule on
an infraction.
The non-presence of the Judicial
Committee in the Colleges disciplinary
process to date has become the subject of
scrutiny since last terms debacle, and some
students have asserted the groups disuse
is only a component in a more systemic
failure on the parts of both students and
the administration to come together in
forging a more transparent and consistent
disciplinary process.
Moving Forward?
On Wednesday, the Dean`s Offce closed
the application process for new members
of the Colleges Judicial Committee. The
Free Press met with Dean of the College
Isabel Roche and Head of Campus Safety
Ken Collamore to discuss the Judicial
Review Committee and the context in
which it was being re-staffed. Roche noted
that the decision was only practical to some
extent- much of the bodys membership
had actually graduated. While Roche
acknowledged that the Judicial Committee
hasnt been called with great frequency
in recent years, there are no concrete plans
to alter the policies which dictate what
matters will actually go to that Committee.
She further offered that the Judicial
Committee is really meant to look at
student conduct issues that go to the quality
of community life at Bennington, and that
the policies in place have a certain kind of
elasticity embedded in them which enable
appropriate latitude and discretion in the
process.
Of course, what the Dean referred to
as elasticity, many students consider
ambiguity- a distinction which, while it
hasnt escaped consideration, remains to
be addressed. On the one hand the reason
that you have policy is to make things
transparent and clear, Roche offered, If
you do X, then Y, then Z, and so on and
so forth[...] Theres a school of thought
that says thats very useful. On the other
hand that takes away judgementthe
moment of having responsible people
look at circumstances and take things into
account and [recognize] that every X and
every Y are not the same X and the same
Y. So I think thats a really interesting kind
of tension- how do you accomplish both?
This is a point where Roche would like to
seek the opinions of students to imagine
potential, possible changes to the actual
policies in the future.
Student Empowerment
Last term`s events have set the stage for
meaningful change in the way the College
processes disciplinary matters. Having
seen and experienced the manner in which
the present system responds to high-tension
incidents, systemic faws which were
previously concealed have been opened to
very public scrutiny- and scrutiny which
the administration seems willing to share
in. The Free Press will be examining best-
practices in collegiate disciplinary systems
in future publications, as well as working
to compile a comprehensive and defnitive
timeline of the events which inspired
this important conversation. Finally, the
Free Press will continue coverage on the
movement to re-imagine Benningtons
disciplinary system as a sensual and ethical,
no less than an intellectual, process.
Y ENNA DEI VAIIE T3 AND NIKE GCIDIN
'T4
WITH kEPCkTING Y CEIENE AkkEkA 'T5
AND kACHEI 1ACK5CN 'T4
6
The BenningTon Free Press / March 15
th
2013 > Vol. 19 No. 1 F E A T U R E S
Kafka has a parable about an imperial
messenger sent by a dying emperor to
deliver a message to a peasant in a rural
village somewhere in China. The king
carefully whispers the message in his
ear. The messenger begins his departure.
He bears the royal insignia on his chest,
he runs, his arms are swinging. But the
doors are out of reach. Even if he made it
out of the palace, he would fnd himself
in the center of the immense capital city,
with throngs of people stretching out to
the horizon. Nobody could fght his way
through here even with a message from a
dead man. He vainly wears out his strength.
But you sit at your window when evening
falls and dream it to yourself.
Welcome to Lucky Dragon (460 Main
St, Bennington, VT). The curly-haired
waiter/host here is punctual and happy to
please, but his eagerness betrays the kind
of desperation you see in videos of POWs,
secret codes implicit in every glance.
I assume he is working here under the
coercion of Chinese captors, who I assume
are the various back-room men with whom
he occasionally steps back to raise his
voice, angry Mandarin and English almost
indistinguishable. One time he warned my
friend Christos not to get the lobster roll.
Theres not actually any lobster in it, he
said.
Try: General Tsos Chicken combination
platter ($7.45), it comes with pork fried
rice and a spring roll and to be honest I
dont see the point of ordering much else.
This is the Chinese food I dreamed about
while I was in NYC for FWT. If you need a
change of pace or are unable to metabolize
chicken, try the Sauted Broccoli w/ Garlic
Sauce ($7.20). Or convince a friend to
get it and steal some of the broccoli for
your combination platter. This is Chinese
Food Sauce perfected. Other notes: Lucky
Dragon is great food for hangovers,
breakups, frst dates, celebrations of
successful parole hearings, etc. And its
BYOB.
If you go to Lucky Dragon please check
up on that one waitress, I havent seen her
in a while and I was always convinced that
someday we were going to get together.
I asked for extra broccoli on a dish once
and from then on when I asked, I always
got great mountains of broccoli, soaked
through with luscious General Tsos
Sauce. Some troubadour has undoubtedly
scooped her up and is currently sitting at
home, dining on fne Chinese cuisine by
candlelight
And then there was China Wok (Home
Depot parking lot, Bennington, VT). No
one greets you when you arrive here: this
is not a game. A fute plays over the PA.
You sit. Someone arrives to ask about
drinks. You get up, get a plate, and fll it.
No one asks you what your business is
or questions whether or not you want the
buffet. Make sure that when you enter
you do not hesitate. They can sense your
fear and they will show no pity. They will
watch and make sure you didnt bring
Tupperware. There is, inexplicably, pizza.
Dont put Sweet and Sour sauce on it; trust
your instincts. On the whole, the food is
not terrible, but avoid the green beans and
broccoli at all costs. They are simulations.
The sushi tastes like painful misfortune.
Do not get the pizza. You can leave your
plate at your table and rise to get a new
one, a man who speaks no English will
whisk it away without you noticing him.
Hopefully he is paid to do this. You can
repeat this process indefnitely. You can eat
forever. Tea is served in small Styrofoam
cups. Life is different on this side of town.
I can only assume the other people here are
drifters, men and women on the run from
something, sitting at the window booths
overlooking Home Depot, waiting for a
message that will change everything.
My dining companion and I fnish eating
and no one around us has left or even seems
to have such plans. They may stay for a
time. Multicolored lamps circle the room,
their contribution to the dcor minimal,
perhaps dwarfed by the strong fuorescent
overhead light. To the far side of the
restaurant is an area with what appear to be
bookcases, lit by a mysterious purple light.
This areas purpose is unclear. They have
pizza. Also, for dessert, small hot dog-like
buns flled with whipped cream. They taste
like they sound. My stomach does not feel
full but I feel it is time to leave; one plays
with fate eating here. There is hope for
God, plenty only not for us.
Try: The buffet (I guess).
Epilogue: I returned to China Wok
shortly after leaving because I forgot to
sign my receipt. Fortunately my waiter had
taken care of it: he simply drew in a circle
and a bumpy line trailing it. A pathetic
balloon signature.
Disclaimer: Dr. Von Doin It is NOT an
accredited doctor of any kind.
Dear Doctor,
WHY DOES IT ITCH?????

Uh-oh. I would like to begin answering
this question by reminding you of the
above disclaimer as much as I like to play
doctor in my secret sex dungeon, I am not
accredited by a single American medical
institution. Dr. Randy is most likely the
appropriate person to see here, but I will
do my best. I guess my frst question is
am I talking to a Ticklish Tina or a Prickly
Pete? That is, are we talking about penises
or vaginas? Or, more universally, perhaps
a butthole? Regardless, always remember
my #1 rule: dont knowingly bring VD into
the Bennington bubble! People often forget
when they leave this campus that there is a
real feld-work-world out there, full of real,
feld-workly transmitted diseases. I don`t
know what kind of sex parties you attended
in San Francisco this winter but lets keep
the results in your own feshy membrane
and spare the rest of us. Anyway, back to
your question of why. Pretty much every
single sexual transmitted disease includes
itching as a symptom at one point or
another. Also, something to consider: are
you sure that what youre experiencing is
an itch, per se? What one person might
experience as an itch, someone else will
experience as a tickle, or pain, or even
pleasure. Something that we forget day to
day is that the phenomenon of sensation
is incredibly subjective. Is there a rash
or raised skin? Or worse, is there a scab?
Pus? Blood? What color is it? Does it
itch constantly or only in the mornings
or something weird like that? How does
it feel when you pee? I feel like that last
one is an important one. Discharge? Tell
me about it. I hope for all of our sakes that
you just have a yeast infection or eczema.
And this advice goes for everybody on
this campus who is experiencing an itchy
unmentionable of any kind: close down
shop, go to health services, get tested for
anything and everything. I am seriously
NOT trying to get the herp right now.
Thanx.
Dr. von Doinit:
Why do all the girls go for guys that are
just gonna end up hurting them, then cry
on my shoulder when they do? Cant they
see the nice guy standing in front of them?
Love, Nice Guy Finishing Last
Dear Nice Guy, Ooh boy. There are lots
of things going on in that question, most
of them bordering on the pitiful. That is
not to say that your situation is altogether
hopeless, but I do hope that for your sake
all the girls arent involved, because
what I am going to advise is that you start
fresh with a new one. My diagnosis of your
situation is that miscommunication and a
general shyness in your disposition has
landed you in the dreaded FRIENDZONE.
And dont misunderstand me, these girls
did not shelf you in that category, its
mostly just your own fault. According to
Wikipedia, the friend zone is a platonic
relationship wherein one person wishes to
enter into a romantic or sexual relationship,
while the other does not. It is generally
considered to be an undesirable situation by
the lovelorn person. Once the friend zone
is established, it is said to be diffcult to
move beyond that point in a relationship.
For whatever reason, all the girls dont
see you as a romantic possibility. Maybe
you havent shown them that you can be
charming. Maybe they are looking for a
bad boy type that their mothers would
never approve of. Maybe they think
youre gay not that theres anything
wrong with that. My advice is that you
need to take one last shot at escaping the
dire circumstance that is the friend zone
before accepting it as punishment for
your timidity and moving on to someone
new. You have all these girls with which
you are romantically challenged: it seems
like you are looking for more than just a
quick f#@k so I would suggest picking
just one of them. Make a move! Show her
you can be romantic, witty, charming and
forward. Someone has to show the other
that theyre interested its not always
the boys job but if youre just gonna sit
around complaining that no one likes you
when youve never even tried then youre
just being stupid. Kiss her right on the
mouth! Google 'how to firt?. The worst
thing that will happen is youll be rejected
and you will move on with some practice
under your belt for the future. I promise
you a little sex rejection (or, sexjection) is
in no way the most embarrassing thing that
you will experience at this school. Shy and
nice are endearing qualities but if you want
a passionate and fery relationship you`ll
have to learn how to make the frst move
sooner or later.
Dr. Von Doin It Tells You Why Love Hurts
Y Dk. VCN DCIN IT
Food with Jan: Lucky Dragon vs.
China Wok
Y 1ANEkIK A5PIUND '14
PHCTC CkEDIT: kITTANY KIEIN5CHNITZ 'T3
7
The BenningTon Free Press / March 15
th
2013> Vol. 19 No. 1 F E A T U R E S
Although by now your Field Work Term
might feel like a distant memory, you may
recall a moment when, standing over a
copy machine or emptying a trash can or
cataloguing proper nouns in a database for
the twentieth day in a row, you thought,
Is this an internship, or is this slave
labor? While you may have been thinking
this in the self-pityingly hyperbolic sense,
according to the United States Department
of Labor, you may not have been too far
off. The laws concerning what constitutes
an internship are vague and open to
interpretation. But the list of six criteria,
of which all must be met in order to make
what youre doing a legal internship
according to the Fair Labor Standards Act,
should raise some questions for all of us:
The FLSA goes on to elaborate upon
the importance of the intern not actually
contributing to the operations of the employer:
Under these circumstances the intern does not perform the
routine work of the business on a regular and recurring basis,
and the business is not dependent upon the work of the intern. On
the other hand, if the interns are engaged in the operations of
the employer or are performing productive work (for example,
fling, performing other clerical work, or assisting customers),
then the fact that they may be receiving some benefts in the
form of a new skill or improved work habits will not exclude
them from the FLSAs minimum wage and overtime requirements
because the employer benefts from the interns' work.
1. The internship, even
though it includes
actual operation of
the facilities of the
employer, is similar
to training which
would be given
in an educational
environment;
2. The internship
experience is for the
beneft of the intern;
3. The intern does not
displace regular
employees, but works
under close supervision
of existing staff;
4. The employer that
provides the training
derives no immediate
advantage from the
activities of the intern;
and on occasion its
operations may actually
be impeded;
5. The intern is not
necessarily entitled to a
job at the conclusion of
the internship; and
6. The employer and the
intern understand that
the intern is not entitled
to wages for the time
spent in the internship.
Unpaid Internships: Valuable Work Experience or Illegal Labor?
I think that we have all, as Bennington
students, experienced internships
where we felt as if we were performing
productive tasks, and, in fact, felt as if
that were the point of the internship to
begin with. I myself have certainly done
work that would otherwise have been done
by a paid employee. In the publishing
industry especially, and I imagine in
media in general and practically any other
professional industry in which you need a
resum woven out of Arianna Huffngton`s
hair and threads from a Harvard sweatshirt
just to get past the ground foor lobby,
interns have become so reliable a resource
that they have become essential to
operations. Interns are sometimes the frst
people you encounter in an offce, and the
frst line of defense between the outside
world and the company. For example,
if you send an unsolicited manuscript
to a major New York City publishing
company, I can assure you that the frst
andunless youve submitted a work of
paradigm-shattering genius, which it wont
bethe last person to read it will be an
intern. Ive been that intern twice already
and I probably will be again, because, just
like rules 1-4 and 6, rule 5 is somewhere
between a lie and a barely but mutually
maintained illusion.
If internships were really a form
of educational training, in which the
employer was inconvenienced by the
arrangement and the intern was to in no
way imagine that their time with that
employer could put them in line for a job
if not at that specifc workplace, then at
one similar to it in the future, what could
that possibly look like? What would the
employers motivation in doing it be, if
it actually impeded the function of their
business to teach some shitty kid how to do
a press release? What would the interns
motivation be, if they had no responsibility
and no reasonable hope for a reference to
add to their resum (if you arent actually
doing productive work, after all, what is
your supervisor going to be able to tell
your prospective employer about your
performance? He sure seemed to learn a
lot?)? The whole thing is contradictory,
exploitative, necessary, and uncomfortable,
and it ultimately works as a sort of fltration
process for highly competitive industries,
through which, out of thousands of bright-
eyed little solipsists, only a handful of
desirable individuals are selected to be
given compensation proportional to the
work that they perform.
The legislation that surrounds the unpaid
internship describes a work arrangement
that, at least in the overwhelming majority of
cases, does not exist. With interns making
up a growing percentage of professional
workplaces, and with class action lawsuits
like that of Lucy Bickerton v. Charlie Rose
Inc. making headlines, it would seem
like the time for a reassessment of the
regulations governing unpaid internships
is quickly approaching. I have had two
great internships (The Paris Review is like
some kind of escapist lit major fantasy
and Columbia University Press is the only
place that seemed to truly take the concept
of educational training seriously, and
they reimburse you for travel, and they
give you tons of books!), one all-right
one, and one that was absolutely terrifying
(mostly because I was 18 and working for
a diplomatic think-tank and still afraid of
talking to people on the phone). I gained
a lot from all of them, in terms of personal
and professional growth. But, at least
according to the United States Department
of Labor, not a single one of them was
totally legal.
The one thing Im certain of is this: these
rules are outdated. Someone at the USDL
should really get their intern to draft up
some new ones.

Y ENNA DEI VAIIE 'T3

8
The BenningTon Free Press / March 15
th
2013 > Vol. 19 No. 1 V O I C E S

Thi s
issue
I m
taking a break from anything substantive,

>>Skinny
The new Pope is from Ar-
gentina
Hes sexier than the shitty
old Austrian one, but just
as likely to have been in-
volved in secret atrocities.
Grady ONeill is red
Brady Williams is also red
Seinfeld is the new Girls
Game of Thrones is the
new Seinfeld
Spring Break!!!! Woo!!!!
Our self esteem is low
enough already.
When will the Dairy Bar
open?
When will it goddamn
open???
What kind of service pro-
vider does Andrew Wu
have?
Sprint
Presidential Search Pro-
cess Will Now Be Follow-
ing the Papal Method
Look out for white smoke
coming out of the Lens
St. Kilpats is on Saturday
Its a cleansing purge
Happy Ides of March!
Toga party!
Mike Goldin
Shifting Paradigms in 2013
Soup of the Day
New England Clam Chow-
der
Hot Dish of the Day
Noah Coburn
Screens are still bullshit
Still cant puke out the win-
dow
BFP supports Anne Ha-
thaway
Youre all just jealous
New website layout!
benningtonfreepress.org
its daisy fresh check it
4 AM Layout!
Its just like old times again!
Panini press broken
And they let some of you
drive cars?
BY KATIE FOSTER

When Brittany came back from New
Zealand, she was adamant about her
thoughts on Girls: I dont want to watch
it. It sounds stupid. Isnt it like Skins?
I told her to trust me, and after ten minutes
of watching Hannah frown and furrow
her eyebrows over newfound fnancial
independence, Brittany had changed her
mind. Okay. This is better than I thought
it was going to be.
Youll like it, I said, in this
one they do opium.
Girls is an enigma, wrapped
in a slightly abusive love/hate
relationship that would actually be
really simple if the two involved
parties just admitted what they
were feeling and stopped being so
selfsh. And by the two involved
parties, I mean Lena Dunham and
myself.
For her part, Lena Dunham is
undoubtedly writing her fantasy a
world in which liberal arts school
graduates can afford rent on a
baristas salary, dashing blond men
with beautiful brownstone homes
willingly take in strangers as
sexual playthingsand everyone is
gorgeous in their own quirky way.
While Dunhams characters do
have their issues (shotgun wedding
turned bitter marriage, a little too
much coke, adulterous tendencies
abound), these struggles are the
kind of First World problems that
allow the show to keep a quick,
impermanent pace. These struggles
are shallow. And they are issues
Dunhams audience recognizes
from personal experience, whether
they would like to admit it or not.
It is here that fantasy becomes
uncomfortable reality: Dunham
lulls her viewers into a false
sense of security by way of funky
rompers and hip cocktail parties
before socking them in the gut with
the realization that this is a show
about our lives.
I started watching Girls during
Thanksgiving break. After a weekend of
binge-watching, I returned to Bennington
with a strange feeling of recognition.
Marnis open-palmed gestures of
exasperation? I frequently saw that same
motion in a fustered classmate. Shoshanna
as a whole is a reincarnation of one of
my best friends, and that face Hannah
makes when shes worried? Yeah, I know
someone who makes that exact big-eyed
pout. You probably do, too.
Friends started telling me things like,
Youre sort of like Hannah, but minus the
All I Really Want is Girls... The HBO Show
shitty parts. Like, multiple friends. More
than once. And I sort of agreed with them.
Well, I like to think my boobs are a bit
bigger than hers, and Im not that socially
inept, but thanks. It was starting to feel
like I was a part of something.
With the start of the second season, Girls
became a ritual in my life. Being in New
York for Field Work Term only heightened
my sense of recognition. Every Sunday
my roommates and I would gather around
a laptop, with the occasional interruption
from our slow Wi-Fi, to watch the weeks
worth of antics unfold. We all caught
references to the physical space of the city:
Jessas ex-husband on the phone giving
directions to Dekalb Avenue, Shoshanna
and Ray waiting on the benches at the
Bedford stop in Williamsburg, and that
club Hannah and Elijah go to when theyre
tweaking out? I walked by it once on a
Wednesday afternoon and the bass was
already rattling the sidewalk a great
place to score a neon mesh shirt by my best
estimates.
Being back at Bennington has not
diminished my feeling of recognition
if anything, it has increased. Once
again surrounded by the veritable cast of
characters that make up life beneath the
Bennington Bubble, I began to see that
even here things fall into place. Silent
treatment from angry/bitter/jealous former
friends/lovers? Sure. Shady exchanges
with the downstairs neighbor? Check.
Disturbing installation art and the creeping
sensation of imminent insanity followed
by really weird sex? You bet.
I have accepted that my projection onto
the world of Girls is the reason I love the
show. And I`ve also accepted that Lena
Dunhams comments on our generation
- on our selfshness, our ignorance, our
stubbornness are all perfectly true.
Though I may never live in Dunhams
exact fantasy, the parallels are undeniable.
Girls holds up a mirror to us, and only to
us. And because we are so terribly vain, we
agree to wonder back after ourselves.
9
The BenningTon Free Press / March 15
th
2013 > Vol. 19 No. 1 V O I C E S
THE BFP STAFF
EDITORS IN CHIEF
kACHEI 1ACK5CN 'T4
MANAGING EDITOR
NIKE GCIDIN 'T4
NEWS EDITOR
KkI5TA THCkP 'T5
VOICES EDITOR
CEIENE AkkEkA 'T5
FEATURES EDITOR
ENNA DEI VAIIE 'T3
ARTS EDITOR
FCkE5T PUkNEII 'T3
PRODUCTION MANAGER
ETHAN CLARK-MOSCHELLA
'T4
COPY EDITOR
KIIIIAN WAI5H 'T4
My Government Cut a Trillion in Spending and
On March 1, 2013, over a trillion dollars
of spending cuts went into effect. These
cuts are known as the sequester, they
will cut our budget for the next ten years,
and they exist because Democrats and
Republicans cant agree on anything.
As a result, get ready to see an even cut
to (pretty much) every single program,
project, and activity currently funded by
the federal government.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress
couldnt agree on any compromise to avoid
these behemoth cuts. So, we fnd ourselves
at an impasse, although I fgure we`ve all
gotten used to that as the status quo since
President Obama took offce in 2009. Two
weeks ago, that impasse came to a head
as we played chicken with a trillion dollar
train. And we blinked. We got hit. Congress
couldn`t fgure out how to move us out of
the way, and now were scattered all over
the tracks, gruesome, broken.
OK, I guess its not quite that bad. The
Congressional Budget Offce predicts that
the sequester will knock around 0.8% off of
our GDP growth for the year. That doesnt
fatten us on the train tracks, but it certainly
twists our ankle. Is less growth what our
economy needs right now?
No matter whom you blame, our federal
government has demonstrated that when
it comes to compromise in order to avoid
economic calamity, we shouldnt hope
for much. It disturbs me that our public
servants couldnt put aside their political
differences and agree on a way to avoid
these unnecessary cuts.
Lets look at the proposals to avoid the
sequester cuts from both sides of the aisle.
Democrats in both the House and Senate
have proposed mixes of spending cuts and
revenue increases, both from higher taxes
on our highest earners and from closing
tax loopholes. Republicans have proposed
replacing the defense cuts with increased
domestic spending cuts, and oppose tax
increases.
Of course, these positions are
irreconcilable. So here we are.
I wish that congressional Republicans
would agree to increased revenue along
with spending cuts for numerous reasons.
First off, because of political fairness,
and in order to achieve a balanced
approach to budget reduction, I think
that Republicans should agree to revenue
increases that come closer to matching
the cuts agreed to by Democrats and Pres.
Obama. Over the last few years, we have
cut almost three times as much as we
have collected through tax increases and
loophole closures.
Also, as a jab to Reaganauts, Id like
to point out that government spending rose
less during Pres. Obama`s frst term than it
had during either Pres. Reagans or Pres.
G. W. Bush`s frst term. I don`t remember
hearing Republican demands for austerity
when Pres. G.W.B. was putting tax cuts
and two huge wars on our credit card.
Before I complain about hypocrisy, let
me bring up my second pointa moral one.
Are we really going to not raise taxes on
people who are earning millions of dollars
a year in order to cut spending on programs
that help Americans who are suffering?
Can we justify continuing policies that help
those who can help themselves, and shun
those who are in need (often through no
fault of their own)? When 25% of children
in the richest country in the world live in
hunger or poverty, something is wrong
with business as usual.
But lets talk about hypocrisy, and Pres.
Obamas so-called spending problem,
as told by Washington`s so-called 'defcit
hawks. If Washington really has a
spending problem, perhaps we should
blame Pres. G.W.B. more than we blame
Pres. Obama. Perhaps we should blame
the unpaid-for tax cuts, or the unpaid-for
war in Afghanistan, or the unpaid-for war
in Iraq. Anyone calling for massive cuts to
programs helping poor and middle-income
Americans ought to take a look at their
voting record to make sure they havent
supported any wasteful spending during
the last administration. Any present-day
'defcit hawks who voted for any of those
wasteful Bush-era initiatives ought to be
exposed as the hypocrites that they are.
I believe that we could have and should
have avoided the sequester, and we should
have done so by combining spending cuts
with revenue increases, either through
raising taxes on high-income earners
or through closing tax loopholes (like
the ones that reward companies for
outsourcing jobs). Are there examples
of waste and ineffciency in our federal
budget? Absolutely, and they should be
addressed. But we should also address the
waste, ineffciency and injustice of our tax
code, and make things a little fairer in the
United States of America.
All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt
Y PETE FEY 'T3
PHOTO CREDIT: CLEVELAND.COM
After eight decades of futility, our
beloved Benningtonians have fnally made
it to the NCAA Tournament.
True, were a sixteen seed, but I like our
chances. Is the Big Ten really that good?
No, it is not, and neither is Indiana. In our
frst round game I predict Andrew Wu will
contain Victor Oladipo in the paint and
our beloved Benningtonians will win by at
least sixty.
After we roll through the Hoosiers
we will face the winner of Duke versus
Georgetown. Both of these teams - contrary
to popular opinion - are also quite terrible.
If we line-up against Georgetown, Coach
Liz Coleman will probably have Liam
Dailey defend star forward Otto Porter, Jr.
Without question, Dailey will be able to
hold Porter, Jr. to under ten points and our
beloved Benningtonians will win by thirty.
If we play Duke, our beloved
Benningtonians will probably win by one-
hundred.
Unfortunately, no matter who we play,
the third round game will be tricky for
our beloved Benningtonians because it
is scheduled to be played the same day
as the season fnale of GIRLS. Even with
a depleted roster, however, I fully expect
our beloved Benningtonians - led by
seasoned veteran Dominic Eisenschmidt
- to annihilate our opponent (most likely
Kansas) by forty-fve.
And so we will now be in the Elite Eight.
There we could face a number of teams -
Wisconsin, Michigan State, Syracuse
- but my gut tells me that our beloved
Benningtonians will play Ohio State.
This game will be labeled by ESPN as the
Battle for the Soul of Tenara Calem and
will become the frst college basketball
game ever covered by The Paris Review.
Still, our beloved Benningtonians will win
by ten and advance to the Final Four.
Our fellow Final Four teams will in
all likelihood be LeBron James, the
1996-1997 Chicago Bulls, and Marlboro
College. Since Marlboro is on our side of
the bracket, our beloved Benningtonians
will play those motherfucking dumb hippy
bastards frst. The game will not be good.
In the Championship Game I think we
will then play the upstart LeBron James.
Unaccustomed to the big stage, James will
founder in the frst half and have a hard
time guarding our beloved Benningtonians
hot perimeter shooting. In the second half
though, he will have an epiphany of sorts
and come to the realization that he is
actually a monster in a basketball player
suit.
The conclusion, I guess, is dont
be all that surprised if our beloved
Benningtonians lose to LeBron James in
the NCAA Tournament.
March Madness: Benningtonians at the Championship
BY ERIC MOSHER 'T3
10
The BenningTon Free Press / March 15
th
2013 > Vol. 19 No. 1 A R T S
BY FOREST PURNELL
For many Bennington students,
the term hackerspace might bring to
mind a wire-festooned basement where
cyberattacks are concocted in front of
glowing screens. Its interesting that
so many people here dont know what
a hackerspace is or havent heard of that
movement, says Ben Broderick Phillips
13, who helped initiate Benningtons
frst hackerspace as the culmination of
his senior work in education. Taking
advantage of this years remodeling efforts
in Dickinson science building, Broderick
Phillips, with support of computer science
faculty Andrew Cenceni, forwarded a
plan to set aside a portion of the former
computer center to become a student-run
hackerspace.
Hackerspaces, in reality, resemble
food co-ops more than war rooms. They
come out of a post-1960s enthusiasm
for alternative social and economic
arrangements, an attitude that led to
everything from widespread organic
farming to geodesic domes. Proto-
hackerspaces might include HAM
radio groups or the infamous Homebrew
Computer Club, which touched all areas
of early Silicon Valley culture in the mid-
1970s. Today, these kinds of DIY spaces
are more organized, more widespread,
more diverse and more connected. They
remain devoted to opening access and
sharing resources related to technology.
Hackerspaces.orga wiki-based directory
of over 1,106 hackerspaces opened around
the world since 2007-defnes them as
community-operated physical places,
where people can meet and work on their
projects.
Broderick Phillips says, more people
should know about this kind of model
because in a lot of ways it is similar to
our practices here at Bennington. VAPA is
open 24/7. Everyone has shared resources;
its a common space. Everyone is working
on interdisciplinary projects that feed
off of each otherand the same kind of
thing happens in a hackerspace: less of
an art focus, more of a technology focus
but, I think it [will be] a really great way
to... reinvigorate our computer science
community here, rather than taking a more
strictly academic path.
Bennington Colleges hackerspace,
dubbed the CATlab (Computers and
Technology Lab), will include a workspace
flling up a quarter of the former Dickinson
Computer Center, located in Room 235. The
rest of the area will be used as a computer
science classroom during weekdays,
with 24 new Lenovo PCs installed with
Windows and Ubuntu GNU/Linux.
Broderick Phillips hopes that, outside of
classes, the entire room will be free to
use as a 24/7 open-access hackerspace.
Similar to existing technology resources
in VAPA, the CATlab will also maintain a
supply of low-tech and high-tech materials
to hack around with. Additionally, an
associated group of CATlovers will
host frequent making events. Other ideas
under consideration include a digital
free pilea server which would allow
students to curate and share work. The
CATlab has also been in communication
with the Bennington Sustainable Food
Projects burgeoning food cooperative
about coffee supplies.
The CATlab is not only Bennington
College`s frst hackerspace, but also, if
it can realize its hopes, one of the frst
student-maintained spaces on campus
after the student farm and sacred space. So
far one eventa cardboard construction
workshophas been held in the CATlab
and many more are scheduled, including
an animated GIF-making workshop this
Saturday, March 16th. The space also has
its own wikiseparate from the normal
Bennington College wikiwhich lists
supplies, weekly events, and also accepts
suggestions for projects and workshops.
How did such a student-run space
begin? How was it possible to pursue this
development as senior work? Broderick
Phillips explains it was a convergence of
his own interests in building an informal
educational space, and computer science
faculty Andrew Cencenis idea to set aside
part of the newly-remodeled Room 235 in
Dickinson for something more than just a
classroom.
'I was working with Andrew over feld
work term doing software development,
but I study education here and I knew that I
wanted my senior work to involve creating
some kind of informal learning space,
which is basically a space that is outside
of formal, institutional, traditional learning
Student-Run Hackerspace Opens in Dickinson 24/7 Space to Encourage Impromptu Arts-Tech Community on Campus
structures like classes... spaces where
people can learn the same sort of thing but
just in a different way.
So back in the fall I was thinking
where can I create a space, how can I get
the support for it, how can I get people
interested in it. And then over the winter
I realized that Andrews trying to get this
hackerspace started up, Im really interested
in creating a space... We had been spending
a lot of time together talking about what
plans he had and what plans I had and so,
basically while I was actively thinking well
where I am I going to fnd the support... I
realized well, he has this need and I have
this need to have a space to create and start.
So I said, well, lets collaborate... Now this
is basically what Im focusing my senior
work on.
For now, CATlab is different from
most hackerspaces in the sense that its
main intended audience is the campus
community, rather than the entire public.
Broderick Phillips indicates there may be
possibilities of reaching out more in the
future to make CATlab a tech resource
and hub for different interested parties in
town. At this point, however, the hope is
Bennington students will participate to
help build and make the hackerspace a
proven placesomewhere people want to
hang out, think and develop work in a new
kind of environment that is part studio, part
laboratory, part common room.
The front page of CATlabs wiki says it
aims to be a community space for all sorts
of technology related projects, musings,
and brouhahas. Call us a hackerspace if
you will. We welcome interdisciplinary
company, obsessive tinkering, and naive
curiosity. For a space in its beginning
stages, these words encapsulate the kind
of experiment that CATlab isfun,
ambitious, and never-ending.
Preview: Around the World in 80 Days
The paint was still drying on the set for
Around the World in 80 Days when the
Bennington Free Press sat in on an early
preview of the production being put on by
Oldcastle Theater Company in downtown
Bennington- but with only a week to go
before opening the show, the set isnt their
only work in progress. The Company is
still settling in to its new, permanent home
at 331 Main Street; though the 134 seat
theater was completed last year after several
months of renovation, work remains to be
done in the rest of the structure- namely
in the theaters lobby, from which the
sounds of hammers and power tools still
reverberate through the building.
High Energy Theater
Oldcastle has had an extraordinarily
busy year, but the pacing of their upcoming
production may outdo it- the show opens
at 100 miles per hour and decelerates to
perhaps 80 in its most tender moments.
Oldcastle`s producing artistic director (and
founding member) Eric Peterson told us
the high-energy performance is itself a nod
to the time in which the source material
was written. In a sense this show is
largely about movement and speed. It was
a fascinating time- because of the Suez
Canal and the Transcontinental Railroad
in the United States, for instance, you
could go around the world in something
approaching 80 days. Jules Verne, a
founding father of science fction and
author of the novel on which the production
is based, was naturally fascinated by that
aspect of his moment in history.
The cast is comprised of Gil Brady, Sarah
Corey, Peter Langstaff, Richard Howe and
Patrick Shea, who bring over 30 separate
characters to life at a bracing clip between
the fve of them. Oldcastle has produced a
number of shows with similarly minuscule
casts over the years, and Peterson sees it
as a challenge with appealing theatricality.
'It`s something theater can do that flm
and television can`t. If flm or TV do that
then its just all about makeup- here its all
about acting. They change a hat and they
have to be a different person.
Gil Brady is returning to Oldcastle`s
stage as Phileas Fogg after a successful
appearance in the Companys last
production- Northern Boulevard- but his
wont be the only familiar face in the cast.
Many of Oldcastle`s regular actors perform
more than one role while off-stage as well;
aside from playing 10 different characters
(literally) in 80 Days, Richard Howe is an
associate artistic director with Oldcastle
and co-designed the set; hes been with the
Company since 1975. Thats really the
only way you can run a regional theater
now- with people wearing lots of hats,
Peterson said, Theres just never enough
money to pay as many people as you need.
Its exhausting, but its also more exciting
to have as many people
Y NIKE GCIDIN 'T4
(continued on page 12)
guest appearances (featuring Brooke
Allen, Sherry Kramer, Sam Mayer, Jiray
Avedisian, and Scott Milliman), and the
chance to see our fellow professors and
students do things like talk to trees, sing
about a farm, or play the pan-fute.
Besides these clever jabs, Hinterlandz
has also managed to point out the inherent
apathy that Bennington has often been
accused of. Xsuhmirre and John are the
only ones that attend the flm department`s
screenings, and only because it`s required
of them as the reps, Fern can`t study what
she wants because there`s no greenhouse,
and Darryl is continuously put off by the
contrarian attitude of his classmates. 'Did
you see the way Professor McClintock just
rolled over and took it today? he says. It
is these sentiments that lead the foursome
to confront their school...and themselves.
This, paired with other bizarre one-liners,
gives the show a defnite 30 Rock feel.
Though the show is certainly weird, the
creators would be quick to say that Brook e
Allen, Campus Safety Mike, Marguerite
Feitlowitz, and yes, even Annabel all
like it. If that`s not a good enough
recommendation, nothing is. In the end,
though Hinterlandz certainly makes some
pointed jabs at liberal arts education and
hipster culture, there`s another message
too. It actually reads as more of an ode
to Bennington, where people would
have the patience and sense of humor to
legitimately pull off something like this.
The writers have all fondly parodied the
stereotype they as Bennington students
have had to endure, and in the end, all the
characters, and the writers, seem to settle
back and dutifully accept the absurdity of
their unique school.
11
THE BENNINGTON FREE PRESS / March 15th, 2013 > Vol. 19 No. 1 A R T S
A solo in Martha Hill, a dance flm
duet-then, a fully produced quartet: over
the past two and half years I`ve watched
the work of friend and fellow dancer,
Emma Villavecchia, develop.
'One of the things I`m really interested
in is.fguring out how to create worlds
onstage that are very defned, Emma
said about her work, '...both for the
audience and for the dancers So that we
as an audience can identify with or at least
understand what kind of world it is and
what happens in it and why.
As she made clear, this idea of worlds
Building Worlds For Film
ties in to her fascination with translation as
well. For Emma, 'the concept of translation
helps me think about collaboration with
lighting designers and costume designers
and set designers and choreographers. In
her choreography work, 'Each designer
has their own medium through which they
will help create this world. We have to all
talk together, fgure out what the core of
the piece is, and then each one of us has to
translate that into our medium.
This past week, I had the chance to talk
to Emma about her current work: a dance
flm project to be featured in a flm festival
in Barcelona, Spain and how it ties in to
her aesthetic as a choreographer.
The opportunity began with her
feldwork term sophomore year, where
she worked for a dance flm festival in San
Francisco. The work she did there sparked
her interest further in dancing outside the
studio and the stage, 'activating social
or public spaces by dancing in them...
bringing peoples attention to them.
Her experience in San Francisco then
began a casual conversation about dance
and flmmaking with a family friend, who
also happened to be the director of the flm
festival Curt Ficcions. The director had
heard about Emma`s burgeoning interest
in dance flm and tossed around the idea
of making dance the theme of her festival
for that year. To even Emma`s surprise,
this turned into a full-fedged dance
project. Since Curt Ficcions collaborates
with another flm festival (Premi Sol
Tura) that supports creating documentaries
on neurodegenerative diseases like
Alzheimer`s, this became the subject
matter of her project.
'They basically commissioned a series
of dance flms, Emma added, 'to be done
at Bennington Collegenot necessarily
about Alzheimer`s, but defnitely related to
this illness because it will be shown along
with various flms about Alzheimer`s.
There are four dance flms in total,
each three minutes long, all of which are to
be flmed in a theatrical space.` To make
the flms, Emma chose to collaborate with
six Bennington students studying dance
or drama performance: Eva Bond, Bahar
Baharloo, Chloe Engel, Sean-Patrick
O`Brien, Finn Murphy, and Kenneth
Olguin. She wanted a mixture of dancers
and actors because the aesthetic of the flms
themselves are more dance theater based
than abstract dance. The flming itself is
'somewhere between archival footage and
experimental fancy flming, and would
be flmed by Colin Hinckley. The flms
will then be featured at the flm festival
as short breaks between documentaries
about neurodegenerative diseases. 'The
most important thing, Emma insisted, 'is
that it`s.readable, that it`s enjoyable, that
it`s lighthearted, and sort of like a breath
of fresh air between these veryloaded
flms.
The project will be fnished by April 21
st
,
a tight deadline, as the flm festival starts
May 3
rd
. Emma has split up the work on
the project into two phases, one month
for rehearsing and another for flming and
editing.
This time frame means she`s already
deep in the process of the work. So far
she`s discovered numerous ways to relate
dance and Alzheimer`s. In our interview
she noted, 'I kept coming across certain
terms or certain ideas related to the illness
that I immediately thought I could translate
into an improvisation score or into a
composition exercise.
She`s excited to show the Bennington
community and hopes, 'to create awareness
about this illness[and] to create a
connection between my two homes which
are Bennington and Barcelona.
Hinterlandz opens up with beautiful
shots of Bennington`s countryside on a
sunny day, only to abruptly cut to gray
reality as Darryl is dropped off on his frst
day of orientation at Brigadoon University.
We learn that this is Darryl`s third attempt
at college, and shortly thereafter, two wispy
girls in scarves and long skirts come over
to give him his orientation packet, made
out of 'organic rice paper and some hair.
If you`ve been on Facebook in the last
six months at all, you may have noticed
the Hinterlandz page promoting the series
with new 'hints every few weeks. My
most lasting memory of any of these
videos was Andrew Plimpton`s rendition
of 'School Spirit by Kanye West. The
show`s genesis goes back to Killian Walsh
and Ben Davidson, who wanted to produce
a more substantial video project while they
Welcome to Brigadoon (Hinterlandz)
were still at Bennington. Eventually, they
landed on a show about a college, and the
project quickly turned into a tutorial. It was
Walsh who thought to add Alex Hovet onto
the project, and Hovet who then pulled in
Ben Redmond. The four began writing
in the spring of 2012, and the series was
fnished over Field Work Term for Hovet`s
independent study.
Hinterlandz is made up of four twenty-
minute long episodes and follows Darryl
(Trevor Stannus), a young man who, like
most of us at liberal arts colleges, is just
trying to Figure It Out. In his quest to
explore Brigadoon, he meets Xsuhmirre
(pronounced Summer, played by Julia
Mounsey), a junior flm student, Fern, a
fellow freshman (Clara Rotter-Laitman),
and Xsuhmirre`s flm co-rep, John Austen
(Rory Cullen), an obnoxiously impassioned
male feminist. The four form a familiar
blend of TV archetypes, not dissimilar to
the ladies in Sex and the City, for example.
I`m not sure how well Hinterlandz
might translate to anyone unfamiliar with
Bennington. It`s defnitely a show written
by Bennington students for Bennington
students. For example, all Brigadoon
University students must partake in the
AIM process (Academic Investigation
of Mystery). After a meeting with his
torturous advisor, Darryl is assigned the
AIM of 19th century anti-feminist theater,
even though he adamantly repeats that
he does not actually like theater. Later
in the episode, he and John attend Fern`s
interpretive dance performance. In the
frst episode, Darryl and a number of
other freshmen attend a seminar about
Brigadoon`s 'Biz-nass Term, where they
can go anywhere in the world to work
or pursue an independent project related
to their AIM. The show might also be
as funny as it is simply because of the
Episode 1
John Austen
Video Diary
Y KENNETH CIGUIN 'T4
Scan the below QR codes to view
Hinterlandz episodes.
Y TENAkA CAIEN 'T5
12
THE BENNINGTON FREE PRESS / March 15
th
2013 > Vol. 19 No. 1 A R T S
Arts Calendar
BY LILY BROWN AND GREG NOL
OMG BE OVER: No Strings Attached
Some of you may remember our
review of the movie Goats (2011) in which
we noted that the best performances were
given by the actual goats in the flm. Well,
on a similar note, No Strings Attached (Ivan
Reitman, 2012) starring Natalie Portman
and Ashton Kutcher had a breakout star:
Freckles, the Pomeranian. For his few
short moments on the screen, he captivated
our sights and our heartssomething that
Nat and Ash were unable to do for even a
moment. Instead of listening to the chunky
and tiresome dialogue between Ashton and
his Lil` Wayne-obsessed father, Greg and
I found ourselves watching Freckles who
was yawning in the corner like a champ.
Fluffy and comforting, Freckles tickled our
souls in all the right places. We have a tab
open on PetFinder.
Here`s the deal. This movie is just the
worst and it proves once again that Ashton
Kutchers career should have ended with
That 70`s Show. Sadly, it didn`t. And
now we have this: a mediocre product
despite the budget and the names. The
biggest offender in that department is the
creepy bearded doctor (who really has no
relevance in the story overall). It only gets
worse when you fnd out that he none other
than Wesley from The Princess Bride.
And just like that your childhood dreams
are shattered and shit upon. The beard is
seriously. Like, we can`t even handle
how horrible.
We aren`t sure whether it`s worth it
to discuss the plot or not, because besides
the whole having casual sex thing, there
isn`t much going on. Something that really
confused us is the timeline of the so-called
long-term friendship. Meeting for the frst
time at summer camp (at age 15), it was
our understanding that this would lead to
one of those friendships. However, that
was the last time they would see each other
for 10 years. Then they bump butts at a frat
party, and somehow manage to recognize
each other even after a decade. Then they
part again for 5 years. There is a weird
confrontation at a farmer`s market, and
then another year goes by before anything
even happens. Then (fnally) they sex. Fall
in love. Crying, crying. Boom. That`s a
wrap.Finally we would like to publically
shame the Teen Choice Awards for
awarding Ashton Kutcher Best Actor for
his role in No Strings Attached. Shame on
you, Teen Choice Awards. Shame on you.
We reluctantly give No Strings Attached
one perfect Pomeranian out of 10.
On Campus:
Workshop
March 16 2PM
How to Make Animated GIFs
CATlab (Dickinson 235)
Performance
March 16 8PM
Concept and Direction: Gwen Welliver
Martha Hill, VAPA
Workshop
March 16 & 17 9-5PM
Dance MiniFest
Martha Hill, VAPA
Performance
March 17 4-6PM
Sage City Concert
Performing Silent Auction, Symphony No 1
by Mahler, and Tzigane for Solo Violin and
Orchestra, by Ravel
Greenwall, VAPA
Screening
March 19 2PM
Flaherty on the Road Video program: The
Environment Which Surrounds Us
Tishman Lecture Hall
Reading
March 20 7PM
Poetry Series: Lucie Brock-Broido
Tishman Lecture Hall
Lecture
March 19 2PM
Steve Grimmer
Ceramic artist Steve Grimmer discusses his
work.
Tishman Lecture Hall
Performance
April 3 8PM
Susquehanna String Band Concert
Deane Carriage Barn
Reading
April 3 7PM
Poetry Series: Monica Youn
Tishman Lecture Hall
Performance
April 5-6 8PM
Vinegar Tom
S tage performance about witch trials in
seventeenth century England reveals a feminist
critique of structural oppression.
Margot Tenny, VAPA
In the Area:
Performance
March 16 8PM
Balkan Beat Box
Balkan Beat Box brings its Mediterranean-
inected, globalized electronic sound to North
Adams.
MASS MoCA
Performance
March 22 8PM
Inatable Frankenstein
A visually and sonically driven performance
based on Mary Shelleys early life and her
novel Frankenstein.
EMPAC
Exhibition
Opens March 23
One Minute Film Festival 2003 2012
One-minute movies by dozens of artists flmed
in the last decade.
MASS MoCA
Exhibition
Opens March 23
Mark Dion: The Octagon Room
Dions installation inside a Brutalist style
bunker presents an abandoned offce
containing evidence of the past eight years.
MASS MoCA
Lecture
April 2 5:30PM
Clark Lecture by Claire Bishop: ~Re-
skilling, Repurposing, and Research in
Contemporary Art
Controversial theorist and CUNY art history
professor Claire Bishop discusses approaches
to knowledge and information in contemporary
art.
The Clark
Performance
April 5-6 10AM-7PM
Colin Gee: In the First Place...
Lecoq trained actor & principal clown
for Cirque du Soleil Colin Gee reframes
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (The Strife of Love
in a Dream), an Italian pastoral romance
published in 1499, in this extended video/
performance series.
EMPAC
people involved in the production who are
also involved in the administrative side.
80 Days is the second production
in Oldcastles inaugural theatrical season
for their new location, but the experience
will feel brand new even for returning
audience members thanks to Oldcastles
fexible space; the theater`s seating is
built in modular blocks designed to be
rearranged. The stage for 80 Days is in an
entirely different location than it was in
Northern Boulevard, and the production
team is still experimenting with different
seating arrangements. 'We changed where
140 seats go in less than three hours. If you
think about how long it takes to change
Lester Martin- that`s a truly fexible space,
and we did it with four people.
~We`re really happy you`re here.
Arts organizations of all sizes share
a common worry regarding the glacial
demographic shift which has been
observed across disciplines over a stretch
of decades. Peterson is blunt on the matter:
'We`re really happy you`re here, and we`re
really happy the Bennington College paper
is covering us. First of all, we really want
college aged people to go to the theater.
The audience that goes to theater, that
goes to symphonic music, classical music,
dance, is... Old. It`s not older, anymore.
It`s old. Oldcastle`s marketing director
Elizabeth Stott informed the Free Press
that Oldcastle is planning to experiment
with 'tweet seats in the back of the theater
where youths (and hip adults) can use social
media on their phones during performances
(silently, of course). And they aren`t alone-
regional theaters across the nation and
organizations as prestigious as the San
Francisco Symphony are opening similar
programs in hopes in drawing more youths
to performances.
Residents of Bennington have
pinned similarly high hopes on the
theaters success as a means of drawing
more people downtown, and Oldcastle`s
management has not been shy in the past
about their hopes to act as an important part
of Bennington`s downtown revitalization.
The Better Bennington Corporation held
a cultural summit in February focused on
sustaining Bennington`s arts community
and using the arts to reinforce other local
economic initiatives, and Bennington
Selectman Greg Van Houten has begun
working in earnest on expanding
Bennington`s clout in the region as an
arts center. State Representative Brian
Campion is bullish on the theater`s
prospects and provided a statement to the
Free Press saying 'Oldcastle is a great
example of the thriving arts community in
Bennington. They do a tremendous job of
providing a range of theater opportunities,
and their new location is a great asset to
our downtown community.
Tuning In
As Oldcastle traverses its 41st consecutive
theatrical season, and its frst in a permanent
facility, the Company`s longevity in an
industry notoriously diffcult to stay
afoat in speaks to their most fundamental
strength- an ability to produce wonderful
theater consistently, creatively and
passionately. Peterson is confdent about
80 Days- and one imagines he should be
as the longest continuously serving artistic
director in the United States. 'I think it`s
the kind of play that people will have a
great time watching, but when they go
out of the theater theyll also talk about
it. They`ll have something to discuss and
they`ll fnd themselves thinking about it
not just 20 minutes later, but the next day-
and a couple of days after that, too.
(continued from page 10)
Around the World in 80 Days