A Just Cause
I am highly encouraged by the recent article on Brendan O'Donohoe '99 ("A Soldier's Story," spring 2004) and the lively debate that is taking place on these pages concerning Middlebury's relationship to our armed forces. Although I am personally offended that someone would refer to me or any of my soldiers as "cannon fodder," I recognize that open discussion is one of the freedoms I defend and that it is required in order to reconcile the role of the military in 21st-century American society.
For four years I have served proudly as an Army infantry officer and am currently deployed to Iraq with the 25th Infantry Division. I volunteered, knowing that I might be sent into harm's way, because I feel that it is my duty to pay the United States back for all of the opportunities I have enjoyed. Military service has opened my eyes to the tremendous sacrifices that soldiers are asked to make every day. I have also gained insight into the difficult choices that military leaders grapple with as they try to guide their forces while balancing military objectives and political requirements.
If the Middlebury College community wants to have a say in the direction of this nation's military, graduates must not shy away from service. Military duty is not an easy choice. Physical danger is a constant reality here in Iraq. Even harder is the emotional strain of being separated from my wife, friends, and family. I worry about the rockets that smash into my camp and regret all of the weddings, birthdays, and holidays that I can't be a part of. However, when a fellow Middlebury grad asked me recently whether I had made the right choice when I joined the Army, he got me thinking that I definitely did. I have been given immense responsibility and learned many difficult and important lessons that I will carry with me long after I leave the military. Perhaps most important, I do not see the military as a frightening monolithic entity. Like any organization, it is made up of individuals doing their best to do what they think is right.
In order to ensure that the U.S. military continues to represent all citizens, I encourage the College community to take a fresh look at its relationship with our armed forces. The military is constantly in need of able leaders to help guide it—and who better to bring their considerable talents to the job of shaping the military of tomorrow than Middlebury graduates.
Daniel G. Nelson '98
Captain, U.S. Army
Kirkuk, Iraq
Report for Duty
Where does America find men like U.S. Army Captain Brendan O'Donohoe '99 ("A Soldier's Story," spring 2004)? He and his comrades are due our thanks and our gratitude for their service; the same measure is due to his family for standing by his choice to become an Army Ranger, and to his sister, Nuala O'Donohoe '04, the author of the story, for providing a context of place and time for the man and the war fighter. I understand his family's concern for his safety: my son is an Air Force officer.
I was less satisfied with the sidebar, "All That You Can Be?" No doubt statistics somewhere show that most college graduates don't consider a military career. And I don't doubt that few at Middlebury express an interest in soldiering as a "post-Middlebury job choice." But after raising the question, the answer remains a mystery to the writer and not a very interesting one at that. Perhaps the question should be, Why doesn't Middlebury attract more people like Captain O'Donohoe?
The fact that Middlebury hasn't offered an ROTC program for more than a generation could be one reason. Military service isn't an easy post-graduation choice. Either you're prepared for it, or you start at the bottom. If the College didn't offer a premed program, aspiring physicians might choose another school for their undergraduate work. And I think there's another, more subtle reason. I call it the "Preferred Admissions Profile."
For the past 20 years, I've served on the Alumni Admissions Committee. Each year I receive a sheet listing the characteristics desirable in a Middlebury student. Each year I interview applicants and try to discern those qualities: tangible (and if possible dramatic) evidence of talent, leadership, working with the poor, tutoring slow learners, entrepreneurial spirit, and so forth. The list doesn't change much. Nor do the interviews. The ideas and sentiments expressed to me are commendable and predictable. These kids are smart. They know what's expected, and they deliver. I'm not sure they believe it. I'm not sure I do. I can't prove it, but I suspect that many of them don't dwell in the same moral universe as the people who write the specifications for "New Faces." They have a harder edge. Perhaps it's a generational issue—Woodstock versus Abercrombie.
They pretty much tell me what their predecessors told me the year before. Our discussions are high minded and politically correct—like spending an evening with Bill Moyers. I've never met an applicant that wanted to be a military officer. Perhaps word has filtered down to high school guidance counselors that aspiring military leaders are not going to be on the Early Decision List at Middlebury.
The American military attracts a group of talented people with diverse backgrounds. Middlebury does itself and them a disservice by actively or passively selecting them out of its undergraduate admissions. This raises a question: What role should an elite institution play in educating some of the people who might determine the future of America? Given the state of the world, they'd better be the best we can make them, whoever does it.
During World War II, a young man by the name of Daniel Patrick Moynihan graduated from Middlebury's Navy V-12 Program. Maybe it's time that Middlebury reported for duty and prepared young Americans to lead in war again.
George Logan '61
Macon, Georgia
Activism's Roots
I read with dismay the letters of some of my more senior fellow alums regarding Ms. Morton's article on Howard Dean (winter 2004). Regardless of whether or not Middlebury Magazine's coverage of the issue was slanted, and regardless of Governor Dean's personal or political, failings, I would expect that more of the people who wrote critical letters would recognize, as Peter Odell (M.A. Spanish '66) did, that Howard Dean's campaign offered a great deal to many folks who previously were politically uninvolved.
I worked on Governor Dean's campaign in his headquarters in Burlington. I did not agree with every decision that the campaign made, but I do think the experience was enormously beneficial—for me and many others. Prior to the campaign, I was apolitical. The campaign provided me with a job, a lot of new friends, and an excellent lesson in civics.
I welcome and encourage further discussion and debate on the political ramifications of the Dean campaign, but I hope those critical of the campaign will not discourage young people from becoming politically involved.
Zachary Manganello '03
Shelburne, Vermont
The Big Picture
This spring's Middlebury Magazine included three letters responding to "Running with Dean" from the winter issue. I was quite taken aback by the comments made in these letters; it seems the authors missed the point of what Middlebury students and alumni were doing by devoting their efforts to Dean For America (DFA). As a recent Middlebury graduate who spent the fall volunteering for DFA, I was shocked to see that the alumni who authored these letters focused most of their attention on the "shallow" character of Dean and the "failure" of the campaign, rather than on the powerful grassroots movement that it grew to become.
I spent my spring term working on an independent project that reflected on the time I spent with the DFA campaign. Much of what I wrote focused not on partisan politics (as was suggested in one of the previous letters), but rather on the empowerment young people experience as a result of working with others who share a common goal for the greater good: the importance of involvement and interest versus apathy! Have alumni forgotten what it is like to be in college, how current politics and nationwide grassroots movements can ignite a flame in younger generations that rarely manifests itself elsewhere? It wasn't Howard Dean himself who motivated me to go to work in South Burlington each week, spend weekends canvassing in New Hampshire, spend my Wednesday evenings at Middlebury Union High School at the Meetups; it was the power of DFA, the grassroots movement itself, the conversations I had with young staffers and elderly volunteers that did. My involvement with DFA has been a major inspiration for me in choosing a career for next year. In August I will begin a year with Green Corps, organizing grassroots environmental campaigns.
I think this is the point Middlebury Magazine should want to make: We are young, involved, and no, it's not about Middlebury's support for Dean, or Kerry—it's about Middlebury students following their hearts, a movement in the making, a nationwide campaign that changed the way young people see politics, campaigns, and the power of the people.
Nina Cotton '04
New Canaan, Connecticut
Right On, Wong!
It was terrific to see your coverage of the innovative Dean presidential bid ("Running with Dean," winter 2004), even though it arrived at a bittersweet time, as the campaign bogged down.
I know you could not have covered all Middlebury alums who were active, but I just wanted to extend kudos to Raam Wong '02, who tirelessly worked for Dean in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Raam was articulate, passionate, and an energetic organizer working with all of us "60s activists" in tiny Gilmanton, New Hampshire. Thank you, Raam, and all others who are actively engaging in the political process at this crucial time in our country.
Anne Harris Onion '69
Gilmanton, New Hampshire
To Recap
I'm sorry the magazine felt the need to gut—rewrite, actually—my letter ("Got Republicans?" spring '04) regarding the Howard Dean campaign, leaving only one word, "impractical," to convey the point I was gently and subtly trying to get across: that I considered Governor Dean's tunnel vision "to take back the country"—an electorate split virtually 50–50 in it's support/nonsupport of President Bush—arrogant and out of touch, if not alarming.
I appreciate the zeal of his young adherents with time on their hands before having to face the "real world," i.e., earning a living. In 20 years or so, most will likely be husbands, wives, or parents with an entirely different outlook.
Virginia Anthony Soule '49
New London, New Hampshire
Editors' Note: The phrase "… his populist,idealistic, impractical crusade 'to take back the country' " in Ms. Soule's original letter was edited to read "… his idealistic yet impractical crusade 'to take back the country.' "
Just Say No
I enjoyed reading the profile of Arch Tilford '36 in the fall 2003 issue ("Gone Fishin'"). I've had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with him over the years, sitting on splintery bleachers in the highschool gymnasium. Arch is one of the most loyal fans a team could want.
But I was stunned when I read an article in the local paper telling of Arch's grandiose scheme to get the town to rebuild the Three Mile Bridge! After more than 50 years, the Otter Creek wetlands surrounding the crumbled remains of the old bridge piers have become a peaceful haven for wildlife, often flooded all the way up Creek Road in the spring. I'm afraid this is a preposterous bit of naïve nostalgia just for the sake of an old memory. No one will build another picturesque covered bridge there again. It would be far too expensive to build and limited in its use. A wide new concrete monstrosity would be horrifying to see in such a lovely pastoral location. The hidden costs to taxpayers are as enormous as the environmental costs. This crossing would dangerously expose the College to additional traffic around the campus.
Mr. Tilford's reputation as a fisherman is legendary. Shame on him for wanting to disturb the waterway!
Jacqueline Ogden English '69
Middlebury, Vermont
From the Editor
Middlebury Magazine learned in May that the publication had received a gold medal as one of the best college and university general-interest magazines, by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.
For the last seven years, the magazine has placed among the top three in the country in CASE's general-interest category, which considers all aspects of a magazine—content, editing, design, photography, and print quality. The 2004 award is the second gold medal for general excellence the magazine has received; the first was in 2002. Last year, Sally West Johnson's profile of Judge William Sessions '69 ("Who is Bill Sessions," winter 2003) won a gold medal in the Best Articles of the Year category.
In addition to the CASE medal, the magazine also won a merit award from the Society of Publication Designers for a photograph by New York City-based photographer Bob Handelman, of Middlebury students playing water polo ("Northern Exposure," fall 2003). Middlebury Magazine was one of only five college and university magazines recognized in a field dominated by more than 100 commercial titles such as National Geographic and Vanity Fair.
-- Matt Jennings