Sleeping on the Job

by Lynn Sullivan '89


When the day ends and most faculty leave Mayflower Hill, 11 members of the community walk to their homes and their other jobs as faculty residents.

Faculty living in residence hall apartments offer a unique opportunity for Colby students, although at first some students are leery of their presence because of a misconception that they are disciplinarians or administration moles. They live on campus to foster a sense of community, elevate cultural understanding, provide a more intellectual atmosphere and give students a chance to interact with professors outside of the classroom.

Although not all faculty members can participate and not all students take advantage of the opportunities offered, those who do praise the program.

"Having Kerill in the dorm has broken down the stereotype that I had adopted of a college professor," said junior Grace Jeanes about Assistant Professor of Classics Kerill O'Neill, who lives with his wife, Judy Landers, in Treworgy Hall. "I thought they'd be unapproachable, quiet and only talk academics. Having him here has been a nice surprise."

Don Saucier, a junior from Westport, Mass., says that seeing professors as "regular people" is a positive experience. Saucier met O'Neill, he says, while watching a Monday Night Football game involving the Miami Dolphins. Saucier and his friends were reacting to the game boisterously when O'Neill walked in, silencing the group. When the Miami team made a mistake, says Saucier, O'Neill (a Dolphins fan) was visibly and vocally upset.

"We all thought, `He must be okay.' I think of Kerill as a friend now. I can talk to him about everything. I never feel that he's patronizing or intruding," said Saucier.

O'Neill, now in his third year living on campus, says that he gets as much back from the students as he and Landers give.

"There is an added closeness with the students," said O'Neill, who sometimes organizes discussions around school issues or Spotlight lectures. "We allow them to reach a different level, maybe have a discussion they never have had before. It is a casual, easy relationship."

Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Adam Weisberger, faculty resident in Goddard-Hodgkins, says he tries to do something formal once a month to help "elevate cultural respect in the residence hall."

Not all events are serious or organized. O'Neill says he has participated in a bowling night for charity, continues to watch football and will sometimes socialize in the lounge when students have gathered. In December, Weisberger hosted a Hanukkah party for the students and he often hosts discussions in response to Spotlight events. He says he regularly attends the hall's Thursday night study break to watch the TV sitcom Seinfeld and, like O'Neill, watches Monday Night Football with the students.

Assistant Professor of Spanish Alison Maginn and husband John O'Neill, director of the Colby in Cuernavaca program, have logged two years as faculty residents in Dana.

"It's been a fine experience for us," said Maginn, whose substance-free parties with Spanish and Latin American themes have become popular events for many Dana students. "I would have a different impression of Colby if I were just in the classroom. I admire [the students] more having lived with them."

Faculty who choose to live on campus admit to sacrificing a certain amount of privacy and quiet. "It can wear on you, being around 18- to 21-year-olds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Weisberger. "I get off campus to preserve my sanity. I am virtually certain of the fact that I have good relationships, though."

Maginn adds that one of the drawbacks of residential life occurs during the winter months when her ground-level apartment roof becomes a starting point for sledders. "Sometimes they forget we are below them, and we'll politely ask them to stop," she said. "When we decided to [be faculty residents] we were conscious of moving in on their terrain. We can't expect them to live like middle-aged professors so we try to be tolerant of [their lifestyles]."

The families of faculty become a part of the residential life as well. Maginn's daughter, Hannah O'Neill, 10, accompanies students on Friday afternoons when they take pets to area nursing homes for a Colby Volunteer Center program called Pet Therapy. "She loves the students," said Maginn. "To a 10-year-old, these are the coolest people in the world. She relates well with the kids. She knows more [students] than I do.

"Some of the students end up babysitting or going outside to play with Hannah," said Maginn. "There is a family atmosphere here; we bring a family and a bit of culture into this institution."

Some faculty residents become good friends with students they've met in the residence hall. "[Adam Weisberger] is one of my closest friends here at Colby," said Kara Marchant '97 of Lakeville, Conn. "We have similar personal situations and we can talk to each other. There is no question that I will always keep in touch with him. Plus, he makes a mean cup of tea when you're sick."


A Song for Joey
Joey McClain is perhaps as well known to Colby students for singing folk songs in the Coffeehouse as he is for making the menu in Foss dining hall. The popularity of the outgoing food services manager stems in part from greeting hungry students as they walk into the vegetarian-oriented dining hall and from playing his guitar at Colby any chance he gets.

In both cases, many students love to see him. And if it weren't for one of those students McClain, 37, said he would never have picked up a guitar.

"A Colby student heard me singing in the kitchen, and she said, 'Hey, why don't you sing with my boyfriend and me,'" McClain said. "Two days later, they came over to my apartment and we practiced." His new partner sold him a guitar and "I haven't put it down since," said McClain, who tries to play the guitar every day.

That was five years ago.

Since then, he has been the Foss dining hall manager for four years (he was a chef in Dana for two) and has played at Colby more than 13 times--at least five in collaboration with students. And if he wasn't playing, "I was helping them set up because I have my own P.A. system," he said.

"He's not a dining hall manager per se," said Sasha Cornell '96. "He's really more of a friend."

McClain's first concert, in Foss, was a tribute to El Salvador. He has often played at "open mike nights" and performed at the International Extravaganza in the Student Center last year.

He also has played throughout New England. After meeting folk singer Ellis Paul at a concert given in the Coffeehouse, McClain sang backup for him in Vermont. McClain said the Boston-based musician has been an influence. But criteria for that accolade is not limited to Paul.

"Anyone who makes magic when they sing inspires me," said McClain, who describes his music as folk with a twist of New Age jazz that combines rock, blues and jazz riffs. "If you've ever gotten totally lost in a song you'll know what I mean."

After a heavy snow storm last year, McClain said he was forced to spend the night in Foss. Students brought him a mattress, pillows and covers to make his stay in the dining hall more comfortable.

"We sang songs and told stories until two a.m.," he said. "I'm on campus even when I'm not working, and that opens up avenues for friendships."


Feud for Thought
Who ever said Colby was quiet during Jan Plan? In early January, Student Association, the Dean's Office, and the Non- Alcoholic Programming Fund coordinated a Colby faculty "Family Feud" game in the Page Commons Room at the Student Center. The well-attended event featured a "jock" team, comprised of various Colby athletic department coaches and administrators, and an "intellectual" team, made up of Colby professors from several disciplines.

The professors, captained by William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Government Sandy Maisel, took an early lead in the match. The jocks caught up quickly, however, led by captain Laura Halldorson, head coach of the women's varsity ice hockey team. The game went into extra rounds where, according to Andy Vernon '96, Chaplin Commons president, the coaches' team finally won. Vernon, who hosted a similiar event last fall, says the game is very popular with Colby students. "It was a feel-good event for everyone,"he said.
Get Out There
One of Colby's oldest student organizations is also its most popular, according to a recent opinion poll sponsored by the Student Association.

The Outing Club, founded in 1920, was selected by students as their favorite in the poll conducted in late February. Although the club sponsors cross country skiing, canoeing and kayaking trips throughout Maine, students said they would like to see the Outing Club even more active.

The Environmental Council, the Bridge and the Colby Volunteer Center also were among students' favorite organizations. 		Days and Knights
Ten years after their last appearance at Colby and 17 years after their performance in the movie Animal House made them an icon, Otis Day and the Knights returned to perform at a "toga party" sponsored by Student Association on March 4.

Lead singer Otis Day, whose rendition of Shout became a party anthem for a generation of college students, told the Echo he enjoyed his return visit to Colby and was happy that students had embraced his music, even if it took a movie to do it.


Kudos

Tamaura Kenton '95 of Baldwin, Md., was co-author of an article in the Journal of Molecular Biology about the gene isolation research in which she collaborated with three other scientists. The research stemmed from a project Kenton began during a Colby Jan Plan at Johns Hopkins University. She later presented her research at the 21st annual Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Conference on Undergraduate Research in Biology.

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