When he came to Colby, he saw a remarkable level of concern on the campus about the war, Burkart says. While there were mistakes made by the administration, he says, there were things of great integrity that were done. "One of the interesting things was that to make a gesture of good will they officially funded a position for a draft counselor," Burkart recalled. "That was me."

Then a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Burkart said he feels he was well treated at Colby, that the administration then "did as good a job as could be expected. They were terribly difficult situations with no precedent set."

In fact, several alumni from that era say they would do some things differently if they could relive those years. Walter Effron '70, a former Echo editor, now owner of a bookstore in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., says he regretted personalizing some of his disagreements about the war. Anthony Maramarco '71, a Boston investment counselor who worked as Strider's assistant after graduating, says he was put off by the arrogance of some of the anti-war activists at the College. But he also regrets not participating in the student strike and not opposing the Vietnam War more vocally at that time. "I was one of those people who–I'm not going to say I was dead wrong about it–but one who has really regretted for over thirty years now that I never was more vocal than I was about that," Maramarco said. "That's one thing that has almost haunted me since I left Colby."

For others, the anti-war years at Colby were an opportunity to grow in ways that a purely academic education could not have afforded. Katz, who organized marches and vigils in downtown Waterville, says she learned political organization, "the whole idea of how to approach change, how to move people."

Ken Eisen '73, a Waterville cinema owner and film critic, says the drive to effect social change was a passion, one that permeated many students' lives. Eisen, who was arrested during a sit-in outside the Justice Department in Washington, teaches film part-time at Colby. He says he doesn't think today's Colby students have the same belief in their own power to change the world. "I don't think they have the feeling that we had, that they can make those kinds of changes that we felt we could make, and we did make in some ways. Of course we all know the places where we failed. But the implicit thought behind all of the actions that we did was that we somehow were going to affect the world. . . . Having that feeling was crucial."

And to some former students, it still resonates.

"I still remember it was just overwhelming to me," Effron said, in Poughkeepsie. "It was like suddenly the entire student body was of one opinion."

Said Orlov, in Montreal, "There was this sense that we had a mission and were gonna stop this war one way or another."

He said the upcoming anniversary of the Kent State shootings led him to contact Eisen recently and suggest some sort of gathering of the activists from that year at Colby. While nothing had come of it as of this writing, Orlov says the fact that the notion came up at all shows just how those times have stayed with Colby students of that era.

Burkart, the psychotherapist and former patrol boat gunner, says that though the experience left bittersweet memories, he still remembers the feeling that "we were on the cusp of some real transformation."

And has he had that feeling since?

"No," Burkart said. "Not at all."

But the memories are not all about camaraderie or even empowerment. Burkart says he left Colby disillusioned by institutions and only later came to realize that he had a lot of respect for the College and the way situations were handled. Pomroy, the Maine lawyer, still feels ambivalent about Colby and in hindsight feels her activism should not have been discouraged. "I was a very peaceful, benign individual just struggling with national and world events, and why I couldn't do that and be encouraged, it was beyond me. I couldn't figure out where I was going wrong."

Pomroy recalled Strider's comment that the strike diminished the Colby degree earned by the Class of 1970. Strider, meanwhile, says he feels he and the Board of Trustees and other administrators simply did the best they could in the context in which they had to operate. Students' anger was justifiable, he says. "The administration was in charge so they attacked the administration," Strider said. "I don't blame them for that at all. I don't blame anybody for much of anything."

And revisiting that turbulent time?

"It's certainly not something to ignore or sweep under the rug," he said. "It's a very important period, though a rather painful one."

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