Midd Briefs Alvarez Honored, Internships Celebrated, Fleischer Anticipated

Author: [no author name found]

Alvarez Honored

At a Sept. 20 celebration held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., the Hispanic Heritage Awards Foundation (HHAF) honored five prominent Latin-Americans, one of whom was Middlebury College Writer-in-Residence Julia Alvarez.
Alvarez was in good company: Other recipients included singer Ricky Martin, Olympic champion Derek Para, entrepreneur Lisa Quiroz and Virgilio Elizondo, a Mexican-American theologian.
The prestigious Hispanic Heritage Awards are presented annually to Latin-Americans who "serve as an inspiration not only to the Hispanic community, but to all Americans," according to Dr. Pedro Jose Greer, Jr., chairman of the board for HHAF.
The celebration, which will be aired Oct. 12 on NBC as a one-hour television special, featured tributes and entertainment from a number of Hispanic celebrities.
Alvarez has won praise as a writer with three best selling novels: "How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents" (1991), "In the Time of Butterflies" (1994) and "!Yo!" (1996).
In the Time of Butterflies has recently been made into a film starring Salma Hayek.
Raised in the Dominican Republic and New York City, Alvarez's writing is inspired by her background as a Latin-American and her struggle to find herself as a writer.
In addition to writing inspiring and successful novels, Alvarez invites American students to stay on her coffee farm in the Dominican Republic, where they work alongside local residents and attend daily writing workshops.
As a writer-in-residence at Middlebury, Alvarez continues to write and educate.

by Thomas Drescher

Internships Celebrated

The "Celebrating Internships" Symposium presented on Oct. 1 in Bicentennial Hall featured various student, faculty and guest lecturers on student internship options both within the United States and abroad. The Career Services Office (CSO) succeeded in setting up a very well organized event for the student body. Student panelists discussed their diverse internships, including work abroad experiences, Wall Street opportunities and the chance to intern in the White House.
The symposium opened at 6:30 p.m. with presentations that continued until 9 p.m. in the evening. Bicentennial Hall's John A. Tormondsen '82 Great Hall space was used to great effect, with displays set up on a wide array of internship options, including programs in scientific research, health care, politics, business and the arts. Many speakers incorporated clips, photos, slide shows and other multimedia into their presentations. Members of the CSO staff were also available for questions and advice.
Student reactions to the event were mixed. A few students expressed appreciation for the program, whereas others claimed the evening was not helpful.

by Peter Viola

Fleischer Anticipated

A peace rally is scheduled to take place prior to a speech given by White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer '82.
The demonstration, objecting to an alumni achievement award bestowed upon Fleischer by the College, will convene in town two hours before the lecture. The demonstrators are then expected to hold a caandlelit vigil outside of Mead Chapel and read a letter from a local pastor, which outlines the complaints of the protestors.
The activists are protesting U.S. policy on Iraq, which they feel Fleischer has an integral role in developing. In particular, the demonstration's organizers are fearful of a unilateral military campaign against Iraq.
The ceremony and speech will begin at 8 p.m. on Oct. 13, with the rally beginning at 6 p.m.


by Daniel Polifka