MIDDBRIEFS

Author: BEN SALKOWE AND THOMAS C. DRESCHER

Student leads walk for multiple sclerosis cure

On Sept. 7, 2004, Carrie Bryant was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). She had turned 19 only weeks earlier, and was just about to begin her first year at Middlebury. Instead, Bryant was in hospital rooms and doctors' offices throughout the semester as her physicians tried to manage her MS.

Bryant was forced to wait until February to begin college, joining the class of 2008.5.

Now, Bryant plans to commemorate the one-year anniversary of her diagnosis through "Carrie's Walk to Cure MS" on Oct. 15, an event she is organizing with her peers and professors at the College. The proceeds from the walk will go to benefit The Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis. Accelerated Cure Project is an effort to cure MS through research identifying its causes.

"This is something I felt that I needed to do," Bryant said in a statement released by Accelerated Cure Project. "Accelerated Cure Project gives me the best chance for a cure for MS. I connected with them because their model made sense to me - you can't figure out how to cure MS until you determine what causes it."

So far Bryant has raised more than $13,000 for the event. Organizers expect contributions to top $20,000, for an event that will become an annual tradition. The walk will be a 4.3-mile trail around the campus.

Bryant is continuing her studies at the College, and hopes to one day attend medical college to become a pediatric orthopedic doctor.



Grille Pub Night heats up Thursday evenings

Guest list woes aside, the College's on-campus social scene has recently received a major boost in the form of weekly pub nights at the Grille, courtesy of the Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB).

The first two pub nights were resoundingly successful, with droves of students turning up to enjoy live music and free beer in a safe, guest-list-free environment.

According to MCAB Grille Committee Member Brooke Lenci '06, the Grille has been underutilized as a social space in the past, but its decline as a prominent study spot, coupled with the recent introduction of burdensome liquor law reinterpretations, has inspired MCAB to work toward its revival as a social hub.

Lenci emphasized the Grille's utility as both a music venue and social destination, adding that plans are in the works to schedule additional weekly events featuring free smoothies, coffee and other treats. The MCAB Grille Committee's budget covers all related costs.

MCAB's designs are ambitious, but not unattainable, if the first two pub nights are any indication. "Our hope is that the Grille will eventually draw a crowd even when there isn't a huge event going on," said Lenci.

So far this year, Larson and the Level 3 Dungeon Masters have graced the McCullough stage while students have fraternized among themselves.

The next pub night is scheduled for Oct. 6, with a musical guest yet to be determined. Other upcoming pub night acts include off-campus bands Throwback (Oct. 13) and Alternate Routes (Oct. 27).