German house gears for move

Author: Emily Thompson

Six lucky students will move into the newly located and improved German House and Max Kade Center at the start of next semester. The German House, the first academic house to have been established on campus, will also be the first language house to possess a permanent residence. Previously located at 99 Adirondack, the German House will now occupy the former Ross Commons' Deanery, next to the Blue Hen. The new location brings the German House closer to the both the French and Arabic houses on Franklin Street as well as the Portuguese house on College Street. Though there had been hopes of moving the German House to Franklin Street in order to create an "Embassy Row," this plan was cast aside when the Deanery became a viable option.

In 2003, Dean of Language Schools and Schools Abroad and Professor of German Michael Geisler submitted a proposal to the Max Kade Foundation for the creation of a new German House. The Kade Foundation is an organization that supports German institutions and education programs throughout the nation. The Kade Seminar Room located in the basement of Pearsons is evidence, right here on campus, of such nurturing of German studies. The foundation also supports the German Department and the summer language school. Due to its generous donation, as well as additional funding from Middlebury, the new permanent German residence was made possible.

Though the former house was inarguably suitable, Assistant Professor of German and German House Advisor Bettina Matthias hopes that the new house will attract more students and will allow the department to host traditional German events that were simply too big for 99 Adirondack. Due to its larger size, the department hopes to offer bigger dinners, more screenings and parties.

The new house includes four bedrooms, including two doubles, a large common room in the back, an eat-in kitchen, two porches and an apartment for the teaching assistant. Previously, the teaching assistant, who is generally from Mainz in West Germany, had to hold meetings in his kitchen or somewhere else on campus. In the new house, the assistant will have his or her own small office adjacent to his or her bedroom. The house will also be completely handicap accessible, with a handicap bathroom and elevator lift.

The German Department hopes that the house will be completed by May in preparation for the summer language school, when the German director will occupy the house. Because of the hype surrounding the new house, the number of applicants increased significantly this year. Like many of the language houses, the students who live in the house will all speak German in varying degrees of fluency. The German House aims to provide a more comfortable living residence and a conducive learning environment for all German speakers.