The public lives of Midd tour guides

Author: Katie Washburn

A tour guide, casually walking backwards on the path next to Warner, points to Twilight Hall. "Students always complain about having classes in this brick building," she says with a smile. "They say it's so far away." Several parents laugh, but a student walking near the group turns to the group. "It is, though," he declares before hurrying ahead to his class.

Everyday at ten and two o'clock, large groups of high school students and their families shuffle out of Emma Willard House to see Middlebury College from a student's perspective. These campus tours are intended to bring the College to life and are often cited as making or breaking a student's decision about the school.

Traversing the vast campus, while touting the first-rate academic and extracurricular activities, the task of presenting Middlebury in a one-hour walk can be daunting. The work is made all the more difficult by the wide variety of questions guides field about campus life.

"No one tries to answer questions in a specific way, especially in regards to drugs and alcohol," says Tour Guide Coordinator Jessica Cox '07.

"I have definitely fielded some uncomfortable questions in my time as a tour guide," says Co-Coordinator Amanda Goodwin '07. "I think the key to tackling these situations is to be diplomatic and not feel compelled to share any highly personal information that makes you feel uncomfortable."

The tours are overflowing with facts largely unknown to the real students of the College, except maybe for those who remember their own admissions tours. Like clockwork, the guides note that Parton Health Center used to be a fraternity house, McCullough was once the fitness center and Hepburn was originally yellow as they pass by the campus landmarks. The tours explain why we have Alaskan salmon and that Coffrin was designed by a man named Barnes, hence its shape.

The average tour begins by walking from Emma Willard House to the Center for the Arts, strolling through McCullough Student Center, stopping by a room in Stewart Hall, witnessing the magic of the Mongolian wok in Ross Dining Hall and gazing through the Great Hall's massive window in McCardell Bicentennial Hall. The tour finally loops back in front of Battell Hall and down to the New Library before returning the group to Emma Willard House.

But do the campus tours provide an accurate picture of the College?

"We ask the tour guides to be diplomatic in their answers, but not say things that aren't true," says Cox.

Prospective students disperse into the parking lot after the tours with clear opinions of the school written on their faces. Admissions employees urge all visiting students to go on tours, stating it is the best way to get the true feeling of the campus.

"Our tour guide program is unique in that we don't have a scripted tour, which is different from most colleges, in that students have freedom in what they say," says Cox.

Statements such as "Hepburn has lots of suites," and, "There's always something to do on the weekends here," sometimes seem improvised to fit what the guide thinks the tour wants to hear. Shadowing a tour this past week, I found myself answering questions with an elated view of my school. Despite the fact that I had recently had a conversation with friends about how the small population of Middlebury is at times stifling, I boldly stated to a prospective student that no, students don't feel claustrophobic here.

"We do our best to keep it as realistic as possible while always shedding Midd in a good light," says tour guide Alex Glaser '07.

The tours always highlight the more interesting and quirky elements of the campus: the panini maker at Proctor, the co-ed freshman dorms, the Feb program.

While the student tour guides are not paid for their work, there are perks to the job - particularly the occasional celebrity tour.

Cox recently led actory Michael J. Fox and his son around campus on a private tour.

"Both Michael J. Fox and his son were very nice," she says, "Fox was asking about the College's film department and his son wanted to know about about biology."