Carnival fights calendar shift

Author: Adam Dede

After the administration's fall announcement that this year's Winter Carnival will be the last to enjoy a three-day weekend, student organizers working behind the scenes on the Carnival hope that a stellar showing at this year's celebration will prove to the Calendar Committee that this Middlebury tradition is worth saving.

The College's Calendar Committee, acting upon a May vote of the Board of Trustees and citing a recent decline in attendance at ski races, announced in October that it had re-allocated the traditional off-day in the Winter Carnival weekend to April as part of a student-led symposium. The decision, according to Secretary of the College John Emerson, followed a recommendation from the Strategic Plan to hold the Middlebury Student Research symposium on a day without classes.

Organizers of the Carnival, however, hope to revive this year's Carnival and reaffirm its traditional importance on campus. The Student Government Association (SGA) also plans to submit an appeal to the Calendar Committee to continue the tradition.

For organizers of the spring student research symposium, an event entering only its second year, the acquisition of an off-day provides potential for growth. But it also provides pressure. The College moved on the recommendation of the Strategic Plan after last spring's inaugural symposium yielded encouraging support and attendance. According to Assistant Professor of Physics Noah Graham, the off day allows the symposium's organizers an effective way to market the event as something more than thesis presentations and lectures, something that may allow it to build upon last year's success.

Still, with a revival of both the Northern Lights and snow sculpture events, organizers of this year's Carnival hope to recapture the magic of Carnivals past. To that end, this year's Carnival will not only have commons-based student-made snow sculpture, but visiting artist Michael J. Nedell, five-time Vermont state snow carving champion, and two-time national runner-up snow sculptor, will be on campus to create a sculpture of his own.

This year will also see new events, beginning with a bonfire and fireworks celebration Feb. 21 to kick off the Carnival. The kick-off celebration will begin at 8 p.m. and will take place in the space near Ross and McCardell Bicentennial Hall. There will also be an inter-commons broomball tournament.

With these new plans in place, organizers are excited to make this year's Carnival the best in many years, but the threat of melting snow is still a concern.

Nick Sohl '10 and Derek Sakamoto '10, members of the SGA Senate and Carnival Committee, brushed aside this fear. They said that in the event that lack of snow is an issue plans are already in place to truck in the white stuff from the Snow Bowl for the snow sculptures and move the broomball tournament inside.

The Winter Carnival has an 84-year history, making it the oldest and largest student-run carnival in the country. The athletic department organized the first carnivals to give the ski team a chance to compete closer to home, but in 1935, when the Middlebury Mountain Club took over, the Carnival started to grow with new events added every year for non-skiers - even a casino, added in 1939 to the Carnival line-up with the pricey entrance fee of 15 cents.

During World War II, Winter Carnival was put on hold, but it came back stronger than ever after the war with the return of ski coach Bobo Sheehan. Sheehan brought with him several GI ski troopers, who attended Middlebury thanks to G.I.-bill and led the team to a top finish at the first National College Ski Championships held at Sun Valley in 1948.

Even in off years, Middlebury has historically faired well at Winter Carnival. In 1975, after poor performances at both the UVM and Dartmouth Carnivals, Middlebury's men's team was counted out of the running for the second place finish needed to advance to the NCAA competition. However, in a surprise turn of events Middlebury captured a very close second, losing to Dartmouth by fewer than five points.

"Middlebury's spirit helped coaches Bower, Brush and Kelton retain Middlebury's reputation of an excellently run Carnival," wrote Blair Childs, former reporter for The Middlebury Campus.

Outside the Bowl, traditions on campus were almost as ingrained as the races. From the very first Carnivals, snowshoe, cross-country ski and toboggan races turned into what were known as the Northern Lights, which were relay races of student teams competing for vastly varying prizes in all sorts of categories.

Snow sculpture was also a major staple of Winter Carnival, with students working in teams to create massive sculptures around campus. Both of these traditions have been, in large part, lost due to a five-year period in the 1980's in which the campus was devoid of snow.

Dean of the College Tim Spears commented that if people get out and show support for the Carnival, then a reinstatement of the day off is not out of the question.

"My sense about this is that people will be open to a smart proposal, and I think there are a lot of people who care about Winter Carnival," said Spears. Spears went on to note that where the extra day for Winter Carnival will come from will be the main issue, since the administration is unlikely to give up on the spring student research symposium. The leading possibility is to shorten the final examination period, which is the longest in the NESCAC, by one day.

In the end, however, the main thing that will save the Carnival will be students getting out and showing support for it.

"It's a day off to go out and enjoy yourself, and it makes Middlebury much more unique," said Sakamoto.

According to Sohl, the bottom line is just getting people out to the races and to the various events.

"The more people [that] go out, the more fun you're going to havesaid Sohl.