Inside the bubble Feb life at the College

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It is late into February and while the class of 2011.5 has only just started settling into Middlebury, Senior Co-Chair of Feb Orientation Patch Culbertson '08.5 has already started e-mailing back and forth with the Early Decision admits.

Culbertson and fellow co-chair Becca Cobbs '08.5 work in tandem with Associate Dean of the College Karen Guttentag and Feb Orientation leaders to adjust Febs to life at the College, starting with mass e-mails to Febs and their parents in December.

Culbertson acknowledges that many Febs have a difficult time, at least initially, adjusting to a larger September-admit first-year class which has already had a semester to bond. "The Febs who are put in freshman housing adapt the best," he said. "And then you also have the Febs who are living in Starr surrounded by juniors," Culbertson added, citing such potential isolation for Febs as one of the reasons the orientation leaders work to promote Feb- Reg integration throughout the entire spring semester.

"One of the original intentions of the Feb program was to fill beds that were opened by juniors who were going abroad, so I don't think you can resolve the housing situation," Culbertson said, putting the onus on the leaders whom he and Cobbs began selecting in October 2007.

Despite the hurdles surrounding the potential isolation of Febs during their first semester and their integration with the September-admits of the same year, Culbertson remains a proud Feb.

"The success of the program is built off the enthusiasm and dedication of Karen Guttentag, the Feb co-chairs and leaders," said Culbertson. "It's students investing in students."

Despite attempts by Feb leaders and the administration to make the social transition for Febs as smooth as possible, many Febs still find difficulty integrating themselves into Middlebury's social scene. Some turn towards the social houses for an opportunity to find their social niche at the College.

Jessica Tietjen '08.5, a member of Omega Alpha (The Tavern), had to take a semester off before coming to Middlebury in order to make money to help pay for college. She also saw more abstract benefits to taking a semester off before college. "That semester was a good time to refresh and regroup," she admitted.

Her first semester at Middlebury, however, Tietjen found it hard to find a social group within the community. "I didn't really mesh with any of the Febs in my class in particular, and it was hard to integrate into all of the freshman Reg cliques," she said. After going to a few parties alone her first semester in order to meet new people, Tietjen decided to rush a social house the next fall. "I was determined to meet new people, which is why I pledged Tavern," she said.

Middlebury students are not allowed to rush social houses until the first semester of their sophomore year, which gives Febs an advantage as they have the opportunity of one more semester in a social house than their Reg counterparts. Tietjen admitted that this is a benefit to being a Feb, as she found the extra semester in the house advantageous in creating a more cohesive social circle. That extra semester in the house also gives Febs two chances to run for president or vice president of social houses, as leadership positions in Middlebury social houses run from the middle of the academic year to the next."It's done this way so that the new president can get help from the old one," said Tim Reed '08.5, president of Omega Alpha from Nov. 2006 to Nov. 2007. The transition process becomes much easier."

As a Feb, Reed did not have an extremely difficult time adjusting to Middlebury. "I was lucky. I was in a good place socially because I had nine other Febs on my hall," he said. "Joining a social house just expanded my network of friends and helped me make friends with more Regs," he said.

Reed admitted that an extra semester gives Febs social and leadership benefits that Regs do not have. "Regs can't pledge their second semester, so the whole social house experience is enhanced for Febs [who can]" Reed said. "I'm in favor of second semester pledging for freshman Regs because it's actually unfair that this is something only Febs can enjoy."

While the academic problems Febs encounter by matriculating a semester behind Regs may be minimal in many instances, this is perceived by many to present a major obstacle for many Febs wishing to take a foreign language their whole time at Middlebury, particularly those wanting to study abroad. Chair of the German Department Roman Graf described the problem language departments face. "It is clearly more burdensome for Febs to follow the 'regular' German track," he admitted.

Assuming they had no prior German experience, Febs would have to attend language school and would face difficuty in going abroad for a full year. "Theoretically, they could opt to go to Germany for the spring and then fall semesters of their junior year, but that leaves them with a summer to cover in between," a situation Graf describes as "manageable but not ideal." Graf suggested that such Febs could do an internship in the months between these semesters abroad.

The 'Turbo Deutsch' course offered each spring by the German Department is an accelerated course in which all of first-year German is taught in one semester. "It is partially designed to assist Febs to 'get on track,' but it is primarily for students who learn languages quickly," Graf said. Many first-year Regs decide to take their first semester to adjust to Middlebury before enrolling in 'Turbo Deutsch,' joining many upperclassmen who seek to gain a basic knowledge of the language. This leaves fewer spots for Febs who wish to start the language. "We noticed this trend this year and will adjust accordingly next year by having more spaces reserved for Febs and other first-year students," Graf commented.

Graf added that "most Febs who actually have gone abroad had some German prior to coming to Middlebury."

Tyler Lohman '08.5 did not consider being a Feb starting German at Middlebury to be a major problem for him academically. "I had no experience at all with German before I came to Middlebury," he said. "It's the funniest language in the world.

While on the 'Feb track' described by Graf, Lohman took 100 level courses his second and third semesters here, summer school for the 200 levels and then a full year of 300 levels before going abroad for one semester. While he admitted the commitment to such a schedule may appear daunting and intimidating for many Febs, he did not regret it for himself. "I felt like going to German school for 200 level allows you to learn the most of any of the levels," he said, adding that studying the language with no breaks "allowed me to see myself gain a foothold in the language and get to see an immediate progression."

"I would have liked to start German my first semester here," Lohman said, "but that was the only setback for me.

Natalie Sammarco '08.5 has taken Chinese at Middlebury since her second semester and studied abroad in Hangzhou, China in the spring of 2007. Sammarco was not originally excited when she learned she would have to enroll in Middlebury as a Feb. "I was so excited to be accepted to Midd and then I read the second line and was like, 'I'm matriculating in February? I want to be there in September with everyone else!'" she said.

Sammarco explained that she checked the option which allowed the admissions office to choose whether to admit her as a Reg or Feb, explaining, "I didn't want to not be accepted [to Middlebury] but I didn't put much thought into the Feb program."

Sammarco had studied Latin and Ancient Greek in high school, but was ready to start a new language. "I had never taken a language seriously and with the purpose of speaking it," she said. "I took Chinese because I wanted a challenge. I had heard of Midd's reputation for C
hinese so I thought, why not be taught by the best?"

Sammarco was glad that she started it after she had a semester to adjust to Middlebury's work load. "Fourteen freshman dropped right away because of the work load and I probably would have quit if I thought college was going to be all work and no play."

In Sammarco's case, studying a language and being a Feb put her at a financial disadvantage from many of her classmates. "I was forced to do Middlebury's summer language school in order to not go abroad my senior year," she said. "That was more than $10, 000 of tuition."

Overall, Sammarco is happy she pursued Mandarin as a Feb but admits it has its challenges. "Because I took a language as a Feb," she said, "I studied it straight from September 2005 to June 2007 with no breaks, which is very daunting."