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Academics
 Curriculum and Areas of Study
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Athletics, Fitness, and the Great Outdoors at Bennington
Glorious fall day--crisp, sunny. Out at the soccer field, the game is on. "It's a game of fast explosions," says Billy Ulmer '05, Assistant Director of Student Life. "Suddenly you'll see two of them sprinting down toward the goal. One of them chips it up to the other to set up the shot, the ball sails up, and the other one dives horizontally to bounce it off their head straight into the goal. And they all celebrate like it's Chile vs. Ecuador." Chilly autumn evening--the sun's disappearing behind the mountains. Students are wandering out from dinner, and an evening of books or canvases or computers awaits them--but not before a pickup game of dodgeball. By the time the game really gets going, there are dozens of people laughing and hurling balls at each other in the near-darkness. "These people are foaming at the mouth," says Sam Clement '08, a self-proclaimed "half-jock, half-musician" who helps coordinate intramurals at Bennington. "The way they get involved...it's really fun and really wild. Everybody's invited to play, and you see sides of people that you've never seen before--where all you can say is 'Hey, I didn't know you had an arm like that.'" Soccer and dodgeball not your thing? No problem. Here's an overview of the many ways Bennington students keep their heart rates up. The Outing Club With trips organized throughout the year by a staff advisor and a student board, the Outing Club offers a range of outdoor adventures for students of all skill levels. "You can be brand-new to something and still participate," says advisor Lorin Alder '01, Assistant Director of Student Life. "On the horseback riding trip, we had people who had been riding and taking lessons for years, and people who were afraid of horses, trying it out for the first time. We try to make the trips open to everyone." New connections with other college Outing Clubs, including those at Marlboro and Williams Colleges, enable Bennington students to meet other students in the area and explore even more of the region. In addition to organizing trips, the Outing Club rents out gear (including tents, snowshoes and head lamps) to students wishing to strike out on their own. They also distribute trail maps of several beautiful Green Mountain hikes--among them a local segment of the Appalachian Trail, treks to ponds, and hikes with picturesque mountain views. The Outing Club is also involved in the pre-orientation trips, in which first-year students come to campus a few days early and participate in a hiking or canoeing trip before orientation begins. Says Jackson Emmer '09, publicity coordinator for the Outing Club: "By the time you get to orientation, you've already made some friends. And after being in the woods for a few days, the campus feels a little more familiar." Outing Club activities include:
Intramurals Just as open as (and even more spontaneous than) the Outing Club excursions are the intramurals activities. Student intramurals coordinators organize three to four activities per week, structured so students can pop into a pickup game whenever time allows--or whenever they most need a study break. "It's really accessible," says Sarah Walcott, Assistant Director of Student Life. "There's something for everyone, and if there's anything a student wants to see that we're not currently offering, it's really easy to come in and suggest it." Fanatics of particular games--basketball and dogeball currently have the greatest followings--can sign up to be notified by phone when a game is approaching. Intramurals activities include:
Meyer Recreation Barn (fitness center) The Rec Barn houses weight machines and cardio equipment, hosts Pilates and yoga classes, and boasts a sauna to boot. This is the place to go if you're looking to hop on the elliptical trainer or beef up your biceps. However, the Barn's most immediately striking feature might be the rock climbing wall, which was redone with new climbing holds earlier this year. With weekly Beginners' Nights and Intermediate Nights, students of various skill levels show up for instruction in knot-tying and technique--and plenty of climbing time, with monitors on duty for belaying. Mondays are Women's Nights, with two female monitors. The Rec Barn includes:
Soccer team "The soccer team is definitely the most structured and competitive activity," says Walcott. "But again, it's the kind of thing where anyone can be involved. There's a wide range of skill on the team, both people who were thinking of playing competitively in college to those who've never played before this fall and just wanted to try it. It's really welcoming." That doesn't mean the play is any less intense, though. "A lot of us are very serious about soccer," says Kate Ritter '08, assistant coach. "A good quarter of the team has been playing at least five years, some of us since we were kids. We do have a lot of advanced thought when it comes to play and strategy." Though the team, which is coed, is not part of a formal intercollegiate league, it plays other college teams from the region throughout the fall months. Practices are held three times a week, and the team usually has one game (sometimes two) per weekend, at home and away at other colleges. Skiing and snowboarding Several excellent ski resorts are within driving distance of the College. The Outing Club organizes occasional ski excursions subsidized by the Office of Student Life, but you can also venture out to the slopes on your own. Stratton Mountain, Bromley Mountain, and Mount Snow all offer special discounts to students. The Bennington campus When you're really pressed for time and just need to get outside, the simplest kind of activity is right outside your door. "We have this big, beautiful campus to run around on," Clement says. A walk or run up to Jennings music building and back, passing the pond and grassy fields along the way, refreshes your body and clears your head in twenty minutes. And walkers and joggers, take note: You are going to love the fresh air we've got up here. In addition to all the regular activities, this week--October 23-29--is Wellness Week at Bennington. The week will include a triathlon, additional activities like a day hike and tai chi classes, a Dining Halls meal with an extra emphasis on healthy and locally grown food, and several health practitioners--including a Thai massage therapist, a chiropractor, and a nutritionist--offering their services to students downstairs in the Commons building. More:
Click here to browse the archive of campus feature stories.
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