The Winds Of Change Blow Ever Stronger Over...

This issue contains information frommany sources—the speech by MIT Presi-dent Vest at last fall’s annual dinner;remarks by Coach Frailey at the dedica-tion of an eight-oared shell in his name,also last October; a column byMIT’s new athletic director,Candace Royer (a mustread); information fromthe coaches about thecrews; a guest columnby Pete Peterson, a long-time contributor to row-ing at MIT; and an intro-ductory column by thechair of a new Friends ofCrew regatta committee that isintended to support the teams byencouraging alumni attendance at races.

Much is happening, and a great dealis at stake. Our message to you is that wemust be involved and we must stay in-volved for the long haul. The challengesthat have faced all athletics at MIT canbe addressed, but they will not be cor-rected in one year. (A column we hadhoped to include from Dean for StudentLife Benedict confirms his desire to in-crease the athletic department budget asa whole over the next several years.) Ourfinancial help and vocal support cancontribute significantly to enablingtoday’s undergraduates to have the bestpossible experience in competitive inter-collegiate rowing.

Director Royer’s column provides in-formation about the challenges facingcrew at MIT. You may not know that MITis an NCAA Division III school for manysports. Rowing has traditionally not beenan NCAA sport but rather regulatedunder the EARC and EAWRC. In recentyears, women’s rowing became anNCAA sport; men’s rowing still is not.Equally important, however, is the MITadministration’s perception of what is afair level of support for each sport.

We think crew is underfunded, espe-cially based on the number of partici-pants and the number of student hoursper year spent on training. Some wouldsay, however, that crew is overfunded

compared to other sports. Someask why the rowers should

work out all year. The con-cern has been raised thatthe demands of rowingmay be inconsistent withMIT’s academic focusand standards. Your inputto the MIT administration

on these issues is needed.We have told the administra-

tion that rowing complementsthe academic focus of MIT and that

rowers at MIT want to compete with theIvies in rowing just as they do academi-cally. Please add your voice.

One concern about supporting rowingis whether to support programs that arereduced to non-Sprint competition (seePete Peterson’s column). At this time, MITis considering whether to downgradewomen’s rowing further. We need to pro-vide all of the moral support we canmuster to emphasize to the MIT adminis-tration that this would be the wrongchoice. Do we stop supporting crew fi-nancially because of the uncertainty? Youmust make your own choice.

But be assured that the Friends Man-aging Committee is committed to encour-aging use of alumni dollars by MIT to en-able the students to compete at thehighest levels. We are working withDean Benedict and Athletic DirectorRoyer to update the agreement betweenFriends and MIT to support specific goals

Volume 19Number 1SPRING2001

A N E W S L E T T E R F O R T H E F R I E N D S O F M I T C R E W

REPORT FROM THE MANAGING COMMITTEEThe Winds Of Change Blow Ever Stronger Over Crew

The concern has beenraised that the demands of

rowing may be inconsistent withMIT’s academic focus and stan-

dards. Your input to the MITadministration on these

issues is needed.

(continued on page 10)

2 SQUARING THE BLADE

SQUARING

THE

BLADE

A NEWSLETTER FOR

THE FRIENDS OF MIT CREW

VOLUME 19 • NUMBER 1

MANAGING COMMITTEE OF FRIENDS

DUSTIN ORDWAY ’74, CHAIR

JOHN EVERETT ’76

JOAN WHITTEN MILLER ’80

JOHN MILLER, MEMBER EMERITUS

DIRECTOR OF CREW

VACANT

WOMEN’S ROWING

VARSITY HVY. & LT. COACH SUSAN LINDHOLM

NOVICE COACH BILL PATTERSON

MEN’S ROWING

VARSITY HVY. COACH GORDON HAMILTON

FRESHMAN HVY. COACH MIKE LANE

VARSITY LT. COACH IAN HUTTON

FRESHMAN LT. COACH ANTHONY BROCK

FRIENDS MANAGING COMMITTEE

[email protected]

LOUIS W. MAXSON ’44 notes that hisyoungest son, Bruce, was recently pro-moted to vice president and generalmanager of Verizon California Opera-tions. Louis fondly looks back on win-ning races and collecting shirts fromcrews that MIT beat. Send him bestwishes at 917 Taylor Ave., Godfrey, IL62035; [email protected].

Writes JOHN W. LEONARD ’47, “At areception and dinner with Lou Holtz inhis glory days at Notre Dame, he askedme where I went to school. I asked himhow many varsity sports Notre Damehad. ‘Eighteen,’ he said. I said, ‘We have40.’ ‘Incredible,’ he exclaimed. ‘Where isthat?’ I replied, ‘The jock center of thewestern world—MIT.’ ” Other of his mem-ories from his crew days are talking withWILD BILL REYNOLDS and beating Har-vard three times, Washington, California,Princeton, and Wisconsin. Greet John at1012 Wyndemere Dr., Boise, ID 83702.

IRWIN STERMAN ’55 resides at 15 In-dian Hill Rd., New Rochelle, NY 10804;[email protected].

“I have just retired from TRW AvionicsDivision in San Diego and have started anew career in the fiber optics communi-cation industry,” writes MIKE MYERS ’57(12947 Creek Park Dr., Poway, CA92064; [email protected]). He passesalong the following: “PAUL POLUSHUKis president of Information Gatekeeper inBrookline, Massachusetts.” His favoritememories include the trips made by trainto Dartmouth and Princeton. “I can stillsmell the spring down there in Princeton.Thanks to Jack Frailey for his great coach-ing. I still work out on my Concept IIevery day.”

Reports CLAUDIA W. BUSER ’81, aprocess engineering group leader, “Ihave been at Genzyme (Framingham)for five years. I have three children: An-drea (7), Alexander (5), and Ariel (2). Ican’t remember the last time I rowed acrew shell, but I have been canoeing inone or two New Jersey races with myhusband yearly. Also, we canoe withour children.” She well remembers row-ing against Columbia University in theHarlem River and her first Foot of theCharles race. Write Claudia at 12 West

St., Sudbury, MA 01776; e-mail: [email protected].

DAVID COPELAND ’81 was light-weight coxswain 1979-’80, and now he ischief thermal engineer of Showa Alu-minum Corporation in Japan. He marriedRika Watabe in December 1997, movedback to Japan in February 1998, had ason, Tsutermu William, born September1998, and joined Showa in March 1999.“I take frequent trips back to the U.S., justabout every month.” He’s crossed pathswith RUSSELL MURPHY ’82, who wasalso a lightweight and who is now assis-tant professor of economics at VirginiaTech. David enjoys looking back at beat-ing Yale in 1979 and remembering thesunny, calm mornings in the spring beforethe wind and the traffic would start. Healso enjoyed steering close to the buoysin the Head of the Charles. Write him at5-7-21 Nahakuki, Oyama-shi, Tochigi-ken 323-0806, JAPAN.

We congratulate BARBARA MES-SINGER-RANNERT ’81 on her promotionto associate staff of the internal medicinedepartment at the Cleveland Clinic. She isactive in research, clinical medicine, andteaching and has a special interest in geri-atrics. She volunteers at the ClevelandFree Clinic. Drop her a line at 5600Hawthorne Dr., Highland Heights, OH44143; [email protected].

SABRINA BERNOLD ’95 notes that sherecently began business school at Stan-ford. She has crossed paths with MEELANLEE, PRASHANT DOSHI, and BABAKAZAD-TATARI. Get in touch with Sabrinaat 680 Serra St., E478, Stanford, CA94305; [email protected].

As the 2001 spring racing seasongets under way, the newly formed Re-gatta Committee is looking for enthusi-astic members to support the MIT crewteams in their quest for victory. Formedto ensure a strong backing at regattas,the committee will provide a homebase for the rowers and alumni, com-plete with food and cheering section,at all home races and major awayraces. Check racing schedules for re-gattas in your area. If you are interest-ed in supporting the rowers by helpingout with the committee, please contactKaty Croff at [email protected].

MIT CREW: VOICES FROM THE PASTAlumni Update Us About Their Lives

HELP WANTEDRegatta Committee

Forms, Needs

Your Participation

The Master Eights (men), 1980 RowingClub, Massachusetts. John Everett ’76 isthe #7 seat.

SPRING 2001 3

By Cornelius “Pete” PetersonCEO NETsilicon Inc.Bldg. 227411 Waverley Oaks Rd.Waltham, MA 02452Tele: 781/398-4510Fax: 781/[email protected]

MIT is wrestling with thetough challenge of how to po-sition the crew program at MITwithin the new NCAA guide-lines. The current thinking is tomove the program from itspresent place in Division I toDivision III, which would seri-ously curtail the program andthe benefits to participatingstudents. There are significantthings at stake for MIT oarsmenand women that need to befully considered. Whatever isdecided regarding MIT rowing,some things must be pre-served, or, in my opinion, thenature of rowing and its abilityto add significant value to theMIT educational experiencewill be unalterably compro-mised and denigrated. Twothings that must be continuedare as follows:

• Rowing must continue tobe a yearlong experience andnot have the practice schedulesignificantly curtailed.

• The racing schedule mustcontinue to be with the EARC,IRA, and Ivy schools as it nowis and not be downgraded toDivision III schools.

Why do I feel this way? Theyearlong experience is neces-sary to develop the particularskills required for rowing andto forge the team bonds neces-sary for a true rowing experi-ence. Unlike many othersports, rowing has no heroesor high scorers who are themain ingredient for success. A

crew succeeds only when thewhole team works togetherand is bonded in commitmentand trust that each will give hisor her best and all. That spirit,understanding, and trust comesonly from long hours together,honing disparate skills into asingle machine. An abbreviat-ed schedule will not providethe environment needed forthat. At MIT I may have wonno races, but I came awayfrom the experience a far bet-ter man than I ever wouldhave been without the benefitof rowing.

The race schedule, whilefrustrating for some since wedon’t win many races, is aprivilege to be a part of. Losingthe races we did instilled inme a hunger for winning thathas fueled my career and keptme in rowing as a Masterscompetitive oarsman and, Imight add, as a winning one.What Division III oarsmanwouldn’t want to row in theschedule MIT now rows in?Why give it up? It’s unneces-sary. I don’t see MIT thinkingabout making the computerscience program a third-levelprogram and cannot compre-hend why any such considera-tion should be given to crew.

If rowing at MIT is moveddown to Division III, I know itwill not be many years beforethe program as we know it willhave disappeared. I’m surethat most alumni who activelysupport the sport at MIT todaywill find it difficult to continuesupporting a watered-downprogram. Rowing contributesto the educational experienceand growth of fully roundedmen and women. We need tobe strengthening crew, notcommitting it to a third-leveloutcome.

By Candace RoyerMIT Athletic Director

In January 2001, Deanfor Student Life LarryBenedict announced anew department headand director of athleticsfor MIT. As a long-timemember of the coachingand teaching staff andmost recently serving asthe director of physicaleducation and associatedepartment head in ath-letics, I was selected forthis position. May I takethis opportunity to leteach of you know that I

consider this appointment to be both an honor and aprivilege? I am enthusiastic about our future in the depart-ment, and I look forward to serving you and the MITcommunity in the years to come.

When Dustin Ordway and Joan Miller suggested that Iwrite a brief column for your newsletter, I was thrilledand quickly agreed. Not only do I have the chance to in-troduce myself to you, but I have the greater privilege ofinforming you directly about the issues facing our rowingprograms at this time.

Allow me to begin by saying that there is much workto be done. We wish to assure you, however, that we areworking daily on this situation. We believe in the fine tra-ditions of MIT rowing that have developed over a longand storied past, and we understand the passion of ourcurrent oarsmen and oarswomen to continue these tradi-tions. It is not our intention to dismantle or destroy any ofthem; however, the actions we take must reflect the bestinterests of all of our sports programs. We fear that thereis some confusion circulating just now, and I hope youwill bear with me as I attempt to sort out the facts.

At the NCAA National Convention in January 2001,legislation was passed that has the potential to affect ourrowing programs significantly. This legislation restrictsall Division III sports programs to a 21-week maximumpractice and competitive season. We would like to notethat MIT did not vote in favor of the 21-week restrictionon playing and practice seasons. In fact, we were partof a very small minority of schools that voted againstthis legislation.

Other legislation that was passed created a new Divi-sion III national-level championship for women rowers.These two pieces of legislation when combined result ina few changes: 1) they provide an option for our women

ABOUT MIT ATHLETICS AND CREW…MIT Rowing At A CriticalJuncture—Views Of AnOld Oarsman

Communication CrucialAs MIT Grapples WithNCAA Rule Changes

Candace Royer

(continued on page four)


rowers to take part in a divided cham-pionship, that is, one exclusively forDivision III rowing institutions; 2) theyrestrict the number of weeks that ourwomen can effectively be under the di-rect supervision of their coaches(formerly, 26 weeks, whichwas the EAWRC standard);which then, 3) calls intoquestion the efficacy ofour women’s crews re-maining in the EAWRC.

Many of you havewritten to me expressingyour grave concern aboutthese developments. First,you have said that MIT shouldcontinue to row as an EARC/EAWRC(Sprint) school, and you have explainedwhy this level of rowing is important toyou and to future generations of oars-men and women. Then, you have saidthat ONLY by rowing hard and longacross many months of training canone’s true potential be reached and thevaluable bonds be formed among team-mates. Our current students and coach-es have reinforced your viewpoint onthese issues.

Nevertheless, MIT is a Division III in-stitution by philosophy and declaration.Therefore, we must either live by therules that are passed by the NCAA asthey apply to Division III institutions orattempt to change them to better fitwith our fine traditions of rowing in theEARCs and EAWRCs. It should bepointed out that the playing season re-striction is ONLY applicable for Divi-sion III institutions. All of the remaininginstitutions in the EARC/EAWRC are Di-vision I schools such as Harvard,Princeton, Yale, etc., and will still beable to practice/compete for 26 weeks.It does not take MIT alumni long topostulate what effects a reduction in thenumber of weeks of practice withoutcoaching supervision is likely to haveon our female crews. Some have sug-gested that reclassification to Division Istatus is the only solution to the presentdilemma.

To complicate matters, since our de-partment has been committed to ad-ministering all sports programs alongsimilar guidelines, there is the distinctpossibility that the rowing experiencefor the men would need to be reformu-lated to approximate the women’s pro-gram. Our female rowers have already

expressed that they would be very dis-appointed if the men’s crews were tobe permitted to row a longer seasonthan the one that they are able toenjoy. Our oarsmen, of course, wouldfind this situation to be completely ab-

horrent if not apocalyptic.What is developing is notthe beautiful picture of row-

ing at MIT that has existedand that so many of uswish to see continued.For a good portion of thefirst 60 days of my newadministration, little time

has passed without trou-bling thoughts related to our

rowing programs. Assistant Di-rector of Athletics John Benedict and Ihave spent countless hours with NCAAlegislative services personnel, athleticsdirectors, our own faculty coaches atMIT, the athletics board, and our strate-gic planning committee discussing andstrategizing. We have consulted withthe president and chancellor of MIT,and the new dean for student life con-tinues to stay engaged in the entireprocess.

One of the questions that emergesis how to remain a Sprint schoolwhile complying with the restric-tions that have been so sud-denly placed upon us. It isnot trivial to note thatMIT is the only institu-tion we have found thatis in this dilemma in theEARC/EAWRC rowingcommunity.

As I mentioned before,some constituents have sug-gested that the way to mitigatethis legislation is to reclassify thewomen’s program to the Division Ilevel. While this appears to be a simplesolution at first blush, a decision of thisnature could have significant manage-ment implications for our remainingsports programs, coaches, and students.Division I classification would meanchanges in some aspects of admissionsdocumentation. In addition, there is apresent moratorium on reclassificationof any sport to Division I status until thespring of 2002. We are currently look-ing into the moratorium, but we do nothold out much hope for an exemptionon the reclassification issue.

It is important to note that NCAAlegislation or other constraints restrict

most of our sports programs. In fact,some of our programs cannot take fulladvantage of the 21-week rule due toweather or our inability to providepractice spaces and human resourcesover the longer term.

So, you might ask, what are our nextsteps? We are in the process of engag-ing legal counsel, Rich Hilliard, whowas recommended to us by FOMITCduring a recent conversation at MIT.Mr. Hilliard is very familiar with NCAAlegislative services, issues, and litiga-tion. We hope to utilize Mr. Hilliard tohelp us to determine what, if anything,there is that we can do to find an ex-ception to the 21-week rule for ourwomen’s crews. Additionally, we in-tend to speak with other Sprint schooladministrators to examine the possibili-ty of remaining a Sprint school (androwing a Sprint schedule) without hav-ing to reclassify. We must mention thatas a member of the NEWMAC confer-ence, we do have conference obliga-tions for participation in its champi-onships. We will look into the possiblescheduling ramifications of this respon-sibility as well as explore the anticipat-ed scheduling obligations we mighthave at the regional and national NCAA

level.In the spirit of openingcommunications on thisand other departmentalissues that touch ourrowing programs, wewill keep you informed,and we invite yourcomments. Please know,

however, that while Iwould like to respond to

each of you who elect to writeto me individually, I cannot continue todo so at the present time. We know thatyour feelings are strong and that yourthoughts are worthy of our attention. Iwill ask Dustin to collect your com-ments and forward them to me for ourconsideration. We will keep you updat-ed, perhaps through the FOMITCe-mail listserve, until this situation isresolved.

In closing, we are confident that byengaging our collective minds insearching for solutions, we will deepenour understanding of one another’s per-spectives and challenges. It is our hopethat the future will find us in collabora-tive support of men’s and women’srowing at MIT!

MIT Grapples With NCAA Rule Changes

One of the questionsthat emerges is how to remain

a Sprint school while complyingwith the restrictions that have

been so suddenly placedupon us.

In the spirit of openingcommunications on this and

other departmental issues thattouch our rowing programs, wewill keep you informed, and we

invite your comments.

(continued from page three)

SPRING 2001 5

By Charles M. VestMIT PresidentOctober 21, 2000

It is a great pleasure for Becky and meto join the Friends of Crew this evening.We have broken bread with this extraor-dinary group several times during ouryears at MIT and always have greatly en-joyed it. We have many personal friendsin this group.

It also has been our observation thatthere is no group whose loyalty to MITexceeds that of our alumni rowers,whether they be octogenarians who stillrow together on the Tidal Basin in Wash-ington or those of all ages who returnhere to their Cambridge home.

And I also must say that in an unusualway I personally benefit by the presenceof crew at MIT—because I maintain myown physical and mental well-being byrunning—well, jogging—along thebanks of the Charles each morning atabout 6:30 before I begin my work day.

Throughout most of the year this af-fords me an inspiring view of the beautyof the shells, the coordinated efforts ofthose within them, and the flowing,symmetrical patterns of the vortices theyshed.

Thank you.But tonight as we break bread togeth-

er, I am forewarned that some mightprefer to break oars over my head.

This is not my preferred mode ofsculling.

And I know that it really is not yourseither.

Please do not expect anyearth-shattering announce-ments or revelations to-night. But I am pleasedto share some personaland insti tutional per-spectives on somethingwe all value—athletics,sports, and fitness at MIT.

Before having the honorand privilege of becomingMIT’s president, I spent some 27years at the University of Michigan. Ihave experienced so-called “big-timeathletics,” and I have experienced MITathletics. These contrasting experiencesinform my view of the world of sportsand fitness on campus.

When my friend Jim Duderstadt wasprovost at the University of Michigan, he

went to visit their legendary athleticdirector, Don Canham. He was usheredinto Canham’s inner sanctum andstarted talking. Canham kept lookingat him with a very odd expres-sion and not being veryresponsive. After severalminutes he slapped him-self on the forehead andsaid, “Damn! You’re theprovost, aren’t you? Ithought you were a shoesalesman or something.”

Hard to imagine that hap-pening to Bob Brown at MIT.

I also could share with you the ob-servations of my colleague Myles Brand,who recently sent his basketball coachon to alternative opportunities—some-one named Bobby Knight. But I won’t.

But I will tell you about my friendHarold Shapiro, president of Princeton,who moved from Michigan several yearsago to take up that post. He recentlynoted that when he was president ofMichigan he received maybe a dozenletters each year about athletics. AtPrinceton, about 30 percent of his mailis about athletics. I can relate to that.

Why am I saying all this?For two reasons.First reason: The mail about athletics

at MIT has been hot and heavy duringthe last two years because it comes frompeople who care. They care about sportsand fitness. They care about our stu-dents, past, present, and future, and theycare about MIT. And most of them care

specifically about crew.Second reason: I talk a lot tomy colleague presidents in

many other universities,and most of them wouldgive their right arm tohave a balanced, partici-patory program like MIT.We have a true tradition of

a balanced approach tosports, a recognition that

academics come first. We havegood priorities.

But this is not to say that we are per-fect. We can and must improve in manyways.

My decade at MIT can be dividedinto two distinct segments.

During the first half of the ’90s, MITstruggled mightily with serious financialchallenges. Federal funding was stagnat-

ing, our endowment per student was farbelow those of most of our peers, andwe had a duty to keep tuition, room,

and board from growing rapidly andmaking MIT unaffordable.

The last five years haveseen dramatic improvementin our financial environ-ment. This is due primari-ly to the strong U.S. econ-omy and the magnificentperformance of equities.

During this period, wehave greatly improved our un-

derlying financial strength,thanks in very large measure to our

treasurer, Allan Bufferd, and to many ofyou who continue to support us withgenerous donations.

But the last five years have seensomething of even more fundamentalimportance. There has been an up-welling of renewed commitment to theoverall quality of life of students at MIT.

We have started down a long andpermanent path to building strength onstrength and establishing a student life atMIT second to none. The primary articu-lation of this change was the report ofthe Task Force on Student Life and Learn-ing, which I appointed together with for-mer Dean of Students and Undergradu-ate Education Roz Williams.

Two years of hard work, thought, anddiscussion with alumni, students, staff,and faculty convinced the task force thateducation at MIT should no longer reston the two pillars of teaching and re-search. Rather, it should reflect a triad ofacademics, research, and community.

Community—the commitment tobuilding campus community—meansthat we must strengthen and better inte-grate life and learning within the MITstudent experience. Sports, fitness, andathletics must be—and are—very impor-tant elements of a renewed commitmentto student life and learning.

Now I will be the very first to admitthat athletics at MIT have been under-funded and that this was exacerbatedduring the tough financial times of thefirst several years of this decade. Wehave tried to do too much with too little.And I will be the first to admit that manyof our facilities degenerated badly.

But I also want you to understand thatall of the institute and its programs took

FRIENDS OF CREW DINNER: PRESIDENT VESTA Call For Unity In An Effort To Improve All Of MIT

(continued on page eight)

We have started downa long and permanent path

to building strength onstrength and establishing a

student life at MIT sec-ond to none.

But tonight as webreak bread together, I am

forewarned that some mightprefer to break oars overmy head. This is not my

preferred mode ofsculling.

6

By Jack FraileyOctober 21, 2000

I am really quite overwhelmed. Over-whelmed by this high honor that hasbeen bestowed upon me and over-whelmed by the emotions I’m feeling—because I can see so many here whowere the fine young men willing to in-vest a part of their lives in me. What apleasure and privilege it was for me tocoach them.

Let me begin by thanking all whohad a part in making this such a very,very special day or me. I’m not only re-ferring to those who made the acquisi-tion of this beautiful new shell possible,but also to all those who are here—those who made the choice to take apersonal part in this dedication. Andalso to those who may be in the back-ground, but who tended to all the logis-tical chores that led up to this gloriousmoment.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!Now, most of you here have been, or

are, oarsmen or -women and will relateto what I have to say because of thebond we share with each other. Butthere are others here who perhaps find itsomewhat difficult to fully understandthis wonderful sport and what it meansto us. I think I can help them do that.

I guess I’ve cheated a little in prepar-ing these remarks because half of what Ihave to say I shall read from a letter. It

was written to a sportswriter in 1958 byRussell Callow, known to his fellowcoaches as Rusty.

Rusty’s credentials were awesome.He coached at Washington, Penn, andNavy, and among his many fine crewswas one at Navy, dubbed “the Admi-rals” by the press, which still owns therecord for the most consecutive wins in

intercollegiate competition. But Rustywas more than that; he was also aRhodes Scholar in philosophy. Knowingthat, the sportswriter had asked him torespond to four questions, all of whichcould be summed up by “why crew?”

I’m going to read only a few excerptsfrom that masterful letter.

Your third and fourth questions

concerning the rewards of rowingand the unity you have noticedamong oarsmen and former oarsmenI cannot separate in my mind, sinceeach partake so much of the other.You ask about the individual’s senseof accomplishment and/or contribu-tion to the group effort.

You also speak of the unity of oars-

men, which you feel comes the clos-est to being a religion of anything inathletics.

Always remember that in rowingthere are no quarters, halves, time-outs or substitutions. For anywherefrom six to 22 minutes the eight orfewer oarsmen on a racing crew arein constant synchronous motion andare continuously expending near-maximum effort without any hope ofa ‘blow.’ Once the starter’s commandis given, the individual oarsman is onhis own in one sense, and interde-pendent on his fellows to ‘row it out’in another. It is possible ‘to dog it’ inany sport, but it’s all but impossibleto hide lack of team effort from yourfellow oarsmen in rowing. Thosepuddles that leave the end of the oarat the end of each stroke are asmeaningful to the men they go past asthe moving finger which, having writ-ten, moves on.

To me the finest spectacle in sportis to watch a crew when all of itsmembers are seemingly close to ex-haustion rise to challenge, or to thechallenge of their opponents, and goout and beyond themselves. Fromthis comes the sheer physical joy thatan oarsman experiences when theboat is swinging, the spacing length-

NEW EIGHT-OARED SHELL DEDICJack Shares Some Of His Thought

7

ens out, and the called for or silent‘10’ or ‘20’ hard strokes melds eightmen and a coxswain into a single,wholly unified, struggling, competi-tive entity.

If you have never been part ofsuch an effort, you can never reallyfully appreciate what it accomplishesin the minds and hearts of its partici-pants. The individual oarsman neverforgets such an experience, and inthat great common effort lies the realsecret of the almost ‘religious’ feel-ing oarsmen have for their sport andthe affinity they feel for one another.

The supreme effort called for in thesituation I have just described, andthe long hours of backbreaking prac-tice that it takes to ready a crew forcompetition, cannot help but buildthe participants’ respect and admira-tion each for the other. To put it an-other way, I turn to the Bard in HenryV, wherein the King speaks to hisarmy before the great battle of Agin-court: We few, we happy few, weband of brothers, For he, today thatsheds his blood with me, Shall be mybrother...The rest of these remarks I probably

didn’t need to write down. I want to tellyou now about the race which, from

among all that I’ve witnessed, most epit-omizes what Rusty wrote and which alloarsmen and women come to know. Itwas at the Intercollegiate Rowing Associ-ation Regatta in1989.

Strangers tothe sport needto know a littleabout the regattaformat before Igo on. There aresix major events:varsity eight, ju-nior varsity eight,fours with andwi thou t coxs -wain, an openfou r in wh ichf reshmen mayjoin with upper-classmen, and apair without coxs-wain. Coaches from the powerhousecolleges with manpower to burn boattheir best oarsmen in that order, so thatthose who wind up in the pair are the bot-tom two rungs on the ladder. There are26 rungs above them.

The race I have in mind was theGrand Final in the last category, thepair. There were six boats in the race; itwas won by Princeton in 7:39.8; behindPrinceton by a scant 0.3 of a secondwas Wisconsin in 7:40.1; 10 secondsback in third place was Skidmore in7:50.9. I was on the water that day an-nouncing each race from start to finish. Ican tell you that those two crews wentthe whole course in adjacent lanes as ifthey were the hulls of a catamaran. Nei-ther boat was more than six feet aheadat any time, and the lead changed handsfive or six times or more.

Now think! Those four men knew how

far down the list they stood withintheir own squads, yet the race meanteverything to them (and little to any-one else). The race was theirs, notPrinceton’s or Wisconsin’s. It wastheirs. And for nearly eight minutesthey gave and got exactly what Rustywrote about. No time outs, no halftime, no substitutes, no place to hideamong their crewmates, completelyunwilling to let their buddy down,their brother as it were, and wantingdesperately to win. More than that,

they were ready and willing to give iteverything they had. After all, Skidmorewas 10 seconds back; one or both pairs

could have decided simply to stay com-fortably in the lead and then make a maddash to the finish line.

I repeat Rus ty ’s words here foremphasis.

If you have never been part ofsuch an effort you can never reallyfully appreciate what it accomplishesin the minds and hearts of its partici-pants. The individual oarsman neverforgets such an experience, and inthat great common effort lies the realsecret of the almost ‘religious’ feelingoarsmen have for their sport and theaffinity they feel for one another.

That’s how I felt when I rowed, that’show I feel now. I just wanted to takethese few minutes to share these feelingswith you.

Thank you.

CATED IN JACK FRAILEY’S HONORts During The October Dedication


their lumps. Like athletics, everyone hadto get along with all-too-modest annualbudget increases, and all had to undergosome actual cuts.

We worked hard, and with mixedsuccess, to improve management andsystems, to gain efficiencies, and to bet-ter integrate our activities. This too hascontributed to a more positive situationtoday.

We have broken out of thedoldrums. One of the mosttangible symbols of thischange is in athletics.Next week we breakground for the construc-tion of a magnificent new$45 million sports and fit-ness center. This has beenthe dream and absolutenumber-one priority of the de-partment and of our Athletics Visit-ing Committee for as long as I havebeen here. Now it will be a reality. Itwill have a profound impact on ourcommunity.

The sports and fitness center is the re-sult of great planning by Dick Hill andhis colleagues, the department of facili-ties, our chancellor, Larry Bacow, andmany others. It also represents the deepcommitment and concerted effort in fundraising that Larry, Paul Gray, and I havebeen engaged in for several years. It rep-resents the leadership of our visitingcommittee chair, Mary Francis Wagley.Above all, it represents the extraordinarypersonal and financial commitment of Aland Barrie Zesiger, Harold and BettyMuckley, Brit and Alex d’Arbeloff, Annand Tom Gerrity, and many others—some in this room this evening.

It shows the value that this communi-ty and institution place on sports and fit-ness, and it shows what we can accom-plish when we plan and work together.This center will make us all very proud,and it will contribute to the wellness ofgenerations of MIT men and women.

Strengthened commitment and re-sources can be seen in other ways aswell. We have put in place a new turffield, renovated both the indoor and out-door tracks, and built new locker roomsin the DuPont gymnasium.

And as the construction of the newStata Center for Computer, Information,and Intelligence Sciences is completed,we will make renovations to the alumnipool and create additional fitness facili-ties in that area of campus as well.

We have also made less visible butvery important changes. For example,the funding of the department of athlet-ics received the largest percentage in-crease this year of any academic or ad-ministrative unit at MIT.

This recommitment to the nature ofstudent life at MIT is evident in theorganization and activities of the seniorleadership of MIT. I would first salute Roz

Williams, who more than anyone elsehelped us to shape the integration

of student life and learning andbegin to reorganize to real-ize our aspirations.

And a true hero in thisrenewal is Larry Bacow.Two years ago, I askedLarry to take on the newly

defined position of chancel-lor in order to provide strong

leadership to the many impor-tant activities that cut across tradition-

al academic and administrative bound-aries. Student life in general andathletics in particular are a major part ofthis broad portfolio. Larry has taken it onwith zeal and has been instrumental inall that I have spoken about thus far.

As we work to create a still moreeffective organization and a strongercommunity, we have restructured thedean’s office and made two stunningnew appointments.

First, physics professor Bob Red-wine has relinquished his posi-tion as director of MIT’s labo-ratory for nuclear scienceto devote full time to serv-ing as dean for under-graduate education.

Second, a remarkableand highly-experiencedprofessional, Larry Bene-dict, moved from JohnsHopkins University to join MITas our dean for student life.

The department of athletics, physicaleducation, and recreation, through itsdirector, now reports directly to LarryBenedict, and he has taken on this re-sponsibility with great energy and com-petence. In less than two months, he hasalready made his very positive presenceand support felt. He will serve us well.

Indeed, he already has begun a dia-logue with the Friends of Crew. He iscommitted to raising funds for athleticsand is committed to working in a coop-erative and administratively appropriateway with you on the use of funds raisedby Friends of Crew.

But, friends, it is not my intent just tomake these positive announcements andsit down. We are at the beginning of ajourney—not an end.

Although we have had a strongertree from which to shake resources, westill face hard choices, and we stillmust establish a set of priorities and ad-here to them. We need a philosophicalframework.

I personally believe that we need notreinvent the philosophical framework al-together. In my view, this frameworkwas set over 50 years ago by the LewisCommission, which set MIT on its wayto being a truly great university. Thecommission conceived and articulatedthe ideal of excellence through limitedobjectives.

My old pal Hannah Gray, formerpresident of the University of Chicago,recently observed that universities be-come great as much through what theychoose not to do as through what theychoose to do. These are wise words.

Such a philosophy—of excellencethrough limited objectives—means thatwe must make conscious choices aboutthe programs we field in intercollegiateathletics, recreational sports, and physi-cal education. It means that we musthave viable equipment and facilities forthe programs we choose. And I believethat it means that we must, above all,

seek balance and opportunity forbroad participation in sports for

our students. We must assurethat large numbers of ourstudents have the oppor-tunity to compete andparticipate at various lev-els, thereby gaining thebenefits of sports experi-

ences. Our students de-serve no less.So how should these choices

be made? We are initiating a com-prehensive strategic planning process forthe department. Dr. David Ellis, the for-mer president of Lafayette College whodirects this magnificent science museum,has been retained to help us developand implement this planning process.Through this mechanism, we will identi-fy the strengths and weaknesses of ourprograms, set priorities, and establish aroadmap for moving forward.

The Friends of Crew will have inputto this process. The Athletics VisitingCommittee will be engaged, as, ofcourse, will the department and our stu-

A Call For Unity In An Effort To Improve All Of MIT

(continued from page five)

(continued on page 10)

Thefunding of the de-

partment of athletics re-ceived the largest percentage

increase this year of any aca-demic or administrative

unit at MIT.

We must assure thatlarge numbers of our students

have the opportunity to competeand participate at various levels,

thereby gaining the benefitsof sports experiences.

SPRING 2001 9

By Gordon HamiltonHeavyweight Coach

This year has very much been oneof rebuilding. With a solid group ofsophomores returning from last year’ssuccessful freshman squad, the varsityheavyweights rowed in the fall Headraces with more sophomores in thefirst eight than at any time in the 15years I have been here. Seven of thefirst nine were sophomores in thisyear’s Head of the Charles. The loneupperclassmen were seniors AndyCopeland and captain Mark Jhon.

The first race of the year was theHead of the Ohio in Pittsburgh, Penn-sylvania. The MIT heavyweights havebeen competing in this regatta sincethe early ’90s, largely thanks to thegenerosity of MIT crew alums in thearea, particularly Chris Ryan and hisfamily. This year, we were greetedwith very strong winds blowingstraight up river against the current,causing what proved to be unrowableconditions. The entire regatta, whichhas come to be second in size only tothe Head of the Charles among fallHead races, was cancelled right afterthe completion of the open eights racein the mid-morning after several boatshad swamped. MIT managed a thirdout of 20 entries through the roughwater.

The next race of the fall was theNew Hampshire Championships,where we had better weather andslightly better results, finishing third of12 in the open four and first andfourth out of 10 entries in the openeight. The freshmen raced respectablyin the frosh eight, coming insixth,12th, and 13th out of 15. For thepast few years, we have viewed theNew Hampshire Championships as adress rehearsal for the Head of theCharles, which is frequently held thenext weekend.

The Head of the Charles broughtlovely weather, large crowds of spec-tators, and some annoying interfer-ence from a Duke crew in the cham-pionship eight, which caused us tolose precious time. We ended up 29thout of 55, but despite the interference,we were able to remain close toleague rival Columbia. The club eightheld the previous day saw our secondeight come in 44th out of 68 entries.

The final race of the fall is the Footof the Charles, a regatta in which allof the local colleges as well as Dart-mouth heavyweights and Columbiaand Dartmouth lightweights row infours at the varsity level and in eightsat the frosh level. This year, theHeavyweights came in 14th, 23rd,26th, and 30th out of 42 entries. Thefrosh came in 11th, 15th, and 31st outof 35 entries.

The next event of interest was ourFlorida trip over IAP. For the first timein many years the frosh had two com-plete eights training in Hollywood.The varsity rowed mostly in fours andpairs, and the highlight was a practicewe held in Miami Beach with George-town. Georgetown had beaten Navy,Columbia, and Rutgers in the Head ofthe Charles, and our first eight proved

to be slightly faster than they in somesix or seven controlled rating piecesfrom 6-3 minutes in duration. Thispractice has given us some confidenceas we face our coming schedule thisspring.

One element of the winter trainingthis year has been the whole NCAAdivision issue that the women’s squadhas been living under since January. Ithas caused us a great deal of concern,and significant time has been spentdiscussing this with the students andthe administration. It has been verystressful; however, there has been abeneficial side to this: The heavy-weights, lightweights, and women aretruly supporting one another as wehave come to realize even more justhow interconnected we all are in thisgreat opportunity we call MIT crew.

THE 2001 MEN’S HEAVYWEIGHT CREW SCHEDULE

March

Sat. 31 Class Challenge (heavyweight class boats v. Alumni)

April

Sun. 1 Scrimmage v. Riverside BC, HOME

Sat. 7 Alumni Cup v. Columbia, HOME (1st varsityrace time is 8:48 a.m.)

Sat. 14 Williams, Conn, WPI at Worcester (TBA)

Sat. 21 Compton Cup v. Harvard, Princeton at Princeton (TBA)

Sun. 22 Boston College, HOME (1st varsityrace time at 8:48 a.m.)

May

Sat. 5 Cochrane Cup v. Dartmouth, Wisconsin, HOME(1st var 2 at 10:00 a.m.)

Sun. 13 Eastern Sprints at Worcester

May/June

Thurs. 31- IRA Championships @ Cooper River, Camden, NJSat. 2

MEN’S HEAVYWEIGHT CREW OUTLOOKSophomores Lead The Charge In Rebuilding Program

Friends of MIT Crew Account InformationMore than $1,000,000 has been raised since the founding of the Friends

through thousands of individual donations by alumni and friends. Friends’ funds are separately collected and managed by MIT and continue to

grow after the date of donation.To direct donations to the Friends of MIT Crew account, earmark your MIT

contribution to Friends of MIT Crew Acct. No. 3855200.


THE 2001 WOMEN’S CREW SCHEDULE

March

Sat. 24 Columbia, Coast Guard @ Columbia

Sat. 31 Dartmouth, Smith, UNH @ Home

April

Sat. 7 Georgetown, St. Joseph, Drexel @ Philadelphia (Double Dual)

Sat. 14 Williams, Connecticut College, WPI @ Worcester

Sat. 21 NEWMAC Championship @ Worcester

Sat. 28 Navy, Notre Dame @ Annapolis

May

Sat. 5 Radcliffe, BU @ Home

Sun. 13 Sprints @ Camden, New Jersey

Wed. 23- NCAA 1st varsity (only when we qualify)Sat. 26

May/June

Wed. 30- IRA 1st lightweight varsity onlySat. 2

identified in our strategic plan. We arecommunicating the concerns of alumniand students about maintaining MIT’srowing traditions and improving supportfor crew and other sports. We have metwith MIT to straighten out MIT’s handlingof our finances and to resolve problemswith MIT’s treatment of the Boat Club.The Fund Planning Committee is continu-ing its efforts to prepare for a fund-raisingcampaign.

Whether or not you decide to supportcrew financially now or in the future,please take a few minutes to communi-cate with the MIT administration aboutthe importance of crew. You can reviewand comment on the work in progress ofthe Athletic Department Strategic Plan-ning Committee at http://web.mit.edu/athletics/www/plan/index.html. Also con-tact directly individuals you know in theadministration to help educate themabout how and why crew at the Sprintslevel is a good fit for MIT and not a threat

to the academic standards or quality oflife of MIT students.

Involvement in leadership of Friendshas grown. We are at a point in our his-tory as an alumni organization that weneed to develop our structure and in-volve even more of you. Between nowand the annual dinner next October, wewould like to develop a set of bylaws toexpand on our agreement with MIT. Thegoal is to put in place a structure that en-courages and enables participation by abroad spectrum of women and men,lights and heavies, younger and oldergrads, including those able to help withsweat or dollars or both.

The dozen-plus working actively to-gether now and meeting regularly to ad-dress concerns and get the word outneeds to become a larger group. Andthat larger group needs to help the entiregroup of thousands of rowing alumni be-come better informed and more in-volved. Please contact any of us to dis-cuss what is happening now and how

you can help.

The Managing Committee

Dustin P. Ordway ’74, ChairJohn G. Everett ’76 Joan W. Miller ’80

E-mail: [email protected](for Managing Committee and other

committee chairs)

The Fund Campaign Planning Committee

Jack Frailey ’44 Mike Greata ’63Bill Reynolds ’49 John Wasserlein ’63Bill McTigue ’54 Bruce Anderson ’69Chet Riley ’62 Roseanna Means ’76E-mail: [email protected]

The Information Development Committee

Mike Scott ’73 Stu Schmill ’86Willie Vicens ’70 John Everett ’76

David Lee ’69E-mail: [email protected]

Regatta Committee

Katy Croff ’00 ([email protected])

(continued from page one)

The Winds Of Change Blow Ever Stronger Over Crew

dents. This will be the primary vehiclefor guiding decisions and allocationsby both the department and the senioradministration.

We are committed to continue raisingfunds and improving the crew programand facilities. The excellence of thisprogram over the years has been amajor part of MIT’s culture and ethos.How could it be otherwise, given oursuperb location on the banks of theCharles?

Athletics, sports, and physical fitnessare very important on this campus:

• They are one of the most effec-tive mechanisms to create com-munity and comradeship.

• They teach us team skills andleadership and the value ofbalancing competition andcooperation.

• They help us to develop life-longcommitments to good health.

• And, yes, they provide a much-needed outlet and counterweightto the rigorous, demanding na-ture of education at MIT.

We need to set our disagreementsaside and concentrate on working to-

gether openly for the good of MIT crewand all of MIT athletics. We have theleadership in place to do this, and, withyour help, we will continue to strength-en the resource base that is needed.

No athletic director at MIT will ever

mistake the provost for a shoe salesman.But no MIT president, provost, chancel-lor, or dean will ever forget the impor-tance of sports and recreation to ourcampus.

Thank you.

A Call For Unity In An Effort To Improve All Of MIT

(continued from page eight)

SPRING 2001 11

By Ian HuttonLightweight Coach

The fall of 2000 saw the usual floodof bewildered faces in and out of theboathouse as would-be freshman light-weights tried their hand at the Charles’most beloved endeavor. The froshspent the majority of the fall seasonsimply learning the stroke in anticipa-tion of great things to come in thespring. Anthony Brock, coach of thefreshman lightweights, took three eightsout each afternoon throughout the falland instilled in them a love for thesport and a sense of camaraderie.Many new friendships were spawned.

As the crews headed to Hanover forthe Dartmouth Invitational, a gradualrealization of what the world of rowingholds was now apparent on those oncebewildered faces. The freshman light-weights fared all right against theirleague rivals, but it was clear that a lit-tle more preparation was necessary.The A boat finished eighth out of 15crews, but as the race combined bothheavyweights and lightweights in thesame event, they were the fourth light-weight crew to cross the line. Despitetheir 15th-place finish, the B boat fin-ished fifth among the lightweightcrews.

So practice they did. And when theTail of the Charles rolled around, theywere much more well-rehearsed at thewhole racing thing. The A boat finished16th, just 16 seconds behind Harvard’sA boat and only two seconds off of Co-lumbia’s B boat. MIT’s B boat got off toa fast start before the rudder stringbroke about 200 meters into the race,necessitating a spontaneous pit-stopand costing precious minutes. The Cboat finished 28th out of 35 crews.

The freshmen have been trainingquite rigorously throughout the winterand will kick off their spring seasonagainst Yale on March 31.

The varsity lightweights boasted 25returning members at the outset of thefall season, but the rigors of a newtraining regimen, combined with earlymorning practices, streamlined thesquad to 20 by the first race. In addi-tion to a slightly different approach tostrength and conditioning, the varsitylightweights learned a slightly differenttechnical style as well. The squad’s re-lentless enthusiasm and intensity pre-

cipitated some remarkable finishes infall races. They have set some loftygoals for the spring.

The varsity opened its fall racingseason with a win at the Textile RiverRegatta held on October 1. The firstboat won its event by a convincingmargin, beating second-place BostonCollege by 46 seconds and Holy Cross(in third) by 57 seconds. The secondboat finished fourth, just 27 secondsbehind Holy Cross. In earning the goldmedal, the first boat posted the third-fastest time of the day, includingheavyweight and open events.

The team returned to the river slight-ly more confident to begin practicingfor the Head of the Charles. Part of thepreparation included some goal-setting,wherein the first boat set its sights onfinishing within 5 percent of the win-ning time. Despite a mediocre start andsome difficulty with the cadence downthe powerhouse stretch, the eightpicked up speed throughout the re-mainder of the race, finishing ninthoverall and posting a time that waswithin 5.2 percent of Yale’s winningtime.

Following the Head, the squad brokedown into fours and began seat racingfor the lineups that would compete atthe Tail of the Charles. Inspired by itsperformance at the Head, the teamcontinued its training with renewed

vigor in anticipation of squaring offagainst its league rivals once more.

Under ideal conditions and aftermonths of intensive preparation, thevarsity lightweights took advantage oftheir opportunity to shine at the Tail.The first boat rowed an impressiverace, finishing in a tie with Dartmouthfor eighth place. Just two seconds be-hind Harvard’s first four and one sec-ond behind Harvard’s second four, theMIT lightweights surprised a few oftheir league rivals by tying Dartmouthand beating Columbia, last year’s win-ner of the IRAs.

The second four had some degree ofdifficulty with the rating, but began fir-ing on all cylinders by the second halfof the race and crossed the line in 27thplace. The third and fourth fours rowedwell but finished 33rd and 36th in avery competitive field of 41 crews thatincluded six boats from Harvard, fourboats from Columbia, and four fromDartmouth in addition to all of theheavyweight crews.

Following two tremendously pro-ductive weeks in Florida during IAP,the lightweights have continued topour it on and are waiting for the riverto thaw so they can return to thewater. The varsity lightweights willopen the spring season against Yale forthe Joy Cup in new Haven on March31.

THE 2001 MEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT CREW SCHEDULE

April

Sun. 8 U.S. Military Academy (Army), Boston College, HOME

Sat. 14 Harvard, Dartmouth (Biglin Bowl) at Dartmouth

Sat. 21 Cornell, Columbia (Geiger Cup), HOME

Sun. 22 U.S. Naval Academy (Navy), HOME

Sat. 28 Rutgers, HOME

May

Sun. 13 Eastern Sprints at Worcester, Massachusetts

June

Sat. 2 IRA Regatta at Camden, New Jersey

MEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT CREW OUTLOOKEnthusiastic And Intense Team Pursues Lofty Goals

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Friends of MIT Crew77 Massachusetts AvenueBuilding 12-090Cambridge, MA 02139

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

WHAT’S INSIDE THIS ISSUEHighlights Of Contents

• Report From Managing Committeepages 1,10

• Regatta Committee Forms, Needs Your Helppage 2

• Rowing at Critical Juncturepage 3

• Report From The New Athletic Directorpages 3-4

• Message From President Vestpages 5, 8, 10

• Jack Frailey Speaks At Shell Dedicationpages 6-7

• Men’s Heavyweight Crew Outlookpage 9

• Men’s Lightweight Crew Outlookpage 11

M.I.T.

CREW

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDCambridge, MA

Permit No. 54016

The Winds Of Change Blow Ever Stronger Over...

Documents

Transcript of The Winds Of Change Blow Ever Stronger Over...