Back Talk

A bunch of us from Forest dorms broke into the back area of the kitchen in the middle of the night once and ate a vat of ice cream. Good times. It’s also the building where I registered for countless College Outdoors trips and where I found out I was accepted on my study abroad program to Strasbourg!

Jennifer Pockell Dimas BA ’92

I went on my first date with David Fencsik BS ’96, my husband of 26 years, to a movie shown in the Council Chamber!

Alissa Fencsik BA ’95

Electronic music and 24-hour movie marathons in the Council Chamber! So many great memories.

Ryan Gerrish BA ’99

A lot of meals with good friends in the Trail Room!

Cathy Olson BA ’78

A simple, but happy memory—movie nights in the Council Chamber. I remember a night when The Princess Bride was being shown, and as Inigo confronts the Six-Fingered Man toward the end of the movie, his first line fell silent. The old sound system had decided to stop working. But the second time and onward, the audience helped out: “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Louder and louder with each chorus. It was a fun night of community.

Oh, and one more … all the funky office spaces I spent time in there: DJing in the basement studio for campus radio with its many CDs and tape carts, laying out the Pio Log on deadline, hanging out in the SOFA office with Jake Chatters BA ’97 and company …

Matt Harrington BA ’97

Malcom Forbes spoke there in 1987. It was so overcrowded that hundreds of people were watching on a screen outside. “Go out and go bankrupt!” In 1988, Jesse Jackson spoke to a small group in the entryway to the cafeteria before a large speech in the gymnasium. I snuck into that one.

Robert Jordshaugen BS ’91

I had a front row seat for Jane Fonda, who was speaking there against the Vietnam War.

Ken Goe BA ’76

Saw the Crazy 8s in Fields Dining Room in 1989 or 1990 in a completely wild show. So much fun.

Bradley Kennedy BA ’93

Reminiscing about Templeton always warms my heart. As a foreign student, I remember eagerly checking my mailbox there, where letters from my family awaited—our only bridge in a time before the internet. Those simple joys and sharing meals at Saga with friends are memories I’ll cherish forever. Grateful for those times. The most beautiful campus in the USA!

Beatriz Rivas BA ’86

I always looked forward to the International Fair.

Leanne Shimada BA ’81

The bank of small silver mailboxes in the hallway! A highlight of my day was checking my box for postcards and letters from family and friends afar, and the special treasure of a featherweight blue tissue aerogram filled with news written in minus- cule handwriting from friends on L&C study abroad programs!

Ann Vogel BA ’78

I still have dreams (nightmares?) that I’m lost in Templeton trying to find my mailbox. And I can’t remember the combo to the lock to the mailbox but the service window is always closed.

Kelly Lange BA ’99