Actually, we did scale back.

Our audience of Sunday morning joggers and other curious passersby - drawn to the campus playing fields by the sight of the town's biggest hook-and-ladder truck extended to its full ninety- foot height and charmed by the frisky antics of the UMass Marching Band into staying to witness our fall cover shoot got a show that was nicely Busby-Berkleyesque. Had we followed through on some of the more hare-brained brainstorms from our early planning sessions, onlookers might have experienced something more in the vein of Apocalypse Now.

Or maybe make that Mission Impossible. Which is what we took on when we decided to try and kill two editorial birds with one cover: honoring the Minuteman Marching Band in its triumphant bagging of the Sudler trophy (see story page 28) and introducing the university's long awaited visual identity system (see story page 24.) We'd kind of hoped that the band would be able to spell the new logo out bodily, in that great half-time tradition of human U's and M's. But handsome as the logo is, it just couldn't be articulated in marching band formation not even by the best band in the land.

That's when we thought of Mark Brown '78G and Susan Boss '81 Easthampton artists who regularly turn out handsome banners for museum exhibitions. Why not commission them to make a canvas banner with the logo painted on it; one that could literally be unrolled by the crimson-clad band on a perfect swatch of grass and photographed from the air?

We were thinking big. (Huge, actually; seventy-five feet square for the banner; any guesses how much that would've weighed?) We were thinking helicopters, circling artfully (not menacingly!) and dangling our photographer at the perfect angle above 300 band members and their fearless director.

What were we thinking? By the time we'd cast Harrison Ford in the role of photographer for the catastrophe-movie version of our shoot, and the editor and art director were beginning to squabble over which of their roles Emma Thompson would play, we knew it was time to scale back.

That and the math. We did want you to be able to admire George Parks and his bandos without the loan of the Hubble telescope. So we settled on fifty musicians and the more moderate, twenty-six by twenty-six-foot banner you see on the cover. Still plenty huge, we realized, when it took five people to maneuver it out of the second-story window of the Boss/Brown studio and into the world's biggest Ryder truck. And the helicopter. Really, now. So much safer not to mention quieter to run our photographer, Ben Barnhart, up to the requisite perspective in the bucket of a fire truck.

After that it was just logistics and luck. Luck for a lot of rain to restore the scorched grass apologies to all who suffered through those soggy September and early October weekends, but we were glad to see it and luck for perfect weather on the day of the shoot.

Oh, and for the fact that no fire emergencies arose between 9 a.m. and noon on October 19. Kind as Amherst fire chief Victor Zumbruski '84 had been in providing the truck, he did warn that if duty called, officer Bill Dunn would have to hastily lower the ladder and Ben, and race away. Leaving us with a banner, a band, and the need to come up with another hare-brained idea, quick.

-Elizabeth Pols

THINKING ABOUT DRINKING
CONGRATULATIONS ON the summer issue `Thinking about drinking." I began with Thom Kendall's North 40 piece and cried as I remembered that I cannot remember much of my first three semesters at UMass. This sadness is compounded by the helplessness I feel knowing that my two sons (a junior at UMass and a freshman at Trinity/Hartford) must deal with their own issues regarding drinking while in college, and all I can ask of them is to do as I say and not as I did. It is comforting to know that the university has such an effective health education team, and that the athletic department is dealing with the issue of substance abuse in a realistic manner. And thanks to the administration for updating the policy on student drinking.

Deborah (Cote) Osuch '74
Fairhaven


I APPLAUD UMASS for the in-depth issue on drinking. For me, educator Robin Harris ["A Tall Order"] made the most relevant comments by calling attention to the American love of consumption for consump-tion's sake. She is correct in asserting that most of the cultural factors that mitigate drinking in Europe and elsewhere are absent in this country.

But there are gender issues here as well. Without even looking at statistics, we know most of the violent, destructive and dangerous behavior is created by MEN . My strongest memory of the beloved Drake was that it was from there that my nineteen-year-old friend got a ride and had to fight off a sexual assault. Whether it's rape, violence, vulgarity, or just run-of-the-mill destructive and reckless behavior, men often cannot be trusted when they drink excessively.

Ilona Sturm H '84
Berkeley, California


TREASURED PRAISE
I HAVE JUST FINISHED READING your fine summer issue, "Thinking about Drinking." It is not only a service to the UMass community but, I think, a great example of how to come to grips with a problem in an intelligent, sensitive way. I hope that you are thinking of submitting it, in the appropriate category, to the National Magazine Awards.

Jim Boylan
Stonington, Connecticut


The writer is a professor emeritus of journalism at UMass.


I TEACH PARAMEDICS at Springfield College, and I really liked the series from Summer 1998 edition of UMASS. It brought back many good memories of Amherst. I would like to obtain copies of the magazine for distribution for a class I am teaching about alcohol, with an instructor from the sheriff's department, to paramedic students.

Robert J. Hopkins `76
Chicopee


NEVER HAVE I BEEN MORE PROUD to be a UMass alumnus than after reading "Thinking About Drinking" from cover to cover. Thank you!!!

Maria Przymierski '85
Middletown, Rhode Island


I WOULD LIKE TO COMMEND everyone who contributed to the "Thinking about Drinking" issue. It represents a promising first step for UMass and should serve as a model for other universities that have yet to approach the problem of student alcohol abuse in a thoughtful and rational way. I was especially pleased to read the views of David Buchanan ["The Culture of Abuse," Branches of Learning], who recognizes the importance of social connectedness and the contradictory messages that students are bombarded with in classrooms as well as the media. To intelligently address the problem of alcohol abuse, we must recognize what Thomas Kendall is still trying to figure out in his North 40 piece that students' need for acceptance will in many instances take precedence over their own health.

Mallie J. Paschall '91G
Pittsboro, North Carolina


IN "HERE IN THIS CITY " in the summer issue, Dr. Pierre Rouzier describes an attitude in which students insist, "We're only drinking like this for four years; when we graduate, we'll stop." I wish that it could have been so easy.

I couldn't see it then because I, too, was having fun. I only drank Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights, which left me two sober nights to study. Half the time I couldn't remember whether my car was in E-lot or 22 until I found it during the week on Fearing Street with a pile of tickets. After my first semester, I made sure that I didn't have a class before 11 on Friday and often did not go to class on Monday or Tuesday. When I lived off campus, I would always have to check the car in the driveway the next morning for any new features it didn't have previously. It was all part of the fun.

I always said that it was just part of college and once I graduated, I would stop drinking and become a responsible adult. The reality is that alcohol is cunning, baffling, and powerful. And while you may think as I did, please consider the result: the opportunities you throw out, the people you hurt, and more often than not, jails, institutions, or death.

Noah Kaatz '92
Colchester, Connecticut


QUESTIONING THE QUESTION
MY WIFE AND I DON'T get back to Amherst as much as we would like, and we look forward to reading the magazine and learning about our alma mater and our fellow alumni. But I must tell you that I was very disappointed by Thomas Kendall's "Left With the Question" [North 40, Summer 1998].

It seems that Mr. Kendall recalls very little about the advantages of fraternal life. I challenge the assertion that excitement and "giddiness" leads new fraternity members to drink to excess. Yes, there is a tradition of celebration following the initiation of new brothers at most fraternities on our campus. I can also tell you that there were quite a few nights that I returned to my residence hall after a fraternity party to find students and their friends far worse off than those that I left on North Pleasant Street.

Many students make mistakes in their experimentation with alcohol at UMass. However, fraternities do not accelerate these mistakes. Fraternity life does create tightened bonds that last long after graduation day. So, Mr. Kendall, I am sorry that you have such unpleasant memories of your fraternal experience. It is unfortunate that after fifteen years, your memories circle back to the least important component of fraternal life.

Jeffrey R. Fagan '91
South Paris, Maine


DRAKE RELATIONS
I WANTED TO SAY HOW much I enjoyed your article on the Drake. As far back as I can remember I have heard stories about this place, quite often the same stories several times over. My great-grandfather was William Richters, and his son, William, Jr., was the grandfather who helped raise me. When my family owned the hotel I understand it was a grand place in the small town of Amherst. Though the clientele changed over the years it sounds as if it served an important purpose and was enjoyed by many. I am sure that my great-grandfather would be proud of your article on the Drake and its significance to the community. It remains a special place to many people, even someone like myself who never got to visit it in person.

Scott Sabiston
Richmond, Virginia

The writer, a non-alumnus, thrilled us with the news that he read the Drake article on the World Wide Web.

THE LAST OWNER/OPERATOR of the Drake, before its bars were removed, was a garrulous, ruddy-faced, irreverent fellow by the name of Brad Parker, who, with his wife and Willie Whitfield, "taught generations of university kids to drink." Brad retired once he sold the Drake, and spent the years before his death volunteering at the Chamber of Commerce information booth on the Amherst Common. What few people realize is that Brad decided to give back some of the wealth given him by his student-customers over the years, by creating a $108,000 trust that will award scholarship support to "minority and/or economically disadvantaged students" entering their senior year at UMass. Scholarships also will be awarded to UMass graduates enrolling at the Wharton School of Business (Brad's alma mater) at the University of Pennsylvania.

Brad really liked "the kids," and found a wonderful way to do something about it.

Roger M. Hewett
Campus

The writer is retiring this year as director of gift and bequest planning at UMass.


IN 1980, I WAS PART of a group of students who produced a variety show called "Last Call" on Amherst cable-access. It opened with a hand-held tracking shot through the Drake, following Willie as he bellowed "last call" in his inimitable voice and style. To us, it was too cool.

I wonder what the Drake would be like today? The drink of choice would probably be espresso, but I have a feeling the cockroaches would still be around. I'm an old fogey now, and hope to discourage my children from participating in the excesses that characterized the "ZooMass" era. But I can't help fondly recalling Willie and many, many nights at the Drake. For me, it was a big part of the fabric of UMass, right along with co-ed bathrooms, wine night at the Dining Commons (usually followed by an Animal House-inspired food fight), a Peter Tolan revue, Sue Peters scoring yet another basket at the Cage, Nuke the Whale, and, of course, bricks falling from the library.

Janet Halpin '81
Wilmington


ALL IN THE FAMILY
I WAS INTERESTED to see that some people were put off by articles about alumni like Norm Abram who never graduated [Exchange, Summer 1998]. I understand their thinking but on the other hand, I've never heard anyone complain about Dr. J. I'm sure there have been many fine, hard-working students who, because of financial, health, personal, or other reasons, never graduated, but who value their UMass experience and identify themselves as part of the family. I say more power to them, and to you for providing interesting profiles of old Umies from diverse backgrounds who've made their mark in the world.

Jason Rubin '85
Melrose


I'M A LITTLE DISTURBED by the tone of some of the remarks made by fellow alums about the place given to obituaries printed in UMass Magazine. I can understand quite well that a member of a 1920s class will have suffered so much personal loss that the obituaries would be compelling reading. But when a member of the class of 1962, who is probably only in his late fifties, states in the Summer 1998 issue that the obituaries are "the only thing of interest to me," that's a little shocking. Has life in general so little interest, then? Or perhaps he's just alienated to an extraordinary degree from his alma mater. I found some relief in the enthusiastic comments of Charlie Anderson '64, and his lively support of UMass softball.

Let's think a little further about this. As the boomer generation continues to age, we'll see a thanatopic explosion beginning, probably, in fifteen to twenty years. If the heart of an alumnus/ae magazine is devoted to chronicles of the dead, UMass will become a hefty publication indeed. It involves no disrespect to those who have passed on, or callousness toward those who remain, to assert that this is not an appropriate editorial focus.

David Miller '76
Jamaica Plain



CORRECTION:

In the "Branches of Learning" department in the Summer issue, the Department of Environmental Health Sciences was omitted from a list of departments in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences. We apologize for the oversight.