Nightmares and Dreams

The life and times of my 02.

The kid hail just finished his freshman year exams and moved his gear back home when the devastating news hit. jenica Rosekrans '00 had died of meningococcal infection. "This is pretty shocking even though I didn't directly know her," the kid told me. "One of my junior friends used to date her. She was a really beautiful and popular girl." According to The D, which handed out a special article about Jenica at Commencement three days after her death, that was the consensus among the wide range of people who counted Jenica among their dearest friends. The night she fell ill, many of those friends had gone to the hospital with her and were awaiting word of her condition. When the unthinkable happened in the wee hours of the morning, her friends were as inconsolable as they were shocked. The College deans rushed to campus for a 4:30 a.m. meeting to help students absorb the shock of Jenica's sudden death and help them understand who else might beat risk of contracting the disease.

That same day the College began an aggressive campaign to inform all students about the incidence and symptoms of meningococcal disease. According to information released by Dick's House, roughly ten percent of the general population carry meningococcal bacteria in the nose and throat in a harmless state. Most carriers do not get sick. But approximately onein 100,000 Americans develops the disease; 12 percent of those stricken die. Only Jenica's closest friends those who may have had intimate contact with her, such as kissing or sharing food or utensils-were at obvious risk, But health officials advised all members of the Dartmouth community to go directly to die emergency room if they experienced fever, severe sudden headache, malaise, neck stiffness, nausea, confusion, sleepiness, or a rash. Several students sought treatment (with antibiotics), though, thankfully, only two had confirmed cases, and both were successfully cured. The College urged all students who had been on campus during spring term or who were arriving for summer term to get vaccinated at Dick's House.

By the time summer term was underway, life on campus seemed to be getting back to normal, though an extra sense of the preciousness of younglife has lingered. It's hard to walk around campus without thinking that only weeks before Jenica was like any of the other students caught up in studies and friends. It's hard notto think about what her mother had told The D: "One of the last things Jenica said to me was, when watching all the seniors beginning to depart, "I can't imagine in one year I'll be leaving here. I've loved it." She said Jenica had called home almost daily to "share all of her life at Dartmouth with me."

My own Dartmouth kid, vaccinated and mercifully healthy, has proceeded with his post-freshman life. Having set up the equivalent of a dorm room in our house, he even has a mini-fridge, courtesy of a friend who needed a place to store it. He works on campus during the day, plays summerleague rugby in the evenings, and socializes from ten to midnight with friends taking Sophomore-summer classes, If it weren't for his being on the family meal plan we probably wouldn't see him at all.

But then summer is a great time to be on campus. Well, usually. July's exceptional heat drove students and everyone else to seek out the College's few air-conditioned spaces. Not surprisingly, one of the places students most want to see air conditioned is the gym. During spring term, when the folks at the gym placed a huge floor plan of the College's athletics facilities on the floor of Alumni Gym and asked people to pencil in their recommendations for upgrades, the many demands for air conditioning seemed a bit excessive. But when summer blazed in, AC seemed essential. Other requests ran the gamut: a bowling alley, a health-food snack bar, individual stalls in the women's; locker room at Thompson ("Yes! Cubbies!! I Like the men's varsity locker room has," wrote one enthusiast.). Students; want e-mail hookups in Fuller Boathouse and they want an ice machine there ("Many people need to ice directly after practice."). Leverone, designed by "Poet in Concrete" Pier Luigi Nervi, took the heaviest hits. "All-Americans hate Leverone." "Try playing tennis with dim lights and an annoying buzzing sound!" "Please destroy this building!! "The kid and several others requested outdoor basketball courts.

Seeking some mental exercise, I signed up to audit Professor Peter Saccio's famed course on Shakespeare. ("I,wanted to take it last fall but couldn't get in," the kid told me.) I loved the idea of sitting back and absorbing Saccio's Elizabethan wisdom without worrying about exams. Even the kid seemed jealous. Not so fast. The first day of the term I can't find the class. My recurring college nightmare is coming true. Looking down at myself, I'm thinking, at least I'm wearing clothes.

Jenica Rosekrans '00