Scene Twenty-One: Chillin' With the Profs

I step from New Hampshire's resurgent winter into the warm quiet of Sanborn. A handful of students sit in pools of light at the heavy wooden tables, pouring over texts for their winding-down classes. Through the paned-glass door that leads to the offices of English professors I hear the low rumble of classmates in conference.

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As part of my Writing 5 with Professor Crumbine, I am required to attend conferences to discuss recently submitted assignments. Along with three or four other students from either her 10A or 2A, I slip into one of the round-backed wooden chairs that fill her library-office and, sentence-by-sentence, review the structure and content of my papers. Professor Crumbine remains largely silent, allowing her students to exercise their burgeoning propensities for criticism and compliment.
At Dartmouth, professors are marvelously available. From office hours to scheduled meetings to impromptu conversations after class, the opportunities to interact are virtually endless. But, to sweeten the deal, Dartmouth provides an added incentive for students to hang with profs. Once a term, each student has the opportunity to receive a stipend to take a professor to lunch at the Hanover Inn. I've not yet done so myself.. but I will.