[1977]
              WINDHAM COLLEGE. MY ALMA MATER
                  by  Neale Gilson, '78

Windham College, my beloved alma mater
I salute thee
for all you mean to me and have done for me

Windham, magnificent institution
that rears its head
in the green hills of Vermont
with its hallowed halls of higher education

I came to Windham as an inexperienced young man
who struggled through his first years
of college academia
hanging on by his fingernails
hoping to earn that minimum 2.0
And escape the jaw of probation

But I did not fight the battle unaided
deans, faculty, and administration
counselors and resident advisors
secretaries and maintenance people
were great comfort and assistance 
in surmounting mountains and chasms

I have reached the reward of success
in academic, personally, and socially

Hail to Windham’s academia
as a freshman I was weak
as a senior I am strong
chemistry
    Spanish
         history
             English
                 politics
                     environment
                         biology
                             astronomy
                                 geology
                                     economics
                                         religion
                                             psychology 

Psychology is my major
    people
        dreams
            rats in Skinner boxes
                experiments
                     behavior
                         mazes
I have come to know my subject well.

But all academia Windham was not
There were the lighter sides too

The icy ramps up to the dorms in winter
you slipped and slid on the glassy surface
as you pulled yourself up
foot by foot
by the chains 

Windham is a great school for parties and beer blasts
boogies with rocking bands and beer in the Student Union
dancing to wild music 
getting blasted on beer from a keg
until your head is in the stars
Those Wednesday evening trips to Shaman’s quarter quencher
coming back happy with beer
Those beer drinking contests at Octoberfest
How people like to drink themselves sick to win
I’ll never know

Can you remember the winder of 1971?
The Windham Lion’s basketball team
lost every game
except to Johnson State

Does anyone remember
the student motorcycle rider
who rode his bike through Aiken Hall?

Dogs roam free on campus
making their messes on the grounds
Cats wander through the dorms
              
Students go to the cafeteria
to feast on a semi-gourmet production
three times daily
by the food service staff
real good food for the hungry

Windham has great theatre, movies, concerts, and dance
The Windham Summer Reparatory Theatre 
is always a crowd drawer     

In addition to study and fun at Windham
I gained work experience too
In offices and the library
in pleasant surroundings
under agreeable supervisors
I earned money and experience

Visiting the college
one walks down the long white colonade
and gazes at the white architecture
of Edward Durrell Stone

In my early years at Windham
I hung on by my fingernails
trying to make the grade
Now Windham has seen crises
and is trying to make the grade
The leaving of Winslow
   The hiring of Symmes
       The Joe Mandell affair
           The great spring crisis of 1976
                The student union petition
                     The accreditation hassle

My hopes for Windham
are that it grows and prospers
800 students strong we should strive for
May Windham last over and beyond a hundred years

Rah, Rah, Windham, my beloved alma mater
I salute thee
institution of academic
for all you mean to me and have helped me achieve and become

When I pass away
I think I want to ascend
to that great Windham College in the sky