Elaine Herbig '12, Charlie Alcorn '12 and Kim Starfield '12 (not pictured) are the brains behind the class of 2012's successful pint-glass project.
[Elaine Herbig '12, Charlie Alcorn '12 and Kim Starfield '12 (not pictured) are the brains behind the class of 2012's successful pint-glass project.]
The class of 2012 is an enterprising crew that has made its mark in many ways. But none of its ventures better epitomizes the class’s sustainable and community-minded spirit than the 2012 pint-glass project. That’s when three student organizers and approximately two dozen volunteers hand-crafted 350 pint glasses, emblazoned with the college seal, that they fashioned from empty bottles donated by members of the campus community.
According to class of 2012 vice president Kim Starfield, a recipient of the Hufstadter Senior Prize for Leadership, the project’s environmental friendliness was a major selling point. “Sustainability is a big part of our class identity, because the idea really gained momentum [at Dickinson] while our class was on campus,” she says, explaining that the Center for Sustainability Education opened its doors in 2008, just as the class of 2012 arrived. “We thought this was a great, sustainable way to make Pints with Profs our own.”
Starfield, Alcorn and the Idea Fund’s Elaine Herbig ’12 enlisted the aid of many people, on and off campus, to get the job done. Faculty and staff members donated hundreds of empty wine bottles to the cause. The student organizers also consulted with glassmaking professionals, including Deb Fuller, owner of nearby LeTort Glass, and Assistant Professor of Studio Art Anthony Cervino, who helped them map out the production process. Professor of Geology Rob Dean granted use of the geology lab, and the art & art history department allowed use of its sandblasting machine.
They also recruited volunteers from all four class years—including a sizable crew from the class of 2015—who logged several hours a week of decidedly unglamorous physical labor to get the job done. “We were constantly harping to get people to help, but it was for a good cause,” says Herbig with a laugh, adding that Steven Finley ’15 and Emily Blau ’15 were instrumental in rounding up the volunteers.
This device in hand, the volunteers scored and cut the bottles in weekly two-to-three-hour sessions at LeTort Glass Shop. Then, they ground the rims at the geology lab, careful to remove all glass chips. At the Goodyear Gallery, they cleaned the glasses and sand-blasted the image onto each one, using a stencil and a sandblasting cabinet. Finally, with Director of Dining Services Keith Martin’s blessing, they sent the glasses to the Dining Hall for an industrial-strength cleaning cycle.
A spectacular premiere
The glasses were unveiled during the April 5 Pints With Profs event, which drew 120 faculty and staff members and 300 students. “The line to buy the glasses was so long, it went out the door,” says Starfield, who now works in the protocol office for the secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. “We sold out quickly.”
Seeing faculty and students use the glasses was a bit of a thrill, says Herbig, who uses hers regularly. But the process of creating them was itself rewarding, precisely because of the challenge it represents.
Published July 2, 2012