ABOVE AND BEYOND
I was working in the Ratty on March 31, 1997, when forecasts warned of the largest late-winter storm to hit the region in 100 years. The nonstudent Ratty staff worried that if they left campus, they wouldn’t be able to return the next day to open the dining hall. I was living off campus, so I invited six of them to stay at my place. My friends JP Fonseca and Jean Bing Wong did the same. Between us, we sheltered more than a dozen Ratty employees that night on our floors and couches. On April 1, the full blizzard arrived and classes were canceled. But the Ratty still opened because the staff stayed on campus to care for students whose tuition often exceeded the annual pay of staff. They taught me lessons in character, leadership, and community that I carry with me every day.—Rachel McSorley Shaw ’98
ARTSY FARTSY
If you were cool in the ’90s, or wanted to be, there was only one place to sit in the Ratty—the Cave. Smoky and dim, it overflowed with skinny artists, writers, New Yorkers, and jaded MCM majors. I recall sipping “cappuccinos” made from coffee and vanilla soft-serve. But my most salient memory is from Halloween 1993, my freshman year, when my tablemates at the Cave appeared at dinner wearing black armbands to mourn the simultaneous deaths of River Phoenix and Federico Fellini. It was a dark day—and I made a mental note to find out who Fellini was.—Lauren Acampora ’97
WARM WELCOME
Fatima, the upbeat and sweet maternal presence at the Ratty, always welcomed me with a huge smile at breakfast in the morning. When she swiped my card, she addressed me by last name and encouraged me to have a healthy breakfast. For two years, I thought she was reading my last name as my first based on my ID card. One day, I said, “How come you call me by my last name?” She didn’t miss a beat. “All of your friends do, so I do too.” I miss Fatima’s love and energy, her morning hugs, and of course her gifts of Portuguese sweet bread. What a great way to start the day!—Andrew Colitz ’02
TO BOLDLY GO…
I’m recalling this on behalf of my class of ’83 friend H.B. Siegel. He was going through the food line and they were serving zucchini frittatas. He said to his friend, “You know, that looks just like—” And before he could finish his sentence the woman behind the counter interrupted, “I know, I know, that thing on Spock’s back in that episode of Star Trek. Move along.”—Andrea Goldman ’83
GOOD SMELLS
Working for UFS [University Food Services], I met amazing people, including Manny, whose double full-sleeve tattoos complemented his expertise as the head of the Ratty Bake Shop. Rolling up to a 3 a.m. bakeshop shift after an all-nighter doesn’t seem like it would be fun at all, but the fresh pastries made the whole place smell amazing, and Manny was awesome to work for. —Aili (Contini-Morava) Contini-Field ’02
TIMES CHANGE
One lunchtime, I spotted two elderly couples carrying full trays and looking around for a place to sit. I asked if they’d like to join us, which they gladly did. Turned out they were class of ’29, Brown and Pembroke. In no time, we were hearing all about white flannels for tennis and doing the Charleston. They were scandalized when we told them about the coed dorms. One of the women asked: “Where’s the mystery?”—Patrick Leary ’75
MEIN GOTT!
The Ratty held an Oktoberfest night in fall 1976 including trays of German sausages and sauerkraut, hard and soft pretzels with fancy spicy mustard, a German oompah band, and several kegs of beer. As the evening went on, so much beer flowed that students stood on tables and had chugging contests while others cheered. Eventually, one of the tables collapsed and the chuggers landed on the floor in puddles of beer. —Rich Meister ’75 and Julie Meister ’75
EVERYDAY MAGIC
I used to have weekly “lunch dates” with my friend Jennifer Russo at the Ratty. I was always amazed at how she’d transform standard Ratty fare into what seemed to be insanely gourmet meals. She’d use condiments to transform the mac ‘n’ cheese into something fancy. That’s one of the many things that led me to eventually propose to Jen at our 10th reunion! We’ve been happily married for more than 12 years now and have three kids. —Mark Dembitz ’02
FUN WITH DOUGH
I worked several mornings a week in the Ratty bakery, where I was able to make two massive cakes for my art history department graduation. One was a replica of the Géricault painting
The Raft of the Medusa and the other was a full-scale portrait sculpture of our adviser, Anita Glass.—Linda Norden ’75
HEY, OLD FRIEND
When I worked in the Ratty, our work station was adjacent to Henry, a cook from Cape Verde, who would break into song while slicing deli meats, usually a line from a fado. Whenever we played our Cesária Évora CD, he’d sing along, and other cooks would come by to sing and dance. I miss him dearly.—Jeanne Tao ’98