Many of the results were obvious. Dorms, especially Lehman and Bowman Halls, were seen as residential. The Barrington Student Union was recognized as social. Maxcy Hall was associated with recreation.

Others were a little more interesting. The Minerva statue was perceived as spiritual. And of course, Ye Olde Satterlee clock tower, our beloved old Main, was seen as historical.

The mapping started current students thinking about the places that will be nostalgic in the future, making it clear not a lot of differences exist between the values our current students attach to the campus compared to those of our alumni. For many, the iconic clock tower that is prominently featured in the College’s logo and in most campus information will invoke memories of Potsdam, whether they call it Potsdam State, Potsdam College, SUNY Potsdam or even Potsdam Normal School.

What do you think of when you reminisce? Did the “Values Mapping” study get it right? Did the mention of the clock tower or Minerva bring you back to your time on campus? If it did, you are not alone.

What is it about Potsdam, the place, that cracks the wry grin on your face or brings back the faces of people who were important to you here? Here are a few suggestions that may ring a bell and some that you can add to your points of pride.

1816. The year that Potsdam was founded by Benjamin Raymond as St. Lawrence Academy. Is it any surprise that it is also the year known to historians as the “Year without a Summer”?

THE ICE STORM OF 1998 With 1,200 people taking refuge at SUNY Potsdam’s Maxcy Hall, the North Country was an unusually inhosptiable place in January 1998. The unpredictable weather dropped freezing rain for five days, causing spotty power losses for more than 100,000 Niagara Mohawk customers. Many counties were effected including Jefferson, St. Lawrence, northern Lewis, Franklin, Clinton and Essex all sustaining considerable damage. States of emergency and travel bans were declared throughout the area. Needless to say, North Country residents and SUNY Potsdam faculty, staff and students once again took unpredictable weather and banded together to make the situation more bearable. Today, many residents, faculty and staff still tell tales of the Ice Storm of ’98! source: North Country Public Radio

1816 saw a summer with two large snowstorms in June and ice in the lakes and rivers in July and August. As a result, crops were ruined and a large western movement occurred. At a time when people were leaving, Raymond founded a school that has continued to grow in spite of the harsh weather. One has to wonder, why do students choose to spend the coldest months of the year here?

Cold temperatures are nothing new to Potsdam students and alumni. It takes a certain personality and camaraderie to make it through the winters. For anyone who has mapped out the route to class that requires the least amount of time outside, lost power due to massive ice storms or had it snow on their graduation day, cold weather is a way of life in the North Country.

Potsdam winters are something that can be either tolerated or embraced, but not avoided. Some view the winter as their nemesis with whom they do battle. It binds the campus together against a common enemy – sub-zero temperatures.

Others view it as a partnership in their education, like Mark Simon’s Wilderness Education group that participates in a yearly winter camping trip. Still others see winter as a time to play. The school’s proximity to Lake Placid, Titus Mountain, cross-country trails and ice rinks also gives our students plenty of winter sports opportunities.

“I’ve been through wind, hail, sleet and snow storms in Potsdam. But I’ve also woken up to some of the bluest skies I’ve ever seen,” Geoff Pierce ’08 pointed out.

But winter isn’t the only season that students experience. Fall and spring are stunning times in the North Country. As a campus, we consider the Adirondacks to be our backyard and a laboratory for our students. During the warmer seasons, students have the opportunity to use the park and surrounding rivers and lakes for both recreational and educational opportunities.

Weather is what most people think of first when they realize Potsdam’s geographic location. Only those who have lived here know what the weather fosters – a close friendship one makes from being stuck in the dorms because it’s too cold to head outdoors, the discovery of a kindred spirit in the snow camping group or a new appreciation of the natural surroundings from a kayak ride on the Racquette River. The weather brings people together in ways they may not have imagined before coming to Potsdam.

Guessing the number of arts events on SUNY Potsdam’s campus is like guessing the number of jellybeans in a giant honey jar. 350? 400? 432? That isn’t even counting the spontaneous moments in the Crane Commons, the annual art installations in the academic quad or the theatre exercises that spill out of the classroom. It is no accident that Potsdam ranks number one in all of SUNY for student exposure to the arts* – even more than SUNY Purchase or New Paltz, despite their proximity to New York City.

Furthermore, “All-Steinway” status is reserved for the most elite of music schools and Potsdam proudly carries that distinction as well.

Let’s look at our Arts list: World-Premiere operas. Check. $5.5 million art collection. Check. Student work featured in the Best in SUNY Student Art Show for three years straight. Check. $55 million for a new performing arts and technology complex for theatre and dance. Check. Music absolutely everywhere. Check. This is crazy! We’re in the middle of nowhere! And yet, it’s all here. You trip over it wherever you go. You can’t avoid the arts and, whether you like it or not, it starts to get into your system. And yes, it is good for you.

“I am sometimes asked by faculty at other institutions what it is like to work at an arts campus,” said Dr. Walt Conley, professor of biology. “They assume it is terrible for the sciences. But the advantages are many. It fosters a creativity to everything no matter the discipline and enriches the student experience in a way that a single focus cannot.”

Designated as one of only three “Arts Campuses” in the SUNY System, Potsdam prides itself on the opportunities this focus on the arts brings. At least one arts class is required for all students regardless of their major. This gives a biology student a reason to try and understand a Brahms concerto, or a wilderness education student the challenge of painting a still life. This cross-pollination of ideas and disciplines creates well-rounded students who break the mold. Because the arts are a part of our landscape on campus, creativity can flavor all aspects of academic life on campus. The availability of talented singers, dancers and artists can provide new opportunities in teaching, learning and outside social interests.

"I want to change the world through music. People tell me that it is a strange combination, but it makes sense to me!" - Sarah Hope '00

It is how senior Sarah Hope from South Glens Falls, NY, decided on her music business and sociology double major. “I want to change the world through music,” said Hope. “People tell me that it is a strange combination, but it makes sense to me!”

Considering Potsdam’s focus on teaching and the arts, it should be no surprise that approximately half of all music teachers in New York state were educated at The Crane School of Music. With a new performing arts building in our future that will house the Department of Theatre and Dance, the arts influence on our campus and in the community will only continue to flourish.

From its inception, SUNY Potsdam has been a College focused on teaching, not only providing the highest-quality teachers for communities throughout the state, but also in providing the students with top-notch, teaching-focused professors. It is not just what you learn that makes a student successful, but also how you learn. Potsdam offers many
opportunities for its student body to learn in a hands-on environment. Through many teacher education opportunities in our community, students have a chance to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-life situations.

Located 45 minutes down the road is a unique and invaluable resource for our future teachers. The St. Regis Mohawk Reservation in Akwesasne, NY, is home to the St. Regis Mohawk School, a tribal school that serves Native American students exclusively. It is part of the Salmon River Central School District, where the general student population is predominantly Native American and where an amazing partnership has developed.

SUNY Potsdam education majors complete field experiences at the "Akwesasne and New York State Teaching and Learning Standards Orientaion Conference."

“We are committed to this partnership, and the relationship continues to evolve,” explained Julie Reagan, professional development coordinator for Potsdam’s Childhood Education program. “It is an extremely important relationship for the College and the Reservation in terms of diversity issues, personal growth for our students and understanding students in minority education settings.”

Education majors may be placed to perform their pre-service work and student teaching on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, providing them experience with students from another culture.

Reagan is the designated coordinator for the Salmon River District. She explains that some Potsdam students plan to move to urban areas after they graduate, and the North Country setting does not always provide them with an opportunity to work with minority students. Without requiring these education majors to leave the area, Salmon River provides them with an opportunity to experience the challenges many inner-city schoolteachers face.

Currently, the Mohawk schools are expanding in population, whereas other area school populations are decreasing. In times of economic hardship, many non-native families will leave home to find work. The Mohawks, however, have a long history of turning to each other and coming home when times are tough. As a result, the Mohawk schools will continue to need teachers and place many Potsdam graduates.