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| A timeless landmark: The Bennington Battle Monument standing tall over Bennington, Vermont. |
Standing just 1.5 miles from the dorms, the Bennington Battle Monument was a constant, towering presence in the life of every Southern Vermont College student.
Long before the days of the internet, any magazine article or piece of literature about SVC or Bennington prominently featured the monument. I still vividly remember my very first visit to tour the campus. Seeing the monument stand like a beacon of hope, beaming high over the Green Mountains, gave me an unforgettable feeling: I had truly arrived.
Visible from nearly everywhere in Bennington—including the Everett Mansion and countless spots around campus—it connected us all to the town. In the early 2000s, graduate students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center even devised a way to light up the monument at night. After years of dark evenings, looking out my dorm window to see its illuminated magnificence became a favorite personal ritual.
Of course, SVC athletes had a bit of a love/hate relationship with it!
When I arrived at SVC, basketball and baseball Coach Rob Nugent famously utilized grueling "Monument Runs"—navigating the area's punishing hills—as a conditioning tactic—a crushing rite of passage that earned him the playful nickname "Ebenezer Nuge." When Coach Ryan Marks took the helm of the programs, he kept the tough tradition alive. Despite the intense physical grind, both Coaches Nugent and Marks were widely respected by their players for their unwavering dedication to their teams.
During my last visit back to Bennington, I was struck by how much had changed. Longtime favorite bars had closed, new businesses had moved in, and noticeable development had taken place around town. Traffic felt heavier than I remembered, especially along Northside Drive.
Even though SVC has closed its doors and access to our magnificent campus is now blocked, driving through town brought a deep sense of comfort. Old Bennington and the Bennington Battle Monument remain completely unchanged from when we were students there all those years ago.
No matter how much Bennington develops or transforms over time, that iconic limestone monument isn't going anywhere.
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