Rick Lechowick is a senior from the Irish part of Los Feliz, CA. He’s tall and has strawberry-blonde hair. He says he frequently is told he smells like freshly fallen dew on sweet clovers. I found it to be true.
 

Hi Rick, welcome.

Thanks, Steve.
 

Where are you from?

Los Feliz. Los Angeles.
 

Why’d you come here from warm Cali?

I like the weather. That’s a joke. I don’t know. Classics. And I like how international the place is.
 

So, you like to make jokes.

Yes. I don’t actually mind the weather, though. Hey, why do chicken coops only have two doors? Because it they had four doors they’d be chicken sedans. Ha ha ha. That’s my favorite right now.
 

I don’t get it.

That’s ‘cause you’re foreign.
 

(pause)
 

Joke.
 

Oh, so you’re full of them, funny man.

Uh-huh.
 

Do you play sports??

Rugby.
 

Cool, I heard they do some pretty crazy things, those guys…

Nope, they used to, but now we’re completely fine and obedient. We sing a lot though. I love singing songs with those guys. And playing rugby; I think it’s the most fun sport ever.
 

Not really an American one. How did you get into it?

I don’t know but I was taught how to play in high school and I loved it. And I played a little in England for a while.
 

What do you think about the male/female ratio at Macalester?

What kind of question is that? I am aware that there is a discrepancy.
 

I hear that you’re an extracurricular kind of guy. How does that go?

I do a lot of extracurricular activities. But you’re making it sound like sex.
 

Sex? Oh, am I?

Yes. But it’s not sex; it’s more like fun stuff. Not that sex isn’t fun. I mean like acting and music and stuff. You know.
 

Whatever. What are your majors?

Classics and Religious Studies.
 

So what do you want to do . . . become a priest?

No, but that’s what everyone asks me. I don’t know yet. I like learning foreign languages a lot, too. I’m applying to travel around next year, so it’d be cool if I got the opportunity.
 

Where to?

India, Sri Lanka, Thailand.
 

So you want to go sample some South-east Asian cannabis indica?

I assume you mean weed. I don’t smoke. But if I did, yes. But I don’t. I do like Irish things, though. And by “Irish things” I mean whiskey. But that’s also not illegal since I’m over 21. And I am Irish, so it fits well. Like Brenden Behan.
 

Who’s he?

This Irish writer. He liked whiskey a little too much. But he was a great writer. I don’t really have either thing in common with him. I like him still, though. But Flann O’Brien even more.
 

Anyway, if you’re so Irish, where the hell is Lechowick from?

It’s a Polish-American bastardization of a Lithuanian name. It was Lekavicius. But I’m still mostly Irish.
 

Do you think that the school has changed a lot since you were a first-year?

The food’s a whole lot better.
 

I see you tour-guiding around campus. What do you say?

Really interesting and entertaining stuff about Macalester.
 

Who do you think should play at Springfest this year?

I heard rumors that Dead Prez was coming, but boy they wouldn’t fit in. It’d be great, but I don’t think they’d really coalesce with the students here. Barenaked Ladies is more up our alley.
 

I love them.

It was a joke. But I actually like them too. And to be as dorky as possible, I’m listening to Chumbawamba right now. “I get knocked down”—you know it… Tubthumping.
 

Obviously you have a magnificent taste in music. Do you have a radio show?

Yes, and you do it with me. Spilled the beans there, huh? Now everyone knows we know each other.
 

Right, but anyway, about that radio show, Crazy Crazy-it’s called? I hear it’s awesome.

Yes.
 

Friday nights, right? There’s a CD, right?

Correct.
 

Awesome, I’d love one. Anyway, is there anything you’d like to say to the people out there in Macalester?

Study abroad, I think. And don’t be blindly liberal, that started aggravating me, but it’s a huge discussion if I get into it. I am very liberal but—
 

Let’s get into it.

No. Nevermind.
 

What do you think the seniors should give as a class gift?

I don’t know. The windmill is awesome. How about a wishing well, ‘cause every campus should have one. Like a super-traditional one, in addition to the somewhat artistic one. With water and a bucket and a pulley-lever thing and all. And a witch.
 

What does that have to do with a wishing well?

I don’t know; I just associate the two. Hauntedness. Wishing wells—you know.
 

Did you ever see The Ring?

No, but I saw Lost in Translation. Seven times.
 

So where’s the after-party at tonight? Your house?

Sorry? Right, no, ask R. Kelly. I’ll be in the link. Oh, and hey, don’t drink Coke.