Brog does an interview

I dunno who's seen Benoit's name scribbled around campus, but he's probably the best known Columbia tunneler around (though I don't think he's the most hard core- google Steve Duncan). Nine months ago I emailed Benoit for a Blue & White article that eventually became about another tunneler, Ken Hechtman. I never got a reply from Benoit- until this week. He apologized for getting back so late, and was gracious enough to answer the questions I sent him. Here's the interview (and by the way, if you can think of anyone I should legitimately interview this summer, please tell me. I really want to talk to Christopher Walken):

Brendan: You are on Wikipedia.

Benoit: I know, I check from time to time what comes up when
you search for "undercolumbia". I don't know who put
my e-mail address there, but it wasn't me. It has
resulted in the address getting spam, which kind of
sucks.

Br: Do you and Mr. Hechtman know each other?

Be: Not a chance. I'm SEAS '01, Hechtman was at the
College in 1986. The guy is around 40 years old now.
I've never met nor corresponded with him in any way.

Br: How did you become the explorer of the tunnels?

Be: I heard about the tunnels just like nearly every
incoming student. I didn't start exploring until
junior year. I came up with the whole e-mail gimmick;
I figured it'd be a nice way to meet fellow tunnelers.
And it was. This account was started in September
2000, and maintained until July 2005, throughout which
about 150 people wrote in, from students to a few
Facilities workers. Like I said, I went dormant in
July 2005, but I'm back for the time being. I used to
run regular tours, but I don't anymore -- honestly, I
just don't have the time. I have a regular career and
"full-time life", believe it or not ;-)

In the intervening 11 months since July 2005, another
60 or so people have written in. There are a *lot* of
fellow tunnelers at Columbia.

did you find what you wanted in your explorations?
are you satisfied?

Yes, and yes. I consider myself Egotist #1 when it
comes to the Columbia Tunnels, and I like to think
that I'll be the biggest name in tunneling at CU for a
long time to come ;-)

I tried to see as much as I could see. Sadly, a lot of
things underground have changed since I graduated.
Pupin's 1st floor, which used to be littered with
papers and gadgets dating back to the 1940s, was
emptied over Summer 2003, for example.


- Benoit (SEAS '01)