Betty Francis: Mug Gatekeeper

Jackson Reeves Guest Writer

Everybody knows Betty Francis: She is the sentinel of the renowned Matthew’s Mug and a campus celebrity. She showcased this popularity at last weekend’s annual Mr. Vassar competition, where she served as judge for her fourth year in a row.

Francis, who hails from New Bedford, Mass., started working at Vassar as a Building Guard for the dorms in January 1987. She retired in May 1994, but in July 1999 Director of Security Don Marsala asked her to serve as an on-call officer and mainly work nights for the Mug, which was previously student regulated. But after 14 years working as a chorus-line dancer in her youth, Francis doesn’t see working night shifts as a problem.

As the guardian of the Mug, Francis has witnessed a long list of illegal student behavior. “I’ve caught people do everything you can possibly think of, and I mean everything,” she said.

Mug Manager Kevin Thomas said that Francis’s Mug regulation has been effective. Francis called her screening process something that she “will never publicize.”

However, Francis did disclose that the process has developed from years of experience, multiple certifications from Training for Intervention Procedures, which is a program that teaches how to identify people under the influence, and other courses taught by law enforcers officers.

Before the Mug’s ban on hard alcohol this past year, Francis reported that she would pull five or more people out of the Mug per weekend for underage drinking.

Francis said that some students have tried to pick fights with her, but she called it a rare occurence because “I’m a strong person, and I know that,” she said. “All I have to do is look them in the eye, and I mean what I say. And whatever you want to do, you’ve got to do it now.”

However, Francis said she doesn’t hold grudges against students who have tried to start fights, sneak into the Mug, or get away with underage drinking. She explained, “So they did something; they tried something. Hey, it didn’t work. So maybe they’ll try it some other time, or maybe they’ll never do it again.” Vassar students typically treat her with respect: they say she’s fun, but also strict and not to be crossed.

But Francis does more than just regulate. Since Oct. 2004, on the first Monday and following Saturday of every month, Francis puts everything that she finds lying around the Mug after close on display outside of the Mug’s main entrance.

Francis said she ultimately sees Vassar students as “her kids.” Phoebe Magee ’09 said, “I was putting together clothes for Hunger Action [near the Mug], and [Betty] stopped me to talk about it and ask what I was doing and congratulate us on getting so much. It wasn’t part of her job; she just stopped me to see what the students were up to. I was actually touched by that.”