Finding love next door: Married professors talk love, literature

GRACE ZHOU FOR THE THRESHER

The circulation desk at Fondren is perhaps one of Rice’s most underrated matchmaking spots. Back in 2001, it was where now-married professors Sarah Ellenzweig and Scott McGill first met. Ellenzweig had already been teaching at Rice for a year, while McGill had just started teaching in the Classics department.

Following their initial interaction, McGill said their offices were only three doors apart, causing frequent run-ins for the two. They quickly learned that they had a lot of things in common, like their Northeast origins and shared interest in classical literature.

“Early on, we weren’t yet in a relationship, we were just getting to know each other,” Ellenzweig said. “I ran into him in the hall in Fondren on my way to the vending machine, and I said, ‘Hey, do you want me to show you where the vending machines are?’”

To her disappointment, McGill declined. Not knowing he didn’t eat candy bars, Ellenzweig concluded that he must have not been interested in her. Shortly after, McGill said he finally realized Ellenzweig was trying to make a move.

“I had to recover,” McGill said. “I was trying to read signals, read cues and hope for a chance at redemption.”

The pair started dating by November of the same year and got married after four years. Now, 22 years they have not only built a family but a new course at Rice. ENGL 254, The History of Love, is co-taught by Ellenzweig and McGill and focuses on early Greek, Roman and English romance literature.

Although marriage and romance literature are both about love, McGill says the similarities end there. Romance literature is less about long-term relationships, according to McGill, but rather about the ephemerality of young, forbidden or lost love. Having been married for nearly two decades, Ellenzweig and McGill said that while they share a passion for classical romance literature, they thankfully don’t necessarily relate to them.

However, they said they do strongly resonate with an avant-garde film they watched together titled “My Dinner With Andre.” The film includes a scene of the main character, Andre, talking to his friend about romance by invoking an image of two people living in a room together over time. It is the common assumption that long-term relationships may eventually feel boring, but McGill said this film and his own marriage prove the opposite.

“You’d think everyone just becomes really familiar,” McGill said. “But it doesn’t have to [get boring] if you make space for the other person’s independent identity.”

Ellenzweig said the film conveys that long relationships can actually create room for unpredictability in life.

“If you let it, if you’re open to it, a whole adventure can be going on right in that room,” Ellenzweig said. “It’s quite an astonishing reversal of our assumptions.”

When asked how they navigate marriage, raise three children and co-teach, neither said they’ve grown weary of the other.

“I don’t get tired of you,” McGill said to her. “I don’t know why, but I don’t.”

In return, Ellenzweig expressed appreciation towards her husband for his ability to constantly make her laugh.

“I think finding someone who makes you laugh is really important, because life is hard, and there’s a lot of pain. Laughter really helps,” said Ellenzweig. “And Scott always makes me laugh. Oh, I really treasure that.”

Heads or Tails

Outside of the classroom, Bergner sought out the BSA to fill in these gaps in her environment. The BSA was established in the 1970s to provide opportunities for Rice’s Black population.

“Being around my community motivates me, inspires me and revitalizes me when I am feeling like an impostor at Rice,” Bergner said. “I think that at some schools that can get kind of lost, but because Rice is so small, and we have so many clubs that are focused on Black students’ needs, we have developed this community that feels very supportive.”

As the 2022-2023 BSA president, Bergner said she hopes to expand the BSA and provide a welcoming environment for students like her. However, Bergner acknowledges that there are difficulties in being a minority on campus, urging Rice to provide more support for Black students who experience similar conflicts she has noticed in her own life.

“I have made friendships with Black students at this school that will last a lifetime, all while getting one of the best educations that I could have ever asked for. I am grateful for getting to experience this for nearly four years, but I am also highly critical of the way that this campus fails to fully support its Black students,” Bergner said. “It needs to start with the administration prioritizing Black students as an underrepresented population — listening to them, understanding their needs and meeting them with tangible actions.” the Black community she found within have positively shaped her life.

“I didn’t know that I could be so loved [and] appreciated by not just a couple, but an entire community of people,” Bergner said. “My mom often talks to me about how far I’ve come as a young woman and how much she has watched me change into a more confident, independent and joyful person.”

For Bergner, that joy is crucial to encapsulating the complexity of Black student life at Rice.

Malaika Bergner BLACK STUDENT ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

Despite the difficulties that Bergner has experienced, she still finds that Rice and

“I won’t lie and say I haven’t experienced a fair share of microaggressions from people who don’t look like me, and I know that there are people in my community who experience even more of these than I do,” Bergner said. “But I want to emphasize with my whole chest that in spite of all of this, Black Rice students find joy. I have hope for Rice’s future as a school where Black students can be authentic, fully supported and empowered to express their interests and lift their voices.”

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