DANVILLE, KY—In the immortal words of ex-Go-Go Belinda Carlisle, "Heaven is a place on Earth."

Or is it?

That’s one of the major questions 15 freshmen in Milton Reigleman's CentreTerm class, "In Search of Utopia," set out to answer when they studied a dozen American utopian experiments. For their final projects, the students, working in teams of three, constructed their own utopias.

Which is the most-perfect ideal society? The Centre community (in itself a utopian place to many), along with the general public, is invited to choose.

Each member of the winning team will receive a grab bag of utopian goodies, including the classic Fountains of Wayne album Utopia Parkway; dinner on the Communications Office at Lynn's Paradise Café in Louisville; a fruitcake from Gethsemani Abbey (one of the utopian communities visited by the class); and if we can find one, a souvenir of Paradise, Pa.

The criteria for these utopian societies are simple in concept (if difficult in practice): the idealized community must be workable, self-sustaining, and present a convincing picture of "the good life."

Web voters will be asked to choose among three utopias created by Centre students and judged by the class to be most compelling:

• Tolerance, Nevada. (Or "Pax per patientia"—Peace through tolerance)
  Matthew Howell, Lisa Notier, Ginny Reynolds, architects

• Practice communalism and celibacy
• Worship with a different faith twice a month
• 90 percent of members' money is contributed to charity

• The Bouncers (or The Church of the New Tradition)
  Laura Behrendt, Chase Martin, Chris Williamson, architects

• Wild, charismatic, and musical worship services featuring "bouncing" (thus the name)
• Faith in dual male and female deities (symbolized by drum and drumsticks)
• Communal, agricultural groups, attracting those disadvantaged by sexual and racial biases

• Concord Circle, Concord, Georgia
  Vince Kline, Elizabeth Pulliam, Mari Rayl, architects

• Offers harmonious family relationships and a strong educational program
• Economy based on high-quality, niche products (locally brewed beer, hand-crafted baskets, and freshly baked goods)
• Blissapalooze Festival featuring art, music, food, and family activities

Watch the Web site for a follow-up story next week, the debut of the Pick the Ultimate Utopia Web pages, and instructions on how to vote.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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