Interviewed by Wendy Scheir over the telephone from his home in Washington state, Spiegel relates his experience as a Parsons School of Design student after completing service as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. Spiegel describes a wide variety of class projects, from a project with the Parks Department involving an underserved community, to the theoretical redesign of the Jefferson Market Library in Greenwich Village, to the design and production of furniture and a motorcycle helmet. He discusses the various definitions of environmental design that were hotly debated at Parsons during this period, remarking upon a common complaint that the curriculum was too general and wide-ranging, and an effort to inject the teaching of technical skills that would serve students in the job market after graduation. Teachers Spiegel mentions include Tom and Sue Gould, Harvey Bernstein, Charlotte and Angelo Abbate, Alan Feigenberg, Spiros Zakos, Jean McClintock, Hector Leonardi, and Archie Kaplan, with whom Spiegel later worked.
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