2008 Woodie Awards
Polarized? Midd's social scene is debunked
Social groups on campus called out: so, ask yourself, where do you fit in?
Dicky Redmond
Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: Features
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This past weekend I traveled down to Amherst College to celebrate my cousin's 21st birthday. Both day and evening were packed with fun events a football tailgate on a beautiful fall day, a French dinner at one of the town's finest restaurants and a celebratory birthday-bash at a nearby "underground frat" (Amherst's social house equivalent). My one-day excursion seemed, at the moment, to be reminiscent of any Saturday at Middlebury College, but it was not until I returned to campus that I realized there was something very different the social cliques had an entirely different structure.
The birthday party at the social house was full of different personalities. There were jocks, but they were not from the same team. There were artsy kids, but they were participating in all of those celebrated fratty traditions. There were hippies, but they were grooving to the latest Brittney Spears jam.
Thinking back, I wondered if these groups would ever converge at a Middlebury party? While there are exceptions to every rule, I answered myself with a general "no," and concluded that Middlebury has a very bifurcated social structure. There are the athletes who host righteous bashes, there are the artsy kids who attend trippy parties at The Mill and there are the outdoorsy kids (the extreme dudes) who enjoy laid-back get-togethers that seem to be sponsored by Vermont's most prestigious microbreweries.
At first I thought myself narrow-minded for holding such generalized perceptions of the Middlebury social scene. However, it was after having several conversations with various people that I realized the accuracy of my description. Lacrosse player Zach Harwood '10 said, "I mostly socialize in the Atwater suites with my team." When asked about The Mill, he responded, "I don't really know how to think of it. I've never really been there, but I hear it's pretty strange." This seems to be normal at Middlebury hanging with the team. There are various reasons, I think, for why teams fraternize in the way they do.
The birthday party at the social house was full of different personalities. There were jocks, but they were not from the same team. There were artsy kids, but they were participating in all of those celebrated fratty traditions. There were hippies, but they were grooving to the latest Brittney Spears jam.
Thinking back, I wondered if these groups would ever converge at a Middlebury party? While there are exceptions to every rule, I answered myself with a general "no," and concluded that Middlebury has a very bifurcated social structure. There are the athletes who host righteous bashes, there are the artsy kids who attend trippy parties at The Mill and there are the outdoorsy kids (the extreme dudes) who enjoy laid-back get-togethers that seem to be sponsored by Vermont's most prestigious microbreweries.
At first I thought myself narrow-minded for holding such generalized perceptions of the Middlebury social scene. However, it was after having several conversations with various people that I realized the accuracy of my description. Lacrosse player Zach Harwood '10 said, "I mostly socialize in the Atwater suites with my team." When asked about The Mill, he responded, "I don't really know how to think of it. I've never really been there, but I hear it's pretty strange." This seems to be normal at Middlebury hanging with the team. There are various reasons, I think, for why teams fraternize in the way they do.
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Alum '07
posted 10/11/07 @ 12:05 PM EST
I partied at Amherst last fall, and it really wasn't much different. Actually I find Midd and Amherst to be a lot like my high school-- sure the jocks and artsy crowd partied together, but it was still pretty limited to the most popular members of either group. (Continued…)
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