Cable TV Plugs Middlebury into the Real World

Author: David Freedman

On the evening that President George W. Bush declared Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq an imminent threat to the national security of this nation, I was sitting in a common room in Milliken Hall watching Duke pound Georgia Tech in basketball. About halfway into the game, with the outcome basically decided, a good friend of mine came running down the hallway in hopes of catching the beginning of the president's speech. Almost immediately a debate ensued, that at points became more of a shouting match, about whether it was more important to respect what I wanted to see or to hear the leader of America argue for the nation's support on a preemptive strike on Iraq. I argued with my friend only on the basis that Bush's rhetoric was nothing special that night and would probably be repeated for months on end (which turns out to be right). But ultimately I should have changed the channel and tuned in to more important matters.

As that argument wore on, long after Bush's speech was over, my friend and I began to understand where the other was coming from. This is the kind of moment the administration at this school is dying to hear. Two first-years forced to watch television together, and because of it we learned more about each other that night than we probably did the rest of the year.

By the second year at Middlebury College, the social scene of a first-year dorm has passed, and if one wants to check the news they simply turn on Sportscenter or watch Letterman before going to bed. Because of congestion we cannot do so on our own time in the privacy of our rooms. Even more discouraging, this year you're better off not only leaving your room or your hall, but your dorm to find a television. The Grille has more cable televisions than all of Ross.

But distance to cable is not the issue. The problem with our lack of a cable option stems from the fact that we can't watch television on our time in our rooms.

Here is the point where opponents of installing cable television in each residence hall take issue: will making each room wired for cable create an atmosphere at the College where the students just bury themselves in their rooms?

Going to college in Vermont inherently isolates the College community from a large city, from a bustling nightlife and from most other major social outlets. Almost all of the social life at the College centers solely on what students are doing, as opposed to small groups going into town to see a play, a feature film, a professional sporting event or to a club. If people begin to separate themselves from the outside world beyond the isolation that this rural atmosphere provides simply because of cable television than I think that should be their choice, albeit a poor one.

The College is a residential campus. All but a few seniors live on College property. The administration, when weighing the issue of whether or not to wire residents' room with cable in the early 90s, decided that putting cable in rooms would deter students from interacting with each other outside the classroom. However, in this same debate, the administration recognized that it had to wire every room for the Internet. It is arguable that by putting Ethernet capabilities in each room, the College created the same atmosphere that they feared cable would create. How many people do you know across campus who spend most of their time in their room downloading music, surfing the Internet or on instant messenger?

Even if the Internet has done exactly what the administration feared cable would do, I don't think the social life at our college has suffered. I still find that when I walk down the halls I notice plenty of doors wide open, hear music blaring and see smiling faces on the other side. Students at Middlebury College have to be social, otherwise we'll remember that we are in the middle of nowhere.

For a college that offers everything - the best athletic facilities in the NESCAC, our own ski slope and a $40 million library on the way - I do not believe that by including the option of cable television, at least for upperclassmen, will diminish the residential life we have here at the College.

But if no one else misses ESPN, I guess I'll just shred my petition and go sell my television.