Editorials

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A Statement with a Mission

Since Middlebury College's Mission Statement was last revised five years ago, the administration has changed hands and College facilities have expanded worldwide. Now is indeed an appropriate time to take another look at the College's written statement of purpose.

The words "diverse and inclusive residential community" in the current draft of the Mission Statement are a significant addition to the first sentence. The phrase dually reflects a pre-existing drive to increase in all manners the diversity of Middlebury's student body and the recent incidents that have negatively brought diversity tensions to the forefront of the College's attention.

Furthermore, the addition of environmental studies to the list of the College's "traditional strengths," which include "international studies, languages and literature" is long overdue.

Finally, the fact that the College's undergraduate program is and "long has been complemented by graduate and specialized programs" is certainly worth inserting into the Mission Statement. However, it must be remembered that Middlebury is first and foremost an undergraduate institution. In just two months the College has affiliated with the Monterey Institute in California and added an Ashville, N.C. branch to its Bread Loaf School of English. While this growth will likely benefit the school as a whole, efforts should be made so that the undergraduate population also benefits from the new facilities - and the College's new mission statement.

The most recent Draft Mission Statement can be viewed at:

http://www.middlebury.edu/administration/planning/update/september_2005.htm

Proud to be green, room to grow cleaner

Middlebury College has been fortunate enough to consistently be ahead of its time on environmental issues in a state that supports such undertakings.

When the College's Environmental Studies program was formed 40 years ago, it was the first of its kind at an undergraduate institution. The College celebrated the landmark by devoting all of last weekend to discussing environmental issues in a series of events known as the Clifford Symposium. During the weekend, the College launched a Wind Turbine that allows the Recycling Center to run entirely off wind power.

Students have also proven themselves environmentally conscious. Back when gas prices still hovered around two dollars per gallon, a group of Middlebury students recognized the importance of searching for alternative fuel sources. Members of the BioBus project demonstrated that automobiles can run on renewable resources by crossing the United States in a school bus run on vegetable oil. Another group of Middlebury students, known as the Sunday Night Group, meets each week to discuss environmental issues, and the Carbon Reduction Initiative group has proposed strategies for the College to lower carbon emissions to 10 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2020.

The College's reputation holds Middlebury students to a comparatively high environmental standard, but even with support and initiative, there are ways that Middlebury could be even more environmentally sound.

The caravan of cars often seen leaving Ridgeline parking lot to drive to Proctor and Ross Dining Halls on a comfortably cool fall evening is somewhat absurd. Middlebury is laid out to be a pedestrian campus and there is generally little reason for it to be anything else. The fact that SUVs are still the prevailing choice on campus despite their appalling gas mileage is also lamentable. For those in too much of a hurry to walk, remember the yellow bike program. Carpooling via MiddRides is also an option when the weather makes the pedestrian route uncomfortable.

Each day piles of unwanted papers collect by the library printers. Students should concentrate on only printing what they need, and professors should work to curb the amount of electronic reserves that must be printed.

Middlebury students should be proud of their College's environmental efforts, but they should also act on suggestions such as those from renowned environmentalist and Scholar in Residence Bill McKibben's lecture last Thursday to make conscious decisions to protect an increasingly damaged planet.