MIDDBRIEFS

Author: KATHRYN FLAGG

E-mail hoax strikes Middlebury inboxes

Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson informed students on Monday of an e-mail hoax targeted at student inboxes. According to Hanson's memorandum, "a number of students" received the hoax e-mail, which originated from an off-campus source. The e-mail, written so as to appear authored by the Department of Public Safety, stated that the campus was suffering from an outbreak of sexually transmitted diseases. The e-mail also incriminated two students in the body of the message. Hanson's e-mail, while soliciting any information that would help in the investigation, announced that the Department of Public Safety was working in conjunction with members of the Library and Information Services team to determine the origin of the e-mail.

The issue was resolved Monday afternoon when, in another message to the student body, Hanson announced that three students had come forward, admitting their responsibility for the hoax.



Web site celebrates academic achievements

Middlebury College added a Web site for Academic Achievement to its site last month as part of the College's larger initiative to foster academic life on campus. The Academic Achievement Web page calls Middlebury's students "an accomplished group" and hopes to recognize achievements ranging from outstanding classroom performance to prestigious awards, fellowships and scholarship. The Academic Achievement Web page plans to report the semester's College Scholars at the end of the current semester.



Select seniors garner Phi Beta Kappa honors

Two percent of the Middlebury College senior class was inducted this year into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. Yanling Cao, Brian Daly, Rebecca Evans, Wasil Mohar, Stella Nordhagen, Moreen O'Brien, Gregory Petrics, Martin Bajcan, Nicole Santa Maria, Rebecca Scholtz, Tara Sun Vanacore and Jennifer Watson were elected after just three years at the College, earning one of the nation's highest academic honors. The inductees were announced at the fall convocation ceremony in September and honored at an induction ceremony late last month.

Phi Beta Kappa, the country's oldest academic honor society, was founded at the College of William and Mary in 1776. The Middlebury College chapter, established in 1868, is the 13th oldest chapter of the society. The College's chapter was also one of the founding members of the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa in 1883.

Members are elected to the Middlebury chapter of the society twice a year - in both August and May. In addition to the 2 percent elected in August, an additional 8 percent of the senior class will be chosen at Commencement in May. The total number of seniors elected to the society each year cannot exceed 10 percent of the graduating class.