MIDDBRIEFS

Author: KATHRYN FLAGG

French dept. publishes Montreal travel guide

Taking a trip across the border? The Middlebury College French Department announced last month that it will again publish "Vous Allez à Montréal," its free travel guide to Montreal. The guide, published in French, is designed to guide college and high school French teachers and students, as well as all interested travelers, through Montreal by foot. This year's 23-page booklet is the 28th edition of the guide.

The project originated under the leadership of College French Professor Emeritus Simon Barenbaum. The guidebook was initially devised as a learning tool for Barenbaum's high school French language students, but while at the College he continued the undertaking as a J-Term project. Barenbaum remains responsible for updating and editing the guide.

This year's travel booklet includes a variety of new items, particularly locations along Le Boulevard St. Laurent and La Rue St. Denis. The guide also suggests walking tours of Montreal neighborhoods, hints on good dining and entertainment in the city and an events calendar.

Copies of the guide are available from the College French Department on a first come, first served basis.



News symposium brings CNN exec. to campus

A student-organized symposium brought media experts to campus this week to discuss "Selling the News" in a convention designed to investigate the effect of business on the quality of modern news coverage. On Monday, Frank Sesno '77, former senior vice president at CNN, gave the keynote lecture for the symposium. His talk, titled, "The Modern Media: Changes and Challenges," was delivered in Dana Auditorium.

Students Daphne Lasky '07, Stella Nordhagen '06 and Ben Salkowe '07 organized the symposium in response to the media coverage of last fall's 2004 presidential election. "We realized that we didn't know who was telling us the truth," said Lasky. "There were a bunch of talking heads, but how do you know that the information you're getting is what you need to get?"

Sesno's keynote address was followed on Tuesday by "Making News Profit," a panel discussion featuring Middlebury alumni and news industry insiders. Panelists included Bret Marcus '72, Catherine Herrick '97 and Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial writer for the Rutland Herald David Moats. On Wednesday, the symposium sponsored a screening of "Wag the Dog" in McCardell Bicentennial Hall. Friday, in the symposium's concluding remarks, former Washington Post Vice President for Strategy Chris Schroeder will present a talk entitled "The New News."



College, town enact winter parking ban

A winter parking ban devised by the town of Middlebury and Middlebury College was imposed Tuesday and will remain in effect until April 1. Under the new ban, all overnight parking on campus is limited to student parking lots between midnight and 8 a.m., and vehicles parked in any faculty or staff parking lots after midnight will be towed. Violations will result in an initial $85 fine, with all subsequent towing offenses costing $100. In the town of Middlebury, parking on town streets and in municipal parking lots is currently prohibited between midnight and 6 a.m.

For some students, the ban - while necessary - presents the possibility of long, cold walks to and from campus. Students living in Fletcher House, a Cook Commons residence located in a residential neighborhood, are no longer allowed to park in their house lot following a series of noise complaints from nearby neighbors. Students who previously parked their automobiles on the street are left searching for viable parking - or snow boots.