Skeptical Sisson Transparent Administration

Author: Douglas Sisson

A lack of transparency is evident between Middlebury's administration and the community at large. Without open, honest and direct dialogue between students and its administration, the College community has no choice but to rely on campus rumors and gossip to find closure for pressing issues.

Old Chapel is currently publishing two blog online, one by President Liebowitz and the other by Dean of the College Tim Spears. Still, both members of our administration are selective with what information is provided to the Middlebury College community.

The Middlebury Campus publishes a weekly log of incidents reported by Public Safety detailing the date, time, incident, category, location and disposition of each incident. I'm always intrigued by the weekly log, each with a story about an incident where something somehow went wrong or could have been prevented. Like any Midd-kid starving for excitement, I have my theories about the places and people that might be involved in the incident reports. After all, Middlebury College is a small campus with noses keen to the smell of marijuana, ears to hear the sometimes-obnoxious intoxication of students and ultimately, a voice to call on Public Safety when its authority is warranted. Publishing a weekly Public Safety log holds students anonymously accountable for their actions while informing the College community of any violations in school policy.

Why doesn't The Middlebury Campus anonymously publish the outcomes of judicial and community board hearings? The College community would benefit from knowing that students who break the rules are punished accordingly. It's important that students are aware that a violation of the Honor Code results in a suspension of one semester, a physical fight with another student is grounds for expulsion, or that racial slurs and/or use of homophobic speech may lead to either a firm conversation with the Commons Dean and/or official college discipline. As students, it is our right to know that our college is safe and has judiciously brought a level of closure to otherwise toxic issues.

The Honor Code ceremony that first-year students undergo during orientation is unique to offenses involving lying, cheating and stealing. However, while students are cognizant of the disciplinary actions surrounding the Honor Code, the same is not true for hate crimes like last year's incidents of graffiti or society's colloquial use of homophobic rhetoric.

After meeting with Associate Dean of the College Gus Jordan, I learned that the rights of students are protected under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This federal law protects the privacy of student education records and applies to schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. Gus assured me that he would speak with the College's lawyer regarding the policy to see whether or not it is legally feasible to anonymously publish the outcomes of disciplinary hearings while still abiding by the rules and regulations set forth under FERPA.

The College's mission is reaffirmed when justice is served, and what better way to bring closure to a community than anonymously publishing the outcomes of judicial and community board hearings?

Considering the spectacle that took place on campus after homophobic graffiti was found in Ross Commons and Starr Hall this past spring, one would expect appropriate College discipline to take place. However, lack of transparency in our administration does not allow the student body to know whether or not justice was served.

This week marks National Coming Out Week for the GLBTQ community. Apart from my growing skepticism with regard to how the administration dealt with last spring's chain of homophobic hate crimes, I'd like to believe that homophobic vandalism will be dealt with judicially - that is if it was to occur again. The aftermath of last year's homophobic graffiti was never relayed to the community at large. If students knew that expulsion is how homophobic graffiti is punished - whether this is made known through an administrative log in The Campus, general all-school e-mail or administrative blogs - then I strongly believe that the incentive to act in a hateful manner would significantly decrease.

It was only after I took a semester off from Middlebury that I was ultimately comfortable coming out to the community at large. Closeted students should not be expected to live in fear that their classmates might write a homophobic slur on their dry erase board in the event that they were to come-out of the closet. Middlebury's administration has the power to protect students from emotionally traumatic slander; why not begin with making our judicial process anonymously transparent or should every GLBTQ student be forced to take a leave of absence because Middlebury College is an unsafe atmosphere?

Douglas Sisson '07.5 is from Oak Brook, Ill.