College awards Stonehenge grants

On April 11, the Stonehenge competition for 12 finalist applicant groups was held in McCardell Bicentennial Hall. The event lasted from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and was open to the community. Four out of the 12 finalist groups — out of an original 20 groups ­— were chosen to win $3,000 Stonehenge grants.

Stonehenge is the College’s idea competition. Winners not only receive a generous grant, they are also awarded an office space in the Old Stone Mill for the summer, as well as alumni mentoring. This year, the competition included four areas: Vermont public policy, business, arts and environment. For each of these four areas, an individual session was held.

The finalists in each session presented their proposals for 10 minutes each, and then engaged in a public question-and-answer dialogue. After all finalists finished this process, a panel of judges made up of faculty, alumni and community members left the room to discuss who to choose to win the grant. When they returned, they announced their decision to all of the finalists and then gave the other groups feedback.

Bianca Giaever ’12.5, who, along Will Bellaimey ’10.5 and Aiden Arata ’12.5, won the Vermont public policy grant along with for a proposal titled “Outsourcing Justice: Private Prisons and the Future of Vermont Corrections,” said that the whole day was exciting and nerve-wracking.

“The process was really intense,” Giaever said.

“I was extremely nervous and I was quivering in my boots. It was so suspenseful when the judges came back into the room to tell us who won.”

Giaever thought that all of the applicants were great, so she did not want to express just how excited she felt about winning while sitting next to the other groups.

“But Aiden just lost control of her emotions because she was so happy,” Giaever continued, laughing.

Giaever, Bellaimey and Arata plan on creating a radio documentary about the Vermont State prison system. They will collect interviews from prisoners, their families, and politicians. Part of their summer will involve traveling to private prisons in other states, such as Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, where many Vermont prisoners have been sent because of overcrowding in state prisons. To do that, the three students plan on making some arrangements before the summer begins.

“We have to start making calls and setting up interviews,” Bellaimey said.

“Obviously the biggest and most difficult prizes will be getting interviews with the prisoners in Kentucky and Tennessee. I just want to make sure we get the chance to talk to everybody.”

McConnell Franklin ’11 won the business competition with his proposal to build the Web site

“Bicycle2Bicycle.com.” Franklin says that this Web site, which he has already begun to program and design, will help the cycling community by making it easy for cyclists to connect with one another, find cycling events in their area, and share photos, videos and race results.

It will also include event registration, an online marketplace for buying and selling used cycling equipment and a coaches’ section where coaches can view and edit racers’ training schedules online.

“I think that Stonehenge is one of the best things that’s happened at Middlebury,” Franklin said.

“It’s something we need even more of, with even more categories. These activities and individual projects are really important at Middlebury and are what help the College be what it is — a liberal arts school at the front of innovation.”

Juan Machado ’12 won the arts competition with his proposal to translate Brazilian author Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis’ book “Contos Fluinenses” from Portuguese to English. This book has never been translated to English before. Machado, who lived in Brazil for part of his life, is very excited to work on this project. He has already begun to translate one story in the book, and will seek guidance from language professors and experts at Middlebury College and elsewhere.

“This project I’m doing is very labor intensive and time consuming,” he said. “It will require me to spend time working, locked in a room. Without funding from the College, there would have been no way for me to do it!”

Elias Alexander ’12, winner of the environment competition, will work on a project called “This Valley My Home: The Power of Story to Awaken an Environmental Ethic.” He will create a performance piece with folktales, songs and poems that will investigate the cultural and environmental issues of the Rogue Rover Valley in Oregon and, by extension, American society.

Through this project, he hopes to help people understand themselves, create community, and foster a land ethic.

The week prior to the competition, program coordinators Caroline Towbin ’10.5 and Director of Project on Innovation in the Liberal Arts Elizabeth Robinson worked with student organizers in each competition area to select the Stonehenge finalists. Once the Stonehenge finalists were notified of their status, they were invited to attend a public speaking workshop with Mike Kiernan, a local doctor who is also involved with Middlebury’s town hall theater.

Towbin, who was present for the full day of the Stonehenge competition, said that she was very happy with how supportive the finalists were of one another.

“The competitors watched each other and worked together,” Towbin said. “There was not a single moment where you felt like people were competing against each other … The judges gave great advice during the question and answer sessions and during the follow-ups. They have been a great resource and it’s wonderful to have them.”