Spring symposium results arrive

The Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB) Speakers Committee has awarded funding for the Spring Symposium to a proposal entitled “Communities and Justice: Inequality and Innovation in America’s Justice System.”  The symposium will take place from Sunday, Feb. 27 to Friday, Mar. 4 of 2011 and will analyze multiple aspects of the American justice system.

“A few of the major themes we’ll be examining include inequality, race, immigration, holistic public defense and the role of prisons and prison reform in our society,” said Nora Hirozawa ’11, who is organizing the event along with Danny Loehr ’13.5, Hanna Mahon ’13.5 and Hannah Postel ’13.

Hirozawa explained that the idea for the symposium originally came from a discussion of immigration policy at a meeting of the student group JUNTOS, which works with the integration of the local Hispanic migrant community.

Hirozawa explained that after this initial discussion, the organizers met and “started with a brainstorming session.”

The students then contacted people they personally knew in the field and also reached out to departments on campus for contact recommendations.  Throughout the process, the organizers worked to accommodate topics and speakers to represent a variety of opinions and event types.

“Sometimes we organized around speakers, sometimes around topics,” added Postel.

Hirozawa hopes that the symposium’s “support from multiple departments” will create interest among different groups in the College community.  The symposium is sponsored by the political science, American studies, geography and sociology departments as well as the Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity and the Chellis House Women’s Resource Center.

“We really want to demonstrate that justice is not just an academic issue,” explained Mahon.

The symposium will feature the traditional lineup of lecturers and panelists as well as interdisciplinary events.  Professors from the College, professors from other institutions, experts in the justice field and even former inmates will deliver lectures on varying topics. The weeklong event will also include dinners hosted by the Commons, multiple film screenings and a performance by the student dance troupe Riddim.

The group’s next step in the organizational process will be finalizing contracts with the visiting lecturers and then working to publicize the event.

“We hope professors can include [the symposium] on their spring syllabi,” said Postel.
The organizers are also looking for students with experience in the justice system, either through an internship or job, to speak on a student panel.

The MCAB Speakers Committee funds both individual speakers and symposiums and has two separate funds for each category.  The proposals heard last week fall under the category of
symposiums, which involve multiple events held over the course of several days.

The Speakers Committee approved the proposal after hearing three presentations in total.
Catilin Ludlow ’13 and Colin Gibson ’11, co-chairs of the MCAB Speakers Committee, worked
with other committee members to approve the proposal last week.

“We heard two other proposals from student organizations,” explained Gibson. “[General procedure is that] students give 30 minute presentations and then we ask questions about any issues that raise a red flag.”

Gibson and Ludlow explained that the committee tends to have the most questions about funding issues, as members want to ensure that the funding is spent with discretion.

“Approval is contingent upon [the organizers] continuing to demonstrate goals,” added Ludlow.

The Speakers Committee will continue to meet with the symposium organizers throughout the process.

Students can propose both lectures and symposium ideas to the MCAB committee up to three weeks before the proposed event.  Students are required to complete a speaker training session through the Events Planning Office before approval.