At the Community Council meeting on Oct. 27, Dean of Students and Community Council Co-Chair Katy Smith Abbott began the discussion by informing the council of a meeting that took place with Middlebury residents and college officials.
The neighbors of various off-campus houses complained directly to the college and posted on “Front Porch,” a neighborhood forum, complaining about the loud and destructive activities that took place on Waybridge Street over homecoming weekend.
Smith Abbott stated that neighbors “reported being very fearful for their own houses and property.” It was pointed out by some of the neighbors that signs were being torn from the ground, objects being thrown at windows, and a student lying in the middle of the street, completely passed out.
Responding to Smith Abbott’s opening, Ilana Gratch ’16.5 asked if this type of behavior was unique to this specific year. Associate Dean of Students for Residential and Student Life Doug Adams said, “It has not happened to this degree until this year…We have not had a significant concern since 2002 or 2003.”
Smith Abbott stated that many students attribute “this untenable situation with large, loud parties is the result of a lack of a social scene on campus.”
The council moved to discuss the question of whether or not Middlebury is missing the type of social life that students want. One possible solution that the council discussed was increasing the amount of registered parties on campus as an outlet for this type of partying.
Gratch said that “student social house party registration can be tedious and difficult. You have to be 21 to be the house… working the doors or being the bartender is something no one wants to do.”
The next topic of concern to the council was the ever growing popularity of app Yik Yak. Cyber bullying has led to the app’s blocking in many schools. The council discussed whether or not the administration has a responsibility to block the app at the College, in light of an article written by Jordan Seman ’16 in the Campus describing harassment she faced on the app. Many council members acknowledged that blocking the app could create another issue where students feel the administration is taking control over an aspect of their lives they should not control.
“The yaks like the one in the Campus or the one Helena was talking about are a minority,” Emma Blake, who is against blocking the app on campus, said.
Associate Professor of Anthropology James Fitzsimmons said, “I think we should ban [the app]. I don’t think it will be terribly affective because something else will pop up, but at least it will be a show of support [for Jordan].”
On Nov. 3, the council continued its conversation on the social scene at Middlebury, specifically the drinking and partying culture. Associate Dean of Students for Student Activities & Orientation JJ Boggs and Director of Health and Wellness Education Barbara McCall attended the meeting to weigh in on how best for the council to proceed on this topic.
Smith Abbott proceeded to give an overview of the meeting that took place on Sunday, Nov. 2 between students, faculty, staff, and President Liebowitz regarding the social life of students.
In regards to the question of registering Thursday night parties during J-term, Smith Abbott asked, “What would it feel like to the faculty if we (the council) made a recommendation of this kind? Is it disingenuous for us to say that we can’t? Maybe that would send a message about what we think about J-term, when it is supposed to be academic… but there is the argument that its already happening anyway so why aren’t we making it safer?”
The meeting ended with the general agreement from the council to continue the discussion on social life and get to the specifics on what types of actions they would want to take. The council is planning to hold and lead an open discussion alike to the one that took place last Sunday.
