Middlebury students have spent only a fraction of the last year on campus compared to pre-Covid semesters. They finished the spring 2020 semester online, returned to an abbreviated fall term or took classes remotely, and spent J-Term off-campus. Yet the time spent at Middlebury was spent in Middlebury — students developed a new awareness of the borders of Addison County as travel restrictions kept students near campus and isolated from the rest of the world. Life on campus changed too, with everything from social life to exercise altered by a long and evolving list of rules meant to keep Covid-19 prevalence in the community low.
The pandemic transformed college life, and alongside it, students’ relationships with Middlebury. This year, we asked students whether Middlebury felt like home and how the ways they thought about Middlebury have changed since the beginning of the pandemic.
Almost 90% of students said Middlebury at least sometimes feels like home, but there were significant disparities between how white students and students of color viewed Middlebury. While one in two white students said Middlebury felt like home, the same was true for only one in three Hispanic or Latino students, one in three Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander students, and one in five Black students. Black students said Middlebury did not feel like home more than twice as often as white students.
Seniors felt far more at home at Middlebury than any other class year, with nearly 60% saying it was home and another 33% saying it was sometimes home. On the other side of the spectrum, first years were a notable standout — only 30% said Middlebury was home, while just over 50% said it sometimes was.
Legacy also made a difference in whether students felt at home at Middlebury. Students with two parents who went to Middlebury said they felt at home almost 25 percentage points more than students who had no parents attend Middlebury.
How has the way you think about Middlebury changed in the last year?
Respondents gave a mix of responses on how their thinking about Middlebury has changed, ranging from “I love it even more than I did before I got here,” to “f*** this school.”
Students wrote about how being sent away from Middlebury and later confined to Addison County changed their attachment to the college. Several people referenced stability: “After the school kicked us off campus last year, I’ve felt nervous. I don’t feel like I have a secure home here,” one said. Another wrote that being on campus made them realize “how important having friends nearby and a stable working environment are.”
Some mentioned finding new appreciation for the natural beauty of Middlebury, while others spoke about feeling trapped. One student said, “It’s a bit less like home when you’re stuck here and can’t leave.”
Connection came up in dozens of responses. Some students wrote about building stronger relationships with their “close contacts,” and how being more intentional with their time helped forge deeper connections to friends. Remote learners wrote about feeling disconnected from the college and from friends, having not been on campus in over a year. Many students both on and off campus wrote about feeling isolated from the community at large. “I just feel less connected to the students here because I never leave my section of campus,” one said.
Seniors were especially keen to finish the year. Responses included, “I cannot wait to get out of here, which is something I have not felt to this degree in previous years.”; “I will be glad to be gone.”; “I no longer want to be a student at Middlebury and feel no connection to the school or campus.”and “It won’t be my home forever. It will move on and I will move on.” Several people spoke about Middlebury as only a stepping stone in their life — a fleeting, transitory moment on their way to other goals.
Many students spoke about changing perspectives, from lowering expectations for college during Covid-19 to becoming more aware of inequities throughout the pandemic. Rose-colored glasses came up often, as students described losing the idealistic view they had of Middlebury in their first year.
Of course, students also spoke about home. “Often when you think about whether you like your college, you think about it as a school, in comparison to other schools,” one student said. “Now I’m thinking of it as a home, in comparison to other homes, and realizing I may never have a home like this again.”
Emmanuel Tamrat '22 is Digital Director.
He began working for The Campus as a photographer and online editor in the fall of 2018, and previously served as senior online editor.
An Environmental Policy major, Tamrat hails from London, GB but calls Alexandria, VA home. At Middlebury, he is involved in Rethinking Economics and works as a Democracy Intiatives Intern with the CCE.
