As the Chateau celebrates its 100-year anniversary and the first group of Middlebury students takes up residence in New Battell, we are reflecting on the meaning of the buildings where we study, work, and live. Buildings are part of what makes our campus feel distinctly “Middlebury.” Recent and upcoming construction projects have the potential to significantly alter the character of our spaces, and we want to emphasize that student input and experiences should be at the forefront of administrators’ minds as they think through these changes.
Part of how special the campus feels to us is because of us, the very students who live and study in it: We infuse the buildings we inhabit with character and life, and our relationships to those buildings grow with time and experience. Some of us who were freshmen living in Old Battell can attest to how it tends to grow on you after you spend a formative first year there. The way that our campus looks and feels reflects who we are as an institution, how we present ourselves to prospective students and alumni, and influences how we experience the college as a place of higher learning.
One editorial board member who interacted with alumni celebrating the Chateau’s anniversary remarked on the strong connection that alums expressed to the building itself and to its unique features, such as the dining hall that was once in its basement. Not every department at Middlebury would have attracted so many alumni to an independent event decades after their graduation, but the Chateau is special, not just because of its architectural beauty, but also because of its link to the French-speaking community at Middlebury and more broadly to Middlebury’s identity as a foreign language powerhouse. Strong connections to campus buildings improve the current student experience and foster longstanding relationships with alumni, who are then more likely to stay involved with and donate to the college in the future. We believe that maintaining these relationships requires preserving the character and identity of our buildings and thus our institution — none of us wants to come back in 20 years and no longer recognize our surroundings.
We understand the value of new buildings: They demonstrate that Middlebury is embracing the future and caring for its students. However, growth as an institution does not only mean embarking on shiny construction projects, but also putting care and energy into improving what we already have. This does not have to come at the expense of innovation and progress: A good example of successful fusion between tradition and modernization that we commend is the Axinn Center and the Starr Library, which feels simultaneously modern and rooted in our history as a small liberal arts institution, winning a Sustainable Design Award from the Boston Society of Architects, and an Excellence in Architecture award from the Society for College and University Planning.
More than flashy buildings that look good on an admissions brochure, we appreciate attention to smaller renovation and maintenance projects, from adjustments for safety regulations and fire hazard concerns to sustainable building practices. No building is for any one student, and determining how our campus should be constructed must be the result of a holistic decision-making process. We ask that the administration involve student input in this process. We are the most invested not only in how our campus looks, but in the ease of access and functionality in everyday life — we are for accessibility and safe, functional facilities, not for more new buildings that will add to someone’s legacy or make an admissions pamphlet more appealing.
We are also mindful that, as much as the built environment is meaningful to us as Middlebury students, we are not its only stakeholders. The faculty and the town will be affected by the architecture of the campus for much longer than the four years each student spends here, and their input should matter equally, if not more.
On that note, we want to state unequivocally that we are not in favor of the plans administrators have hinted at for a new student center that would combine all three of our beloved dining halls into one massive building where Proctor now stands. While we know this idea stems from understaffing concerns, we feel the large size of such a building would destroy several aspects of the small, residential campus that we love and disrupt the college’s “skyline” for town residents — even the construction of BiHall was a stretch in that regard. The necessity of walking around campus, running into friends, and absorbing its beauty is what we like about Middlebury; we do not want so many of our needs to be contained in one towering structure.
At a time in which Middlebury is thinking carefully about its identity after the decision to close the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) at Monterey, we call for the administration to focus on financial choices that will improve the quality of life and student experience. Although it's a great marketing tool for prospective students, a new dorm is not the only way to be forward-thinking about our campus’ appearance. Prioritizing investment in our existing structures can help ensure that students on campus today will want to return decades from now, just like the alumni who returned to celebrate the Chateau.
