Reviving a tradition, rekindling a community

At a small liberal arts college, “community” is more than just a buzzword we repeat on tours to prospective students — it is a promise we make to one another. Community is what draws students to campuses like Middlebury in the first place: the idea that learning extends beyond the classroom into shared meals, lifelong friendships are formed through spontaneous conversations across dorm hallways, and experiences like square dancing during orientation create collective memories. Yet, since the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, that promise has rung increasingly hollow. Instead of one cohesive campus community, we’ve begun breaking down into smaller, more insular clusters. Walk into Proctor, Ross or Atwater at dinnertime, and you will see a campus divided. We sit in familiar corners with the same teammates and lab partners, shielded by laptop screens and noise-cancelling headphones. We have become a collection of high-functioning silos: small, comfortable social groups which rarely intersect.

This is not to say that a sense of community at Middlebury no longer exists. Rather, it exists in pockets: athletic teams, friend groups, academic cohorts and clubs all foster meaningful relationships. The challenge is that these groups rarely connect in ways that create a unified campus culture. We live in polite coexistence, but we are missing the final puzzle piece that makes the College feel like a home for all of us. 

One of the clearest indications of this unraveling is the absence of large-scale traditions which bring together members from across the Middlebury community.  Before the pandemic, Middlebury hosted school-wide picnics in both fall and spring terms. These events brought together students, faculty, and staff in a shared space, offering a rare opportunity to step outside routine and build connections across social and institutional lines. For the past six years, this tradition has been absent — but not forgotten.

At the Spring meeting between the Student Government Association (SGA) and Board of Trustees (BoT) in March, this lack of campus-wide cohesion was raised as a primary concern. The consensus is clear: we cannot wait for a community to form by accident. We have to build it with care and effort.

SGA’s solution is both simple and intentionally disruptive. We are reviving the all-school community picnic on April 30 by shutting down all three dining halls and replacing them with an outdoor barbeque on Hepburn Road. What makes this initiative special is its inclusivity. By providing food and a central gathering space, the picnic removes many of the barriers to participation in campus life. It is not tied to a specific group, club or identity. It is for the entire Middlebury community — students, faculty, staff, and their families. In a campus environment where social circles can feel fixed, this kind of openness matters.

We acknowledge that a single event on a single day of the school year cannot fully resolve the deeper issues of disconnection on campus. But it is recognition that building community requires intentional effort, and that collective traditions play a crucial role in sustaining it.

Equally important is our commitment to making this more than a one-time revival. Through legislation that will endure long after our time on campus, the SGA intends to establish the picnic as an annual event. This will ensure that it becomes a consistent part of campus life for years to come. If Middlebury is to live up to its name as a leading liberal arts institution, it must invest in spaces that bring us together across differences. Bringing back the community picnic is about more than food or good weather. It is about reclaiming the shared sense of belonging we need now more than ever.

Editor's note: Ghani and Teh serve on the College's Student Government Association.