On Oct. 1, the Middlebury College Student Government Association (SGA) held an outdoor picnic for the first time in nearly seven years. Students, staff, faculty and families joined together on the lawn area surrounding Stewart and Gifford Halls and the Middlebury Chapel. The Proctor terrace featured pizza ovens, while the road between the dining hall and the Chapel had rows of tables serving dinner, dessert and beverages.
Middlebury has a tradition of SGA-led picnics, but Covid-19 restrictions canceled them. An SGA effort last spring tried to host another picnic but it was ultimately cancelled due to weather complications.
Current SGA President Anina Dentel-Pham ’27 wanted to build upon months of effort from previous SGA cohorts to make the event happen this fall semester.
“We have gorgeous green space at Middlebury and why not take advantage of it,” said Dentel-Pham.
The planning process began last academic year.
“A lot of it happened last year, in terms of trying to get it off the ground. That conversation, I believe, came as we had talked with the dining committee, which a lot of SGA members were on. So pitching it, asking the administration and the Office of the President, that this is something we think Middlebury students would want back, and would really enjoy, was a huge part of it last year,” she said.
Former SGA senators Jonny Eaton ’26.5 and Bryan Harris ’26 played a large role in planning the event, which was supported by the college administration and the Board of Trustees.
“We’re really lucky that the administration was on board so that they were willing to help everyone and said, you know, this is important to the students that we have this, and honestly important to everyone else, because faculty and staff are there, too,” Dentel-Pham said.
The afternoon itself was a team effort between multiple departments on campus including Dining, Events Management and Facilities. Events Management coordinates the entire event including table setup, layout, seating arrangements, timing and lighting. From there, Dining then develops the menu and staffing needs.
All three dining halls on campus closed for the evening due to staffing schedules and to ensure that there were enough people to successfully run the event.
“It is the only way we can staff the event accordingly. The employees that normally work dinner staff the picnic,” Dan Detora, executive director of food service operations said. “I am incredibly grateful for our outstanding dining and events management teams. Their hard work, dedication, and teamwork is unmatched, and I truly appreciate everything they did to make the picnic memorable for the entire campus community.”
Dentel-Pham also emphasized the importance of dining employees in making the event successful.
“We’re really thankful to the dining team. It happened nicely that that was the option for dinner, but it was not part of our original plan to get everyone there necessarily. It was only because that’s the staff that we have available at Middlebury for dining. To be able to make all of that food, they need everyone on board,” Dentel-Pham noted.
The first 350 people to show up at the picnic received special t-shirts designed by the SGA and funded by the Middlebury Alumni Association. SGA got the idea for the t-shirt based on feedback from the Board of Trustees on what types of things they had at Middlebury during their time as students.
“We had asked if we could get something commemorative for the picnic, because a lot of trustees we talked to had said they had gotten things from campus traditions over the years, like, they got a mug, or they got a t-shirt, and so that’s where the t-shirt idea came into play,” Dentel-Pham said.
At the picnic students, staff and faculty mingled amongst each other, sitting at tables and chairs which were set up by Facilities in circular shapes to encourage community members and students to congregate in groups and meet new people.
“At first I was skeptical, having all the dining halls closed and it being outside, but it turns out, you know, the food’s really good and it’s nice to be out here with all your friends,” Adian Ulian ’27 said.
“I think it’s a wonderful way to bring the college community together. We need to do more things like this,” Track & Field Coach Martin Beatty said.
The event reflects broadly what Dentel-Pham envisions the role of SGA to be.
“I think there's certainly a lot of campus events, but there aren’t always campus events that can include everyone, and I do feel like part of our job at SGA is to bring the community together,” she said.
Editor’s Note: News Editor Jonny Eaton ’26.5 organized this event as an SGA member. He had no role in editing this story.
Norah Khan ’27 (she/her) is the Editor-in-Chief.
She previously served as a News Editor and Arts & Culture Editor. She is a joint Political Science and English Literature major with a minor in Spanish. She spent her summer interning at Seven Days and completing research on campus. In her free time, she enjoys running on the TAM and cooking with friends.
