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(04/09/14 11:13pm)
Digital scholarship and research has become crucial to a liberal arts education and the College has started to take significant steps to implement it more fully. The College recently received an $800,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for a project entitled “Galvanizing Digital Liberal Arts at Middlebury”.
The grant was proposed by a group of faculty and staff including Professor Tim Spears, vice president for academic affairs, along with Professor of Film and Media Culture and American Studies Jason Mittell, Professor of Geography Anne Knowles, Dean for Faculty Development and Research and Director of the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research (CTLR) Jim Ralph, Dean of Library and Information services and Chief Information Officer Michael Roy, and Director of Collections, Archives, and Digital Scholarship Rebekah Irwin.
“We want to think about how technology is being used on our campus,” Spears said. “We’re paying particular attention to the Davis Family Library and we want to make a space that is literally more visible [as a place for technological innovation and usage].”
Davis Family Library will be the center of the project’s work in hopes that the project will reach many different people on campus. In addition, various departments will benefit greatly from the grant.
“[The Film and Media Culture department] is fully invested in the use of digital technologies in their teaching and research,” Spears said.
Mittell also believes the Film and Media Culture department, as well as others, will take their status as leaders among liberal arts colleges and improve even more with the help of the grant.
“The Geography department is a leader amongst liberal arts colleges for using GIS … What’s unique about our program here is that [it] is really interdisciplinary [because] we have people who are social scientists and people who are humanists,” Mittell said.
Geography is another department that will be able to use the grant to expand its already extensive digital simulations and mapping systems.
In addition to bolstering the Davis Family Library and various departments, the grant will allow for other important projects to take shape. One such project will implement a Digital Faculty Fellows program and a Digital Research Assistants program for students.
These programs will encourage faculty to do research in different areas as well as provide collaborative opportunities for students with their professors. There will also be four “innovation hubs” created as part of the project. These include geospatial visualization, video and audio production, digitization of special collections, and multimedia art.
The group who proposed the project was passionate about incorporating digital humanities because they are such a rapidly growing field in the world of liberal arts education.
“Everyone had a piece in the development of the ideas for the grant and the writing of it but [the office of Corporate and Foundation Relations] pulled the proposal together and sent it off to the Mellon Foundation… with the president’s signature. Really, a great team effort, all the way around,” Spears said.
“What can we learn about history that digital maps can teach us that we can’t otherwise know just by using more traditional research methods? How can we communicate to people using tools like video and audio on a website that’s different from the written word? What types of analysis of culture can emerge by using computational methods?”
Professor Mittell posed these questions as a way of thinking about the possibilities of digital humanities. He and the other professors involved in proposing the grant have successfully made this field of study an important presence at the College.
(02/13/14 12:12am)
After leadership changes at the end of last year rendered the YouPower bike room nearly forgotten, new management and programming boosted bike use during J-term.
YouPower was founded in 2012 by a group of students who turned to MiddSTART, the College’s microphilanthopy network, to raise money for 10 spin bikes linked to generators to be connected to the College’s energy grid. Watt-hours produced by students riding the bikes go directly into powering the College.
Located in the Freeman International Center, the YouPower bike room has been used for individual riding sessions, free student-led classes, private classes and Watt-A-Thons — relay-style events in which teams compete to produce the largest amount of energy in a set period of time.
YouPower’s struggle stems from a lack of continuity. In the past, seniors would assume leadership roles, spend several months organizing classes and schedules and then graduate, leaving YouPower without a leader. This year alone, YouPower classes did not begin until November.
After this period of uncertainty, Nan Philip ’16.5 and Spencer Petterson ’14 are at the helm of YouPower and are working to improve programming, increase regular use and set future goals.
Petterson first became involved with YouPower in Fall 2012 when she served as an instructor. After a call for new managers went out over the summer, she decided to seek a leadership position.
“It was something that I really didn’t want to see die,” Spencer said noting the ecological impact YouPower can have and the value of it being a student-run initiative.
“It took a while for us to get it [YouPower] reorganized,” said Philip, who cited a string of miscommunications and misunderstandings as a roadblock to YouPower’s success.
In spite of past struggles, a recent boost in support has left Philip optimistic about YouPower’s future. Petterson noted Operations and Events Manager Franklin Dean-Farrar and members of the Student Government Association (SGA) who helped to boost operations and instructing YouPower’s leaders on exercise safety rules and regulations.
The location of the YouPower bike room on the north end of campus, adjacent to Ross, Coffrin, Atwater and the Chateau, offers an alternative to the athletic center.
“The YouPower room is a great alternative to the gym, especially because I live in Ross and that’s a long, cold walk in the winter,” said Rachel Kinney ’16.5, who plans to use YouPower throughout the spring semester.
As of Jan. 23, 323 students used YouPower during J-term, with most staying on the bikes for 30-60 minutes. The average watt-hours generated by students in an hour-long session is enough to power two 60-watt light bulbs for an hour.
YouPower currently has six student-instructors registered, some of whom are officially certified to teach classes and others who are merely passionate about spinning. Philip and Petterson are looking to expand their roster and bring on new leadership. Information about YouPower student-led courses, open ride hours and becoming involved with the bike room can be found at go/youpower.
“It’s cool … to think about the amount of energy needed for even the simplest things,” Petterson said. “It’s amazing to realize that after I turn my lights off, I would have to bike for an hour just to get them running again for that amount of time.”
(01/23/14 3:00am)
Vermont is known for its wacky weather, but lately it has been especially bizarre. First we felt the effects of the polar vortex with bitter cold temperatures, and now at the end of a thaw, much warmer temperatures have caused snow and ice. These weather extremes have taken an interesting toll on the Middlebury Snowbowl.
According to Peter Mackey, the Snowbowl manager, the mountain has lost around two feet of natural snow due to the wind, rain, and warmth of late. There has been plenty of snowfall, but the snow has not been maintained because of the weather.
Fortunately, the Snowbowl has the ability to make snow artificially. Currently, there are only five runs open — the only runs on which they are able to make snow.
“If we didn’t make snow, we wouldn’t be open,” Mackey said.
However, making snow isn’t always easy. The weather has gone from being too warm to make snow to too cold, and this shifting has been a huge challenge. Also, the mountain does not have a wide array of snowmaking — it accounts for only45 percent of the terrain in total.
“While there was a little bit of fresh powder, it was just covering up the ice,” Emily Beneroff ’16.5, who skies at the Bowl. “Conditions could have been better and less icy, but they also could have been worse.”
As such, students or other skiers checking which trails are open before heading to the Snowbowl might feel discouraged.Additionally, the bare ground at the College tricks students into thinking there is an equal dearth of snow at the Bowl. Mackey said that 175 pre-purchased season passes have not been redeemed yet, which is a relatively high number compared to normal snow years.
Despite all of these difficulties, Mackey says the conditions are still “pretty good.” Although there have been some granular and icy conditions, the Snowbowl’s ability to make snow has produced close-to-normal surfaces on their ski runs.
According to Susan Davis, head of the ski and snowboard school at the Snowbowl, the mountain has been open everyday since the beginning of the season, except Christmas Day. She says that “so far, we haven’t seen a huge impact” in terms of people not coming to their lessons, partly because most lessons are prearranged.
“[Vermonters] know we get odd weather, so they tend to gamble on it,” Davis said, regarding ski lessons and attendance. She believes the mountain has not seen a great decrease in revenue, because most of their business comes from various ski programs from schools and race teams.
Davis believes that there is a “disconnect between what’s going on [at the Bowl] and what’s perceived as going on [on campus].”
Davis said that Jan. 13, for example, there was “incredibly good spring skiing,” but students from outside Vermont simply believe the snow is not up to par because of the dry campus grounds. She believes that if students would only inquire as to how the conditions are, by either calling the Snowbowl or looking at the website, they would see that the snow is definitely skiable.
According to Davis, when there is snow on campus, students believe the skiing will be better. After the recent snowfall on Jan. 16, many more students headed up to the Bowl to ski.
The staff at the Snowbowl wants students to know that there is a difference between the amount of snow on campus and the amount of snow on the mountain. Davis urges students to simply do some investigating before they decide not to ski, because they may find that the conditions are better than they might believe. Although the weather has caused the mountain some difficulty, overall it has been able to sustain a quality level of skiing.
(11/21/13 5:00am)
On Saturday, Nov. 16, students took part in “Tour de Fracked,” a bike ride organized to peacefully protest the Vermont fracked gas pipeline that is proposed to run through Middlebury.
The College has expressed its support for the pipeline, maintaining that it will provide an inexpensive, local form of energy for the school and residents of the town. Many students, however, are fighting the College’s stance because they believe the environmental and social side effects of fracking are too high of a price to pay.
Hydraulic fracturing is a process of obtaining natural gas by pressurizing liquids, including harmful chemical substances, to fracture rock below the earth. These chemicals have the potential to leak into groundwater near wells and thus contaminate drinking water.
Rosalie Wright-Lapin ’15, one of the organizers of the bike ride, is fearful of the social issues associated with fracking.
“[The] pipeline poses a major ethical paradox,” Wright-Lapin said. “Many argue that fracked gas will provide affordable “clean” heat for Vermonters. The importance of making heat affordable for Vermonters is undoubtedly a social justice issue — all humans (especially living in a climate like Vermont’s) should have access to affordable heat. However, the mere process of fracking disrupts towns and threatens the health and environment of those communities.”
People in the residential communities near a fracking site are often put in compromising situations in which they do not usually have the power to change. This brings into question the ethics of using fracked gas.
Zane Anthony ’16.5 is another passionate orchestrator of the Tour de Frack who wants to make the possible implementation of the pipeline, and the controversy over fracking in general, more of a focus on campus. At Powershift, an environmental convention for students across the country that occurred over Fall Break, Anthony and others became motivated to do more related to the climate crisis and environmental justice movements.
Anthony has been working with an organization called the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), which aims to bring the voice of Vermont citizens to public policy debates. Anthony’s work with VPIRG helped him gain momentum for spearheading the Tour de Fracked.
The bike ride was meant to be a symbolic showing of “Middlebury activists riding together in solidarity in opposition to the Vermont pipeline.” The Tour de Fracked group had advertised for their cause. Other advertisements were more creative, such as a caution-tape patch that served as a statement of solidarity, because caution tape symbolizes the precautionary principle; a huge element in the sustainability movement. Advertisements have included flyers, notification of the local media, a planned conference and over 75 photo petitions of students holding up their statements of disapproval of the pipeline.
Despite their efforts, Anthony feels that environmental activist groups are somewhat lacking on campus. He noted the major focus on the issues of divestment and local food, and the absence of strong activism for any other area.
“[It’s] a fallacy [that] Middlebury prides itself on its progressive nature — divestment and [local] food are longer term [issues] but the pipeline could be built in February,” said Anthony. “Now is the time, before it is built, for people to see that they are opposed to it.”
According to Wright-Lapin, there are many reasons to be opposed to the construction of the pipeline.
“Any organic farms through which the pipeline passes can no longer be organic, thus ruining the living that many hardworking Vermonters have built for themselves and their families,” said Wright-Lapin.
“Providing affordable heat for some is only a step towards social justice if it is not ruining the homes of others. Bettering people’s lives is only meaningful when it is not harming people on the other end,” she said.
These students held Tour de Frack to bring the broad spectrum of environmental issues, and the effects that could result from the pipleine for both the College and the Middlebury community to the attention of the college community at large.
(11/06/13 11:10pm)
The first two months of the fall semester saw a reduction in overall dorm damage, with just 24 student damage work orders being placed. Dish damage, however, continues to be problematic, as less than 15 percent of the College’s initial stock of bowls remain.
Of the 24 work orders placed this semester, 12 involved what is called “excessive mess,” or vomit, urine and general debris, found primarily in bathrooms, lounges and similar public areas. Four work orders were placed for damaged or missing equipment and three were issued for fire extinguisher clean up unassociated with a fire.
Assistant Director of Custodial Services Sylvia Manning said that she is sad to see the custodial staff face the student-made messes in dorms.
“[Students] are doing things that they shouldn’t be doing, and this phenomenon is discouraging,” Manning said. “I don’t think the damage is malicious. The only thing that might be considered truly deliberate was an incident of graffiti. Otherwise, I think that students are just making poor choices.”
Manning acknowledged that while dorm damage has not been as high this year as it has been in the past, it remains a problem that must be addressed.
Lost and unreturned dishes, however, remain a constant problem. According to Ross Commons Dining Manager Brent Simons, Ross Dining Hall began the academic year with 300 new glasses and approximately 250 small plates and bowls. Proctor Dining Hall began the year with a similar number of dishes and has since had to borrow bowls from both Ross and Atwater Dining Halls. On Oct. 31, Proctor Dining Hall Manager Dawn Boise emailed Simons requesting a transfer of bowls, for the Proctor bowl count had dwindled to 30.
“Taking dishes results in a loss of inventory and a delay in how long it takes for dish staff to wash and replace dishes,” Simons said.
Dorm dishes, or dishes left unwashed in dorm rooms for days or weeks, are salvageable but must be subject to extreme cleaning measures. Dishes carry mold, and caked-on food residue must be soaked in soap and water for a full 24 hours and washed in the dishwasher multiple times before making their way to serving stations again.
According to Simons, Dining Services recently recovered a load of dorm dishes approximately five feet tall and five feet wide. While salvageable, cleaning the stack of dishes will take several days.
Another issue that plagued the College in the past is tree vandalism. Director of Landscape and Horticulture Tim Parsons reported that not a single case of tree vandalism has occurred this semester.
This drop in damage supports his theory that earlier tree vandalism was conducted by a student or group of students who have now graduated from the College.
The overall decrease in damage hints at a growing consciousness among the student body. As dish damage continues to challenge Dining Services, however, administrators and student groups are working both independently and among each other to find a solution to the dish problem.