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(10/11/18 10:00am)
The hearings and subsequent confirmation of now-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh sparked national outrage that resonated with many members of the college community over the past two weeks. Across campus, students and faculty publicly expressed their support for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and survivors of sexual assault with signs, a “Walkout Against the Patriarchy” and chalked messages on pathways.
Signs Supporting Survivors
“WE BELIEVE SURVIVORS,” declared signs that surfaced across campus after the tumultuous Senate hearing addressing Dr. Ford’s sexual assault allegations against Justice Kavanaugh. The lead organizer of the postering campaign, who requested anonymity given her probation status from the Charles Murray protest, printed several posters and emailed the PDF file of the posters to multiple co-activists including Grace Vedock ’20 and Taite Shomo ’20.5.
“I wanted to do something to help make women and survivors feel supported on this campus. To help them feel heard. Believed. Safe. They were my motivation,” the student wrote in a message. “Beyond campus, my sisters were my motivation. My mom. My friends. My future nieces.”
However, responses have not all been positive. Certain signs, such as one posted outside of Proctor Dining Hall, were almost immediately ripped down. Throughout the next few days, additional signs were vandalized and restored. Soon after the initial incident, the Community Bias Response Team (CBRT) weighed in, condemning the vandalism in an all-school email and noting that it violated “the general principle of respectful behavior and community standards.”
A similar action took place outside the suite of Juliana Dunn ’19.5, Vee Duong ’19 and Nathan Nguyen ’19. In a Facebook post, Dunn shared that a student continued to erase the “WE BELIEVE CHRISTINE” text on the whiteboard outside their suite and remove similar paper signs. As of Tuesday evening, the messages had been collectively vandalized nine times.
[pullquote speaker="" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]Supporting survivors should be the norm, not a radical act.[/pullquote]
“As a suite we are unsurprised but still stung by the ripping down and erasing of our signs of solidarity; it felt particularly painful to those of us who are survivors,” the suite members collectively wrote in a message to The Campus. “Supporting survivors should be the norm, not a radical act. We want to expect more of our peers and the institution, but our experiences on campus have largely taught us to prepare for less.”
The primary organizer of the poster campaign also wrote “BELIEVE SURVIVORS” on the chalk message board next to the mail room, including the hotline for WomenSafe (800-388-4205). Throughout the twenty-minute setup process, dozens of women stopped to express their gratitude and identify themselves as survivors.
Protest Against Patriarchy
A “Walkout Against the Patriarchy” started small but grew to a crowd of about 40 professors and students outside of Proctor on Oct. 4. Participants gathered in front of the steps to the dining hall with signs protesting Justice Kavanaugh’s nomination and many passersby joined in after seeing what was occurring.
The mood was somber. Participants expressed their frustration at the Republican Party’s continued support of Justice Kavanaugh despite the accusations of sexual assault, and shared their belief that recent events put women across the nation at risk. Many said they were afraid that Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court would threaten the right to abortion protected by Roe v. Wade.
Participants also discussed concrete ways to make a difference, such as voting and talking about uncomfortable issues with family members and friends. Some suggested that to create change, they would need to look outside of the “Middlebury bubble” and engage with the world at large.
The professors in attendance hoped that their students and their students’ generation as a whole would work hard to protect sexual assault survivors and improve the lives of all women.
Gender Studies professors Laurie Essig and Sujata Moorti, Writing and Rhetoric professor Catharine Wright and Director of Chellis House Karin Hanta arranged the event with help from other faculty members.
“It was last minute,” Essig said. “We got some posters up and put it on Facebook on Wednesday, the day before.”
“I just happened to stumble upon the protest on my way home and stayed a bit to hear people’s thoughts and responses to the situation,” Melisa Topic ’19 said. “I appreciated the mixed student-faculty attendance because I believe it showed both unity and support from all sources on this campus, and demonstrated the diversity in individuals that are feeling some type of way about the Kavanaugh nomination.”
The next day, Feminist Action at Middlebury (FAM) and the Student Government Association (SGA) encouraged students to participate in a “blackout” by wearing black to show support for survivors of sexual assault and for Dr. Ford, Ramirez and Swetnick.
On Saturday, the Senate voted 50-48 to confirm Justice Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. He was sworn in later that day.
Chalk in Solidarity
Using a rainbow of chalk, students scrawled messages of frustration, despair and support in response to Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Some of the messages were longer: “Men Need to Hold Other Men Accountable” and “Age Does Not Excuse Assault,” while others were simple and impactful: “Believe Survivors” and “We Believe Dr. Ford.”
The chalking was organized by Taite Shomo ’20.5 and executed on Monday and Tuesday.
“I happen to believe those allegations, but his appointment to the Court is much larger than just him. It’s a symbolic message to survivors of sexual assault and abuse that our experiences don’t matter,” Shomo said.
[pullquote speaker="Shomo '20.5" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]The idea that a person can inflict something so painful and traumatizing on another person with no consequences is devastating.[/pullquote]
“I was assaulted when I was 13, only a little younger than Dr. Ford when she was assaulted,” she said. “The idea that a person can inflict something so painful and traumatizing on another person with no consequences is devastating.”
Shomo wonders if she, or other survivors at Middlebury, may someday have to experience what Dr. Ford has gone through, and if they do, whether their story will even matter.
“Chalking campus felt like a cathartic and immediate way to channel some of the anger and sadness I’ve been feeling since Kavanaugh’s appointment in a constructive way” she said.
The purpose of the chalking was not only personal expression. Shomo also hoped to send a message to both survivors and assaulters on campus.
“There are people here who care about what survivors have been through and care about assaulters being held accountable for their actions — even if those actions took place in high school or college,” Shomo said.
Shomo described one moment of the chalking that was particularly rewarding. As she and her girlfriend were writing in front of Proctor, a student walked up to them and asked to borrow their chalk. The student scribed two powerful words: “Me Too.”
(09/27/18 9:52am)
Students walking toward Bicentennial Hall this week will notice a large, green structure standing in the middle of the grass. With tarps for walls and pine boughs for a roof, the tent-like construction is a Sukkah, a traditional element of the Jewish harvest festival, Sukkot. Sukkot commemorates when the Jewish people lived in tents in the fields during harvest.
Sukkot began on the evening of Sept. 23 and lasts eight days until the evening of Sept. 30. During that time, Jewish students will eat, celebrate, and even sleep, in the Sukkah, in accordance with custom.
According to Rabbi Danielle Stillman, an associate chaplain at the college, Sukkot dates back to when the Temple stood in Jerusalem.
“Jews would go on a pilgrimage to it and offer sacrifices,” she said. “It was the last chance to do this before the winter rains, so it was a very festive time.”
Stillman said Sukkot is her favorite holiday.
“It encourages us to be outside at a beautiful yet sometimes chilly time of year, when we might be tempted to stay in,” she said. “It celebrates the fall harvest and it is all about joy and being with people.”
In past years, the Facilities Services Office has set up a Sukkah on the side of the Freeman International Center. This year, Hillel decided to take part in the building process themselves, choosing to build a larger structure to make hosting events easier. This past Sunday, nearly 20 students and a few faculty members helped build and decorate the Sukkah.
Hillel Co-President Cece Alter ’19 enjoyed the construction process.
“We worked quickly and laughed a lot, trying not to let any poles fall on each other,” she said.
One traditional part of Sukkot is actually sleeping in the Sukkah. This year, Hillel board member Abigail Browngoehl ’19 decided to spend a night outside.
“During Sukkot, it’s customary to spend time and even sleep in this structure, where you’ll be able to see the stars through the roof,” Browngoehl said. “It felt like the perfect opportunity to experience that tradition of Sukkot. My boyfriend was visiting from home so I had taken out a tent, sleeping bags and pads, and headlamps from the Gear Room to keep us warm in this cool transition from summer to fall.”
Browngoehl hopes that, in the years to come, sleeping in the Sukkah and staring up at the stars will become a tradition at Middlebury.
Several events are planned this week in celebration of the holiday. A visiting Torah Scribe will be hosted for dinner tonight in the Sukkah.
On Friday, Hillel will also be holding their weekly Shabbat services at 5:30 p.m., and those who want can join for a 6:30 p.m. dinner in the Sukkah.
Alter encourages everyone to come check out the Sukkah out this week while it’s up.
“We’re meant to be grateful for the harvest and spend lots of time in the Sukkah, so don’t hesitate to bring your plate from Ross and have a meal in it,” she said.
(09/13/18 9:55am)
THE GRILLE CHANGES HOURS
The Grille has modified its hours for the rest of time. Previously open from 11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. and from 8 p.m.-12 a.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, it will now close at 2 p.m. and will no longer operate for the evening on those days.
Although only affecting two days of operation, this change reduces the number of options for on-campus late night dining for students. However, on Mondays and Tuesdays, there are still three late night food options: Midd-Xpress and Wilson Café will continue to stay open until midnight and Crossroads Café will continue to stay open until 10 p.m.
— Eric Kapner
CHRISTINE HALLQUIST TO VISIT MIDDLEBURY
On Sunday, Sept. 16, The Middlebury College Democrats are hosting a screening of the documentary “Denial,” which documents Christine Hallquist’s transition during her time as the CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative. Hallquist is the current Democratic nominee in the Vermont gubernatorial race and is the first openly transgender nominee from a major party for the office of governor in the United States.
After the screening, there will be a Q&A featuring Hallquist and Ruth Hardy, the executive director of Emerge Vermont. Hardy is also running on the Democratic ticket to represent Addison County in the Vermont State Senate.
Emerge Vermont is an organization that trains and supports women to run for public office in the state. Their mission, as stated on their website, is “To increase the number of Democratic women leaders from diverse backgrounds in public office through recruitment, training, and providing a powerful network.” 34 of the candidates in the 2018 Vermont elections are women trained by Emerge Vermont.
The screening and discussion will take place at 7 p.m. in the Dana Auditorium. The event is being cosponsored by Feminist Action at Middlebury and Middlebury Women Leaders.*
— Eric Kapner
CHANGES TO RES LIFE ROLES
Derek Doucet is now serving as the senior associate dean of students. Amanda Reinhardt is now the head of the Student Activities Office, where she will report to Doucet.
Doucet’s new role will involve overseeing the commons and residential life system — apart from the Commons Heads, who report to dean of the faculty Andi Lloyd — new student orientation, and the Student Activities Office. He will work with Reinhardt to handle the day to day proceedings of student orientation and will directly supervise the commons deans.
Doucet said he hopes that his transition will be as seamless as possible for students.
— Cali Kapp
FATAL CAR CRASH EN ROUTE TO PROCTOR
A mechanical issue at Proctor Dining Hall on Sunday afternoon caused the building’s bathrooms to fill with smoke, forcing staff to evacuate and delaying the beginning of dinner by one hour.
The incident also resulted, indirectly, in tragedy nearby. A utility vehicle from Cornwall Fire Department — one of several vehicles summoned to the scene as a precaution — was involved in a fatal crash on Route 125 near The Knoll, while on its way to Proctor. The Addison Independent reported Monday that at around 3:45 p.m., the utility vehicle collided with a pickup truck driven by 44-year-old Deane Rubright of Shoreham, who died at the scene.
As a result of the accident, a portion of Route 125 was closed for several hours, and the lights of ambulances on the scene were visible from campus into the early evening.
— Nick Garber
* Editor’s Note: Ruth Hardy is the spouse of Jason Mittell, The Campus’ academic advisor. Mittell plays no role in any editorial decisions made by the paper. Any questions may be directed to campus@middlebury.edu.
(04/25/18 11:46pm)
Last week’s student government elections saw impressive voter turnout. In total, 1,730 students voted, which is about 68 percent of the college’s student body. This is more than double last year’s turnout of around 30 percent, and is 12 percent higher than national turnout for the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Nia Robinson ’19 was elected SGA president with almost two-thirds of the votes (1,122), winning a decisive electoral victory over the other two candidates, current SGA speaker Rae Aaron ’19.5 (435) and Charles Rainey ’19 (129).
“I’d like to thank everyone who voted, whether it was for first or last election,” Robinson said. “I’m so excited to get to work, but please feel free to email with concerns or ideas for the upcoming year!”
Lynn Travnikova ’20 was elected co-chair of Community Council for next year’s fall term, winning out over current Atwater senator John Gosselin ’20 at 1,035 votes to 516. But Gosselin won an uncontested victory to be co-chair for the spring term.
“I’m looking forward to a lot of fulfilling, hard work to lay the foundations for the Community Council reach its full potential,” Travnikova said. “There’s a gap in communication and coherence on this campus, and I believe the Community Council can work to fill it. John and I are both ambitious and optimistic about the year to come, and I’m sure our teamwork will be constructive.”
In the referendum to decide whether the student body supports the divestment of Middlebury’s endowment from corporations that make use of fossil fuels, the vote was overwhelmingly yes, with almost 80 percent of students voting in favor of divestment.
Turnout for commons senator elections was extremely low, with no election having even eight percent of eligible voters from that commons. The commons elections were done separately from the general election through Google forms due to a technical issue, resulting in low turnout.
Conner Gilbert ’19 was elected Atwater senator, Rehan Zafar ’21 was elected Brainerd senator, William Kelley ’21 was elected Cook senator, Nate Blumenthal ’21.5 was elected Wonnacott senator and Samuel Lyons ’21 was elected Ross senator. All candidates ran uncontested.
In the only contested class senatorial election, current first-year senator John Schurer ’21 and Eun Ho Lee were elected as sophomore senators. Lee won over current first-year senator David Vargas by a slim margin of seven votes.
Chellsa Ferdinand and current sophomore senator Jack Goldfield were elected as junior senators for the fall term, and current sophomore senator Varsha Vijayakumar and current Wonnacott senator Anthony Salas were elected as junior senators for the spring term. Alexis Lovato and Travis Sanderson were elected as senior senators.
(04/18/18 4:33pm)
Elections for the Student Government Association (SGA) will be occurring this week, with online polls open from noon on Thursday, April 19 to noon on Friday, April 20 at go/vote. Three students are running for the position of SGA President: Charles Rainey ’19, Nia Robinson ’19, and Rae Aaron ’19.5. This week, each candidate met with members of The Campus to discuss their respective platforms.
RAE AARON ’19.5
Aaron is a junior Feb and an International Politics & Economics major with a Spanish minor. Her website can be accessed through go/SGRae.
Aaron has served as Feb Senator in the SGA since she came to Middlebury. She was elected Speaker of the SGA Senate in the fall of 2017 and spring of 2018. Aaron has served on the Hillel board and is currently the organization’s president. She is the treasurer of Middlebury Women Leaders. She also serves on the New Traditions Initiative Selection Committee.
Throughout her campaign, Aaron has highlighted her experience and accomplishments in the SGA, including sponsoring bills supporting the creation of a “Mountain Day” and calling for on-campus gym equipment. She has worked with several organizations regarding club sports, sponsoring bills to improve funding and create new teams. She has also collaborated with the Black Student Union and sponsored a resolution in support of minority students.
As SGA president, Aaron said she imagines her role being “to represent the voice of the students to the administration, but also to serve as a middle ground between getting ideas across.” Her platform is focused around three areas: Campus Life, Inclusivity, and Accessibility.
In order to improve life on campus, Aaron will try to create opportunities for students to form personal relationships with faculty and staff, like funding off-campus meals. Aaron also proposes the creation of an outdoor classroom for use by seminars and organizations. She advocates for the return of 10 o’clock Ross and for more late night dining options.
To create a more inclusive campus, Aaron proposes a structure to increase peer-mentoring within majors for underclassmen seeking advice. She also would like to create a health and wellness space on campus for activities related to mental and physical health. Aaron promotes a reexamining of support systems for minority students, aimed to improve them so that minority and international students have adequate support.
Aaron’s commitment to accessibility is demonstrated through her proposal to offer financial aid for physical education courses. This would allow students to take the courses they want regardless of socioeconomic background. Aaron also plans to work toward making all buildings on campus accessible to injured or disabled students and staff. Lastly, she proposes pairing Parton counselors with residential commons to improve access to counseling services.
CHARLES RAINEY ’19
Rainey is currently a junior and is a joint Political Science and American Studies major, with a minor in African American Studies. This is the second time Rainey is running for SGA President. His website can be accessed through go/Charles.
His campaign website highlights his experience with the SGA and Community Council. He served as his class’s First-Year Senator, chairing the First-Year Committee. Rainey has served as a member of Community Council’s Residential Life Committee since 2015, and has been a full member of the Council for the past two years.
In addition to his experience with SGA and Community Council, Rainey was the acting president of the Black Student Union (BSU) and is currently the Gamut Room’s event coordinator. Recently, he founded the improv group Baggage Claim.
Rainey’s platform consists of 3 pillars: Social Life, Community, and Support. While not explicitly pillars of his platform, Rainey said that “every single policy point that I put has some sort of element of inclusion and accessibility in it.”
The first pillar of his platform, social life, includes initiatives, such as creating a “MiddNights” fund, which would provide grants to students wanting to host open parties. This is a solution to Rainey’s concerns that socioeconomic background can be a barrier to social life. Other policies include making dorm lounges reservable for parties, allowing for the booking of certain spaces by students without having to go through a student organization and streamlining the process of reserving spaces as a whole.
The second pillar, community, proposes setting up a grant for student organizations to randomly pair up and host an event together, thus producing social and organizational connections. Rainey wants to give everyone “a seat at the table” by creating a space for informal communication between students and cultural organizations and the administration. He also hopes to push for an ethnic studies major program and to set up periodic meetings between student advisory committees and the SGA’s Committee on Educational Affairs.
Support is the third major piece of his campaign. He hopes to institutionalize “MiddSibs,” a commons-coordinated system that would provide peer mentoring to underclassmen. He also proposes the creation of a Mental Health week in an effort to reduce the stigma around stress and anxiety. Other policies he intends to pursue to create a better support system include getting counselors of color at Parton, providing more funding for consent, relationship and sex education and including more resources for students on the SGA website.
NIA ROBINSON ’19
Robinson is a junior and a Sociology major. Her website can be accessed through go/Nia.
While campaigning, Robinson has emphasized her experience and involvement with several organizations on campus. She served as co-president of the Black Student Union during her sophomore year, and is a member of the Community Judicial Board. Nia has been an opinion editor for The Campus, a tour guide, a barista at Crossroads Café, an Anderson Freeman Resource Center intern, a Chellis House monitor and a coach for Oratory Now. She has also been involved with the greater Middlebury community through volunteering with EverybodyWins! VT at Mary Hogan Elementary.
Robinson’s platform has five main tenants: Social Life, Diversity & Inclusion, Communication & Transparency, Accessibility and “College St. and Beyond.”
Her proposals for improving the school’s social life include expanding the role of social houses on campus so they may have greater impact. She also wants to create more social opportunities and activities that do not involve drinking, so that students who opt not to drink have more choices. Her final goal is to strengthen the student body’s relationship with the Public Safety department to create a safer environment.
To address the issues of diversity and inclusion that have become prominent recently, Robinson would, as SGA president, foster relationships with cultural organizations, and also host office hours every month so that groups have the opportunity to have their ideas and/or issues be heard. She also advocates for the creation of a caucus where students from all years, multiple organizations and teams could have a voice.
Robinson aims to create a more transparent SGA that communicates more effectively by determining the best ways that the SGA can interact with the student body by asking students what methods of communication they prefer, and then implementing those methods. Robinson stated, “I don’t think big changes should be a surprise, which they have been in the past.”
The accessibility aspect of Robinson’s campaign involves working with the administration to make Middlebury’s campus navigable for those with physical disabilities. She would also like to create a program that would allow for Public Safety to provide rides to Porter hospital for students without other means of transportation. Lastly, Robinson plans to expand funding for existing programs for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and also publicize those programs better.
(03/01/18 12:39am)
Isabel Wilkerson, bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, will deliver the 2018 Middlebury College commencement address, which will take place on Sunday, May 27.
Wilkerson won her Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for her work as the Chicago bureau chief for The New York Times. She is the first black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize and the first African American to win for individual reporting.
Wilkerson’s bestselling book, “The Warmth of Other Suns,” tells the story of the Great Migration, in which millions of African Americans left the Jim Crow South seeking employment in other regions of the United States. The Great Migration was one of the most significant events of the 20th century and was one of the largest internal migrations in the history of the United States.
“The Warmth of Other Suns” was published in 2010, ater Wilkerson spent 15 years conducting interviews with over 1,200 people. The book has won several prizes, including the National Book Critics Circle Award, and was included in over 30 best-of-the-year lists.
Wilkerson has taught at Emory, Princeton and Columbia, among other universities. At the commencement ceremony, she will be receiving an honorary doctor of letters degree.
Wilkerson is the first woman to be giving the commencement address since writer and Middlebury alumna Julia Alvarez delivered the address in 2015. Other former speakers include President Bill Clinton in 2007, New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani in 2005 and television personality Fred Rogers in 2001.