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Staff Issue Photo: Public Safety Officer Jamie Picking-up a Discarded White Claw
Staff Issue Photo: Public Safety officer Jamie picking-up a White Claw a student dropped upon spotting the officer.
Other Side of the Line: Proctor Revisited
Most of the campus dreams on with a few more hours of sleep to spare at 6 a.m. But in Proctor dining hall, the kitchen is up and running for the day. Coming through the backdoor, Wayne, the truck driver, was busy moving in boxes of food supplies. Most staff did not know who I was or what I was doing there but greeted me with a smile and a “good morning” nevertheless.
Time: Off
The idea came to me while watching a snowboarding movie called “Offline” which started with a neon-coloured, 3D, spinning sign that said: “The Internet Never Sleeps.” In the background was a dizzying collage of memes, likes, emojis and phones. The introduction nauseated me so much that I decided to go offline for some time.
A walking tour of the Middlebury Bridge & Rail Project
If you’re walking around the concrete of the new Triangle Park in downtown Middlebury, look down at the ground. You’ll be able to see two parallel diagonal lines on the sidewalk that reflect the shape of the new rail tunnel directly below.Last Wednesday, Bridge and Rail Project Community Liaison Jim Gish took the two of us on a tour of the recently finished Bridge & Rail project. As community liaison, Gish relays updates on the project to Middlebury residents by publishing weekly blog posts, among other methods. Along the way, we were able to learn not only about the technicalities and logistics of taking on such a huge construction project but also about Gish’s life and what led him to this crucial work.
Barbara Harding: I Bought A Bookstore and Quit My Job
Otter Creek Used Books looks and smells exactly like what one would expect of a secondhand bookstore in rural Vermont. Hidden behind the main highway that cuts through the town, the store had a sign that announced the weekday hours and a cheeky “Sundays by chance.” Next door, a deli played jovial jazz tunes, and customers at a nearby teahouse chatted out in the sun.
Honey and Harvest at the Knoll
For me, the solar panels mark the threshold between the campus and the Knoll, Middlebury’s organic farm. It’s the toll gate cutting off the retreat from the midterm craze. I walk past the dark, orderly panels and set my mind off of academics for the next few hours. During harvest season, you can smell the farm before you see it. After a night of rain, it had a gentle mix of grass, dirt and honey that rose out of the earth with the morning sun. It was hawk migration season –– the birds circled overhead, smoothly, under a cloud-filled sky.
Songs from Dusk
I did not know what to expect when I waited for George in front of Mead Memorial Chapel at 5:30 p.m. I have only heard the instrument from afar. When the sun falls behind the trees and paints the late summer sky pink and blue, then, you hear the bells, opening with the same tune every day.The 75-step climb to the top of the chapel was arduous. With amazement, I watched George, who is 86, navigate the steep wooden stairs and low ceilings with a familiarity that only comes with decades of repetition. As the college’s carillonneur, George Matthew Jr. has climbed these stairs since 1986. “I have played here for 36 years, and I have no intention to stop,” he said.For all the time I’ve spent at the college, I have never seen the instrument behind our daily chimes. Set up like a keyboard, it sits on the top chamber of the chapel and has wooden keys that are connected to bells of various sizes. According to George, its largest bell weighs up to 2,300 pounds — as heavy as the liberty bell.
Addison County leads the state in vaccination rate
Addison County is the leading county in the leading state for Covid-19 vaccination rates, with 81% of people having received their first dose of the vaccine in Addison County. In Vermont, 71.8% of the population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Massachusetts and New Hampshire follow Vermont in vaccination rates, with 62.8% and 60.1% of their respective populations having received their first dose. At the other extreme, Mississippi has the lowest vaccination rate (only 32.8% of their population has received their first dose), with Louisiana second-lowest and Alabama third-lowest, according to the CDC. Infection rates in Vermont have plummeted 39% since April 1, according to a statement made by Mike Pieciak, commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation, in a press conference last month. Deaths and hospitalizations related to the virus have also declined. Ruth Hardy, a state senator from Addison County, credits the success to public health outreach, effective leadership, vaccination site accessibility and — most importantly — public trust and engagement. “I hope some of Vermont's success is replicable in larger states, but a lot of our state's success is due to years of building public trust through trusted public health education, accessible public officials and engaged citizens,” Hardy said. Professor Benjamin Lee from the Department of Pediatrics at UVM also highlighted the importance of trust for the high vaccination rate. “I think [our success] was due to a combination of effective leadership, particularly early on in the pandemic, which engendered trust in our leadership, along with [a] very real sense of duty that many Vermonters felt that this would require work and sacrifice from all of us,” he said. Benjy Renton ’21, who has researched and reported extensively on Covid-19, cited Vermont’s tendency toward progressive politics and the relative ease of distributing doses in a state with a small population as factors that have contributed to its high vaccination rate. “Unfortunately, vaccinations have been quite divided on political lines, and Vermont has been one of the more liberal states,” Renton said. “So, I think we’ve benefited from that.” Renton cites vaccination rates for the over-65 population which, at 97%, are particularly promising. BIPOC Community and Vaccine Hesitancy Renton believes that age and race are two important indexes for the vaccination rate of physically vulnerable and historically marginalized communities. When it comes to the BIPOC community, there are still significant disparities in vaccination numbers. According to Vermont Department of Health’s data, Vermont’s BIPOC population’s vaccination rate at 60% still lags behind the 65.9% vaccination rate of its non-Hispanic white population. “These inequities are still present in the vaccination process, but Vermont, in particular, has done a really good job in closing those gaps compared to the other states,” Renton said. He believes that this progress is largely the result of equitable public health outreach programs, especially those that specifically target BIPOC communities, as well as giving BIPOC individuals priority in vaccination registration. “I think there is this narrative that minor populations are more hesitant to get the vaccine, and I think in some places that is true. But a lot of it comes down to lack of access and the information they need to get vaccinated,” Renton said. “So, providing that information is essential in boosting the minority vaccination rates.” Apart from disparities in vaccination rate in marginalized communities, Lee also identified vaccine hesitancy as another major concern. “Incredibly, we are already at a point where supply is exceeding demand. [So] we have to do a better job helping the vaccine hesitant become vaccine proponents,” Lee said. “There is a risk that if vaccination rates decline too much and transmission rates stay elevated, there will be new surges [of cases].” Looking Ahead: Vaccinating School Children As the state takes its next steps in its vaccine rollout plan, the vaccine eligible population has now been expanded to 12 to 15 year olds. “At this point, our efforts will need to be shifting to parent education and outreach [and] vaccination sites accessible to kids,” Hardy said. Lee believes that vaccine hesitancy in parents is a major risk in the upcoming stage. “There are indications nationally that vaccine uptake in children due to hesitant parents may also be a significant challenge as vaccines roll out in younger age groups,” Lee said. “In my mind, the worst possible outcome would be if we fail to make schools a safe environment for our children come fall.” Looking at a more long-term vaccination plan, Lee also advocates more integration between the vaccination process and the inherent public health care system. “It will be important to begin the transition to include primary care offices in the vaccine roll-out, particularly if in the future booster doses become necessary,” Lee said. “I can’t imagine that doing that strictly through mass vaccination sites would be appealing.”
Reel Critic: ‘Malcolm & Marie’
“Malcolm & Marie” should have been applauded for its insightful commentary on power and relationships, but the film falls victim to the trend of diversity box-checking in Hollywood. At its core, “Malcolm & Marie” is about the breakdown of relationships — a timely release made more significant by its relevance to a year starved of human connections. The film begins with filmmaker Malcolm (John David Washington) returning from a successful first release of his work. The celebration quickly turns into an exhausting fight with his partner Marie (Zendaya) that lasts late into the night. The film is unafraid of opening up issues of toxic, abusive relationships while also touching on issues of race, gender and drug abuse. The couple’s arguments drag on in the empty confines of a glassy mansion, not unlike the never-ending lockdowns and isolation many experienced during the pandemic. “Malcolm & Marie” points to many (perhaps too many) problems without offering resolutions. Yet the acting, the set and the use of black and white film are stunning. Zendaya makes an impression as a young woman from a broken family with a history of drug issues who is currently struggling to find her position in a relationship with a soon-to-be-successful filmmaker. I cannot help but feel that the snippets of commentary on race, gender and drugs overwhelm the main themes of the film. “Malcolm & Marie” brings up these issues without committing to exploring them in depth, thereby simply reinforcing common stereotypes of women, people of color and drug abuse victims. It almost feels like an act of box-checking. African American leads: check. A Black female protagonist who probably has the same — if not more – lines than her male counterpart: double check. A female protagonist who is not only a person of color but also has a background of poverty and drug abuse: check. If only the film could find space for a character who is queer, then it would be the epitome of politically correct filmmaking. “Malcolm & Marie” spreads itself thin over too many issues. Tokenization and overrepresentation are not uncommon in recent film releases, as the film industry attempts to rewrite its relationship with representation and inclusion, as well as capitalize on the recent racial equity movements: “all-Asian cast,” “first female Asian director,” “majority POC cast”. It seems like Hollywood found the golden goose of portraying equity. But representation is not just an array of skin colors, body types and genders flung around like taglines from a sales ad. The point of diversity is to understand differences and acknowledge, empathize with and celebrate our common humanity despite these differences. Not all representation is good, and no representation would be better than superficial, inaccurate representation. Over-representation in an attempt to check boxes — resulting in almost inevitable shallowness — will likely perpetuate stereotypes. In the film, Marie’s racial identity and her history of drug abuse and financial struggle are exploited as tools to explain her insecurities. The work struggles to strengthen our connection to her as a character because they were deprived of details and context. Over-ambitious in its attempt to check boxes, “Malcolm & Marie” made sweeping generalizations about these marginalized groups. Filmmakers and artists who genuinely wish to promote diversity and inclusion ought to anchor their narratives in the complexities of the individual without trying to speak for an entire demographic.
Free Snow Bowl passes bring long lines and new faces
Middlebury is offering all students free skiing at the Snow Bowl and Rikert Nordic Center during the spring term — including free single-day gear rentals on a first-come, first-serve basis. Skiing and rentals for students will remain free until the end of the ski season, which will likely be around March 28, according to Mike Hussey, director of the Snow Bowl and Rikert. “The decision [to offer free skiing] came from the college administration. We have talked about it for quite a bit over the past few months,” Hussey said. “With the students not being able to ski all winter, the feeling was it would be nice to give them the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors even while on campus.” After the program was announced, the Bowl saw around 650 students come up to the slopes on the first day alone. On the following Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, roughly 100 students came every day, according to Hussey. “I’ve always known the Bowl as a place where I really feel at home, and I am really close to the staff. It provided me a way to escape the monotony of a virtual J-Term,” said Jackson Evans ’22, a ski instructor who stayed at Middlebury over J-Term. “The Bowl felt like a place for community gatherings. It was a refreshing way to see the community come back together again after so long.” To limit crowding and allow for contact tracing, both the Bowl and Rikert require students to make a reservation to ski. Skiers are encouraged to ride lifts with those with whom they shared transportation to the Bowl. Budget cuts A decrease in ticket sales and cuts in funding from the college during the pandemic has created financial challenges for the Bowl, but Hussey is positive that the Bowl will be able to navigate these difficulties. “Our day ticket and student pass sales are down, but in conjunction with that, we also trimmed our staffing down quite a bit and are watching our expenses,” he said. “Overall, I think we are going to be OK. There will still be a loss, but I think we are going to be better than some years in the past.” The Bowl hired fewer seasonal workers this year, but no full-time employees were cut. Hussey believes that such budget cuts and financial challenges have been felt across the board among other departments of the institution, as it had been a difficult year financially for the college. However, he reaffirmed the college’s willingness to keep the Bowl open and running. “[The effort] is a strong commitment by the college to support the community,” Hussey said. “It makes sure that community members have a place to ski, be outdoors and get a breath of fresh air.” Long lines for rentals The popularity of the new program created long rental lines at the Bowl, especially last Saturday. Hussey acknowledged the bottleneck at the rental shop but said he and other Snow Bowl staff have been exploring ways to reduce wait times, including getting students to fill out forms ahead of time and creating a separate line for people with ski lesson appointments. Hussey also said that managing the line and base camp operation has been challenging this season because visitors are not allowed inside the lodge except to use the bathrooms and purchase grab-and-go food. Cynthia Chen ’22, who went to Rikert last week to try cross country skiing for the first time, reported a more streamlined experience. “The whole rental process was super fast,” Chen said. “It’s surprisingly not crowded at Rikert. For me, it’s a really big space; even on all the different trails it never felt crowded.” New(ish) faces on the slope Hussey is especially glad to see more first-years and sophomores — especially first-timers — hit the slopes. “It’s way too often that we see seniors and it’s their first time coming to the Bowl,” he said. “It’s a nice shift to see the first-year and second-year students coming in and understanding that the ski area is up here and it’s a fun place to be.” Evans believes that while the volume of turnouts has increased, the general demographics of skiers at Middlebury remain relatively uniform. “The free skiing encouraged more people to go to the Bowl, though they are usually from the similar demographic that would usually go skiing — the fairly wealthy, white, outdoorsy people who have previously experienced skiing,” he said. In a March 11 email from the Dean of Students, the college outlined transportation options for students to get to Rikert and the Bowl, including the Snow Bowl Shuttle that has been popular in previous years. Many students with access to private cars have chosen to take them because of the limited lodge access and storage, as well as concerns about Covid-19 transmission. “All the innovations that have happened in the last couple of years to do the J-term ski lessons have brought a really great group of people to the Bowl, but the fact that it didn’t exist this semester made it difficult for a lot of people who would’ve needed financial assistance for rentals and lessons,” he said.
Addison County races to administer vaccines under evolving guidelines
Roughly a year after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the vaccination process in Vermont is in full swing. Those older than 65, healthcare workers and long-term care residents and staff are currently eligible for the vaccine. The state moved to inoculate those that were most vulnerable first, a decision that was made to minimize the number of deaths from Covid-19, according to Gov. Phil Scott’s statements in a press release. As of this week, 18.2% of the total population in Addison County has received at least one dose of the vaccine. The state has administered a total of 164,700 doses, and a total of 58,400 people have completed their vaccination process across Vermont, according to the Covid-19 Vaccine Dashboard presented by the Vermont Department of Health. In light of new cases and the pandemic’s persistence, Scott has extended the Covid State of Emergency to March 15. The designation eases the allocation of funding to local governments and places significant power in public health officials to implement regulations. In the past two weeks, there were a total of 90 new coronavirus cases in Addison County. “The State of Emergency remains a needed tool to help us manage and respond to the pandemic,” Scott said in the press release. “As we continue to vaccinate more Vermonters, I’m hopeful there won’t be too many more of these extensions and we’ll get back to some sense of normal.” Moving to Phase 4 As of early March, the state entered Phase 4 of its Covid-19 vaccination program, allowing those 65 and older to register for the vaccine in addition to all healthcare workers and first responders. On March 8, Vermont is planning to move into Phase 5a, in which individuals aged 55 and older with identified high-risk health conditions will become eligible to be vaccinated. State officials also predicted opening up registration to K-12 teachers, staff and childcare workers, pending supply. Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine said in an announcement that the 125,000 Vermonters who are 65 and older are targeted to receive their vaccinations by the end of spring. The Vermont Department of Health estimates that the state will be ready to begin Phase 5 in late March, when people with high-risk health conditions will be eligible to receive the vaccine. These include but are not limited to cancer, pregnancy, obesity and certain heart conditions. Mixed responses from the community The community has had mixed responses to the state’s choice of priority groups eligible for vaccination. While some Vermonters are grateful to have already been able to access the vaccine, others farther down the priority list expressed concern with how long they may have to wait for their turn. Piper Harrel, whose husband has Type 1 diabetes, was outraged that the disease was not included on the list of high-risk health conditions that qualify one to be vaccinated during Phase 5. “Looking at the list, it was like, you gotta be f***ing kidding me,” Harrell told VT Digger. “It was like a punch in the gut.” Khristen Pannone, whose husband Mario has polycystic kidney disease, expressed similar concerns. As the sole proprietor of a heating system repair company, he is not able to quit his job. “If I don’t work, we don’t eat,” he told VT Digger. “The soonest my husband would get a vaccine is April,” Pannone said. “And to me, that’s just unacceptable. You’re asking him to continue to go and work on a daily basis, and you’re telling him the soonest you can protect him is April?” Dr. Levine justifies the decision by citing that elders have the highest death rates after contracting Covid-19. “We are really trying to preserve life — make sure we can keep as many Vermonters from dying,” he said in an interview in early February. As of March 2, however, chronic kidney diseases and diabetes were both listed as health conditions qualifying individuals for vaccination during Phase 5 on the Vermont Department of Health’s website. Courtney Allenson, the director of a local senior living facility, received her shot in January. “I am so happy to get my shot today. I am so happy,” she told WCAX. “We trust in the company that is making the vaccine, and we trust in the process.” She added that the facility, called The Residence at Otter Creek, is not worried about the state running out of doses. “I thought probably there would be more medical people and rescue people, and all that might [cause vaccine shortages], but apparently not. They thought us old folks were worth doing something for,” Jan Anderson, an elder resident at the facility, told WCAX. “At this point, the biggest challenge to vaccine distribution is the number of doses Vermont is receiving from the federal government, as well as reluctance from some people to receive a vaccination,” Addison County Senator Ruth Hardy told The Campus. “However, each week, the Biden Administration is expanding vaccine distribution to states, so I expect the pace to accelerate.” Vaccinations for college students As for the student community, Vermont schools continue to see low case counts compared to the general population. Education Secretary Dan French said in a news release that the state tested 2,200 school staff members this week, finding just one positive case. At Middlebury College, the Health Center staff has already been vaccinated, according to Sandy Robinson, director of Health Services. The student Ski Patrol squad was also eligible for the vaccine due to their classification as first responders. The Health Services office at the college is regularly meeting with the Vermont Department of Health and other Vermont colleges regarding vaccines for the students. “The topic of vaccinating students is an ongoing agenda item. However, college undergrads do not currently meet the eligibility criteria for the Covid-19 vaccine in Vermont,” Robinson said. “As more vaccines get approved and as the state moves forward with its vaccination plan, we will know more about what can be offered to college students.” Scott praised the FDA’s emergency approval of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine in late February, which adds a third supplier into the mix and requires only one shot. “This is another significant step forward in our work to end this pandemic” Scott said. “I join many in Vermont and across the country in welcoming this news.”
Despite restrictions, Snow Bowl stays positive heading into winter
Because skiers almost always wear face masks to keep safe and warm, skiing seems like the natural social distancing sport. The Middlebury Snow Bowl is scheduled to open on Dec. 2 and will be open weekly Wednesday through Sunday; Rikert Nordic Center will be open seven days a week. While the skiing will very much be the same, Snow Bowl Director Mike Hussey says the ski area’s base camp operations have undergone substantial changes. To protect the safety of its staff and visitors, the Bowl will restrict indoor access, adopt takeaway food services and impose social distancing requirements for lifts. A reservation will be required for entry to all Bowl facilities for the sake of contact tracing, and the ski lodge will only be open for restroom access, grab-and-go food and rental services. Customers are required to wear masks, sanitize their hands and follow all indoor social-distancing protocols. Eating, resting and gathering must be done either in skiers’ vehicles or outside. The Bowl will not be limiting the number of skiers and riders on the mountain for now, according to Hussey. However, if a limit has to be imposed, season pass holders will be prioritized over day pass holders. “We want the season pass holders to get as much value out of their passes as possible,” Hussey said. To minimize personal contact, lift passes, rentals and snow school lessons must also be pre-booked online. Because all Middlebury student operations will be remote for the winter term, there will be no J-Term ski classes or school group programs this season. The Bowl typically hires a substantial number of student ski patrols and instructors from Middlebury, so Hussey said that staffing will be tight over J-Term due to the student absence. He looks forward to welcoming the students back in March. Due to the absence of students on campus, the Bowl will also be offering additional positions to the college’s dining service staff. The positions span across various areas including front desk work, snowmaking or wherever their skills can be best employed according to Hussey. “[The positions] were offered to them as something to do over J-Term, and about a dozen of them accepted,” Hussey said. “It’s cool because those folks want to be up here. They are not mandated to come up.” Overall, Hussey has a positive outlook on the upcoming season despite the pandemic and a possible state-wide lockdown. “As a small local mountain, we can easily survive on Vermont skiers only. In fact, if the bigger resorts end up having to close down, we might even have to turn people away,” Hussey said.
Vermonters turn to home births and midwifery during the pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the demand for innovative approaches in midwifery work, according to Chenoa Hamilton, a local Vermont midwife. Hamilton is a nationally and state-certified midwife who has been attending births for 23 years. She moved to Addison County in 2006 and currently owns Jumelles Wellness Midwifery, which offers central Vermont families home birth care, doula services, lactation counseling, and childbirth education. “Earlier in the pandemic, most midwives I know said they were getting a ton more calls from clients. There were a lot of concerns about going to the hospital during the early stages of the pandemic,” Hamilton said. “Covid has affected how and where people choose to give birth.” Jessica Danek, who gave birth during the pandemic, decided to choose home birth mainly because of preexisting personal preferences. However, less risk of exposure to Covid-19 was the final factor that convinced her that home birth would be the right choice for her family. “Home birth has always been very high on my radar as someone who strives to live simply, naturally, and with intention. It was also of utmost importance to me that my older daughter witnesses the entire birth,” she said. Danek said that she had an amazing experience and looked forward to potentially doing it again. Brittany Leno, who had decided on having a home birth prior to the pandemic, also referred to its natural and personal setting as the primary reason for her decision. “[Me and my family] were looking to be in the environment that felt most supportive of the normal physiological process of labor and birth. For us, that meant staying at home, where we felt safe and comfortable, with a team of highly skilled care providers,” Leno said. Both Leno and Danek had Hamilton as their midwife. Hamilton also helped Linda Segovia Wise with her home birth this April. Wise said the intimate setting made giving birth an empowering experience. Due to the pandemic, Wise limited her personal contacts by conducting her prenatal visits via video call. Hamilton set up the equipment and supported the labor process with the help of Wise’s husband, who learned to measure her belly and take her blood pressure, according to Wise. “I felt very lucky to not have to leave the safety of my bedroom for the birth of my daughter when the world outside seemed so scary,” Wise said. Hamilton emphasized that home births aren’t for everyone, as situations and needs can differ on a case-by-case basis. “Being fearful of Covid-19 alone is not a good reason to have a home birth,” she said. She recommended the Vermont Midwives Association website for people seeking to educate themselves further on midwifery and home births. Currently, Hamilton provides a mix of telehealth and face-to-face visits. For in-person visits, she always wears personal protective equipment, including masks and gloves, while attending to the new family. Although during the warmer months most prenatal and postpartum visits were outdoors, Hamilton has returned to in-office visits with the arrival of colder weather. While Hamilton believes her current process of care worked well, she noted that the pandemic means some families receive less support than they typically would because they want to avoid bringing additional people into their homes. This separation elevates the importance of finding innovative ways to care for families, especially during the postpartum period, Hamilton said. Overall, although the social distancing regulations changed the logistics of all face-to-face care, including midwifery work, Hamilton believes that the local midwives have adapted well. “Since birth is such a wild and unpredictable part of the human experience, people who do birth-related work are generally very good at adapting,” she said.
Little environmentalisms for the not-so-perfect kids
I wish that I were here to tell you a success story. But two months after declaring myself vegetarian, I found myself happily devouring a plate of Korean fried chicken with friends. I’ve moved away from the culture of perfectionism that is often associated with being an environmentalist, reflecting on my dedication to the movement and what it looks like. Though I continue to reduce meat in my diet, I allow myself more flexibility during social events. Despite my admiration for friends who are flawlessly vegan and plastic-free, their lifestyle is intimidating for someone just starting out. The list of boxes to check feels overwhelming: buy a metal straw, take public transportation, turn vegan, watch your carbon footprint, shop responsibly… The current sustainability culture needs a reframing to be more “beginner-friendly.” Environmental perfectionism can turn average individuals away from the movement, especially given the binary options of either being with or against hardcore environmentalism. The guilt and pressure associated with never doing enough threaten to turn environmentalism into an exclusive club for pious devotees. Perhaps it is better to frame the lifestyle of environmentally conscious consumption as a spectrum: it is OK if you are not ready to completely give up plastic products, but perhaps you can start with buying a metal straw or taking shorter showers. We should all feel motivated to lighten our carbon footprint, but we shouldn’t feel required to re-orient our lives all at once. Too often, the concentration on grand, ambitious goals overshadows the effects our daily habits can have. “Look, what we ordinary people do is not gonna matter as long as those big corporations don’t stop polluting,” is one of the most common reasons I’ve heard for individual inaction. The pessimism is understandable, given the domination of multinational corporations in our world. Yet the assertion is also dependent on what you consider to “matter.” If the only things that “matter” are stopping global warming and achieving complete carbon neutrality, then we as individuals will look insignificant. But these are not the only stakes at hand. While those goals are important, it is also helpful to anchor environmentalism down in what is close, intimate and personal to us. It can be something as small as fostering a connection with the land that you are currently standing on or cutting the elastic strings off your discarded masks so that a few birds may be saved from strangling. When you displace the climate crisis and the doomsday rhetoric with local, personal objectives, sustainability becomes an issue of marginal improvements — every action matters because every additional life reached, plant or animal, matters. Florence Wu is a member of the class of 2022.
A decade between Asia and Middlebury: The story behind Stone Leaf Teahouse
Tucked away in the folding alleyways and courtyards behind Middlebury’s Main Street is the unassuming Stone Leaf Teahouse, a building with a simple interior of stone and timbre and shelves of teaware. After a 17-hour flight and a three-hour drive that took me away from Asia to the foliage-covered mountains of Vermont, I did not expect to find a piece of home here. “I never really thought the teahouse would be in Middlebury,” said John Wetzel, the owner of the teahouse. “I’ve always thought it would have to be in a bigger town to sustain it.” However, the support from the community was so great that Wetzel decided to undertake the venture in 2009 after finding an ideal space in the Marble Works District. Between his trips to import tea from Asia and serve it to the Middlebury community, Wetzel found meaning in facilitating the cultural thread between the growers and the drinkers. Travel Studying and importing tea has brought Wetzel to tea farms across Asia, including those in India, Nepal, China, Taiwan and Japan. Driven by his goal to trade with local, family-owned tea farms, Wetzel visited many rural villages. His first trip was in 2006, when he traveled across Vietnam alone, save for one contact in Saigon. Wetzel graduated from Washington College, a liberal arts college in Chestertown, Md., with a major in environmental studies. He had a multifaceted interest in culture, history, environment and agriculture. Just like many other liberal arts students, Wetzel had no idea where his life was going to take him. However, he found a focal point for all his interests in tea. Yearning to learn more about tea and the culture that surrounds it, he headed eastward to its roots. “It was before you can book everything online,” he said, chuckling as he recalled his first trip. “You take a train or bus into a town, and you just have to make your best guess to find a place to stay.” Before he started to study Chinese this year, Wetzel had no knowledge of the local languages in the villages and cities he visited. Insisting on not following tourist norms and attracted by the adventurous aspect of self-exploration, Wetzel never hired a translator. Surprisingly, he was able to build connections as a result of his language barrier. Wetzel explained that since the younger generation in the rural areas had just started to learn English in school, they were happy to practice with him and serve as translators for their older relatives. “Nevertheless, as a white person and a businessman, it can be a challenge to break down the stereotypes of American businessmen and tourists,” he said. Aware of his position, Wetzel emphasized the importance of respecting the local culture, as well as consciously avoiding cultural exploitation and appropriation. Despite the language barriers and cultural differences, his encounters with locals have been largely positive. “People are very welcoming. Even if I [ended] up in a village where no one speaks English, they still took me in, shared meals and tea, and communicated whatever we could,” he said. “Ten years ago, I would get the impression that I was the only white person people [had] ever seen,” Wetzel said. However, today, the situation has changed drastically, as even the rural areas of Asia have been impacted by the rapid wave of urbanization and globalization that metamorphosized its metropolitan areas such as Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong. The beauty of the people and the environment he encountered during his travels became one of the most meaningful facets of his work. Humbly calling himself “a student of tea” despite more than a decade of specialization, Wetzel relished the diversity of tea in the different areas of Asia. “I don’t have a single teacher in chadao (the way of tea). Everywhere I go, all these people I meet, they are all my teachers,” he said. Connecting By conversing with locals and visiting tea farms across Asia, Wetzel was able to gradually build up substantial connections throughout the continent. He credits this to the social nature of tea-drinking culture. In Asia, many families greet guests and friends by serving tea. Casual social gatherings and friendly reunions are often done over afternoon teas. “The nature of drinking tea is talking with people,” he said. “On my trips, I want to try and make those connections more than just business transactions. Going to buy tea, you have to sit down and talk to people about themselves: what they are going through, things in their lives, and so on.” Maintaining the connections he built up over the last 14 years has become an important part of his life. Wetzel reached a point at which the purpose of his travels shifted from purely adventuring into new places to revisiting and rebuilding existing connections. “I am actually not a natural traveler,” Wetzel admits. “There is a part of me that prefers to just stay local, especially with the ecological consequences of flying.” It is also difficult for him to be away from his family, with whom he cherishes spending time. However, adamant on the importance of maintaining these cross-continental connections through tea, and passionate about sharing the tea culture with more people in America, Wetzel’s love for tea and culture brings him time and time again back to Asia. He believes that the teahouse finishes the circle of connection by providing a space for serving tea. The teahouse always pours the first cup of tea for its visitors — a purposeful act of offering in tea ceremonies. Unfortunately, because of safety precautions related to the pandemic, Stone Leaf currently only offers pickup and deliveries. This has drastically changed the nature of the business — and Wetzel’s new goal is to educate more people about how to enjoy loose leaf tea at home, whether it’s simply adding hot water or making a good pot of Kung Fu Tea. When asked about the reason behind his specific interest in tea, Wetzel highlighted the contemplative nature of tea-drinking that is generally not seen in the coffee house culture. While he definitely appreciates and enjoys coffee, the meditative aspect of tea ceremonies appeals to him on a deeper and more personal level. “Often, people who are conversing stop and watch the flowing of the water as we pour the tea for them. There is this brief moment of silence,” Wetzel said. The act of drinking and making tea, according to Wetzel, is very much about being mindful and present, as well as being aware of the little details in our lives that have so much potential to bring joy yet are so often habitually neglected.
Vermont breaks single-day Covid-19 record, adopts mandatory quarantine
With 72 cases, Vermont saw a record high of single-day cases since April. Yesterday, Gov. Phil Scott implemented a mandatory quarantine order for anyone returning or traveling to the state. This is a response to a 34% increase in Covid-19 cases in the northeast since last week, according to government data. Overall, cases rose by 46% this week and hospitalizations are also increasing. “I want to be very clear that much of our case growth is tied to two factors: Vermonters traveling out of state and Vermonters gathering in ways where distancing and masking break down,” Vermont Governor Phil Scott said in a press release. “We need to act now to protect the vulnerable and to keep our schools and economy open.” As a result, the cross-state travel map is temporarily suspended. A 14-day quarantine – or 7 days followed by a negative COVID-19 test – is now required for all non-essential travels. The state is also expanding its testing program and increasing its compliance checks at lodging facilities, bars and restaurants. In light of the approaching Thanksgiving holiday, Gov. Scott strongly recommends that social gatherings be limited to 10 or fewer people, with a very limited number of trusted households. “To stop the spread, to protect each other, we need to act now. We are on the threshold the decisions we make today will truly determine our future,” said Vermont Commissioner of Health Dr. Mark Levine. Correction: An earlier version of this piece incorrectly reported that the number of cases in Vermont peaked today at 43 cases; there were 72 cases.
As seasons change, Middlebury restaurants and cafes adjust operations
As the recent dips in temperature foreshadow the upcoming winter, restaurants and cafes in Middlebury have been forced to make plans for the colder weather and flu season. While larger restaurants prepare for both indoor dining and takeaway, smaller venues are adopting a pick-up only mode. Summer and Fall Months Currently, local restaurants Fire and Ice and The Arcadian offer both indoor and outdoor seating. These restaurants’ operations have been relatively successful over the summer, according to their respective owners. “We are lucky to have had a really dry summer, so outside seating worked really well for us,” Matt Corrente, co-owner of The Arcadian, said. Paris Rinder-Goddard, the owner and operator of Fire and Ice, said that his business has also had a generally positive experience with takeout and outdoor seating this summer. However, he also noted Covid-19-related economic struggles. “While I would call our response successful, it still translates to sales being down 40% to 55%, which no business is built to deal with,” he said. Currently, Vermont allows indoor seating at 50% capacity for dining venues. Smaller restaurants and cafes have therefore been running takeout only. These venues include The Mad Taco, Royal Oak and Lost Monarch at the Stone Mill Market. “Most of our staff rely on gratuity to pay bills, childcare, secondary education, etc.,” Nathan Davis, the General Manager of The Mad Taco, said. “For the most part, our guests have met and exceeded expectations. Our numbers are back to pre-Covid levels.” This development comes after Davis told The Campus in March that The Mad Taco was going through a mass layoff and offering unemployment to all staff. Matt Delia-Lobo, co-owner of Royal Oak Coffee and Lost Monarch, also had a positive experience and is very thankful for the support that the Middlebury community has shown. He and his wife are currently expecting a baby, so he is exercising extra caution to ensure that the operation of both cafes is as safe as possible. Winter Plans Business owners vary in their expectations and plans for the winter. While Fire and Ice and The Arcadian are preparing for indoor dining and takeout, The Mad Taco, Royal Oak and Lost Monarch will continue to offer takeout only. It is unlikely that any of the venues will deliver. Royal Oak will instead run online order options via a mobile app and their website, and The Mad Taco will allow customers to come inside to pick up orders once it starts snowing. Notte pizzeria and bar announced on Monday that they will begin delivering their full menu to the college Monday through Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for pick up at the Shannon Street parking lot. Restaurant and cafe owners also have different concerns for the winter. Fire and Ice operator Rinder-Goddard is mostly worried about maintaining staffing and trying to plan for potential lockdowns. Nevertheless, he is confident that the venue has the capacity to host indoor dining safety. On the other hand, Corrente is concerned that the flu season can decrease people’s confidence in dining out, negatively impacting the restaurant’s business. “The Arcadian will continue to measure the customers’ comfort level with sitting inside, which has increased slowly but surely over the last couple of months,” he said. Davis is especially concerned about whether people will follow Covid-19 guidelines and take the pandemic seriously. “Somehow, we have arrived at a place in the USA where people would rather watch a YouTube video of pseudoscience or conspiracy theories instead of listening to health experts,” he said. “Luckily, it seems the majority of Vermonters haven’t gone down those rabbit holes.” Delia-Lobo, on the other hand, is not worried at all. “The winter should be a lot more locals. Since we made it through the summer pretty safely with all the tourists, now that we are back to locals only, I am feeling extra safe,” he said. “We’ve made it through the worst.”
Burlington City Council Plans to Reduce the City’s Police Officers by 30%
On June 29, Burlington City Council voted in favor of the Racial Justice Resolution, which defunds the Burlington Police Department (BPD) and aims to increase its transparency and accountability. This resolution is a response to the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests against systemic racism and police brutality in the United States. “Policing in the United States... continues to largely protect middle and upper-class White communities and their property, while over-policing BIPOC communities,” the resolution reads. In response, the resolution requires BPD to decrease the total number of officers by 30 percent, from 105 to 74 officers. It allows officers to “elect of their own accord to retire or leave.” In the short term, the BPD predicts it will lead to a 22 percent decrease in officers. Additionally, the resolution plans to reallocate police funds to other social safety organizations, such as mental health institutions and addiction specialists, to address the problem of over-policing. It also reduces collaboration between Burlington school districts and the BPD after the 2021 Spring semester, ensuring that the police are not used for wellness calls and terminating full-time BPD School Resource Officers. The BPD has expressed concern about the reduction of officers. “The BPD cannot provide the same patrol services with 22 percent fewer patrol officers,” the department said in a statement. “22 percent of our current call volume is approximately 6,270 calls. [Officer reduction] should not happen before [creating] viable, effective alternatives that can answer the calls.” The resolution also aims to increase police transparency by negotiating for a requirement that the BPD report the use of force and allowing the Police Commission access to demographic data on encounters between officers and citizens. Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, who is a usually strong advocate of defunding the police, did not support the reduction of officers. In a press conference on the matter, he called for a further examination of the department from a third party. The resolution itself calls for a review and assessment of the BPD by a joint committee of the City Council Public Safety Committee and the Police Committee. In addition, officers will also receive additional training to avoid racial biases and excessive use of force. The resolution has support from racial justice activists and groups, including Justice for All and Vermont Racial Justice Alliance. The Vermont Racial Justice Alliance calls it “the most comprehensive resolution on racial justice in history.” Mark Hughes, Executive Director of Justice For All, also refers to the resolution as a “historical milestone.” “This is about transforming the lives of Black and Brown people by investing in their lives, by holding space for their culture, by providing them with opportunity and ensuring equity that they deserve to thrive,” said Hudges during a public forum. The resolution argues that while systemic racism traces its roots deep into the nation’s history, Covid-19 has “exacerbated the impact of systemic racism” on the marginalized communities. Defunding the Middlebury Police Department Thomas Hanley, chief of the Middlebury Police Department (MPD), believes more discussion is necessary regarding policies involving defunding the police at Middlebury. Hanley told The Campus that cutting the police budget will reduce the effectiveness of the department, “creating periods when no police are on duty.” According to Hanley, “the MPD has one of the lowest police per capita ratios in the country, with 1.8 officers per 1,000 population.” The standard for rural communities is 3.5 per 1000, according to the FBI. Currently, the MPD “receives anywhere from 4,500 to 7,000 calls per year, round the clock,” Hanley said. Among these calls, 4.5 percent are related to mental health and inebriates, he said. Hanley believes that plans to defund the police must have a rigorous alternative to fill in the void created by a reduced police response. He questions their current ability to do so, given the lack of specification and planning from existing defunding policies. “All agencies that come under the umbrella of a social service agency are either county-wide or state agencies,” he said. “Why would the taxpayers of Middlebury... provide services elsewhere?” He also points out that social services already receive “supplemental funding from every town in Addison County.” Hanley welcomes more discussion on the role of the police and the effects of diminishing the police. “Do we want to remove the police from the pro-social model... trained to respond to any calls, or relegate them to being just an armed force to deal only with the most dangerous of situations, and only when they are on duty?” he asked. However, Midd Cops Off Campus, a student activist group advocating for the removal of police presence on campus, disagrees. “People have been thinking and writing about police defunding and how to do it with viable alternatives for years — in this moment that work is just being realised,” said the group. “People aren’t going into it blind. It’d be a gradual process [with] enough time for alternatives to be set up and functional.” In a letter to President Laurie Patton, the group states that the “presence of police do not make our community safer, [but] perpetuates an unwelcoming culture of White supremacy.” The letter also accuses the Middlebury PD of “racially profiling and harassing... community members of color,” including Middlebury students and professors.
‘Pure Xenophobia’: New ICE policy evicts international students taking only online courses
UPDATE — Tuesday, July 14 The Trump administration has rescinded its policy that would have forced international students pursuing remote learning to leave the country. Middlebury alumna Judge Alison D. Burroughs announced the decision on Tuesday. —— International students who only take online courses next fall must leave the country, according to a new policy from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Issued on July 6, the policy affects roughly 10% of the Middlebury student population — or 250 international students with F-1 or M-1 visas — according to the college's statistics. The new regulation also refuses visas to incoming students enrolled in fully-online schools. Nationwide, it impacts 1,095,299 international students, according to The Institute of International Education. In response, Harvard and MIT — two schools that have announced fully remote semesters — filed a lawsuit against ICE protesting the policy. Middlebury will file an amicus brief in support of Harvard and MIT, according to an email sent to all students. In addition, Middlebury alumna Judge Alison D. Burroughs ’83 will preside over the hearing. Arthur Martins ’22.5 from Brazil, co-president of the International Students’ Organization (ISO), and Masud Tyree Lewis ‘22 from Guyana, executive board member of ISO, called the policy “pure xenophobia.” New Uncertainties Under the policy, international students from hybrid schools such as Middlebury must take at least one in-person class. According to Martins, this requirement eliminates the option of a remote semester. If the colleges close down mid-semester, international students must also leave the country. If not, “they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to … removal proceedings,” the policy read. A mid-semester close down and the resulting eviction is Lewis’ biggest worry, who believes that a second wave is likely. “For someone like me who can't easily travel home, it's just a very uneasy place to be,” Lewis said. Martins, who also faces severe travel restrictions, shares Lewis’ concerns. As Brazilian citizens are currently prohibited from entering the United States, Martins must spend two weeks in Mexico before crossing the border and then undergo more quarantine and testing on campus. He is concerned about the added Covid-19 health risk of taking more long international flights as a result of a mandatory departure. Martins is also very worried about his “complicated family and housing situation and [his] reliance on insurance from the college to treat [his] mental health” if he has to leave the country. He believes this concern is shared by many other international students. “It's all too clear that we're not welcome here,” said Lewis. For international students enrolled in fully-online institutions, the policy requires them to leave the country or “transfer to a school with in-person instruction.” The latter is almost impossible given the lack of notice. The policy also neither grants visas to new students enrolled in fully-online institutions nor allows them to enter U.S. borders. Judge Burroughs said during the hearing that “the idea that the students could be irreparably harmed, as well as the interests of society in the outcome, were fairly clear,” according to a New York Times article. When reached for a comment, Burroughs said that she could not respond due to legal reasons. Dissenting Voices The policy is seen as the Trump administration’s way of “pressuring universities into reopening...even as U.S. virus cases topped three million,” according to a New York Times article. Currently, 59% of colleges are planning to resume in-person teaching, 25% are planning hybrid mode, and 8% are planning to hold classes online only, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy counsel at the American Immigration Council, anticipates changes to universities’ fall plans due to the new policy. “The United States is back with its gross brand of nativism,” said Elsa Korpi ‘22 from Finland. “It’s a ... perverted way to force foreign nationals into in-person instruction after [its] Covid-19 response failed miserably.” A current petition on the White House’s website calls for the Trump administration to rescind the policy. It argues that the policy eliminates the economic benefits derived from international students, harms universities’ revenues, diverts global talent, as well as increases Covid-19 health risks by compelling schools to reopen prematurely. The petition currently has over 143,000 signatures. Martins and Lewis believe that policy causes a great deal of harm without legitimate benefits. “International students are constantly targeted and discriminated against in the United States,” Martins said. “We need to constantly prove that we are worthy of pursuing an education in this country.” Response from the College Kathy Foley, director of International Students & Scholar Services (ISSS), said the “college did not anticipate this outcome.” In addition to filing an amicus brief, the college administration said in a recent email that they are working to ensure that international students can enroll in at least one in-person course. It “encourages students to explore the option of independent study courses.” Several professors have announced that they will accept any in-person independent study proposals with students affected by the policy. The email also claims that students currently abroad who are unable to return to the campus “will be able to study remotely with Middlebury in the fall.” According to the ISSS, despite the lack of clarity surrounding the policy, there is no immediate effect on students’ visa status. “The July 6 SEVP announcement is subject to change,” Foley wrote in a recent email sent on July 14. “Please do not make any sudden decisions based on the SEVP guidance.” Nevertheless, many students remain bitter and frustrated over the policy. “It is hard to ... not feel afraid, tokenized, forgotten, and reduced to our passports. [The policy] is a painful reminder that we are not like our fellow students,” said Martins. Editor’s Note: Elsa Korpi ’22 is an Arts and Culture editor for The Campus.