40 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(02/04/21 10:59am)
Douglass Mackey ’11, a prominent far-right Twitter troll formerly known by the pseudonym Ricky Vaughn, was arrested by federal prosecutors last Wednesday for perpetrating a meme-based disinformation campaign that tricked more than 4,900 Democrats into believing they could cast ballots for Hillary Clinton via text message in the 2016 election.
Mackey’s images, shared on Twitter and Facebook, featured the hashtags #GoHillary and #ImWithHer and read “Avoid the Line. Vote from Home. Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925.” In the months before the election, Mackey also participated in Twitter and Facebook meme campaigns aimed at convincing Democrats that they could vote by hashtag and that Clinton was promoting a “Draft our Daughters” plan to make women eligible for the draft, among others. His campaigns often specifically targeted Black and Latino voters , with many messages written in Spanish or reading “African Americans for Hillary.”
Leading up to the 2016 election, Mackey operated under the Twitter handle @Ricky_Vaughn99 and various others, through which he disseminated racist, anti-Semitic, anti-feminist and conspiratorial claims to tens of thousands of followers. An MIT Media Lab list of the top 150 influencers in the 2016 election ranked the account ahead of both NBC and CBS News, as well as political commentators Bill Maher and Stephen Colbert. Mackey operated anonymously until his identity was revealed in 2018.
Mackey grew up in Vermont and graduated from Harwood Union High School before enrolling at Middlebury, where he was an economics major. He was also a short-lived member of the Middlebury Men’s Track & Field team.
Mackey’s official charge — conspiracy to violate rights — marks the first prominent criminal case that involves voter suppression through disinformation spread on Twitter, presenting a potentially groundbreaking shift in government enforcement of election interference. He is currently released from jail on a $50,000 bond.
(10/29/20 10:00am)
As the pandemic heightens the responsibility of state governments across the country, Vermont has emerged as a success story in controlling the virus — and for Republican Gov. Phil Scott, the proof is in the polling. Scott’s statewide acceptance rate peaked at 96% over the summer, and he remains one of the most popular governors in the nation. Up for re-election in the fall, Scott has eschewed typical campaigning to stay focused on pandemic response — but for his challenger, Progressive/Democratic Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, the race is far from over.
Working alongside each other in Montpelier, the two aren’t exactly allies. Scott has used his veto pen more liberally than nearly any other leader in state history, rejecting progressive legislation sent from the majority-Democrat Vermont House and Senate. These bills have included a minimum wage hike, a paid family leave program and, most recently, steps to combat climate change — all causes that Zuckerman has championed for decades.
“I’ve been fighting for environmental causes since before I was in elected office. It’s really at the core of who I am,” Zuckerman told The Campus. He announced his candidacy pre-pandemic in January 2020, citing the climate crisis as his primary motivation. His focus has not changed, earning him the endorsement of Sunrise Middlebury, Bernie Sanders and even the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s. “The climate crisis did not go away because the global pandemic has occurred,” he said. “We have multiple crises happening.”
Yet Scott’s moderate “New England Republican” style of leadership has allowed for overlap between the two as well. In a heavily Democratic state, Scott has retained popularity in part by breaking with the national Republican party, openly supporting President Trump’s impeachment and signing perhaps the most progressive abortion rights legislation in the country in 2019. Both candidates have said, too, that if Biden wins the presidential election and Senator Sanders joins his cabinet — most likely as labor secretary — they would appoint a temporary replacement Senator who caucuses with Democrats.
Now, through mask mandates and careful science-based health guidelines, Scott has managed to steer Vermont away from the pandemic partisanship that other states have seen — even garnering praise from Dr. Fauci himself.
“The safety measures we have in place are there for a reason, and they're working,” Scott said at one of his twice-weekly coronavirus briefings. “We’ve put ourselves in a great position.”
These briefings have been conducted both in his capacity as governor and, some have noted, in lieu of traditional re-election campaigning. His campaign manager and only full-time re-election staffer, Jason Maulucci, told The Campus that the campaign is at the bottom of Scott’s priority list.
“Vermonters deserve a governor who’s focused full-time on the job he was elected to do,” Maulucci said. “For an incumbent, there’s nothing a campaign apparatus can say or do that can replace the effect of a good job performance.”
For Zuckerman, pandemic success is great — but not enough. Since his time as a student at the University of Vermont, where he was deeply engaged in the environmental movement and worked on then-Representative Bernie Sanders’s campaign, the lieutenant governor has advocated for cutting-edge progressive causes like marijuana legalization and LGBTQ rights.
He first ran for the Vermont House of Representatives while in college in 1994, though he won his first seat in the House in 1996. Ever since, his style of electoral politics has stemmed from both Sanders and the activists he worked alongside.
“I met a lot of people who were living the efforts they were espousing,” Zuckerman said. “They were housing advocates, they were fair pay advocates, they were reducing toxic substances in municipal services, they were fighting for universal healthcare. And they were all involved in not only electoral politics but also, in their daily living, working to make life better.”
This nexus is where Zuckerman resides: he and his wife, Rachel Nevitt, are organic farmers and have owned Full Moon Farm, Inc. in Hinesburg, Vt. for over a decade. The couple farms seasonal fruits and vegetables, meats and eggs, and CBD, which they sell at the Burlington Farmers Markets and through their Community Farm Share. “To me, our economy, our food sources, and our climate are all incredibly intricately linked,” he said.
If Zuckerman is cut from an activist’s cloth, Scott is cut from a businessman’s. Gov. Scott, too, graduated from UVM and bases much of his ideology in his entrepreneurial experience: he started his first business at 18, mowing lawns and renting boats on Lake Elmore. He worked his way through several other mechanics and construction companies before entering the Vermont State Senate in 2000, promising to fight for the voices of small businesses and working families in Vermont.
This experience has also been inextricably tied to his governorship, which he has used to keep state spending, taxes and the cost of living relatively low. “Too many families and employers are on the economic edge,” Scott said when announcing his run for governor in 2015. “I believe our state needs a leader who listens instead of lectures, someone who’s been in the shoes of the people who are struggling, and […] who will never forget where they came from.”
Priding himself on consistency and steady-handed guidance, Scott told VTDigger this year that he thinks of himself as the “only thing” standing between the Democratic House and Senate majority and “continuing to increase the unaffordability of Vermont.” Former Gov. Jim Douglas, also a Republican, has lauded Scott for playing “budget hawk” by rejecting progressive legislation that would be costly for the state.
Yet for Zuckerman, the status quo is no longer tenable — even financially. Zuckerman has proposed a Green Mountain New Deal, a plan that would impose a temporary tax increase on the top 5% of Vermont earners to be used to bankroll environmental and infrastructure projects. “My idea with the temporary tax is to sequester some of the Trump tax cuts to the wealthiest in our state,” he said.
This is also the reason that the lieutenant governor entered the race this year as opposed to waiting for a less competitive election cycle. “I just don’t think with the climate crisis we have two years to be casually waiting,” he said. In this vein, Zuckerman has committed to working with youth activists as he has done for decades. For him, meaningful climate policy can be something of a chicken-and-egg issue: when young people don’t vote, their interests can go unaddressed.
Heading into the gubernatorial election on Nov. 3, Zuckerman is campaigning hard, holding virtual events and “Honk & Wave” sessions across the state — and, as a fundraising gimmick, an opportunity to donate to either team “Keep it” or team “Cut it” to decide the fate of his signature ponytail. Meanwhile, Gov. Scott is unfazed. Running without a real campaign platform, Scott has kept his eyes on maintaining the state’s successful pandemic response.
Both candidates hope to prepare the state for a future that neither can predict. Above all, each sees protecting the well-being of Vermonters as paramount — and voters are tasked with choosing between their decidedly different visions in achieving it.
(10/29/20 9:59am)
This election season, the stakes are higher than ever before. Four years ago, the horrors of a Trump presidency were yet to be realized. Now, we are living them. Public trust in government is rapidly eroding while peoples’ fundamental liberties are being — or have been — taken away from them. Our democracy is on the line. While the outcome of the upcoming election is uncertain, we have been inspired time and time again by this community’s political engagement, solidarity and resilience in the face of adversity. This is why we’re publishing an election issue.
The U.S. has suffered in the hands of an incompetent, intentionally negligent and often malicious administration. More than 200,000 Americans have died of Covid-19 — a disproportionate number being Black and Latinx. Poor management of the pandemic spelled economic devastation for communities across the nation, as workers are plunged into financial instability and businesses shutter their doors. An unprecedented number of environmental protection regulations have been undone and climate change science disregarded. And as protests against police brutality and racial injustice have unfolded across the country, Trump has refused to denounce white supremacist organizations. The ripples of these national tragedies are also felt in Middlebury.
Politics has permeated every part of our world — and every part of our newspaper. Our election issue spans all five of our sections, from sports coverage of athlete voter registration and the surprising relationship between college football and the election, to coverage of local Vermont races, to opinions about the role of politics in dating and making Nov. 3 a school holiday. You’ll find news about how the mail center handles absentee ballots, how some professors choose to (or choose not to) bring activism into their classrooms and how students who are not eligible to vote in U.S. elections are making a difference. We have an elections forecast, a podcast about the intersection of athletics and politics and a dozen more stories that endeavor to capture the momentous and far-reaching impact of this election on each and every student, state and community.
Unlike in past elections, the majority of you have likely already voted by absentee ballot. For those of you who didn’t or couldn’t vote elsewhere, make use of our guide for in-person voting in Middlebury, which is an option for all students who can vote in the U.S., or use MiddVote’s resources for voting in Vermont. Even if you are someone who cannot vote in this election, we encourage you to vocalize your concerns and mobilize those around you to participate.
Thank you to everyone who wrote and edited for, contributed to and was interviewed for this issue — we hope that through these stories, you see the ways that this election has touched every part of life and fundamentally reshaped our relationships to politics. Thank you for reading, and thank you for caring. So much is at stake.
Bochu Ding ’21, Hattie LeFavour ’21 and Riley Board ’22 comprise The Campus’ executive team. Nora Peachin ’21 is the Senior Local Editor. LeFavour and Peachin oversaw the creation and coverage of the issue.
(10/29/20 9:55am)
Good news for Middlebury students: if you can vote, you can vote in Vermont. With some of the most accessible polls in the country, Vermont allows same-day voter registration — so if your absentee ballot didn’t pan out, you can still make your voice heard.
Who can vote in Vermont?
You! As long as you’re a U.S. citizen who is at least 18 years old and sleeps in-state for six months of the year, you count as a Vermont resident.
How do I register to vote here?
Vermont has some of the most accessible voting in the country, meaning there’s no deadline to register online. The application can be found here. Voters-to-be can also register in person before Election Day at the Town Clerk’s Office at 77 Main Street from Monday to Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. or on Election Day at the Middlebury polling location (yes, right before you vote) — as long as you bring valid form of ID or address verification, like a bank statement or utility bill. College IDs are not accepted.
I’m registered in Vermont. Now what?
Once you’re registered in Vermont, you can show up to the polls without ID — your name will be on a list when you check in, though you may want to bring ID with you just in case there are issues with your registration. You can check your Vermont registration status here. If you registered to vote online after Friday, Oct. 30, your application may not be processed before the election, so you may not appear on the voter checklist at the polls. Don’t worry, you can still vote! If you’re not on the list, you’ll be asked to fill out another application in person, so make sure to bring your ID.
Where and when can I vote?
If you were registered to vote in Vermont already, you were automatically mailed an absentee ballot. If you’ve mailed it in, great! If not, you can drop off completed ballots at the Town Clerk’s office ballot drop-box or at the polls on election day.
Classic voting will take place in person on Election Day, Nov. 3. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Town of Middlebury Recreation Center & Gymnasium at 154 Creek Rd. If you were issued an absentee ballot but chose not to submit it, you’ll be asked to sign an affidavit guaranteeing you have not voted in any other state nor submitted a ballot by mail.
What’s on the ballot?
While the presidential election has garnered the most attention in the 2020 election, it’s a big year for Vermont politics. If you’re going to vote in Vermont, take time to learn about the many elections taking place this year: you’ll be voting for a governor, the state’s sole congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives, regional representation in the state Senate and House, local judges and high bailiff. Learn more about these races here and read our coverage in the rest of The Campus’s election issue.
So why should I vote?
Democracy! While Vermont is by no means a swing state in the presidential election, many local and state races are highly contentious — and in such a small state, they matter a lot. Taking the time to learn about each candidate and race is the best way to ensure that our government is truly representative and that Vermont has the strong leadership it needs — and whether the races are contentious or not, your voice counts. Make sure to make it heard.
(10/08/20 4:52pm)
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
Middlebury plans to welcome all students back to campus for the spring semester. Students will arrive on Feb. 24 and 25 after a two-week home quarantine period. Classes will begin on March 1 and will be conducted remotely for the first week.
J-Term will be conducted remotely and will take place from Jan. 19 to Feb. 12, followed by a two week break before spring classes begin.
After classes begin in the spring, they will continue through May 21 with finals week beginning on May 23. Spring break and senior week have been cancelled.
Feb graduation may occur at the end of the fall 2020 semester. Spring 2021 commencement will be held on May 30 either in person or remotely, depending on conditions.
The college has committed to wage continuity for all employees through the spring semester.
Middlebury plans to reopen its campus to all students for the spring 2020 semester with delayed arrival on Feb. 24 and 25. J-Term classes will be held remotely from Jan. 19 to Feb. 12, with flexibility for internships and limited on-campus research. Spring classes will run from March 1 to May 21 and will be held online for the first week, after which they will be offered either in person, remotely or through a hybrid model.
Students received the announcement in an all-campus email on Oct. 8 from President Laurie Patton and other senior administrators.
Although most students will take winter classes remotely, a small number of students will be approved to conduct research on campus during J-term. These students will arrive on Jan. 21 to begin their research on Feb. 1. Students will be able to complete J-Term internships either in person or remotely, and internship dates will not have to align with the altered dates of the term if students acquire prior approval. Students will have until Nov. 10 to formally declare their intentions for J-Term and the spring semester.
Middlebury followed guidance from the state of Vermont to forgo on campus winter terms “to decrease instances of Covid-19 exposure due to travel from parts of the United States that have a higher prevalence of the virus.”
No outline was provided regarding off-campus travel within Addison County or beyond, nor about restrictions for dining, visitors, events, gathering sizes or students living off campus. The announcement also did not mention a “phased” approach to the on-campus restrictions that have characterized life on campus this semester.
The college plans to provide an updated version of the health pledge and a Return to Campus guide for the spring semester in December.
Like the fall 2020 semester, students will be expected to complete a two-week home quarantine before arriving on campus. Upon arrival, students will undergo Day Zero and Day Seven testing as well as a period of on-campus quarantine that will extend at least until the end of the testing and results period.
“One of biggest challenges for the coming months is the availability of indoor spaces for classrooms, dining and other activities,” the announcement read. No further detail was provided regarding these concerns, leaving unanswered questions about dining areas during mud season.
Once classes begin, they will continue through May 21. Finals week will begin on May 23 and Commencement is planned for May 30. There will be no traditional spring break or other significant time off, nor will there be a Senior Week break between the end of classes and graduation. However, the college has committed to “special activities to celebrate the Class of 2021.”
In the coming weeks, the college plans to send students a form asking them to indicate whether they plan to study in person or remotely in the spring.
Plans for an in-person commencement for the already-graduated class of 2020 are still unknown, despite an announcement from President Patton last spring that there would eventually be an in-person event.
In addition to committing to staff wage continuity, the college will also close for the entire week of Thanksgiving, which will add three paid holidays for eligible staff. Any hourly staff who work during Thanksgiving week because of operational needs will be compensated with “holiday premium pay.”
Middlebury is planning an Oct. 30 announcement regarding spring operations for its schools abroad. Pending travel restrictions and conditions in host countries, the college expects to be able to operate some of its 37 locations in 16 countries, with more details about specific programs expected closer to their program start dates. The college said it is hoping to host in-person summer programs such as Language Schools and the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, although information is not available yet.
The email also announced that there will be no NESCAC winter sports competition this year, as decided by the conference presidents today. The NESCAC has not yet determined what spring sports will look like, though the announcement stated that “Spring athletes should be aware that current conditions would not allow us to engage in competition.”
The college maintains that details about on-campus life during the spring semester depend on how the pandemic develops in Vermont and elsewhere. “As always, our decisions are and will be guided by the latest scientific research and advice from federal, state, and local health officials,” the email read.
!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var e in a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-"+e)||document.querySelector("iframe[src*='"+e+"']");t&&(t.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][e]+"px")}}))}();
(10/01/20 10:00am)
Before she was Notorious, before she sat on the highest court in the land, before she argued in front of that very court against gender-based discrimination, Ruth Bader was a dedicated college student who snuck books into the bathroom to study. At a time when women were expected to graduate with little more than an “MRS” degree, Ginsburg was an unflinching academic whose accomplishments paved the way for millions to follow.
Justice Ginsburg was the first woman on the Harvard Law Review, graduated first in her class at Columbia Law School and became the second-ever woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court when appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. By the end of her nearly thirty-year tenure, she had asserted herself a liberal champion for her scathing dissents and had become a household name. Ginsburg’s path to the Supreme Court was fraught with obstacles and discrimination, but for each door she opened, she made sure to hold it wide for those who followed.
Justice Ginsburg died on the night of Sept. 18, the first night of Rosh Hashanah. One of two “High Holy Days” in the Jewish calendar, the day marks the start of the Jewish New Year. Justice Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court, and it is said that those who die on Rosh Hashanah are of great righteousness. As word of her death traveled around Middlebury, the college community mourned and reflected on the effects of her legacy in their own lives.
President Laurie Patton was home preparing Shabbat dinner when she heard of the Justice’s death. Ginsburg was a role model of Patton’s. She explained that the holiday of Rosh Hashanah celebrates the creation of a new world and, in her view, Ginsburg helped construct a new world for future generations to live in.
“I believe this identity [as a Jewish woman] was one of the things that gave her life-long grit,” Patton told The Campus. “I hope every young person sees in RBG’s words and her life story that discouragement is not a blow, but an opportunity, an opening for another path forward.”
Alex Dobin ’22 was also celebrating Rosh Hashanah in a Zoom service with her friends and family when she received a barrage of messages about Justice Ginsburg’s death. She told The Campus that she watched as others in the call began to hear the news as well.
“There was this moment where I knew that it was circulating among people whom I was sharing this moment with,” said Dobin. “What a day to find out this information about this incredible, strong Jewish woman who has talked about her connection to Jewish social justice. [...] There’s this idea that RBG is an icon for feminists everywhere and people interested in gender equality politics, but also within the Jewish community she’s totally an icon.”
In addition to Justice Ginsburg’s significance within the Jewish community, Patton looked to her as a symbol of intellectual resilience and courage.
“She never gave up — not when she was told she was employable only as a typist, not when she was denied teaching jobs, not when she lost cases,” Patton said. “She focused on the long-term issues, not the politics of the moment.”
Professor of Political Science and constitutional scholar Murray Dry has spent years studying decisions in which Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion, and those in which she dissented.
“I was, like many Americans, surprised and saddened by the news of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death,” Dry said. “She was more influential than any other person in bringing about a judicial recognition of the equal rights of women under the law.”
Dry identifies Ginsburg's “rockstar status” as a testament to her legal accomplishments and past decade of leadership on the liberal wing of the Supreme Court. He also notes that both Ginsburg and her colleague and close friend Sandra Day O’Connor “embodied in their careers the challenges that women had to overcome to be accepted in the legal profession on a par with men.”
Lucie Rochat ’22 remembers receiving a book of Ginsburg’s quotes as a birthday gift from her mother. For Rochat, this book serves as a reminder that much of Ginsburg’s impact came in small moments when she stood up and used her words to fight for equality, inspiring millions. “If I were to think of her legacy, it would be through those little quotes and little moments that were in that book,” Rochat said.
For Rochat, Ginsburg’s legacy will always be highlighted by her ardent efforts to protect the rights of women and minorities.
President Patton hopes that Ginsburg’s story will continue to serve as inspiration for young people, a lived lesson in the power of reason and determination.
“I will always be inspired by the way that RBG used reason relentlessly. She used reason to change the way we reason so that more people could live lives free of prejudice,” Patton wrote.
(09/24/20 10:00am)
When Middlebury transitioned to Phase Two last week, students were released from campus quarantine and allowed to traverse Addison County — and traverse they did. For some, their first destination was the mountains for a sunrise hike; for others, the liquor store to restock their dwindling beer supply. While some first years had their first taste of the downtown, off-campus seniors were finally allowed to buy their own groceries.
Many local businesses are glad to have Midd kids around town again, but all eyes are on the students to make sure guidelines are carefully followed.
“We cannot say this strongly enough: we are in a position to proceed to Phase Two because of how attentive and conscientious our students have been in complying with the health and safety mandates of Phase One,” read a Sept. 14 all-community email from President Laurie Patton, Dean of Students Derek Doucet and Director of Health Services Mark Peluso announcing the transition to Phase Two.
For Taran Hopkins, a longtime employee of Middlebury Discount Beverage known colloquially among students as BevCo, the effects of Phase Two were immediate.
“Pretty much as soon as we opened in the morning, we were definitely hit with a huge wave of students. A lot of people were coming in to stock up on stuff before they had to go to their 11 a.m. classes,” Hopkins told The Campus. “I sold all of the Bud Light 30-packs that were in the store. Every single one. In a very, very short amount of time.”
Hopkins also said that there was a run on White Claw hard seltzers and Keystone — and that students had been overwhelmingly attentive to Covid-19 guidelines. “Literally every student that we saw was abiding by the mask-wearing rule,” Hopkins said, noting that students were careful to keep their distance from others and to not loiter inside the shop for too long. “Everybody was very respectful.”
For many first years, Phase Two presented entirely new territory. Ashley Chimelis ’24, a new pole vaulter on the women’s track and field team, had never been into the town of Middlebury — nor had she met most of her teammates due to Phase One restrictions. On Sunday, Chimelis was able to leave campus for the first time since arrival to meet up with teammates for apple picking at Happy Valley Orchard and a meal at the A&W.
“It was really nice to get to meet the rest of the team — or a little piece of it,” Chimelis told The Campus. “Because it’s much more difficult nowadays, especially for first years who don’t even know where to start.” Like many other new students, she is looking forward to exploring more of Addison County in the coming weeks. “There are so many cool little Vermont places I’d like to go to,” she said. “I just want people to be very cautious.”
Otter Creek Bakery, a mainstay of Middlebury’s food scene, was ready to welcome students back with open arms — as long as they stayed outside. Since its reopening during pandemic, the shop has been operating from an outdoor no-contact ordering system, but lines still formed over the weekend for the bakery’s pastries and coffee.
“It’s been nice to see the college community back as part of the local Middlebury landscape,” said owner Ned Horton, who also reported that students had been consistently compliant of protocols. “Everybody’s been really nice and courteous, following the guidelines.”
Chiyo Sato, Otter Creek’s bakery manager, also told The Campus she was happy to have students back safely. “We have definitely noticed an increase of students walking around town and coming to visit the bakery,” Sato said. “It’s great to see Middlebury reviving itself while continuing to respect the guidelines like masks and social distancing.”
For Elise Park ’21, one of the 85 students living off campus this semester, Phase Two meant finally being allowed to go to the grocery store. She and her housemates had been confined to their property and the campus for Phase One and had relied on Instacart grocery delivery for nearly a month. “I think being less dependent on a delivery service that can often be finicky and not very timely is always a huge plus,” Park said. “Also, [it’s nice] having a larger radius to travel in safely.”
While the Middlebury administration describes the transition to Phase Two as “slowly opening the spigot,” — a line stolen from Governor Scott’s state reopening plan — students flooded the downtown this past weekend. They have reportedly been safe and respectful so far, but as Ashley Chimelis said, “We’re only as safe as our least safe person.”
(09/04/20 4:36pm)
A second Middlebury student is in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19, as revealed by the Day Seven test results delivered yesterday for students who arrived on August 26 and 27.
Of the 322 results received from the round so far, only one test was positive, 316 were negative, and five were inconclusive and will be retested, according to an all-students email sent by Director of Health Services Mark Peluso on Sept. 3. The infected student is doing well, Peluso said.
The student had learned this week that they were exposed to the virus at home before arriving on campus, according to Peluso. Upon realizing they were at risk of infection while at Middlebury, the student entered quarantine while awaiting test results. The number of contacts under quarantine on Middlebury’s Covid-19 dashboard jumped on Wednesday from two individuals to four. The number then jumped again yesterday to show one new student under isolation — totalling two — and 10 students under quarantine, likely reflecting others who had been in close contact with the infected student in the past days.
“While we expected to see additional positive results in our Day Seven testing and were prepared to respond, we know this news is concerning to our community,” Dr. Peluso wrote. “It cannot be said enough that we must remain vigilant during this period of campus quarantine and beyond.”
The case has been reported to the Vermont Department of Health which has commenced contact tracing for the infected student, and it is likely that additional students will be moved into quarantine. While the infected student was quarantined after learning of their own exposure before arrival, no precautions were taken surrounding the student’s on-campus close contacts until the student officially tested positive yesterday.
The college’s policy dictates that contact tracing does not occur for close contacts of a symptomatic or possibly exposed student until the student in question has received a positive test result. This protocol is consistent with the Vermont Department of Health, which is responsible for all on-campus contact tracing and treats such incidents as they would any other case in Vermont.
“This approach, which is required by the Vermont Department of Health, has proven to be an effective mitigation measure for COVID-19 and other illnesses,” Peluso wrote in an email to The Campus.
According to Middlebury’s Covid-19 information page, “Close contact is defined as being closer than six feet for longer than 15 minutes, regardless of whether a face covering was worn.” On the Vermont Department of Health website, “close contacts” are listed to be anyone with whom you live, have eaten a meal, shared a car or been intimate partners, among others.
“[The department] conducts contact tracing and determines who is a close contact, and thus subject to quarantine,” Dean of Students Derek Doucet wrote in an email to The Campus. “Until a positive test result is received, a symptomatic individual is likely to be considered a person under investigation (PUI).”
Because only positive cases are reported to the Vermont Department of Health, those who have been in close contact with PUIs are not traced or quarantined. Such was the case earlier this week when a student was moved to isolation housing after developing symptoms indicative of Covid-19, including a high fever, sore throat and chills. Although the student ultimately tested negative, her suitemates and other close contacts were not directed to quarantine or take extra precautions while awaiting her test result.
While the Vermont Department of Health continues contact tracing procedures for the infected student, Dr. Peluso urges students to be cautious. “The entire campus must follow strict health and safety protocols — including the wearing of face coverings, regular hand washing and physical distancing — and abide by our codes of conduct to ensure a successful semester.”
var divElement = document.getElementById('viz1599237472143'); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName('object')[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+'px';} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+'px';} else { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height='877px';} var scriptElement = document.createElement('script'); scriptElement.src = 'https://public.tableau.com/javascripts/api/viz_v1.js'; vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement);
(08/13/20 5:05pm)
“Springtime at Middlebury College typically finds students packing away their parkas, cuffing their jeans, and finding any excuse to bask in the wavering spring sunshine — perhaps too eagerly for the still-frigid weather. But this past semester was one like no other.”
Last spring, when students enrolled in Erin Davis’s Film and Media Culture course, Podcasting the Past: Leisure Time and Middlebury College, they expected to spend a good deal of time in the College archives, researching student leisure activities across Middlebury’s history. The idea was that they would then create podcast episodes that would fuse contemporary commentary with historical examples.
However, when the pandemic hit and the campus closed in March, the students discovered that rather than extracting material from the archives they would be contributing to it.
Middlebury Magazine and The Middlebury Campus are thrilled to collaborate on a joint publishing venture in which we will share student work that was created for this course and has found a home in the College archives.The Campus’ podcast episode is produced and narrated by Editor-at-Large Sadie Housberg ’21 and features work from both now-graduated and current students Adian Acosta ’20.5, Benjamin Rivitz, Olivia Green ’20, Benjamin Barrett ’20.5, Olivia Bravo ’20, Aman Deol ’20, Jacob Shashoua ’20 and Emily Ballou ’21, in order of appearance.
Professor Davis gave each student prompts to describe their life at home in the early days of sheltering in place; the result is a compilation of self-portraits, life in isolation. The Campus is presenting all of the portraits at once while Middlebury Magazine is presenting each individually and serialized. They will be posting to the magazine’s Dispatch channel through August.
The Middlebury Campus · In Isolation, Audio Portraits from Spring 2020
(06/22/20 8:22pm)
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
Middlebury expects to invite most students back for an on campus fall semester; September 8 will be the first day of class and the first batch of returning students will arrive on August 18
Students will be required to quarantine before their return and the college will test all students upon arrival
Professors can decide to offer their courses in an in-person, remote or hybrid capacity, and the college expects approximately one-third of classes to be conducted online
Student access cards will only open the residence that they live in, and the academic buildings they need to access
Staff who can work from home will likely continue to do so, while those who work closely with students must receive approval to return to campus
Parties and gatherings must not exceed a 25-person limit and must take place where physical distancing is possible
Middlebury will reopen its campus to students, faculty and staff in the fall with certain precautions, according to a copy of the college announcement shared with The Campus. The College plans to welcome students back, with classes beginning on September 8 for a 12-week semester, which will continue without interruption until Thanksgiving Break, before a transition to remote learning. The cost of attendance remains unchanged.
With the removal of October Break, November 20 will be the last day of in-person classes. Students will not be allowed to return to campus, with classes and exams following Thanksgiving break held in a remote capacity. The statuses of J-term and the spring semester remain unclear.
Students will be required to quarantine before and after they return to campus, and will be tested for Covid-19 upon their arrival in Middlebury. Students will return at staggered start times, and will have to begin quarantining 14 days prior to their planned arrival date; they will be expected to maintain safe practices during their travel to campus.
There will be three start times: First@Midd peer leaders, ISSS PALS and other student leaders will arrive August 18; new students, transfers, international students and fall athletes (if athletics are approved) will arrive August 26; the remaining students will be permitted to return on August 28.
While many classes will be offered in-person, others will be offered remotely or in a hybrid capacity, even as students live on campus. The college expects roughly a third of classes — approximately 175 of 530 courses — to be taught remotely. Professors will have the opportunity to choose whether they teach online, in-person or using a combination of the two. Students will be informed of which courses are offered in which format before course registration.
Students will be tested for Covid-19 upon their arrival on campus, and again after seven days. They will have to remain in isolation in their rooms for roughly 24 hours until results are available — and will only be allowed to leave to use the bathroom, to collect meals from a delivery point and in the case of medical emergencies.
If students test negative, they will then be ‘quarantined’ to campus, and can move about while following safety protocols. Off-campus students will quarantine in their off-campus housing.
Students who test positive will be isolated in Munford House and be monitored by health professionals.
Students and staff will have to adhere to a variety of health protocols throughout the semester as well, including undergoing Covid-19 symptom pre-screening each day and wearing face coverings whenever possible. The college is planning to provide cloth face coverings for all students.
The announcement mentions that students will live in singles and doubles, but that the school, “will share more information with students about room draw and housing accommodations in a separate communication.” Student access cards will only open the residence that students live in, and the academic buildings they need access. Students who live in off-campus residences must adhere to the same guidelines as those who live on campus.
Middlebury plans to increase its capacity for mental health services including counseling as well as nutritional, medical and psychiatric services by contracting with a telehealth company which will aid students both on and off campus.
Dining will progress in three phases, the first of which requires that each student be assigned to one dining hall and provided with to-go meals only. While indoor seating will be prohibited, there will be limited outdoor tent space in some areas. Each dining hall will have the same menu and abide by a one-way traffic format, and all meals will be prepared by dining staff.
The announcement includes initial restrictions and monitoring of off-campus travel, for which guidelines are being developed and will vary depending on the travel destination. On-campus speakers and visitors will also be severely limited — if they are permitted at all — and required to abide by both college and state health guidelines. Students will not be allowed to have any personal guests, except for a single person who will be allowed to assist them at move-in.
The announcement notes that the college, “will not be able to organize large-scale events in person,” although more specific announcements about dining, fitness and other activities and events will be released later in the summer. The school will also continue to make announcements about the status of sports and extracurricular activities through the summer.
As for parties, “At present … group gatherings of up to 25 people are permitted, though this could change at any time. Any such gatherings must be scheduled in spaces large enough to allow adequate physical distancing.”
Off-campus travel to the town of Middlebury, trails, lakes and other destinations will be prohibited until all students have completed the first two rounds of testing, after which restrictions may be relaxed depending on student behavior.
While staff who are able to work from home will continue to do so, those whose work is better completed on campus will undergo an approval process to work in modified, socially distant office spaces.
Bowdoin, one of Middlebury’s peers, announced earlier today that the college will open its doors in the fall, but only to certain students — first-years, transfer students, residential life staff and senior honors students who require Bowdoin’s facilities to complete their projects. Almost all classes will be taught in a remote capacity. Students who take a voluntary leave of absence will need to seek readmission to continue their studies at Bowdoin.
Although Middlebury does not expect to have to evacuate students mid-semester, Vermont health guidelines maintain that all students should be prepared to evacuate or go into lockdown at any time.
Students, both returning and newly admitted, will now have until July 6, two weeks from today, to make a decision about whether they want to take a leave of absence. While Middlebury maintains that those who choose to do so will be welcomed back, their return date may be restricted by housing limitations. Students will receive a full refund as long as they withdraw before the semester begins.
(06/03/20 8:26pm)
The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers and the other acts of cruelty and merciless killing we have seen are but a sliver of the full scope of the systemic and constant violence that Black Americans face — and have faced throughout history. Black Americans continue to be the target of a carnage characterized by impunity, which includes the recent death of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and the still-unprosecuted death of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, among countless others.
Before anything else, we are all forced to ask ourselves what role we play in perpetuating a system that leaves room for such injustices. These reflections are not meant to be comfortable. They are not meant to be stagnant. To be anti-racist is not an achieved state of being, but rather a commitment to fighting complacency in your every motion.
As a media outlet dedicated to informing the Middlebury community and uplifting its voices, we have a responsibility to engage in this fight with everything we publish. We recognize dissatisfaction with national media coverage of the ongoing protests and cases of violence against Black communities, and we have our own frustrations about which protests and events are covered — and how.
Peaceful protests aren’t sensational, but they matter. And when news outlets gratuitously cover violence, looting and rioting while neglecting to thoroughly document peaceful demonstrations and the messages behind current movements, they lose deeply important context about what is happening in America right now. Even worse, they contribute to an inherently negative framing of protestors and obfuscate the intentions of protest movements. To meet our standards of reporting, we commit to coverage of protests that is multifaceted and message-focused.
We have a commitment to the truth, but truthful narratives hinge upon those who get to speak them. This involves actively seeking the sources that matter most when it comes to telling those stories. Right now, it requires amplifying the voices of the Black community in our coverage, especially when it comes to Black-led national and campus initiatives, activism and protests.
Furthermore, the violence against protestors calls for a reevaluation of the conventional standards of journalism. While the purpose of photos is to document events, we recognize that they can be weaponized by police forces — and that Black and Brown protestors are particularly vulnerable. Thus, going forward, we plan to prioritize the safety of protestors by omitting photos of Black Lives Matter and related protests that can be used to identify individuals easily.
But police brutality only scratches the surface of the institutional racism deeply entrenched in American society — one underpinned by political and economic structures that disenfranchise Black Americans and other people of color. These structures of marginalization are pervasive — and their existence at Middlebury is no exception. More importantly, they will persist long after protests leave the news cycle and Instagram stories sharing anti-racism resources expire.
Not long ago, The Campus had also been an institution that played a role in perpetuating these inequalities at Middlebury. Only four years ago — in 2016 — a group of cultural organizations sent an email to the entire student body condemning The Campus for failing Middlebury’s marginalized communities.
Organizations have a responsibility to address internal racism and bias — and The Campus is no different. We recognize that we as an organization, and as a platform, can do more to uplift the voices that often go unheard. As we begin our summer coverage, we invite you to point us in the right direction, inform us of the gaps in our coverage and share your perspectives with us.
The burden of making our coverage more inclusive also shouldn’t lie solely with underrepresented communities. In the coming weeks, we plan to reach out to the leaders of cultural organizations in an effort to begin dialogues that we hope will continue throughout the school year — and beyond. We also welcome you to share with us other proactive measures we can take.
The Campus is meant to serve as a forum for all voices — and not just in the Opinion section. While we encourage op-ed submissions from the student body at all times, there is space for your voice on every page. The Campus invites new writers and reporters to join any section, whether in News, Local, Arts & Culture or Sports. But we also welcome you to submit a letter to the editor, where we hope you will speak out against anything you feel we did wrong, missed or need to improve upon.
As a publication, we must continue to recognize that anti-racism is not a status that is conferred. Rather, it’s a series of deliberate decisions that we must make every day and consider with each issue we publish. We hope you’ll hold us accountable.
Bochu Ding ’21, Hattie LeFavour ’21 and Riley Board ’22 comprise The Campus’ executive team.
(05/25/20 12:55am)
The class of 2020 commencement speaker will be Jason Collins, a retired professional basketball player and the first male active sports athlete in a major sport to come out as gay. Collins graduated from Stanford in 2001, after which he was drafted to the NBA where he played for myriad teams for 13 years. In 2013, he declared his sexuality in a landmark cover story in “Sports Illustrated.” President Laurie Patton announced Collins as the speaker of the in-person commencement during the virtual senior celebration held Sunday. Collins delivered a brief recorded address during the virtual celebration and will return to address the class of 2020 during the full graduation ceremony tentatively planned to be held sometime next year.
Collins will also be the distinguished recipient of an honorary degree along with Judge Allison Burroughs ’83, a Federal Judge appointed by Barack Obama in 2014; Marta Casals Istomin, a renowned musician and former longtime artistic director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Ernie Parizeau, a practiced teacher of entrepreneurship and Professor of the Practice at Middlebury; and Kim Parizeau ’79, the innovative former chair of the Middlebury Board of Trustees.
“I’m disappointed that I’m not there in person as your commencement speaker to celebrate your achievements as graduates of Middlebury College,” Collins said during the livestreamed ceremony, where he encouraged the class of 2020 to reflect on the past four years and then forward to the future. “We need you. Society needs you. The world needs you. Be the future leaders that we know that you can be.”
During his time at Stanford, Collins was named an All-American and to the All Pac-10 First Team as a senior. He also received the NABC Pete Newell “Big Man of the Year” Award and was chosen in the 2001 NBA Draft as the eighteenth overall pick. He then went on to play for six teams including Atlanta, Boston, the Brooklyn Nets, New Jersey, Memphis, Minnesota and Washington during his 13-year tenure in the NBA.
In April 2013, Collins was featured on the cover of “Sports Illustrated” and in an exclusive through which he came out as gay. “I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport,” Collins wrote in Sports Illustrated. “But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation.” Following his announcement, Collins was featured in 2014 as one of “TIME” magazine’s “100 Most Influential people in the World” and was honored the following year with a Sports Legacy Award from the National Civil Rights Museum.
Following his recognitions, Collins served the Obama administration as a member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. He now serves as an NBA Cares Ambassador, working to cultivate a positive basketball community.
Judge Allison Burroughs ’83 will join Collins in receiving an honorary degree. Judge Burroughs received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1989 and specialized in complex litigation and white-collar criminal defense before entering private practice. After working as an Assistant United States attorney for 16 years, she was appointed to the Federal Bench by Barack Obama in 2014.
The third recipient of an honorary degree is Marta Casals Istomin, a musician and well-known cellist who dedicated her life to music education. Istomin has worked with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, serving as a delegate to the World Arts Forum. Istomin served as the Artistic Director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. for over 10 years. Then, she would lead the Manhattan School of Music for over a decade as its president. Istomin was awarded the Living Legend Award from the Library of Congress in 2015, and she currently serves as the President Emerita of the Manhattan School of Music.
The fourth recipient of an honorary degree at next year’s ceremony, Ernie Parizeau is a practiced entrepreneur and dedicated Professor of the Practice at Middlebury. Parizeau also teaches entrepreneurship in the MiddCORE Innovation program and has taught at Babson College, Olin College of Engineering and Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Parizeau served for 23 years as a partner of Northwest Venture Partners and was chair of the Cape Eleuthera Foundation. He is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth and is married to Kim Parizeau, the fifth and final recipient of an honorary degree.
Kim Parizeau ’79 has served as a member of the Middlebury Board of Trustees for 16 years, during which time she guided the college through significant transitions as chair of the Board. Under her leadership, the board saw the acquisition of the Monterey Institute of International Studies, now known as the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. She also saw the appointment of Dr. Laurie Patton, the college’s first female president, and the creation of Middlebury’s Energy 2028 plan. Parizeau is also a board member at Matriculate.org, a nonprofit dedicated to equitable higher education among low-income communities.
Although no concrete plans have been made for the in-person commencement ceremony, President Patton hopes to hold the event on Middlebury’s campus next year. Speaker Jason Collins has agreed to deliver a full address when the event is held, at which time each of the five honorary degrees will be awarded.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FePgACOZqKg
(05/14/20 9:55am)
Middlebury College will welcome a total of 750 new students as members of the classes of 2024 and 2024.5, an uptick from last year’s cohort of 703. The increase comes after the college’s acceptance rate jumped to 24% this year, an 8% rise from last year’s admission cycle. 640 new students currently plan to enroll in September and 110 will join the college in February.
!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var e in a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-"+e)||document.querySelector("iframe[src*='"+e+"']");t&&(t.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][e]+"px")}}))}();
Among those planning to matriculate, 30% are students of color and 15% will be first-generation students, increases of 3% and 4% respectively. International students will comprise 11% of the class, while 18.9% will be Pell Grant recipients. The students hail from 44 states and Washington, D.C. as well as 54 countries.
The number of students receiving financial aid has also increased to 51%, up from 41% last year. Such fluctuation from year to year is common as Middlebury remains a need-blind institution. The college will award a total of approximately $16.6 million, with the average grant being $51,378.
After the pandemic led to the cancellation of traditional admissions events such as Preview Days and on-campus tours, the college has been forced to improvise. Admitted prospective students were offered a medley of remote programs and events including three Experiential Learning Centers that offer virtual connection to staff and faculty, as well as the option to be matched with a current Middlebury student with whom to text in lieu of Preview Days.
Although these students have all accepted Middlebury’s offer of admission, these statistics are tentative. The status of the upcoming academic year is still in question, with the administration set to communicate a contingency plan for the fall semester by June 22. The admissions staff is continually monitoring deferral requests and availability of student visas for incoming first-years and other students alike, leaving concrete enrollment numbers uncertain.
!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var e in a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-"+e)||document.querySelector("iframe[src*='"+e+"']");t&&(t.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][e]+"px")}}))}();
(05/07/20 9:54am)
“What do you define as the most pressing issue of our day?”
Each year, we have asked respondents one open-ended question that defines the theme of the Zeitgeist survey that year. This year — right before the turn of the decade — we asked students what they believed to be the most pressing issue of our day. The responses leaned heavily toward the climate crisis. While this answer took myriad forms – “Climate change”; “Climate change, f*cking duh”; “ummmm climate change have u heard of it??” and “The Earth is about to be one-a-spicy meatball,” among many others – “climate” was the most common term among the 535 responses. The “environment” was also written 43 times, “environmental” 39 times and “energy” seven times, suggesting similar concerns.
!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var e in a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-"+e)||document.querySelector("iframe[src*='"+e+"']");t&&(t.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][e]+"px")}}))}();
Gun control came in second, with “gun” used 47 times. Healthcaret was also frequently referenced, with “health” used 18 times and “healthcare” used 16.
Some answers were combinations of a few issues, such as the response, “In my personal life, healthcare. In the public sphere, […] gun control.” Other issues raised were systemic racism, political polarization, economic inequality, the faults of the capitalist system, criminal justice, indigenous people’s rights and reproductive rights.
Some were specific to Middlebury at the time of the survey, including “Napkins at the dining hall” and “the new scan-in system.” Other responses were broad-spanning, including “unkindness,” “I just feel like our generation is f*cked,” “Learning how to connect as a society” and, for the indecisive anti-establishment, “They are all connected. Capitalism?”
At this point, it’s important to point out that this survey was issued months before the novel coronavirus came onto anyone’s radar. But the issues students outlined above have been exacerbated as the global health crisis exacerbates systemic inequality and access to public services, such as healthcare.
!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var e in a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-"+e)||document.querySelector("iframe[src*='"+e+"']");t&&(t.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][e]+"px")}}))}();
As the U.S. rapidly approaches it’s next election year, political issues are at the forefront of many college voters’ minds. When asked to list the importance of 10 political topics from Politico’s list of 2020 issues as “very important,” “moderately important,” “neutral” or “not important,” respondents identified the most vital issue as “energy, environment and climate change.” 77% of respondents ranked the issue “very important,” while 95% ranked it important to some degree, backing Middlebury’s reputation as an environmentally-conscious school. The issue is also considered prominent nation-wide among youth and college-aged voters, validated at Middlebury by its strong turnout.
The other issues that exceeded a 90% response rate of moderate to very important were healthcare, gun control, immigration and abortion. However, these data were collected before the Covid-19 pandemic, which has served as a development that has reshaped U.S. healthcare policy. While healthcare fell slightly behind abortion and gun control in rankings of “very important” at the time, it is possible that more recent data would reflect an increased level of emphasis placed on healthcare.
The issue ranked least important by Middlebury students was, “support for the military,” with only 32% of students deeming it important. The penultimate concern was “marijuana and cannabis legalization,” with just over 50% of students signaling it as important.
(04/30/20 10:00am)
Middlebury baseball, the college’s oldest athletic team with a dizzying recorded history dating back to 1881, has only been interrupted twice. Among a litany of season records, the first anomaly is a note where the statistics from 1918 should be: “World War I”. None expected the second to be the 2020 season, just as the senior class was on track to become the winningest class in the team’s history. But the spot reserved for their long-awaited record is now filled by an asterisk: “The 2020 season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Anticipation had grown for the senior class since the team clocked the second-most season wins in their freshman season, then tied for the most ever in 2019. Last year’s team also led the all-time record board for most strikeouts, most walks and most stolen bases in both a single game and season, as well as second-place school records for most runs, most RBI and most at-bats.
“I think it would’ve been our best year since I’ve been here,” said infielder Brooks Carroll ’20, who is currently listed in the individual top five all-time for single season and career stolen bases. “This year would’ve been the culmination of all the hard work we’ve put in for four years now. So I think we would’ve had a lot of success.”
Carroll, who played with the team since his first year at Middlebury, attributed the class’s record achievements to their chemistry. “Everyone was bought into the program and did whatever it took,” he said. “It was something we looked forward to in the last couple years, just thinking that it’s a very possible goal that we should work toward. These goals we’ve had for a few years were just being taken away from us.”
The Middlebury men’s track team also entered the 2020 season on an upswing, having won the NESCAC Championship for the past two outdoor seasons. Jonathan Fisher ’20, whose events include high jumping and the 400-meter hurdle, had broken the school’s indoor record for the high jump earlier this year. He was gearing up for the outdoor season with his team before the cancellation.
“We all had very high hopes for how we could do as a team and individually and to see that all disappear so quickly was pretty heartbreaking,” Fisher said. “No one ever knows what’s going to happen, but I think both the men’s and women’s teams were feeling quite confident going into this championship season.”
Entering the season, Fisher had his eyes on the NESCAC title, as well as the individual record for Middlebury’s outdoor all-time highest high jump. Adding one additional centimeter to his indoor record height would have allowed Fisher to claim the outdoor record, cementing his name in Middlebury’s athletic history.
“I had been hoping to carry that momentum,” Fisher said. “I thought it was definitely within reach, but obviously that was not going to happen.”
On the softball pitch, senior Melanie Mandell ’20 faced a similar circumstance. Mandell had been a standout player since her first year on the team and currently sits on the record board for multiple achievements, including the all-time most season doubles in 2019, most home runs in a single season in 2018 and a tie for highest all-time fielding percentage in 2018. This year, she was preparing to lead her team as captain.
But Mandell was not ready to mourn the loss of her senior season just yet. “I didn’t get any closure on my career,” she said. “It was pretty immediate that I was thinking about how I could come back.”
Mandell eventually made the decision to withdraw from her senior spring semester and return next year as a special student. This will allow her to compete in next year’s softball season and close out her career how she envisioned it. However, Mandell expressed the same sentiment heard from track to pitch to diamond: it’s not about the records.
“It’s really just about playing with my team who I very much consider to be my family on campus,” said Mandell. “It’s about that experience of being with them for one more year.”
Although Carroll and Fisher are graduating on schedule this spring and will not complete the final season of their athletic careers, they also valued the experience of competing alongside their teammates above anything else.
“We’re always trying to do the best we can and, of course, beat records, but the records really aren’t on our minds,” said Carroll, who said the baseball team spent their final week post-cancellation reflecting on their seasons they got to spend together. “I knew this was going to be my last year of baseball ever, so I just wanted it to end on a good note. I wanted to play my last season with my teammates.”
Correction April 30, 2020: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Jonathan Fisher '20 pole vaults for the Middlebury Track & Field team. He is a high jumper.
(04/30/20 9:55am)
After outcry from seniors at the news that two small senior houses were allotted to rising juniors in the superblock process, the assignments may now have been revoked, according to students involved.
This year’s superblock process was initially expanded to include Turner House and Homer Harris after the Office of Residential Life received an influx of applicants for superblocks. The reassignment, however, angered many seniors who had been assured that Turner and Homer Harris would be available in the general housing draw.
Rising junior Brooke Laird ’22, the coordinator for the applicants allotted Turner House, told The Campus that her group’s housing assignment was revoked on April 16 through a Zoom call with Assistant Director of Residential Life Kady Shea.
“She has notified us that due to the original statement in the housing information, Turner will go back into the regular room draw process for seniors,” Laird said in a statement to The Campus. “This was obviously incredibly hard to hear, because we were enthusiastic about bringing our superblock plans into this space.”
Sophie Hochman ’22, a rising junior in the group previously assigned to Homer Harris, received similar news in a Zoom call with Shea and the members of her applicant group.
“Basically, as of now, we are not attached to that location,” Hochman told The Campus. “[Shea] very much framed it as ‘putting Homer Harris on pause’ and talked about the many new spaces they are exploring for housing on campus and how they need to do a full survey of those before we can talk further.”
The news follows a barrage of objections about the assignments from the rising senior class, many of whom expressed through memes and vitriolic emails to the housing administrators that Middlebury’s senior housing options are already limited. The other superblock assignments at Jewett House, 97 Adirondack View and 48 South Street (KDR), which are traditionally included in the process and were not subject to student protest, remain unaffected by the changes.
Shea could not be reached for comment. Associate Dean of Student Life AJ Place did not corroborate the students’ claims and instead told The Campus in an email that no decision had been made regarding the two houses.
“We are exploring options based on the feedback from seniors,” Place said. “We will share out all the information we have about available properties when we release the updated room draw calendar.”
Although no official announcement has been made regarding the tentative reallocation of Turner and Homer Harris, an email sent to all rising seniors on April 9 and co-signed by Shea, Place and Senior Associate Dean of Students Derek Doucet addressed student outrage over the initial superblock process. The email also addressed the erroneous statement left on the 2020-2021 informational website claiming that Turner and Homer Harris would not be available as superblocks, which served as a catalyst for student anger after it was retroactively removed.
“We recognize that some of you would have preferred to receive this information ahead of time, and that we inadvertently left text on the room draw page indicating that these spaces would not be offered as superblocks,” the email read. “That was an oversight we acknowledge, and for which we apologize.”
As uncertainties surrounding student enrollment this fall have forced Middlebury to rethink its housing conventions, the email also claimed that previously unavailable locations may be added to the senior housing draw for the 2020-2021 year. A following email to all students on April 13, also co-signed by Shea, Place and Doucet, doubled down on this proposal, though a timeline for the remainder of the housing process has not yet been determined.
“We will expand housing options for students, which may include both small and large houses not offered before,” the email read. “These spaces will be available and selected in the room draw process based on seniority.”
As housing reconfigurations take place, the groups originally assigned to Turner House and Homer Harris hope to find other locations to pursue the superblock themes proposed in their applications. Turner was originally planned to center around relationships, care and consent, while Homer Harris was to be focused on sustainable design.
“We have gotten word that we might be reassigned but have very little information on where or when,” said Hochman.
Laird’s group is in a similar position. “We are hopeful that we can work with Kady to find a place for our superblock within the new potential housing options that are being investigated,” she said.
(04/16/20 10:02am)
Of all the forms of isolation bred in this national distancing experiment — physical at best, and at worst its insidious cousins of the emotional, mental and social varieties — literature has borne witness to each. Whether we’ve staved them off or found ourselves embroiled in them, we’re all experiencing at least one: the government-mandated type. (The only type that might have driven Thoreau out of the woods.)
But I’m not going to tell you to go read “Walden” — it feels a bit condescending to be told to “live deliberately” when the only thing keeping one compos mentis is a two-pound bag of Swedish Fish and the Apple podcast app. I’m also going to leave off much of the other seemingly go-to isolation literature — Virgina Woolf’s “To the Lighthouse,” Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and anything by Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson and James Joyce. (Which is not to say I don’t recommend them.)
In lieu, here’s a list of six books to help you lay bare, dissect and anatomize your own isolation in all of its mordant and oft-unseen incarnations.
1. “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” by Ottessa Moshfegh
If I could recommend one queen quarantine book, it would be this one. Truth be told, any of Moshfegh’s books could fill this slot — she was once described by Jia Tolentino as “the most interesting contemporary American writer on the subject of being alive when being alive feels terrible” — but this novel seems particularly germane. Maybe it’s because the book features a recent college graduate in self-inflicted exile from her own life in New York City, or maybe it’s Moshfegh’s all-too-apt shrewdness in accounting the experience of little-to-no experience. Either way, this novel is a bleary-eyed walk worth taking through a life where time itself is held captive.
2. "The Trial” by Franz Kafka
Kafka, a literary horseman of self-isolation, is another author whose entire body of work could essentially fit this list. “The Trial,” his standout novel among a slew of short stories and novellas, follows Josef K. around a tortuous bureaucratic carousel as he tries to make sense of a life that does its best to spin him into disoriented monotony. A recent essay in The Los Angeles Review of Books pinpoints this well — of all the doors opening and closing for Josef K. in “The Trial,” we see a frustratingly similar number in front of us in this pandemic. Yes, watching them swing in real time can get disheartening, and yes, this novel understands.
3. “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric” by Claudia Rankine
This book engages with a topic that seems to stare down those of us in quarantine: what’s the right role for the individual within this writhing political culture? “An American Lyric” is one of Rankine’s signature literary forms, quilting segments of prose, poetry and television imagery. The first time I sat down with it, I read it twice before leaving my chair. If you don’t know how to think, feel or act on all the things going on in the news, happening around you or stirring within you that make you feel alone, this book will deliver headway.
4. “The Friend” by Sigrid Nunez
This novel is at once a meditation on grief and a portrait of the relationships we may increasingly have with our pets as we inevitably spend every hour with them. When the narrator’s worshipped literary mentor dies, she is pressed to adopt his grief-stricken Great Dane named Apollo. Through her own deep grief and waning grasp on her writing, she pushes further into her own isolation with Apollo, all the while ruminating on expression itself. As many of us lean into the solace of our pets in inadvertent replacement of those we can’t see, this book can at times feel like a pat on the head. “I know this is all moronically anthropomorphic,” writes Nunez, “but sometimes that is the form love takes.”
5. “Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life” by J.M. Coetzee
Coetzee’s 1998 novel “Boyhood” is one of two fictionalized accounts of his own childhood in Cape Town published in the years leading up to his Nobel Prize. This one, the first, roams through a life cut into sections. Within each, there is a boy under a new identity, reconciling action and self-perception in a life that he has yet to feel comfortable in. This book holds water for the many whose lives have been disrupted by the pandemic, and those who themselves are reconciling with identity when left alone to define it.
6. “The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead
In his latest novel “The Nickel Boys,” Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead follows a young Elwood Curtis through the most odious form of isolation on this list. Amid the Civil Rights movement, Elwood, a black teenager about to enroll in college in Florida, is sent to the Nickel Academy reformatory for a mistake. Together yet alone, remembered yet forgotten, the reformatory’s occupants contend with their notions of humanity while forced to source it from within. Though I could not possibly argue that this experience runs parallel to ours in quarantine, Whitehead's insights ring true across them. “If it is true for you,” he writes, “it is true for someone else, and you are no longer alone.”
(04/09/20 10:00am)
The ubiquitous pressure to stay home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, formalized by Governor Scott’s statewide “Stay Home, Stay Safe” mandate on March 24, begs the question: what if you don’t have a home to stay in?
In an effort to answer, local nonprofits such as the John Graham Shelter, Charter House and WomenSafe have been working together to move dozens of Addison County’s housing-insecure into vacant rooms at the Middlebury Inn, Sugar House Motel, Courtyard Marriott and Middlebury Sweets Motel. Middlebury College Dining has joined the effort as well, donating three fresh Proctor-concocted meals to the relocated Vermonters each day.
The rooms are subsidized by a state voucher system that is typically implemented to shelter those living outside during Vermont’s frigid winters. In the face of Covid-19, the state declared such “adverse weather conditions” to allow continual voucher distribution to those who need to self-isolate safely. In Addison County, the program now serves between 47 and 50 residents.
Ongoing medical conditions and homelessness often go hand-in-hand, as do shelters and close quarters, explained Jubilee McGill, the primary project coordinator at the John Graham Shelter. This leaves those in need particularly vulnerable to Covid-19.
“Shelters are close communal living spaces where things are more likely to spread,” McGill said. “The state has worked really well to make sure that the people who are highly vulnerable and without permanent housing are able to socially isolate somewhere.”
The program’s organizers have also recognized that self-isolation necessities go beyond housing security. They contacted Middlebury College Dining, who immediately agreed to donate food to those in need. The Proctor Dining Hall staff, still working to prepare food for the 100-odd students remaining on campus, now package two hot meals per day from the pre-planned menu, as well as a cold breakfast for the next day delivered with dinner.
The lunch and dinner meals typically consist of the prepared entrée, vegetable, starch and dessert, while breakfasts include a combination of muffins, fruit, bagels or cereal. As Middlebury College struggles to maintain staff employment after most students have left campus, the donations also generate hours for dining hall workers.
“This program certainly helps with keeping the staff employed,” said Dan Detora, Middlebury’s Executive Director of Food Service Operations in an email to The Campus. “The staff are happy to help and happy to continue to be working. They feel like this is their way to help the community in these unprecedented times.”
Once prepared, the dining staff leave the meals on the Proctor loading dock, where they’re picked up by John Graham Shelter staff and delivered to the doorsteps of those in need.
The meal delivery service is both a great way to provide nutrition to the food-insecure and to minimize contact between people who are self-isolating, McGill explained. “We’re ensuring that there’s not a lot of people coming in and out, and that the meals are delivered safely for everyone’s health,” she said. “It feels very dark and scary at times, but I think getting that meal they feel remembered and seen.”
Walter Stugis, chair of Charter House’s board of directors, also expressed his gratitude in an interview with The Campus last week. “God bless Middlebury College,” Stugis said. “This is all while operating to serve the students who are still living on campus. It’s amazing.”
Organizers and volunteers at the nonprofits have also begun extending their delivery services to include personal hygiene products like shampoo and toothpaste, as well as items to keep residents entertained during self-isolation, such as art supplies, puzzles, books, magazines and decks of cards.
“We also want to make sure we’re paying attention to their emotional health,” McGill said, adding that the organizations are working with Middlebury College’s Center for Community Engagement to connect their clients with student volunteer “buddies” to talk to. “We’re thinking to have someone else who they can vent to and talk to and potentially advocate for them as needed.”
Addison County’s nonprofits plan to continue housing and feeding those in need indefinitely.
“I think it really helps for people out in the community to hear good stories and know that things are being done,” said McGill. “Makes us all feel a little less lost."
Correction April 9, 2020: A previous version of this article referred to the John Graham Shelter as John Graham House. Additionally, meals prepared by the college are picked up by John Graham Shelter staff, not staff of the Charter House.
(04/09/20 10:00am)
Several members of the class of 2021 are outraged after discovering through word of mouth that this year’s superblock program granted Turner House and Homer Harris, typically reserved for rising seniors in the general housing draw, to rising juniors in early March.
The college added these small houses to the superblock pool after the number of superblock applicant groups more than doubled between this year and last. The number jumped from six for the 2019–2020 cycle to 14 for 2020–2021, according to Assistant Director of Residence Life Kady Shea. The majority of applicants were rising juniors.
Superblocks, which conventionally include large houses available to upperclassmen through an early application process, were originally listed this year as 48 South Street (KDR), Homestead House and 97 Adirondack View. Interested students were asked to apply for one of the three houses with a proposed theme and student roster. Some groups were thus surprised to receive emails requesting they cut down their groups to fit into Turner and Homer Harris, as well as Jewett House (formerly the Wellness House) after Homestead was removed from the process to serve as the new Wellness House location.
“We wanted to honor the number of superblock applications we received, so we looked for other spaces on campus that could be used that wouldn’t have a broad impact on the larger community,” said Shea in an email to The Campus. “We were very intentional in trying to not use some of the most popular junior/senior housing. For example, we had specific requests for 107 Shannon Street and 248 College Street (Beach House) and felt that due to the popularity of those spaces, they will remain in the general room draw process.”
These housing reconfigurations have yet to be communicated to students, and many rising seniors were confused and disheartened to hear of the changes through peers. While the Covid-19 crisis disrupted much of the overall housing process, superblock assignments and the off-campus lottery are among the earliest housing proceedings. Both were completed before Middlebury’s evacuation, barring seniors from the chance to apply to live off campus or join the superblock application process in the wake of this information.
Henry Cronic ’21, who heard from a sophomore friend that they had been granted one of the senior houses for the 2020–2021 year, was initially in disbelief.
“I told them that’s ridiculous,” said Cronic. “The school would never do that without telling everyone first.”
Cronic was one of many seniors hoping to draw a high enough lottery number to live in either Turner or Homer Harris, which some consider to be among the best housing options on campus. Although both juniors and seniors are permitted to apply for superblocks, rising seniors jockeying for small houses were assured they needn’t apply. Throughout the process, the 2020–2021 superblock website read, “Small senior houses (e.g. 637 College Street, Turner House, Homer Harris House) are not available as superblocks.” This assurance was retroactively removed from the site once the houses had been filled.
“For seniors to not even have a chance to ask for them is ridiculous, especially if they were following the rules and waiting to go for them,” Cronic said. “It’s extremely tone-deaf and they made the decision to not tell seniors about it.”
The applicants themselves were similarly perplexed. Each group had entered the process with a roster of students equipped to fill a specific house, therefore requiring them to reconfigure post factum to fit the new options. One group that originally applied for 97 Adirondack View, which houses eight, was asked to cut three people from its initial application to fit into Homer Harris, which accommodates five. Another group that originally applied for Homestead, which houses 15, was also asked to cut three people to fit into Jewett, which sleeps 12.
Per superblock tradition, each of the five superblock houses will be home to a specific interest presented by their respective groups during application. Jewett House will be dedicated to meditation and mindfulness; KDR will be committed to community engagement; Homer Harris will be focused on sustainable design; Turner will be centered around relationships, care and consent. 97 Adirondack View, formerly home to PALANA House before its move to Palmer in the last housing cycle, will become the International House and will serve as a workspace for the International Student Organization.
According to Shea, the addition of Turner and Homer Harris was considered carefully. “I realize there may be some students who may be upset and confused about the use of Turner and Homer Harris as superblocks, but overall, a lot of intention and thought was put into these superblock applications” Shea said. “I feel confident in our decisions and I look forward to seeing how these groups build community on campus.”
However, Elizabeth Callaway ’21 expressed similar frustration to Cronic.
“They publish an official schedule and we wait patiently to comply while, unbeknownst to us, they are disregarding the process,” said Callaway. “Senior year is an irreplaceable opportunity to be with our friends after being scattered across the world during junior year and before dispersing across the country for jobs. The houses they gave away were some of the best opportunities for seniors to have that time together in a way that a lot of other options can’t provide.”
In an email to all students on Thursday, Residence Life acknowledged that the housing process had been set back significantly but did not address the superblock draw nor offer a timeline for the remainder of the assignments. “Rest assured that we will be running Room Draw for the 20/21 academic year as soon as possible,” it read. Shea predicts that this process will not start back up again until May.
(03/05/20 11:04am)
Oliver “Ollie” the camel, for years an unlikely Route 7 celebrity and Vermont’s resident two-humped treasure, died on the evening of Feb. 21 at his farm in Ferrisburgh, Vt. He was 17 years old.
Ollie, a seven-foot-tall, 1,500-lb Bactrian camel often described as a “ham for the camera,” prompted countless roadside double-takes as he meandered around the pastures at Round Barn Merinos farm. Passersby and locals alike frequented Ollie’s fence, where he was known to mosey away from the sheep herds to nuzzle cheek-to-cheek for pictures and snacks.
“He wants people to acknowledge him and he’ll run and play for attention,” Round Barn Merinos farm owner Judith Giusto told The Campus in 2010. “People stop all the time.”
Ollie had been feeling under the weather in the week preceding his death, according to his Facebook page, though the ultimate cause of his passing was not reported. The online announcement was met with a deluge of love for the camel, with hundreds of comments and photos pouring in from his wide-spread admirers.
North Chittenden resident Kirsten Bouchard shared that, after her daughter was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of two, she began driving up Route 7 to Burlington every three months for doctor’s appointments.
“In the beginning these trips were hard — but the highlight was to look for Oliver — and if he was there in the field it was a little celebration,” wrote Bouchard, whose daughter is now 17. “We will still think of him every time we drive by. He is etched in our lives!”
Brandon, Vt. resident Louise Marrier expressed her sorrow in a statement to The Campus, describing her whole family’s adoration for Ollie. “When we got to the ‘spot’ we would look to see if the camel was out. It was just so unique to see a camel in Vermont,” said Marrier, whose children are now grown. “My husband and I would still look for Ollie. The drive will not be the same.”
Giusto, a shepherd and fiber artist, adopted Ollie from Wisconsin in 2002 when he was just a few months old. She raised Ollie among the farm’s herds of Merino sheep and alpacas, the unlikely bunch grazing together for nearly two decades. Although Giusto adopted the camel partly for the novelty of it, she also incorporated his hair and down into her knitwear which was sold at stores and galleries across Vermont.
“I cannot keep his fiber in stock,” Giusto told the Addison Independent in a profile of Ollie in 2017. “People eat it up. They come in all the time and ask me if I have anything from the camel.”
Although the New England countryside may not have seemed a likely habitat for Ollie, whose species of camel is native to the Gobi Desert in Eastern Asia, his down coat was well-equipped for the Vermont winters. Ollie always looked at home among the sheep in his pasture, a contentment he passed along to his devotees.
“I will miss you terribly,” wrote Middlebury resident Scott Bourne on Facebook. “I commuted up and down [Route] 7 for MANY years and you were ALWAYS the bright spot of my drive. I know there are hundreds of people who feel the same!”
Middlebury students are also heavy-hearted at the news of Ollie’s passing.
“He meant everything to me, really,” said MacLean Kirk ’21. “The amount of joy that I got out of seeing a fuzzy little camel on the side of the road — I mean, why else would I drive up Route 7?”
It wasn’t hard to notice Ollie’s popularity over the years, but Giusto has been stunned by the love and support that Ollie has received in his passing. “I now realize he is bigger than I ever thought he was,” she told the Associated Press.
Although Ollie is already dearly missed among his countless friends, his signature humps will live on in memory among the curves of the Green Mountain hills.