6 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(05/09/18 6:48pm)
Dear MiddKids,
To begin, thank you to all who helped out with Staff Appreciation Day! It was a huge hit and the staff greatly appreciated the dinner as well. This was the 2nd Annual Staff Appreciation Day, and we hope it will continue and improve in the many more years to come.
For this column, we will share some final updates from SGA along with some lessons learned this year.
SGA Updates:
1. SGA 2018–2019 Bylaws Amendments: There were some internal SGA bylaws amendments that were discussed and passed at the Apr. 29th Senate meeting. Here are a few of these changes: Publicity Committee was renamed Communications Committee, SGA committees for the sophomore and junior classes were formed and matched to the model of the SGA First-Year Committee, Commons Senator positions will be on a semester basis instead of the current yearly basis, a formal structure for the appeals process was formed, and more. Please check at go/sga under Archives to see an official version of the passed bylaws amendments.
2. Finance Committee Budget Allocations of $10,000 and More Presentations: The SGA discussed and ultimately approved of the budget allocations by the SGA Finance Committee at this past May 6th Senate meeting. Budget allocations of $10,000 and more included Club Sports (Crew, Equestrian, Mens Rugby, Sailing and Women’s Ultimate Frisbee), InterCommons Council (ICC), Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB), Middlebury Intercultural Leaders Coalition (MILC), Middlebury Mountain Club (MMC), Service Cluster Board (SCB), Student Government Association (SGA), The Campus Newspaper, WRMC (Middlebury College Radio Station) and YouPower. Throughout these conversations there were discussions around student employment and hiring by organizations, needs for organizational restructuring and more. Be sure to check out the SGA minutes for a more comprehensive look at our discussions. These budget allocations will go into effect Fall 2018.
3. Spring Finals Week Library 24/7 Hours: Thank you to all those who submitted survey responses to Library 24/7 Hours for finals week. The survey results showed that 60.2 percent of student respondents used the library during 24/7 hours this past Fall finals week, and most hours of usage were from 12 p.m. – 3 a.m. followed by a resurge in numbers at 7 a.m. 51.5 percent of student respondents answered that the library should not be opened the full 24/7 hours for this upcoming Spring finals week. In the comments section, many student respondents encouraged the library to be open until 2 a.m. and then to re-open at 7 a.m. during finals week to meet students’ needs and library constraints. After presenting the survey results to Michael Roy (Dean of the Library), he decided to keep the 24/7 hours for this Spring finals week and begin plans to keep the library open until 2 a.m. for Fall 2018 finals week.
4. Common Agenda Updates & Cabinet Final Reports: Be on the look-out for final common agenda updates and an SGA cabinet report that will be published for the student body in the coming weeks!
5. Board of Trustees: Middlebury College Trustee Members will be in town for their final meeting of this academic year from Thursday (05/10) – Saturday (05/12). The College Board of Overseers will be in all three dining halls during Friday lunch to directly engage and converse with students. The SGA is working to release the College Board of Overseers agenda to the student body, so please check your emails for this. If you have any concerns or comments, feel free to contact sga@middlebury.edu.
Lessons Learned:
It has been an honor to serve as the SGA President and Deputy Chief of Staff this past year. Along the way we’ve learned some important lessons that we’d like to share with the larger Middlebury community as you all look towards next year at Middlebury.
1. Students at Middlebury are passionate about various causes, ideas and beliefs. This is incredibly important and valuable to the community. And we’ve also realized that many of us, including ourselves, fail to provide needed time and attention to the things that our peers may be passionate about as well. Caring more about the things that may matter to another person (possibly someone who is widely different from you) could help to create a more empathic and open-minded environment.
2. We all come from different backgrounds and communities. It’s important to recognize your own background and privileges that you may carry. We all have moments where we act unintentionally and fail to recognize our own privileges in our actions with one another. Particularly staff members at Middlebury College are often negatively impacted by our failure to be more aware of our privileges. By being more intentional and aware of our privileges, our actions can better reflect who we actually are and what we value.
3. Truthfully, change is not easy nor fast. This is something that many of us at Middlebury are already aware of. We’ve also realized that oftentimes students want more short-term and immediate change while administrators and others who have been here for longer than four years look towards more long-term and institutional implementation. These differences in priorities, although sometimes they do overlap, continue to cause tension in our community. We don’t have the answer for overcoming this tension, but being aware of this discrepancy could be the key in understanding how to work together. Persistence and accountability in action are other important factors to working together.
4. At the same time it’s important to acknowledge that there isn’t just tension between students and administrators, but also between students and students. We all work to positively contribute to the Middlebury community in different ways, and there are some students who do more than others. It’s time to work to not just keep administration, faculty or staff more accountable to the Middlebury community but also your fellow peers. Accountability should apply to everyone — this is your community.
These are just a few of our closing thoughts from this year, and we are aware that you may disagree with these lessons we’ve learned. We also want to thank you for staying engaged and committed to the Middlebury community in the ways you have this past year.
As always, all past and current bills (including the ones mentioned above) are accessible at go/sga under Weekly Updates and/or Archives. The final SGA Senate meeting will be Sunday (05/13) from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Enjoy the final days of this semester and remember to take moments for self-care in the midst of finals!
Jin Sohn is SGA President.
Annie Cowan is SGA Deputy Chief of Staff.
(05/02/18 10:59pm)
Last spring, the Middlebury community became deeply divided over a campus visit by Charles Murray. We each felt these divides personally — Sarah Stroup is a member of the political science department, and Jin plays a leading role in student government. Our campus is not alone in struggling to construct open and inclusive dialogue, but the stakes have felt particularly high in our small rural community. The intimacy of our small environment does not guarantee that we connect with one another or engage in productive disagreements.
Student concerns about isolation, fragmentation and community are high. Last May, Stroup surveyed 50 students in her political science classes. Two-thirds of the respondents said their level of concern about the events surrounding Murray’s visit was still high or very high. Half the students reported that their biggest concern moving forward was community, closely followed by listening and inclusion. This heightened attention to community has continued through this year. Hundreds of students, staff and faculty came to a November conversation in Mead Chapel, and Wilson Hall was packed for a February faculty panel on white supremacy on campus. Meanwhile, according to research by professor of psychology Robert Moeller and his colleagues, students that feel most isolated have reported higher stress levels.
In an attempt to address these divides, we designed a series of “deliberation cafés” to host this past year. We drew inspiration from a variety of models, including the world café method and the civil conversations project. (See go/deliberation for more details.) The cafés have met three times a semester for roughly 90 minutes each. We provide food, introduce the topic and a set of ground rules for engagement, and then facilitate small-group discussions. We secured funding from the Middlebury Fund for Innovation (FFI) and included regular feedback mechanisms (follow-up surveys, focus group discussions) to improve the design of the cafés over time. The topics have included the role of religion on campus, tolerating the intolerant, the effect of social media on community and the relationship between freedom and inclusion.
The cafés are a small step towards reclaiming a climate in which students and faculty can explore new arguments, trusting that we may not share the same ideas but do share a commitment to making our ideas stronger. By working alongside many other great efforts on campus, these cafés aimed to shift the perspective from speaking to careful listening. If you are interested in continuing these cafés next year, please reach out to sstroup@middlebury.edu.
To finish the year, our last event is for seniors only: we invite you to a final café (and happy hour!) on Friday, May 11, at 5 p.m. at Kirk Alumni Center. This is a “plus-one” event — invite a faculty or staff member that you admire to join us (and please RSVP at go/plusonedialogues). The topic: how will you describe Middlebury to others once you leave this place? For those of us who aren’t leaving in May, this question might help us reflect on the community that we currently have — and the community that we want to build. Our conversations this year have been surprising and challenging, but have helped us better understand the many people that make up the Middlebury community.
Jin Sohn ’18 is president of the Student Government Association.
Sarah Stroup is a professor of Political Science.
(04/26/18 8:50pm)
Dear MiddKids,
To begin, thank you to all who voted and participated in this year’s SGA Elections & Referendum. We had an outstanding turnout: 1,730 out of 2,532 students voted (that’s 68 percent, more than voter turnout for national U.S. elections)! Congratulations to all those who have been elected to SGA positions for the coming year!
SGA Cabinet:
Cabinet committees are continuing to work on final initiatives for this year, many of which were mentioned in last week’s column. The Cabinet April Monthly Report will be published soon on the SGA website at go/sga (www.middsga.com) under Archives.
SGA Senate:
Topic of the Week: This week, the SGA has decided to focus student engagement and opinions on one topic — staff appreciation. This was decided in light of Staff Appreciation Day coming up on 4/30 (next Monday) and recent discussions about student-staff relations and staff equity at Middlebury. SGA senators will be working to speak with students on this topic and looking for students to submit recorded thank-you videos to staff at go/thankyoustaff. Please show your appreciation and help out!
Both “Resolution in Support of Action Against Systematic, Institutional Racism Resulting in Gun Violence” and “Resolution in Support of Middlebury Students Against Gun Violence” were passed in SGA Senate this past Sunday. Many SGA senators were hesitant for the SGA to release political statements, so certain sections of both bills were amended. Now, both bills will be forwarded to relevant offices on campus including the Admissions Office, General Counsel, Communications Office, Dean of Students, Diversity & Inclusivity Office, Parton Health Center and more to implement. The final versions of these two bills are available on the SGA website. Sponsors of these bills were Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Cowan and President Jin Sohn.
“Proposal for Increase of Student Wellbeing”: This bill was once again discussed in Senate. Much of what was stated in last week’s column regarding this bill still remains. The bill addresses multiple areas that impact student wellbeing including dining, libraries, the Student Health & Wellness Office and the Faculty Educational Affairs Committee. Further, some of these recommendations may actually be accomplished through other means as well. The draft of this bill is available on the SGA website, and I highly encourage you to take a look and speak with Junior Senator Kailash Raj Pandey, sponsor of this bill, or your senators about your thoughts. Where would you like to see more resources for student wellbeing on campus? The Senate will continue to discuss the bill next week.
Upcoming Events to Keep in Mind:
Staff Appreciation Day is 4/30 (next Monday)! Keep submitting those thank-you video submissions at go/thankyoustaff and volunteer to help out with the Staff Appreciation Dinner at go/signupservestaff. Students can help to set up, serve or clean up. We are also particularly in need of students with babysitting experience and who are interested in helping to babysit at the dinner. Thanks in advance to all those that help!
It Happens Here (IHH) is “an anti-sexual violence campaign that collects anonymous student stories to raise awareness to the frequency and severity of sexual violence on college campuses,” and will be on May 1st (next Tuesday) at Wilson Hall, 8 p.m. For story submissions, please check out go/ihh2018/. If you are interested in reading a story at the event, contact Taite Shomo at tshomo@middlebury.edu for more information. SGA SRR is working on more programming that will also take place on May 1st to support IHH, so please keep an eye out for their work!
As always, all past and current bills (including the ones mentioned above) are accessible at go/sga under Weekly Updates and/or Archives. Please continue to reach out to your respective senators or to SGA with any questions, concerns or comments. Also, SGA Senate meetings have been relocated to Axinn 220 for the remainder of the semester. SGA Senate meetings are every Sunday from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Enjoy the sunshine, and as we approach the final weeks of the semester please remember to take moments for self-care as well!
Jin Sohn is SGA President.
(04/18/18 10:45pm)
Dear Middkidds,
With less than five weeks left, the SGA Cabinet and Senate are continuing to work hard on ongoing and new initiatives. Be sure to voice your thoughts by reaching out to your student class and commons representatives!
SGA Cabinet:
1. Each cabinet committee is working on impactful projects, including a website for Middlebury social nightlife, a divestment referendum, staff appreciation day, Panther pride, late night student access to academic buildings, 10 o’clock Ross and more! Be sure to look out for emails from SGA with more information on these initiatives.
SGA Senate:
1. Topic(s) of the Week: This week the SGA has decided to focus student engagement and opinions on three topics: a) meal plans b) resources for international students and c) public art in spaces at Middlebury. Please reach out to your student class and commons representatives to share your opinions on these topics.
2. “An Act to Correct the Club Sports Bill 2.0”: After months of working on club sports related concerns, the Senate passed a bill to eliminate the tier system and create two clusters, Competitive Club Sports and Recreational Club Sports. Competitive Club Sports are structured intercollegiate sport programs without a Varsity counterpart and more structured than the intramural program. Competitive club sports attend regular competitions against other college and universities. Club sports that fall under this cluster are Crew, Cycling, Equestrian, Quidditch, Rugby and Sailing. Recreational Club Sports are sports with a limited travel season of only two competitions per year. Club sports that fall under this cluster are Badminton, Figure Skating, MiddRuns, SKIGA and Tennis. New Recreational Club Sports will receive minimum discretionary funds of $200, an email address and an index code like other organizations on campus, and will follow club sport policies and procedures. All relevant club sports have been contacted about this change. These new clusters will allow the SGA to be more fiscally responsible long-term and provide better organization and avenues for forming new recreational club sports. This bill will immediately go into effect for spring budgeting. Sponsors of this bill were Co-Chair Tina Brook, Senior Senator Hannah Pustejovsky, and President Jin Sohn.
3. “Terms of Commons Senators”: Originally proposed last week, this bylaws amendment was passed in Senate this week. The bill converts Commons Senator positions into semester terms. Specifically, it extends eligibility for the Commons Senator position to include students that may have study abroad plans or off-campus medical leaves. Students that are not studying abroad during the academic year, however, are required to run for both fall and spring semesters. This is based off the Community Co-Chair semester terms model. Essentially, this bill takes into account one of Middlebury’s largest student academic interests, study abroad, in order to make SGA more accessible. This will go into effect for the next election cycle of 2019-2020. Sponsors of this bill were Sophomore Senator Varsha Vijayakumar and Wonnacott Senator Anthony Salas.
4. “Academic Credit for Summer Unpaid Internships”: This bill, originally discussed last week, was passed this week in Senate. The only change to the bill since then is a clarification to include academic credit for internships tied to academic and/or professional interests. This bill will now be handed to relevant offices as a recommendation to implement. The sponsor of this bill was Junior Senator Kailash Raj Pandey.
5. “Proposal for Increase of Student Wellbeing”: This bill was discussed and proposed in Senate this week. Junior Senator Kailash Raj Pandey presented findings from a student survey on ways to increase student wellbeing at Middlebury. The results manifested as bill proposing new relaxation spaces in BiHall and Davis, installing fitdesk recumbent bikes at both libraries, Dining Committee transparency, dining food options, and offerings to match what is offered in the summer, including sauté stations and more fruit and nut offerings. The Senate will continue to discuss the bill next week. What are your thoughts on these proposals? For more information, the main contact for this initiative is SGA Junior Senator Kailash Pandey.
6. “Swipe System & Meal Plans in Dining”: The Senate is discussing the pros and cons of implementing meal plans. Through conversations with Dan Detora, Executive Director of Food Service Operations, if meal plans were to be instituted, they would all be the same price, but would allow for greater student flexibility. For example, perhaps a student who skips breakfast would prefer 14 meals per week in the dining hall and a higher declining balance to spend at retail locations on campus (and possibly even around town). Maybe a student who has a kitchen in their living space and cooks their own meals would prefer seven dining hall meals per week with a far greater declining balance. Please note that the unlimited meal option would still exist and would be the same price as the other options. The Senate is only just beginning to discuss this idea, and will continue to do so next week. Would you want meal plans at Middlebury? For more information, the main contact for this initiative is SGA Sophomore Senator Jack Goldfield.
Upcoming Events to Keep in Mind:
1. We are in the midst of SGA elections season, and voting has begun! Polls and a student-wide referendum on divestment will be open from noon on Thursday (4/19) until noon on Friday (4/20). Don’t forget to vote; every vote counts!
2. Staff Appreciation Day is 4/30! Keep submitting those thank you video submissions and get involved at go/thankyoustaff. And remember to thank staff everyday, not just on Staff Appreciation Day; they do so much for us.
As always, all past and current bills (even the ones mentioned above) are accessible at go/sga under Weekly Updates and/or Archives. Please continue to reach out to your respective Senators or to SGA with any questions, concerns or comments.
Enjoy these last few weeks of the school year!
Jin Sohn is SGA President.
(04/11/18 9:42pm)
Dear MiddKids,
This past Sunday in the Cabinet and Senate we discussed the same topics, so I’ll be sharing updates from both meetings together. They were both long meetings, so buckle in!
1. Topic of the Week: SGA has started a Topic of the Week, where SGA Senators work to prioritize student engagement and opinion on one topic each week. This week’s topic is on the “Support of Action Against Systematic, Institutional Racism Resulting in Gun Violence” and “Support of Middlebury Students Against Gun Violence” (both bills further explained below). So please reach out to your student representative on this topic and voice your thoughts!
2. SGA Elections are in full swing; be on the lookout for campaigns and be sure to vote April 19–20. Presidential and Community Co-Chair Debates will be the evening of April 18 — more details to come. Be sure to stop by and hear what the candidates have to say!
3. Staff Appreciation Day is April 30! There will be many ways to get involved including thank you video submissions, poster notes and more. Check your emails for more information from SGA and get involved at go/thankyoustaff. And remember to thank staff everyday, not just on Staff Appreciation Day; they do so much for us.
4. “Student–Trustees Representation and Engagement Bill”: This bill was passed in the Senate on Sunday. The bill seeks to expand the Student Constituent Overseer position from one student representative to two student representatives with overlapping terms, and from one year terms to two year terms with voting power. Further, the bill asks for a student representative per Trustee Committee, essentially taking the only current SLSEA position for the Resources Committee and replicating it for all the other Trustee Standing Committees including Prudential, Programs, Risk, Strategy, and Trusteeship and Governance. Lastly, the bill calls for a revamping of the Middlebury College Trustees website to better explain the current structure and goals of the Trustees. Next, this bill will be passed to the Trusteeship and Governance Committee for discussion and implementation. We are hoping to engage more students with the Trustees in the month of May with their final meeting for the 2017–2018 academic year. There will be more information to come on this!
5. “Resolution in Support of Action Against Systematic, Institutional Racism Resulting in Gun Violence” and “Resolution in Support of Middlebury Students Against Gun Violence” were discussed in tandem. The SGA is hoping to find ways to provide support beyond statements and toward action. There are many things that both resolutions recommend, but a bulk of the Senate conversation revolved around the first resolution mentioned above. This resolution proposes donating leftover funds from the SGA budget at the end of the 2017–2018 academic year to local and national organizations that are working for this cause. Unfortunately, this goes against college policy; student organizations aren’t allowed to use their funds to directly donate to outside organizations. The SGA is looking at other options, such as creating fundraising avenues for individual donations, and would love to hear other ideas from you. An ad-hoc committee was created at the Senate meeting, and the SGA will continue to work on this moving forward. For more information, the main contact for this initiative is SGA Deputy Chief of Staff, Annie Cowan.
6. “Academic Credit for Summer Unpaid Internships”: This bill was introduced to the Senate this past Sunday. The bill seeks to address international students’ current situation with internship opportunities. Members of the international student community attended the meeting to share their personal stories and support for the bill. The SGA will continue working on this initiative next week. For more information, the main contact for this initiative is SGA junior senator Kailash Pandey.
7. “Terms of Commons Senators”
This bylaws amendment resolution was also introduced in the Senate this past Sunday and proposed a change to the terms of Commons Senators from a yearly basis to a semesterly basis. The amendment was passed by a majority, but as per the SGA Constitution, bylaws amendments require a two-week process so the vote was void. The SGA is hoping to return to the bylaws amendment next week, but won’t be able to put this into effect for the upcoming election. For more information the main contacts for this initiative are SGA Sophomore Senator Varsha Vijayakumar and Wonnacott Senator Anthony Salas.
8. Spring Finals Week Library 24/7 Hours: For this upcoming spring semester finals week, the Davis Family Library is not able to financially fund the library for 24/7 hours. The library collected data that shows only a small percentage of the student body used the 24/7 library hours during late nights and early mornings (1 a.m. – 7 a.m.) of the fall semester finals week. We need your help in providing student sentiments and student-driven data about library 24/7 hours during finals week. So please fill out the survey at go/library24/7 to voice your opinions!
As always, all past and current bills (even the ones mentioned above) can be accessed at go/sga under Weekly Updates and/or Archives. Please continue to reach out to your respective Senators or to SGA with any questions, concerns, or comments. Thanks for staying engaged!
(04/04/18 2:21pm)
Dear MiddKids,
I recognize that the SGA can and should improve on its communications and transparency to the student body. The Campus serves as a unique way to engage with students, and I hope this column can serve as a way to better connect students and the SGA, and to work towards providing what many of you have asked for: more transparency and increased communications beyond emails.
Through this column, I plan to directly provide weekly updates on the most recent Sunday SGA Senate and Cabinet meetings. This column will be an opportunity for students to be informed about conversations and decisions at these meetings, new and ongoing SGA initiatives, and ways for students to get involved.
To begin, here is a quick recap of the most recent Sunday SGA Senate and Cabinet meeting from Mar. 18th:
1. Cabinet: We discussed current and potential opportunities for increased student and Board of Overseer member/Trustee engagement. We also discussed a new resolution presented in the Senate on the “Support of Middlebury Students Against Gun Violence” and missing voices and concerns in this resolution. There are ongoing efforts and collaboration on this initiative that will be brought forth at the next Cabinet and Senate meeting.
2. Senate: We voted on and passed the “Off Campus Food Financial Aid Program” (OFFAP) that will provide all students on financial aid funding for off-campus food expenses. This program will start next year! We also discussed an ongoing topic of club sports funding. A bill, “An Act to Correct the Club Sports Bill 2.0” was brought forth to the Senate and Doug Connelly, Director of Club Sports, who came in to present relevant information and possible proposals. The Senate is looking to create an additional category of Recreational Club Sports to provide opportunities for new sports to still exist and for the SGA to still remain fiscally responsible. This conversation will continue at the upcoming Senate meeting this week.
Some upcoming events to keep in mind:
1. SGA Elections will be held April 19–20th for the 2018–2019 school year. All positions (except for Feb Senators) are up for election.
2. There will be a student-wide referendum on divestment during SGA Elections as well. There will be more information to come. Be sure to vote and make your voices heard!
Please feel free to reach out to sga@middlebury.edu or at go/sga with any questions or concerns. And stay connected through the SGA Facebook Page, “Middlebury College SGA,” or Instagram Account, middsga.
SGA Senate meetings are always open to the public and are held from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Coltrane Lounge on Sundays. Agendas for and minutes from each meeting are posted at go/sga.
As the SGA continues to find ways to better communicate with students, I greatly appreciate your continued engagement and your efforts to important causes on our campus. Thank you!