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Notes from the SGA President

To give students and idea of where energy is being directed this semester, here are four main points of focus: 1. Working with leaders of groups to improve the quality of social life and encourage better communication between student groups.  2. Working with Public Safety to promote safety and be proactive about situations that can be avoided.  3. Streamlining communication about funding opportunities that many students are not aware of. 4. Increasing the quality and quantity of events for students who don’t want to drink.  From Public Safety:  For students who live off campus, please be more respectful regarding your neighbors, whether it is not cutting across lawns of people you don’t know or being conscious of noise levels outside of daytime hours. It would be a good idea to introduce yourselves to the people you live around if you haven’t already. It’s never too late to start being a good neighbor.  When crossing the crosswalk, remember to look both ways when crossing. You’d think this wouldn’t have to be a reminder. Many drivers have expressed concern about walkers and bikers being oblivious when crossing the street. If you take the time to wave and say thanks, you can also look. Two birds, one stone.  For students who have cars and have expressed frustrations with the lack of spaces, take a look at the handbook. Not only does it let you know where you can park if your original space is filled, it also answers a lot of questions you have. They are also adding 33 spaces for students back to E lot. It won’t be the same, but it is what we have to work with for now.  Finally, we are looking to create cooking classes for students. The purpose of it would be basic cooking safety, so we can avoid melting plastic and exploding metal in microwaves. This is also a great way to get to know specific people involved in Public Safety. We will have more information about that in the future. If anyone has any questions or needs clarification on policies, Public Safety encourages you to reach out.  We will be hosting open hours at The Grille on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8-9 p.m. each night for first-years. We will be in touch with more information as they happen.

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‘Improvathon’ Raises Money For Charter House with Pies in the Face

A pie in the face of an improv comedy performer meant a $15 donation to the Charter House Coalition (CHC) last Friday.  For nearly nine hours, members of the college’s three improv comedy groups — Otter Nonsense, Middlebrow and Baggage Claim — hosted the first annual “Charter House Improvathon” outdoors before a live audience, in the Gamut Room Amphitheatre.  They took turns performing through the afternoon and evening in support of the Charter House’s fundraising campaign to make its building fully accessible for those with disabilities.  Audience members were offered the chance to make improvisers say or do certain things in return for donations — for $10 one could make a performer sing or dance — and Charter House T-shirts were also on sale for $15. Attendance was consistent throughout the night except during dinner hours, and around 10:30 p.m. a rush of excited students crowded into the outdoor theater to join in the final hour and a half. As for the improvisers, who continued performing even as the audience fluctuated, the temperature dropped and pie cream congealed in their hair, they were exhausted but thrilled to be using comedy for a greater purpose. “One of my favorite things in this world is improv comedy, and to have something that gives me so much joy be used to make concrete improvement in other people’s lives makes it even more enjoyable,” said Middlebrow member and Campus cartoon editor Kaitlynd Collins ’19.5 after the event. “It certainly wasn’t my best improv — you tend to get a little delirious with a tiny audience, dried pie hair and hours of improv — but at the same time I would do it again in an instant.” The Improvathon raised $800, all of which will benefit Charter House’s $81,000 GoFundMe fundraising campaign for building accessibility. So far, the campaign has raised a total of $3,040. (To donate, go to www.gofundme.com/accessibility-at-charter-house.) CHC is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization located in downtown Middlebury that houses those in need during the fall and winter months and provides thousands of meals throughout the year. CHC actually opened on Saturday, Sept. 1 this year, six weeks earlier than usual, in order to accommodate the community’s extra needs. The organization is housed in a building generously gifted by the Congregational Church this past July. Unfortunately, it is in dire need of many repairs and renovations. [pullquote speaker="Charter House Coalition" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]Accessibility can’t wait that long[/pullquote] “The building is 230 years old, and there are several items that need to be addressed in order for Charter House to continue to operate a shelter,” Co-Executive Director of CHC Samantha Kachmar told The Campus in a previous interview about the shelter’s early opening. At the top of the list for Charter House right now are renovations to make the building more accessible. They began a three-year Neighbors Helping Neighbors campaign in order to raise funds for other repairs, but “accessibility can’t wait that long,” CHC wrote on their GoFundMe page. “Charter House needs to be made accessible this year, so we don’t ever have to turn someone away again.” The Improvathon fundraiser was born from the actions of Jackie Atkins ’20, a member of the Middlebrow improv group and a former intern at the Charter House, where she volunteered this past summer. Atkins was the one who originally launched the GoFundMe accessibility campaign back in August, and she cares deeply about the importance of and immediate need for Charter House’s accessibility to all. “If you think about how interconnected poverty and disability are, it’s just wrong that an inclusive space like Charter House isn’t easily accessible to everyone yet,” Atkins said. She is also painfully conscious of the separation between the town of Middlebury and the college, particularly regarding student awareness of homelessness and the Charter House Coalition. She attempted to bridge that gap through the Improvathon. [pullquote speaker="Jackie Atkins '20" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]There’s a lot of awareness and generosity among students here, but there’s also a lot of willful ignorance.[/pullquote] “I think there’s a perception that Middlebury is an extremely wealthy town because of the presence of the college, but there’s a lot of poverty here,” Atkins said. “There’s a lot of awareness and generosity among students here, but there’s also a lot of willful ignorance.” Indeed, Atkins and other student volunteers who worked the event found that many students had never heard of Charter House, further emphasizing the need for events like the Improvathon. “It’s an important thing because we want to raise awareness about housing insecurity here in Middlebury, which a lot of people don’t even know about,” said Mayher Patel ’19, who volunteers with Charter House and worked the fundraising table at the Improvathon. Though the Improvathon’s original fundraising goal was $2000, Atkins did not feel discouraged. “I’m extremely proud that we were able to raise $800,” she said. “To me, it proves that an event like this is worthwhile, and with better planning on my end, it could be much more successful.” The Charter House is always looking for new volunteers, and opportunities vary quite a bit: volunteers can work with the meal programs, take shifts supervising the winter shelter, work in the garden or join the maintenance team. Trainings will be provided on-site for new volunteers at the following times: Thursday, Oct. 4, 6:30–8:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 6, 9–11 a.m.; Monday, Oct. 8, 10 a.m.–noon; Saturday, Oct. 20, 9–11 a.m. Students interested in volunteering are encouraged to contact the chair of the Charter House Student Organization, Luna Shen, at stshen@middlebury.edu.

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Women’s Soccer Kicks Away the Competition

The Middlebury women’s soccer team finished this past weekend’s doubleheader with another impeccable winning record, bringing their season record to a whopping nine wins — and no losses. The Panthers walked away from this pair of victories holding the record for highest number of consecutive wins at the beginning of a season in Middlebury women’s soccer program history. Along with this impressive title, the Panthers now occupy the fifth slot in Division III women’s soccer rankings. Middlebury faced both Colby and New England College on the road on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The sophomore class took the lead against the Colby Mules, generating three of the team’s four goals with shots from Leah Salzman ’21, Eliza Robinson ’21 and Eliza Van Voorhis ’21 (senior Sara DiCenso knocked in the fourth). Although the Mules were able to sneak in a goal early in the first half, they were ultimately unable to come back from Middlebury’s scoring streak and the game finished at 4-1, in favor of the Panthers. Goalie Eva Shaw ’20 made her first reappearance on the field against New England College after an injury, starting the first half. Sachi Howson ’21 picked it up in the second half, coming up with five of the team’s six saves for the day. Sunday’s match was less exciting than the team had hoped, despite the win. New England College lost to Amherst 8-0, a team the Panthers solidly beat 3-1. Yet, Middlebury seemed unable to replicate that energy and pulled off a slim 2-1 win. “I think we all know we could’ve performed better as a team but having said that, we still came out with a win which we feel good about,” said Sabrina Glaser ’21. “We learned from it and we’re going to work hard as a team to make sure we go out united and perform better next game.” Hopefully the Panthers will be able to bring up the intensity this Wednesday as they host Castleton University and keep the streak alive.

Commons Review Shows Discontent in Student Life

An internal review of the college’s commons system revealed a significant disconnect between students and their commons, and highlighted key areas of concern within residential life, including a lack of student spaces and a strong feeling of disconnectedness among minority students, low income students and Febs.  Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Baishakhi Taylor presented the results of the “How Will We Live Together” study at a Community Council meeting last month. The study was conducted last spring by a team of students, faculty and staff, and was the first such review since the commons system started in 1998.  Psychology professor and faculty co-chair of the review Robert Moeller gathered data in focus groups, and developed and distributed a survey to 440 students in the classes of 2018-2021.5. Of the surveyed students, 27 percent identified as a racial or ethnic minority, 27.6 percent played at least one varsity sport, and 15.4 percent were Febs. Taylor said the student sample was highly representative of the larger campus. Students participated voluntarily and remained anonymous. They demonstrated their level of agreement with given statements using a five-point scale, ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” More than half of those surveyed students responded “agree” to the statement, “I am satisfied with the residential experience at Middlebury,” with another 10.5 percent strongly agreeing. However, responses relating specifically to the commons system were more neutral or negative.   About two-thirds of students surveyed either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement: “My Commons is a strong part of my identity,” while 13.7 percent agreed or strongly agreed. For other questions, students were more ambivalent — a strong majority of respondents neither agreed nor disagreed with statements such as, “I like being a part of a Commons for all four years” (45.7 percent), and “I feel like I am a valued member of my Commons” (43.4 percent). Responses were spread more evenly across the five options in response to, “The Commons system is a valuable part of my experience,” and “My Commons FYC or RA is a valuable resource to me.” Minority students and low income students reported a drastically lower sense of belonging compared to other students.  “The theme of not belonging at Middlebury was strongly expressed among racial/ethnic minority students and students who described their family socioeconomic statuses as low,” the summary reads. The summary reports that most students socialize in the dining halls, but a division between minority and non-minority students reportedly exists there as well. 93.8 percent of respondents said they used the dining halls as a social space and 94.9 percent said it was important to them that all students have equal access to the dining halls. However, several students reported that “students of color tend to eat lunch in one dining hall, while other groups of students may eat in another.” Though the How Will We Live Together team could not confirm this alleged trend, they write that “the perception of segregated spaces in the dining halls was pervasive.” Students reported frustration with the college’s requirement that they live in their commons during sophomore year. 25 percent agreed or strongly agreed that “picking a sophomore year roommate from my same Commons is a good idea,” with 37 percent disagreeing or strongly disagreeing. Many said the requirement prevented them from forming “meaningful communities of their own.”  Dislike for the two-year requirement was even stronger among feb participants. Feelings of isolation and disconnectedness “persist through their sophomore year, due largely to the 2-year-in-Commons residency requirement that forces them to remain housed in a Commons with which they feel little affinity.”  The summary directly implicates the commons system as a potential obstacle to an inclusive community.  “The decentralized nature of the Commons system may in some ways unintentionally limit movement towards full inclusion, as their largely autonomous natures make coordinated cross-commons programming difficult and further divides students,” the report reads.  The internal review details an insufficient number of social spaces on campus, and recognizes that this lack could contribute to general student unhappiness.  [pullquote speaker="" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]Spaces for socializing, both informal ones such as residence hall lounges, and reservable spaces for events of all sizes, are extremely limited and in some cases and buildings, nonexistent[/pullquote] “Spaces for socializing, both informal ones such as residence hall lounges, and reservable spaces for events of all sizes, are extremely limited and in some cases and buildings, nonexistent,” the summary reads. “The loneliness and isolation many students report is consistent with the availability and organization of spaces we provide students.” John Gosselin ’20, a member of the How Will We Live Together team, shared his thoughts on the results in an interview with The Campus.  “My preliminary takeaways are that the commons system is working to a certain extent, but could work better, that the current student center is wholly ineffective as a social space, and that the sophomore housing requirement may be detrimental to students’ general development, although I would like to reserve my final judgment until the external review is complete,” Gosselin said. Moeller sees the study as an opportunity to change several aspects of student life for the better.   “We’re trying to improve the student living experience, make meaningful improvements to the student social experience, which has been declining, find opportunities to make this a community all students feel welcome in and better integrate the Febs, among other things,” he said. Student activities dean Derek Doucet was the other faculty co-chair of the study.  [pullquote speaker="Derek Doucet, student activities dean" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]They suggest, not surprisingly, that students’ perceptions of the present system are mediated by their various identities, and so it would be a mistake to imagine a single student experience of residential life and the Commons[/pullquote] “The findings are fascinating,” Doucet said. “They suggest that there is much that our present system does well, and also that there are areas for considerable growth and improvement. They suggest, not surprisingly, that students’ perceptions of the present system are mediated by their various identities, and so it would be a mistake to imagine a single student experience of residential life and the Commons. “Overall, I’m more excited than ever to see where the project takes us from here,” he said. The study is only one half of the review process. During an external review that will begin in late October, residential life experts from similar colleges will come to campus and submit their own report. Moeller said that the How Will We Live Together committees will then look at both the internal and external reviews, draft recommendations and present them to the college community.  As a final steps, the committee will consider feedback and submit the final recommendations to Taylor, who will then decide which recommendations are implemented. The executive summary of the review’s results and the survey data can be found at go/commonsreview.  *Editor’s Note: News Editor Bochu Ding is a member of the How Will We Live Together steering committee. Ding played no role in the reporting. Any questions may be directed to campus@middlebury.edu.

Enrollment in VT Colleges on the Decline

VERMONT — As Middlebury works to accommodate a growing student body, colleges and universities across the state are struggling to draw students to their programs.  The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported that the total enrollment in Vermont has been steadily decreasing, from 60,872 students in the 2009-10 school year to 57,889 students in 2015-16.  The trend is also rampant at the national level, which witnessed a drop from 27.4 million total students enrolled to 26.96 million students enrolled between 2014 and 2015, a drastic plunge from the 29.5 million students attending colleges and universities in the fall of 2010. [pullquote speaker="Barbara Brittingham" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]“When there are enrollment challenges, there are financial challenges.”[/pullquote] Smaller schools, such as Goddard College in Plainfield, Vt., are taking the brunt of the issues brought on by under-enrollment. Between 2010 and 2018, Goddard’s enrollment has plummeted from 804 to 438, Goddard officials told VTDigger. They reported that this shift has had a direct effect on budgeting. “Institutions that don’t have a big endowment or another source of significant income, tend to have their finances tied pretty closely to their enrollment,” Barbara Brittingham, the president of the New England Commission of Higher Education, told VTDigger. “So when there are enrollment challenges, there are financial challenges.” It remains unclear why students choose to enroll heavily in some schools while turning down others, but the overall decline in enrollment has been largely attributed to two factors, said Jason DeWitt, a research manager at Clearinghouse Research Center. “When the economy’s good, college enrollments tend to go down, at least for working adults,” DeWitt said in an interview with NPR this past May.  The second factor, according to interviewer Elissa Nadworny, is the shift of U.S. demographics. As shown in data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of college-aged citizens is on the decline, a factor that results in fewer prospective students. Furthermore, many Vermont residents worry that local students are seeking degrees out-of-state, a claim, however, not supported by data collected by NCES. The data, though it shows a small decrease in in-state scholars over the years, does not appear significant enough to make the difference responsible for Goddard’s hardships. Such a claim is further debunked by data reported by the University of Vermont, which saw its in-state first-year student body increase by 14.9 percent between the 2016 and 2017 school years.

Zach Auerbach: October 4, 2018

Zach Auerbach

National Security Expert Talks Russia Investigation

Robert Mueller’s ongoing special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election has left the public on tenterhooks since it began in May of last year. The ongoing investigation has resulted in the indictment of several people who have worked extensively with President Trump, and the hazy legal precedent surrounding the prosecution of a sitting president is one of many uncertainties that surround the effort. Garrett Graff has been covering national security and Russia’s tampering in the 2016 presidential election since before the investigation began. The former editor in chief of Politico Magazine, he now serves as the director of the Aspen Institute’s cybersecurity and technology program. Graff has also written multiple books, including an account of Robert Mueller’s tenure as FBI director. Graff will discuss the investigation next week in a lecture entitled “Decoding Robert Mueller’s Russia Investigation.” His talk will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 4:30 p.m. in the Robert A. Jones ’59 House Conference Room and is part of the “Meet the Press” lecture series. Last Friday, Graff spoke with The Campus by phone about his reporting, the importance of the investigation and possible next moves for Mueller and Trump. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity. Chris Gernon (CG): How did you get interested in covering the Russia investigation? Garrett Graff (GG): This is the biggest story in national security. I’ve been covering it on and off for the past two years, even before it morphed into the full investigation that it is today. I was covering it in the final weeks of the presidential campaign in 2016 when the Russian attacks on our presidential election were unfolding. This has been a lot of my professional time and energy over the last two years. CG: What was Mueller hired to investigate? GG: He was brought on in May of 2017. He was appointed by the deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein to lead a special counsel to investigate Russia’s attack on the presidential election. The investigation involves all of the issues transpiring out of the attack, including the Trump campaign’s contact with Russia and the role of Russian individuals during the president’s campaign. CG: How and why was he selected to lead the investigation? GG: He was appointed by Rod Rosenstein, the deputy Attorney General. It was because he has immense respect in Washington from both Democrats and Republicans. He was the longest-serving FBI director since J. Edgar Hoover himself, and his term as FBI director had been extended by the US Senate by a vote of 100 to 0. There is no one in Washington who was as non-partisan and apolitical yet respected as Robert Mueller. CG: Do you think the investigation has politicized Mueller’s image? GG: The Republicans and the president have spent a lot of the last year and a half attacking him and impugning his integrity with all the president’s tweets about the witch hunt. However, I don’t think we’ve seen any of that political pressure affect Mueller himself. CG: What exactly does it mean that Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, and Michael Cohen, Trump’s ex-lawyer, are cooperating with the investigation? GG: We don’t know exactly what that means. Manafort’s cooperation, particularly, is very much in flux. But that is a standard part of a plea agreement. When someone pleads guilty, they have to cooperate with the rest of the investigation. We have seen Mueller put some deals in place with people like Michael Rick Gates and most recently with Manafort. CG: How does Trump benefit if he fires Sessions, his attorney general? GG: It changes who is advising the Mueller investigation. If that person then so chooses, they could go after Mueller and fire him directly; they could tell cancel his investigation; they could cut the budget office. There are a lot of levers for that person to use to stop the investigation. CG: Do you think the Senate needs to pass something to protect Mueller? GG: They certainly have that option, and it’s striking that they haven’t acted on it. It has been apparent that Mueller’s job has been jeopardy for well over a year striking, and the Republicans in Congress feel no need to do anything about it whatsoever. CG: Are there other investigations looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election? GG: The Justice Department is made up of a variety of headquarter-level entities in Washington, like the National Security Division, which oversees cases involving foreign espionage, counterterrorism, counterintelligence. There are other pieces as well, including US Attorneys’ offices across the country. Mueller’s probe has ended up going to some of those other headquarter divisions, like the National Security Division, who is now overseeing the prosecution of the Russian GRU Military Intelligence Officers. CG: Do you think the investigation would end if Mueller gets fired? GG: Mueller’s investigation has gone on long enough and is complex enough and involves enough units of the Justice Department that it will be very difficult for it to be shut down entirely. CG: Is Mueller facing any time crunch to wrap up the investigation? GG: No. He is certainly aware of the timeline of the investigation. Frankly, this investigation has moved very quickly for a federal investigation. Mueller has a delivered an enormous number of cases in different investigations since he’s started. CG: Do you think the investigation is in the fourth quarter? GG: I think it is. Since I’ve been talking about this investigation, I’ve used baseball metaphors, and I feel like Mueller investigation is in its seventh inning CG: What do you think the ninth inning results in? GG: My honest answer is I think we have no fathomable idea.

Coffee Beans: October 4, 2018

Pia Contreras

Sarah Fagan: October 4, 2018

Sarah Fagan Sarah Fagan

Mildroodle: October 4, 2018

Millie von Platen

Field Hockey Continues 9-0 Streak (But You Already Knew That)

  The Panthers added two wins to their record this week, putting them at 9-0 for the season.  On Wednesday, Sept. 26, Middlebury travelled to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. to face the Skidmore Thoroughbreds on their home turf. Skidmore was the first to strike, capitalizing on a penalty corner to score the only goal of the first half at 22:25. But the Panthers came back strong in the second half, marking five consecutive goals to finish with a decisive 5-1 victory. Molly Freeman ’19, Emma Johns ’20, Danielle Brown ’21, Grace Jennings ’20, and Erin Hogan ’21 (her career first) all contributed to the goal-scoring. Overall, Middlebury controlled the game in shots on goal (25-1) and led penalty corners (16-1).  The game on Saturday, Sept. 29 took place all the way in Waterville, Maine against the Colby Mules. Once again, the Panthers overcame a 0-1 deficit at halftime to come out with a 4-1 win. This time, goals were scored by Marissa Baker ’20, Julia Richards ’20, Erin Nicholas ’21, and Danielle Brown ’21. Behind all the goal-scoring, the team worked together to dig deep and execute their game plan. “Last week’s games definitely tested our team and I believe that we grew a lot as a result of that,” said senior captain Amanda Bozorgi.  “Each game, we learn how to use our depth as a team more effectively,” said fellow senior captain and goalkeeper Meg Collins. “In terms of our lineup, we’re bringing players into different positions that better match their individual skillsets.” As for that impressive 9-0 winning streak, the team is using it as motivation to stay focused on what’s ahead. “It feels great to have such a strong first half of the regular season, but combined with coming off such a successful season last year it definitely has teams motivated to beat us,” said Collins. “So we just have to work harder every day in practice to continue to improve our game.” Next up, the Panthers take on Tufts, also undefeated and ranked second in the NESCAC, at home on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. “We’re coming into this week with some things that we need to work on,” said Bozorgi. “But this team is so deep and so adaptable, I have nothing but high aspirations for the rest of our season.”

Income Tax Policy and Economic Growth: A lecture by Andrew A. Samwick

Dartmouth Professor Dr. Andrew A. Samwick predicted a looming economic recession and proposed a four-pronged plan to correct our fiscal and tax policies in a lecture on Sept. 26th. Samwick also explained the decisions contributing to this current economic state to a packed conference room in the Robert A. Jones house, As evidence of the coming economic downturn, Samwick pointed to the perpetual gap we have between costs and revenues as well as the lasting deficit of 4-5% coming in future years. “We’ve never had a year where deficits are so low and so are unemployment rates,” Samwick said. “Projections are showing that our economy is headed even further in that direction with no signs of getting better, indicating that a recession is probably coming. In sum, we’re not collecting enough revenues to cover our expenditures.” Samwick analyzed the flaws in three different plans to adjust economic activity and proposed a plan that he suggests could work. This plan is built on four planks. First, Samwick suggested balancing the budget. He emphasized that the non-entitlement part of our budget should be in balance and that the ratio of debt to GDP should show no large drift over time. Next, Samwick suggested entitlement solvency. He stated that long term entitlements should be projected to be sustainable in solvency. Samwick suggested that social security would be rather easy to change as it’s simply moving money around, but medicare involves more care since the program itself is built around care rather than simple money moving. As evidence to support his claim for entitlement solvency, Samwick argued that the baby boomer generation cannot be the only problem that has lead us to where we are, seeing as the problem will still exist longer term beyond the scope of impact of the baby boom generation. In his third plank, Samwick called for capital budgeting to address the long term infrastructure needs of both remediation and building for the future. He said that our government would be far more productive with a prioritized list of projects rather than a full budget. With a list of projects including everything from small to large projects, every project will be ready for work when the next economic downturn hits. Finally, Samwick suggested re-examining the tax composition. He said that corporate and personal income taxes have the most negative consequences for growth while consumption and property taxes are less harmful. According to Samwick, this suggests that a shift in 1 percent from corporation and personal income taxes to consumption and property taxes estimates around .25-1 percent growth of GDP per capita long term. Samwick ended his lecture on a hopeful note that our generation will make positive changes to economic policy in the year to come. The talk was attended by three economics classes as well as many people from the town. Following the lecture, the organizing Professor Phani Wunnava hosted a dinner in honor of Dr. Samwick. Professor Wunnava stated that “Dr. Samwick was very engaging!”

Lil Dinky Comics: October 4, 2018

Kaitlynd Collins

Cross Country Passes the Competition

Another week brought more great performances from the Panthers. On Saturday, Sept. 29, the men’s and women’s cross country teams took part in both the Paul Short Invitational and the Vermont State Meet. “We’re preparing to race at Lehigh’s Paul Short Invitational and the Vermont State meet just as we would any other race,” siad Matt D’Aquila ’21 beforehand. “At Lehigh we’re anticipating seeing how we can compete against the best of the best in the NCAA. At Vermont State, guys will not only be gunning for the win, but will also be testing their ability to run hills at a very challenging course. Ultimately, these are just two more races to prepare us in our pursuit for dominance in the championship season.”   At the Paul Short Invitational, the women recorded 855 points. This placed them at 37 in a field of 41 teams. The top three runners were Rory Kelly ’19, Katie Glew ’21 and Anna Willig ’20. Kelly had a time of 21:58, Glew with 22:40, and Willig with 22:45.   At the Vermont State Meet, the women placed first in a field of six teams with a score of 32. Abigail Nadler ’19 captured third place with a time of 22:35.1. Chloe Smith ’21 and Olivia Mitchell ’20 came in fifth and sixth place respectively, with times of 22:47.9 and 23:16.3. “The team was super happy about our performance at Vermont State,” Nadler said. “It was an extremely hilly and tough course but everyone gutted it out for the team.” At the Paul Short Invitational, 550 points netted the men twentieth place out of a total field of 42 teams. D’Aquila was the top Middlebury runner with a time of 25:22. Next up for the Panthers were Jon Perlman ’19 with a time of 25:38 and Miles Meijer ’19 with a time of 25:50.  At the Vermont State Meet, the men got first place in a total field of six teams with a score of 15. The men happened to capture the first six places. The top three were Ben Hill ’19 with a time of 29:39.2, Quin McGaugh ’22 with a time of 29:50.6, and Noah Whiting ’22 with a time of 29:59.4. Even though the NESCAC Championships are looming, the Panthers will have a couple of free weekends and one more meet before then. The Panthers’ next meet will be Saturday, Oct. 13 where they will face off with their competition at the Connecticut College Invitational.  “Our team is looking really strong going into Conn, and we are looking forward to having next weekend off in order to train and rest,” Nadler said.

Men’s Soccer reMaines in Control

On Sept. 29 and 30, the men’s soccer team headed to Maine for a doubleheader against rival Colby College on Saturday, and then with University of Maine Farmington on Sunday. Against Colby, the Panthers struck first on a penalty by Daniel O’Grady ’19 in the 22nd minute. The rest of the half remained scoreless and the Panthers headed into the locker room holding onto a slim lead. In the 56th minute, Colby found the back of the net, equalizing the score. Lucas Pereira assisted Cam Cloude as the Mules managed to even the score at 1. At the end of 90 minutes, the match remained tied and the teams headed into overtime. Middlebury was the dominant team throughout, outshooting Colby 16-8, and earning 13 corners as opposed to the Mules’ lone two. Colby’s goalkeeper was busy in the net, making nine saves while Midd’s Matt Hyer ’21 only made three. Midd kept pressing for the go ahead goal and they almost found it. As Midfielder Michael O’Herron ’19 recalls, the Panthers really deserved the win, except a missed call cost them a penalty.  “We had one play where Donski (Brandon Reid ’21) had a one on one with the keeper and he touched it around the keeper and got tripped, the ref fully missed the call.”  Regardless of the pressure from Middlebury, Colby wasn’t going to drop the game just yet. Deep in the second half, they had a close chance, but the ball hit the crossbar. Had the shot been a few inches lower, the Mules would have stolen 3 points from the Panthers. Middlebury and Colby would eventually tie, 1-1. Raffi Barsamian ’21 noted “It’s one of those games were the better team didn’t end up coming out on top.” Moving on from the disappointment, the Panthers competed in a non-conference matchup with U-Maine Farmington on the following day. The Panthers were a level above their opponents from the start. Brandon Reid ’21, one of the Panthers most prolific goal scorers, tallied on a breakaway assisted by Drew Goulart ’20 in the 10th minute. Goulart was in a giving mood; in the 21st minute, Goulart assisted Ben Potter ’20, who scored on a header. In the 38th minute, Shams Mohajerani ’20 gave the Panthers a 3-0 cushion. The Panthers went up 4-0 just before the half when a player from UMaine Farmington scored on his own goal. With a four goal lead heading into the second half, the Panthers distributed playing time for every single member of the team.  Michael O’Herron ’19 noted that these fresh faces stood up to the challenge. “Everyone on the team played so it was nice to get the freshman out there,” said O’Herron. “It was a tough surface, and not an easy place to play, so it was nice to see them play well.” The Panthers rounded out the goal fest by finding the back of the net two more times. Henry Wilhelm ‘20 and Brendan Berry  ’22 scored in the 50th and 81st minutes respectively. The final score was 6-0 in favor of the Panthers. Coming up this weekend the Panthers face their biggest test of the season yet: a home matchup against third-ranked Tufts. “Tufts is the team to beat in the NESCAC” said Kyle Moffat ’19. “You get that honor from winning two national titles in four years.”  O’Herron also noted that Tufts brings a high level of quality to their game in contrast to the typically physical NESCAC style.  “They play a possession oriented, ball on the ground style, they are high quality and technically very sound,” O’Herron said.   The Panthers will look to disrupt that style, but they also think they can play along with the style of the Tufts team when necessary.  “It will be important to affect their style given that one of our strengths is the physicality of our game,” O’Herron said. “That being said, we have some really technical players who can match that style as well.” The match this weekend should be an exciting one. Bring your family out and show your Panther Pride!

From the Internationally Cluttered Desk of Jenny Moss: October 4, 2018

The Weather App Was Right: Field Hockey Heating Up

The temperatures may be cooling off, but the Panthers are heating up. A huge weekend saw Bowdoin and Babson fall to our team, the top-ranked in the nation, with scores of 4-2 and 2-1 respectively.  Anticipation was high going into Saturday’s game against decades-long rival Bowdoin, but Middlebury remained collected, not allowing a single shot for the first 35 minutes. Offensively, nine of Middlebury’s 14 shots were on goal, compared to three of Bowdoin’s nine attempts. The first goal of the match came early, when sophomore Danielle Brown found the back of the net after a penalty corner, assisted by Kelly Coyle ’20. Three minutes later, Erin Nicholas ’21 beat three Bowdoin defenders to score her third goal of the season and increase Middlebury’s lead to 2-0, which would hold for the rest of the first half. In the last half of the game, Grace Jennings ’19 scored two goals in less than five minutes to keep the Panthers on top.  “Bowdoin is very well-coached and disciplined, so we have to tear their structure apart by out-thinking them and being more creative,” said Jennings on the team’s strategy. “They break down when we change our game plan more than expected because they can’t adjust their structure on the fly.” On Sunday, fifth-ranked Babson (one of only two teams that was able to beat Middlebury last season) stepped onto Peter Kohn field for the Unite in the Flight Awareness game. Inspired by the team’s motto “Take flight”, the spirit of this game was that no one has to fly alone.  “The team wanted to raise awareness of diseases that are close to our heart, represented by ribbons on our shirts,” explained Meg Fearey ’21. “These specific ribbons represent the fight against Leukemia, Multiple Sclerosis, PTSD, sexual violence, diabetes, brain cancer, lyme disease, Alzheimer’s, ADD, ADHD and breast cancer.”  It was an extremely close match that kept fans on the edge of their seats right until the end. With 4:30 left and the game tied at 1-1 (scored by Middlebury’s Danielle Brown), Nicholas carried the ball past Babson defenders and went top corner to score the game-winning goal.  “It was a lot of fun to be able to play in such a close, exciting game,” said Nicholas. “I think the pressure helped us secure the win because it added intensity to the game. It focused everyone and helped us motivate one another to push through any fatigue.” Overall, the team’s performance this weekend asserts their authority as top dogs.  “In both games, we could have easily broken down and panicked,” said Jennings.  “But at no point were players panicking about the scoreboard or questioning each other. Our confidence in our structure and our teammates only grew this weekend, which will help us moving forward during tougher games when we need to respond with tenacity and trust.”  The Panthers face Skidmore this Wednesday, Sept. 26 and Colby next Saturday, Sept. 29. 

Cross Country Continues to Stride Through Their 2018-19 Season

The men’s and women’s cross country teams continue to excel three weeks into the fall season.  On Saturday, Sept. 23, the teams competed in the Purple Valley Classic. For the first time this season, neither of the teams placed first, but they raced well against tough competition.   Harrison Knowlton ’19 was well aware of the potential challenges posed by the meet before the weekend. “I think the team is well prepared for Purple Valley,” Knowlton said beforehand. “It should be a faster course with better competition and it’s our first time putting on spikes to race. It’ll be a good test for us against most of our conference and regional competition.” Ultimately, the men captured third place with 103 points, falling behind RPI and Williams. The Panthers’ top three runners were Matt D’Aquila ’21, Henry Fleming ’20 and Knowlton.  D’Aquila came in 11th place with a time of 26:19.2. Fleming came in 13th with a time of 26:26.5, and Knowlton earned 18th place, finishing with a time of 26:32.6.  The other runners in the top seven for Middlebury were Theo Henderson ’19, Miles Meijer ’19, Jon Perlman ’19 and Andrew Michelson ’19. The women’s team came in fourth place with 129 points, finishing behind MIT, Williams and Tufts. The Panthers’ top three runners were Rory Kelly ’19 in fifth place, Cassie Kearney ’22 in 12th and Claire Gomba ’19 in 27th. Their times were 23:01.2, 23:18.4 and 23:46.8, respectively.  Rounding out the rest of the team’s top runners were Katie Glew ’21, Julia Jaschke ’20, Tate Serletti ’20 and Ellis Glickman ’22. “Our team performance was really strong. Coach Wilkerson has designed our training with a view to the long term, so our best results will come later in the year,” said Fleming. “Despite this, everyone on the team had a really solid day and we ended up beating some top-ranked national teams. Overall it was a lot of fun, a lot of high fives, a lot of good energy, and a lot of high fives.” On Saturday, Sept. 29, the men and women will be competing in two meets: the Paul Short Invitational and the Vermont State Meet. Both the meets are away from campus. In terms of the preparation and mindset going into these meets, “We’re still gonna be firing on all cylinders training wise,” Fleming said. “We view these meets as a chance to run against some of the nation’s best teams across all three divisions, so we’re going in ready to take on anyone.”