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In the middle of the night, Nathan Szubin ’29 woke up and brought the couch cushions to the kitchen. He arranged the cushions lengthwise on the floor, repositioned his inflatable pillow and slipped back into his sleeping bag as he drifted off again. It was the night before the regional championship race, and as the St. Lawrence University soccer team partied next door, Szubin had to improvise his own quiet.
Last spring, the college temporarily changed the process for choosing a student Commencement speaker, selecting Student Government Association (SGA) President Brandon Straker ’25 to deliver a speech without the routine input of a student and staff-led committee. This change was made due to controversies over the speeches of the two previous commencement speakers, who deviated from their approved scripts to accuse the college of complacency in the war in Gaza. For the upcoming Feb Commencement ceremony on Jan. 31, the process has returned to an open call for graduates to submit recorded videos of their speeches for consideration.
Since Ian Baucom began his role as Middlebury College’s 18th president in July, he’s mapped out a regular walking route. Starting at his office in Old Chapel, he winds past Old and New Battell, through BiHall, out to the Knoll, back up College Street, around Proctor and down to Axinn. Sometimes he walks with a faculty or staff member, engaged in conversation. Other times he’s alone, thinking. He is still searching for a favorite campus tree, he said. Like any other first year, Baucom has time.
On Saturday, Nov. 15, the entrance to the Middlebury Hannaford on Court Street was crowded with students, farmworkers, and Addison County residents rallying in support of Migrant Justice’s Milk with Dignity campaign. Participants gathered to urge the supermarket chain to join the farmworker-designed human rights program, which establishes labor standards for dairy farms supplying store-brand milk.
After a several year hiatus, M Gallery, Middlebury’s student-led gallery space, has returned. Over 100 students gathered on Nov. 14 in the Old Stone Mill for the opening of the first exhibition “Etymology of the Self.”
Tuesday, Nov. 4, was a huge night for Democrats! Zohran Mamdani, Abigail Spanberger, and Mikie Sherrill all claimed victory in their respective races. At the College Democrats’ watch party, one student exclaimed, “This is the worst night for Republicans since 2020!” But was it? Perhaps not. In fact, this might turn out to be one of the best nights for Republicans and most consequential nights for both parties since Donald Trump’s reelection last November.
Last spring, our college administration censored Migrant Justice at Middlebury (MJaM), a student solidarity network for Migrant Justice. In response to our efforts to keep our community informed about our constitutional rights to safety and free speech, we experienced the sudden revocation of previously awarded funding. We were told that if we wanted answers, we should meet with Hannah Ross, the college’s general legal counsel, and Smita Ruzicka, the vice president of student affairs. At a time when information about these rights has been removed from government websites, and confusion and fear are on the rise, we were extremely concerned by our college administration’s decision to suddenly and arbitrarily limit community education on our constitutional rights. And we still are.
The Student Government Association’s (SGA) Nov. 5 vote to reject a student-led referendum concerning rights for free speech and student protection on our campus raises an important question: Who does the SGA work for? Students, or the Middlebury College administration? We are concerned about the SGA’s decision not to allow these students to host their proposed referendum. The decision raises broader questions about SGA’s role and effectiveness.
Women’s Basketball
On Nov. 5, the senate of the Student Government Association (SGA) voted to reject a student-led referendum concerning rights for protection and free expression on Middlebury’s campus, instead announcing alternative solutions to the issues it raises. In response, the writers of the referendum have organized a non-SGA affiliated petition for students to sign.
What started in the winter of 2005 as a J-Term class taught by Jon Isham, professor of economics and environmental studies, has progressed into a flourishing student environmental group that is approaching 20 years of sustainable conversation and climate activism. Having begun with environmental conversations in the Chateau basement, Sunday Night Environmental Group (SNEG) now holds weekly meetings where students gather to talk about climate news and various relevant campaigns that they can get involved with.
In a plenary meeting on Nov. 7, the faculty-led Educational Affairs Committee (EAC) presented a motion to eliminate the Food Studies minor. The EAC oversees the general direction of the college’s curriculum and makes recommendations on staffing and the allocation of teaching resources.
To commemorate Jay Parini’s retirement from his position as professor emeritus of English and Creative Writing, some of the Arts & Culture team sat down with him to chat about his career, life post-retirement and everything in between.
Students and faculty gathered in the Mahaney Arts Center last month to discuss what some describe as the most pressing issue of our time — artificial intelligence (AI) — and how the rise of its industry exploits the arts.
A student-led motion for a referendum on rights to protections and free expression on campus faced a vote by the Student Government Association (SGA) on Wednesday, Nov. 5 to decide its fate after weeks of debate. The votes had not yet been cast by the time The Campus went to print on Wednesday.
Powerful depictions of female friendship, American history and grief lit up the Seeler Studio Theatre this past weekend as the cast of “These Shining Lives” took to the stage. The faculty-led production ran from Oct. 30–Nov. 1, with a total of four performances.
CobWeb Antiques opened its doors at 60 Main Street, the former location of Buy Again Alley, on Sunday, Oct. 26. Owners Gary and Jill DeVoe of New Haven have long dreamed of running their own antique store, and they’ve finally found the spot to showcase the carefully curated collection they’ve built over the years.
On Friday, Oct. 24, the Axinn Center for the Humanities hosted the Middlebury Migration Conference in McCardell Bicentennial Hall as part of its “Migrant Justice in Vermont and Beyond” initiative. The event brought together a range of artists, advocates and academics to discuss their experiences and work around migration and migration justice. In a moment where ordinary migrant workers like Guadalupe and Emanual Diaz are kidnapped from South Burlington and transferred to detention centers across the country, the conference created a space for urgently needed mobilization and solidarity.
Two years ago, we wrote about how the losses of student life became a “routine” at Middlebury, when tragedies like losing members of our community and fellow students should be anything but routine. At that time, we urged the college to develop more comprehensive mental health support resources. The death of Lia Smith ’26, another classmate, peer and friend, marks the fourth time in six years that a student has died on our campus. The college’s response after each of these deaths has not worked the way it should have, and student death is now embedded in our school’s culture. That needs to change.
With several English Department faculty on leave, on associate status or recently retired, the department is facing staffing concerns, and no replacement positions have been approved by the Educational Affairs Committee (EAC). According to Professor of American Literature Brett Millier, who retired last spring, the department’s proposal for her replacement was denied.