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(11/21/19 11:06am)
Strong seniors to lead indoor track
BY JORDAN HOWELL
As the cold weather hits and J-Term approaches, so does the indoor track and field season. During the last indoor season, the men placed fifth in the Division III New England Championships while the women captured fourth. In the indoor NCAA Championships, the men tied for seventeenth place and the women tied for sixteenth place.
There will be six captains for the Panthers this season, each of whom put together great performances last season. The men will be led by Nick Hendrix ’20, Nathan Hill ’20 and Jonathon Fisher ’20. The women will be led by Helene Rowland ’20, Alex Cook ’20 and Anna Willig ’20.
Nathaniel Klein ’21 commented on the upcoming season. “We want as many athletes to qualify for Division three New England’s and potentially go to Nationals,” Klein says. “I’m excited to get on a consistent training schedule... We also have two first year throwers who are learning the weight throw so I’m excited to teach them a new event.”
The first meet of the season will be the Middlebury Winter Classic on Saturday, Jan. 11. Hopefully a strong start to the season will lead the team to their goals.
Women’s hoops opens season with a bang
BY RAIN JI
The 2019–20 Middlebury women’s basketball team kicked off the season with a 68–55 win over Keene State College. The team is led by head coach KJ Krasco, assistant coach Savannah Morgan, and senior captains Maya Davis ’20 and Kira Waldman ’20.
“The main hope for this season is to build on our accomplishments and progress from years prior,” Waldman said. “Our goal is to compete hard in every game so that when we step off the court we feel proud of our energy, effort and enthusiasm.”
The team boasts a promising balance of young talent and experience, with five seniors who bring leadership skills, game experiences and strength in forward positions. Additionally, sophomores contribute different layers of offensive and defensive abilities, and first-years are especially capable in the guard position. They will allow fresh outside looks and innovative passes through the key. “Every member is crucial to our team’s success,” Waldman said. The team is excited for every upcoming game, and they will take all seriously, whether that be preseason or conference contests. The team will play 11 games at Pepin Gymnasium, with the first home game on Nov. 19.
Men’s squash downs Camels
BY MAX PADILLA
On Saturday, Nov. 16 the Middlebury Men’s Squash team played their 2019–2020 season opener against Hamilton and secured a victory over the Continentals by a score of 8–1. Historically the Panthers have taken on the Continentals and pulled away with a win, scoring 9–0 in the past two seasons that they’ve played them.
The team seemed to really come together during their first match. Though, he wasn’t able to play Teddy Best ’22 was proud of his teammates. “We adapted well to Hamilton’s courts and cheered each other on to compete with a loud home crowd. Being away didn’t throw us off our game,” he said. He also noted that Hamilton really brought their A-game, showing up with “with good sportsmanship and athleticism.” Best ’22 is excited about what lies ahead for the Panthers, “We’re looking forward to training hard in the next couple of weeks for our next match in January.”
The Panthers will continue their season on Jan. 5 against Williams.
Men’s hoops starts strong at Middlebury tip-off
BY MIGUEL ESPINOSA
The Middlebury men’s basketball team enters the 2019–2020 season with a talented group that only said goodbye to two seniors last spring. This experience was visible on the court this past weekend at the Middlebury Tip-Off tournament, when the team beat both Bridgewater State and Wentworth at home on Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16.
Over the past 12 years, the men have tallied 265 wins and 72 losses for a .786 winning percentage in addition to three appearances in the NCAA Quarterfinals. The team will shoot for its third NESCAC Championship in five seasons and to make a run in the NCAA Tournament after dropping a first-round game last year.
“A NESCAC championship is on all of our minds,” said Captain and first year all-NESCAC point guard Jack Farrell ’21. “Then, we want to compete at a high level in the national tournament and hopefully make a great run to the championship.”
Five-time NESCAC Coach of the Year Jeff Brown enters his 23rd season with Middlebury. He will commandeer an experienced group that was second in all of the D3 in defensive rebounds per game, fourth in total rebounds per game, and fourth in blocked shots per game.
The Panthers will be under the leadership of captains Farrell, Griffin Kornaker ’21 and Matt Folger ’20, who logged his 1,000th point as a Panther on Saturday. The supporting cast includes Max Bosco ’22, who averaged 14.6 points and started nine games last year, and 6’9” Alex Sobel ’22, who will look to fill the big shoes of Eric McCord ’19.
The Panthers followed up Saturday’s win with a 92-82 victory over perennial New England hoops powerhouse Keene State on Tuesday, Nov. 19. They next face SUNY Canton on the road on Thursday, Nov. 21.
Alpine Skiing Preview
BY CAPTAIN RUDOLPH
Heading into the winter season, the Middlebury Men’s and Women’s alpine skiing teams are looking to perform at a high level. Excitement is brewing as they get ready to head to Colorado during Thanksgiving Break for some highly anticipated pre-season training.
The nearing season comes with high expectations. “I’m pretty optimistic about this season to be honest,” Michel Macedo ’22 said. “I think we’ve got a lot of firepower coming out of the gates. We’ve got a couple guys skiing really fast and I’m excited to see what the freshmen can bring to the table.”
Additionally, returning seniors include Pate Campbell ’20 and Katie Utter ’20, both of whom should provide valuable leadership experience. Campbell boasted impressive performances at the St. Lawrence and University of Vermont slaloms, gaining 46 and 33 points, respectively.
As for race locations, the skiers are pumped up to be skiing at mountains like Waterville Valley, the Cabin Lawn, and Middlebury’s very own Snowbowl. Of course, the racers at Winter Carnival look forward to getting major support as they ski in front of their home crowd. “There is definitely a high level of hype surrounding the Carnival,” Tatum Coutu ’23 said.
“My expectations are for the entire school to be there,” Emma Hall ’23 said.
Women’s squash sweeps Hamilton
BY MIGUEL ESPINOSA
Fourteenth-ranked Women’s squash travelled to Clinton, New York and dominated conference foe, Hamilton College, for its first meet of the season on Saturday, Nov. 16. All nine Panthers won their matches.
At the first spot, Caroline Arena ’23 secured victory by giving up just one game against Hamilton’s Hope Worcester, with a performance of 8–11, 11–6, 11–3 and 11–7. Gwen Davis ’22, Natasha Lowitt ’20, Anne Glassie ‘20, Mira Chugh ’20, Maya McDonough ’23, Kiernan Suntha ’23 and Summer Hornbostel ’22 all won their matches without losing a game. Grace Santoro ’23 triumphed in her match against Madison Sakheim, with a line of 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8.
The team looks to build upon the momentum from last year’s season in which it posted a 13–6 record. Although the Panthers lost two of its top three players to graduation, the team will be led by the senior trio of Glassie, Chugh and Lowitt. As demonstrated by its convincing play against Hamilton, Women’s squash is appears to be on track to replicate last year’s successes.
Winter tip-off: Men’s hockey splits weekend
BY BLAISE SIEFER
The Middlebury men’s hockey team, coached by Neil Sinclair (Middlebury ’93), enters the 2019–20 campaign full of optimism. Returning five of their top seven point scorers from last season, the team brings back much of its offensive firepower and hopes to build off of last season’s 8–13–4 overall record.
“The team is feeling confident coming into the season,” captain Brett Dinneen ’20 said. “We return an experienced, battle-tested group and see a lot of potential from our first-years to help us win some games.”
The Panthers welcome seven first-years to the team this year, including a goalkeeper, three defenders and three forwards. “The first-years have made a great mark on this team in their short amount of time on campus,” Dineen said. “They have not settled to just be the younger members of the team but have led by example and are making a big impact immediately.”
Men’s hockey opened up their season with a double-header this past weekend, competing on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday, Nov. 15 the team narrowly lost to Bowdoin 6–4. Goals came from Emack Bently ’22, Mitchell Allen ’20, sophomore Zach Shapiro ’22 and Brendan Dawson ’20. Despite falling in their season opener, Dineen finds a positive in Middlebury’s late push.
“Friday night wasn’t the result we hoped and there are definitely areas to improve, but it was encouraging to see us make a strong push late,” he said. “We also were able to generate a lot of offense in that game, but it is important for us to not have it come at the expense of defense.”
On Saturday, Nov. 16 Middlebury earned their first win of the season, besting Colby 3–0. Allen found himself on the scoresheet for the second game running, while Owen Powers ’20 and Conor Breen ’22 netted their first goals of the season.
“Our second game was an awesome all around team win,” Dineen said. “It was really encouraging to see how the team responded from the previous night and we hope to carry this momentum into next weekend.”
The Panthers get back to work on Friday, Nov. 22, facing off against Tufts in Malden, MA. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
“Friday night wasn’t the result we hoped and there are definitely areas to improve, but it was encouraging to see us make a strong push late,” he said. “We also were able to generate a lot of offense in that game, but it is important for us to not have it come at the expense of defense.”
On Saturday, Middlebury earned their first win of the season, besting Colby, 3–0. Mitchell Allen found himself on the scoresheet for the second game running, while Owen Powers and Conor Breen netted their first goals of the season.
“Our second game was an awesome all around team win,” Dineen. “It was really encouraging to see how the team responded from the previous night and we hope to carry this momentum into next weekend.”
The Panthers are back in action on Friday, Nov. 22, facing off against Tufts in Malden, MA. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
Swimming & diving faces Conn College in return to natatorium
BY JACK KAGAN
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have returned to the Middlebury Natatorium this past weekend as the men edged out Connecticut College by a margin of four points while the women suffered a tough loss. This is just the start of a season that will see both squads host the Middlebury Invitational on Jan. 31–Feb. 1., while the women will host NESCAC Championships on Feb. 13–16.
The men have seven seniors who will be competing in their final season this winter. The squad is coming off several years toward the back end of the NESCAC rankings, and will look to turn things around this year under the leadership of co-captains Jacob Fleisher ’20 and Charles Quinn ’20.
On the womens’ side, seven seniors will look to make their final impact. With identical results to the men’s team, the women finished eighth in the conference last season and sent no representatives to NCAA’s. However, the women do have experienced leaders like co-captain Frances VanderMeer ’20, who has contributed to four school records in her time on campus, including the 50 Freestyle and multiple different relay teams, in addition to her postseason experience.
Both squads will get back into action at 1 p.m. against Springfield College at home.
(11/21/19 11:00am)
This past year has brought significant changes to the higher education landscape in Vermont, as Green Mountain College, College of St. Joseph and Southern Vermont College closed due to declining enrollment and financial issues. One more college has just announced changes to its operations — Marlboro College plans on giving its endowment and real estate assets to Emerson College in Boston.
This merger has been in the works since early 2019, according to a statement from Marlboro College. “The Board’s willingness to address all of these challenges now has meant that Marlboro, unlike our neighbors, has the resources to forge a partnership that ensures the continuation of our mission,” wrote Marlboro College President Kevin Quigley. Earlier in the fall, Marlboro investigated the possibility of merging with the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, but the deal fell through. In a campus memo, Laura Skandera Trombley, Bridgeport’s president, said that Marlboro’s “challenges are too great for us to proceed,” according to Inside Higher Ed.
The acquisition would mean that Marlboro’s 146 students would be admitted to Emerson, and its 24 tenured or tenure-track faculty members would be invited to teach at the school in Boston, which has 3,800 undergraduates and 633 graduate students.
“The Institute [for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies] will be renamed for Marlboro and will welcome existing Marlboro students and tenure-line and tenured Marlboro faculty who wish to continue their work at Emerson,” Quigley wrote to the Berkley Beacon, the student newspaper at Emerson.
In addition, Marlboro’s endowment and real estate holdings will be given to Emerson, valued at $30 million and $10 million respectively. For a school of its size, the endowment is considered to be healthy and the college will close virtually debt-free at the end of the 2019–2020 academic year.
“It is not a closure,” Quigley said in an interview with VTDigger earlier in the month, immediately following the announcement. “It is a transition of the Marlboro program to Emerson College.”
The transition of Marlboro College will leave an impact on the surrounding area, particularly on staff, due to its location in a town of around 1,000 in southern Vermont.
“Marlboro is a rural community,” Tim Patterson told The Campus. Patterson formerly served as the Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at Sterling College, an institution with 125 students in Craftsbury Common, Vermont.
“There are not a lot of jobs. It will be very challenging to find comparable employment unless some other organization comes in to fill this void.”
The fate of the Marlboro Music Festival, a retreat and concert series held every year on campus, remains unknown. Last year, administrators at the college signed a 99-year lease with the festival.
“It does leave staff and others — students and faculty who aren’t in a position to move to Boston — out in the cold,” Patterson said. “I hope that something will grow in the town of Marlboro.” Patterson speculated that students close to graduating would be willing to transfer to Boston, but those starting their college careers at Marlboro would be more reluctant to do so. “To go from a very rural hilltop campus in Vermont to Boston Common is a big cultural shift,” he said.
Anson Tebbetts, Vermont’s Secretary of Agriculture, Food, and Markets, graduated from Emerson in 1987 and pointed to the college’s location in the heart of Boston Common, close to the financial and theater districts. “My experience with Emerson is it’s one of the friendliest places on earth,” he said. “They’re always creative and always adapting to what they need to adapt.” Emerson’s academic offerings include strong journalism and creative writing programs, which led Tebbetts to a career in media and his role as the news director for WCAX in Burlington.
While this acquisition seems well on its way, some point to a potential turnaround of its closure by the Marlboro community, such as in the case of Hampshire College in Massachusetts with a fundraising campaign spearheaded by school leaders and alumni. Will Wootton, former president of Sterling and a 1972 graduate of Marlboro, encouraged the Marlboro community to consider revitalizing the school in a Brattleboro Reformer op-ed. “Of even greater importance, big current donors, and the families of those who have made restricted gifts to Marlboro’s endowment, to its scholarships, its buildings, libraries, and labs must willing to step up and say, ‘No, that’s not what this gift was intended for. It was for Marlboro College,’” he wrote.
“There is the possibility that Marlboro alumni and groups who care about the school might rally and go through a process of establishing control of governance and changing course, but the more time passes, the less likely that becomes,” Patterson said.
The merger of Marlboro and Emerson is only one of a few higher education changes in Vermont in the past few weeks, with Southern Vermont College in Bennington signing a $4.9 million purchase agreement with New Hampshire-based Oliverian School. According to its website, Oliverian is a “hybrid school that combines the best of traditional, alternative, and therapeutic education.” Enrolling 50 students in grades 9–12, the school hopes to use the 371 acres that formerly comprised Southern Vermont College to expand its middle school offerings and add a college transition program. “We are thrilled by this opportunity to continue the legacy of education and community that SVC brought to this remarkable campus,” Oliverian’s CEO Will Laughlin said to the Bennington Banner. “We feel that our students and faculty would thrive here.” Before the sale is complete, there is a three-month due diligence period to investigate the feasibility of the school moving to Bennington.
For Vermont’s 18 colleges and universities, a decline in high school graduates and a rise in tuition rates have led to hardships, as some small schools have struggled to survive. “There is a real need for colleges to move swiftly to ensure their programs are relevant and attractive in today’s higher education marketplace,” Patterson said. “Just sheltering in place isn’t a viable strategy.”
Colleges continue to attract students with affordability. Last week, University of Vermont (UVM) President Suresh Garimella announced a tuition freeze for the 2020–21 school year, the first move of its kind in 40 years. Tuition costs are currently $41,280 for out-of-state students and $16,392 for in-state students and will remain the same next year. “Our most sacred obligation is to ensure the success of our students and that starts with access and affordability,” Garimella said, as reported in the Vermont Cynic, UVM’s student newspaper.
“The struggle is the population decline, and we’re trying to attract young people to come to school here and stay here,” Tebbetts said. “Vermonters can get a wonderful education in-state.”
In the near future, Patterson sees more innovative programming in Vermont’s higher education landscape. “I think we’ll see colleges partnering more with dual-enrollment programming in high schools, as well as other ways of building pathways between secondary and post-secondary education and between two- and four-year colleges,” he said.
The Campus will be publishing more on the aftermath of these recent college closures and changes to higher education landscape in future editions.
(11/21/19 10:55am)
The Senior Leadership Group (SLG) is made up of the college’s senior-most administrators, responsible for all the major areas of Middlebury. The members are the people who directly report to President Laurie L. Patton; the academic leaders who report to the provost; and the chief information officer, who reports to the executive vice president for finance and administration.
The 17-member team is led by President Patton. The list of SLG members can be found on the college website.
What does the SLG do?
The SLG is responsible for helping to set, execute and implement Middlebury’s strategic vision. For example, the SLG is responsible for creating and then adhering to Middlebury’s annual budget of expenses across all of Middlebury’s operations: student life, academics, enrollment, employment, technology, marketing and philanthropy. As a team, the SLG works on institution-wide issues that are broader than the work individual members do as heads of academic programs or administrative offices and recommends high-level, applicable initiatives to the president and/or the board.
In their individual roles, SLG members have managerial responsibility for their academic or administrative units, and are responsible for effective, fair and transparent leadership of their areas of responsibility. Different members of SLG supervise units of different sizes. For example, as the executive vice president for finance and administration, David Provost has finance and information technology security, as well as facilities, dining services, and public safety reporting to him. David Gibson, as the vice president for communications and chief marketing officer, manages the Office of Communications, which includes print and mail services.
Each SLG member manages some employees directly, and supervises the managers who manage others. Different SLG members have different practices for communicating within their programs, unit, or department, but each SLG member is responsible for advancing Middlebury’s strategic priorities and communicating about the connections of day-to-day work to those institutional priorities.
How does the SLG do its work?
The Senior Leadership Group’s agenda is managed by the president’s chief of staff, and any member of SLG may suggest items for the agenda. The SLG meets in the Old Chapel Board Room once or twice every week, depending on the issues and tasks at hand. Sometimes, the group will meet more often to address emergent matters, or to discuss upcoming or trending topics. At least twice a year, the SLG schedules a “retreat” to focus on a particular issues, take a deep dive into strategic planning, or do professional development.
What is on the SLG agenda in the coming weeks?
The Senior Leadership Group recently met with SGA President, Varsha Vijayakumar ’20, to work on ways to bring more student perspective into the work of the administration, and to help improve communication between students and administrators. This year, the SLG has developed an annual agenda, which focuses on the top strategic priorities identified at the beginning of the academic year. Some topics include discussing ways to expand Middlebury’s global network — for example, by enabling more undergraduates to take courses at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey — working with faculty to develop strategies for curricular innovation, and ensuring continued financial sustainability. The SLG and the president have recently adopted a new Open Expression Policy — developed to protect the expression of every member of our community and prohibit substantial disruption of someone else’s expression on our campuses — and will be finalizing the Action Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as discussing inclusive pedagogy in the next few weeks.
How can students communicate with SLG?
Many SLG members have a student advisory group or a liaison with an SGA representative. Students who serve as constituent members of the oversight bBoards for the college, the institute, and the schools will work with those boards’ senior administrative officer, who helps the oversight boards set their agendas and make recommendations to the full Board of Trustees for all of Middlebury. The SGA president also meets regularly with SLG to review what the SGA is working on, and to work with SLG on common goals. Finally, if college students would like to raise a particular issue that may be appropriate for the SLG, they should contact Vice President of Student Affairs Baishakhi Taylor, who will work with students to share their thoughts through the right channels.
Hannah Ross is the college’s general counsel and a member of the Senior Leadership Group.
(11/14/19 6:03pm)
Hidden among the grey folds of the Freeman International Center — a bunker-like building known for its brutalist exterior — the YouPower spinning studio might just be a quintessential “diamond in the rough.” The blacked-out 1500 square foot studio has everything you’d expect in a fully-functioning “soul-cycle”-esque pain-cave: riders in bright lycra uniforms, massive speakers, racks of spin shoes, colored dumbbells, folded towels, floor candles, and, in the middle of it all, 22 well-oiled spin bikes.
“Once you get to the studio, the instructors do everything,” said YouPower co-president Anna Hubbell ’19.5, who teaches classes on Monday afternoons and Tuesday mornings. YouPower offers over 19 cumulative hours of instructor-led spin sessions every week, an activity that promises enough EDM and sweat to last you the entire semester.
However, the YouPower of today is unlike what is used to be. The idea to turn the Freeman International Center space into a spin studio was conjured after the organization’s original concept came to fruition — a project to increase energy awareness on campus. In 2012, a group of Middlebury students received money to create a spin-bike system that stored energy in a generator. At the time, YouPower leadership led events like Watt-a-thons, where participants tried to produce as much power as possible in a session. After a few years, however, this initial experiment died out, as the power-generation component of the studio became less of a focus. YouPower’s advisor, Franklin Dean-Farrar, cited that the spin bikes were able to generate an underwhelming amount of energy, which led to disinterest. The studio then became, in essence, a satellite workout room where students could spin when they wanted to without trekking to the athletic center.
“The YouPower room really provided, and still provides, a workout space across campus,” said Dean-Farrar, who has been involved with the organization since its founding. Both Dean-Farrar and Hubbell stressed the importance of the studio being across campus from the athletic center.
“The founders thought it would be a good idea to keep it on the other side of campus as an alternate space for people who didn’t feel comfortable going to the gym or for people who live far away from the athletic center,” Hubbell said.
YouPower was still undergoing drastic changes when Hubbell and co-president Andi Evans ’19.5 became involved with the organization. It was moving towards a more organized form of spinning, one that involved instructor-led classes, loud music, and a brand that focused on personal development and well-being. This is the YouPower of today.
INCREASING POPULARITY
In the last few years, YouPower ridership has increased significantly.
“YouPower has become more of a household name across campus,” Hubbell said, citing the increased number of riders and instructors involved since she came to Middlebury College. “It’s been really exciting seeing a ton more students walk in through the day, and seeing full and waitlisted classes. YouPower is definitely on peoples’ minds as a way to work out during the day.”
Isla Bowery ’20.5 said that she started spinning her sophomore year, and since has regularly attended YouPower sessions multiple times a week.
“There was a learning curve [at first],” she said, “but you just have to jump into the deep end.” Bowery said that even though she felt a little intimidated at first, she enjoys the fact that in the studio you can still concentrate on your own performance. “Everyone is so focused on their [own riding]; you’re not in a spotlight like you are in the weight rack in the gym,” she said.
One reason for YouPower’s increased success as a spin studio has been the recent efforts by leadership to decrease financial barriers to entry. Recently, YouPower’s $17,000 annual budget has been used to buy new spin bikes and buy equipment for participants to use. In the summer of 2018, the studio received a donation of around 40 pairs of spinning shoes.
“As presidents, Andi and I have tried to make YouPower accessible for everyone on this campus,” Hubbell said. To further increase accessibility, YouPower has tried to get their name out into the campus community as a fully-equipped spin-studio free of charge. The group started going to club fairs in the fall of 2018, which Hubbell said has been a successful advertising strategy.
“When I started it wasn’t uncommon for less popular time-slots to only have three riders in the class,” she said, citing early morning and later afternoon classes as the most popular. “Now we are seeing those [unpopular] timeslots frequently fill up.”
Another reason for the popularity can be attributed to the collective and peer-to-peer nature of the activity, something the Dean-Farrar has witnessed as Assistant Director of Athletics for Operations and Events.
“What people are looking for is a lead-bike in the front of the room, loud music and an actual spin instructor leading the class,” Dean-Farrar said. He said there is something about group-led exercises, like YouPower, Middlebury Crossfit and yoga classes, that are popular at the college. “[Andi and Anna] have done a tremendous job with the organization,” Dean-Farrar said.
SPINNING CULTURE
YouPower has been acknowledged by some students for being intimidating, due to the fairly homogenous demographic that attends spin classes. Bowery said that she has seen more men attend classes recently, in an activity that is dominated by women. In October, the Local Noodle ran a satirical article that jokingly described YouPower as an organization that idolizes “super-hot blondes.” The Local Noodle declined to comment when asked about the motivation behind the article.
Hubbell stressed that inclusivity is one of YouPower’s top priorities.
“I want YouPower to continue to be a comfortable and welcomed space on campus, and this is something that can be constantly developed and thought about,” she said.
This year, nine instructors, or about 40% of YouPower’s leadership, will graduate, leaving a large opening for new initiative. Hubbell and Evans hope that new instructors will get involved and continue the club’s trajectory of the past several years.
“I want [YouPower] to continue to foster an environment where people feel welcome and supported and comfortable trying something new,” Hubbell said.
If there is anyone that would convince you to go to a YouPower spin session, ask Hubbell. As soon as she arrived to campus in the February of 2016, Hubbell began attending spin sessions in hopes of picking up a new athletic endeavor in lieu of tennis and field hockey, two sports she played in high school.
“After I went to a bunch of YouPower classes, I quickly realized I wanted to be an instructor,” she said. “I feel like I have a group of people to rally behind in place of being on a sports team.” As for getting new students to attend classes, she is really enthusiastic about spin. “Spin is the best workout you can ask for on a college campus,” she said. “All you have to do is get yourself there.” Likewise, Bowery praised spinning as a form of escapism. “Middlebury can be such a pressure cooker,” she said. “YouPower is very efficient and a very effective form of exercise.”
To sign up for spin classes, visit mindbody.io.
(11/14/19 11:29am)
UNDEFEATED FOOTBALL MAKES HISTORY, WINS ‘CAC CROWN
BY LAUREN BOYD
The Middlebury football team made history this past weekend, becoming the first NESCAC team to go 9-0 during conference play. With this historic achievement, the Panthers also secured a solo NESCAC title after defeating Tufts 31-24 on Saturday, Nov. 9.
The Panthers started off their final game of the season with a 7-0 lead, as QB Will Jernigan ’21 drove the ball into the end-zone. Their lead didn’t last long, as Tufts was able to respond quickly, tying up the game by the end of the first quarter.
Maxim Bochman ’20 and Jernigan led Middlebury down the field on the next drive, culminating in a touchdown pass between the two Panthers. Up 14-7 for some time, the Panthers capitalized on two interceptions (Finn Muldoon ’23 and Kevin Hartley ’20) with a Carter Massengill ’20 field goal. Going into the half, Middlebury topped the Jumbos 17-7.
Returning from halftime, the Panthers were calm and collected, which propelled them throughout the rest of the game. Jernigan and Bochman put the next touchdown on the board, with another touchdown pass for the score. The Jumbos answered with a touchdown of their own, but couldn’t defend a response from the Panthers. Middlebury upped the score to 31–14 with a touchdown run from RB Alex Maldjian ’23.
Although Tufts was able to score another 10 points, the contest ended with a Panther win and NESCAC title. Family, friends, alumni and fans made the trek to Tufts to watch the historic event, as the Panthers acquired their fourth overall NESCAC title and first solo title since 2007.
FIELD HOCKEY WINS THIRD STRAIGHT NESCAC TITLE
BY MIGUEL ESPINOSA
Field hockey snatched the NESCAC title in an overtime thriller against Tufts on Sunday, Nov. 10. The victory marked the Panthers’ third-straight conference championship and illustrated Coach DeLorenzo’s hugely successful run in the past several years. Since the 2017 season, field hockey has accumulated a 58–4 record and earned two national championships. The team seeks to pick up its third-straight national championship once it embarks upon the NCAA tournament. The Panthers’ first matchup will be against the winner of Babson/St. Joseph’s (Maine) on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 11:00 a.m. and will be played at Kohn Field.
Last Sunday’s close battle saw no team scoring in the first quarter. The Panthers eventually struck first one minute into the second quarter, thanks to a goal by Emma Johns ’20 and an assist by Erin Nicholas ’21. Momentum quickly swung in Tufts’ favor, however, once they tallied two unanswered goals in the second and third quarters. Middlebury then managed to tie the game with eight minutes left in regulation with a goal by Katie George ’23. The match headed to overtime and captain Marissa Baker ’20 buried a rebound shot into the opposing net with four seconds left in overtime.
Ali Denby ’20 was awarded NESCAC Player of the Week for her grit on defense.
“We played with a lot of heart and energy [on Sunday],” Nicholas said, when asked about what contributed to their championship victory. “Everyone was determined to win and this was demonstrated both on the field and on the sidelines.”
More work, however, still lies ahead for the Panthers.
“To prepare for regionals we want to build off of the momentum from the Tufts game,” Nicholas said. “We learned a lot about our strengths and weaknesses as a team and we want to use these lessons to help guide our practices in the following weeks.”
Men's soccer edged in NESCAC championship, will enter NCAA tournament
BY ERIK ARDVIDSSON
Heading into the postseason with just two regular season losses, the men’s soccer team believed that they’d be difficult to eliminate. Their play backed up their confidence; in the NESCAC semifinals, they took down Amherst, the first-ranked team in the country. The following day, Middlebury faced defending national champion Tufts for a shot at the NESCAC title. Tufts would score a heartbreaking last minute goal to prevail over the Panthers, 2-1.
Despite the disappointing loss, the Panthers learned that their season would be extended when they received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. On Saturday, Nov. 16, the Panthers will travel to Troy, N.Y. to face Johnson and Wales University. After two years of first-round exists, the boys are ready for vengeance.
“I think the key for the game this weekend is to take advantage of opportunities when we are wide open in front of the net,” Jake Labranche ’21 said. “To do that, we just need to shoot the ball, and hope it goes in the goal.”
Volleyball fights in NESCAC play, finishes in semi finals
BY HEATHER BOEHM
The Panthers gave it their all this weekend during post-season play. On Friday, Nov. 8, the women overcame Amherst in a thrilling five-setter before ultimately falling the next day to Tufts to end their run.
After losing in straight sets last time around to Amherst, the Middlebury women knew they had to come in and make a statement- and that is what they did. The Panthers started the match off on their terms, denying a chance to be shoved around by Amherst with a 25-17 first set. The Mammoths found a way to rebound in the second and knotted the game at one set a piece. The following two sets mirrored the first two, and the teams would fight for a chance to keep their season alive in a fifth-set tiebreaker. The score was neck and neck until Laney Sullivan ’23 capitalized on a Mammoth error and brought her team to the NESCAC semifinals with a 16-14 finish.
The Panthers were ready to give the top team in the conference a run for its money after coming off of a big win the day before. Tufts’ early runs defined the rest of the match, with a little help from a home court advantage. The Panthers had a hard time narrowing the large margins and finding their stride. After a tough two sets, Middlebury found its groove a little too late in the third set. Midd was able to get on top briefly with a 10-9 lead, but ultimately fell 25-20 in the final period.
Although the women have a bottom-heavy line up, it will be tough to see some seniors go. Gigi Alper ’20 may be hanging her jersey up for good, but in her four years she made a name for herself in Middlebury volleyball history. The senior captain rounded out her last hurrah by ending up with the third most digs in program history.
Chellsa Ferdinand ’20, an opinion editor for the Campus, will leave her final season tallying 146 kills, 1867 Assists, and 608 digs and Beth Neal ’20 will bow out with 110 digs to her name.
The Panthers close out the 2019 season with a 15-10 record, going 6-4 in the NESCAC. They will look to the off-season to train for next year’s revenge with a young and hungry team.
Women's soccer falls in NESCAC title match, earns NCAA bid
BY HEATHER BOEHM
This past weekend, the reigning NESCAC champion Panthers were looking to preserve their title. While the women moved past archrival Williams to reach the finals, they fell just short of their goal when fourth-ranked Amherst found its way to the back of the net for a 1-0 victory.
The heated rivalry between the Panthers and the Ephs is not new, but tensions were high this season after last year’s battles. Middlebury had previously tied Williams in regular season play and, with a chip on their shoulder, went back to the drawing board in preparation for another fight on Saturday, Nov. 9.
There were opportunities on both sides early on. Finally, Olivia Miller ’20 set Gretchen McGrath ’21 up with a perfectly placed ball that she was able to slap past the Eph goalie. Throughout the rest of the first half Williams threatened the Middlebury defense, but nothing was able to sneak past Eva Shaw ’20.5.
The Panthers remained offensive in the second period. Izzy Hartnett ’21 doubled her team’s tally with a remarkable header off a corner kick from Eliza Robinson ’21. The 2-0 score would hold until the last whistle, and the women would get another chance to pick up a conference title.
The Panthers knew they would have to bring their best on Sunday, Nov. 10 as Amherst had been the only team to topple Middlebury in the regular season. The women did an impressive job denying Mammoth threats early on. But the Amherst offense did not let up and continued to apply intense pressure waiting for their chance to pounce. While the score was tied until the 53rd minute, there was a large disparity between the shots on goal per contender. Amherst rounded out the match with six shots on goal compared to Middlebury’s one from Ellie Greenberg ’20.
The Amherst goal during the 53rd would be the only one scored throughout the contest and give the team its fifth conference title in program history.
Due to the Panthers’ strong all-around play, Middlebury still received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and will host the University of New England on Saturday, Nov. 16.
(11/14/19 11:04am)
“Middlebury College has never been considered a hotbed of political activity,” reads an article published in The Middlebury Campus from November 2002. “Its own students describe the atmosphere as ‘sleepy,’ ‘detached,’ and ‘bubbled-in.’ Those who dare to shatter the quiet are a minority that is sometimes scorned for disrupting this remote paradise. ‘Protest’ is something that is debated; ‘activism’ is something that occurs elsewhere.”
The author noted later in the article that this trend was already changing. Now, 17 years later, most students would likely disagree with the notion that Middlebury students are apolitical.
In the past few years alone, student activists, leaders of campus extracurriculars, and campaign organizers have built websites to direct students to resources surrounding sexual health (go/sexysources); they have also successfully petitioned the college to become a “sanctuary campus” after President Donald Trump’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Notably, after nearly a decade of work, the student-led effort by Divest Middlebury culminated with Energy2028, a commitment from the college to divest its endowment from fossil fuels companies over the coming years.
These success stories are the glossy stuff of press releases. But the long-winded road to change — enacted by an ever-changing student body amid a minefield of obstacles — is anything but straightforward.
Isolation and insulation: Student activism in the “Middlebury bubble”
The college’s location in rural Vermont can make some students feel disconnected from national and international political issues. Many students reference “the Middlebury bubble” to describe the seemingly impermeable membrane that blocks students from the “real world” and to some, seems to propagate homogenous ideologies.
Annie Blalock ’20.5, current president of Feminist Action at Middlebury (FAM), said that Middlebury’s relative isolation may contribute to the feeling that students are confined in how they can respond to larger issues. Blalock joined FAM to combat this feeling of voicelessness.
“As time passed during my first semester, I felt the weight of the Middlebury bubble every day [in] that new inhumane policies were introduced or protective legislation taken away,” Blalock wrote in an email to The Campus. “I turned to FAM to stay educated about current events and take action in an accessible, fun environment.”
Madison Holland ’21 has been involved with the college’s branch of Amnesty International, an international organization that focuses on human rights, and Juntos, a campus organization that advocates for quality working conditions for local farm workers. She said she enjoys building relationships with members of the community through her activism.
“It’s important to realize the broader picture, that that there are other people off campus with real lives and real stories,” Holland said. “Especially considering we’re only here for four years and there’s a world out there that we’re going to have to encounter eventually, so we might as well start now.”
The college’s small size has other impacts as well: the activist community is very insular, according to Taite Shomo ’20.5 and Grace Vedock ’20, two students with long resumes of campus activism.
Amongst other initiatives, Shomo and Vedock are the organizers of It Happens Here (IHH), a storytelling event that draws attention to campus sexual assault. They also helped coordinate The Map Project, which documents locations of incidents of sexual assault on campus with red dots on a map. Last spring, Shomo and Vedock helped organize the peaceful protest that was scheduled to occur during the Ryszard Legutko lecture that was set for Wed., April 17. The lecture and the protest were unexpectedly cancelled by administration due to “safety risks,” which were left ambiguous when first announced.
“A lot of people who are leading activist charges, it’s the same group of people over and over,” Shomo said. “What I find very frustrating is that I think the Middlebury population constructs itself as aware and involved and liberal. But in my experience, when we have asked people to step up and be part of things, they’re not there.”
According to Shomo and Vedock, the core group of activists — those who organize most of the major protests and campaigns on campus — is so small that students have created various group chats to connect with other students who are committed to using activism as a tool of social change.
“Student activism is difficult for so many reasons. It takes so much time and so much emotional energy. Usually the people that are involved in certain initiatives have been directly affected by those initiatives, ” Vedock said. “If the burden is on the affected population to change the culture, it can be extremely bleak.”
Vedock said that student activism can be “exhausting,” and Shomo said that doing activism takes energy away from friends, school, family and her own health. This is a common constraint that many students face when organizing changemaking efforts on campus: they are students first, with the primary goal to obtain a degree.
With time already a scarce resource in college, it can be difficult to mobilize students for a particular campaign or event.
“Students are stakeholders in so many different areas of campus, so I think that’s a struggle — not necessarily in getting people to voice their support but to act on that support,” Holland said.
Student activists also must navigate the rules set by administration for student organizing, a process which Blalock said is “unnecessarily burdensome.” The consequences for violating college policy, however, can be serious.
Prior to the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Middlebury in 2012, five students who dubbed themselves the “Dalai Lama Welcoming Committee” circulated a mock press release to students, faculty and media outlets announcing that the college would divest from industries of violence. The students were charged and ultimately found guilty by the Community Judicial Board during an open hearing and were given a reprimand, but were not subject to any official college discipline.
In 2013, a student was suspended for one year for uprooting thousands of flags that were put in the ground as part of a memorial to commemorate the victims of 9/11. The student claimed that the memorial sat on top of an Abenaki burial site, and should be treated with respect.
More recently, when students protested and shut down the 2017 lecture of controversial sociologist Charles Murray, the college punished 74 students with sanctions ranging from probation to official college discipline. Students were accused of violating the section in the Student Handbook that prohibits “disruptive behavior at community events or on campus.”
“If we have to be afraid of being suspended because of engaging in protest, that’s a very precarious situation to be in,” Shomo said.
While some students do not engage with student activism, many feel compelled to act, no matter the risks.
“People don’t engage with activist activities for a variety of reasons — maybe you’re working a job, maybe your course load is so difficult — but for some people it takes an enormous amount of privilege to not be concerned about things or to just not think about things,” Vedock said. “When you’re engaged with these initiatives, you have to ask yourself: Who are you fighting for?”
Changing the world … in just four years
Though students encounter unique challenges when trying to create change, some have identified strategies that have proved repeatedly effective in moving their campaigns forward. Megan Salmon ’21 serves as president of Amnesty International and is the student activism coordinator for Amnesty USA, meaning she oversees all efforts by Amnesty chapters at universities in the state of Vermont. She said incentivizing students can be effective in persuading people outside of the core group of activists to show up to events.
“Whether it’s a musical performance, or it’s interactive, or there’s food, or prizes — it gets them off the couch, basically,” Salmon said.
Holland said coalition building can be an effective way to show that an issue is important beyond one group. Early this month, Olivia Pintair ’22.5 and Hannah Ennis ’22.5 organized the Milk with Dignity campaign at the Hannaford supermarket in Middlebury. The campaign was one of about 20 campaigns across the Northeast that was organized by Migrant Justice, a nonprofit that advocates for economic justice and human rights of farm workers.
“Our organizing included… networking with other groups on and off-campus in order to get as many people as possible to attend the action itself,” Pintair wrote in an email to The Campus.
According to Pintair, Middlebury Refugee Outreach Club (MiddROC), Juntos, Sunday Night Environmental Group (SNEG), a church group in Middlebury, and Standing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) all “contributed in different ways to the action.” Some members of these groups made signs to display at the event, while others attended the rally. Pintair said activists from Migrant Justice were also present, leading chants in both Spanish and English. They also hand-delivered a letter to the manager of Hannaford at the protest, urging the supermarket to “ensure human rights for the farmworkers behind the company’s milk.”
“I sometimes find student activism challenging on campus with how many different clubs and groups there are at Middlebury, each with their own specialty,” Ennis wrote in an email. “I was really inspired by the action and rally on Nov. 2 at Hannaford because of the way many different student organizations came together for this one cause. I hope to see more events in the future with groups working together.”
Change is slow, Ennis said, and it’s important to “connect with people, create a network, and build outwards.” Students attend Middlebury for four years, but larger structural changes may take longer. According to Vedock, movements must “cultivate institutional memory” to have a degree of longevity.
Divest Middlebury, a movement created to divest the college’s endowment from fossil fuels, has been able to sustain itself throughout several generations of Middlebury students. The movement can be traced back until at least 2012, when the students from the Dalai Lama Welcoming Committee pushed the issue into prominence.
Many activists feel responsible for passing along information and resources to younger students, lest the movement die from lack of participants. Divya Gudur ’21, who has been involved in various environment-focused organizations such as SNEG, the Divest Middlebury movement, and Environmental Council, said that SNEG has a Google Drive folder filled with documents containing information from past events, and that they also have a reliable alumni network.
“Over the recent years we have been more and more intentional about our recruiting efforts and have been working towards making sure that underclassmen feel like they have ownership in the organization and the campaigns,” Gudur said. “SNEG has often struggled with retaining activists not only because of burn-out, but also because there seems to be a dichotomy of you’re either all in or on the outside, and we need to make space ... for all levels of participation.”
Students have also found they can build institutional memory by collaborating with a group of people who will remain at Middlebury much longer than themselves: faculty.
Last spring, research assistants for the Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies (GSFS) Department, Ruby Edlin ’19.5, Elizabeth Sawyer ’19 and Rebecca Wishnie ’20, gave a presentation titled “Collective Memory, Collective Action: Building a Digital Archive of Student Activism” which explained the ongoing efforts to build a digital feminist archive of campus activism. The project was supervised by Sujata Moorti, who was the chair of the GSFS department at the time, and Karin Hanta, director of Chellis House.
(11/14/19 11:02am)
Over three-quarters of Middlebury faculty come to the college with a partner. But inadequate college policies for employing these partners and integrating them into the Middlebury community have led some faculty to consider leaving, according to a survey conducted by the Faculty Council Working Group on Partner Inclusion in March.
In response to the group’s report summarizing the survey results, President Laurie Patton announced at the Nov. 8 faculty meeting the creation of a new half-time five-year position that will be specially dedicated to improving partner inclusion policy and practice.
Partner inclusion, while mainly focusing on employment, also encompasses concerns about helping partners feel part of the Middlebury community.
“Partners are not, contrary to popular belief, looking for a handout in the form of a tailored job,” wrote Sarah Laursen, assistant professor of history of art and architecture, in a 2018 internal report to the Faculty Council. “They are simply people who moved here with their partners in hopes of a better life but are continually faced with disappointment and rejection in the job search.”
Of the faculty who responded to the March survey, 90% said that an institutional partner hiring policy was important to them, and 76% came to Middlebury with a partner. Of these, there was a roughly evenly split between academic and non-academic partners.
The college’s current partner employment policy states, “Middlebury will strive to attract and retain the best faculty and staff. While doing so, Middlebury will also strive to increase the number of women and persons of color on its administration, faculty and staff.”
However, due to the lack of a robust partner inclusion policy, 18% of faculty reported that they are actively looking for other employment, according to the report. When accounting for faculty members passively searching for employment or those who have searched in the past, hypothesized the report, this figure is likely much higher.
“We moved from far away, into an isolated place with no network — a common story here — and so job hunting was difficult without having any college support,” wrote one faculty member in response to the survey. “[It] was a big letdown. The longer I’m here, the more I feel like my experience is not unique, and the college really doesn’t care about this at all.”
Issues of partner inclusion disproportionately affect female faculty, who, according to the 2008 Report of the Task Force on the Status of Women at Middlebury College, face uneven challenges in this area due to societal norms.
The report found that gender discrepancies among associate professors were due in large part to Middlebury’s partner inclusion policy, since female faculty were more likely to leave before achieving tenure if they did not think their spouses would be employed by the college or in the area. Between the fall of 1997 and the spring of 2008, 60% of departing female faculty cited spousal employment as the main reason for their resignation, while the same was true of only 10% of departing male faculty, according to the report.
Under the current policy, the dean of faculty informs new hires that they can contact Human Resources for assistance in partner employment. However, 92% of the respondents to the survey said that they did not receive any support, though many tried.
Another respondent to the survey expressed dissatisfaction with the way their partner was treated when he applied for a job at the college after the respondent was hired.
“When my partner did apply for a position that he was well-qualified for, he was treated poorly by the HR process — long delays between app submission and first interview, and then before the second interview, with little communication in between, and long lag before final rejection,” the faculty member wrote. “We are not alone. A colleague in my area had a similar experience with her partner. Neither partner has any interest in reapplying to Midd.”
The lack of partner inclusion affects faculty morale, creates problems in drawing talented prospective candidates and takes a psychological toll on both faculty and their partners, according to Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Merrill “Mez” Baker-Medard. Baker-Medard is a member of the Faculty Council Working Group on Partner Inclusion.
“Every day, we faculty come home from our dream jobs to our demoralized partners, and we feel miserable that our success comes at the cost of their self-worth,” wrote Laursen in the 2018 internal report to the Faculty Council. “The constant job search and the stress of trying to survive on less income … puts a strain on our relationships, and we come to resent the College too.”
The lack of prospects for faculty partners causes heightened turnover of faculty and can also deter new professors from taking jobs at the college. This creates extra work for hiring committee members and causes financial waste within the hiring process, according to Kristina Sargent, another member of the Faculty Council Working Group on Partner Inclusion and Assistant Professor of Economics.
“I find it ironic that the school is so obsessively cutting budgets while they spend who knows how much on recruiting to replace faculty who would have stayed if their partners could have found even marginally satisfactory employment nearby,” responded one faculty member to the working group’s survey.
According to Baker-Medard, faculty have raised concerns about the college’s faculty partner inclusion policy for the last 25 years with little to no change resulting.
“While my experience was over a decade ago, it looks like little has changed,” responded one faculty member to the survey.
“The people we are hiring as professors today are not the same as 30 years ago when the model was originally set up,” said Sargent. “The world is just different, so the policy should be different.”
Following the group’s report and its presentation to the faculty in September, Patton negotiated with a donor to secure funding for the new five-year position. The Faculty Council Working Group on Partner Inclusion hopes to work with administration and faculty to design the job description for this role and finalize the hire by the end of this academic year, according to Baker-Medard.
“The person who had this task before, it was one of many, many other things they did, so having a dedicated person is a big win,” Baker-Medard said. “I think it gives us a little bit of momentum. Maybe that person can also help us think about the no or low cost things we can do as well as the things we want to invest in financially in the future based on our recommendations.”
The creation of this new position addressed just one of eight recommendations from the working group’s report. These recommendations included having Human Resources proactively reach out to new hires about partner inclusion, offering courtesy interviews and introductions to partners to help them find local employment outside of the college, creating a formal process for two-year visiting appointments for partners, and creating better channels into staff positions for non-academic partners.
According to the report, “Partner employment is not just an opportunity for partners, it is also an opportunity for the College. Faculty partners are often highly skilled and readily employable.”
The working group also recommended that Middlebury put more effort into including partners in college activities and events, “revise existing partner employment guidelines into a clear and transparent partner inclusion policy” and continue allowing the Faculty Council Working Group on Partner Inclusion to address these issues.
“There’s definitely interest and a willingness and openness around these other requests, but nothing’s been concretized yet,” Baker-Medard said. “I think the Dean of Faculty as well as other administrators, including President Patton, are aware of the issue and thinking about it in new ways due to this report.”
(11/14/19 11:00am)
This past weekend, members of the Middlebury community had the opportunity to express their hopes and concerns for downtown development during the Town’s “Planapalooza.” Over the course of four days, Planapalooza held several events to bring public input into the development of the new Middlebury Downtown Master Plan. “Planapalooza” is a distinct strategy of Town Planning and Urban Design Collaborative (TPUDC), the firm leading the project.
TPUDC is the lead consultant working to develop the master plan with the Middlebury Planning Commission led by Town Planner Jennifer Murray. Brian Wright, principal and founder of the firm, said that Middlebury is receiving grants from the Vermont Agency of Transportation and the Vermont Clean Water Initiative Fund.
The firm is employing charette, a style of planning characterized by intense periods of design and planning activity that stresses collaboration and conversation, to emphasize transparency and public participation. TPUDC has used this process in several other college towns including Lewiston, Maine and Manchester, N.H.
Planapalooza events included focus group sessions on Saturday morning, and a pin-up presentation Saturday evening. In addition to meetings, TPUDC held Open Studio hours in their temporary office on 51 Main St., encouraging community participation and input for this long-term project.
Emily Wright has been with the firm for 14 years and mentions how she specifically enjoys working with Vermont towns because it is wonderful to see people who “love and care for the surrounding nature.” On Saturday, Nov. 10, the planning group held a Sustainability and Resiliency meeting open to the public; one of the main topics discussed was how Middlebury should confront the current climate crisis.
Steve Maeir, a concerned citizen, said Middlebury needs a vision. “We need to set enforceable goals to meet the requirements of Paris climate accord and support a transition to an economy that is no longer based on fossil fuels,” he said. Maeir acknowledged, however, that this transition may put economic, political and social pressures on communities, and it may even “compromise certain aspects of business and ways of life.”
Maeir thinks the college is taking steps in the right direction with its Middlebury Energy2028 plan, the college’s commitment to transitioning to using only renewable energy to power and heat its central campus. The college should “continue to be more aggressive in its footprint” and keep setting examples for the entire town, he said.
Another focal point of the weekend was transportation and mobility. TPUDC’s data review found that 81% of downtown customers drive to the downtown area, which citizens acknowledged heightens parking concerns and highlights the need to improve transportation. Eli Madden, a Middlebury resident of 36 years, believes safe pedestrian and biking infrastructure is important for environmental safety reasons, but also for social justice and community development.
“Our most vulnerable community members often have to walk or ride bikes, not by choice, and often at busy, dark times of day,” he said, mentioning missed opportunities for modern infrastructure like a bike lane on the Cross Street Bridge, which was completed in 2010 and partially funded by the college. Madden also discussed inadequate sidewalk clearance and visibility. Several citizens mentioned poor snow plowing that endangered pedestrians and cyclists.
Madden believes that students at the college “have an opportunity here to help get some good results and make some real change.” He said that students, many of who have bikes, can pressure the town and college to adopt modern guidelines for all future projects, and can vote in selectboard elections.
Charlotte Tate, associate director at the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs, has worked in Middlebury since 1992 and walks from the college to the Co-op four times a week. Tate echoed similar concerns to Madden, saying a “pedestrian friendly downtown” is necessary if the town wants to attract more students, families and residents shopping and eating locally.
Residents were divided as to what types of stores should comprise the downtown area. Catherine Nichols said the loss of Ben Franklin is felt by the community and that the general store was well-loved. According to focus group participants, having an affordable, successful shop like the general store downtown could be another way to increase student and resident traffic through the town.
In the public pin-up and review presentation on Saturday night, TPUDC recapped the concerns citizens expressed over the past few days and presented potential areas for improvement. Attendees were also part of a visual preference survey, where consultants presented pictures of houses and residents were asked if they liked a particular style in the context of Middlebury. Later in the evening, John Stover, the economic developer from Washington, DC hired by Wright, proposed possible solutions and plans of action to address these concerns.
As part of their process, TPUDC spoke with the owners of dozens of downtown stores like the Marquis Theater, and were surprised to hear that students rarely were their customers. In order to address this issue, Stover spoke with college representatives about the potential for students’ declining balance to be accepted at downtown stores or even finding a way to include restaurant meals in our meal plan. After speaking with both parties, Stover said both “Middlebury store owners and the college did not seem opposed to the idea.”
Amazon has had an impact on downtown businesses, as many students prefer to shop online out of convenience. As Amazon continues to dominate and grow e-commerce, downtown businesses have lost a large portion of their student customer base. One proposal mentioned in the Saturday night pin-up was to have college Amazon deliveries be sent directly to Amazon lockers in town instead, requiring students go downtown to pick up their Amazon packages.
When Becca Brownstein ’23 was asked what she thought about extending the swipe system to downtown restaurants, she said, “I definitely think that will encourage students to go into downtown more as budgeting is often a concern and declining balances make it easy to track spending on food.” Becca said Amazon Lockers could be an inconvenience for students, especially during winter months. However, she said that “if the circumstances of this shift are explained to students in the larger context” of supporting and growing local businesses, “then people would be more likely to be receptive of the idea.”
The firm is prioritizing housing density downtown, riverfront development and stormwater improvements in its plan. Community members applauded the firm’s intent to incorporate green infrastructure to better manage runoff for pedestrians and drivers. In terms of riverfront development, Wright saw Bakery Lane as a point of major potential with the possibility of developing a mixed-use area and a more scenic river walk.
Multiple longtime residents expressed their belief that Middlebury has a history of projecting its commitment to sustainability without following through on these ideals. The new plan, therefore, presents a new opportunity to prioritize sustainability in future developments.
Resident Leslie Caer Amadora agreed with the fact that Middlebury needs some structural and strategic renovations. However, she stressed the importance of maintaining the town’s character throughout this process by “creating an infrastructure that holds the webbing to connect and diversify our town.”
Following Planapalooza, community members will have more opportunities to voice their ideas. A closing presentation, previously scheduled for Monday, Nov. 11 will now take place on Friday, Nov. 15 due to snow. The firm’s data will be refined during the winter and a draft plan will be delivered in the spring, with a targeted delivery date of July 2020. More information on the creation of the Town Master Plan can be found at townofmiddlebury.org.
(11/07/19 11:21am)
CROSS COUNTRY
Cross country teams place solidly at NESCACs
BY JORDAN HOWELL
The Panther Cross Country teams are already off to a good start in the championship portion of the season. The men placed third, while the women placed fourth in their respective NESCAC Championship meets on Saturday, Nov. 2.
The top two finishers for the men were Theo Henderson ’20 and Henry Fleming ’20. Henderson captured second with a time of 25:41.8. Fleming followed close behind coming in at 26:00.7 to pick up 10th place.
The top two finishers for the women were Meg Wilson ’20 and Talia Ruxin ’20. Wilson grabbed 10th place with a time of 22:46.8. Ruxin came in right behind her in 11th place with a time of 22:47.1.
Ruxin commented on her team’s performance. “The team had a strong performance at NESCACs,” Ruxin said. “Every Midd runner ran considerably faster than five weeks ago on the same course!”
The Panthers’ next meet will be the NCAA Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 16.
“The general feeling is that the best is yet to come,” Ruxin said. “Coach Nicole Wilkerson has the training very dialed in for the final few weeks of the season. With her coaching experience and the team’s positive energy, we should be primed for a great performance.”
VOLLEYBALL
Volleyball sweeps weekend, ends regular season on high note
BY HEATHER BOEHM
Women’s volleyball closed out their regular reason with dominant play against conference rivals. The Panthers overcame Williams on the road in a five-set nail-biter on Friday, Nov. 1 and swept Hamilton on Saturday, Nov. 2.
“This weekend, the team came in with focus,” said Chellsa Ferdinand ’20. “After disappointing losses to Bowdoin and Tufts, we knew that defeat this past weekend was not an option.”
Middlebury started off the match with a decisive first set. The Panther offense lifted themselves to a 25-16 win that gave them some momentum heading into the second. The Ephs showed resilience in the second set but were edged by the Panthers by two points. The close set gave the Ephs some hope going into the third and they were able to beat out the Panthers 28-26. The next two sets were just as tight. The women capitalized on a few Williams errors, and took home the win in the final period.
The Panthers built off of this triumph going into Saturday’s contest with a 3-0 shutout. Middlebury slid past Hamilton by two points in the first set and eased by in the next two. Sophomore Maggie Wise led the offense with 10 kills, while Senior captain Gigi Alper held up the defensive front with 16 digs.
“Our team has incredible potential,” said Ferdinand. “We were resilient in the face of adversity. We all want nothing more than the best.”
Volleyball’s performances helped the women secure a spot in the conference tournament. Middlebury will fight for a chance to pick up a NESCAC title this weekend on the road against Amherst in a quarterfinal matchup.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
BY HEATHER BOEHM
Women’s soccer came up big with a 2-1 victory over Wesleyan in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC tournament on Saturday, Nov. 2.
The Panthers won the race to the scoreboard within the five minute mark. Simone Ameer ’21 capitalized on a Cardinal opening and slapped the ball to the back of the net. Middlebury’s offense spent most of the game giving the Cardinal defense a tough time but had an unlucky setback in the 61st minute. Wesleyan’s Dani Milovanov snuck her way in to bring some hope to her teammates.
Jinx Charman ’20 commented on her team’s effort. “Wesleyan is always a really tough opponent,” said Charman. “They have had some great wins this season, so we knew we had to get a goal in quickly. When they tied it up, our team really stepped our level up under pressure and we decided to high press their defense, which gave us a lot more opportunities.”
One of those opportunities led the way to sophomore Ellie Bavier’s goal. With time running out, Senior captain Olivia Miller paved the way for her game-winning effort with a well-placed cross.
Middlebury will take some confidence from this triumph but will refocus for their semifinal matchup against long-time foe Williams on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Tufts. After a silent 1-1 draw with the Ephs earlier this season, the Panthers will come out hunting.
“We are really excited to face Williams again, and hopefully we will get redemption for the national championship,” said Charman.
The championship game will be held on Sunday, Nov. 10 at Tufts as well.
FOOTBALL
BY LAUREN BOYD
The Middlebury Panthers improved to an 8-0 record this past Saturday, grinding out a win against a 4-4 Hamilton team. Not only did the Panthers take home the “Rocking Chair Classic” trophy, but also stepped one game closer to an undefeated season, guaranteeing a share in the NESCAC title.
Heading into the game with a 7-game win streak, the Panthers faced immense pressure to perform. The Middlebury squad hoped to extend this winning streak, clinch a spot as NESCAC champions, and honor their seniors in their last home game. The stands, packed with fans, friends, family, and alumni, kept loud and proud throughout the contest.
During the first drive of the game, quarterback Will Jernigan ’21 led the Panthers 60 yards down the field. After a connection between Jernigan and senior Frank Cosolito, Alex Maldjian ’23 punched in the first score of the game.
After a Hamilton response, tying up the game 7-7, the Panthers quickly responded to the pressure. Another drive by the Panthers led to a second Maldjian touchdown, bringing Middlebury to a 14-7 lead.
The Panthers would hold out for the rest of the game, preventing the Continentals from putting more points on the board. In the process, Middlebury claimed (at minimum) a share of the NESCAC title. Rounding out their season with a win against Tufts would mean being sole NESCAC champions and an undefeated season.
The Jumbos will be coming to prevent Middlebury from attaining a 9-0 record, hoping to move above .500 themselves. Falling to Williams, Wesleyan, Amherst, and Hamilton, Tufts currently holds a 4-4 record, tied up with the Hamilton Continentals.
The Panthers will kick-off their final NESCAC match on Saturday at 12:30PM.
FIELD HOCKEY
BY MIGUEL ESPINOSA
First-seeded field hockey topped Trinity, 3-1 at home in the NESCAC Quarterfinal on Saturday, Nov. 4. The Panthers advanced to the semifinals where they’ll face off against seventh-seeded Hamiliton on Saturday, Nov. 9. Middlebury will be hosting championship weekend, including the semifinal game between Tufts and Williams.
Forward Katie George ’23 put the Panthers on the scoreboard early in the first quarter and was assisted by captain Marissa Baker ’20. The Panthers augmented their lead in the second quarter thanks to goals by Audrey Lazar ’23 and Danielle Brown ’21. Trinity managed to score their only goal 20 seconds into the third quarter.
“We changed a couple of people's positions and were able to better utilize some of our strengths in doing so,” said Erin Nicholas ’21, when asked about what clicked for the Panthers, offensively and defensively. “Our new formation allowed us to possess the ball a bit better while also providing us the opportunity to attack from different areas on the field.”
MEN'S SOCCER
BY ERIK ARVIDSSON
The Panther men headed into postseason play determined to get a win to keep their season alive. First up was the NESCAC tournament quarter-finals against Connecticut College on Saturday, Nov. 2. After 110 minutes of scoreless play, a stat line not too uncommon for the Panthers this year, the game headed to a shootout. After the first five penalties resulted in a 3-3 tie, the shootout would be decided by sudden death. With the game on the line, Liam Sloane ’22 stepped up and netted the ball into the left corner. Goalkeeper Marco Kaper ’21 secured the final save to give the Panthers a birth into the NESCAC semi’s next weekend.
When asked about how it felt to convert the game winning goal, Sloane praised the team’s collective effort. “I was very happy to convert that penalty,” said Sloane, “but overall happier about the incredible team effort we put in.”
This weekend the Panther’s head to Amherst to face the top-ranked team in the nation. If they beat the Mammoths they will stay in Amherst for a chance to play for the tournament championship game on Sunday, Nov. 10. After tying the Mammoths during the regular season, Kenan Ulku-Steiner ’22 believes that “the key this weekend will be to run faster and kick the ball farther.”
(11/07/19 11:05am)
Middlebury is optimizing and modernizing its administrative systems with a new finance program called Oracle — the implementation of which has caused many difficulties and inconveniences for Middlebury staff, faculty and students.
This change occurred in collaboration with the Green Mountain Higher Education Consortium (GMHEC), which includes Middlebury, Champlain, and Saint Michael’s colleges. All three institutions are working to improve and reduce costs for common administrative services.
Through an initiative called Project Ensemble, GMHEC plans to implement a new Enterprise Resource System (ERS), a software system designed to integrate each college’s various administrative processes — finance, human resources, advancement and, potentially, student records — into a unified structure. At Middlebury, this new ERS will eventually replace Banner, the computer software the college currently uses. Phase one of Project Ensemble is projected to cost Middlebury $4.6 million, according to Mike Thomas, the vice president for finance and the college’s assistant treasurer.
As part of this effort, the college adopted the information system Oracle Cloud and began using its financial system in April to help track and manage the day-to-day financial transactions of the college.
Instead of running financial operations on-site, Oracle is housed in the cloud, which helps prevent against data loss. Like Banner, it is browser-based, and employees can access it through by signing in to an online portal.
According to Thomas, one benefit of this new system is that the budget office can approve purchases and expense reports from a computer or mobile device.
“Before Oracle, nearly every purchase we made at Middlebury involved a form that a person had to fill out and send to someone to then manually approve. Now, all of that happens through automated workflow,” Thomas said.
The switch has also helped Middlebury take advantage of the GMHEC for technical support, supplier management, accounts payable and more.
However, the change caused significant issues for Middlebury staff, who received minimal — and at times, incorrect — training in the system, according to a staff member who asked to remain anonymous.
“I wish we had gotten real training,” she said. “It felt like our work isn’t important enough to take the time to invest in it. We do an important job and it didn’t get the sort of attention that it needed.”
According to Thomas, Middlebury hired Hitachi Consulting — a firm that had minimal experience with Oracle, a system normally used by for-profit companies — causing significant issues with the roll out. With no people experienced with Oracle on campus, Information Technology Services was forced to learn and troubleshoot on the spot, the anonymous staff member said.
“At the beginning, people weren’t getting paid at all. Several departments, especially around commencement, were having trouble getting speakers paid. People didn’t even want to come to campus … It has hurt a lot of our relationships with people who have done business with the college over the years,” the staff member said.
The switch has also caused issues within the budget office. There were many bugs in the early stages of implementation, which took time and effort to troubleshoot and led to delays in processing payment and difficulties for employees, according to Thomas.
“We realized that we underestimated the required post go-live support from our implementation partners. It was definitely a lesson learned as we look at other modern systems,” Thomas said.
The change has also created extra work and complications for the Student Activities Office (SAO) and student organizations, according to Derek Doucet, the senior associate dean of students.
Most student organizations receive an annual budget of between $400 and $4,000 from the Student Government Association (SGA), which they spend and manage through the SAO. The SGA expects to allocate approximately $1,100,000 this academic year, according to Kenshin Cho ’20, director of the SGA finance committee.
Student organization leaders need to track budgets and expenditures closely, but the Oracle system has limited capabilities in tracking individual transactions. Student organizations also require regular, detailed budget reports, which the program does not provide, according to Doucet.
“The new Oracle system is frustrating as a treasurer that manages a relatively large budget and spends frequently, because we no longer get monthly expense reports with our operating account balance,” said Raechel Zeller ’22, treasurer for the female-identifying club frisbee team.
Pranav Kumar ’20, co-president and treasurer of club tennis, said he worries that he will accidentally exceed his club’s budget and be forced to foot the bill.
“We’ve built alternative systems to help alleviate these problems, but they remain a significant challenge for student org treasurers and have created significant additional work for the student activities team,” Doucet said.
According to Doucet, the transition to Oracle caused many Middlebury businesses to stop accepting charges directly from student organizations. Instead, student leaders increasingly must pay for organization expenses out of pocket and wait for reimbursement from the college, something that many students cannot afford to do.
However, Doucet said that the issues posed by the change has also created opportunities as the SAO explores alternatives. For example, the office is currently piloting a program in which student organization leaders can sign out credit cards, which he believes will be a better system than off-campus charges.
Moving forward, the administration hopes Project Ensemble will continue to improve the financial system and the overall function of Oracle through an “optimization phase,” which will include “a mobile expense app, a supplier portal where our payees can go to update information, and optical character recognition for invoice processing,” according to Thomas.
This spring, Middlebury plans to transfer Human Capital Management to Oracle, a move that was originally planned to take place this fall but was delayed in order to not repeat the mistakes with the financial system.
“Because it was pushed back so much and not rushed like they did with the finance one, people are a little more comfortable,” said the anonymous staff member about the transfer.
“But people are still nervous . . . because it’s our pay and our benefits going through that.”
(11/07/19 11:03am)
Last summer, New Haven resident Taborri Bruhl, along with his son, drove 10,000 miles across the continental United States and back. The catch? They did it in a fully-electric Nissan Leaf. Instead of lifting gas pumps day after day, Bruhl mapped out electric charging stations across the country, which led them across Pennsylvania, the Midwest, up into Nebraska, down to Las Vegas and up the Californian coast. They completed a 10,000 mile round-trip in 44 days, and proved that a cross-country drive is possible in a fully electric vehicle (EV).
“In a few years, it will be easy to drive across the country in an EV,” Bruhl said. “My son wanted to do it now, when it is still difficult.”
Bruhl’s pioneering spirit is representative of the larger enthusiasm that has enveloped the budding electric-vehicle industry. In general, EV ownership in Vermont is on the rise. Just over 1,000 electric vehicles were registered in Vermont in October 2015. As of July, The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles has over 3,200 EVs registered in state. Chittenden and Washington County have the highest EV ownership, with 78 and 70 EVs per 10,000 people, respectively. Addison County ownership is at 52 EVs per 10,000 people.
In towns across Vermont, including Middlebury, residents regularly attend workshops and clinics on electric vehicle ownership. Last Wednesday, Oct. 30 around 50 community members attended an EV workshop put on by Acorn Renewable Energy Co-Op. Among the speakers were Dave Roberts of Drive Electric Vermont, Taborri Bruhl, and Suzy Hodgson and Ben Marks of Acorn Renewable Energy. In a later interview, Roberts said that Drive Electric Vermont has been running workshops on electric vehicles for seven years.
“Folks [in attendance] are usually environmentally-conscious and early-adopters of new technologies,” Roberts said. “However, we are seeing more people who are just interested in electric vehicles, and those being driven by the economics.” Roberts cited spiking gas prices in recent years as reasons for the increase in public interest in alternative-fuel sources.
Yet, there are still plenty of setbacks with electric vehicle ownership. A 2019 report by the Vermont Public Utility Commision listed three major adoption barriers including, “…the price of new electric vehicles, the perceived limited distance that an EV can travel on a single charge, and the limited availability of public charging locations.” Roberts said that his priority is giving people information to make their own decision on whether or not EV ownership is right for them.
“Our goal is that people have the facts,” he said. “We are EV advocates, and of course we want more people driving electric cars. But we also realize that buying a car is probably the second or most expensive thing they will buy in their life.” At the workshop, Roberts highlighted federal-level financial incentives for an EV purchase, as well as the growing availability of fast-charging stations across the United States. Bruhl mentioned tools like Plugshare that he relies on to find charging stations on extended trips.
Roberts also brought up specific concerns with electric vehicles in the northeast.
“The most common Vermont-specific concerns are performance in cold weather and the amount of traction and ground clearance,” Roberts said, adding that cold weather conditions can reduce electric-charge by 20–40 %. “If you live on a dirt road in the country or a steep road, people [want to know] what models will just get them home. We continue to struggle with good options for people in those situations.”
Although Bruhl’s experiences with electric-vehicles have been great, he says an EV won’t always align with everyone’s lifestyle. “If you’re just driving in town, EVs are great,” Bruhl said. “But you if you want to travel in an electric vehicle, there’s a lot to figure out.” Bruhl said things like being comfortable with computers, operating and finding charging stations and understanding electric-charging rates are all important in operating an EV. However, he estimates a tipping point in the EV industry soon that will make EV ownership simpler.
(11/07/19 11:03am)
Throat singing, multilingual monologues, aerial dance, hyperfemininity, hypermasculinity, Max Ernst aesthetics, blood, violence, sexual references and many more contrasting and disparate elements came together last weekend at the Mahaney Arts Center. The 90 minutes of Director and Assistant Professor of Theatre Michole Biancosino’s interpretation of “The Bacchae 2.1” ran from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 at Seeler Studio Theatre. The production starred Kevin Collins ’20 (as Pentheus) and Marci Urban ’22.5 , Cecelia Scheuer ’21 and Zachary Varricchione ’21 (all three as Dionysus), with music by visiting artist Neel Murgai and Ronnie Romano ’20. Murgai looked to Hindu Shiva for inspiration while adopting different ragas and improvising throughout the show.
“Bacchae” was written by Euripides in the fifth century B.C. as a perplexing and disturbing study of the clash and struggle between wilderness and civilization. This Greek tragedy, along with other pre-existing texts, were appropriated and adapted into a new creation by Charles Mee in 1993. Mee’s version incorporated much more violence and sexual reference while also adding layers to the discussion of the complexity of human nature. Gender relations, suppression, identity, dialectics and plurality all became subjects of interest to Mee.
Yet Biancosino made the play into, as she says, “a Bacchae 2.1a or 3.1.” When she began working with the company on this rather messy play with “jarring juxtapositions,” as she phrased it, Biancosino took it as a creative challenge to sort out how far they can go with some of the ideas dealt with in the play. She and the actors worked hard to fill the play with humanity while preserving its poetic nature. After all the creative and artistic additions to the play, the core of the show still lies in its discussion of otherness, which gives it relevance in any historical context.
The significance of putting on a show that discusses modernity, civilization and otherness is not trivial at the college. Biancosino believed that “The Bacchae 2.1” is inherently an acknowledgement to the people who don’t fit in and to the otherness that barely has space at a “white institution that’s known as a ‘pillar of civilization.’”
The tone of Biancosino’s “The Bacchae” was exactly that: She was careful, conscientious and creative with how to present otherness at the college in 2019. She started with tossing out the inflammatory parts in Mee’s version and bringing in other voices, including works of queer writers and writers of color. These elements created a poetic and more comprehensive understanding of the world. Further, Biancosino purposefully made the connotation of the color orange ambiguous: A tainted and deceptive orange downplays its symbolism as the “Eastern color” used in Mee’s interpretation.
The representation of otherness is detail-oriented, evident through how makeup was a means to showcase and discern various groups of characters. Stern blue suits with minimal makeup made Pentheus look “strict and conservative,” while the women in the mountains have “whimsical and outgoing” looks to help establish their characters, said makeup artist Devon Hunt ’23.
Further, Biancosino pondered how to bring otherness on stage in novel ways. Her most daring redesign was to use a multilingual approach including German, Spanish, Mandarin, Bengali, ASL and others. Indeed, what’s a more Middlebury thing to do than showcasing students’ linguistic talents? This was at times disorienting. As the Lavender Woman (Nuasheen Chowdhury ’22) began speaking Bengali, evident gasps among audiences reveal how some felt utterly lost. But the value of this approach lies in its ability to force audiences to move pass literal meanings, and propel the audience to look at otherness in a uniquely Middlebury way.
The actors were able to bring this complicated show together in a short seven weeks, and they each contributed their unique understanding of its message to the performance. Director Biancosino allowed a great deal of freedom for actors when exploring their characters.
“As an actor, I had to let go of my dependence on rationality and logic in order to fully engage with and find meaning in this play’s poetic and visceral language,” Gabby Valdivieso ’20 (tattoo artist) said. In order to develop her character, she “explored the history of how women with tattoos have been perceived — from tattooed women put on display as sideshow attractions to tattoos not aligning with conventional ideas of femininity to feminist beliefs in empowerment and body ownership.” In a similar way, Madeline Ciocci ’20 (Agave) said her character “has a complete shift at the end of the play, where she gets primal and animalistic, and afterwards, she seems like a totally different person. She is much more real and raw at the end." In order to best present such a drastic shift, she is conscious of her postures, language and how she interacts with other characters.
The actors’ diligent inputs led to commends among audiences. The intensity of the play left many in awe as they leave the studio. There was so much to grab the audience’s attention and people were invariably drawn to different things: as some focused on the image of blossoming rose on the backdrop, some looked at the chatty Bacchae aside and others stared at the musician.
Bair Lambert ’22, who played a supporting role in the play, said days before the play that he hoped audiences would walk out thinking “What the f**k!” I certainly felt that way, and many around me concurred. “The Bacchae 2.1” was not a narrative, nor a story, but an experience, an utterly intense one that impels deep reflections about otherness.
(11/07/19 11:01am)
With the 2020 presidential campaigns heating up over the course of this school year, many students and staff at Middlebury are already thinking about how to promote voting within the campus community.
As part of this effort, the NESCAC Votes summit convened at Middlebury’s Bread Loaf campus in Ripton during the last weekend of October. Designed in collaboration with the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, a nationwide non-profit organization designed to help colleges and universities increase voter turnout, students and staff from eight of the 11 NESCAC schools gathered to develop strategies for the 2020 presidential election cycle.
As part of a tightly-packed two-day schedule, delegates from across New England participated in workshops, learned from peers at other institutions and reflected on ways to increase civic engagement on their own campuses.
The idea for the summit emerged during the summer of 2018 from collaborations between staff at Middlebury, Bowdoin, and the staff at the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. This effort culminated in President Laurie Patton and Bowdoin President Clayton Rose issuing an invitation to other NESCAC presidents to participate in a conference-wide challenge, the goal of which is for each school to increase its student voting participation rate by 11 points to reach a 64% voting average in the 2020 presidential election.
President Laurie Patton stressed the importance of democratic participation in an academic environment in a statement to the Center for Community Engagement.
“Preparing students for engagement in the issues of our day is central to the educational mission of our institutions,” she said. “NESCAC Votes is a meaningful partnership that allows us to build on our collective institutional strengths and collaborate to deepen civic learning and engagement within our individual campuses.”
In one breakout session on college-specific data during the summit, participants examined reports generated by NSLVE (National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement), which is conducted by the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education at Tufts University. The reports broke down voting rates at each school by race, gender, academic major and other demographics.
The report for Middlebury’s 2014 and 2018 midterm elections shows that although 51% of eligible Middlebury students voted last year, a large ethnic and racial disparity exists in voter participation. According to the report, 50% of white students and 44.2% of students of two or more races voted, but participation dropped to 35.0% for Hispanic students, 24.3% for black students and 20.8% for Asian students.
Participants at the summit reflected on factors that contribute to this disparity. One participant suggested reaching out to on-campus affinity groups and college resources — such as PALANA House and the Anderson Freeman Resource Center — to better understand the barriers that marginalised students face.
Although Middlebury’s overall voting rate surpasses that of many peer institutions, the data is slightly misleading. Middlebury’s overall voting rate jumped from 15% in 2014 to 51% in 2018, which is greater than a national increase in student voting from 19.3% to 40.3% in the same period, but this percentage also includes graduate students at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterrey (MIIS). Because of the data collection method used, which intentionally prevents NSLVE from receiving personally-identifiable information about students, the study cannot analyse data from the college without including MIIS.
During the summit, participants also discussed ways in which faculty can better engage with politics in their classes and contribute to a safer campus climate for all students. One person said that professors should closely consider the language they use in political conversations. Instead of expressing complete neutrality, professors should prepare to facilitate a political discussion in case one arises during a class. Many students recalled experiences in which professors avoided engaging with politics in their classes, which students felt was unproductive because every subject has public and civic relevance.
Participants also discussed technical barriers to voting that students face, and ways to better address them. Students at NESCAC schools often reside out of state and wish to vote in their home states, which presents logistical challenges for volunteers at registration drives. Nearly one-third of Middlebury College voters voted absentee or by mail in 2018, and many students are also unsure how to navigate the absentee voting process.
Ashley Laux ’06, program director at the Center for Community Engagement, said that she plans to continue to support student leaders working to promote campus culture of voting and help students navigate various absentee ballot systems.
“MiddVote and the CCE will continue to lower technical barriers to voting by sharing information about voting laws and processes to students,” Laux said in an email to The Campus. “I hope that more central campus processes can include encouragement to register to vote or request absentee ballots.”
On day two of the summit, students divided into breakout groups for peer-led discussions and reflected on the goals, strategies and organizational structures central to their on-campus voter engagement efforts. Questions such as, “Do the members of your group mostly hold similar or different identities than you?” provoked discussion on the importance of including diverse identities in get-out-the-vote efforts. Students also highlighted weaknesses in their respective on-campus efforts and identified solutions to remedy them.
“My biggest take-away from the event is that we can all do our work better with a strong network,” Laux said. “I learned so much from students, staff, and administrators at Middlebury and the other NESCAC schools. I hope to continue to be in touch across NESCAC as we all work to strengthen our democratic engagement efforts in the lead-up to the 2020 election.”
Participants left the summit having developed an action plan for their schools. As one of its long-term goals, students at MiddVote hope to demystify the voting process and stress the importance of civic participation by developing resources for professors and students alike.
(11/07/19 11:00am)
“Bojack Horseman” is a show so wholly unlike anything else being made today that it demands immediate viewership. The wacky, zany and often nonsensical show, birthed from the insatiably creative mind of Raphael Bob-Waksber, uses the boundless medium of animation to discuss what is not often discussed honestly: ourselves. The human condition is constantly commented upon, yet somehow this show about an animated horse seems to be the closest to capturing the spirit of life of any show currently airing. The final season of the show has been split into two parts, each containing eight episodes. “Bojack Horseman” season six part II will be released January 2020.
Season six picks up right where it left off, reflecting on Bojack’s (Will Arnett) lowest moment, when the destructiveness of his alcoholism and drug-abuse spilt over to those he held closest. Bojack built his fame in a Full House-esque sitcom called “Horsin’ Around” wherein he played parent to a daughter played by actress Sarah Lynn (Kristen Schaal). As a child actress, Sarah Lynn fell victim to abuse like Bojack turned to a life of drug-abuse. While dealing with his own various self-abuse and drug-abuse problems, Bojack led Sarah Lynn on a wild bender that left her wordlessly passing away in a planetarium. In a show of constant chatter, where it is common to find characters speaking in precisely intricate rhyming sentences, this moment of silence stands apart. Bojack and viewers alike sat in stunned silence at the visual manifestation of his harmful ways, fully internalizing the pain of the moment. Sarah Lynn’s death runs vividly throughout the season, imbuing each and every moment with the weight of this trauma.
At the end of season five, Bojack checked himself into a rehab clinic for his alcoholism and drug-abuse, and though he finds himself flourishing in the clinic community, after six months of treatment he finds himself fearful of re-entering the world he once knew, where the strength of his will would be the only thing keeping him from returning to his self-destructive ways. Unlike previous seasons, which looked back on the past with reminiscent idealism, season six looks at the present as a manifestation of the past, and uses it to try to reconcile with the enormity of Bojack’s’ prior mistakes.
In many ways, season six follows Bojack on his ascension of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, first trying to understand the locus of his alcoholism, last trying to make amends with himself and with those around him. With every new episode, viewers are greeted with some earlier rendition of Bojack’s first drink, attempting to find the moment that propelled him in his downward spiral. First, it was after catching his father cheating on his mother with the secretary, then we are told his first drink occurred even earlier, after finding both of his parents passed out after a party, and finally it falling on a later date, when he drinks to cope with the stress of being the face of a popular sitcom. Yet it doesn’t matter which scenario is in fact his first drink, because it is precisely the fact that each drink was precipitated by trauma that is understood to be the problem. Alcohol is often used to treat one’s inner trauma, yet it often results in a myriad of more troubling and destructive situations.
In order to pass step eight of Alcoholics Anonymous, one must make amends to all the persons harmed through the course of alcoholism, and during the course of the season Bojack attempts to seek out all the people in his life who have been affected by his illness. Bojack has always blamed his illness on those around him, using the generous spirits of those who care for him as stilts to keep his head above water, yet now he understands that, in raising himself up, he was also pushing them down. By blaming his alcoholism on others, Bojack continually denied himself change, for substantive change can only come from within. Change is difficult and real change harder still. In seeking out the objects of his abuse, Bojack is constantly greeted by woe and regret. Season six reminds Bojack that the past cannot be rewritten and one simply cannot change what has already happened. He can only beg for forgiveness and hope to retain some of what he once had.
Part I of season six strikes at the epicenter of Bojack’s alcoholism, treating both himself and the viewer through therapy and rehab. “Bojack Horseman” remains one of the few shows that can find its characters delivering a 30 second lyrical rhyming summary one moment and a deeply heartfelt and pathetic monologue the next. There simply isn’t any show quite as outlandish in its methodology, yet it challenges even the best dramas to match is empathetic appeal. “Bojack Horseman” season six finds Bojack struggling for genuineness in his remorse and forgiveness in his friends. Sobering up, both literally and spiritually, is extraordinarily difficult and no show allows its character to fail quite like “Bojack Horseman” does. With part II around the corner, fans of the show, much like the characters within it, sit in a state of gleeful anticipation and sorrowful dread for what the future holds for Bojack and his friends.
(11/07/19 10:58am)
This recurring column will feature updates from SLG. This week’s column comes from Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Baishakhi Taylor.
What makes us Middlebury? What is it? For the last four years I’ve felt it and I know it. It’s not a single thing or a special event or basketball (which was the case at the institution where I went to school) or even the incredible beauty of our surroundings here. To me, what makes us Middlebury is our relation to each other, which can grow over four years and often lasts a lifetime. What makes us Middlebury is how we live together in times of challenge and times of celebration. How we will live together moving forward must reflect the best of our past traditions while evolving to acknowledge the realities of the present and our hopes for Middlebury’s future.
Today, I write to all of you about the process of How We Will Live Together (HWWLT), the comprehensive review of Middlebury’s residential experience with the goals of:
- Helping us understand one of the major systems that influences our community
- Identifying how this system contributes to what is uniquely Middlebury - Committing to grow in areas where we need to evolve
I want to thank our Community Council for raising this question —how will we live together? — and for reminding me that this is a question we should ask ourselves earnestly and often. In spring 2018 a group of students, staff, and faculty, led by Professor Rob Moeller and Dean Derek Doucet, took a deep dive to answer this question through surveys, focus groups, and interviews with members of the community. This was immediately followed by an external review led by four colleagues from: Carleton College, Connecticut College, Kenyon College and Rice University. The final recommendations describe a pathway to living and growing together in the 21st century.
Our students (you) have told us and we have heard clearly that you want to live in close community; appreciate the support of your student residential life staff and deans; seek a more engaged, connective, and fun social life. Recommendations to improve and build on our strengths for the future include maintaining first year student residential communities and the four-year student relationship with deans; centralizing residential life into one office to increase communication and support. The final set of recommendations also emphasizes our need for providing consistent and professional support for student staff including raising their compensation.
We also heard your concerns about growing need for support, equitable access to programming, and resources across the residential system that extends beyond the first year. Space dedicated to students or lack of it, also plays an important role in our shared experience. While we might not have a perfect answer, we can only begin to address them through acknowledgement and change. As we develop the plans for a new student center and a new residential hall in relation to Battell renovations, your feedback and input will be essential.
Lastly, we have heard students’ call for engaged learning experiences and supportive academic relationships both within and outside of the classroom. Recent Gallup data from 2019 confirm what you have told us. You are looking for mentorship, research and capstone projects, and experiential learning opportunities, including internships. We are committed to supporting all of you and keep your aspirations at the heart of Middlebury. While no changes are being made to our first-year seminar program, including housing first-year seminar classmates together in community, we are asking our faculty colleagues to reimagine and assess some of the ways we have learned together in the past. Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Sujata Moorti will be engaging faculty during the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year to explore ways for faculty to engage with students outside of the classroom. Community Council will have open sessions to gather students’ ideas on their expectations and interest in faculty engagement.
In my time here I have come to realize that what makes us Middlebury is us, and our ability to ask questions that matter, to adapt, and evolve in ways that bring us closer and enable a community to thrive. We are and have always been a dynamic institution that evolved and grew to meet the needs of our students. On the path ahead we will nurture a living-learning community based on the best of our traditions and the best work we can do to ascertain what we aspire to become in the future. This is how we will live together, now.
(11/07/19 10:56am)
I often wind up at the mouth of the Mediterranean on Sunday nights. The 30 minute walk from my apartment to Mar Bella beach was the first route I memorized. As someone who scoffs at google maps but has possibly the worst sense of direction ever, this was a symbolic feat. Despite leaving a permanent trail of sand through my cramped apartment, my weekly chats with the sea have become grounding rituals and have marked my time in Barcelona.
My first Rosh Hashanah away from Vermont, I ate apples and honey at the beach. When a friend visited last month, I insisted we plunge into the ocean before catching the last train home. And, it has become my preferred place to call my mom, meet new friends, or star gaze.
I spent my first night at the beach during La Mercè, a week long festival that celebrates Catalan culture and traditional art. As one of three international students at Eolia Conservatory of Dramatic Art, La Mercè was the perfect introduction to Barcelona. Celebrating with my Catalan classmates gave me a deep appreciation for my temporary home, a city that is bursting with culture and beauty.
After watching a dance show outside the Arc de Triomf and scarfing down a plate of patatas bravas — crispy potatoes and aioli (in other words, my current replacement for Grille fries), my class headed to Mar Bella. We put down our blankets and began an obligatory “get to know you” round of Spanglish “never have I ever.” But after several calimochos (a surprisingly tolerable combination of cheap red wine and Coca Cola), the conversation turned more serious. My classmates’ love for Catalonia is contagious, but they also fear for its future and the state of democracy in Spain.
Catalonia has a complicated political history, fraught with oppression and cultural silencing. As Spain’s financial crisis has pushed Catalonia into debt, the desire to secede has become urgent. Catalonia generates tremendous revenue for Spain (at least relative to its size) and many feel that the partnership between the region and the country is unequal. In 2017, Catalan Seperatist leaders held an independence referendum, and 90% voted to cut ties with Spain. However, the referendum saw low voter turnout, and was deemed illegal by the central Spanish government. Madrid imposed direct rule over Catalonia, and protest erupted in response. In 2017, nine Catalan leaders (charged for rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds) were detained for pre-trial. My classmates explained that this was a breach of laws protecting free speech. Thus ensued a fight to defend democracy in Spain, rather than simply an argument over Separatism.
Several weeks ago, the nine Catalan leaders were sentenced to 100 cumulative years in prison. The news broke during my Monday morning Shakespeare seminar. Mentally, I had left class 15 minutes prior and was silently rehearsing a scene for my next class. I snapped to attention when news alert pings dominoed through the classroom. Democracy had been challenged and Barcelona’s political climate would change indefinitely. Protests began immediately, rendering my internal scene study trivial. Classes halted the 72 hours preceding a general strike. Students led the movement, staging demonstrations on an unprecedented scale. That week trash cans burned around my block, as marching continued through the night and helicopters flew overhead.
With classes canceled, I had time to fill. I protested with my classmates, at their request. But I also drank coffee with international friends, among whom the political crisis became background noise. Inhabiting these two seemingly different worlds has been confusing, and raised questions about my role as a foreigner. Though a fight for democracy is at the heart of the movement, it feels complex to march along seas of Catalan flags, far from the security of home. Still, disengaging from the conflict is impossible when smoke spirals toward my window and sirens scream through the night.
The beach became eerily quiet the week of heavy protesting. I wish I could say the silence has given way to profound personal discovery, or that a higher calling has led me to fight for democracy and change. I haven’t settled on anything that concrete yet. But, I have come to realize that outside isolated communities (like Middlebury) there is no place for apathy.
To enjoy Catalonia’s beaches, I must also try to understand the needs of its people.
My class celebrated our friend’s birthday at Mar Bella last weekend. The scene echoed the night of La Mercè, and it momentarily felt like life had returned to normal since the sentencing. But in the midst of political revolution, there is no “normal.” The protests have altered the quality of life in Barcelona. Though the political current of the city has become less predictable, I still feel constantly grateful to be here. Catalonia’s beauty warrants a fight. Although I still don’t have answers about my personal role in the struggle right now, I do know my heart is with the Catalan youth who are brave, ready for change and willing to fight for it.
Becca Berlind is a member of the class of 2021. She is studying in Barçelona, Spain for the fall of 2019.
(11/07/19 10:04am)
What do we want in downtown Middlebury? How can we make it a place where everyone feels comfortable? These are questions that the Town of Middlebury’s Planapalooza aims to answer. Planapalooza is a part of the Middlebury Downtown Master Planning project, an initiative led by the Middlebury Planning Commission and Town Planner. The lead consultant and facilitator for the project is Town Planning and Urban Design Collaborative (TPUDC), a firm that works nationwide and is based in Franklin, Tenn.
From Nov. 7–11, community members will have the opportunity to participate in multiple events, designed to solicit input for the master plan for the downtown area. These four days can be considered what has been called a charrette process — an intense period of design or planning activity. “We’re trying to focus people’s attention on visual renderings and maps to get them thinking about how their vision translates to paper,” said Middlebury’s Director of Planning and Zoning Jennifer Murray. “What they start with the first night should look substantially different to the last night if everyone is participating.”
When the urban design consultants are in Middlebury, they will be holding a variety of hands-on events to involve community members in the process. These include three presentations: an opening talk on Thursday, Nov. 7 from 6–8 p.m. in the town offices; a public pin-up and review presentation on Saturday, Nov. 9 from 5:30–7 p.m. at the Congregational Church in town; and a closing presentation on Monday, Nov. 11 from 6–7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall Theater. In addition to these main events, there will be three focus group meetings on stormwater, multimodal transportation and sustainability scattered throughout the weekend. Community members can also attend open studio hours throughout the four-day period in the Bundle space on 51 Main St. All events are open to the public.
Compared to some other towns in Vermont, Murray said Middlebury has a healthy urban growth. “Our efforts are mostly focused on infill development — creating bridgework in the town and filling in individual spaces with additional potential,” she said.
At the end of the four days, all stakeholder groups will help produce recommendations for the town’s master plan. Visual renderings and an illustrative master plan map will form the basis for attracting developers to downtown Middlebury.
Murray emphasized the fluid nature of the planning process and the need for community input.
“We don’t want to look like Winooski. We want to look like Middlebury,” she said. “But what does that mean to people?”
Murray also drew attention to the role college students play in the community, as the tagline of the project is “making a place for everyone.” “This is your chance to make a difference,” she said.
(10/31/19 10:28am)
CROSS COUNTRY
BY JORDAN HOWELL
Before having this past weekend to rest, the Middlebury cross country teams competed in the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 19. The women finished in sixth place, while the men took fifth place.
The top finisher for the women was Cassie Kearney ’22 as she captured ninth place with a time of 21:41.7. Next up for the Panthers was Talia Ruxin ’20 whose time of 22:09.2 got her twenty-second place. Next for the Panthers was Meg Wilson ’20 who came in twenty-ninth place with a time of 22:18.9.
For the men, Theo Henderson ’20 had a time of 24:50.0 which netted him seventh place. Henry Fleming ’20 was able to finish in twenty-ninth place as he ended with a time of 25:21.5. Another important finisher was Quin McGaugh ’22; a time of 25:40.8 got him fifty-first place.
Up next for the Panthers are the championship meets. This starts with the NESCAC Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2.
FOOTBALL
BY LAUREN BOYD
Head Coach Bob Ritter attained his 100th career win this past Saturday at, as the Middlebury Panthers extended their undefeated run, improving their record to 7-0. Ritter had also recorded his first win at the same stadium against the Polar Bears in September 2001. Middlebury dominated for most of the contest, starting off the game with a 21-0 run in the first quarter.
Ritter’s 100th win began with a 45-yard touchdown run from freshman Alex Maldjian to open the scoring for the game. QB Wil Jernigan quickly followed with his own rushing touchdown from 23-yards out, after the Polar Bears went 3 and out on their response. With less than a minute left in the first quarter, Jernigan connected with Maxim Bochman ’20 for a 21-0 lead.
While Bowdoin was only able to put one touchdown on the board before half, the Panthers responded with another 7 points of their own, making the halftime score 28-7. By the end of the third quarter, the Panthers tagged on another unanswered 13 points.
The Polar Bears found their groove at the end of the game, but could not put enough points to catch the Panthers. They decreased their deficit by 22 points, and by the end of the contest, the Panthers took home the victory, 47-29.
Next weekend, Middlebury will play the Hamilton Continentals (4-3), who most recently defeated the Tufts Jumbos (3-4), Middlebury’s last competition for the season.
Looking forward, offensive lineman Kevin Woodring ‘20 says the team is focusing on improving the little things, in order to see big results at the end of the season.
“I said this back at the beginning of the season, but the main focus, still, is that we have to be able to do the little things right. It may sound simple, yet it makes or breaks a game. We’re not a team to blow our opponent off the field; we’re a gritty, mentally tough and hard working team that grinds out wins,” Wooddring said, “In order to keep going 1-0, we have to continue to do the little things right. Right now, Hamilton is the best team on our schedule adn we have to do everything we can this week to be extremely well-prepared so that we come out and play a great game on Saturday.”
WOMEN'S SOCCER
BY HEATHER BOEHM
Women’s soccer wrapped up their regular season with strong NESCAC play against Tufts on Saturday, Oct. 26 and Williams on Tuesday, Oct. 29. The Panthers triumphed on the road against the Jumbos, sneaking the only goal in within the last few breaths of the contest. The women were able to hold off the Ephs 0-0 in a physical national championship rematch.
Despite 10th-ranked Tufts’ home field advantage, Middlebury held its own. The women had their share of opportunities, finding six shots on goal to the Jumbo’s five.
The defense protected the net, with senior goalie Ursula Alwang refusing to give the hosts any hope. With just under two and a half minutes of play, it was senior captain Virginia Charman who led her team to victory, nailing a shot past the Tufts goalie off of a free kick from sophomore Ellie Bavier.
After a hard-fought game, the Panthers quickly regrouped for Tuesday’s hyped rematch. The women played a brutally physical game, that ultimately ended in silence.
Charman commented on the team’s season. “It was a very successful season and we are really excited to build on our success,” said Charman. “We are pumped to get another opportunity to face the same teams we have been competing against in the postseason.”
This nearly perfect regular season play will give the Panthers the second seed in the conference tournament next weekend. Middlebury missed the top seed by a half of a point to Tufts.
Charman discussed the team’s mantra and mindset going into the postseason. “Our motto is to go ‘1-0’ every game, so that we can focus on each game no matter who we are playing. We do this so we don’t overlook any opponent or get too far ahead of ourselves.”
MEN'S TENNIS
BY JACK KAGAN
After making an impressive run to the finals in the International Tennis Association (ITA) New England regional tournament, Panther sophomore Stanley Morris punched a ticket to the ITA Cup that took place from Thursday, Oct. 17–19 at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga. The draw was packed with the regional finalists and champions hailing from top schools like Case Western Reserve, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS), Emory College and Kenyon College.
Morris, unseeded, shined once again, breaking through to the finals after notching wins against four-star recruit first-year James Hopper of Case Western Reserve and former five-star Jack Katzman of CMS, who was seeded third in the contest.
The final saw Morris up against familiar NESCAC competition: Boris Sorkin, Tufts’ standout junior from Russia who has been causing trouble for the Panthers ever since his arrival in Medford in 2017. Sorkin finished last spring ranked ninth in all of Division III tennis, just two behind former Panthers star Lubomir Cuba ’19. Last spring, no other Panthers cracked the top 50 on this list.
Morris came up just short in the final, taking the fourth-seeded Sorkin to a third set. A tight loss a first set tiebreak led to some momentum as Morris notched a second set win before falling in the third. Morris and the Panthers have to be proud of such a run, which should bode well for the spring and the future of Middlebury tennis.
Back in New England, the rest of the team played in the Bryant Fall Invitational in Smithfield, R.I. in the last competition of the fall. David Vilys ’22, Zach Hilty ’22, and Aleks Samets ’20 all grabbed two wins in the singles contest and will hope to break into the new-look lineup come springtime.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
BY MIGUEL ESPINOSA
Women’s Tennis concluded the Fall portion of their season by hosting the Middlebury Invitational on Oct. 18-20. The invitational featured Amherst, Brandeis and Williams and took place at the outdoor and indoor tennis courts on campus. The invitational didn’t crown a champion since the format involved teams playing each other in either singles or doubles.
On Friday, all Panther pairs won their doubles matches against Williams. Katherine Hughes ’20 and Skylar Schossberger ’20 sealed victory with an 8-6 set, Catherine Blayze ’20 and Brinlea La Barge ’23 won 8-6, and Maddie Stow ’20 and Amanda Frank ’23 notched a win, scoring 8-4.
Saturday also proved to be a successful day. Against Brandeis, La Barge and Blayze captured a victory at 8-2 and Ruhi Kamdar ’22 and Caitlin Neal ’23 won 8-7. Hughes, La Barge, Schossberger and Frank each tallied wins in singles matches against Williams.
Finally, on Sunday, Stow and Heather Boehm ’20 grabbed an 8-2 doubles victory against Amherst. The Panthers also won all five their singles against Brandeis.
VOLLEYBALL
BY HEATHER BOEHM
This past weekend women’s volleyball fought a tough battle for their seniors at home, but ultimately the women came up just short in their efforts, falling 3-0 to top-15 ranked Tufts. Despite the loss, Saturday was filled with teary-eyed celebrations of the three graduating seniors, Chellsa Ferdinand, Gigi Alper, and Beth Neal.
Tufts came out with a fiery start, dominating the first set right from the first serve. Middlebury showed resilience as the set continued, with flashes of brilliance on defense from Alper, who has preserved her high-ranking number of digs per set. She rounded out the weekend with a solid mark of 5.64, landing her a second place slot in the conference.
In the second set, the Panther offense began to find their stride. Sophomore Maggie Wise made her presence known with 10 kills, with her sophomore teammate Corley Doyle following close behind with 9. Wise, too, topped the conference leaderboards, finishing up the weekend with 3.10 kills per set, adding up to 220 on the season, earning her fourth place in each category. Tufts was able to overcome these impressive performances and steal the first set with a two-point margin. The Jumbos capitalized on their momentum and picked up the following set to close out the contest.
The women still have time left in their season to avenge their NESCAC loss. The Panthers will look to pounce when they travel to Williams on Friday, Nov. 1 and Hamilton on Saturday, Nov. 2 to close out their regular season play.
FIELD HOCKEY
BY MIGUEL ESPINOSA
First-ranked Field Hockey suffered its first loss of the season at sixth-ranked Tufts, 1-0, on Saturday, Oct. 26th. The Panthers’ 20-game winning streak, which had been extended since last season, has ended. Middlebury’s overall record drops to 13-1 and is tied for first in the NESCAC with Bowdoin. Tufts, meanwhile, maintains the second-best overall record at 13-2 and is tied with Williams.
Middlebury also notched close victories against Trinity and St. John Fisher, 3-2 and 2-1, on Oct. 19th and Oct. 20th, respectively. For their final regular season game on Tuesday, Oct. 29th, the Panthers downed Williams, 2-1.
MEN'S SOCCER
BY ERIK ARVIDSSON
Men’s soccer lost at reigning national champion Tufts, 2-1, on Saturday, Oct. 26. The first score of the game came in the 63rd minute when Drew Goulart ’20 gave the Panthers the lead on a free kick. While the Panthers fought hard to keep Tufts out of the back of the net, Jumbos forward Gavin Tasker scored the equalizing goal with 10 minutes left in regulation, thus extending the match into overtime. Tufts scored the walkoff goal in the eight minute and gave Panthers their second loss of the season.
Regardless of Tufts prowess on the national stage, the loss hurt for the Panthers. “Even though you’re going up against one of the top teams in the country, it was a back and forth fight, both teams had our chances, so it was a disappointing result,” said captain Aidan Robinson ’20.
The Panthers hosted their final regular season game on Tuesday, October 29th against Williams and tied in double overtime. Middlebury’s conference record now stands at three wins, two losses and five ties.
(10/31/19 10:05am)
After wrapping up the college's year-long workforce planning initiative this May, a process that saw 37 staff members take voluntary buyouts and caused a redistribution of workload among remaining staff, administrators announced via email to all college employees that the process had been a success — Middlebury could reduce its deficit without resorting to layoffs.
But an external email sent to facilities staff on Aug. 8 suggests the starkly different story, that some workers didn’t think workforce planning had been so “voluntary” after all.
“Middlebury Needs a UNION! -read on your break” the subject line of the email said.
It spelled out some of the pitfalls of the workforce planning process: Staff felt voiceless, overworked with insufficient pay, and as though the ground had been pulled from beneath them when they were offered buyouts and switched into new roles. Facilities staff specifically — those who work in maintenance and operations jobs, like custodial and groundskeeping services, as well as jobs in planning, design and construction — have reported to The Campus feeling exhausted and frustrated by failures in communication, too-long hours and last minute call-ins.
“I don’t know a bunch about unions — still don’t,” one facilities staff member said. “But I know the way that people get treated here. I’ve seen it. I just feel like we’ve got to do something.”
Throughout the summer, the email’s sender, David Van Deusen of the Rutland-based branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), met with facilities staff who sought to discuss how organizing a union would mitigate the heightened voicelessness brought on by the workforce planning process.
Not enough facilities staff have signed union authorization cards to trigger a vote to organize. Many said they see this as a sign that union efforts have failed. But Van Deusen remains adamant that efforts are ongoing. And facilities staff are insistent that something has to give.
Most of the 12 facilities workers The Campus spoke with for the story spoke on the condition of anonymity, for fear of retribution from peers and upper management.
Workforce planning raises “unanswered questions”
Most Middlebury students don’t know what workforce planning really means. But for staff, the process — which the college announced in June 2018 as a way to cut personnel costs and distribute work more efficiently — was ever-present for the better part of a year.
Department managers were tasked last fall with leading discussions within their divisions about how they could reorganize work more efficiently and cost-effectively, with the aim of shrinking staff compensation costs by 10% amidst an exigent budget deficit. That winter, senior leadership, in collaboration with human resources, finalized a list of positions that they would cut based on those findings.
The college identified 150 staff positions to be eliminated, though 100 of that number were “were already vacant through attrition and restrictions on re-hiring over the last few years,” The Campus reported in May. In February of 2019, the college handed out applications for buyouts — formally called Incentivized Separation Plans (ISP) — to 79 staff members, in hopes of cutting 45 of the remaining positions. Twenty-eight of those applications were offered to facilities and dining staff specifically.
The college sent more applications for the buyouts than were necessary, in the hopes that enough staff would elect to take them and the college would not have to resort to involuntary layoffs. If more staff than necessary applied, the most senior staff were offered buyouts first.
The college also created “close to 40” new staff positions based on needs identified during work reevaluations, according to Vice President of Human Resources Karen Miller. Applications for those positions were first made available to the staff who were offered buyouts, giving them the option to apply to stay at the college, rather than taking ISPs. To protect the privacy of the individuals who opted to take buyouts, the college has not made public the list of eliminated and added positions.
Ultimately, 37 staff took the buyouts, nine of whom were employees within facilities and dining. The college had hoped more staff would apply, but the number proved sufficient — the college did not have to resort to layoffs.
“This process has been both lengthy and challenging, and caused many in our community significant uncertainty and discomfort,” said President Laurie Patton in a May email to staff. “Thanks to your participation, the process was successful.”
Last year, The Campus reported growing anxieties among staff as they waited to hear from the administration about the futures of their jobs. For staff in some departments — like dining, in which a natural reduction of positions left few to be forcibly cut — these uncertainties have since mostly subsided. But in facilities, anxieties have subsisted. In some cases, they have worsened.
“There were a lot of unanswered questions. There still are a lot of unanswered questions,” said one Middlebury facilities staff member, a supporter of the union.
A 2017 survey, administered by the consulting firm ModernThink, shows that staff discontent surged even before workforce planning began. That survey showed frustration with communication from the Senior Leadership Group — Patton’s 17-member advisory council — a lack of transparency with decision-making and dissatisfaction with compensation, among other areas.
Still, workforce planning seems to have exacerbated many staff concerns. Some, for example, are frustrated with how work has been redistributed since some positions were cut, which has caused employees to feel overworked and underpaid.
“The work amped up with fewer people to do it,” said the aforementioned facilities staff member. “A lot of the extra stuff is taking away from the stuff that we need to do daily.”
The worker said he was frustrated with what he felt was a murky process. Decisions about the “voluntary” process were often made behind closed doors, he said, and the redistribution of work showed a lack of understanding about the work being done. “There was nothing voluntary about it,” he said.
Norm Cushman, vice president for operations, said communication can be a challenge in a department with so many workers. “It would have been very difficult to have solicited everyone’s input,” he said.
Cushman said the process of work redistribution will play out piecemeal, as employees who took buyouts gradually leave the college and their departments develop strategies for how to “do less with less.”
Low pay forces employees who work two jobs into a “balancing act”
The Campus has previously reported low wages as a source of dissatisfaction among employees. Separately, pro-union staff who spoke to The Campus said low wages were a major reason they sought to organize.
Many employees have to hold multiple jobs to survive. That balancing act, another facilities employee said, can become incredibly burdensome when workloads at the college are also increased in light of workforce planning. When many facilities staff did not show up to work after an unexpectedly severe snowstorm last year, for example, administrators questioned staff priorities.
“We had a meeting with a manager who was extremely unhappy because a lot of people weren’t here helping,” the employee said. “He told us that if we had second jobs, we needed to not go in and instead had to come in and shovel.”
The college has consistently framed workforce planning as a way to make staff feel more invested in the future of the institution. But according to staff, it doesn’t always feel like that.
“Yeah, you could say workforce planning is for us, because now [the college is] financially sustainable,” said Staff Council President Tim Parsons. “But if you’re only making $12.07 an hour and your shift in the custodial wing starts at 4 a.m., workforce planning doesn’t really feel like it’s for you.”
These low wages have led to shortages in some areas, like custodial and recycling services. To address these shortages, the college is currently spearheading a compensation review with an external consulting group. The aim of the study is to gather “market data” — information that will indicate what the college needs to pay going forward to make itself a competitive employer.
David Provost, executive vice president for finance and administration, said the college is undertaking the review now because it has been nearly a decade since the last one of its kind. He also said that the college has seen increased turnover in the last two years in positions within the lowest two pay bands, in which many facilities positions fall. Wages for OP1 positions — for example, some dining hall servery positions — begin at $11 an hour, while OP2 positions — including some groundsworking and custodial jobs — begin at $12.07 an hour.
Meanwhile, staff spoke about how comparable positions in town had wages that started three or four dollars higher, although without comparable benefits. Separately, custodians told The Campus that hiring shortages in custodial services might be due to the high costs of living in Addison County, costs which workers on an OP2-level budget are often not able to shoulder.
“We know over the last 18 to 24 months it has been more difficult to attract and retain OP1 and OP2 level positions,” Provost said. “If the review suggests we need to increase these salaries, then we will.” He added that the decision would have to be contingent on timing and availability of financial resources.
The college had to tackle workforce planning before the compensation review, Provost said, because addressing its financial management had to be a fiscal priority, given the severity of the deficit.
Provost said he is expecting the study’s data to show that the college should pay its OP1- and OP2-level employees higher wages. The study is set to be done by the spring. At that time, the administration will begin to work its findings into the budget for the 2021 fiscal year.
“A slap in the face”
The college did not officially lay off any employees. Some felt the offers they received backed them into corners anyway.
One employee, a servery worker who has been at the college for 31 years, said her situation felt like “a slap in the face.” She was previously employed in a facilities office job before her position was cut.
[pullquote speaker="" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]At the college, seniority has never meant anything. I’ve been here 31 years — I’m a loyal worker, have always been on time, never been sick. Didn’t matter at all.[/pullquote]
Even though she shared a similar workload with the two other employees in her previous office, she had a different job title from her co-workers and hers was the only position that was cut. In other offices, where multiple workers held the same positions, the process was more “voluntary,” since one worker’s choice to take a buyout or job transfer meant others could refuse.
The servery worker was, as multiple staff members put it, “workforce planned.”
“At the college, seniority has never meant anything,” the employee said. “I’ve been here 31 years — I’m a loyal worker, have always been on time, never been sick. Didn’t matter at all.”
The staff member was informed by supervisors that her position would be cut toward the end of that phase in the process. But she couldn’t afford to take the buyout package the college was offering. The staff member instead applied for several of the then-newly-created positions posted on a private portal. Many of the available job postings required degrees, she said. “I don’t have a college degree,” she said. “Doesn’t mean I didn’t have the qualifications — I didn’t have the degree.”
All jobs for which she was eligible required higher levels of physical activity than she was used to. After working at a desk for so many years, the transition to a job that requires her to carry heavy loads and stand for hours at a time has taken a toll. Last week, she suffered a workplace injury.
Contacted by AFSCME while she was still in a facilities position, the staff member attended initial meetings and supported the effort to unionize. She said she would support unionization among facilities staff, even in her new role, “Because you’d have someone else looking out for you besides the people who are higher up here,” she said. “They expect the lowest paid people here to work the hardest.”
Despite low wages, staff like the servery worker identified the benefits the college offers to its faculty and staff as exceptional in comparison with other positions in the area. Among them are good healthcare, extensive retirement plans and paid time off, as well as discounts at some stores, free gym passes and roadside assistance.
“If it was not for the benefits, 90% of these facilities people would not be here,” the first facilities employee said.
“Benefits here are a lot better than what you would find anywhere else around here,” said the other. “But I can’t go down to Hannaford and buy groceries with my benefits.”
“Middlebury Needs a UNION!”
Van Deusen, the union rep and the president of the Vermont American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), said he was contacted by facilities employees over the summer about starting a union.
While some staff concerns, like low pay and abrupt, last-minute shift scheduling, have been prevalent for a long time, Van Deusen believes this round of workforce planning catalyzed the staff’s outreach.
After their first meetings in Ilsley Public Library in July, Van Deusen said he was in contact with “dozens of facilities staff.” At subsequent off-campus gatherings, he spoke with interested parties about what the union could offer them. Many were intrigued.
One of the facilities workers told The Campus he “absolutely” supports the formation of a union, “Mainly for pay. And also, to have a voice.” He cited the workforce planning process as a period during which he felt particularly left in the dark by his superiors.
The servery worker said she would be in favor of a facilities union, “because of the seniority part of it. And to negotiate a better raise,” she said.
Some workers were also inspired by the successful union effort at St. Michael’s College. In 2012, custodians there unionized with AFSCME. They later negotiated $15-per-hour pay in their second contract.
Despite this recent win for Vermont labor advocates, Sociology Professor Jamie McCallum, who specializes in labor studies, said union decline in the U.S. has been happening since the 1950s and picked up speed in the late 1970s.
Once word of mouth began to spread about the Middlebury union effort, Van Deusen handed out authorization cards for interested employees to sign. What followed was a flood of information and rumors circulating between staff and the administration. On Aug. 19, one month after union authorization cards were first distributed, Miller, the vice president of human resources, replied to the initial drive in a letter that administrators hand-delivered to all facilities employees.
“Middlebury supports your right to choose whether to unionize,” the letter said.
“We know that many of you have raised legitimate and important concerns about your jobs,” it later added. “We also believe that joining an outside labor union to address those concerns is not the answer.”
The letter highlighted some commonly cited “disadvantages” of forming a union, such as the potentially high cost of monthly dues.
A few days later, Van Deusen sent an email to facilities employees responding to the administration’s outreach.
“AFSCME, the labor union many of you are seeking to affiliate with, is aware that Management has been spreading false and misleading information in an effort to get you to NOT form a Union,” it said, before addressing what it called “actual FACTS” about forming a union.
In the days following, some staff opposed to the union left flyers in certain shops and break rooms on campus, countering Van Deusen’s points. Shortly after, the administration sent a list of FAQs to staff, based on questions it had received from facilities when administrators traveled shop-to-shop with Miller’s first letter.
The union effort has not yet reached the strong majority within facilities that it needs to move forward. There is no specific benchmark for that number, Van Deusen said, but it would have to be a number with which the group would feel comfortable. Some staff said they see the slowing momentum as a sign the effort is doomed. But Van Deusen said authorization cards have not been circulating for long enough to determine whether the effort will succeed or not. He plans to continue to collect and tally cards.
If he could gather enough, staff would then need to file paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), an independent federal agency that protects the rights of private sector employees to better their working conditions and wages. The NLRB would then conduct a secret ballot election among facilities staff to decide whether a union would be formed.
If a majority opted for the formation of a union, the new effort would hold internal union elections for a bargaining team. From there, it would bargain a binding contract with the administration.
“This time next year, we would like to announce that a new union, with a contract, will be formed at Middlebury,” Van Deusen said. He hopes that contract would address staff concerns by forming a labor management committee, creating a binding grievance procedure and paying better for longevity and overtime, among other measures.
Not every staff member is in favor of a union coming to campus. One custodial worker said she would not support the formation of a union because she is worried about losing her benefits in the negotiations, although she is unhappy with her current wages. She was offered a buyout last winter, but did not have to take it because another worker on her team did.
“I enjoy my vacation time,” she said. “The health insurance isn’t what it used to be, but that’s changing in November, too. I enjoy my benefits.”
According to Miller, the college will put in place a new healthcare system this November, to go into effect in January, that will introduce more choice into the current plan.
Although some employees worry their benefits will be at risk if they unionize, McCallum said he finds it hard to believe that the college would target workers’ healthcare and benefits in negotiations.
“If Middlebury were to threaten the good benefits that workers now receive if they decided to go union, it would be joining a long list of union-busting corporations,” he said.
Besides, he said that employees would have to agree on any union contract with the college.
“Workers vote on any contract a union signs, and they would only vote ‘yes’ on a contract when their benefits improved or stayed the same,” he said.
McCallum said he sees collective bargaining as an “essential ingredient of a democratic workplace.”
“We need a living wage here, where everyone can live and work with dignity, and that will mean paying workers what they deserve, not just what the market dictates,” he added.
Middlebury’s “Black Tuesday”: A union effort three decades ago
The servery employee, who has worked at the college for 31 years and supports a union, was freshly employed at Middlebury when a series of job cuts in May 1991 destroyed a long-held perception of the institution as a reliable place to work. She remembers the day those positions were terminated, which has since come to be known by some as “Black Tuesday,” as a day filled with tears and disbelief.
The college administration has taken measures to avoid an event like Black Tuesday from recurring. Patton told two Campus reporters in an article published by VTDigger this fall that memories of 1991 have influenced how the college currently handles staff reductions, emphasizing its focus on giving people more of a choice and inviting them to think about the long-term trajectory of the institution.
Miller emphasized a similar sentiment in her conversation with The Campus.
“I can say that we were intentional to make this as humane as we could, to make sure that this was not a surprise to people and that they were engaged in conversations,” she said about this year’s workforce planning. “We really worked hard to do that. Were we 100% successful? I hope so, but maybe not.”
As in 1991, this recent round of workforce planning eliminated specific job “titles” rather than “people,” and both years saw efforts to organize. In September of 1991, The Campus reported that staff across campus were “exploring ways to increase their input in administrative decisions.” This included attempts by some to form a union, organizing for which would last four years before ultimately breaking down in 1995 after failing to garner enough support.
Those attempts were aimed at creating a wall-to-wall bargaining unit — a unit that would include all staff, unlike this year’s single-department effort in facilities. Bill Jaeger, director of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW), an AFSCME affiliate, helped spearhead that effort. His team was contacted by Middlebury employees in 1991, two years after HUCTW negotiated their own first contract.
Jaeger said attempts to unionize arose because of anger about the layoffs, but that at its core were more permanent longings for democratic change at the college.
“People were feeling like their eyes had been opened to how consequential and important it can be to have some breadth and some inclusion in important policy matters and in decision making,” he said.
HUCTW members visited staff in Middlebury to talk about the union, at times once per week. Most interest came from those in administrative and technical jobs, although there was some level of support and involvement in all staff departments, Jaeger remembered. In response, the administration called all-staff meetings to address the efforts.
That union was not able to pique sufficient interest, but Jaeger said staff who were involved were united around a shared sense of excitement for what they were building. “Most people are driven in the most steadfast way if they’re really building toward something that’s going to make a positive difference in the long term,” he said.
By 1995, when the effort fell, the college seemed to be undertaking corrective policies that gave employees some reason for hope.
College looks forward, staff still waiting for change
The college has reiterated time and time again that workforce planning is not a one-time process. This means that administrators are still assessing its successes, as well as where it’s fallen short.
Administrators are hopeful that the workforce planning process will allow the institution to run more efficiently and proactively in the future. Some of the new jobs, for example — including some of the positions offered to staff whose positions were cut, requiring college degrees — are more specialized, and were intended to take into account potential demographic shifts in Vermont so that the college can be an “employer of choice for the next generation,” Miller said.
“The whole purpose of the workforce planning is we’ve got to be prepared for our future,” she said. “I know it was a difficult process for many, but for some, I think it really helped us to transform and leap into that future state,” she added, citing the How Will We Live Together review as a concurrent, future-oriented process.
Miller said that the administration is committed to revisiting any “pain points” among staff and addressing them accordingly. At an Oct. 24 staff meeting, Patton announced that Special Assistant to the President Sue Ritter will do a listening tour throughout staff departments to hear employees’ concerns. The administration laid out its plan for the compensation review at that meeting, as well as several other measures, like a restatement that Senior Leadership Group would attend the holiday party this December, that suggest an effort to reinforce commitment to community-building.
The custodial worker and nearly every staff member interviewed for this article spoke about an intangible change that has made the working environment feel more corporate, and less warm and community-centered.
“When I first came here, it was different,” the custodial worker said. “It was more family-oriented, and everybody looked out for each other. It’s not like that anymore. It’s more sterile.”
Parsons, the staff council president, said Middlebury used to be a small institution with a real family feel. “As we have grown and expanded both our physical footprint here and our global footprint, we have somewhat lost touch with that,” he said.
“It would be a real challenge to bring that back,” he added.
Staff also overwhelmingly expressed large amounts of pride in Middlebury as an institution, a collective sentiment that is backed up by data in the 2017 ModernThink survey.
“It’s a great place,” the first facilities worker said. “And the benefits are great. We’re just underpaid for what we’re doing.”
This pride seems to leave many staff members feeling hopeful. But they’re also worried that the college will continue to disappoint them. Some left initial workforce planning meetings a year ago with the impression that “everything was going to be open and that communication was going to flow.”
“But it never did,” one staff member said.
“With workforce planning, there were so many unanswered questions,” he added. “The administration wouldn’t have been able to do that without talking to the union first.”
As the dust settles on the consequences of workforce planning, staff are still waiting to see tangible changes.
(10/31/19 10:03am)
After a decade-long crusade of student activism, Middlebury has begun its long march toward divestment. In a unanimous decision last January, the Board of Trustees approved Energy 2028—an ambitious and sweeping plan that promises certain reductions of the college’s environmental footprint in response to the mounting climate crisis. With the vote, the board set a timeline for meeting a series of environmentally-minded goals and initiatives.
