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(03/21/19 9:59am)
UPDATE: Thursday, March 21, 6:12 p.m.
Despite initial speculation that his proposals would not amount to action, President Trump signed an executive order Thursday instructing government agencies to ensure that universities uphold principles of “free inquiry.”
On Thursday and in his announcement earlier this month, Trump claimed the order would protect students with right-leaning views on college campuses, generating fears among experts about federal overreach in matters of speech. But the order seems much less intrusive than was originally anticipated, and remains vague about if and how it will monitor the protection of free speech on college campuses.
The seven-page order, obtained by The Chronicle of Higher Education, is entitled “Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability at Colleges and Universities.” The portion of the order regarding free speech states that its purpose is to encourage “free and open debate” and to avoid stifling competing perspectives on campuses.
“Free inquiry is an essential feature of our Nation’s democracy, and it promotes learning, scientific discovery, and economic prosperity,” it reads. “We must encourage institutions to appropriately account for this bedrock principle in their administration of student life.”
While the order is slightly more specific than Trump’s original proposal, it remains vague about logistics. The only details it provides regarding the order’s implementation is that agencies involved in distributing federal research funds to colleges, along with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, will “take appropriate steps” to ensure that recipient institutions of federal research funds “promote free inquiry.” It also clarifies that the order will apply to federal research grants and certain education grants, but will not apply to federal financial aid used for student tuition.
An unnamed senior administration official told Politico Thursday that the order just reinstates what colleges are already supposed to do.
“While many schools — or all schools — are frankly supposed to follow this currently, it will ensure that grant dollars are associated through the grant-making process, and schools will have to certify that they’re following this condition," they said.
Trump described the order as "a clear message to the professors and power structures trying to suppress dissent and keep young Americans — and all Americans, not just young Americans … from challenging rigid, far-left ideology.
"If the university doesn't allow you to speak, we will not give them money — it's very simple," Trump said.
The other part of the order addresses university transparency with students and their families, and seeks to make information about alumni’s average earnings and loan repayment rates available to the public through College Scorecard so that prospective students can make more informed decisions about where they will attend. It also directs the Education Department to create a report examining policy options for risk sharing on student-loan debt.
In response to Thursday’s news, Vice President of Communications Bill Burger did not comment on the specifics of the order but reaffirmed the college’s commitment to free speech.
"Middlebury, as always, is committed to fostering a robust and inclusive public sphere in which diverse points of view can be heard, and where members of our community can participate fully,” he said.
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March 14, 2019
Middlebury and other private universities could be targeted by an executive order that President Donald J. Trump proposed earlier this month, which would withhold federal funding from any institutions that do not uphold “free speech.”
The proposal serves as a response to longstanding complaints on the right that students at liberal universities are vilifying and stifling conservative viewpoints. But university administrators and educators around the country fear the ramifications of an attempt by the president to regulate campus speech.
In his address on the last day of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) a four-day gathering of prominent right-wing thinkers, politicians and students in National Harbor, Md., the president avoided specifics but announced that he would sign the order “very soon.” The crowd responded with uproarious applause and chants of “USA! USA!”
Trump was joined onstage by Hayden Williams, a 26-year-old conservative activist who was punched last month while recruiting for a conservative organization and holding a pro-Trump sign at the University of California, Berkeley.
[pullquote speaker="Hayden Williams" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]If these socialist progressives had their way, they would put our Constitution through the paper shredder in a heartbeat.[/pullquote]
“There are so many conservative students around the country who are facing discrimination, harassment and worse if they dare to speak up on campus,” Williams said. “If these socialist progressives had their way, they would put our Constitution through the paper shredder in a heartbeat.”
Trump’s announcement comes two years after the Charles Murray protests at Middlebury, which conservative critics lampooned as an example of suppression of free speech and right-wing views. That same year, students at Claremont McKenna College, a private liberal arts school in California, blocked the door of an auditorium during a conservative writer’s speech. Students involved in both protests were disciplined in the aftermath.
Although Trump named neither college in his speech, both schools have figured into his administration’s recent crusade against suppression of right-wing views on college campuses. In the last two years, congressional Republicans held multiple hearings on campus free speech, and in recent months the Justice Department has filed statements in support of students who have sued their universities for violating their speech rights. Last March, the White House held a panel called “Crisis on College Campus” that identified suppression of free speech as one of the two gravest college dilemmas, alongside opioid addiction. One of the panelists referenced Middlebury as an example of protests turned violent.
Now, Trump’s order seeks to link its defense of free speech with the federal dollars that private colleges collect from the government for research projects. Middlebury received $4,987,440 in federally sponsored research funds in the 2018 fiscal year, more than $3 million of which went to the Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Even more may be at stake for the private research universities which receive billions annually, like John Hopkins University in Maryland, which led all universities with $2.6 billion spent on research during the 2017 Fiscal Year.
Higher Ed Braces Itself
In an email to The Campus, President Laurie L. Patton expressed opposition to Trump’s proposal, saying it “raises many legal and policy questions and would be deeply problematic for the country’s 4,000 institutions of higher education.
“Middlebury believes freedom of expression is essential in higher education and that it allows people who have less power in society to have an equal voice in the public square,” Patton wrote. “While I think the federal government could do many things to help higher education in this country, saddling colleges and universities with an obligation this vague, easily abused, and impossible to administer is not among them.”
[pullquote speaker="President Laurie L. Patton" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]Middlebury believes freedom of expression is essential in higher education and that it allows people who have less power in society to have an equal voice in the public square.[/pullquote]
Higher education experts and administrators appear united in their opposition to the proposal. Even those who have staunchly encouraged universities to protect free speech on their campuses, like University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer, have vocalized concerns about the motion.
Middlebury Professor of Political Science Murray Dry, who studies constitutional law and freedom of speech, thinks Trump should reconsider his statement and leave the decision making to the schools in question.
“The colleges and universities, such as Berkeley and Middlebury, are well aware of the problems and have taken steps to assure freedom of speech and to maintain security,” he said.
Private universities already comply with certain requirements to receive federal funding, such as ethical guidelines on research involving human subjects, but have typically enjoyed more leeway on matters of speech. Public universities, on the other hand, must follow certain rules regarding speech set forth by the government. For example, they must apply the same rules about inviting guest speakers to all student organizations, regardless of content, unless it can be proven that a speaker may incite or produce violence.
Trump’s order would most likely hold private universities to similar standards. What this means exactly is unclear, given the ambiguity of his speech. For now, experts can only speculate.
Dry and Matthew Dickinson, also a Political Science professor, both think that if it were implemented, the order would be overseen and implemented by the Department of Education, which would develop rules and procedures for holding universities accountable. But Dickinson wondered if the order will even get that far, suggesting it may be on shaky legal footing.
“It’s not clear to me that (the president) does have the authority to define free speech via an executive order,” Dickinson said. “If he does, and asks his administration to enforce it via withholding of funds, it almost certainly will be litigated in the courts.”
Deciding what is and what is not free speech historically has fallen outside the president’s purview. The courts usually set regulations on speech, and have previously upheld laws restricting what they deemed harmful or violent speech on campuses. Usually, the executive branch has only been involved in such matters during times of war to limit speech posing a “clear and present” danger to society.
In any case, the order has the potential to affect Middlebury and its peers negatively, Dickinson fears.
[pullquote speaker="Matthew Dickinson" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]Historically, whenever people in positions of authority try to regulate speech, they typically do so in ways that disproportionately affect politically marginalized groups.[/pullquote]
“Historically, whenever people in positions of authority try to regulate speech, they typically do so in ways that disproportionately affect politically marginalized groups,” he said. “We saw this in the fallout from the Charles Murray protest. The college reacted by clarifying their protest policies. Without passing judgment on the college’s effort, I will say that it is the predictable reaction by those in authority to the damage inflicted on free speech by that incident.
“I would worry that in their effort to protect free speech, the Trump administration may inadvertently weaken protections that are so vital if a liberal arts college is to engage in the free and unfettered exchange of ideas,” he added. “ It is far better, I think, to err on the side of protecting speech from regulation than to rely on the government to define it for us.”
Contradictions & Ambiguities
Others see the proposal as largely symbolic. Lata Nott, executive director of the First Amendment Center at the nonprofit Freedom Forum, told The Campus that she supports the idea of conservative and controversial figures speaking at universities, but sees Trump’s attempt to meddle in the affairs of private universities as an overreach.
Nott finds the proposal strange for a number of reasons. For one, the incident at UC Berkeley, which seemed to precipitate the announcement, involved two adults who were not affiliated with the university in question, which makes Nott wonder where the administration will draw the line.
“Would that mean that anyone who does anything on the university is held accountable?” Nott said. “At what point does the free speech penalty kick in?”
In his speech, Trump told Williams he should sue UC Berkeley for the incident. The public university was already the target of a 2018 lawsuit that alleged it discriminated against conservative speakers, which it settled. Part of the settlement required the school to adopt policies that would make it harder for students to shout down conservative speakers.
Nott also noted that sometimes, government efforts like this one end up injuring the very doctrines they aim to protect. Most recently, states with Republican-led legislatures, including Arizona, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Georgia, have passed laws that would require universities to punish students for protesting on public college and university campuses, and other states are following suit.
But Nott argued that these laws are self-defeating because they they limit another manifestation of freedom of speech — the right to protest.
“I’m in support of speakers coming to campus, regardless of what their political stripe is or if they’re offensive,” Nott said. “But protest is also a First Amendment right. You can’t really pick and choose what you want.”
(03/21/19 9:58am)
Stonecutter Spirits teemed with life on Thursday, March 14 during the launch of the SheFly Apparel crowdfunding campaign. Faculty, students and town members gathered to celebrate and support the emerging business, which is moving into its next phase following years of hard work from founders and colleagues Georgia Grace Edwards ’18, Bianca Gonzalez ’17.5 and Charlotte Massey ’19. Funds from donations and pre-orders made during and following the launch will help carry the team through their next steps of production.
If you aren’t familiar with the product, here’s what you need to know. SheFly Apparel is a female-founded company that has created a line of layerable women’s outdoor pants with a longer zipper spanning the crotch that makes answering nature’s call safe, efficient and easy. Rather than risking exposure to the elements, dehydration or a pit stop on unsafe terrain, SheFly offers an effortless solution to peeing outdoors.
And people are catching on to the idea. Online, donations and pre-orders of the pants appear to be increasing by the hour, and the campaign has nearly 5,000 shares on social media. As of Tuesday, SheFly had reached 91 percent of its $15,000 funding goal.
The idea came to Edwards in 2016 when she was working as a glacier guide in Alaska. She faced a serious disadvantage compared to her male co-workers when she needed to use the bathroom. Exposing her body to the elements left her cold for hours and felt like a waste of energy — so much so, that she even resorted to drinking less water on the job so she wouldn’t have to pee. Taking this risk is not uncommon for female outdoor adventurers.
Edwards eventually united with Gonzalez and Massey, who shared her same passion and struggle. Since then, four more students have joined on their mission, expanding their team of female leaders.
Members of the team were thrilled with the success of Tuesday night’s event.
“We are very happy with the turnout!” Massey said. “Friends and supporters from around Vermont turned out for our raffle and to see the pants, including professors, mentors and even a woman we met on a prototype testing hike last year!”
“I’m abroad right now, but I received so many messages commenting on the awesome turnout from friends and mentors who attended the event and consequently had to do a little celebratory dancing all the way over here in the Czech Republic!” said Edwards, who is currently working abroad on a Fulbright scholarship.
For the past year, SheFly has worked hard to perfect its product, which is almost ready for market. For its crowdfunding campaign, the team is pre-selling two pairs of hiking pants, with about only 250 units left available. Pant options include the “Stealth Pee,” a style with black fabric and black zipper, and the “Bold Pee” which has black fabric highlighted with a colorful zipper.
Throughout the launch, a prototype was on display and available for people to interact with and ask questions about. People were surprised by the inconspicuous nature of the zipper, which is hidden beneath a flap in the pants. On both variations of the product, wearers can choose to hide or show off their fly, regardless of the color of the zipper.
Those attending the event also had access to the online fundraising page, where they could scroll and read through the company’s story. It was here that many visitors read about SheFly’s manufacturing partner Visible Clothing, a Fair Trade and zero-waste clothing facility in India. Whatever excess scraps are wasted during the production of the pants are turned into a pulp that can be used by a refugee organization to make notebooks.
The venue was bursting with a sense of pride and excitement for SheFly, a sentiment that was strengthened by the multitude of outside businesses and companies that pitched in. MiddCakes and Flatbread donated food and the raffle table was filled with unique art pieces, gift cards and skincare products from local Vermont vendors. And, of course, Stonecutter served guests drinks.
“We were especially excited about partnering with Stonecutter Spirits because they are a fellow local, women-led business that actively supports other organizations and companies helping women in the Vermont community, such as WomenSafe,” Edwards said.
Looking ahead, the SheFly team says that it has upcoming plans to sell the pants direct-to-consumer through its online store. In the future, it hopes to expand into retail. In May, Edwards and Massey will deliver a TEDx Talk at TEDxStowe.
The team is currently asking supporters to follow and subscribe to @sheflyapparel on social media and to sign up for their monthly newsletter on the SheFly website. Subscribers will have access to early deals and one-time special announcements. Stay tuned to see what mark this “zipper revolution” makes on the world.
(03/21/19 9:56am)
The Middlebury baseball team (3-2, 0-0) improved its non-conference record to 3-2, after a three-win week facing Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on March 14 (3-4, 0-0) followed by a three-game series against Emory University (7-8, 0-0) on Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17.
Last Thursday, the Panthers showed up on the road against Rensselaer. They rallied for 11 late runs to ease past the Engineers despite a silent first two innings. The game ended up finishing early by the eighth inning because of darkness.
Middlebury blew the game open in the seventh inning, scoring seven runs on just six hits. The squad found 12 hits with five players rounding out the frame with two hits each: right fielder Justin Han ’20, center fielder Henry Strmecki ’21, third baseman Hayden Smith ’20, second baseman Andrew Gough ’22 and left fielder Sam Graf ’19. The team also totaled eight stolen bases.
In his first collegiate start, first-year pitcher Alex Rosario gave up just one run on no hits. Rosario lasted for three innings, and was followed by pitcher George Goldstein ’21 (1-0), who ultimately managed to pick up the win. Goldstein allowed one run on two hits over three innings.
The Panthers also closed out a three-game series against Emory in Atlanta. Middlebury, unaffected by the travel, opened up the fight with a doubleheader sweep, followed by a loss on Sunday. On Saturday, Middlebury totaled 26 runs over the two meetings, beating the Eagles 10-5 and 16-5.
According to pitcher Spencer Shores ’20, this week’s success came from the ability to capitalize on Rensselaer’s and Emory’s mistakes.
“We were able to steal bases and take advantage of walks and errors to score runs,” Shores said. “Our pitching was effective in throwing strikes and being aggressive at hitters, putting our pitchers in advantageous counts to get outs.”
Smith and shortstop Brooks Carroll ’20 led the team during the doubleheader with four runs and four RBIs respectively in each game, including a home run from Carroll. Sophomore pitcher Bobby Sullivan (1-0) managed to capture the win with three innings of relief. Sullivan’s performance limited the Eagles to no runs and just one hit with a pair of strikeouts.
On Sunday, the Panthers fell to the Eagles 8-2 after Emory jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
According to Shores, Middlebury gave up too many free opportunities in the field, pitching and hitting.
“Overall, the team played well but miscues in timely situations — whether that be walks, errors, or outs at bat — put us in a tough position to win the game,” Shores said. “Emory’s pitcher was also a very talented and was able to pitch effectively late into the game.”
This week has provided Middlebury with valuable on field experiences the team has lacked at home due to the icy Vermont weather.
“We have proven to ourselves our ability to compete against quality baseball teams,” Shores said. “Emory has gone to the College World Series three of the past five years. Our coaching staff and players have been able to better access what roles individuals need to fill for our success as the season continues.”
The Panthers return to the diamond for their Spring Break trip in Florida beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 23 for a doubleheader versus Lawrence University (1-5, 0-0). Middlebury will play a total of 10 games, including its first NESCAC matchup in a three-game series against Hamilton College (4-1, 0-0).
(03/14/19 10:00am)
We would like to commend the Map Project created by It Happens Here (IHH) as a crucial step toward increased awareness of sexual assault and harassment on our campus. While the number of incidents represented on the map may come as no surprise to some students, the map is nonetheless an important call to rally the Middlebury community against rape culture. It also demonstrates a clear need for additional preventative measures to protect students from assault and harassment.
The concept for the Map Project is simple: an aerial view of Middlebury’s campus populated with a series of red dots, each one representing an instance of sexual assault or sexual harassment that has occurred on campus. To populate the map, students anonymously submitted data about instances of assault and harassment to IHH through a go-link posted last fall. By offering anonymity, IHH empowered survivors to share their experiences without losing their privacy or having to endure the process of formally reporting traumatic experiences.
The largest concentrations of red dots on the map appear in notoriously problematic buildings on campus, including Battell and Atwater Halls A and B, where athletic teams often host open parties. Since many parties on Middlebury’s campus are closed, Atwater parties are often the default social space for first-years who don’t have alternatives on weekend nights. It seems likely that the combination of an upperclassman living space and first-year partygoers contributes to a predatory sexual environment. Notably, the space with the second-largest number of red dots is Battell, a first-year dorm. This suggests that the online training intended to teach incoming students about consent and discourage them from committing sexual assault and harassment is not as successful as it ought to be in protecting first-years from assault and harassment by their peers.
Outside of residential and party spaces, even academic locations like Twilight and Axinn contain red dots, revealing just how pervasive sexual assault and harassment is at the college. If students are unable to occupy the spaces on campus that are explicitly devoted to education without fearing assault or harassment, then Middlebury is failing to fulfill its most basic purpose: to be an environment conducive to learning.
Currently, the majority of on-campus resources available to assault survivors are student-led, such as SPECS, MiddSafe, the SGA’s Sexual and Relationship Respect Committee (SRR) and IHH. While we commend these organizations for their work, we also recognize a clear need for additional administrative support to more effectively address the issue of campus-wide sexual misconduct.
We ask that the administration take the Map Project as evidence that the Green Dot sexual assault prevention program is limited in what it can accomplish. Although Green Dot’s bystander awareness training initiatives are an important first step, its organizers would likely be the first to admit that it does not change the culture at the heart of sexual assault and harassment. And the fact that the vast majority of the map’s dots appear in social spaces suggests that even when bystanders are present near instances of sexual assault, they do not reliably intervene. A real social shift needs to occur in order for cases of sexual assault and harassment to approach zero. Students may not always know which of their friends have sexually assaulted or harassed others, but many know which of their friends behave “badly” at parties or demonstrate unhealthy attitudes about sex and relationships behind closed doors. Those students are the ones most in need of productive conversations with their friends about consent and respect. Bystander intervention can help in potentially dangerous situations, but difficult conversations among friends — and the absolute social unacceptability of harassment and assault — will be required to end the minimization of consent and trivialization of assault and harassment that contribute to rape culture.
We recommend that the college implement a new anti-sexual assault training program that requires students to learn the nuances of sexual harassment and assault in-person rather than online. The current electronic educational program students undergo prior to their first year is too easy for a student to click through without internalizing its message.
As a more immediate measure, we also think the new program could place a greater emphasis on the punitive consequences of committing assault. Perhaps if more students understood and feared the disciplinary repercussions of sexual violations, the overall number of incidents would decrease, at least in the short term.
Of course, emphasizing the consequences of committing sexual assault or harassment will be meaningless if the college does not make the process of reporting less difficult. Some students who report their experiences of sexual assault become so overwhelmed or distraught during the process that they simply leave Middlebury. While we know there are no easy ways of changing this system, we know that the more intimidating this system is, the more difficult it will be for students to come forward.
We also recommend that the administration explore the option of updating the college’s weekend programming to provide students with additional options other than drinking. Middlebury’s isolated location means that weekend activities for students are quite limited, oftentimes encouraging a party culture based on binge drinking. Programs like the free Friday film are a good start, and we think additional programming on Friday and Saturday nights could give students alternatives to drinking heavily and heading to Atwater.
We would also like first-years to have more opportunities to host their own parties rather than constantly being shuffled into upperclassman environments. First-year students should have more room to party among themselves to properly acclimate to college rather than immediately jumping into older, potentially more dangerous settings.
The college has often prided itself on its relatively low number of sexual assault and harassment reports as documented in its annual safety reports. But these statistics are misleading — the majority of sexual assaults on this campus go entirely unreported, which means that even IHH’s Map Project is not a complete tally of on-campus sexual misconduct. We hope that IHH’s map has revealed the extent of on-campus misconduct to the Middlebury community, and that meaningful institutional and cultural progress follow as a result.
(03/14/19 9:59am)
The Middlebury Women’s lacrosse team grabbed two wins this past week, against Springfield College (16 to 1) and fellow NESCAC competitor, Connecticut College (16 to 3). The Panthers’ wins brought the squad to a 2-1 record following the OT loss to Bates.
Both games were characterized by the Panther offense unloading on their competition.
Against Springfield College, the team opened up the first half with 12 goals, giving up none in return. Throughout the game, a conglomeration of Panthers connected with the back of the net. Out of nine scorers for Middlebury, Kate Zecca ’20 led the team with three goals. Middlebury showed impressive improvement in the team stats, attempting 24 more shots than Springfield.
Following the Springfield game, Middlebury continued to use their momentum against Conn. College. It only took the Panthers 28 seconds to put their first of 16 points on the board, when senior captain Emma McDonagh beat out Conn. College defenders to give Middlebury the first point of the game. By halftime, the Panthers already had a 10 point cushion, leading 11-1. Middlebury held this comfortable lead until the end, coming out of the contest with a 16-3 win.
McDonagh led the Panthers with five goals, and continued her 30-game scoring streak (which stretches back to her sophomore year). She also exceeded 150 points in her college career, with 112 goals and 42 assists.
Competing against Springfield and Connecticut College proved the team’s ability to not only play offensively, but protect its own net. The total team effort propelled the Panthers towards winning. Though the first loss against Bates was tough, the Panthers are moving forward, and are ready for the season ahead.
“Our team gels really well with each other, so one of our goals is to translate this more effectively to on-field execution,” said sophomore defense Addy Mitchell, ”I think right now we’re just working on figuring out our sets and communicating better with each other during games.”
With a successful program behind them, and a motivated group of athletes, the 2019 team looks to move far into the postseason — just as they did in previous years. The Panthers will use their gel and determination to keep improving and see their work translate onto the field.
(03/14/19 9:58am)
The Middlebury alpine and nordic ski teams wrapped up a historic season this weekend at the 2019 NCAA Skiing Championships hosted by the University of Vermont, accompanied by crews of tailgating students and family members who cheered them on from the sidelines. While the team’s results were not necessarily reflective of their massive feats this winter, the Panthers placed 10th overall out of 21 scoring teams, coming out of the four-day championship with 150 points. Utah won the national title with 530.5 points, followed by Vermont (476) and Colorado (455).
On Friday at the Trapp Family Lodge, senior Lewis Nottonson’s stellar All-American performance paced the Nordic squad, as he completed the circuit in 56:56 to earn All-American status and a 10th place finish at the 20k classical race. Sophomore Peter Wolter finished next for the Panthers, crossing the line in 59:15 to place 30th overall. Rounding out the scoreboard for the men was senior Sam Wood, who completed the course in 1:00.05, securing the 35th spot overall.
“We had a really satisfying season with a ton of career best results from individuals and some of the better results as a team in recent years,” Nottonson said. “It was particularly fun to get a big group of freshmen this year who were all so psyched on training hard. Winning Middlebury Carnival was also a huge highlight. It’s tough to have everything line up where the nordic men and women, and alpine men and women all have exceptional days and to have that come together on home snow was pretty phenomenal.”
Despite the stellar conditions and a few standout individual performances, however, Nottonson said it was clear at the end of the weekend that “a lot of the team left NCAAs wanting more and feeling that as a team, we underperformed.”
On the women’s nordic side, sophomore Avery Ellis led the Nordic team in the 15k classic race, completing the circuit in 49:40, earning her 18th place overall. Junior Annika Landis was second to finish for the Panthers, securing the 25th spot in 50:25. Sophomore Alexandra Lawson was the final scorer, completing the course in 50:39 to land 28th overall.
Alpine races took place at Stowe Mountain Resort on Friday, where sophomore Justin Alkier’s ninth place GS finish in 1:58:42 earned him All-American honors and highlighted the second day of competition. Unfortunately, it proved to be a rough morning for the other men’s scorers, as both sophomore Erik Arvidsson and first-year Tim Gavett fell during their first GS run.
“We were well-prepared coming into the week, but between tactical mistakes and bad luck, the results just simply do not show what this team is capable of. We had some great individual runs that prove our potential, and I’m super excited to join the alumni cheer squad and watch the team grow over the next couple seasons,” senior Caroline Bartlett said.
(03/14/19 9:54am)
Following a tough road loss to Bates to open up the season, the Middlebury Men’s Lacrosse team traveled to New London, Connecticut to take on Conn. College this past weekend. The Panthers earned their first win of the season, with a clutch 16-9 victory that will steer them in the right direction for contests ahead.
Middlebury came out hot from the start, taking an early 3-0 lead with the goals coming in a 1:38 time span at the start of the first. Sophomore Eric Jeremiah got things going not only for the team, but also for himself as he netted his first of the season. After a Camel’s goal coming at the 6:17 mark of the first, Tyler Forbes ’22 kept his hot streak going, scoring two stifling shots from the left side to put the Panthers up 5-1. Conn. College rebounded with a last second goal to close out the first quarter but still remained far behind.
The second quarter included a lot of back-and-forth action. While the Camels were able to come within two scores of the Panthers, Forbes struck again to end the opposing team’s momentum and get the Panthers back on track. After contributions from seniors Nick Peterson and Jack Gould, who both scored to end out the half, the Panthers maintained a 9-5 lead.
With quality defense and a save by senior Charles Midgley, Middlebury outscored the Camels 4-0 in the third quarter. Scoring came from four different contributors, both in the early minutes and closing minutes of the third. With a commanding 13-6 lead heading into the fourth, the Panthers continued to press on.
Gould opened up the fourth with a goal at the 9:52 mark, increasing the Panthers lead. After a late push from the Camels, who tallied the next two goals, the Panthers were able to seize back momentum and really put the game out of reach. Trading goals in the final five minutes, Chase Goree ’20 ended all scoring with an unassisted netter to end the game.
Middlebury showed its roster depth in this game, with contributions coming from a large number of players. Forbes kept his streak alive by tallying five goals in the contest, culminating to a team-leading nine goals for the season. Goree, led the squad with four assists, while also netting two goals. Goalie Midgley, played outstandingly, saving 11 of 19 shots in 54 minutes played.
The Panthers enter the weekend with a 1-2 (1-1 NESCAC) record and remain in the middle of the pack in the NESCAC conference. Traveling to St. Lawrence for a non-conference game on Tuesday, March 12, the Panthers fell to the Saints 3-9, with Jack Sheehan ’22 and A.J. Kucinski ’20 scoring two and one goals respectively. They will travel to St. Lawrence to play a non-conference game on Tuesday, March 12. Over the weekend, the Panthers head to Baltimore, MD to play in the Mustang Classic. They will take on nationally ranked and conference foe, #7 Wesleyan Cardinals, as well as non-conference opponent, #8 Dickinson.
(03/07/19 10:59am)
For the first time in 21 years, the women’s basketball team participated in the NCAA tournament, beating John Carroll in the first round, 62-54 on March 1. Though the Panthers fell to host DeSales University (70-55) the next day, their season was one for the books.
In their first bout, the Panthers overcame John Carroll after a close four-quarter stint. Both teams went back-and-forth throughout the game, gaining the momentum and then flipping it. Middlebury came out strong in the 1st quarter, with junior Kira Waldman putting up 5 points in the first four minutes. The competition then took the lead in the second and third quarters, beginning the third quarter at 34-28. Midway through the third, the Panther team pushed back, edging out the competition going into the fourth. After senior Alex Huffman sunk a three-pointer in the last quarter, the Panthers gained control and maintained it until the final buzzer.
Middlebury went 20-57 in field goal percentage, topping John Carroll by 7 percent. The Panthers also almost doubled John Carroll’s points in the paint (30-18). Juniors Waldman and Besty Knox lead the Panthers with 15 points and three rebounds, respectively.
Heading into the second round of the tournament, the Panthers faced DeSales University. According to junior forward Vanessa Young, the Panthers were “ready for a good game against the very fast-paced and aggressive hosts.”
Unfortunately, the Panthers were unable to keep up against the Bulldogs, falling to the hosts 70-55. DeSales had a strong start to the competition, leading by double digits by the second quarter. However, a period of Middlebury offense brought the Panthers back into striking distance, led by senior Colleen Caveney who put up 16 points throughout the course of the game. DeSales created a deficit the Panthers could not overcome. Their 70-55 win took them to the next round of the tournament, ending Middlebury’s season.
“Although it was different from the style of play we are used to in the NESCAC, we had good moments of controlling the play of the game,” Young said. “However, we committed too many turnovers, but stayed in the game until the end, lessening the deficit in the final minutes.”
“I think it was a breakthrough season for our program,” head coach KJ Krasco said in a press conference following the game against DeSales. “This group was definitely one that set the bar for where our program wants to continue to go year in and year out, and hopefully a little further.”
Though the season did not end the way the Panthers would have hoped, Young said was an exceptional season for many reasons.
“Although we will never be fully satisfied by ending our season with a loss, we do have a lot to be proud of this season. Our four seniors—Colleen Caveney, Catherine Harrison, Ivy Houde and Alex Huffman—ended their first year at Middlebury [by placing] eighth in the NESCAC. They have brought this program so far and the entire team is so grateful for all they’ve done,” Young said.
Middlebury’s improvement record speaks to the seniors’ leadership. The team progressed from an eighth-place finish at the 2016 NESCAC Championship, to a fourth-place finish and an NCAA bid.
“This year we made history: we hit the 20-win mark, got an NCAA bid and won our first-round game,” Young said. “Not many people expected us to make it past the quarter finals of the NESCAC tournament, much less get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. After playing at DeSales this weekend, we confirmed what we already knew: we can play with, and beat, some of the best teams in the country. Playing in that environment taught us so much, and we only wish we had more time to experience it with our wonderful seniors.”
(03/07/19 10:58am)
The U.S. Department of State has named Middlebury a top producer of Fulbright U.S. Students and Fulbright U.S. Scholars. Three college faculty members along with 10 students and recent alumni received Fulbright grants for the 2018-2019 academic year.
The prestigious and competitive Fulbright program, established in 1946 by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, is open to U.S. citizens and operates in more than 140 countries. The program awards its 8,000 annual grants to college students through the Fulbright U.S. Student program and college faculty through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar program.
Fulbright students pursue two types of international work, English teaching and study and research. While individual countries determine the number and placement of assistant English teachers they receive through the Fulbright program, study and research applicants are responsible for developing their own projects and finding host universities within their target country. Research funded by the Fulbright encompasses most academic disciplines.
Middlebury is consistently listed as a top producer of both students and scholars. This year, it is one of just 11 institutions nationally, including seven baccalaureate colleges, to be ranked for both Student and Scholar grants. The college is ranked seventh among Bachelor’s institutions, tied with Davidson College and Hamilton College, for its total number of Fulbright Student grants, and tied first for Scholar grants with Colgate University and Trinity College.
“One of the things that is really key here is that our students study abroad, and they actively learn other languages, and they’re interested in other cultures,” said Lisa Gates, Associate Dean for Fellowships and Research. Gates is one of the students’ primary resources throughout the extensive Fulbright application process.
Samuel Finkelman ’14 referenced many of these same factors as the reasons he pursued a Fulbright year in Russia. “My decision to study Russian language, literature, culture and history at Middlebury was truly life-changing,” he said. “This decision, and especially my experience studying abroad in Irkutsk during the spring of my junior year, convinced me that I wanted to continue engaging intellectually and professionally with the post-Soviet space.”
Finkelman went on to live in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, while teaching English at Siberian Federal University.
“I began to learn the boundlessly difficult art of teaching, and I continued pursuing my own love for Russian language and literature,” he said. “Without a doubt, the Fulbright year was key in setting me on the path that has led me to where I am today: pursuing a PhD in Russian and Soviet history at University of Pennsylvania.”
Another reason Gates cited for the strong candidacy of Middlebury students is the college’s strong culture of senior work. She said that over half of Middlebury students do some form of senior work, including the senior thesis and senior research, adding, “Having that experience is also really important...in terms of being competitive in the applicant pool and being prepared to be successful when you’re on the ground and doing the work.”
Fulbright students identified the Center for Teaching Learning and Research (CTLR) as a particularly helpful resource during the grant application process.
“The CTLR staff constantly reminded us of upcoming deadlines, offered useful feedback on personal statements,” said Georgia Grace Edwards ’18, a current Fulbright student teaching English in the Czech Republic. “They wrote wonderful letters of recommendation and challenged us to think critically and creatively about how and why a Fulbright would be beneficial to both us and our chosen communities abroad.”
The CTLR works with seniors and recent graduates during the application process. Each year, approximately a quarter of Middlebury’s Fulbright applicants are alumni.
“I applied as an alumna, so I had the option to either apply through Middlebury or ‘at large,’ but I knew of Middlebury’s strong track record of Fulbright scholars and other grantees, and also I had pleasant experiences with the Fellowships and Research team prior to graduating,” said Brennan Delattre ’16, a current Fulbright student whose research investigates the positive impact of cooperative movement in Brazil. She became interested in the topic during her time at Middlebury and pursued it in her senior thesis.
Elena Cutting ’14 described the application process as longer for research applicants than for teaching applicants, because of the statement of grant purpose required alongside the personal statement.
“Unlike any other scientific grant you will ever apply for, this research proposal is going to be reviewed by non-scientists,” she said. “So you have to be really careful to break down complex methods or ideas that may seem commonplace in the lab down into digestible bits of information.”
Cutting, who spent her Fulbright year at the National Center for Oncologic Investigation in Madrid, Spain, said she decided to become a doctor during the eight months she spent in Argentina in high school. For her, the Fulbright was an opportunity to spend a year doing something different before entering medical school.
Gates emphasized how the Fulbright Scholar program focuses on international academic exchange, allowing college faculty to conduct research at universities abroad. “It supports bringing scholars from other countries to the United States and supports scholars going to other countries,” she said.
The three faculty members abroad this year are Mez Baker-Médard, assistant professor of environmental studies, Svea Closser, former associate professor of sociology and anthropology and Carrie Anderson, assistant professor of history of art and architecture.
Anderson said she applied for a Fulbright scholar grant for a number of reasons, including the chance to live in a country that had long been a subject of her research. “The prospect of living for a year in the country that has been the primary focus of my research and teaching was particularly appealing,” she said. “I knew it would enable me to teach directly from paintings and objects housed in some of the most amazing collections of Dutch art in the world.”
Anderson has not been disappointed with the research materials she has worked with since arriving in the Netherlands. She has also found the experience rewarding beyond the research opportunities.
“I have also met so many amazing people during my time here so far,” she said. “Other fulbrighters, students, faculty, neighbors, friends. I feel so fortunate to be a part of this incredibly welcoming and generous community.”
Professor of Economics Jon Isham spent the 2016-2017 academic year as a Fulbright Scholar developing and teaching a social entrepreneurship course at Ashesi University in Ghana. He spoke highly of the Fulbright program’s generous financial support and the effort it put into integrating his family into the embassy community.
“The Fulbright is a wonderful thing, and faculty know that,” Isham said. “Franci Farnsworth in the grants office is a tremendous aid and carries decades of experience to make the process both understandable and efficient, and she plays a big role in the success that Middlebury faculty have had getting Fulbrights.
“For most of us, it’s a once-in-a-career opportunity, and I certainly feel very lucky that I got one,” Isham said.
20 of the 31 Middlebury seniors and alumni who applied for Fulbright grants for the 2019-2020 academic year were selected as semifinalists, and will hear back about moving forward in the process between March and April.
(03/07/19 10:57am)
Sunday Night Environmental Group (SNEG) and other environmental justice groups celebrated the college’s decision to adopt Energy2028 and divest from fossil fuels last month. This past weekend, the group held a symposium to examine the issues of justice, diversity and inclusivity that are pervasive within such environmental justice movements.
In a series of events on Friday and Saturday, the symposium organizers, speakers and performers sought to expose students to the various power dynamics involved in environmental justice and opened the floor for them to share their own feelings on the issue, both through open discussion and artistic performances.
The first of its kind, the symposium was organized by members of SNEG, including Sidra Pierson ’21 and Divya Gudur ’21, as well as other students. Their goal was to create a forum to confront the lack of diversity and inclusivity in environmental spaces.
“We hope that environmental activism can be used as a bridge to discuss the more nuanced, systemic marginalization that creates exclusive environmental narratives,” Pierson said.
The symposium kicked off Friday evening with a presentation by Thomas Tonatiuh Lopez Jr., a member of the Apache people and the communications director for the International Indigenous Youth Council (IIYC). His talk, titled “Birth of a Water Protector,” focused on his experiences protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
In 2016, Lopez Jr. quit his job and heeded the call of indigenous youths to join the protests. What was supposed to be a weekend trip to North Dakota turned into a three-week stay and led to Lopez Jr.’s membership in the IIYC.
“It was the first time in my entire life that I found myself surrounded by people exactly like me,” he said.
Though the pipeline protests were grounded in unity, there were also many incidences of confrontation. Only one day after protesters had a violent encounter with the national guard, Lopez Jr. was singled out for arrest at a protest in town.
Lopez Jr., who was the only person of color in the group, said police kicked him to the ground in the middle of a prayer, pointed their guns at his head and dared him to “resist.” Lopez Jr. finished the prayer and was promptly taken to jail, while the rest of the group received no punishment. He said the event was a pivotal moment in which he found his voice.
The symposium continued on Saturday with a panel on the intersections of food and environmental justice. Featured panelists included Lily Bradburn, the local food access coordinator at Helping Overcome Poverty’s Effects (HOPE), Professor of Food Studies Molly Anderson, Assistant Professor of Environmental studies Dan Suarez and Visiting Assistant Professor of History Lana Povitz, who specializes in food activism.
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“The same people who are affected by hunger are the same people who are poor, are the same people who are having to drink toxic water,” Povitz said.
Panelists also spoke of the hierarchies present within the system of food production, noting that those who produce food are also those in the most dire situations. In rural Addison County, migrant workers, for example, not only struggle to find affordable housing, but also have difficulty accessing transportation to get to work each day. Additionally, the stress from a low-wage, high-stress job like food production can often lead to sickness, resulting in medical expenses that many migrants cannot afford.
Jonathan Rosenthal, who co-founded the fair-trade companies Equal Exchange and Oké USA, spoke after the panel. Rosenthal urged students to become comfortable with being uncomfortable and walked students through his career journey, which began with his decision to drop out of college to pursue activism. He started Equal Exchange with the goal of paying farmers as high a price as possible for their products.
Despite skepticism about Equal Exchange’s business model from those around him, Rosenthal persisted.
“We had the audacity and arrogance to say that we’re not crazy, our society is crazy,” he said.
Students and professors then engaged in an open discussion about finding courage to believe in change and fostering change on the Middlebury campus.
The rest of the afternoon’s events included a talk on inclusivity and justice in the outdoors, a conversation on conservation and displacement and a workshop on making Middlebury’s environmentalism inclusive.
The last event of the Symposium took place in Crossroads Café, where, through dance, poetry, music and art, students expressed what environmental justice meant to them. Artist Kim Aranda ’22 displayed her paintings around the room, which touched on issues of air and water pollution, oil drilling and environmental racism.
Onstage performances included an a capella rendition of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by Ingoma and original poetry readings by Gudur and González. Students from Riddim performed a dance piece alongside an original poem read aloud by Hawa Adam ’22, titled “An Open Letter to Nature Poems.”
“You want to talk about nature? Well, let’s talk about how the barren trees are a means of oppression and code of depression,” she read.
(03/07/19 10:55am)
Top-seeded in the NESCAC, the Middlebury men’s basketball team suffered an unexpected loss in the NESCAC quarterfinal round on Saturday, February 16. The next two rounds took place the following weekend and on Monday, February 25, the Panthers heard the news of their bid to the NCAA tournament.
Middlebury, coming into the first-round NCAA Tournament game with a record of 18-7, were on the road to play Nichols (26-2) on March 1 at Rowan University.
The game was back and forth for the duration of the opening round contest. With a minute remaining in the second half, Middlebury was up 72-71 after a pair of free throws from Griffin Kornaker ’21. But after both Nichols and Middlebury missed shots after each of their chances at possession, Nichols netted two free throws for a 74-71 lead with 22 seconds remaining.
Middlebury called a timeout. The ball was turned over to Nichols’ possession, and the Bisons played strong keep away while the clock ran out. Edged by Nichols, the 14th seed, the Panthers fell to the Bisons by three points, with a final score of 74-71.
Matt Folger ’20 led the team in points and in rebounds—achieving a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Eric McCord ’19 netted 10 points and had 10 boards alongside a game-high of three blocked shots. His co-captain, Hilal Dahleh ’19, had eight points, five rebounds and three assists.
The Middlebury men’s basketball team finishes 18-8, yet came out of the regular season first in the NESCAC and with two good fights in two post-season contests. Middlebury topped Nichols in rebounds 49-36 and also had 32 bench points while Nichols put up 1.
The season comes to a close with the team’s 10th trip to the NCAA tournament in the last 12 years and a history of a 15-9 record in tournament action. Middlebury led the NESCAC and ranked fourth in Division III for blocked shots per game and fifth nationally in rebounds per game—44.92. Head Coach Jeff Brown has completed his 22nd year as head coach of the Panthers, having eclipsed the 400 career win mark as a head coach in January. Friday’s game between Nichols and Middlebury marked the fifth time in program history that the two teams have met since the very first matchup in 1979.
(03/07/19 10:52am)
The 19th-ranked Middlebury men’s squash team concluded their successful season with a strong 15-6 record against the best teams in the country. The Panthers, led by three junior captains, concluded play on February 17 with a third-place finish and win over Williams at the Summers Cup. While the team is finished, freshman Justin Ghaeli traveled to Rhode Island this past weekend to compete in the CSA Individual Championships.
Ghaeli and junior Jacob Ellen were named first team All-NESCAC, and Junior William Cembalest was named to the second-team. Ghaeli, who earned a 12-9 record, was also named NESCAC Rookie of the Year. The squad can be expected to come back even stronger next winter as they are not graduating any seniors.
(02/28/19 11:32am)
MIDDLEBURY – In the 1800s, Middlebury residents faced a problem: pig protocol. Should local pigs be allowed to freely roam the streets? Would it be more beneficial to keep all of them fenced in? Unable to come to a conclusion, those residents did the same thing Vermonters will do next month: they took the issue to that year’s Town Meeting.
Held annually for over 200 years, the meeting is a rare holdout of direct democracy designed to allow the voices of Middlebury to be heard on the issues that affect them, their families and their jobs. Although every town in Vermont now holds their own meeting, the first was held in Bennington in 1762, making the tradition older than the state itself (VT was created in 1791.).
The meetings are cornerstones of the town’s sense of community, allowing its residents to come together to tackle civic issues. Vermont government employees even get a holiday to attend, and the state grants students over 18 the right to skip school if necessary in order to participate. In fact, many public schools give their students a day off for Town Meeting Day.
So, how does it work? The meeting takes place in two parts. The first is a floor meeting, which features town-wide discourse that gives residents the opportunity to voice their opinions on proposed articles and issues facing the town. This is where most of the action takes place. This year’s floor meeting will be held on Monday, March 4 at 7 p.m. in the Middlebury Union High School auditorium. Anyone registered to vote with a Middlebury address is encouraged to attend, speak and vote.
This includes any Middlebury College student who is registered in Vermont.
Alexander Giles ’21, who studied the floor meeting’s style of government in the 2019 Winter Term class “Democracy, Deliberation and Global Citizenship,” believes it’s an invaluable process. “Direct democracy still has great value in localized settings,” Giles told The Campus. “It’s a great example of bringing the community together in deliberation.”
The second part of the town meeting is the Australian Ballot. Separate from the floor meeting, this is a specific way to vote on proposed articles and mirrors a traditional voting process. The Australian Ballot will take place the following day on Tuesday, March 5 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the town offices at 77 Main St., and any Middlebury voter is welcome to stop in to cast a vote.
Although the floor meeting is more involved, the Australian Ballot process offers another opportunity for political engagement as it often takes on citizen-led initiatives and allows every vote to have an impact in such a small election. The Campus spoke to Brian Carpenter, the Chair of the Middlebury Selectboard (a team of seven elected at the meetings to collaborate on the town’s issues throughout the year), about the process. Carpenter expressed that he thinks these votes are particularly valuable.
“Votes will count pretty significantly based on the average turnout,” Carpenter said. “It’s an opportunity to be heard and either affirm or redirect priorities within the town.”
But if not pigs, then what issues are going to be taken on during this year’s meeting? As usual, there are plans to vote on a town budget for the upcoming year. There will also be a vote to reelect three members of the Middlebury Selectboard.
Beyond the meeting’s typical business, though, this year’s floor meeting agenda also includes a vote to allocate funds toward improving the Memorial Sports Center and purchasing new town vehicles, along with other topics to be proposed by residents.
The Australian Ballot is particularly compelling this year, and primarily addresses environmental concerns.
The Middlebury College Sunday Night Environmental Group, or SNEG, has been vocal in encouraging students to turn out on March 5 to support these measures. “Let your voice be heard — help Middlebury take the steps necessary in creating a cleaner, better future for all,” read a post on the group’s Facebook page.
The vote will address an initiative to ban plastic bags from all Middlebury businesses, which has been spearheaded by Middlebury student Amelia Miller ’20 and town resident Amy McAninch.
The ballot will also include a vote to advise the Selectboard to write to the Vermont state leadership in support of the 350VT Climate Solutions Resolution. This act would halt the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure and aim to achieve 90 percent renewable energy by 2050 in an equitable fashion. Voters will also decide whether the town of Middlebury should commit to efforts to install solar panels on town and school buildings, encourage landowners to implement carbon-responsible practices and appropriate $3,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Addison County to bolster affordable housing. These Articles will all be on the ballot on March 5.
Selectboard Chair Brian Carpenter encouraged any eligible Middlebury students to participate. “There are issues that I believe many of them are passionate about,” he said. “And it’s something quite unique about Vermont.”
(02/28/19 10:59am)
Bill Burger, the college’s vice president for communications and chief marketing officer, will leave his position on April 30. President Laurie L. Patton announced Burger’s departure in an all-school email on Feb. 14. According to the email, Burger will remain as one of Patton’s senior advisors until June 30.
Patton said the college will immediately begin the search for Burger’s successor and that she hopes to hire someone before the fall. Until then, Robin Gronlund, the current associate vice president of marketing and creative services, will serve as his interim replacement, beginning May 1.
Burger leaves behind a complicated legacy, as many in the college community associate him closely with his role in the controversial Charles Murray protest and its aftermath in March 2017.
While news of his departure came as a surprise to some, Burger said he told Patton over a year ago that he intended to leave the role. He said the demanding nature of jobs like his cause increased turnover, not just at Middlebury, but at similar institutions. Of the 11 NESCAC schools, Burger is currently the third-longest serving head of communications.
“I think from an institutional perspective it makes sense for the transition to happen now,” he said. “Middlebury is embarking on several long-term projects, and continuity will be helpful.”
Among these projects, Burger named the continued implementation of Envisioning Middlebury and an upcoming fundraising campaign.
Patton did not return a request for comment on Burger’s departure.
Leaving His Mark
In her email, Patton detailed some of Burger’s contributions to Middlebury, including his role in increasing the college’s social media presence and his influence on the award-winning Middlebury Magazine. Patton also praised Burger’s work in integrating the various parts of the Middlebury institution under one identity.
“He arrived at a point of critical transition as Middlebury began to fully embrace the complexity of its schools and programs and the need to think strategically about its identity and operations,” Patton said in the email. “He led the institution through the successful introduction of a new identity system that linked all our schools and programs”
Patton also described Burger’s relationship with The Campus, writing, “Bill has regularly and effectively worked with individual students, coaching on ethics, reporting, and best practices, and with editors at The Campus, while always respecting the independence of student journalism.”
Ellie Reinhardt ’17, a former editor in chief of The Campus, worked with Burger during the time of the Murray protest, and recalled having a productive relationship with Burger’s office.
“He constantly challenged me and challenged the staff, pushing us to reflect and refine our processes and our content,” she said. “He held The Campus to the highest standard of journalism, gave candid feedback and demanded professionalism. I will always appreciate his candor.”
Ethan Brady ’18, another former editor in chief, disagreed with Patton’s description of The Campus’ relationship with Burger. Brady said that he and Burger had different views of the role The Campus should play in the Middlebury community. He recalled a meeting with Burger and Patton in which both expressed they believed the paper was publishing too many negative stories.
“He articulated this idea that The Campus is a morale booster or a community builder, and if we print negative coverage or bad coverage then we’re not doing our job,” Brady said.
After this meeting, The Campus ran an editorial pushing back on the request for more positive coverage and affirming the paper’s independence from the Communications Office.
“There’s no such thing as negative coverage if it’s accurate and factual,” Brady said. “The school should not be immune to any sort of scrutiny.”
Brady acknowledged that Burger was simply doing his job in trying to protect the image of the school. Still, as editor in chief, Brady had a different view of the newspaper’s purpose.
“The duty of The Campus is to provide a check on the institution,” he said.
Role in the Murray Protests
Outside the newsroom, many students associate Burger with the role he played in the Murray protest.
As the protest played out, Burger planned to shuttle Murray and Political Science Professor Allison Stanger, the talk’s mediator, away from the event. The official college account, published by the college newsroom, said that Burger accelerated away from McCullough Student Center and that students jumped onto the hood of his car after it had begun to move. In the aftermath, many students disputed that account, alleging that Burger drove through the crowd and into protestors, at one point accelerating with a student on the hood of his car.
Sarah Karerat ’18, who was among those put on probation for her involvement in the Murray protest, said that for her Burger represented the administration’s effort to punish her and her fellow students for their actions.
“He became a figurehead of the anxiety and fear of the administration that we had about how the judicial process was going to affect our futures,” she said. “He was the voice of the protest policy that night, and one of the things that sticks out to me is in the whole free speech argument was that the protest policy and the judicial process eventually became censorship in its own right. And in a public manner he represents that censorship.”
Throughout the judicial process and after, when Karerat had already received her two semesters of probation, she recalls feeling anxious often. This feeling was accentuated in the presence of administrators who she associated with the protest and the trial, including Burger.
“Whenever I saw him in public spaces I was pretty immediately uncomfortable and afraid. At the beginning, that spring of 2017, I usually would leave spaces because of that discomfort,” she said.
Life After Middlebury
Burger intends to take some time to decide on his next move. He and his wife Susan Greenberg, who teaches writing and journalism at the college, plan to remain in Middlebury for the next year and a half. Greenberg will continue to teach in that time.
“I’ve spent time in media, the corporate sector, and higher education,” Burger said. “I’ve enjoyed working in all of those fields and so I don’t rule out anything for the future.”
He also noted that he is proud of the work his team has accomplished during his tenure.
“Middlebury has become a more transparent place than ever before,” Burger said. “We are more willing to engage with the media in good times and challenging times. There’s not a lot of room for hiding in today’s media environment and the best institutions — and I’m proud to say Middlebury is one of them — must be accepting of being in the public eye more than was the case even a decade ago. That’s been a growing experience for some people, but there’s no going back.”
GiGi Hogan contributed reporting.
(02/28/19 10:59am)
This past weekend, the Middlebury alpine and nordic ski teams returned to action for the first time since their historic carnival win on Feb. 16, finishing third out of fourteen teams at the EISA Championships hosted by Bates. The squad’s two biggest rivals, Dartmouth and the University of Vermont, stole the first and second place spots, getting a taste of revenge following last weekend’s narrow defeat by the Panthers at the Middlebury Carnival.
Alpine competition took place at Sunday River with harsh conditions chipping away at the Panthers’ overall speed. Nordic competition took place at Black Mountain in Rumford. While Middlebury usually finishes just a few points behind their fiercest competitors, the Panthers’ combined ski teams came out of the EISA Championships with 758 points, losing to Dartmouth (973) by a hefty 215 points and to the University of Vermont (965) by 207 points. Nevertheless, the team was able to deliver some promising results.
On the men’s side, the Panthers placed third outright in the slalom event. First-year standout Tim Gavett paced the team, completing his two runs in 1:52.98 to clinch the sixth overall spot. Next to finish for Middlebury was sophomore Justin Alkier, who was able to crack the top ten, placing ninth in 1:53.46. Senior Max Stamler was the final scorer for the Panthers in the slalom event, securing the 31st spot overall with a time of 1:59.38.
“This weekend’s conditions were extremely difficult and made it less likely for our entire team to be fast across the board because there was a lot more room for error,” Gavett said. “I think that our team has extremely high ceilings, and simply being able to ski fast and minimize mistakes will allow us to reach our potential and have the ability to consistently win carnivals.”
On the women’s side, sophomore Lucia Bailey once again proved her ability to consistently occupy top positions, crossing the line in 1:56.14 to place tenth overall. Senior Caroline Bartlett finished second for the Panthers in 1:56.47, which was good enough for 12th place. Rounding out the scoreboard for the women was sophomore Madison Lord, whose two-run time of 1:57.55 gave her a 16th place finish overall.
“In comparison to last week, I would say we didn’t perform our best due to challenging conditions,” Bailey said. “On a high note, we were able to punch some results in spite of the conditions. We ended the weekend qualifying a full team for NCAA championships!”
The nordic ski performances were nothing short of impressive, with first-year Samuel Hodges achieving a career best in the 20K classic with a time of 53:27. In the same race, the men’s team placed second overall. Sam Wood ’19 finished first for the Panthers and fifth overall with a time of 53:08, and fellow captain Lewis Nottonson ’19 completed the course with a time of 53:26. In the 10K freestyle race the previous day, three racers placed in the top eight including Wood, Nottonson and Peter Wolter ’21.
On the women’s side, junior captain Annika Landis led the team with a time of in the 45:55 in 15K classic and 13:47 in the 5K freestyle race. Following close behind Landis were Alex Lawson ’21 and Avery Ellis ’21, with Ellis skiing to the fastest 15K in her career at 46:24.
Landis applauded Ellis’ performance, pulling her into the last qualifying spot for the NCAA championship race. Additionally, she praised their consistent placement in the top three. “This consistency I think really speaks to the all around fitness of our team and our ability to dig deep and fight every weekend to give everything we can,” she said.
The Panthers will return to the slopes stronger than ever for the NCAA championships on March 6 hosted by the University of Vermont in Stowe, where they are anticipated to finish as one of the top teams. Middlebury has qualified a full team of 12 skiers for the first time since 2008, making the team one of six schools to earn this feat.
Landis has ambitious goals going into the weekend. “I think that Middlebury has the capability to earn the highest points of Eastern schools at NCAAs, especially if we bring the same determination, focus and energy to Stowe that we brought to Midd Carnival,” she said. “Additionally, it is a team goal to have an All-American skier (top 10) for men and women, alpine and nordic.”
(02/28/19 10:56am)
The 2019 men’s swimming and diving NESCAC championship was held in the Middlebury Natatorium last weekend, February 21-24, where the Panthers placed eighth. Williams captured the first place spot for the 16th time in 17 years, collecting 1,822 points. Coming in as runner-up was Tufts with 1,775.5 points, followed by Amherst (1,506 points). Middlebury rounded out the top eight (589.5 points), behind Bowdoin, Bates, Colby and Connecticut College.
In the one-meter diving final, Mike Chirico ’20 dove to an All-NESCAC performance for his third consecutive year, earning an NCAA “B” cut of 445.90 points to claim third place. For the past three years, Chirico has scored within the top three of the conference. His impressive performance is not a surprise, as he has consistently dominated both the one-meter and three-meter boards this season. In Sunday’s three-meter event, Chirico took fourth, scoring 435.30 points.
Thursday and Friday’s events led to several top 10 finishes. The 800 freestyle relay team of Morgan Matsuda ’19, Jack Dowling ’19, Alec Wilson ’21 and Zach Einhorn ’21 took ninth with a 7:01.03. Corey Jalbert ’21, Will Pannos ’20, Jake Gaughan ’22 and Brendan Leech ’19 claimed sixth in the 200 freestyle relay (1:24.01). Leech, Bryan Chang ’22, Pannos and Jalbert then scored seventh in the 400 medley relay, swimming a 3:25.48. Two Panthers secured individual top scoring titles. Leech finished eighth in the 50 backstroke final (23.52) and Pannos finished ninth in the 50 free (21.10).
On Saturday, the 200 medley relay squad of Leech, Jacob Fleisher ’20, Pannos and Jalbert opened the meet with a ninth place finish (1:34.15). Wilson and Leech swam to twelth in the 1,000 free (9.43.14) and 100 backstroke (51.41), respectively. In the 100 butterfly, Pannos finished second in the consolation final, earning 10th place overall with a 50.32.
Starting off Sunday strong, Alec Wilson swam the 1,650 freestyle final in 16:36.75, good for 19th place. Kevin Santoro ’21 then touched the wall 15th in the 200 backstroke (1:53.61). In the 200 butterfly, Dowling took 13th with a time of 1:54.29. Closing out the weekend of competition, the 400 free relay squad of Pannos, Jalbert, Gaughan and Leech podiumed in eighth, stopping the clock in 3:06.36.
Next year, the women’s team will host their half of the NESCAC event.
(02/21/19 11:00am)
Not only did the alpine ski team return to campus Saturday evening with victories in both the slalom and giant slalom events, they took home an outright first place finish at their home carnival for the first time since 2004. Like on every carnival weekend, hundreds of Middlebury students gathered at the Snow Bowl on Saturday to cheer their fellow Panthers, as they donned neon jackets and sports jerseys. This weekend, the Panthers finished with 915 points to edge Dartmouth (908 points) and cruise past the University of Vermont (875 points). The Nordic ski team also put out an impressive showing on Friday at the Rikert Nordic Center, only further firing up the alpine ski team for Saturday’s races.
“To have both the Nordic and alpine ski teams come together on our only home weekend takes a lot of stars aligning, and it feels incredible to succeed knowing how much work every athlete puts in each day,” said senior captain Caroline Bartlett.
The men’s alpine team captured the giant slalom title on Saturday, featuring a victory from sophomore powerhouse Erik Arvidsson, who took home first place overall in Friday’s slalom event. Arvidsson completed his weekend sweep with a two-run time of 2:05.87 to capture the giant slalom title, while first-year Tim Gavett stole the second overall spot in 2:06.18. Rounding out the scoreboard for the Panthers was sophomore Justin Alkier, whose time of 2:06.85 put him in fifth place.
“This weekend was just an unbelievable experience,” said Arvidsson. “We have been so close to having everyone click on the same day, and this weekend we finally got it to happen.… With the team skiing the way it is right now, anything is possible.”
On the women’s side, Bartlett led the Panthers to a victory in the giant slalom event with a two-run-time of 2:12.57, raking in the fifth giant slalom win of her career (three of which were at Middlebury Carnivals). Senior Lexi Calcagni was next to finish for the Panthers in 2:14.47, good for seventh place overall, while sophomore Lucia Bailey crossed the finish line just .02 seconds behind her, taking the eighth overall spot in 2:14.49 to secure the team’s second-place finish in the event.
“This weekend was a culmination of years of work and passion — I couldn’t ask for a better ending to my four years at Midd,” said Bartlett. “It will be super important to keep taking care of the controllable variables like equipment and health in order to maximize our training opportunities and prepare for our last few races of the season.”
The Panthers will build off the momentum from this historic weekend to bring the heat at next weekend’s races, where they will meet both Dartmouth and the University of Vermont again at the EISA Championships hosted by Bates.
(02/21/19 11:00am)
One hundred and seven first-year students arrived on campus Feb. 6 to begin their orientation. These new students, commonly called Febs, are part of a tradition which began at Middlebury College nearly fifty years ago. Febs bring unique perspectives and talents to the Middlebury community. We are excited to meet all 107 new students and we’d like extend a warm welcome to the Class of 2022.5.
The first couple months of college can be difficult. It can be hard to adjust to a new place filled with new people, challenging courses and the stressors of living apart from family. This can be even harder when you arrive on campus and there are other first-years who have been here for five months already and seem to have things figured out.
As the spring semester begins, we are reminded of the barriers that often prevent Febs and September admits, sometimes called Regs, from getting to know each other. For the most part, these issues are institutional, having to do with housing and the Feb Orientation process.
Febs are sometimes placed on first-year halls with other students, but many are sprinkled throughout the campus in buildings like Starr Hall. We recognize that the Feb program exists in part to fill the rooms left empty by students going abroad, so awkward housing assignments may sometimes be inevitable. But we think better programming can help ameliorate some issues and encourage students living near each other to interact more.
We also realize that approaching students from other years can be intimidating for new Febs. Since each Feb class is small and goes through an intensive orientation process, many know almost everyone in their Feb class — but almost nobody outside of it.
Several initiatives have tried to improve integration between the classes, but they have produced middling results, in part because students are not given enough guidance. For example, the Feb-Reg “buddy” program has led to awkward experiences for Febs when their “buddies” try to include them in large group activities without taking the time to get to know them on an individual basis first.
Members of our board have observed that new Febs and first-year students don’t seem to mingle at events that are specifically intended to give them opportunities to get to know each other, like Commons dinners.
Part of the problem with initiatives and events like these is that they do not feature activities that push people out of their comfort zones. Of course, events should be appealing enough to attract attendees, but as they exist now, the students who participate are not given a real chance to make new friends. It would be better if events had more carefully delineated activities that made it difficult for students to keep to their pre-established friend groups. For example, orientation leaders could facilitate a Midd Uncensored event — the popular discussion-based program that takes place at September and February orientations — between first-years and first-year Febs.
These events could also be better publicized. Most students find social activities on Facebook, so each Commons should use that platform to promote events.
Students who arrive at Middlebury in the Fall can fear seeming arrogant to the Febs who arrive just one semester later, so they may be hesitant to offer advice, but this community is one where most people want to be helpful and kind. So ask for help if you need it.
We also encourage all students to invite potential friends, hall mates or classmates to grab a meal. The dining halls are some of the most social spaces on this campus.
Another opportunity for friendship-building that could come from students themselves are joint events between FYCs and FebYCs. FYCs from different Commons sometimes combine events to give first-years the chance to get to know each other, and the same thing could easily be applied to first-year Febs and first-years.
And the single most important piece of advice that we can offer this year’s new Febs is to join clubs and participate in other extracurricular activities. The student activities fair will be held this Friday, and it is a great way for Febs to get to know fellow students in every year who share common interests and passions.
Middlebury needs more, better institutional support for social integration between Febs and non-Febs, especially those in their first year. With the college having just proposed changes to the residential life system, we look forward to seeing how community-building opportunities will expand in the future.
The adjustment period after arriving college is just that — a period — and will pass with time. Febs, you too will soon begin to find your groove, your people and your interests. Your path to graduation may not be the same as most students on campus, but with some effort — and, we hope, added support from the college community — it will still be a good one.
(02/21/19 10:58am)
(02/21/19 10:58am)
“That’s going to be you in a couple years,” an asylum-seeking immigrant mother said to her daughter, pointing to Middlebury student Alondra Carmona ’21.
Carmona was providing legal service to the mother and her daughter on a Middlebury Alternative Break trip (MAlt trip). The mother and daughter were at a bus station heading to Carmona’s hometown of Chicago after being held in a family detention center near San Antonio. For Carmona, an immigrant who came with her parents to the U.S. at age three from Mexico, the parallels were uncanny.
Carmona and Hannah Krutiansky ’19 led a group of 10 other Middlebury students on a MAlt trip over February break focused on immigration advocacy in San Antonio. The group worked with a nonprofit agency, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), that provides free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families and refugees.
“This is the frontlines of the immigration fight,” Krutiansky said. “This is the trenches. These are people recently arriving at the border, seeking asylum, suffering through our messed-up, convoluted immigration system. And we are jumping in and working with them directly and trying to make sense of this.”
Krutiansky and Carmona directed their efforts towards separate phases of the asylum-seeking process. Krutiansky, who has worked for RAICES for the past two summers, helped asylum seekers prepare for their “Credible Fear Interview” at Karnes Detention Center near San Antonio. For these asylum seekers, this interview is the difference between deportation and a chance at a new life. Asylum seekers must demonstrate that if they are deported, they will face discrimination or persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or a membership in a particular social group.
[pullquote speaker="Hannah Krutiansky '19" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]These are people recently arriving at the border, seeking asylum, suffering through our messed-up, convoluted immigration system. And we are jumping in and working with them directly and trying to make sense of this.[/pullquote]
Spanish proficiency was a requirement for the trip participants, who helped make each person’s story as compelling as possible to the asylum officer who would be deciding their case.
“It’s really challenging because a lot of them might be illiterate or [only speak an] indigenous [language], or they might be really traumatized,” Krutiansky said. “We help to get their story down linearly and hit important points like why the police couldn’t protect them, why they couldn’t relocate in their country. We orient them because most of them might have claims but most of them don’t know how to phrase their story that will fit into the box.”
Meanwhile, Carmona and three other trip participants gave legal orientations at the bus station that will transport asylum-seekers and immigrants to their sponsor or final destination.
[pullquote speaker="Alondra Carmona '21" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]The detention center is basically a jail for them.[/pullquote]
“It was basically post-release services: (explaining) your rights, helping interpret and translate their papers,” Carmona said. “It’s a new setting. The detention center is basically a jail for them. So when they’re released, one of the things that they told us is it’s the first time they are meeting a friendly face. You’re the first person that’s telling them, ‘Welcome to the United States.’”
Immigrants and asylum have to parse through “packages” — thick stacks of papers filled with legalistic jargon that contains important information and dates. The MAlt participants translated this information and explained that the two sets of dates that asylum seekers needed to keep track of: court dates that were necessary to obtain asylum and check-ins with Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE). Missing either one of these appointments could result in a deportation notice.
The asylum-seeking process is complex and differs slightly depending on an immigrant’s status as an unaccompanied minor, an adult, or a family. Immigrants are either apprehended at the border or express fear of returning to their home country at a port of entry. They are held in pre-detention processing facilities, likened to an ice box (“la hielera”) by detainees due to its freezing temperatures and a dog pound (“la perrera”) for its chain link fences.
Immigrant families are then sent to family detention centers, where they must pass the Credible Fear Interview. There are three family detention centers in the United States. Karnes, where the MAlt participants worked, and Dilley are located in Texas, while Berks family detention center is in Pennsylvania. The centers are operated by for-profit private prison companies like CoreCivic and GEO group.
Those who pass are transferred to the bus station. After this process, the immigrants still have no legal status and are required to continue to the asylum process outside of detention.
Krutiansky and Carmona were vividly aware of the high stakes of their work. Most asylum seekers are fleeing some form of gang violence, Krutiansky said, particularly from the region known as the “Northern triangle” of Central America: El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. Many immigrants faced the threat of extortion and murder if they returned to their home countries. Other immigrants were political activists or victims of domestic abuse. Some immigrants were indigenous people escaping crippling poverty resulting from discrimination. However, economic migrants are not qualified for refugee status under asylum law.
“The policies are so absurd,” Carmona said. “The fact that (a participant) had to interview someone and she knew that he was in danger of basically dying if he went back to his home country. And yet that was exactly what was going to happen.”
The news cycle has been dominated by issues of immigration in the past year, in large part due to President Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy, enacted in April 2018, to prosecute every illegal entry case into the United States. Soon after, media outlets reported over 2,300 cases of family separation when parents were criminally prosecuted while children were treated as “unaccompanied alien children” and handled by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Trump then issued an executive order on June 20 stating that “it is also the policy of this Administration to maintain family unity” thereby ending the practice of family separation.
[pullquote speaker="Alondra Carmona '21" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]The people and their stories make it impossible to ignore the struggles they go through.[/pullquote]
With all the media noise, the MAlt experience pushed participants to confront the realities of the immigration debate.
“We’ve all heard about the horrible situation that immigrants go through,” Carmona said. “We have the luxury of ignoring these stories. When you talk to these people, you’re making connections and they could be your parents and your aunts and uncles. The people and their stories make it impossible to ignore the struggles they go through.”
With grueling days that started at 9 a.m. and lasted until as late as 8 p.m., Krutiansky said that many participants are still processing what they saw. Many expressed outrage at the current immigration system, and hope to return as volunteers to RAICES.
“It really fuels you,” Krutiansky said. “Middlebury students are smart and they are going to be in important positions one day. For them to have seen this experience and take it with them, the choices they’re going to make and the influence they’re going to have — I think that’s the biggest takeaway.”
