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(05/03/18 11:40pm)
After having to recover from first-half deficits on consecutive weekends leading up to the Nescac playoffs, the women’s lacrosse team pledged to come out firing at the sound of the first whistle. The first-seeded Panthers did exactly that in the quarterfinals of the Nescac playoffs, jumping out to a 3–0 lead in the first 7:05 of their matchup with eighth-seeded Hamilton on Saturday, April 28, en route to a 14–5 win on Kohn Field.
Now, the Panthers will have to play a full 60 minutes against stiffer competition in their semifinal game against sixth-seeded Trinity at Kohn Field on Saturday, May 5. Trinity led Middlebury 8–4 in the team’s regular-season matchup before the Panthers stormed back with 10 unanswered goals to get a 14–8 win.
“I think that going into this Hamilton game, we knew how important it was [to] come out strong,” said Murphy. “We had some difficulty in the beginning of the last game against them, so this time we were determined to give it our all from the first whistle. We were really excited going into our first postseason game, and our energy showed on the field in our ability to get a quick start on Saturday.”
Middlebury’s three goals in the first seven minutes set the tone for the entire game on Saturday, as the Panthers outshot the Continentals 39–18 and outscored the visitors by at least four goals in each half.
Kirsten Murphy ’21 started the scoring just over two minutes into the contest. Thirteen seconds later, Hollis Perticone ’18 made the score 2–0 on a free-position shot. Then Emily Barnard ’20 scored less than five minutes later as the Panthers looked completely in control on their home field early on.
Hamilton slowed the tide momentarily with back-to-back goals, but another Murphy-fueled run put Middlebury ahead 7–2 at the halfway point. Murphy added her second and third goals of the game — her 22nd and 23rd goals of the season — and then set up Jenna McNicholas ’19, who scored Middlebury’s seventh and final goal of the first half.
Just like in the first half, the Panthers pounced on the Continentals at the beginning of the second half, scoring four straight goals to extend their run from the first half to eight straight goals, putting Middlebury ahead 11–2 and the game effectively out of Hamilton’s reach. Georgia Carroll ’18 scored three of the four goals. Hamilton came back with three goals of its own, but Middlebury closed out the game with three straight to seal a 14–5 victory, as Carroll put two more home for a game-high five goals.
Along with Carroll’s five goals, Barnard and Murphy both scored three, and Murphy assisted on four more. Murphy, in her first season at Middlebury, has scored 23 goals and assisted on a team-high 23 more. Her 23 assists place her second in the Nescac in that category, and she is second on the team in total points, behind only Emma McDonagh.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to play on this team and the chance to go in each game,” said Murphy. “I think that my stats, along with my other teammates’, reflect the depth and versatility of our team. Any given game, there is a new leading scorer, and we often have a high number of people scoring each game. This team has been extremely welcoming, and the fact that I am a first-year does not even factor into my thoughts on the field.”
Nine Panthers have scored at least 10 goals this spring. And perhaps even more telling, no Middlebury players are in the top 10 in goals scored in conference play, even though the Panthers have scored the most goals as a team.
Middlebury’s back line turned in a solid performance that is the norm for the conference’s best-scoring defense this spring. Addy Mitchell ’21 and Evie Keating ’18 held the line on Saturday. Mitchell caused four turnovers and recovered five ground balls, while Keating forced three turnovers and picked up three ground balls. Julia Keith ’20 and Kate Furber ’19 each played a half in the cage.
This Saturday’s game promises to be more of a challenge for the Panthers. Trinity surprised third-seeded Tufts to reach the semifinals and could have beaten Middlebury in their first game.
“In preparation for this weekend’s game against Trinity, I think a big focus of ours is to go hard from the start,” said Murphy. “Some of our recent games have had a slow start where we have had to come back from behind in order to win. In practice this week we’ll work on having composure but also intensity throughout the entire game.”
Middlebury aims to win its second Nescac championship in three years after an eight-season drought. If the Panthers beat Trinity on Saturday, they will play the winner of Amherst and Bowdoin on Sunday for the Nescac championship game on Kohn Field.
(05/03/18 11:39pm)
For the first time in four seasons, the sixth-seeded men’s lacrosse team (9–7, 5–5) failed to win a game in the Nescac playoffs, when they lost to No. 6 Tufts, the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, 16–12 on Saturday, April 28, in Medford, Massachusetts. After ending last year on a high note by making an improbable run to the Nescac championship game as the sixth-seed, the 2018 season ends in disappointment for a group that looked primed to make some noise in Nescacs after winning six of its last seven regular season games.
“Obviously we were aiming higher than what we ended up doing, but this team is full of heart and tremendous character,” A.J. Kucinski ’20 said.
Middlebury lost to Tufts 13–10 one week before Saturday’s matchup, but led 7–3 early in the second half before the Jumbos scored seven unanswered goals. The Panthers learned they could compete with the Jumbos, but it would take one of their best efforts to beat the sixth-ranked team in the nation, which had lost only one game the entire season.
“Having just played a week ago, we knew what to expect, as did they,” said Kucinski.
The higher-seeded hosts dominated early on, scoring the game’s first three goals in the first seven minutes of action and taking a 6–2 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“In that first quarter, they executed quickly and built a lead,” Kucinski said. “But there was still plenty of lacrosse to be played after that.”
But the Panthers discovered how difficult it was to come from behind against the Jumbos. Every time Middlebury cut the lead to three goals, Tufts came back with a goal of their own, and after three quarter, the Jumbos still led by four, 11–7.
Tufts gradually spread the icing on the cake in the final quarter, extending its lead to as big as 15–8 before Middlebury scored four of the last five goals to make it a 16–12 final.
With seven days separating their two games, the Panthers felt they adjusted themselves to the Jumbos’ game plan effectively. As mentioned time and time throughout the season, however, the Nescac is a tight and competitive conference that can see matches going in any direction.
“It just came down to them executing a few more plays than we did,” Kucinski said. “That’s obviously a tough pill to swallow, but that does not mean we did not compete, and I’m proud to call myself a part of this group.”
With the season ending prematurely, the returning Panthers will now take the time to rest, recuperate, and think about the next season. But it’s the end of the line for Middlebury’s nine seniors, a group that included four team captains, seven regular starters, and the team’s leading scorer (Henry Riehl ’18). In their four seasons in the blue-and-white, the seniors made two NCAA tournaments and two Nescac championship games while going 43–29.
“On Saturday, I had a few opportunities to score big goals to give our team momentum, and I did not execute,” Riehl said after his last game at Middlebury. “With that being said, I gave it everything I had, and that’s all you can ask for. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to play four years with so many amazing guys.”
The senior class of any sports team is integral to setting the tone with regard to season expectations and team culture. Although Middlebury was unable to advance past the quarterfinals this season, the seniors have helped instill a certain mentality among the underclassmen, who look forward to return next season determined to bask in success.
“We were led by a tremendous senior class who were examples on and off the field to us, and we will miss them in both regards, but they have laid a great framework for the rest of the team, and our expectations are very high for the future,” Kucinski said.
(05/03/18 11:38pm)
In the past five seasons, the men’s track and field team has finished second, third and fourth at Nescacs, but not first. In fact, the Panthers had never won a Nescac championship … until last Saturday, April 28. On the backs of first-place finishes by Kevin Serrao ’18, Jimmy Martinez ’19, Nicholas Hendrix ’20, the 4x100-meter relay team and the 4x400 team, and bolstered by strong performances in every event, the Panthers supplanted the two-time defending champions, Williams, who have now won only 23 of the 33 Nescac crowns — instead of 23 of 32.
And combined with the women’s team, which finished third, Middlebury track and field improved upon last year’s performance, when the men’s and women’s teams came together to finish seventh at Nescacs.
“Knowing that this was the first Nescac title in program history made last weekend even more special,” said Martinez. “Knowing that we could actually win it this year led to so many spectacular performances. I can’t express how proud I am of everyone for bringing the amount of energy they did.”
Martinez was one of several Panthers who rose to another plane of performance on Saturday. He won the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.02, while Serrao won the 1500-meter race in 3:52.20 and Hendrix crossed first in the 100-meter dash in 10.58.
Two relay teams encapsulated what needed to be a complete team effort if they wanted to unseat Williams and outrace the rest of the Nescac competition. Jackson Bock ’19, Jackson Barnett ’18, Mike Pallozzi ’18 and Hendrix came together to run a 42.29 in the 4x100-meter relay, crossing the finish line five-hundredths of a second before Tufts’ team to win the race. Arden Coleman ’20, William Robertson ’21, Josh Howard ’19 and Martinez beat the entire field by at least two seconds to claim the 4x400-meter relay crown.
Along with these five victories, a Panther finished in the top five of every competition but two on the men’s side. James Mulliken ’18, Nathan Hill ’20, Connor Evans ’19, Matt D’Aquila ’21, Harrison Knowlton ’19, Ascencion Aispuro ’18, Tyler Farrell ’18, Jon Perlman ’19, Sawyer Tadano ’21, Jonathan Fisher ’20, John Natalone ’19, Max Memeger ’21, Nathaniel Klein ’21, Minhaj Rahman ’19 and Brenden Edwards ’18 all chipped in top-five performances. And these spectacular efforts came across all of the events — individual running and relays, jumping and throwing.
The man who has guided Middlebury to this moment is Martin Beatty ’84. Beatty was a sprinter for the track team and a running back on the football team at Middlebury. After graduation, he was an assistant for the track and field, football and women’s basketball teams for a season before leaving to fill similar assistant roles at Trinity. In 1987, he returned to Middlebury as an assistant for the track and field, football and men’s basketball teams. Then, in 1988 he chose to focus on track and field, becoming the head coach. The women’s team has won two Nescac titles under Beatty. Now, in his 30th season at the helm, he has championships with both teams.
“Being the first men’s track team to win Nescacs is something we will never forget,” said Hendrix. “Not having won before definitely served as a motivating factor. We’re especially happy for our coach, Martin Beatty, because he deserves it for all the hard work he’s put in over the last 30 years.”
The women’s team also featured remarkable performances. Kate McCluskey ’18 broke a personal record and placed third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.13, along with a first-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.22. Additionally, McCluskey won first place in the 4x400 team race along with Lucy Lang ’19, Kai Milici ’21, and Kate Holly ’21.
“I am so proud of both of our teams this weekend, men and women,” McCluskey said, praising her teammates. “We had a lot of outstanding performances all around, and everyone had a lot of fun doing it. I also really admire the way our team comes together at NESCACs. All day we had people cheering for one another.”
With a time of 4:35.22, Katie Glew ’21 placed fourth in the 1500-meter run. Kate MacCary ’19 secured second place in the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:16.57. Kreager Taber ’19 placed second in the pole vault event with a vault of 3.55 meters, while Alex Cook ’20 captured third in the long jump with a jump of 5.44 meters. Finally, Helene Rowland ’20 finished third in the shot put event with an 11.99-meter throw.
“Competing at Nescacs is completely different from any other meet. In my opinion, the team seems to be much more unified and competitive with our overall results, as opposed to our own personal performances” said Devon Player ’18. “As a senior, I look back at all of the positive memories of being a part of this team, and it makes me want to try so much harder to do the best that I can and to cherish the time that I have left with my fellow athletes.”
Camaraderie proved to be a constant theme amongst members of the team.
“The preparation for this meet was a real team effort. When a few of the guys realized there was a chance for us to win, the excitement quickly built,” said Paul Malloy ’18. “From top to bottom, this team has shown an incredible amount of commitment and drive. Everybody knew we had a strong group coming into the season, and we’re so fortunate to have an amazing coaching and training staff that knows how to push our limits so that we could perform our best this weekend. I’m so proud of this team for setting a goal of winning this meet and not letting anything get in the way.”
One of the Cinderella stories for the track and field teams that emerged in last weekend’s championship was that of Isabella “Speck” Alfaro ’18, who spent much of the last five months on crutches due to a high risk of stress fracture. However, after being cleared to run in April, she leapt at the opportunity to compete.
“I didn’t think I would race for Middlebury again until Coach Wilkerson gave me the option to be a wildcard entry at Nescacs,” said Alfaro. “The support from my coaches and team made competing on Saturday incredibly special to me and reminded me why I never quit, even when my doctor told me I wouldn’t have a spring season.
“The track team has always been my favorite part of Middlebury,” Alfaro added, “so to have all my teammates line the track and cheer gave me the biggest smile while I was running down the last straightaway.”
With this spirit of support and pattern of excellence, the track and field teams now look forward to the Division III New England Championships, which start at MIT this afternoon and run until Saturday, May 5.
“This win should propel us into New Englands and some of us into NCAAs,” Martinez said. “Over these next few weeks, expect some sick performances and a lot of qualifiers. The goal is to score some serious points at these meets and crown even more champions.”
(05/03/18 5:29pm)
The women’s tennis team continued to roll in their last match of the regular season, when they defeated No. 8 Amherst 6–3 on Saturday, April 28 for their eighth straight victory. Now they turn to the Nescac playoffs, which the Panthers enter as the second seed behind undefeated Williams.
Even with Williams’ dominance this season and in the past, the Panthers firmly believe they can parlay the play that has led to their recent winning streak into the first Nescac championship in program history, avenging a loss to Williams in the process if necessary.
“We are very excited to have a potential Williams rematch,” said Katy Hughes ’20. “We lost in the regular season to Williams 4-5, so we are looking forward to this rematch. However, we are focusing on one match at a time. But if we do play Williams I am confident that we will win.”
Since its loss to Williams on April 7, Middlebury had won seven matches in a row leading up to the Amherst match last Saturday, playing its best tennis of the season to beat Quinnipiac, a DI opponent, No. 18 Skidmore, No. 14 Bowdoin and No. 5 Wesleyan.
Their match on Saturday provided the Panthers one more test before they enter the highly anticipated postseason. Amherst’s 10–6 record this spring was deceiving because the Mammoths had lost their matches to the other six teams ranked in the nation’s top seven besides Middlebury. Their No. 8 ranking spoke to how Amherst stuck with many of the nation’s top teams even though the matches ended up as losses. They lost to No. 1 Emory, No. 2 Williams and No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 6–3, and No. 6 Tufts and No. 7 Pomona Pitzer 5–4.
The Mammoths leapt ahead of Middlebury on Saturday by taking two of the three doubles matches. Actually, Middlebury’s pair of Heather Boehm ’20 and Ann Martin Skelly ’21 swarmed Amherst’s No. 3 pair to win the first match of the day 8–2. After Skelly stepped into Christina Puccinelli ’19’s doubles spot in the middle of the season, she and Boehm are a perfect 6–0 in doubles.
“Although losing Puccinelli is definitely hard, Skelly has really stepped up to the task,” Boehm said. “As a first-year she shows no signs of nerves and plays all out. We are definitely now really comfortable with each other’s games and are confident going into the weekend with good results, despite the more recent switch.”
But Amherst’s first two doubles teams outlasted Middlebury’s top two pairs by scores of 8–6 and 8–5 to give the hosts their lead.
The Panthers know they cannot afford to come out flat in the postseason, when it is crucial to be sound up and down the lineup.
“We came out not as strong as would have liked to in doubles,” said Hughes. “This week we are going to focus a lot on our doubles play so we can have a stronger start.”
To win against the Nescac schools and the nation’s best teams, Middlebury must be prepared to pounce on opportunities at any doubles or singles spot.
On Saturday, that happened across the board in singles, where Middlebury took the match over. Maddi Stow ’20 finished first by dominating Avery Wagman 6–2, 6–1 in the sixth slot. Catherine Blazye ’20 followed up her teammate with an equally convincing 6–0, 6–2 win at No. 4, and Skylar Schossberger completed the sweep of the bottom half of the ladder by winning in straight sets, 6–1, 7–6 (7–4).
Ahead 4–2, Boehm clinched the match with her second win of the day in a 6–2, 6–4 victory in the third slot.
These four Panthers have not lost since Middlebury’s last loss, at Williams on Saturday, April 7, combining to go 21–0 in singles since that point to fuel the team’s winning streak.
“We have worked so hard this entire season and are thrilled to see that our efforts are paying off,” said Puccinelli.
Katy Hughes ’20 added one more straight-sets victory, winning 6–2, 6–4 like Boehm, at No. 2 for the Panthers’ fifth singles win on Saturday, before Puccinelli fell at No. 1.
Middlebury is very confident entering Nescacs, and rightfully so, given their play on Saturday and over the last month.
“While we're still working on individual projects and improving our game on a day-to-day basis, we are all very comfortable with our level of play at this point in the year,” Puccinelli said.
That comfort level has become increasingly apparent over Middlebury’s latest run in Nescac play, which the Panthers attribute to their commitment since last season ended.
“After months of training and perfecting our fitness, we are now just enjoying the level of play that we get to see at practice every day,” said Puccinelli.
Middlebury’s comfort in their play on the court and confidence in themselves emerge in their words. But Hughes is also quick to point out the Panthers must take one match at a time, continuing to practice the way that brought them to this point.
“I believe that all of us are going to work very hard this week on and off the court,” Hughes said. “So we can go into Nescacs feeling confident.”
Middlebury’s confidence is not unfounded: it comes from their success thus far this season, their dedication to improving in practice and in every match, and their trust that a relentless work ethic will pay off.
“Even though we played great tennis this past weekend, we know that our best tennis is still ahead of us,” said Hughes.
Middlebury have a bye through the first round of the Nescac playoffs, which Amherst is hosting this season, and will play the winner of third-seeded Wesleyan and sixth-seeded Bowdoin on Saturday, May 5.
If the bracket holds, the Panthers will play Wesleyan on Saturday, whom they beat 6–3 in the regular season.
“After playing them two weekends ago, this is definitely not a team to lose sight of,” Boehm said. “They are loud and have strong games. We trust our singles but went down in doubles last time so we definitely have been working on that this week.”
If they win on Saturday, the Panthers will play for the conference championship on Sunday, May 6 at 9 a.m.
In the past two seasons, the Panthers lost to Williams in the Nescac championship. In 2016, Williams won 5–0, and in 2017, 5–4. Here’s to another rematch this season.
(05/03/18 5:27pm)
In the past five seasons, the men’s track and field team has finished second, third and fourth at Nescacs, but not first. In fact, the Panthers had never won a Nescac championship … until last Saturday, April 28. On the backs of first-place finishes by Kevin Serrao ’18, Jimmy Martinez ’19, Nicholas Hendrix ’20, the 4x100-meter relay team and the 4x400 team, and bolstered by strong performances in every event, the Panthers supplanted the two-time defending champions, Williams, who have now won only 23 of the 33 Nescac crowns — instead of 23 of 32.
And combined with the women’s team, which finished third, Middlebury track and field improved upon last year’s performance, when the men’s and women’s teams came together to finish seventh at Nescacs.
“Knowing that this was the first Nescac title in program history made last weekend even more special,” said Martinez. “Knowing that we could actually win it this year led to so many spectacular performances. I can’t express how proud I am of everyone for bringing the amount of energy they did.”
Martinez was one of several Panthers who rose to another plane of performance on Saturday. He won the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.02, while Serrao won the 1500-meter race in 3:52.20 and Hendrix crossed first in the 100-meter dash in 10.58.
Two relay teams encapsulated what needed to be a complete team effort if they wanted to unseat Williams and outrace the rest of the Nescac competition. Jackson Bock ’19, Jackson Barnett ’18, Mike Pallozzi ’18 and Hendrix came together to run a 42.29 in the 4x100-meter relay, crossing the finish line five-hundredths of a second before Tufts’ team to win the race. Arden Coleman ’20, William Robertson ’21, Josh Howard ’19 and Martinez beat the entire field by at least two seconds to claim the 4x400-meter relay crown.
Along with these five victories, a Panther finished in the top five of every competition but two on the men’s side. James Mulliken ’18, Nathan Hill ’20, Connor Evans ’19, Matt D’Aquila ’21, Harrison Knowlton ’19, Ascencion Aispuro ’18, Tyler Farrell ’18, Jon Perlman ’19, Sawyer Tadano ’21, Jonathan Fisher ’20, John Natalone ’19, Max Memeger ’21, Nathaniel Klein ’21, Minhaj Rahman ’19 and Brenden Edwards ’18 all chipped in top-five performances. And these spectacular efforts came across all of the events — individual running and relays, jumping and throwing.
The man who has guided Middlebury to this moment is Martin Beatty ’84. Beatty was a sprinter for the track team and a running back on the football team at Middlebury. After graduation, he was an assistant for the track and field, football and women’s basketball teams for a season before leaving to fill similar assistant roles at Trinity. In 1987, he returned to Middlebury as an assistant for the track and field, football and men’s basketball teams. Then, in 1988 he chose to focus on track and field, becoming the head coach. The women’s team has won two Nescac titles under Beatty. Now, in his 30th season at the helm, he has championships with both teams.
“Being the first men's track team to win Nescacs is something we will never forget,” said Hendrix. “Not having won before definitely served as a motivating factor. We're especially happy for our coach, Martin Beatty, because he deserves it for all the hard work he's put in over the last 30 years.”
The women’s team also featured remarkable performances. Kate McCluskey ’18 broke a personal record and placed third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.13, along with a first-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.22. Additionally, McCluskey won first place in the 4x400 team race along with Lucy Lang ’19, Kai Milici ’21, and Kate Holly ’21.
“I am so proud of both of our teams this weekend, men and women,” McCluskey said, praising her teammates. “We had a lot of outstanding performances all around, and everyone had a lot of fun doing it. I also really admire the way our team comes together at NESCACs. All day we had people cheering for one another.”
With a time of 4:35.22, Katie Glew ’21 placed fourth in the 1500-meter run. Kate MacCary ’19 secured second place in the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:16.57. Kreager Taber ’19 placed second in the pole vault event with a vault of 3.55 meters, while Alex Cook ’20 captured third in the long jump with a jump of 5.44 meters. Finally, Helene Rowland ’20 finished third in the shot put event with an 11.99-meter throw.
“Competing at Nescacs is completely different from any other meet. In my opinion, the team seems to be much more unified and competitive with our overall results, as opposed to our own personal performances” said Devon Player ’18. “As a senior, I look back at all of the positive memories of being a part of this team, and it makes me want to try so much harder to do the best that I can and to cherish the time that I have left with my fellow athletes.”
Camaraderie proved to be a constant theme amongst members of the team.
“The preparation for this meet was a real team effort. When a few of the guys realized there was a chance for us to win, the excitement quickly built,” said Paul Malloy ’18. “From top to bottom, this team has shown an incredible amount of commitment and drive. Everybody knew we had a strong group coming into the season, and we're so fortunate to have an amazing coaching and training staff that knows how to push our limits so that we could perform our best this weekend. I'm so proud of this team for setting a goal of winning this meet and not letting anything get in the way.”
One of the Cinderella stories for the track and field teams that emerged in last weekend’s championship was that of Isabella “Speck” Alfaro ’18, who spent much of the last five months on crutches due to a high-risk stress fracture. However, after being cleared to run in April, she leapt at the opportunity to compete.
“I didn’t think I would race for Middlebury again until Coach Wilkerson gave me the option to be a wildcard entry at Nescacs,” said Alfaro. “The support from my coaches and team made competing on Saturday incredibly special to me and reminded me why I never quit, even when my doctor told me I wouldn’t have a spring season.
“The track team has always been my favorite part of Middlebury,” Alfaro added, “so to have all my teammates line the track and cheer gave me the biggest smile while I was running down the last straightaway.”
With this spirit of support and pattern of excellence, the track and field teams now look forward to the Division III New England Championships, which start at MIT this afternoon and run until Saturday, May 5.
“This win should propel us into New Englands and some of us into NCAAs,” Martinez said. “Over these next few weeks, expect some sick performances and a lot of qualifiers. The goal is to score some serious points at these meets and crown even more champions.”
(05/03/18 5:27pm)
On April 28, two members of the men’s golf team traveled south to the Indian Hills Country Club in Connecticut for the 2018 Nescac Championship. The women’s squad, meanwhile, headed to the Taconic Country Club in Massachusetts for the Williams Spring Invitational. The invitational was their final competition of the season.
Representing Middlebury at the men’s championship were Jeffrey Giguere ’20 and senior Bennet Doherty ’18. Both competed individually and placed sixth and 21st, respectively. Giguere shot a 73 in the first round and a 77 in the second, which combined for a two-round total of 150. Doherty carded respective rounds of 83 and 80 for a two-day total of 163.
Trinity won the tournament as whole, thanks to Bantams like Will Rosenfeld and Kole Kelly, who tied for first on the individual leaderboard. Amherst placed second, with three golfers tying for fourth individually. Williams finished third, while Tufts came in fourth.
“I hit [the] ball really, really well,” said Giguere. “It was just a continuation of last week, and fortunately there was very little wind, so I felt like I could hit the ball however I wanted.”
Giguere managed to hit 27 out of 36 greens but unfortunately wasn’t able to execute with his putting.
“The only thing I was frustrated about was my putting,” said Giguere. “I couldn’t make a birdie in the second round. My lag putting was so bad — I left myself with very long, hard putts.”
“I’m not really disappointed though with the way I’m hitting it — I thought it was a positive. But of course, I was disappointed that I didn’t get it done.”
In Williamstown, the women’s squad finished in third in an eight-team field that saw Williams win the tournament.
Chloe Levins ’20 paced the Panthers, shooting an 80 in the first round before carding a 77 on day two and a tournament total of 157, which was good for sixth place. Senior captain Katharine Fortin ’18 tied for 13th with a total of 161, while Hope Matthews ’18, also a senior captain, shot a 162. She placed 17th. Other Panthers included Helen Dailey ’19, who tied for 28th, and Erika Nakagawa ’21, who tied for 35th.
Williams won the tournament on the backs of Cordelia Chan and Elizabeth Gudas, who finished first and second with respective scores of 147 and 148. Carnegie Mellon finished second and was led by Summer Kilhara and Charlotte Simpson, who placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Middlebury was followed by Amherst, SUNY Cortland, Hamilton, Suffolk, and LIU Post.
“I was numb going into the weekend, feeling as if it were just another Williams tournament and not being quite able to comprehend that it was the last,” said Fortin about her emotions heading into the tournament. “We have the same routine every time we play in Williamstown, and it is always my favorite weekend. I hoped to have two stellar rounds, as one would in the last match of their career, but I also know that having a busy spring and coming out of a minimal-golf winter meant my expectations should be low.”
“It was definitely a lot of mixed feelings,” said Matthews, echoing Fortin’s sentiment. “I wanted to play well since I knew it was my last time ever playing golf as a Panther, so I was feeling a lot of pressure from myself.”
“I put all of my emotions into those final rounds,” said Fortin. “With the support of friends and family who came to watch, I felt extremely fortunate that I've been playing on this team for four years and [have] shared the ups and downs of each season with all of them. I can't believe it’s over, but with four amazing years, a couple team titles, and three individual wins, I am feeling happy and proud.”
(05/03/18 5:24pm)
After having to recover from first-half deficits on consecutive weekends leading up to the Nescac playoffs, the women’s lacrosse team pledged to come out firing at the sound of the first whistle. The first-seeded Panthers did exactly that in the quarterfinals of the Nescac playoffs, jumping out to a 3–0 lead in the first 7:05 of their matchup with eighth-seeded Hamilton on Saturday, April 28, en route to a 14–5 win on Kohn Field.
Now, the Panthers will have to play a full 60 minutes against stiffer competition in their semifinal game against sixth-seeded Trinity at Kohn Field on Saturday, May 5. Trinity led Middlebury 8–4 in the team’s regular-season matchup before the Panthers stormed back with 10 unanswered goals to get a 14–8 win.
“I think that going into this Hamilton game, we knew how important it was [to] come out strong,” said Murphy. “We had some difficulty in the beginning of the last game against them, so this time we were determined to give it our all from the first whistle. We were really excited going into our first postseason game, and our energy showed on the field in our ability to get a quick start on Saturday.”
Middlebury’s three goals in the first seven minutes set the tone for the entire game on Saturday, as the Panthers outshot the Continentals 39–18 and outscored the visitors by at least four goals in each half.
Kirsten Murphy ’21 started the scoring just over two minutes into the contest. Thirteen seconds later, Hollis Perticone ’18 made the score 2–0 on a free-position shot. Then Emily Barnard ’20 scored less than five minutes later as the Panthers looked completely in control on their home field early on.
Hamilton slowed the tide momentarily with back-to-back goals, but another Murphy-fueled run put Middlebury ahead 7–2 at the halfway point. Murphy added her second and third goals of the game — her 22nd and 23rd goals of the season — and then set up Jenna McNicholas ’19, who scored Middlebury’s seventh and final goal of the first half.
Just like in the first half, the Panthers pounced on the Continentals at the beginning of the second half, scoring four straight goals to extend their run from the first half to eight straight goals, putting Middlebury ahead 11–2 and the game effectively out of Hamilton’s reach. Georgia Carroll ’18 scored three of the four goals. Hamilton came back with three goals of its own, but Middlebury closed out the game with three straight to seal a 14–5 victory, as Carroll put two more home for a game-high five goals.
Along with Carroll’s five goals, Barnard and Murphy both scored three, and Murphy assisted on four more. Murphy, in her first season at Middlebury, has scored 23 goals and assisted on a team-high 23 more. Her 23 assists place her second in the Nescac in that category, and she is second on the team in total points, behind only Emma McDonagh.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to play on this team and the chance to go in each game,” said Murphy. “I think that my stats, along with my other teammates’, reflect the depth and versatility of our team. Any given game, there is a new leading scorer, and we often have a high number of people scoring each game. This team has been extremely welcoming, and the fact that I am a first-year does not even factor into my thoughts on the field.”
Nine Panthers have scored at least 10 goals this spring. And perhaps even more telling, no Middlebury players are in the top 10 in goals scored in conference play, even though the Panthers have scored the most goals as a team.
Middlebury’s back line turned in a solid performance that is the norm for the conference’s best-scoring defense this spring. Addy Mitchell ’21 and Evie Keating ’18 held the line on Saturday. Mitchell caused four turnovers and recovered five ground balls, while Keating forced three turnovers and picked up three ground balls. Julia Keith ’20 and Kate Furber ’19 each played a half in the cage.
This Saturday’s game promises to be more of a challenge for the Panthers. Trinity surprised third-seeded Tufts to reach the semifinals and could have beaten Middlebury in their first game.
“In preparation for this weekend's game against Trinity, I think a big focus of ours is to go hard from the start,” said Murphy. “Some of our recent games have had a slow start where we have had to come back from behind in order to win. In practice this week we'll work on having composure but also intensity throughout the entire game.”
Middlebury aims to win its second Nescac championship in three years after an eight-season drought. If the Panthers beat Trinity on Saturday, they will play the winner of Amherst and Bowdoin on Sunday for the Nescac championship game on Kohn Field.
(05/03/18 5:22pm)
For the first time in four seasons, the sixth-seeded men’s lacrosse team (9–7, 5–5) failed to win a game in the Nescac playoffs, when they lost to No. 6 Tufts, the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, 16–12 on Saturday, April 28, in Medford, Massachusetts. After ending last year on a high note by making an improbable run to the Nescac championship game as the sixth-seed, the 2018 season ends in disappointment for a group that looked primed to make some noise in Nescacs after winning six of its last seven regular season games.
“Obviously we were aiming higher than what we ended up doing, but this team is full of heart and tremendous character,” A.J. Kucinski ’20 said.
Middlebury lost to Tufts 13–10 one week before Saturday’s matchup, but led 7–3 early in the second half before the Jumbos scored seven unanswered goals. The Panthers learned they could compete with the Jumbos, but it would take one of their best efforts to beat the sixth-ranked team in the nation, which had lost only one game the entire season.
“Having just played a week ago, we knew what to expect, as did they,” said Kucinski.
The higher-seeded hosts dominated early on, scoring the game’s first three goals in the first seven minutes of action and taking a 6–2 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“In that first quarter, they executed quickly and built a lead,” Kucinski said. “But there was still plenty of lacrosse to be played after that.”
But the Panthers discovered how difficult it was to come from behind against the Jumbos. Every time Middlebury cut the lead to three goals, Tufts came back with a goal of their own, and after three quarter, the Jumbos still led by four, 11–7.
Tufts gradually spread the icing on the cake in the final quarter, extending its lead to as big as 15–8 before Middlebury scored four of the last five goals to make it a 16–12 final.
With seven days separating their two games, the Panthers felt they adjusted themselves to the Jumbos’ game plan effectively. As mentioned time and time throughout the season, however, the Nescac is a tight and competitive conference that can see matches going in any direction.
“It just came down to them executing a few more plays than we did,” Kucinski said. “That’s obviously a tough pill to swallow, but that does not mean we did not compete, and I'm proud to call myself a part of this group.”
With the season ending prematurely, the returning Panthers will now take the time to rest, recuperate, and think about the next season. But it’s the end of the line for Middlebury’s nine seniors, a group that included four team captains, seven regular starters, and the team’s leading scorer (Henry Riehl ’18). In their four seasons in the blue-and-white, the seniors made two NCAA tournaments and two Nescac championship games while going 43–29.
“On Saturday, I had a few opportunities to score big goals to give our team momentum, and I did not execute,” Riehl said after his last game at Middlebury. “With that being said, I gave it everything I had, and that's all you can ask for. I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to play four years with so many amazing guys.”
The senior class of any sports team is integral to setting the tone with regard to season expectations and team culture. Although Middlebury was unable to advance past the quarterfinals this season, the seniors have helped instill a certain mentality among the underclassmen, who look forward to return next season determined to bask in success.
“We were led by a tremendous senior class who were examples on and off the field to us, and we will miss them in both regards, but they have laid a great framework for the rest of the team, and our expectations are very high for the future,” Kucinski stated.
(05/03/18 1:35am)
On Sunday April 29 Middlebury was one of dozens of schools nationwide to join a University of Chicago live simulcast Q&A session with artist and activist Ai Weiwei. The broadcast, held in Wilson Hall, was followed by a screening of Weiwei’s award-winning and visually stunning documentary about the global refugee crisis, “Human Flow.” The film, which was first released in October at the Venice International Film Festival, tells the stories of some of the world’s 65 million migrants, captured on film by travelling to refugee camps in 23 countries over the course of a year.
“Over 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war in the greatest human displacement since World War II,” the film’s official website reads “‘Human Flow’, an epic film journey led by the internationally renowned artist Ai Weiwei, gives a powerful visual expression to this massive human migration.”
During the Q&A session, Weiwei explained that he was inspired to make the movie in part based on his own experience being forcibly displaced from his home by the Chinese government during the Cultural Revolution.
“Maybe that’s why I get involved, because I care about people whose lives are changed being in this desperate situation,” Weiwei said. “I am quite identified with those types of people in those conditions.”
Weiwei, in addition to being an artist and filmmaker, is also a renowned political activist and frequently uses his art as social commentary. He meant for “Human Flow” to call attention to the global migrant crisis and rally viewers and their governments to action. During the Q&A he pointed out the role that the U.S. has played in the past in displacing families, as well as the current administration’s lack of responsibility in accepting refugees into the country.
“Iraq war, all those wars always have our shadows in there,” he said. “If we don’t really act on those issues, then we become a part of it. This is more than a joke. It’s so sad and so shameful as a nation, the strongest nation in the world that has all the resources … to not bear any responsibility. This is not asking for mercy, it’s asking for responsibility.”
A poll of the live-stream viewers showed that 97 percent believed the U.S. should let more refugees into its borders, while the other 3 percent “need to watch the movie again,” as Weiwei said.
Indeed, the film’s message is immediately rousing, as it opens with iPhone footage of a raft coming to shore in Lesovo, Greece and dozens of soaking Syrian refugees tumbling onto the rocky beach. It soon cuts to a drone shot of a large camp in Iraq, panning to scenes of destruction that began with the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, the caption reads. Throughout the 2 hours and 20 minutes, the film reaches distant corners of the earth and myriad groups of refugees, from Syrians camped outside the barbed-wired Macedonian border to Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh escaping Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing to Palestinians enclosed by tall concrete walls on Gaza’s West Bank.
Much more than a documentary exposé, “Human Flow” is a riveting work of political art. It focuses particularly on holding the West accountable for its part in the migration crisis. Gruesome and raw footage of life at the camps is often overlaid with text, such as quotes from poems or relevant news headlines. One scene shows police burning a camp in Calais, France in order to violently evict the thousands of migrants living there as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union appears in big text on the screen. In another, a hazy vision of black smoke billowing off burning oil fields in Iraq is overlaid with a Newsweek headline: “Oil was Prime Motivator in Iraq War.”
The artistry of ascending drone shots, orchestral music and lines of poetry serve to complement the film’s weighty subject matter. Weiwei insists that the film is still beautiful, though tragic.
“Even in the most suffering moment, there’s a beauty,” he said. “Because where there’s humanity, there’s beauty.”
Jason Vrooman, curator of education and academic outreach at the college and one of the organizers of the event, hopes that the Middlebury community will be inspired to lend their help to the refugee crisis by reaching out to activist groups such as the campus’ Amnesty International chapter and the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program. They can also search therefugeecenter.org/human-flow to find more ways to help.
As Weiwei told viewers, “If we can help one person, or one family, or someone in your neighborhood, it helps humanity. It’s all connected. The willingness to act is the most important.”
(05/03/18 1:33am)
Data Services Librarian Ryan Clement is liaison to the Economics, Geography, Philosophy and Sociology & Anthropology departments, as well as serving as Middlebury’s Government Documents Coordinator.
“Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari, 2015
443 pages
“We have advanced from canoes to galleys to steamships to space shuttles – but nobody knows where we’re going. We are more powerful than ever before, but have very little idea what to do with all that power. Worse still, humans seem to be more irresponsible than ever. Self-made gods with only the laws of physics to keep us company, we are accountable to no one. We are consequently wreaking havoc on our fellow animals and on the surrounding ecosystem, seeking little more than our own comfort and amusement, yet never finding satisfaction.”
- Yuval Noah Harari, “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind,” “Afterword”
The What
“Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” attempts a grand and challenging experiment: can the full history of Homo sapiens be properly summarized in fewer than 500 pages? The author, Yuval Noah Harari, certainly thinks so. Despite promising a brief history of “humankind” in the book’s subtitle, he’s smart to focus on one species of humankind (Homo sapiens) and their turbulent 70,000-year history.
“Sapiens” begins when our species began to experience the first of many revolutions that Harari highlights: the “cognitive” revolution. Not to be confused with the cognitive revolution in psychology, which was a reaction against behaviorism, this is the period around 70,000 years ago when humanity developed the capacity for imagination. Our newfound ability to talk about things that don’t exist, and to communicate these ideas with others in our group, led to the “collective fictions,” which, Harari argues, make Homo sapiens uniquely able to cooperate on a grand scale.
Harari then takes us through several other periods of change and revolution, such as the agricultural revolution, the scientific revolution and the industrial revolution, to trace the gradual consolidation of Homo sapiens from separate bands of hunter-gatherers to the increasingly globalized society we inhabit today. Harari’s tracing of humankind’s evolution ends on a cliffhanger, hinted at by the quote above.
He says, of our future, “Indeed, the future masters of the world will probably be more different from us than we are from Neanderthals…[w]hereas we and the Neanderthals are at least human, our inheritors will be godlike.”
This is a fitting ending to a book whose sequel is titled “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow.”
The Why
Any book that attempts to summarize such a grand sweep of history in such a tantalizingly bite-sized chunk is bound to be a hit with the intelligentsia, and “Sapiens” was no exception. It was recommended by Mark Zuckerberg, Barack Obama and Bill Gates, among countless others. I approached this book to determine two things: could this book accomplish its goals, in the way that Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” had, and what baggage and interpretation was Harari bringing to the table when writing about such a fraught subject as the evolution of the Homo sapiens?
As for the first question, I think Harari has mainly accomplished what he set out to do. The grand sweep of humanity’s evolution is conveyed in a narrative and engrossing style that still incorporates historical, biological, anthropological and economic scholarship. While Harari does make some authorial missteps (his repeated misuse of the phrase “exceptions that prove the rule” is particularly grating) his general writing is both digestible and informed by significant scholarship. He does gloss over significant controversies and fails to cite a few extraordinary claims, but such is to be expected in a book that attempts such a feat as this.
As for the second, Harari’s biases sometimes come to the forefront in ways that will cause many readers, as they caused me, to want to scribble diatribes in the margins of their copy (which I could not do in my ebook copy, unfortunately). He rails against the changes that the agricultural revolution brought, painting the pre-agricultural period of humanity as a sort of golden age when everyone was more free, despite horrendous child mortality rates. He is no fan of “modern liberal culture,” but his attacks on it veer toward self-parody. Such clear biases are easy to spot though, and taking a critical stance on these did not hurt my enjoyment of this book. I would recommend this to any reader interested in human evolution and history, and will be ordering the sequel, “Homo Deus,” for the library as well.
(05/03/18 1:12am)
BURLINGTON - This past month, South Burlington’s foremost music venue, Higher Ground, celebrated twenty years of successful operation. The establishment’s prosperity rests on a drive for constant improvement, and its transformative history and lasting impact on the community, including on Middlebury College, embodies this very ambition.
Higher Ground’s conception came out of frustration. One of the founders and a current co-owner, Alex Crothers, had just graduated from the University of Vermont and wanted to create a space for people of all ages to enjoy live music. The other venues in the area served the 21-and-up crowd almost exclusively. Inspired, Crothers enlisted the help of his friend from school, Rob Hintze, to further his vision.
The two began hunting for spaces, when their real estate agent introduced them to Kevin Statesir and his partner, Matt Sutte, both of whom were looking to start a similar project. Soon after, the four partners came together and bought what was once a Denny’s in Winooski, turning it into the first iteration of Higher Ground.
Through occasional performances by Phish, whose guitarist’s brother-in-law is Statesir, the venue gained traction. After six years, a growing base of patrons and a steady stream of national and local acts led to the establishment’s complete reinvention. Higher Ground moved to where it still stands today— in a former movie theater in South Burlington.
The facility boasts the Ballroom, which has a holding capacity of 750 people, and the Showcase Lounge, which has room for 300 others. Along with three bars, Higher Ground can host up to 3,000 people for its outdoors concerts in the warmer months. But the changes haven’t stopped there.
Hintze, Statesir and Sutte have all left Higher Ground amicably, leaving Crothers as Higher Ground’s only original partner still in control. About five years ago, Vermont entrepreneur Alan Newman began working alongside Crothers. To commemorate two decades of growth, Crothers and Newman oversaw the installation of a new sound system in the Ballroom and an updated sound system in the Showcase Lounge. Additionally, Crothers hopes to further expand the facility to accommodate more people; this dream is stalled indefinitely, however, due to logistical obstacles.
While the physical appearance of Higher Ground stays in flux, the venue continues to book recognizable names to attract crowds. Fleet Foxes, Sylvan Esso and Jason Mraz are scheduled to make appearances within the coming months. These industry giants are balanced out with local acts, such as Madaila and Steady Betty, who performed for Higher Ground’s twentieth anniversary.
Higher Ground’s impact on the community is widespread. Vermont native and current Middlebury College first-year, Galen von Wodtke, described his experiences at the venue. “You go there and see people a lot of people you know. And it’s a huge space, but it still feels really intimate. It just brings the community together in a way, and it offers a lot of diverse types of shows for a diverse crowd, which isn’t common in Vermont,” said von Wodtke.
Those new to Vermont, like first-year Rayn Bumstead, also feel Higher Ground’s influence. “Higher Ground gives you a unique experience. You see a show that would sell out a big arena otherwise, but you get to see it in a smaller setting and be a part of a crowd that seems to really enjoy the music,” said Bumstead. “Everyone there is just in it for the music.”
Though Higher Ground is located about forty-five minutes away from Middlebury, this doesn’t stop students from seeking out the venue - especially because of the all-ages policy. This gives students at Middlebury, and students everywhere in Vermont, the opportunity to attend quality shows at a good price regardless of whether they are of legal drinking age.
With two decades of community empowerment under its belt, Higher Ground continues to expand its reach. On May 3, Higher Ground’s new show with Vermont PBS, a local public-broadcasting station, is scheduled to air for the public. The first episode focuses on a performance by a local artist, Kat Wright, at Higher Ground. The show is entitled “Bardo: A Night in the Life” and features tapings of shows paired with conversations with Ryan Miller, another local resident and host of another show that once aired on the network, “Makin’ Friends with Ryan Miller.”
Higher Ground is a Vermont staple for both musicians and music-lovers. Statesir, who only just recently departed from Higher Ground, spoke to the Burlington Free Press about the current state of the venue.
“I’m just hoping to see it continue with the warmth and the community feeling we started out with,” Statesir said. “It’s time for me now, and I really feel the place is in good hands to carry on the tradition and legacy that is so important to me.”
With Crothers and Newman in charge and new developments on the horizon, Higher Ground rings in its twentieth anniversary with the same momentum it’s always had.
Happy birthday, Higher Ground!
(05/02/18 8:35pm)
The Middlebury Race to Zero team won the elementary schools contest in the U.S. Department of Energy’s annual Race to Zero Student Design competition held in Golden, Colorado from April 20-22. The college competed against 40 teams from 34 colleges and universities to design marketable, economically feasible and fully renewable buildings.
“In a monumental upset, our rag tag liberal arts team took first place in the Race to Zero Elementary Design competition,” wrote Alex Browne ’18 on the Middlebury Race to Zero team blog.
The contest was designed by the Department of Energy to engage students who are interested in architecture, engineering, construction and similar disciplines in thinking creatively about renewable and clean energy. Students were asked to update building designs and create plans for high-performance, energy-efficient buildings where renewable power could offset at least most of the energy consumption of the space.
Project manager Zach Berzolla ’18 learned of the competition through director of sustainability integration Jack Byrne. He worked with geology professor Will Amidon to develop a student-taught winter term class focused on Zero Energy building design. The course was designed to teach students about the Zero Energy design process by developing a design for a Zero Energy elementary school in Vermont.
Over winter term and the spring semester, the team designed a two-story, 21-classroom, 500-student facility, which they believed would best suit Middlebury’s residents and the Vermont climate.
Representatives from the college’s team presented their final redesign of local Mary Hogan Elementary School at the College’s Student Symposium on April 20 and again in front of a Department of Energy jury at the National Renewable Energy Lab on April 22. The college’s team won the contest while competing against schools with graduate architecture and engineering programs.
“Our team’s victory was a testament to the value of a liberal arts education,” said Browne, who was responsible for making sure Middlebury’s elementary school design was up to code. He noticed that some other teams’ plans were not.
Browne said his experience as a volunteer firefighter made him especially conscious of fire safety and building code compliance. He also said the team’s attention to detail meant all aspects of the final design were carefully thought out, which some other teams lacked.
Many members of the Middlebury team cited the importance of their holistic approach. The group began by studying existing Zero Energy schools before meeting with the principal of Mary Hogan Elementary, Tom Buzzel, to better understand the elementary school’s specific needs.
“Then as a class we decided on key pieces we wanted to include in our design and what the most important components were,” Berzolla said.
“In our early stages, our team spent what seemed to be an unreasonable number of hours arguing about every detail; from the number of faucets in a bathroom all the way up to recent changes in elementary school pedagogy,” Browne said.
Berzolla said the team spent two months refining the floor plans because every decision was intentionally chosen to create the best learning environment possible.
Later on, the team broke into smaller working groups that focused on specific categories including architecture, interior design and HVAC systems. Berzolla said that with every design choice, the group weighed cost, energy-efficiency and the design goals.
“We had to dive into a very detailed analysis of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems for the building,” Berzolla said, although no team members had sufficient experience with these areas. Assistance from industry partners made the project feasible and gave the final design its depth.
Instead of modifying a standard design for the new elementary school, the college team discussed what the future of education should look like, and used those innovative concepts as the basis for their plan.
“We focused heavily on collaborative and experiential learning and our design tried to make this natural and easy,” said Gigi Miller ’18, a member of the interior design team. She said they aimed to create spaces that kids would be excited to come and learn in everyday.
Berzolla said this focus on the kids and creating the building as a teaching tool that students would be excited to learn in was what set them apart from other schools in the competition.
“We really tried to think about specific social factors such as different learning and teaching styles that may need to be catered to,” said Emma McDonagh ’19, who worked on the building’s architecture. Her group redesigned the current building’s convoluted layout to create more welcoming and flexible interior spaces.
The new school’s location was another important factor. The team selected a space beside the current middle school because of its flexibility and its connection with the outdoors. McDonagh said that such real-world implications made the project a great learning experience.
The team plans to present their plan to the Middlebury Selectboard in May.
(04/26/18 8:50pm)
If I walk at a brisk pace and have the right song playing on Spotify, I can get there in eight minutes. I take one left, one right, and cross the street. I go there when I am stressed and in need of a break, when I want to temporarily trade our world for a new one. I could only be talking about one place: the movies. More specifically, our very own Marquis Theater in the heart of downtown Middlebury.
For those who have yet to visit, the Marquis has two theaters; one downstairs and one upstairs. The upstairs theater is smaller and more intimate, with a few dozen seats and a slanted wooden floor that brings you to the front row, which is so close to the screen you can almost reach out and touch it. The downstairs theater is larger, with more seats and a hodgepodge of couches and armchairs spread throughout for moviegoers to enjoy a film in complete comfort. The snacks are good too. There is popcorn, candy, soda, a bar, and a small restaurant serving Mexican cuisine.
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about how important the movies are, not only to those of us who study and write about film, but to our society. In a time where we all are on our devices nonstop, always able to be contacted by our employers, family and friends, the movies may be our final refuge from the responsibilities and stresses of everyday life. (Unless, of course, you’re a professional film critic.)
I was thinking about this a couple of weeks ago, as I attended a screening (not at the Marquis) of Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game. Prior to the screening, I had worked at my job, ate a quick dinner, and co-led this paper’s editorial meeting. As I made my way to the screening, I was thinking about the homework I had yet to start, of the applications that had yet to be completed, and of the interview I had the following day. But, as the lights dimmed and Renoir’s masterpiece began to play, the mental to-do list faded away, and as it did, I thought to myself, “Man, how lucky am I to be at the movies?”
There are many places folks often go to temporarily seek refuge from the responsibilities of everyday life: the gym, a restaurant, a sports game, the park, a drive around town, the pages of a novel. But even at those places, the cell phone’s allure is difficult to resist; the ping of a push notification is constant, CNN is always on one of the TVs behind the bar, and the sight of everybody else on their phone/tablet/computer serves as a constant reminder of all you have yet to do. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that the movies are our final refuge from the aforementioned reminders of daily life. Sure, one could see a play or ballet, or go camping or hiking if you’re in a rural area, but those are not as accessible to the masses as the movies. For the most part, they are not places one can go on a whim and budget.
And that is why I love the Marquis. On a rainy day, or in between studying, I will often walk down there and forget my responsibilities for a couple of hours. It is there where I saw most of this year’s Oscar nominees, where I skipped class to attend a screening of I Am Not Your Negro, cohosted by a local racial justice organization, and where I saw a group of friends race to see the new Star Wars as soon as they were able. What makes the Marquis even more therapeutic than a corporate theater chain is not just the couches, armchairs, and throwback décor, but the sense of community it embodies. When you walk into a movie theater, you’re walking into a new world with a group of people, all of whom have willingly signed up to go on this mission and leave society and their technology (hopefully) behind for a couple hours. Where else does this happen today?
A couple weeks ago, Steven Spielberg made headlines when he said that Netflix movies should not be eligible for Academy awards. His comments came at the same time the Cannes Film Festival barred Netflix films from competition. I agree with both decisions.
Each year, the old and better ways of filmmaking and exhibition occur less and less. The rise of streaming and digital formats have made the movies less exciting, and give moviegoers even less of an incentive to leave the house. Why drive to the movies and pay money when you could sit on your couch and watch almost anything for a fraction of the price? The answer: the experience.
In 2018, the movies are more than just a place where cows go when it rains, they are our final refuge from the obligations of existence. We should visit them more.
Will DiGravio is the managing editor of this paper.
(04/25/18 9:13pm)
[gallery ids="38762,38763,38764,38765,38766"]
The baseball team walked away with four wins this past week, beating the Skidmore Thoroughbreds on the road on Wednesday, April 18, and then sweeping Bowdoin in a three-game series on home turf on Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22.
Middlebury picked up a win in non-conference midweek action against Skidmore last Wednesday, coming up with a 5–1 win. The Panthers scored early in the game, putting up two runs in the first inning, and then tacked on one in each of the third, fifth and seventh innings. Skidmore was held to just one run, which came in the fourth inning.
Justin Han ’20 led the charge, getting on base all five of his times at the plate and finishing the day with three singles, two walks and four of the team’s five runs.
This all-star caliber performance is nothing new from the sophomore infielder, as he leads the team in almost every offensive category. Han has teams highs with 25 runs, 28 hits and 15 RBI’s, and boasts an impressive .373 batting average and a whopping .510 on-base percentage.
“My goal for this season was to provide offensive production and be consistent in the field making defensive plays,” says Han.
His offensive movement has been key to the team’s success this year and certainly has not gone unnoticed.
“Justin Han has been integral to our team, as expected. Stealing bases and racking up the hits, he is incredibly consistent and such a fun guy to play with,” said Hayden Smith ’20.
On the mound, Colby Morris ’19 allowed only one run on six hits while striking out four. This junior captain’s consistency has been crucial to the Panthers’ defense this season. With nine pitching appearances under his belt thus far, seven of which he started, Morris has managed to strike out 41 of his opponents — a team-high.
Senior Captain Rob Erickson ’18 is also worth noting. Against the Thoroughbreds he tallied three strikeouts and gave up just two hits over three innings. After last weekend’s Bowdoin series, Erickson tails only Morris in many pitching categories thanks to his efforts over eight appearances.
The Panthers then returned home to face their third Nescac opponent of the year, Bowdoin. Middlebury saw the Polar Bears on Friday, April 21, in the first of the teams’ three-game series. After falling behind 4–0, Middlebury clawed its way back to take a 6–5 lead, which the Panthers extended to as many as three runs. But Bowdoin responded, getting within one run twice, before tying the game at 10 in the top of the ninth inning.
In the bottom half of the inning, Middlebury quickly took away any doubt of the result. They loaded the bases with one out, and Smith finished the game off by singling home Han.
“My reaction to the walk-off was pure happiness,” Smith said afterwards. “There’s nothing that gets me more fired up than being the guy that wins the game for my team, and Saturday was the ultimate display of that. And the team was fired up too — it was a spark plug for our bench and our offense, I think. And my mindset was to hit the ball hard. I knew I was the guy to deliver right here, and I embraced the moment. Saw my pitch and put my best swing on it.”
The Panthers saw the Polar Bears again the next day for a doubleheader, both games of which ended in Middlebury’s favor.
While the Bears came out strong in the first game, scoring two runs right off the bat, Middlebury answered with a pair of runs off a single up the middle from captain Sebastian Sanchez ’18 to tie the score up at two all. Neither team scored until the sixth inning, when miscommunications between the Panthers’ defense allowed the Polar Bears get some insurance runs across the plate.
Bowdoin tacked on one more in the seventh, but the Panthers rivaled it with three runs in bottom of the inning, closing the game with a 5-4 victory. Henry Strmecki ’21, Han and Brooks Carroll ’20 led the team with strong performances at the plate.
The Panthers came out even stronger in the second game of the day, shutting out the Polar Bears for a 3–0 win. Erickson put the team on his right shoulder in the shutout, striking out four Polar Bears while allowing only four hits through seven innings.
Jake Dianno ’21 was big for the Panthers with the bat in his hand, the highlight of the weekend for him being a second-inning shot to right field that sailed over the fence for his first home run at the collegiate level.
“It was an awesome experience, and it was just great to be able to come through for my team,” said an excited Dianno.
Though the Polar Bears threatened to answer in the fifth inning, Middlebury held them to no score and tacked on two more with runs in the bottom of the sixth to seal the deal.
The Panthers’ success was a much-needed confidence booster. Before last week, the team held a 6–13 record and was coming off a tough series loss to Wesleyan and another non-conference loss to Southern Vermont. The past week has turned that around.
Middlebury’s sights are still set high on the conference championship, and the team feels this is definitely a step in the right direction and a confirmation of their ability.
“[Bowdoin] left us with an incredible amount of confidence and proof that we have the talent and capability to find ways to win games,” Han said.
“I really like how the team is performing. We have momentum and confidence going into a very important series against Hamilton this weekend,” Han added. His confidence moving forward is shared by Dianno.
“This sweep was a great way to get us going heading into our weekend at Hamilton,” Dianno said.
After some non-conference midweek action, the Panthers head to Hamilton for a big road series this weekend.
(04/25/18 9:10pm)
The women’s lacrosse team loves to grind out wins in the second half, almost as much as they love keeping their fans on the edge of their seats. And, this weekend, they definitely gave their fans an emotion-filled 60 minutes of play, when they fought past Tufts and Hamilton to secure two crucial Nescac victories.
The Panthers opened the weekend by coming from behind to defeat No. 8 Tufts 15–10 on Saturday, April 21, the second game in a row in which they came back against a top-10 opponent. They closed out the weekend by charging past Hamilton 20–11 at Kohn Field on Sunday, April 22.
With the two wins, Middlebury vaulted past Tufts in the conference standings into a tie with Amherst for first place. If the Panthers won at Williams on Wednesday, April 25, after the newspaper went to print, they won the Nescac regular-season championship and earned the top seed in the conference playoffs.
The Panthers were in high spirits as Vermont hinted at its first signs of spring this Saturday, with sunny 50-degree temperatures. This energy translated onto the field, but it was only after a slow start that the Panthers truly dominated.
Tufts came out firing, scoring five of the first six goals of the competition to take a 5–1 lead 15 minutes into Saturday’s game. The scoring started almost five minutes into the game, when Dakota Adamec stole the first goal off a free-position shot. After Tufts doubled their score, Emma McDonagh ’19 netted her first of five goals, narrowing her team’s deficit by one.
But Tufts came right back, driving home three goals in just over six minutes to take that large early lead. On their home field, where they had not lost all season, and with a four-goal lead, the Jumbos had the Panthers on the ropes early on.
Middlebury countered two straight goals, but Tufts quickly discounted those goals and then some by tallying four of the next five goals to build what would their largest lead of the contest, 9–4.
McDonagh gave Middlebury some momentum going into the halftime locker room by scoring her second goal with 3:34 left in the half, and Tufts led 9–5 at halftime.
For the third game in a row, Middlebury trailed at halftime, and the four-goal deficit was the largest of the three.
“KP (Coach Kate Livesay) always calls us the second-half team,” said Hayden Garrett ’20. “We’ve really embraced it, because we know we can make a comeback or increase our lead going into the next 30 minutes of play. But our goal for this week, going into Nescacs, is to transform [ourselves] into a two-half team. We know we are capable of this because being a second-half team also tells us that we can outlast anyone — we are confident and fitter than our competition. But this also tells us that we should be able to do this right from the first whistle.”
Coach Livesay was absolutely correct about Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers quickly penetrated the Jumbo defense, scoring the first six goals of the period. In a matter of 15:33, Middlebury went from behind by four to up by two goals on the back of McDonagh, who notched her third, fourth and fifth goals in that span.
After McDonagh’s fifth and final goal, Tufts got one back to cut Middlebury’s lead by one, but that was as close as the Jumbos would get. Georgia Carroll ’18, Kate Zecca ’20, Jenna McNicholas ’19 and Hollis Perticone ’18 each scored to close out an emphatic 15–10 Middlebury victory, giving Tufts its second loss in the Nescac and eliminating the Jumbos from contention for the top seed in the conference.
The next day, the Panthers brought in a win on their senior day on Sunday, April 22 at Kohn Field.
The women excitedly celebrated all five of their strong graduating class: Evie Keating ’18, Claire Russell ’18, Alex Freedman ’18, Carroll, and Perticone.
Once again, the Panthers only got rolling well into the second half on Kohn Field. In a high-scoring first half, Middlebury took an 11–9 lead over Hamilton (3–7 in the Nescac), led by Carroll’s three goals.
Livesay must have given a strong halftime speech, based on Middlebury’s performance coming out of the break. They scored nine of the 11 goals in the second stanza to put away the visiting Continentals.
A rotation of three goalies protected the cage well enough to lift Middlebury to victory. In the first half, Julia Keith ’20 prevented two key balls from getting past her, while in the second half Kate Furber ’19 made another appearance in goal, rejecting three shots. Alex Freedman ’18 won some playing time after Furber.
Carroll, McDonagh, and Perticone scored hat tricks during the matchup. Susana Baker ’19 was the defensive heroine, forcing three turnovers and picking up five ground balls.
“It was great to celebrate our seniors this weekend,” said Winslow Ferris ’20 afterwards. “It was fun to see some seniors get playing time that normally don’t start. Claire Russell had her first goal of the season, and Alex Freedman made an incredible save in goal. We know that this year we were lucky to be playing under such great senior leadership, on and off the field, and will miss them a lot next year.”
After yesterday’s game at Williams, Middlebury sets its eyes on Nescacs, which begin on Saturday, April 28. If the Panthers won yesterday, they will be the one seed in the playoffs. If they lost and Amherst lost to Trinity, Middlebury will be the one seed. Otherwise, Amherst will be, and Middlebury will be the second seed.
“We are confident going into our game on Wednesday,” Garrett said. “Looking ahead, we are also really excited and grateful to prolong our season past Wednesday’s game. Playing alongside these girls this season has been incredible. It truly is the first team I have ever been on where I feel like our entire unit is a family.”
Regardless of Wednesday’s result, Middlebury will have a home game in the quarterfinals on Saturday, April 28.
(04/25/18 8:57pm)
Middlebury men’s tennis made a convincing case for the top spot of the national polls by defeating No. 1 and defending national champion Emory during a weekend trip to Connecticut, where the Panthers also beat Trinity 6–3 on Saturday, April 21, and No. 13 Wesleyan 5–4 on Sunday, April 22.
The Panthers showed this past weekend that their 8–1 win against No. 2 Bowdoin on April 14th was not a fluke, and their championship aspirations were well founded. Just seven days later, they drove to Hartford for a matchup with No. 1 Emory on Trinity’s courts.
Before they played Emory, though, they had to show that the depth in their ladder could get through Trinity. Trinity was winless in the Nescac going into the match, and Middlebury gave their singles players some rest, though Andre Xiao ’21 played singles in both matches and ended up losing in a tight three-set match to senior Kyle Scheffers. Doubles standout Timo van der Geest ’18 also got the call to play No. 1 against Trinity, and lost in two closely contested sets, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. Despite the Trinity’s sharp top-of-the-ladder players, Middlebury secured the win down the stretch with confident wins from experienced stand-ins Alex Vanezis ’20 and Adam Guo ‘21, not to mention a doubles core that held nothing back.
The Panthers sent out their usual squad of doubles teams to secure three easy points, as Lubo Cuba ‘19 and Kyle Schlanger ‘18 picked up their 13th win in 16 matches. The Panthers held nothing back in doubles and punished the Bantams 8–2, 8–2, and 8–4 en route to a 6–3 match victory. The Panthers no doubt had their eyes on Emory for later that day.
Emory has certainly established itself of late as a Division III powerhouse. The Eagles have won the national championships twice in the past six years and haven’t even finished outside the top 10 in almost 20 years. They traveled up to Hartford undefeated in DIII play after fending off No. 3 University of Chicago, No. 13 Wesleyan, and No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who handed Middlebury a 7–2 loss in California almost a month ago. That being said, neither team forgot the 6–3 loss Middlebury handed Emory last year — a defeat that failed to slow the Eagles trajectory to a national championship just two months thereafter.
Last year’s loss seemed perhaps all too familiar for the Eagles as the Panthers proceeded to dominate. The wins started early for Midd, who masterfully handled the Eagles at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, each by scores of 8–1. Van der Geest, playing on minimal rest, showed what he had left in the tank as he and Peter Martin ’19 rounded out the scoring to start the match off 3–0. Panthers duos are an impressive 47–13 this spring, and the players must be comforted each time they can jump out to such a big lead moving into singles play.
The Panthers singles players scarcely needed the boost, as they dominated the first through fourth singles spots. The upperclassmen at the top of the ladder made quick work of the men from Emory. Schlanger picked up his fourth-straight win of the spring, while the others finished without much commotion. The top and middle of the ladder left no double who is the better team.
“It took a belief in ourselves and a constant attention on staying focused in our execution of our individual game plans, which differ vastly based on the unique talents of each of our players,” assistant coach Andrew Thomson said.
After Cuba clinched the match with his 10th win of the spring, the first-years at the bottom of the ladder ran into trouble against Emory’s upperclassmen. Xiao, with little rest, and Nate Eazor ’21 could not finish the job as they fell in incredibly close three-setters with multiple tie-breaks. The upperclassmen had picked them up, however, and the Panthers emerged having tackled the No. 1 team in the country, handing them their first DIII loss of the season.
“Beating Emory was a monster win, no doubt about it,” Thomson said. “Anytime you beat a time with that much talent and that strong of a record, it demonstrates that we have a lot of things heading in the right direction for our group.
“Of course, it is very possible we will play Emory again and if we do so, we will expect it to be a war. They are always a tough team to beat and even though our victory was clear, we likely caught them on a day they were not playing their best. We will need to continue to improve so that we will be likely to win if we meet again and when they are playing better.”
Despite Saturday’s heroics, the result of the weekend still wasn’t certain until the very end. After van der Geest and Martin dropped a tie-breaker to Wesleyan’s Stephen Chen and Cam Daniels, the Panthers found themselves with a narrow 2–1 lead heading into singles against a Wesleyan team that plays an incredibly strong schedule and almost knocked off previously-No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis and previously-No. 8 Carnegie Mellon.
Looking to avoid any theatrical upsets, the rock-solid middle of the ladder for Middlebury took care of business in dominant fashion to quickly clinch the match for the Panthers. Schlanger picked up his 11th win in 15 matches, while Eazor and Will de Quant ’18 followed suit. If it weren’t for the order of the matches, the match might have looked in doubt for the Panthers. The Cardinals fought extremely hard, even unexpectedly winning at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, to bring themselves within two points of the Panthers, who led 5-3. Wesleyan’s Princeton Carter took advantage of Xiao’s exhausting weekend and pushed him to his limits, handing him a three-set loss.
The Cardinals narrowly missed the upset, and the Panthers survived the weekend unscathed and could finally celebrate their upending of the defending national champions.
When the updated ITA rankings come out later today, Middlebury figures to move up a few spots in the polls. Some have speculated that the Panthers may even be the ITA’s new top team heading into the tail end of the season.
“It will be interesting to see how the ITA committee decides upon both national and regional rankings as most teams have 1 or 2 losses at this point,” Thomson said. “While a No. 1 national ranking might be possible for us, the only benefit of it would be an improved draw for the NCAA tournament assuming we make it there.”
The Panthers must not look past Nescac championship host No. 7 Amherst in their final home match of the year on Sunday, April 29, as they await the seedings for the conference tournament.
“We will have to maintain the mentality of a team hungry to prove that we can beat anyone if we are to continue to have a successful season,” Thomson said. “This starts with Amherst this weekend, who will represent another extremely formidable Nescac opponent that is loaded with talent up and down their lineup.”
Though the Mammoths haven’t made any noise against top-five-ranked teams this season, they have been perfect against teams outside of this range, so look to the Proctor Tennis Courts on Sunday to see some heated action and a possible Nescac tournament preview.
(04/25/18 8:53pm)
The women’s tennis team extended its winning streak to five matches by winning all three in a successful trip to Connecticut from Friday to Sunday, April 20 to 22. No. 4 Middlebury knocked off DI opponent Quinnipiac 4–3 on Friday, dismissed Trinity 9–0 on Saturday, and upended No. 5 Wesleyan in a crucial match for Nescac seeding on Sunday, even though the Cardinals boast the three-time defending NCAA singles champion, Eudice Chong, who also won the doubles title with Victoria Yu last season.
Middlebury lost to Chong and Yu at first doubles and first and second singles, but the Panthers took every other match to hand Wesleyan its second loss in the conference.
With the victory, the Panthers clinched the second seed in the Nescac playoffs no matter what happens in their last match of the regular season at Amherst this Saturday, because they beat Wesleyan and Tufts, the two teams that are one game behind Middlebury in the standings.
Quinnipiac posed a unique challenge for Middlebury in the Panthers’ first match in Connecticut on Friday. Facing a Division I opponent, they played by DI rules, meaning whichever team won more of the doubles pro-sets to six games won the singles doubles point — singles is not different, so the match was out of seven points. And, of course, any Division I opponent will be a challenge.
The Bobcats took two out of the three doubles matches to earn the doubles point, as Heather Boehm ’20 and Ann Martin Skelly ’21 won 6–3 in the second slot for Middlebury’s only doubles victory.
But Middlebury bounced back when Catherine Blazye ’20, at No. 3, and Katy Hughes ’20, at No. 2, won the first two singles matches in straight sets to put Middlebury ahead. Quinnipiac tied the match at two, then Molly Paradies ’19 rebounded from losing 6–7 in the first set to take the next two sets 6–0, 6–2 and give Middlebury the lead back. Once more, the Bobcats answered back in the sixth slot to tie the match at three.
In the deciding match, Skylar Schossberger ’21 won the first set 6–3, lost the second 5–7, then took the third 6–3, securing a 4–3 victory for Middlebury over the hosts.
Saturday’s match at Trinity was Middlebury’s easiest of the weekend. The Panthers shut out the Bantams, winning 96 of 111 games in the process.
And Sunday’s matchup at Wesleyan held great intrigue for a couple of reasons: both teams entered with one loss in the Nescac, and Middlebury is ranked fourth nationally while Wesleyan is fifth.
Doubles play went back and forth. Boehm and Skelly quickly beat their opponents 8–2 in the third slot, but the defending NCAA doubles champions, Chong and Yu, outlasted Schossberger and Hughes in the first to win 8–5 and tie the match.
“Wesleyan’s number-one doubles team is very strong,” said Middlebury head coach Rachel Kahan. “Williams was able to push past them in a close one a few weeks ago, so I believe they are beatable.”
Even in defeat, Middlebury’s top pair demonstrated they could compete with one of the best doubles teams in the country, and Kahan wants her pair to play Chong and Yu again.
“Katy and Sky competed very well and learned a lot from the match, and we hope to get another chance to play them this season.”
Blazye and Maddi Stow ’20 made sure Middlebury led entering singles by defeating their opponents 8–2 at No. 2.
Chong swept Christina Puccinelli ’19 in first singles to tie the match at two. Saturday was Chong’s birthday — as if she was not tough enough already, playing against the senior on her birthday was probably impossible.
The Panthers slowly but steadily pulled away from the Cardinals after that. Schossberger in the fifth slot and Blazye in the fourth won in straight sets before Yu beat Hughes at No. 2.
Middlebury led 4–3 with two matches to go — Boehm’s at No. 3 and Stow’s at No. 6. Stow finished first when she beat Zoe Klass-Warch 6–0, 6–3 to clinch the match for Middlebury. Sunday was Stow’s birthday as well, and she got to seal Middlebury’s victory with her second win of the day and fourth of the weekend.
Stow stayed undefeated in singles this spring with her two wins over the weekend, extending her unbeaten streak to 10 matches. She is emblematic of Middlebury’s remarkable depth throughout their roster, which proved to be one of their keys to victory against Wesleyan and in every match in Connecticut.
All nine players have won matches this spring, and the Panthers won matches in every doubles and singles slot this weekend.
“I do believe we have strong depth on our team this year,” said head coach Rachel Kahan. “It is great as a coach to feel that I can put any of my nine players in the lineup and feel confident that they will compete well.”
Another example of Middlebury’s depth is Skelly, who stepped into the doubles lineup in the middle of the season to pair with Boehm. They have won all five of their matches together, each of them by three games or more.
“We’ve been playing really great together and are thrilled with our five-match winning streak,” said Skelly. “I think that our games really complement each other, and we feed well off each other’s energy. We have been focused, and our coaches have worked with us a lot on different strategies that we’ve been seeing a lot of success in.”
Middlebury will travel to Amherst on Saturday, April 28, to face off with the Mammoths in their final match of the regular season. Then the Panthers will turn to Nescacs the following weekend, when they will venture to Amherst again for the playoffs from Friday to Sunday, May 4 to 6.
(04/19/18 1:10am)
MIDDLEBURY — Located fifteen minutes north of Middlebury’s campus is a small farm called Treleven, where many Middlebury students have spent long nights. Why? For a process called lambing.
Annually, each night during a multi-week-long stretch, students leave the College and make their way to the farm, returning early the next morning in dirty shoes, fatigued, smelling and exhilarated. They spend the hours in the Treleven barn, keeping the farm’s flock of sheep company, watching the pregnant ewes—female sheep—and assisting when one goes into labor.
However, the story begins much earlier. Just over five decades ago, two Swarthmore College students headed West, stopping only when they reached the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco. It was 1967 and Cheryl and Don Mitchell were chasing the Summer of Love. They were avid readers of the Whole Earth Catalog, a counterculture magazine preaching what Cheryl describes bluntly as, “that ultra purity” lifestyle. While at Swarthmore, Don was set on becoming a writer, Cheryl a high school English teacher, and they were growing up in a place where people experienced nature by “riding around and mowing the lawn and having a small yard.”
Despite this, and against all odds, hippies on the West Coast swept them up with the Back-to-the-Land Movement—a campaign to reinvigorate appreciation of nature and rejection of rampant consumerism—inspiring them to move back to the opposite coast and buy a farm. That farm is known today as Treleven.
Recruiting students to assist with lambing was Don’s idea, or as Cheryl described it, “Don’s wonderful gift to all of us.” When the couple moved to Vermont, they were young and without any farming experience. “We [were] not your prototypical family farm,” Cheryl said. “We had to work off the farm.”
Participating in the dairy industry is how many Vermont farms profit, but the Mitchells explained, “We knew we would never have the capital or wisdom to be dairy farmers.” They bought two sheep instead. The following year they expanded their flock to ten. They would shear the animals, drive the wool to Maine and have it spun into yarn for sale. However, this was not enough. “It’s very, very difficult to make a living with just the farm,” the Mitchells said.
So in 1984, Don got a job. He became a Middlebury professor and taught the class now known as “Contested Grounds”. Don found that discussion in this class always circled back to grappling with the construct of the idyllic family farm lifestyle, so eventually he decided to add a component to the syllabus: a night at Treleven during lambing season. He hoped the hands on experience would allow his students to complicate this myth themselves.
Though Don retired as a professor in 2009, the Mitchells have continued the annual lambing process with Middlebury students for the past nine years. Since Don first conceived of the idea, nearly a thousand students have spent a night in the barn. It was ironic; the mantra of the Back-to-the-Land Movement that led him to Vermont in the first place was something he was now, in a way, a tempting to deconstruct for new generations.
Indeed, the couple brought a young lamb to the lambing orientation they hold in Weybridge House, and over oohs and ahs of on-looking students, Cheryl provided a disclaimer: “It may happen. A lamb might die while you’re there. And that’s okay.”
Life at Treleven isn’t perfect, they insist, but it’s natural. Some of the young are even sold for meat. That doesn’t mean the farmers don’t connect with the animals. “I still don’t do it very well,” Cheryl admitted of her ability to cope with the death of a newborn. She explains that other aspects of her life, the non-farm related parts, have helped her along in this—and vice-versa.
Cheryl was a founder of the local Addison County Parent-Child Center, an organization dedicated to providing support for families. While there, she focused on a program that worked with children with serious disabilities of all sorts. Gradually, her two professions began seeping together.
“We would do everything we could to keep a lamb alive, that the mother knew wouldn’t make it,” she explained. Later, her parents moved onto the farm, and she was there as they passed away. It was after this loss that she began to see the lambing process—even when the lamb didn’t make it—as part of a larger process of life and nature, “something that’s bigger.”
Whether it was this revelation, Treleven’s roots in the wider Back-to-Land Movement or something else, the Mitchells approach their life and work through a holistic lens. On their fridge is a flyer titled: “Actions for the Earth.” Next to their front door is a white board with musings and deliberations. The farm is not merely a place for cultivation of all sorts. The Mitchells host camps for young children to learn about the environment, they welcome artists for retreats and residencies and they hire a summer intern through Middlebury College.
Cheryl and Don are uncertain whether they will continue lambing next year. While they do not want to end the tradition, they are aware that continuing to run it on such a scale could become too taxing. In the barn, alongside sheep and hay, is a shelf with a stack of journals dating back to before 1998. Each is filled with entries written by students, late at night or early in the morning, some before, and others after, ewes had given birth. Even if the Mitchells decide to move on from the job, it certainly won’t be forgotten.
(04/19/18 1:08am)
MIDDLEBURY — You can generally expect a distinguished professor from a neighboring university to headline the Environmental Studies Department’s Woodin Colloquium Series, a weekly forum for conservation research and discussion. Chris Kiely, last Thursday’s guest, doesn’t fit that description: he’s a licensed acupuncturist and founder of a Tai Chi school now based in northwest Connecticut.
His recent visit, which included a Tai Chi demonstration at the Knoll’s spring opening last Friday, represents the College’s small but growing recognition of Traditional Chinese practices of wellness (also called Eastern medicine in this article) in academic and student life.
Traditional Chinese Medicine includes practices of acupuncture, martial arts (Tai Chi among them), herbal and dietary therapy, among others. This article focuses on Tai Chi and acupuncture as Eastern practices that are making their way onto the fringes of campus.
During his Colloquium, Kiely asked his audience in the Franklin Environmental Center’s Orchard to reimagine wilderness as being within the self. He presented English definitions of wilderness and nature, highlighting the abstraction and disconnection that the words have undergone, forbidding us from linking our humanity and that which is wild in us and all around us.
His message reflected themes of Daoist thought: if the individual can achieve balance with their nature (wilderness) through cultivation and practice, the natural world will benefit equally, given that the individual and the “environment” cannot be separated. Achieving this unity at the level of humans, communities and societies is key to correcting the obvious environmental imbalances in our world today.
That’s a very different proposal for environmental solutions than past and future Colloquium talks about plastics pollution in the sea or urban redevelopment. It’s logic that’s easy for students and faculty alike to push aside, but Kiely wants to see subjective thinking be more welcomed. “Chinese medicine, for example, has just as good a track record of cure—but as far as most doctors are concerned, it’s just another sort of hypothetical, alternative medicine based on nothing . . . Even though it has 3,000 years of experience and research and development,” Kiely told this reporter after his lecture. “But a lot of that science is based on subjective findings: what you feel inside yourself.”
For years, Kiely taught a devoted group in a Mill Street studio in downtown Middlebury and in Bristol. Since moving to Litchfield County, CT, he continues to teach constantly and also provides acupuncture. He feels that our emotions get unfair treatment when they enter scientific conversation. “As a culture [we are] insanely subjective in a way—we love our opinions and thoughts. Yet at the same time we don’t give it any real power.”
Kiely’s life has been profoundly influenced by Qigong (chee-gong, “energy work”), attending his first Tai Chi class when he was in high school. “It interrupted, it gave me another path, another option,” he said. He slowly learned where that path led to a community of practitioners, and he had found his place. “It’s their life’s work, they’re happy, and they’re my neighbors.”
The life-altering possibilities at hand with Tai Chi are only available to those with intense commitment to both a practice and paradigm. “You can’t be looking outside yourself while you’re doing the movement,” so it requires effort to learn the physical sequences of slow arm movements, weight shifting and choreographed steps called “forms” that make up the practice.
The physical practice is one thing: “It’s that commitment to an ideology, a paradigm or philosophy of cure, that’s difficult.” That said, it doesn’t need to be your life’s work to be beneficial. “Most generally, people come to Tai Chi for healing or just relaxation in general. A little bit of tranquility.”
Rachel Edwards, a Provider of Acupuncture at Mountain Health Center in Bristol, stewards the slow integration of Chinese Traditional Medicine into the local system, and has specialized training in treating patients in addiction recovery. “[Acupuncture] has been around for so long, and there’s been enough studies done, and it’s so effective, that doctors are [referring patients to acupuncturists] all the time now.”
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese practice of healing that, Edwards says, “uses needles to tap in to the body’s own natural mechanism for balance.”
Integrating Eastern practices with standard Western medicine means more than using different treatments; it embraces a new philosophy of care. “It’s a shift away from, ‘Give me the drug and I’m good to go,’ to ‘How can this medical center support you in your own self care?’” she explains. It’s all part of “empowering people to be their own agent for change.”
Edwards laments the absence of these values from Western medicine today, which is, according to her, “vacuous of mind-body connection.” Acupuncture is preventative at its best, and you don’t need a specific problem to take advantage of the care. The practitioner’s focus is bringing balance to imbalance wherever they may find it.
“I often liken a practitioner to a detective. So I’m looking for clues that will help me determine how I’m going to work with you. It’s looking at all of your system . . . your whole life really.” This imbalance may be physical or emotional; to the provider, it’s all connected anyway.
“There’s nothing that’s untouched by acupuncture, because everything’s connected. So for example, if you come in because you have headaches, the needles aren’t necessarily going to go into your head—you’re using points that will enhance the flow of a balanced energy to the head. If you’re having gynecological problems, digestive issues, different pain in the body—you’re addressing the pattern of imbalance to bring the body back to homeostasis.”
How do they do it? Oh, right, the needles. “The needles are tapping in to specific points along meridian channels that is a network of the whole body’s energy, of movement, of blood, fluids, nourishing, every cell in the body.” They are small, and you can feel them, but pain is not the right word to use. “There is sensation with the needles, and that’s good because you want to feel an experience of your body in a different way.”
The numerous college students suffering from very common mental health problems may find some relief with acupuncture. “Acupuncture is extremely effective for mood disorder. It depends on the nature of the depression/anxiety, if it’s long term, short term, episodic, we’ll vary the treatment, but it’s very effective.” It’s possible that regular treatment can help patients cut back on prescriptions with high costs, undesirable side effects, and other drawbacks.
Edwards is able to accept a good amount of health insurance plans and charges a discounted student rate at the Illuminate space in MarbleWorks on Tuesday afternoons, 3-6pm. Under the Daoist teaching of interconnectedness, the patient-provider relationship becomes one. “Keeping you healthy is keeping me healthy, and that is just how it is, it’s a principle of nature.”
The treatment takes about 45 minutes and, unlike Tai Chi, which requires immense focus, “you don’t have to ‘do’ anything.” Patients lie down with the needles in them for 20 or so minutes. Edwards explains that “it’s a time to rest, and tap in to your body’s own capacity for healing, and own desire for balance.”
The College has made small efforts to integrate Traditional Chinese practices into its offerings for students as part of general wellness and health services. Graduate Counseling Intern Brian Tobin offers Thursday night Relaxation and Meditation sessions in the Mitchell Green Lounge. Sue Driscoll, a Falling Waters instructor with Chris Kiely, offers an open Tai Chi hour on Fridays at noon.
According to practitioners in the College community’s periphery, there is earth-shattering potential for Traditional Chinese Medicine to alter one’s perception of reality. “You realize that you’re becoming closer to some authentic self that is beyond the world, actually,” Edwards describes. “You are transcending the world, the mundane, in order to experience a more cosmic connection.” Both hail the philosophy of a self-guided path to health.
Chris Kiely says to just try. “The description of it never really does it justice,” he says of Qigong. No matter your level, however, “you’re getting centered, you’re learning about yourself, you’re healing.”
(04/18/18 4:38pm)
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Middlebury and at least nine other elite colleges and universities for potentially violating antitrust laws in early decision (ED) admissions practices.
In an April 6 letter sent to these colleges, the DOJ said it had “opened an investigation into a potential agreement between colleges” involving the exchange of information about accepted ED applicants.
Inside Higher Ed first obtained and reported on the letter, which informed the recipient institutions that they must safeguard documents and correspondences pertaining to such an agreement, as well as documents indicating the sharing of applicants’ information between colleges.
Hannah Ross, Middlebury’s general counsel, confirmed that the college received the notice.
“Middlebury is one of the institutions contacted by the Department of Justice,” Ross said. “We will, of course, comply fully with all of the requests the department has made.”
The other identified schools under investigation include Amherst, Bates, Pomona and Williams. Other schools have also released statements confirming that they have received notices from the DOJ and are complying with the DOJ’s requests.
The DOJ’s letter did not specifically identify the nature of the actions in question, but appears to be referencing some colleges’ practice of sharing names of students who had been admitted in the early-decision round. The information sharing could be used to ensure that applicants are complying with ED policies and that colleges do not accept students who have made binding ED commitments to other institutions.
When asked if Middlebury is a member of this alleged network, Greg Buckles, dean of admissions, directed a Campus reporter to Ross, who declined to comment specifically on this matter.
While Middlebury has not confirmed whether it is part of such an arrangement, there is evidence that the arrangement exists. The Amherst admissions dean referenced the college’s participation in a group of around 30 colleges in a U.S. News & World Report article in 2016. According to the Amherst dean, the group would share names of students admitted to the college ED, as well as the names of students who had been admitted ED but were not attending the school.
Melissa Korn, a Wall Street Journal reporter, also spoke to an admissions dean from one of the institutions that received the letter. The dean said their school is part of a network of about 20 other schools that exchanges ED applicant information. Among the shared pieces of information are the applicant’s name, application-identification number and home state.
A school might share ED applicant information with other institutions because ED decisions are not actually legally binding. According to a description of Middlebury’s ED policies on the college’s website, “Early Decision candidates may not apply to other colleges for an Early Decision and must agree to enroll to Middlebury and withdraw applications to other colleges if admitted. Middlebury will withdraw an offer of admission if a student fails to comply with these stipulations.”
Early decision is becoming an increasingly popular option for college applicants, partly due to the higher acceptance rates during ED admission cycles than the regular decision (RD) admissions rounds. For example, the college’s ED acceptance rate was just over 50 percent for the class of 2022, while the RD rate was about 17.2 percent. Middlebury typically releases its ED I decisions in mid-December, its ED II decisions in mid-February and its RD decisions in late-March/early-April. The other schools implicated in the probe offer similar admissions options for applicants.
The investigation will be led by the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, which aims to protect consumers by promoting market competition. One way it does so is by preventing companies from making agreements that may limit competition between them. The DOJ may be concerned that the alleged agreement in question is restricting competition between colleges by preventing colleges from competing over students that have already been accepted elsewhere through ED.
Although there are not specific laws in place to deal with antitrust violations committed by educational institutions, most cases are examined as they pertain to the 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act, explained Adam Biegel, a Washington D.C.-based lawyer who co-chairs the antitrust practice group Alston & Bird LLP.
“The Justice Department likely is considering whether to issue formal civil investigative demands, similar to subpoenas, requiring the schools to produce documents related to the subject matter of the investigation,” he said.
Biegel noted that the DOJ is most likely trying to gauge where the exchanges of information between colleges “fall on the spectrum from legitimate to illegitimate.”
“On one end of that you could see collaboration ancillary to a procompetitive national ED program being necessary (i.e. to ensure there is no free riding/rule breaking on a program designed to spur early and robust competition for students),” he said. “Moving toward the other end, might colleges have exchanged information about ED applicants before decisions were made to give each other a heads up? Agreed on who to admit or what types of applicants should be accepted ED? Passed on? How to punish violators by not admitting them?”
He added that “information exchanges have been fodder for conspiratorial conduct in other antitrust cases involving trade association pricing, wage setting” and other matters.
Some admissions officials have expressed confusion about the alleged illegality of the practices in question, as students applying ED to colleges via the Common Application sign a waiver acknowledging that the institutions that accept them may share their information.
“The schools say that the applicants know what they’re getting into when they’re signing up for early decision so there really isn’t any legality issue there,” said Korn, the Wall Street Journal reporter.
The DOJ’s current probe into colleges’ ED practices is not the first of its kind to involve Middlebury. In 1991, the DOJ investigated a group of elite colleges, collectively known as the Overlap Group, on their use of financial aid package standardization during admissions talks. Middlebury and the eight Ivy League institutions were among the group’s 23 member institutions, who met for 40 years to share information about and standardize the financial aid packages they were doling out to applicants. The DOJ mandated that these schools refrain from the practice, which violated antitrust policies because it restricted price competition among universities.
In January, the DOJ investigated the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), of which Middlebury is a member, for potentially violating antitrust laws with its ethics code. NACAC released a statement last Monday saying they did not think the two investigations are related.
