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(10/04/17 11:26pm)
The men’s and women’s tennis teams competed in the biggest tournament of the fall season, the ITA Regional Championships on Friday to Sunday, Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.
The men’s team hosted the tournament, and, for the first time in three years, a Middlebury player did not win the regional title. In the women’s tournament at Williams, Catherine Blazye ’20 led the Panthers by reaching the quarterfinal round in both singles and doubles, as she continued her strong start to the fall season.
Lubo Cuba ’19 and the pair of Cuba and Will de Quant ’18 entered the tournament as the one-seed in the singles and doubles draws, respectively, but neither emerged as winner.
Cuba did reach the semifinals before falling to Wesleyan first-year Adam Finkelman 6–2, 6–2. In the first day of competition on Friday, he defeated Amherst’s Kevin Ma from Amherst 6–3, 7–6 (4), and Bowdoin’s Justin Patel 6–4, 7–5. Then on Saturday, Cuba held off Sachin Raghavan from Williams 6–3, 6–7 (6), 6–3, before handling Luke Tercek from Bowdoin 6–2, 6–0 to reach the semifinals. Sunday morning, Cuba fell to Finkleman, ending his hopes of repeating as regional champion.
De Quant and Noah Farrell ’19 advanced to the quarterfinals in the singles. De Quant did so by defeating Bowdoin’s Larry Zhao 7 – 6 (5), 4–6, 6–3 and Wesleyan’s Cam Daniels 3–6, 6–2, 7–5 on Friday, then MIT’s Sean Ko 7–6 (5), 6–3 on Saturday. Later in the day, de Quant fell to Finkelman too, 6–2, 6–2.
Farrell won against Brandon Howard from Nichols 6–0, 6–0, Anupreeth Coramutla from Brandeis 6–3, 6–1, and Ananth Raghavan 7–5, 6–1. In the quarterfinals, eventual champion Brian Grodecki from Williams beat Farrell 6–3, 6–3.
Kyle Schlanger ’18 and Timo van der Geest ’18 also competed in singles. Schlanger reached the round of 16 before losing to second-seeded Steven Chen from Wesleyan, while van der Geest bowed out in the second round.
In doubles, Cuba and de Quant were upset in their first match of the tournament, when Nathan Kaplan and Sean Wei defeated them 8–3.
The pair of Farrell and Peter Martin ’19, after losing its first match in the Middlebury Invitational two weekends ago, made a run to the finals of the doubles bracket. Bowdoin’s Tercek and Grant Urken took down Farrell and Martin 6–4, 6–3 in the finals, denying them the regional championship and a spot in the ITA doubles national championships.
Van der Geest and Schlanger, Middlebury’s other doubles pair, won its first two matches but then lost in the quarterfinals to Williams’ Grodecki and Alex Taylor.
Blazye made the longest run on the women’s side, advancing to the quarterfinal round. She won her two matches on Friday over Katherine Wiley from Tufts 6–4, 6–3 and Hannah Sweeney from Bates 6–4, 7–5. On Saturday, she made her way to the quarterfinals by dismissing Chloe Henderson 6–0, 6–1, but lost to sixth-seeded Leah Bush from Williams 6–7 (5), 7–6 (3), 11–9 there.
Heather Boehm ’20 and Skylar Schossberger ’20 also played their way into the round of 16.
Boehm came from behind to defeat Julia Cancio from Williams 4–6, 6–1, 7–5 and held off Polina Kiseleva from Wesleyan 6–4, 4–6, 6–0 on Friday. The following morning, fifth-seeded Mina Karamercan from Tufts beat Boehm 6–4, 6–1.
Schossberger earned the opportunity to play on Saturday by defeating Trinity’s Vanja Babunski 6–1, 4–6, 6–0 and Tufts’ Margot Shea 6–4, 6–0. On Saturday morning, she fell to Williams’ Mia Gancayco 6–2, 6–2.
Katherine Hughes ’20 and Maddi Stow ’20 added first round victories in singles, but bowed out the next round.
In doubles, the fifth-seeded pair of Blazye and Stow ran into the quarterfinals. They lost a close 8–6 match there to Williams’ Henderson and Rachel Cross. The third-seeded pair of Hughes and Schossberger won their first match 8–3, but also lost 8–6, this time in the round of 16 to Amherst’s Avery Wagman and Anya Ivenitsky.
The team did so well this weekend,” said Blazye. “We had 6 players gain places in the main draw which is unbelievable. The results showed how our hard work is paying off already, and this is just the beginning. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds.”
The women return to action when they play in the Harvard Scramble on Friday to Sunday, Oct. 13 to 15.
The men will travel to Princeton this weekend to participate in the Farnsworth Invitational on Friday to Sunday, Oct. 6 to 8.
(10/04/17 11:15pm)
In last week’s issue of this paper, we published an op-ed entitled, “Faculty Support Wrongly Accused Student.” As the byline indicated, that piece was written and submitted by “Middlebury Faculty for an Inclusive Community,” a coalition of faculty members that formed in the wake of the Charles Murray protests.
Several of our readers have asked why we did not include the names of the aforementioned faculty members in the body or byline of their op-ed. Allow me to explain.
In the weeks and months following the Murray protests, this paper received several op-ed submissions that contained hundreds of coauthors and signatories. Due to spatial limitations, we made the decision to stop printing long lists of names. Instead, we decided to include a URL at the end of every submission that directed readers to an online list of authors and signatories.
At the end of last week’s op-ed by the aforementioned faculty members, a URL was provided. However, it was not explicitly stated that the URL led to a list of names. For this confusion, we apologize. In future op-eds, this will be made more explicit.
If any readers have questions, comments, or concerns about this policy, please feel free to contact me at wdigravio@middlebury.edu.
Will DiGravio is the managing editor of this paper.
(09/27/17 11:47pm)
The Panther volleyball team remained scintillatingly hot, notching a win at St. Michaels on Tuesday, Sept. 19, before sweeping the Roadrunner Invitational with victories against Farmingdale State, New York University and the hosts, Ramapo. The wins on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 22 and 23, were welcome presents for Sarah Staver ’19 and Emma Walsh ’21, who both celebrated their birthdays this past weekend.
In its midweek tune-up, Middlebury defeated in-state opponent St. Michael’s in straight sets (27–25, 25–11, 25–10). While the second two sets were never truly in doubt, the opener was a tightly contested affair with neither team gaining more than a four-point advantage. Down 24–20, the Panthers were on the verge of dropping the first set but saved four consecutive set points, capped off by a kill at the hands of Eliana Schaefer ’18. After a Becca Raffel ’18 kill and a St. Michael’s error, the first set went to the Panthers.
The second set saw a 7–7 tie before Middlebury turned up the pressure by winning nine of the next 11 points and never looking back. Beth Neal ’20 ended the set with two service aces (she finished the match with three).
The third set was knotted up at five before a 6–1 Middlebury run led to an 25–10 third set win, clinching a victory for Middlebury.
The Panthers’ victory showed up in the statistics too, from a higher hitting percentage (.400 to .050), Blocks (seven to three), Digs (38 to 34) and Aces (10 to three). Isabel Sessions paced the attack, converting 68% of her attempts into match-high 13 kills. Raffel, known more for her offense, led the squad in digs (9), while Walsh, getting her first real time filling in for the injured Chellsa Ferdinand ’20, dished out a match-high 28 assists.
Though the injury to Ferdinand is less than ideal, Schaefer said, “we aren’t letting one setback get in the way of our goals.”
In the opening match of the weekend against Farmingdale State, Middlebury was victorious: 5–11, 25–18, 23–25, 25–20.
Down 2–1 in the first set, a kill by Schaefer sizzled the net and sparked a 13–2 run that gave the Panthers a lead they would never relinquish. The second set saw an unexpected comeback by the hosts, who rallied from a 10-point deficit to cut the Middlebury lead to 21–18. Then, two Farmingdale attack errors, a Walsh kill and a Jaime Donnelly ’21 kill gave Middlebury the second set.
The Panthers had a 21–18 lead in the third set, but a smart timeout by Farmingdale allowed them to regroup and score seven of the next nine points and steal a set. The fourth set, deadlocked at 15, looked to be a nail-biter until a 7–2 Middlebury run set the stage for a victory. Walsh, the birthday girl, finished the match with a service ace.
The second day of the invitational was not much different, with the Panthers controlling most of both matches. They earned a four-set victory against NYU (25–11, 25–20, 20–25, 25–20) and a straight-set win against host Ramapo (25–22, 25–14, 25–19). In the opener, Raffel pounded a match-high 16 kills while Schaefer contributed three blocks. Walsh built off her impressive debut and contributed 38 assists in the first and another 35, while the other birthday girl, Staver, produced nine kills and a pair of service aces in the concluding match.
“We didn’t know much about the teams we played beforehand and did a nice job developing strategies as we went along,” Raffel said, pleased with the weekend’s results. “A lot of new players stepped up.”
After the weekend, Middlebury now ranks in the top-two in the Nescac in service aces (72) and kills per set (12.54) but leads the pack in hitting percentage (.249). Raffel leads the Nescac in kills (145), while both Staver and Schaefer place in the top five in hitting percentage (.350 and .318), respectively.
Middlebury returns to Pepin Gymnasium when it plays host to Nescac opponents Bates and Colby on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 29 and 30.
(09/27/17 11:43pm)
Last weekend, Sept. 23 to 24, the men’s and women’s golf teams were back on the tees as they continue tuning up for Nescac events at the beginning of October. In preparation for its visit to Connecticut for the Nescac qualifier, the men’s squad was in action at Williams’ Taconic Golf Course in Williamstown, Massachusetts, while the women’s squad was still two weeks away from the Nescac championship and tuning up at the Mount Holyoke Invitational.
On the men’s side, it was the team’s last chance to tune up for this weekend’s Nescac qualifier which will be held at Indian Hill Country Club in Newington, Connecticut, Trinity’s home course.
For the Panthers to qualify for the Nescac championship in the spring, they will need to place among the top four teams in the qualifier. Middlebury’s fifth-place finish in the Williams Fall Classic last weekend was nevertheless a good sign of things to come, as only two Nescac rivals finished ahead of them – defending conference champion Williams and Trinity.
Jeffrey Giguere ’20 once again led the way for the Panthers. With a 72 on Saturday and a 74 on Sunday, Giguere continues his string of scores in the mid-to-low 70s, driving down the team’s scores.
I don’t know if the team feels that I singularly need to step it up, although it’s true that I do. I would say I need to build off of the good weekend I had and the positive things I did over the course of 36 holes. As much as golf is individual, our success will depend on the consistency of our team scoring. The sentiment among all of us is that we collectively need to do a better job of preparing for this coming weekend. We all need to identify the particular part or parts of our game that need work and take it upon ourselves to find time outside of normal practice times to tighten them up. Unfortunately, we are no longer top dog in the NESCAC, and we can’t become complacent. Trinity is a very strong competitor, as is Williams. We have our hands full, but we have shown we have the capability to do it.
“With regard to the qualifier, we did talk about how we would have finished third had it been this past weekend,” Giguere said. “Even though that means we are to be in a position to be in contention next spring, we are by no means happy with that.”
Giguere asserts that the team’s collective goal is higher.
“Our collective goal is to win the qualifier at Trinity so we can bring the NESCAC Championship to Middlebury in a few months,” Giguere said. “If we accomplish that goal, the offseason will feel so much better and we would have so much more confidence going into the spring. We need a really solid week of committed preparation, and what happens this coming weekend will be the best we could have done.”
Giguere also praised McDaniel’s efforts.
“He finished off last season strong,” Giguere said of his teammate.
Joe Ko ’18 followed what was an excellent performance in the 34th-annual Duke Nelson Invitational with another solid weekend as he rebounded from a round of 83 on Saturday to card a 76 on Sunday.
The highlight of the weekend for the men’s squad, though, was probably the experience that two of the team’s newest members gained. Jordan Bassalel ’21 and John Mikus ’21 both had their first of many chances to play at Taconic. Bassalel shot 79 and 81 for a total score of 160 for the weekend and Mikus shot 78 and 85 for a 163.
On the women’s side, the Panthers managed a total team score of 634 for the weekend and fourth-place finish out of 18 competing teams. The Panthers were 30 shots back of the tournament champion Williams, but still have one week to make up ground on the perennial conference power.
Blake Yaccino ’20 was the team’s low-scorer, as she carded rounds of 75 and 79. Yaccino hopes to work on her second day performance in this weekend’s George Phinney Tournament at the Ralph, as she has yet to shoot better on Sundays than on Saturdays. Nonetheless, to those around the team Yaccino seems to be hitting her stride.
“I am definitely capable of scoring low as are my teammates,” Yaccino said. “For me, I just need to put in the reps and make a few adjustments in my swing this week to improve my consistency. We’re all extremely excited and I think we will all play well in the next two weeks.”
Chloe Levins ’20 also had another solid performance for the Panthers, registering the team’s second-lowest score of the week with rounds of 79 and 78.
Like Yaccino, Hope Matthews ’18 has also started to hit her stride at the right time. Matthews hit an 82 on Saturday and then had her lowest round of the fall on Sunday with a round of 77.
Team leader Katharine Fortin ’18 did not take part in last week’s tournament, but look for her to be out there for the Panthers this weekend on the Ralph.
“I am looking forward to next weekend on our home turf,” Fortin said. “We will have an advantage over the other teams because the greens at the Ralph are difficult and knowing how they roll will set us up for opportunities to beat the field.”
Although the team was 30 strokes back of Williams last weekend, they did manage to hang with Amherst and ended up six strokes behind the Mammoths.
“I am still very optimistic about this team’s success,” Fortin said. “The level of focus has increased immensely and we have the lower scores to prove it. It’s exciting to see returning players shooting more consistently in the 70s, especially Yaccino and Levins. I am also hopeful that our first year, Erika Nakagawa ’21, will keep improving as she becomes more confident and comfortable in collegiate competition.”
The women’s squad will tee off at the Ralph for the George Phinney Classic on Saturday at noon, while the men’s squad will be in action in Connecticut looking to clinch another bid to another Nescac championship.
(09/27/17 11:31pm)
The men’s water polo club hosted its first tournament of the season last Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 23 and 24. After just nine days of practice, the Panthers had a packed schedule, playing two games each day against fellow New England Club Division members.
“Water polo is a fun sport because it’s a lot of hard work, but in all the years I’ve played it’s always been with a great group of guys,” said team captain Kevin Benscheidt ’17.5, who has played the sport for more than a decade now. This tournament marks the beginning of his fifth and final season at Middlebury.
“We have only two new players and lost quite a few last year, so [this is] going to be a team where a lot of people step up,” Benscheidt said of Middlebury’s 11-person squad. “Part of that is learning how to play better together.”
The Panthers faced Boston College at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23. Middlebury’s only goal that half came from Benscheidt, and by halftime, Middlebury was trailing 10–1.
If it weren’t goalie Diego Espino ’19 who helped keep the Eagles at bay with a couple of standout saves, the score would have been worse.
Middlebury found a way to score five goals in the second half, in spite of Boston College’s much deeper bench.
Sam Van Lokeren ’21 led the charge in the second half, scoring the first goal of his Middlebury career on a power play in the third quarter. Van Lokeren soon added another goal to his record, and Benscheidt contributed two goals to the effort. David Cohen ’20 took advantage of a man-up situation to make the score 6–13.
“We play in a league that has a lot of [Division I] teams,” Benscheidt ’17.5 explained. “So what typically happens is [that we get] our butts kicked every once in awhile, but [we] just [take] a lesson from it every time.”
Middlebury kept that in mind for its 6 p.m. game against the University of Connecticut later that day. The Panthers got off to a fast start as Aidan Strayer ’19.5 won the opening sprint.
Nick Handali ’20 capitalized on a six-on-five opportunity in the first quarter, which ended at a 1–1 standstill. Then Cohen was able to put Middlebury ahead 2–1 just before the half.
Cohen helped lead the scored four more in the second half — one from a man-up situation in the third quarter and one on a penalty shot in the fourth.
“[We] didn’t really pull away until the last quarter,” Benscheidt said. “Finally … we were really stringing things together and I think playing as we should.”
Middlebury’s other goals came from Benscheidt (1), Greyson Zatzick ’20 (1), Van Lokeren (4), and Taylor Moore ’18 (2).
On Sunday, Sept. 24 at 9 a.m., Middlebury lost 7–11 to Yale.
However, Middlebury won the first quarter 3–1. Benscheidt ’17.5 scored twice in right away, and Van Lokeren was able to score on a power play.
“We had an awesome first quarter. It was very technically sound playing. Then things kind of started falling apart. A lot of it has to do with fitness.”
The Panthers fought to score four more goals that day. Benscheidt had one more goal, Van Lokeren had two more, and Strayer scored Middlebury’s seventh in the final minute of play.
Middlebury fell to Boston University (6–14) in its final game on Sunday, Sept. 24. Goals came from Cohen (2), Benscheidt (1), Van Lokeren (2) and Moore (1).
“We’ve had quarters that are really solid, but we haven’t [been able to string] it together for a full game,” Benscheidt said.
This time, Middlebury was able to outscore Boston University 3–1 in the third quarter.
“I don’t think people were really meant to play four water polo games in a weekend,” Benscheidt said. “But because we’re a club program we have to consolidate all of our league play into three weekends of intensity.”
With a 1–3 record, Middlebury is now ranked sixth out of the eight teams in its division. The Panthers will have a week to prepare for its next tournament at Yale University on Oct. 7 and 8.
“The game plan is to build to [nationals],” Benscheidt explained. “When we play teams from schools of similar sizes, things tend to click into place.”
The Panthers are set to host the Division III National Collegiate Club Championship at the Natatorium on Oct. 28 and 29, which gives them an automatic bid regardless of this season’s results.
(09/27/17 11:29pm)
The first concert of the fall 2017 season involved such a large and skilled ensemble playing such important music that it can only be termed a triumph for the Middlebury community.
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra performed four works in the following order: Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Dance of the Furies from Orfeo ed Euridice, Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony Op. 4, a new composition from Paul Dedell called Breath with pictures from Porter C. Thayer arranged by Jesse Kreitzer, and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante K. 364 with soloists Jaime Laredo on viola and Pamela Frank on violin. The performance, conducted by Jaime Laredo, lasted a little over two hours with an intermission between Breath and Mozart.
Before describing the music and the performances, which are certainly worth describing both for their execution and their positive effect on this community, I suggest to those who were unable to attend the show to listen to the pieces performed in order to better appreciate the musicianship and music.
For the Dance of the Furies, it is possible to find a version by Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music which employs the harpsichord for accompaniment. I usually try to avoid the harpsichord, and they did not employ one at the concert, but this version, with its fast tempo and relentless intensity, would give any listener a similar impression as we received at the concert. It was a good piece with which to start the concert as it was liable to wake up anyone trying to sleep through it. While he originally left it out of the original opera and composed it a dozen years later to entertain the dance-hungry audiences of Paris, Gluck succeeded in creating this entertaining music. This dance is a short piece with only one purpose: to jolt the audience with a burst of violent energy.
The Simple Symphony had multiple moods, but they all seemed to run along the same general theme of the joys of childhood. We received a short speech from Mr. Laredo about the youth of the piece; Britten composed it when he was 20 using themes he had composed at the piano between the ages of 9 and 12. Even though it was composed nearly 70 years ago, I found it the most modern of the concert because of the second movement, subtitled “Playful Pizzicato”. Though pizzicato playing is common and there were several fine examples of such playing in both Breath and the Sinfonia, I cannot remember any pieces before this one which made do without the bow altogether for an entire movement. In looking for recordings, it appears that many smaller ensembles have recorded it at live concerts in two arrangements, one with about half as many instruments as the other. The concert used the larger arrangement, so I will recommend a recording by Filharmonický orchestr Iwasaki led by Chuhei Iwasaki. This performance has the same general air about it as the concert did and it keeps up the tempo in the second movement.
Probably the most important performance of the evening and ostensibly the reason for the concert in the first place was Paul Dedell’s Breath which accompanied the photos of Porter C. Thayer. The piece, however, was more than just a soundtrack.
As director Jesse Kreitzer explained, he worked with Mr. Dedell closely as he compiled the images for The Porter Thayer Collection and his most recent work Caregivers, sharing inspiration and acting as equal partners in a process that usually involves a composer doing his work after the images have been selected. This project is a collaboration between the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival allowing it to reach a far larger audience than it might otherwise.
What makes this work so great is that it both uses film and music in creative and engaging ways and while also bringing together people. I will have more to say about this project and plan to reference it in future articles, but have refrained from mentioning much about the performance itself, other than that it was worth seeing, in the hopes that people will try to attend one of the performances of it on the VSO’s “Made in Vermont” tour. Future performances can be found on the VSO website.
After a brief but well-earned intermission, the concert finished with Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. I imagine, as it is a piece by Mozart, there is not much that can be said that has not already, and so I will only offer that it is a successful piece which uses the unique ensemble to great effect. There are not many double concerti from this era; the only similar pieces I can think of by the great composers are Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto.
This form has the unusual strength of being able to show the skill of the soloists in relation to the orchestra and to one another. There are several instances in the piece, especially in the first movement, when Ms. Frank played a theme and was promptly echoed by Mr. Laredo on the viola. The effect was stunning.
The cadenza from the first movement was probably the highlight of the concert for me; the skilled playing combined with the effortless re-entry of the orchestra for the final tutti worked wonderfully. For reference, I suggest the Itzhak Perlman recording which can be found on YouTube.
This concert started off the year well and I look forward to the concerts this October, including those by the Danish and Heath Quartets, respectively, and a recital by violinist Soovin Kim.
(09/27/17 11:12pm)
This year’s Clifford Symposium, which took place from Sept. 21 to 23, centered on a topic of historical significance and, amid the turbulence of our present-day political landscape, renewed relevance. Entitled “The Soviet Century: 100 Years of the Russian Revolution,” the symposium consisted of panel discussions, screenings, and art performances across three days, allowing attendees to engage with material across a variety of mediums.
To celebrate the beginning of a weekend of inquiry and reflection, students, alumni and faculty enjoyed a Soviet Union-style dinner in Atwater dining hall, playfully renamed “Stolovaya No. 6” for the evening of Sept. 21.
In commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of the Middlebury School in the Soviet Union, Thomas Beyer, professor of Russian and East European Studies, shared stories about Middlebury students who traveled to Russia during the Soviet era.
“The first thing that happened and happened every year for the next 12 years and ruined my August and summer vacations was that of the 15 students, only nine of them received visas,” Beyer stated.
Students who studied abroad in Moscow in the fall of 1977 witnessed the sixtieth anniversary of the October Revolution, a Bolshevik uprising led by Vladimir Lenin that constituted the second part of the Russian Revolution and which was instrumental in dismantling the tsarist autocracy.
Kevin Moss, professor of Russian, reflected on his time spent at the Pushkin Institute, a public education center in Moscow, from 1981 to 1982. There, Middlebury students studied alongside students from all across Eastern Europe who were training to become Russian teachers in their home countries.
Amid the general animosity of the era, residential life allowed for considerable intercultural exchange. Students from each country presented performances at celebrations hosted by the institution, though they often suspected that their dorms were under government surveillance.
“In many ways, the capitalists and the socialists were kept apart at the institute. The directors from the capitalist countries would meet separately from the directors from the socialist countries,” Moss recalled.
“There were also some ideological clashes, particularly in ’85 and ’86 and ’88 and ’89 when the Soviet Union was already beginning to publish some people like Pasternak and thinking about Solzhenitsyn. In the early years, when the students would say that they had read in their literature courses Pasternak or Solzhenitsyn, the teachers would say, ‘Surely you don’t think they will become part of the history of Russian Literature.’”
Nevertheless, students did not hesitate to make their opinions known by defacing posters of leaders of the Soviet Union or hanging the posters upside-down.
Besides a constant brewing of tension, the Soviet era was characterized by a sense of rigid uniformity. Moss recounted that stores were all operated by the state and labelled with generic names such as “meat” or “fish.” Aisles contained singular products, and on the rare occasions that a unique product ended up on the shelves, customers would flock to buy it.
The rest of the symposium shifted from reflections on lived experiences to analyses of political and sociocultural frameworks. Panels throughout the weekend offered insights and interpretations of events leading up to and surrounding the Soviet era.
In the opening remarks of a lecture entitled “The Russian Revolution as a Utopian Leap,” President Patton offered a framework in which to appreciate the significance of the Soviet era.
“While discussion of the events of a century ago is far less burdened than it was during the Cold War era, it remains inherently political,” Patton stated. “There is not, after all this time, a single accepted narrative of the revolution and its meaning, and that itself is a fascinating thing to study. The interpretations have ranged and continue to range drastically depending on the individual’s political and philosophical views, nationality, social background and moment in time.”
President Patton then welcomed the keynote speaker, Mark Steinberg. A professor of history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Steinberg specializes in the intellectual and social history of Russia and the Soviet Union in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He showed the audience an image of “Angel of History,” a 1920 monoprint by the Swiss-German artist Paul Klee, which would come to symbolize the rise of the Soviet regime.
“For a lot of people who experienced the Russian Revolution, this seemed like a time of absolutely unbelievable possibility, like nothing anybody could expect with outcomes nobody could imagine,” Steinberg stated. “This was the possibility that one could overcome oppression. That one could overcome violence, in particular the oppressions and violence of an autocratic monarchy. One could overcome the inequities of the socioeconomic system, capitalism as some would call it.”
The Russian Revolution marked a moment in history when wreckage was replaced by the construction of something completely new. A sense of rebirth permeated the cultural landscape.
“This is why I think we find so many angels in the Russian Revolution,” Steinberg said.
During the question-and-answer session, students and faculty members pushed back against the concept of the Russian Revolution as a “leap” into utopia, suggesting instead that the political shift constituted a “fall” into problematic ideals.
The far-reaching effects of Soviet ideology were further explored in a panel entitled “The Revolution Abroad,” in which four historians gathered to discuss the reception of communist ideas in Japan, East Germany and France.
Max Ward, Assistant Professor of History at the college, explained the impact of the Russian Revolution on ideas of communism in Japan. The October Revolution led to a phenomenon dubbed “dangerous thought.”
“Communism was a crime of an ideological foreign threat,” Ward said.
Andrew Demshuk, assistant professor of history at American University, analyzed influences of the October Revolution in East Germany. Following that, Nicholas Clifford, Professor Emeritus of History, covered the obsession with Maoist thought in France from 1966 through 1980. During these years, many looked to Mao Zedong as a figure of communism more dominant than Khrushchev in the USSR. The largest of the Maoist groupings called themselves the gauche proletarians.
The Soviet era cannot be understood solely through its communist ideology, however. Political rhetoric and creative expression informed and at times challenged one another amid the turbulence of the times. Moving beyond a purely political analysis of the Cold War era, a panel entitled “Art in Revolution” explored the manifestation of Soviet thought in Russian music and literature.
Steven Richmond, a professor at Johns Hopkins University and former student at the Middlebury School of Russian, framed the discussion by outlining the role of censorship before and during the Soviet era. During the tsarist regime, Soviet leaders, whom he described as “creatures of censorship,” were involved in the underground press. In 1922, after the conclusion of the civil war, Soviet leadership created an official censorship bureau known as Glavlit. This new, centralized paradigm of censorship lasted until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Next, Matthew Bengtson, Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, analyzed the role of Russian music from the mid-nineteenth to twentieth century. Drawing from his expertise in piano literature, he described the artistic landscape in nineteenth-century Russia as a “tug of war between cosmopolitans and nationalists” – those who looked to the West for inspiration and those who remained invested in local traditions. Tchaikovsky and Brothers Anton and Nikolai Rubinstein figured among the cosmopolitans, while the Mighty Five, Mili Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, and Alexander Borodin represented nationalist interests.
German philosophy, particularly the works of Nietzsche, strongly influenced the public’s perception of music as an artistic medium. During an era in which an apocalypse felt imminent, artists were positioned as prophets and seers, and the ability of music to transcend mere representation rendered it as the highest art form.
“Music was abstract, and thus it could claim to be spiritual,” Bengtson explained.
He acknowledged the subjectivity of historical accounts, describing this era as “the most difficult period for us to relate to these days because the experience of the World Wars has informed our way of understanding the world. Of course, history is not written by the losers.”
The role of art in response to a shifting political landscape was a central theme of the panel discussion. Bengtson noted that the abstract idealism of music challenged the premise of a Marxian society, in which everything is supposed to be concrete. Reflecting on this contradiction, he posed an inquiry to the audience: “What happens to communist groups when they are forced to reject the notion of art?”
The rhetorical nature of this question mirrored the sense of open-ended exploration and multifaceted interpretation that characterizes the annual Clifford Symposium. Marking the centenary of the Russian Revolution, this year’s series of discussions, screenings, and exhibits probed deep into past to reflect on questions that continue to bear relevance in the twenty-first century. The Cold War era may be behind us, receding further and further into our collective historical memory, but the art, cultures, politics and economics of Soviet times have left behind a legacy whose multiple meanings we are still trying to unravel today. In highlighting the significance of the historical rupture of 1917, this year’s Clifford Symposium served as a reminder to us all that the history books are never fully closed; that there is always more to remember, to interpret, and to boldly and rigorously question.
(09/27/17 11:07pm)
I can hardly be the only person at Middlebury that has observed the unprecedented succession of extreme weather events, from the cataclysmic hurricanes in the Caribbean to the deadly floods in India and Sierra Leone, with a gnawing sense that the climate’s dreaded new normal is quickly arriving. I say gnawing, because anyone with a sufficient understanding of the problem knows that their daily lifestyle makes them complicit in it; indeed, as I boarded my carbon-spewing flight from wildfire-choked Oregon back to here, it was extremely apparent that even banal, seemingly apolitical acts of transit are inextricably linked to the greatest moral crisis of our age. In short, I am a hypocrite, and you probably are too.
Notice how simple, how natural it is to unleash personal value judgements around climate and sustainability, even self-deprecating ones. How can you claim to care about the planet when you don’t use LED light bulbs! Or an electric car? What, you don’t subsist on canned garden produce and solar hot water alone? When subjected to this kind of scrutiny, I suspect nearly all but the most dedicated and ascetically-minded come up short; in fact, to make oneself properly ‘sustainable’ to the extent necessary to reverse course on climate change is to embark on a daunting series of investments, changes to behavior, and general self-restraint, all within a society largely structured around the encouragement of ravenous consumption. When our collective, institutional misdirections are perceived as individual lapses in morality, it’s unsurprising that those sympathetic to environmental concerns feel guilty, and those unsympathetic or unknowledgable feel accused and attacked.
With this critique, I’m not trying to invalidate people’s individual contributions to sustainability as somehow pithy or useless. Nor am I trying to cast people attempting to live sustainably as judgmental. However, I think it is necessary that we not fall into the unproductive mindset that climate change can be solved on the individual level alone, that it is a problem stemming from individual choices, and that subsequent improvements in lifestyle alone will trickle up. For as long as we continue to structure our politics, career aspirations, technological solutions, and values on a faulty understanding of who and what is truly responsible, we will get nowhere.
I think it is first important to consider why exactly we see our personal lives as the arena in which the climate battle can be fought. The pronounced shift towards the glorification of the individual, so prevalent in modern Western society, one overbrimming with LinkedIn profiles and vainglorious celebrities, cannot be overlooked here. We humans have become increasingly atomized and alienated, both from the productive forces that provide our material needs and wants, and perhaps more importantly from the organizational capacity to direct society towards some preferred destination. This power has been deferred, as a matter of course, to private persons and organizations structured around the private creation and dissemination of profits. For the Middlebury student, it often seems that your best bet of ‘changing the world’ is getting a job that lets you do that (as if Gandhi had a 401k!). From that Randian morality comes not just ecocide, but also the cruel inefficiencies of America’s price-gouging health care system, or the nearly-universal corporate control of political parties and institutions made obvious in recent elections. The great irony is this pervasive myth of individual freedom, the ability to choose whatever, is an illusory one; sure, you can buy a can of Coke with your name on it, but it’s much harder to truly divest yourself from a climate-killing system. We, the economically fortunate, are given the opportunity to buy our way out of eco-guilt, through Teslas and solar panels, but this still leaves intact or even strengthens the overlapping networks of capital that has future trillions staked out on the extraction/production of oil, minerals, timber, beef, cars, etc. Thus we are forced to make do with the local and achievable, or the career; to assuage this guilt some found social enterprises, or become green lifestyle gurus, radical-minded journalists and academics, protest organizers, etc. In sum, we try to apply this fundamentally limited ethic of individual achievement, the crowning cultural innovation of capitalism, to solve its ultimate failure.
In order to really address the underlying causes of climate change, we must channel our individual guilt into condemnation of those forces that have arranged modern society so wastefully. Climate guilt, in the more judicial sense of the term, is far from equal. Last July, the UK’s Carbon Disclosure Project published a damning report showing that only 100 companies were responsible for 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1988; naturally, oil companies like Exxon and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco topped the list. Garden and bike to work all you want, but these companies and their financial backers will stop at nothing to extract every drop of oil from the ground unless they are collectively, intentionally opposed. What is ecological is political, and vice versa. The main thing we should feel guilty about (I certainly do) is allowing ourselves to be continually strung along by these companies and their government representatives, instead of working actively to replace them. In future columns I will discuss more ideas for how and why this should occur (in a way that goes beyond regurgitating Bernie Sanders’ platform). The crowd campaigns and physical resistance against the companies that built the Dakota Access Pipeline was a good example of where to start, but we should strive to be more disruptive.
It is precisely those that are least responsible for carbon emissions, namely the poor and marginalized of the world, that are already suffering the most from its effects. And as long as global society is rooted in an individualized and private morality, rather than one of public solidarity and development, these people will never have the financial means to rebuild or relocate, let alone purchase a Tesla.
Tevan Goldberg is an environmental policy major from Astoria, Oregon.
(09/21/17 12:59am)
Coming off a 2–2 split the weekend prior, the Middlebury Women’s Volleyball team swept their opening set of conference matches, taking to the road to beat the Amherst Mammoths and the Trinity Bantams. Their Nescac record moved to 2–0 in the process.
On Friday, September 15, Isabel Sessions ’19 led the Panthers with 19 kills as the visitors came back in the first set to top Amherst, three sets to two (22–25, 25–22, 23–25, 25–22, 16–14). In a match that was always close — each set was decided by three points or less — it was Middlebury who came out victorious. After the two teams traded the first four sets, the Panthers were behind with the game on the line in the fifth, but they dug out a gritty victory in a thrilling finish.
When the pressure mounted, the visitors never wavered. Gigi Alper ’20, who contributed 28 digs (a good number of which came in crunch time), was never worried.
“We knew that if we stayed composed and executed our game plan, the results would take care of themselves,” Alper said. “I’m proud of my teammates for turning up the intensity and staying aggressive when we needed to put the match away.”
Becca Raffel ’18 continued her hot start to the season, registering 17 kills of her own. Of the team’s eight service aces, Beth Neal ’20 notched half. Helping to orchestrate the Panther offense, Chellsa Ferdinand ’20 contributed a match-high 49 assists. Eliana Schaefer ’18 and Sarah Staver ’19 provided the defense by blocking five Mammoth shots apiece.
The next day Middlebury visited Trinity, where the Panthers fought hard in yet another close match. Once again they came out on top, securing a 3–1 victory (25–23, 19–25, 25–19, 25–18) and moving to 2–0 in conference play. Sessions once again led the match in kills (17), but this time Ferdinand finished with the most service aces (3). The Panthers’ outperformed the Bantams in three major categories: hitting percentage (.221 to .146), blocks (7 to 6), and service aces (4 to 2).
After two losses to finish their tournament the weekend prior, getting their confidence back was huge for the team. Emily Kolodka ’18 said, “It feels great to sweep the opening conference weekend. Obviously we’re always happy to get wins, especially in conference. This weekend we really wanted to start off strong by focusing on ourselves and our goals instead of the opponent, and we’re looking forward to continued success.” Many are looking for that success to come with their offense: Raffel and Schaefer are both in the top five in the Nescac in kills (95 and 81, respectively).
The Panthers return to Nescac competition on Friday, Sept. 29, when they host Bates; first comes a match against St. Michael’s on Tuesday, Sept. 19, and the Roadrunner Invitational Tournament hosted by Ramapo this upcoming weekend.
(09/21/17 12:57am)
The men’s soccer team (4–1–0, 2–1–0) added two wins to their name in what was a doubleheader weekend last week with two big 1–0 victories over Nescac foes: No. 10 Amherst on Saturday, Sept. 16, and over Hamilton on Sunday, Sept. 17. As the Panthers extended their win streak to three games, coach David Saward surpassed the 350-win mark, moving his career record to 351–120–59. Jed Sass ’18 scored the lone goal in both games and goalkeeper Jeremy Yeager ’18 notched his first two shutouts of the season.
During their conference road match with Amherst (1–1–0, 1–1–0) on Saturday, the first 51 minutes were a defensive battle. Each team only managed two shots on goal. Eventually, however, Amherst slipped and issued a foul which resulted in a direct kick opportunity from the top of the penalty area for Sass. The senior captain ripped a left-bending shot into the corner past the hands of Amherst goalkeeper Lee Owen to notch what would prove to be the game winner.
In the 76th minute, Drew Goulart ’20 had an opportunity to cushion the lead with a close range shot, but was denied by Amherst goalie, Michael Stone, who had just been substituted in for Owen.
In an 89th minute attempt to match Middlebury’s goal, an Amherst throw in ended up in the Middlebury net, but was ruled invalid as the ball failed to touch another player before crossing the goal line.
Middlebury returned home on Sunday to meet Hamilton (3–2–1, 1–2–0). The previous time the teams had met was when the Continentals defeated the Panthers 2–1 in last season’s Nescac semifinals. But Sunday’s game went differently.
Another unassisted goal by Sass and four saves from Yeager led the team to redemption.
While quality shots were infrequent in the first half, Hamilton’s Aidan Wood nearly netted a goal in the 14th minute. Wood’s initial eight yard shot was knocked away by Yeager to his left, where Hamilton’s Jefri Schmidt gobbled up the rebound and sent a subsequent point blank shot into the hands of Yeager.
Five minutes into the second half, Wood would have another chance as he sent a right-side bending ball from 15 yards away, but was again denied by the diving Panther goalie, who was just able to punch the shot away.
In the 54th minute, Middlebury midfielder Sass one-touched a torching shot into the post off a bouncing ball in the Hamilton penalty area. He found the rebound at the six-yard line and tapped it in, pushing the Panthers ahead 1–0, where the score would remain.
“Losing our opening Nescac game to Connecticut College put us in a position where both matches against Amherst and Hamilton were essentially must-wins if we were realistically going to put ourselves in a position compete for the Nescac title,” Sass said. “The challenge for us now is to bring out the same fight every time we cross those white lines. These wins were two massive steps in the right direction and leave us hungry for more.”
Middlebury will continue on their journey to a Nescac title when they are back in action in Brunswick, Maine, on Saturday to take on Bowdoin (4–1–0, 2–1–0).
(09/21/17 12:24am)
The men of the Middlebury College Rugby Club (MCRC) kicked off their season last Saturday, Sept. 19, with a pair of victories over Saint Michael’s College. Middlebury’s A-side team held the Purple Knights to a 46–0 shutout, while the B-side fought for a 10–7 triumph in their shortened 15s nail-biter.
Alex Hogenhuis ’19 led the charge for the Panthers when he scored the first try of the A-side game. A few minutes later, Lukas Ceseña ’19 caught a kick by co-captain Cooper Babbitt ’18.5 that he was able to run in for a try.
“We essentially scored early and often, so by halftime [Saint Michael’s] was pretty tired,” co-captain Ben Manoukian ’18.5 said of the A-side game. “We were able to exploit their defense and maintain possession for a lot of the game.”
Collaborating on a run, Kwame Mukasa ’19 and Munya Munyati ’20 got the ball off to Michael Hayes ’20, who was able to score in his first A-side start.
Amani Core ’18 soon found success on a dynamic line break, which he passed to Trevor Hopkins ’20 for yet another try, which Munyati followed with a two-point conversion.
A few plays later, the ball made its way out of the scrum, to Mukasa who touched it down in the try zone. Munyati finished the play with another conversion.
Next, Hopkins turned the corner for another “cheeky” in his first A-side start.
Manoukian had a big try in the corner after a big line break by Mukasa, who also rounded out the score to 46–0 with his second try of the game.
As a newcomer to the Rugby Northeast conference, MCRC sees this season as an opportunity to improve its 12th place position in the Division II national rankings.
“This year our goal is to focus on each play and each game as it comes, [to] take things piece by piece and work towards our goal of making it far into the playoffs,” Manoukian ’18.5 said.
On Saturday, Sept. 23, Middlebury will travel to Rhode Island to play Providence College.
(09/14/17 4:05am)
Katy Smith Abbott, vice president for student affairs and dean of the college, will step down from her role in the administration at the end of December. She will continue teaching as a full-time professor in the art history department.
Smith Abbott’s decision was first announced in August by President Laurie L. Patton. “I am both saddened at the thought of not having her as a member of the senior administration and pleased that she is remaining at Middlebury and following her academic and personal interests,” Patton said in an email to students
Baishakhi Taylor, the current dean of students, will become interim vice president for student affairs on Jan. 1, 2018.
In an email to The Campus, Smith Abbott shared several goals for her remaining few months. First, she hopes to “continue to work on the implementation of Restorative Practices at Middlebury,” an effort that was renewed last spring in the wake of disciplinary proceedings relating to student protests of Charles Murray. Smith Abbott said that facilitated workshops on restorative practices are slated to take place this week, followed by an intensive training program later in the year.
Second, Smith Abbott plans to “share with the student body and the broader community the results of a social life study that was conducted through student focus groups last year.” Once the results have been publicized, she said, “we will need to work as a community to prioritize the many recommendations articulated in the report.”
Finally, Smith Abbott plans to work closely with the Student Affairs Leadership Team, composed of several other administrators, to “ensure a smooth transition” following her departure. “This is a group of seasoned professionals and strong leaders, so I’m not worried,” she said, “just committed to doing all I can to support each of these great colleagues.”
In her August email, Patton praised Smith Abbott for her work to expand MiddView Trips, provide stipends for J-term courses and summer internships, and her role in the creation of “First@Midd,” a program for incoming first-generation students.
“Over the years Katy has led and inspired numerous initiatives to improve the experience of our undergraduate student,” Patton wrote. “Through it all, Katy has worked to enrich the experience for all of our students.”
Smith Abbott first arrived at Middlebury in 1996. From 2002 to 2008 she and her husband, Steve Abbott, a math professor, served as faculty co-heads of Ross Commons. She was then appointed associate dean of the college and later, in 2011, dean of students. In 2014 then-president Ronald D. Liebowitz appointed Smith Abbott to her current position. She originally served on an interim basis but was formally named to the post later that year.
Taylor came to Middlebury in 2015 from Duke University, where she worked under Patton in Duke’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. Like Smith Abbott, Taylor may eventually be named the official dean of the college despite being an interim appointment, although Smith Abbott had been employed by the college for 18 years when she was promoted.
Will DiGravio and Ethan Brady contributed reporting.
(09/14/17 4:01am)
Last weekend, Sept. 9–10, Middlebury golf started the fall season on the right foot. The men’s squad took to I-125 and headed northwest to play in the Middlebury Fall Classic at Lake Placid Golf Club in Lake Placid, N.Y., where the team placed second in the opener. The women’s side also finished second, as they headed about two hours further northwest on the interstate to Canton, N.Y., where they took part in the St. Lawrence Invitational held on the St. Lawrence University campus.
The highlight of the weekend for the women’s team had to be their day-one-to-day-two split. After shooting a collective 312 on Saturday, the Panthers came out strong on Sunday to shoot a 303, and their nine-stroke improvement from Saturday to Sunday was the best out of the 11-team field.
“The conditions were wet all weekend,” said Katharine Fortin ’18. “The course had been saturated in late summer and a considerable amount of rain fell on Friday, leaving us with a wet and muddy course. However, wet conditions mean shooting at the pin and going for birdies. Everyone faced the same conditions, and the driving range was closed, so no player could hit balls prior to playing (only putting and chipping). This affected our play on Saturday, but we were much looser on Sunday and were able to shoot better scores. This course demands informed shot-making, so seeing the course on Saturday definitely had a positive impact on Sunday’s scores.”
Fortin, the mainstay and consistent backbone of the roster, led the way for this improvement. Fortin has already enjoyed quite a decorated career teeing off for the Panthers, finished the first weekend of her senior fall with her lowest collegiate round by shooting a 73 on Sunday.
“I am very excited that my best collegiate round fell on a weekend that the team was also on their game,” Fortin said. “In previous tournaments, I could not get below the 76 number, and coming at the start of my senior season makes this 73 feel extra sweet. As always, there’s work to be done, but we’re celebrating this one.”
Alongside the senior was Chloe Levins ’20, who is sure to avoid a sophomore slump. She tallied the lowest round of her career on Saturday as she also shot a 73. This was quite the way for the Vermont native to begin a campaign in which she will aim to defend her crown as the individual Nescac champion on Oct. 7–8 when the best of the conference take to the course in Williamstown, Mass.
“Patience was key this weekend,” Levins said. “After a summer of good practice, it was important to go into this weekend without expectations. Even though a lot of putts didn’t fall, I played solid golf, stayed patient, and kept it all in perspective. I’m happy to have started the season on a good track.”
Familiarity with the course played a factor in the team’s round-over-round improvement.
“A lot of the team had never seen the course until Saturday morning,” Levins said. “In general, shooting 312 and 303 as a team is a really good indicator of solid work over the offseason and good things to come from Middlebury women’s golf.”
Helen Dailey ’19 joined Levins and Fortin as Panthers who enjoyed a day-to-day stroke improvement, as she followed an 80 on Saturday with a round of 77 on Sunday. Hope Matthews ’18 shot an 80 on day one and an 82 on day two, slightly off the average pace she set last season. Blake Yaccino ’20 had a solid weekend for the Panthers, shooting a 76 on Saturday and an 80 on Sunday. Yaccino figures to play a big role in whether the Panthers will have success this fall, so the team will need her to consistently play the way she did last weekend going forward.
The men’s tournament in Lake Placid was only a one day event. The Panthers’ second-place finish was spearheaded by 2016 individual Nescac champion Bennett Doherty ’18 and Jeff Giguere ’20.
Giguere picked up right where he left off last season when he wrapped up the campaign with strong showings at the Williams Spring Invitational and at Nescacs. He shot a 74, his second-best round thus far in his young Panther career.
“I do think this is a baseline for me,” Giguere said. “Over the summer, I played in a few tournaments and my performance there was consistent with the score I shot this weekend. I do think I can still shave shots from my game.”
Graham Kenter ’18.5 also had a strong showing for the Panthers, as carded 78 that ties the lowest he has tallied as a Panther.
Despite the strong performances from Doherty, Giguere and Kenter, the Panthers still finished nine strokes back of the defending Nescac champions, Williams, providing all the motivation Middlebury needs to continue working on its game.
“Looking back on this weekend, I have found some areas of my game that need improvement and I will work hard this fall to tighten them up,” Giguere said. “Overall, I am pleased with how both the team and I started off the season. We can only get better from here.”
Knowing the team has ground to gain on Williams, Doherty shared Giguere’s sentiment.
“Williams has a lot of great players,” Doherty said. “Any one of them could end up on the top of any given leaderboard. But I think everyone on our team is capable of finding themselves atop the leaderboard as well. I think to close the gap on Williams we will just have to focus on getting better each and every day. We have a pretty balanced team this year and I know that as we improve together we will be right there with them.”
With Ben Bichet ’19, Phil Morin ’19 and Reid Buzby ’19 all abroad for the fall semester, and with the Ephs remaining as the team to beat, the Panthers need someone to step up and be a dark horse to bring Nescacs back to the Ralph next May. When asked who it might be that steps up for the Panthers, Giguere and Doherty offered that everyone looks to be playing good golf and positioned well, but that David Packer ’20 is someone to keep an eye on.
“I would like to see Packer play well and I think he’s got the ability to do so,” Giguere said, complimenting his sophomore teammate.
“It was great to see David Packer win his two matches this weekend and I think he will keep getting better,” Doherty said, also starting to look ahead to the upcoming Duke Nelson Invitational. “It will be fun to see everyone play in our Duke Nelson tournament this weekend and I look forward to the addition of our first-years as well.”
The men’s team will be back in action this weekend, Sept. 16–17, as they are set to host the 34th annual Duke Nelson Invitational at the Ralph. The women’s team will hit the road once again and head to Wellesley, Mass., where they will take part in the annual Ann S. Batchelder.
(09/14/17 4:01am)
Shawna Shapiro, an associate professor of writing and linguistics, conducted a research project this summer about how students interact with each other regarding contentious subjects.
The project, called “Students Engaging Across Difference,” used an online survey and in-person interviews to explore how often, and in what contexts, students have conversations with other students whose background or opinions differ from their own. Shapiro worked with two student research assistants, Jed Sass ’18 and Abla Laallam ’20, and all three hope that the results of their project will shape the Middlebury community going forward.
Shapiro said her goal was to better understand students’ conversations with one another, in part to discover what kinds of initiatives, resources, and experiences the college could provide to promote these conversations taking place.
“I want our future actions as an institution to be informed by data, not just by our often unquestioned assumptions about what students want and need from this intellectual community,” Shapiro said.
Sass added that another goal of the research was to seek out how students themselves feel about how they interact with others on campus. He cited several recent events that helped inspire this research, including Charles Murray’s visit, the election and the ongoing conversation about cultural appropriation.
According to Shapiro, the results of her research both confirmed existing hunches and provided a new window into student life. She found, as she expected, that Middlebury students value conversations that involve difference of opinion over contentious subjects — 88 percent of participants marked the survey with a four or a five to indicate they found these conversations “extremely important.” The study also showed that 25 percent of students participate in these conversations on a monthly basis and 48 percent do so weekly, though they found that students tend to have these difficult dialogues within their existing friend groups.
“There were also a few findings that surprised me,” Shapiro said. “For example, the dining halls and residence halls are the top two locations in which students are most likely to engage in these dialogues. The classroom is number three on the list. Co-curricular talks or events were much further down.”
All in all, Shapiro’s research showed that lack of opportunity to engage is not the nature of the problem.
“Students feel that the conditions aren’t right for genuine, thoughtful engagement,” Shapiro said. “They worry about the social ramifications, for example. They feel that people aren’t truly listening to one another.”
Laallam agreed, saying that the failure of those on campus to listen inspired her to participate in this project as a researcher.
“Last year was my first year at Middlebury and I noticed that people do a lot of arguing and disagreeing without actually listening to each other,” she said. “I wanted to investigate what led these conversations to be unproductive and maybe find a way to make those conversations better.”
Laallam felt the most significant trend the research revealed was that students often want to engage with new perspectives, but that they nonetheless have trouble finding opportunities to do this.
Students “feel like those interactions are extremely important, but they all found their conversations across difference to be unproductive for the same reasons,” she said.
Among those reasons, one that keeps many students from speaking up is a fear of peer criticism.
“The most widely cited reasons by the students we interviewed were that students feared judgment or criticism from their peers for voicing an opinion or belief that may be seen as controversial,” Sass said, adding that many of the interviewed students described a growing unwillingness within the Middlebury community to listen to opposing perspectives.
Sass also pointed out that their research found two very different mindsets coxisting within the student body.
“We noticed a noteworthy dichotomy in students’ attitudes towards engaging across difference,” he said. “While many students stated their belief that engaging with different opinions has now become more important than ever, others mentioned they are less willing to tolerate opposing viewpoints.”
Shapiro felt the most significant result of the research was that most students, especially students of color, do not feel heard by their peers.
“We don’t just need more ‘speech’ — we need more listening,” she said. “We did an analysis of survey responses from students of color, and those students were three times as likely as white students to feel that they weren’t being heard in these conversations. A number of participants across groups admitted that they themselves sometimes tune out when they hear a perspective they find illogical or offensive.”
Shapiro suggested perhaps the college needs an explicit curriculum that teaches students to listen across their differences. “Some folks in Writing Studies use the term ‘rhetorical listening’ to talk about this skill set — I’d love to know whether that term resonates with students,” she said.
Moving forward, Shapiro would like to focus on how this problem is already being addressed.
“I’d love to know from people in our community: When, where, and how have you deepened your listening and empathy-building skills? Who and what has helped you do so? And how might we become a community that is committed not just to free speech but to deep listening?”
Laallam hopes the results of their research will help students bridge divides more often.
“People with different opinions than yours aren’t your enemies. They’re another source of knowledge and experiences that could contribute to your growth,” she said. “Listening, empathizing and understanding can help [us] have great conversations if people were willing to set biases aside and just talk things through.”
Sass added that students have power to make an impact on campus culture regarding difficult conversations.
“What stood out for us in doing this research is that students really do care about the Middlebury community and want to see it move forward in a positive direction,” he said. “No matter how hard the college works towards fostering healthier dialogue on campus, the onus truly lies on the students to instill the change we
(09/14/17 4:01am)
On top of music lessons, sports practice and SAT prep, the students of America are now taking on a new role in the age of Trump: political activism. Although young people have been vocal at protests and rallies since the Vietnam War, a new wave of young teens has leapt onto the political scene since Jan. 21.
Vermont has had its share of motivated middle school and high school students who have identified a place for themselves in a convoluted political era. Ethan Sonneborn, a 13-year-old, announced in August that he is running for governor after noticing that there is no age requirement for the highest ranking state elected official. He only just started eighth grade in Bristol, Vermont, but clearly views age as irrelevant to politics.
In the Burlington Free Press, he stated, “We just elected our oldest President, and he tweets like a Kindergartener.”
Rather than juggle a political campaign with schoolwork, Hope Petraro, a 15-year-old from Montpelier, has decided to organize a rally instead. This Sunday, Sept. 17, at 11:30 a.m., citizens from around the state are expected to gather for her rally, the Race Against Racism. The event begins with a 5k run, or walk, that is followed by a lineup of speakers, musicians and artists — all convening to begin a conversation that has few platforms in the community.
“We’re trying to make the event accessible for youth,” Petraro said in a phone interview. “We want them to get their feet wet in a world of activism so that they care about racism or social or climate justice. We want them to care for something important.”
Petraro moved to Vermont from Brooklyn at age 12, and was greatly influenced by the large number immigrants she was surrounded by growing up. The adjustment to a predominantly white community after becoming adapted to one of many colors was supported by resources and forums Petraro found online.
“I retreated to the internet to help find my place in this new community I found myself in,” Petraro said.
“I found a lot of people who were very into social justice. There are all of these people on social media with progressive ideals who want to have these challenging conversations.”
To translate this newfound interest in politics into hands-on involvement, Petraro began to bring up discussions of race and social justice to those close to her in Montpelier. Quickly, teachers and peers suggested that volunteering in the community would be a means for Petraro to immerse herself in the state’s problems. Soon she was canvassing and working in the local Democratic Party phone bank, contacting residents across the region.
In a state with a political leader as progressive as Bernie Sanders, Petraro quickly was able to tap into the reservoir of activist groups in Vermont. Partnering with her event Race Against Racism are organizations such as Justice for All Vermont, Migrant Justice, and the locally-based Montpelier High School Diversity Club. The proceeds from the registration fee of $10 for adults and $5 for those 18 and under will be given to these partner organizations for their future endeavors.
Mark Hughes, co-founder of Justice for All Vermont, experienced a similar “culture shock” as Petraro when moving to Vermont from a relatively diverse town in the Midwest. His organization has backed legal reform in the state, such as H.308, a racial justice bill passed last May by Governor Phil Scott. Hughes will be a key speaker at the event on Sunday, as he will attempt to kick off a dialogue about racism that has been dormant in Vermont until recently.
“We don’t discuss race in Vermont,” Hughes noted over the phone.
“We don’t have the opportunity to have conversations and engage in activities with folks that aren’t like us. That difference could be our race, socioeconomic standing, or political preferences. With events like this we have an opportunity as a community to pull together — to raise awareness.”
Although his organization is run entirely by adults, he recognizes that young people are crucial in the laborious task of breaking barriers in Vermont.
“We’ve got to get some young folks, ones from other locations and also the ones in their twenties,” Hughes remarked.
“I’m an old guy; I’ve been at this for just a few years, but I’ve been around the block a few times. I’m not going to be around much longer.”
In Petraro’s view, the Race Against Racism marks the beginning of a new brand of activism led by young students in the state.
“I think that the Trump presidency — and a lot of the discrimination and bigotry that’s surfaced because of it — has seriously motivated students,” she said.
“A lot of them feel as if they, or their friends, or their community as a whole, is being personally attacked.”
(09/14/17 4:01am)
After nine years of business, 51 Main has closed its doors for the last time as Middlebury welcomes The Rough Cut to the iconic space this fall. Ben Wells, a local restaurateur and former Middlebury College Men’s Rugby coach, will be leading this venture along with a small partnership group.
“We really wanted ownership of whatever took over the 51 Main space to be local,” Dave Donahue, special assistant to the President and director of community relations, said in an e-mail. The Rough Cut will be privately owned and the College will retain no control over it.
Leading up to the closure, 51 Main had been losing money for years. “We’ve tried different approaches to try to improve the bottom line but we haven’t been successful,” Donahue said. “At the same time student interest in 51 Main has ebbed and flowed over the years.” In the last year, employees had also began to notice the restaurant's decline.
“At first it seemed like there were a lot of students but then it started to not be a ton of people,” former bartender and waiter Alex Hogenhuis ’19 said.
Another student who worked at 51 Main, who wishes to remain anonymous due to employment retribution, also saw the decline in customers.
“There weren’t very many people coming in, except for Tuesdays or when there was a popular band coming in,” they stated in an interview. “There were days when only maybe 20 people walked through the door.”
The student also cited poor business practices as a main reason for the restaurant’s decline.
“It’s a very formal environment, and we served very fancy food, and college students just want burgers and beer. We should’ve just served that, but the head staff was very against that idea,” the student confessed.
On top of these criticisms, they mentioned that bands often cost more than the restaurant would generate in revenue in a given night. According to this student, the managerial staff’s resistance to changing the identity of the restaurant ultimately led to the restaurant’s demise.
“It was like they saw problems but never tried to fix anything,” the student insisted.
Wells hopes to attract a wider variety of people by changing the composition and identity of the restaurant.
“We hope to appeal to a wide cross-section of the community with great service, great food, great drinks and a great experience for everyone,” Wells stated in an e-mail.
Contrary to 51 Main, The Rough Cut will focus on serving barbecue and southern comfort food. It will still feature a bar, but its focus will shift specifically to specializing in bourbon and whiskey cocktails.
“The idea behind the look is that it will be like going to an outdoor barbecue - very relaxed, warm and comfortable,” Wells explained.
In addition to a change in the food, the restaurant will also have a new spatial layout to accommodate a larger kitchen and a mechanical bull.
“It will be a totally different restaurant and business than 51 Main was,” Wells insisted.
Despite the change in ownership, the College hopes to continue its affiliation with the space.
“We have discussed programming to attract students with the new ownership group and they are very interested in this kind of collaboration,” Donahue said.
Both the school, and the partnership, view the space underneath the restaurant as holding great potential for student programming and events.
(09/14/17 4:01am)
While the majority of Middlebury students were finishing unpacking and moving into their dorms, the volleyball team opened its 2017 season at the Union College Invitational. The Panthers started the invite strong with a straight-set win over Oneonta and a five-set nailbiter over Union, but dropped the second pair.
Middlebury started this season where it left off from last year with a straight-set victory over Oneonta (25–16, 25–17, 25–12). The Panthers started hot, going on an 8–1 run to open the weekend, and never trailed in the first two sets. They finished on a 9–2 tear to close the match. Co-captain Becca Raffel ’18 had a strong opener, netting a match-high 14 kills, while co-captain Sarah Staver ’19 converted 10 kills out of 11 opportunities. Gigi Alper ’20 contributed 11 digs and three service aces to help Middlebury blank Oneonta.
Middlebury dominated the stat sheet, winning the hitting percentage battle (.400 to .078), and recording more blocks (6–4), digs (37–27), and aces (9–4). With a total game time of just over an hour, the Panthers made quick work of their opponent.
Middlebury also took their second match of the day, beating host Union College by a margin of three sets to two (25–19, 25–22, 23–25, 20–25, 15–13). Middlebury went up two sets to none against Union before the hosts stormed back and won the next two sets; the Panthers were able to right the ship and put their opponents away in the fifth and final set. Once again, Raffel led the way with 20 kills to go along with 14 digs, while Alper pitched in 19 digs of her own. Eliana Schaefer ’18 and Isabel Sessions ’19 put up a dozen kills each. Although not as efficient as their first game’s mark, the Panthers once again obtained a higher hitting percentage than their opponent (.255 to .160). Both teams tied in digs with 71.
The second day, the script was flipped when the Panthers lost both matches by the same three-to-one score. The first time was against Stevens (24–26, 25–15, 26–24, 25–21). This time, Sessions led the squad in kills with 15, while Alper once again tallied a match high 19 digs. Co-captain Emily Kolodka ’18 finished just behind Alper, with 18 digs of her own. Chellsa Ferdinand ’20 was also a bright spot with 38 assists.
Against the College at Brockport later in the day, the Panthers fell in another tough match (25–20, 25–23, 23–25, 25–17). Continuing her dominant performance over the weekend, Raffel notched 12 each of kills and digs. When her second kill of the match hit the ground, she became the seventh Panther all-time to reach the 900-kill mark. Ferdinand finished the tournament strongly as well, contributing in every aspect (36 assists, eight digs, and three service aces). Although they couldn’t come away with the win, Middlebury has reason to be optimistic. They outperformed their opponents in hitting percentage (.252 to .243), blocks (nine to six), and digs (61 to 60).
While the tournament did not end as planned, the takeaways for the team were more positive than negative. Raffel, who was named to the all-tournament team after a 64-kill, 44-dig and five-service ace performance, had good things to say.
“The team showed a lot of really positive signs this weekend,” Raffel said. “Watching things come together for our first games of the season made us really excited for the season to come.”
What exactly is the goal?
A “repeat Nescac championship.”
The first steps come this Friday, Sept. 15, and Saturday, Sept. 16, as they travel to Amherst, Mass., to face the Mammoths, and then to New Haven, Conn., to face Trinity in their Nescac openers.
(08/04/17 8:19pm)
Katy Smith Abbott will leave her position as vice president for student affairs and dean of the college at the end of this year, President Laurie L. Patton announced today. She will continue teaching as a full-time professor in the art history department.
“I am both saddened at the thought of not having her as a member of the senior administration and pleased that she is remaining at Middlebury and following her academic and personal interests,” Patton said in an email to students.
Baishakhi Taylor, the current dean of students, will become interim vice president for student affairs on Jan. 1, 2018.
Smith Abbott declined to comment, opting instead to talk with The Campus at the start of the academic year.
In her email Patton praised Smith Abbott for her commitment to the college. She cited Smith Abbott’s work to expand MiddView Trips, provide stipends for J-term courses and summer internships, and her role in the creation of First@Midd, a program for incoming first-generation students.
“Over the years Katy has led and inspired numerous initiatives to improve the experience of our undergraduate student,” Patton wrote. “Through it all, Katy has worked to enrich the experience for all of our students.”
Smith Abbott first arrived at Middlebury in 1996. From 2002 to 2008 she and her husband, Steve Abbott, a math professor, served as faculty co-heads of Ross Commons. She was then appointed associate dean of the college and later, in 2011, dean of students. In 2014 then-president Ronald D. Liebowitz appointed Smith Abbott to her current position. She originally served on an interim basis but was formally named to the post later that year.
Taylor came to Middlebury in 2015 from Duke University, where she worked under Patton in Duke’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. Like Smith Abbott, Taylor may eventually be named the official dean of the college despite being an interim appointment, although Smith Abbott had been employed by the college for 18 years when she was promoted.
Ethan Brady contributed reporting.
(05/11/17 3:50am)
The women’s lacrosse team just can’t get over the hump against Colby. The Panthers lost their first matchup when they travelled to Waterville, Maine, on April 22 by a score of 9-6. This past Saturday, May 6, despite homefield advantage in the NESCAC tournament, the Panthers fell to Colby 10-9 again in the semifinals at Kohn Field.
Colby scored the first two goals before Sara DiCenso ’19 brought the game to within one on a free-position opportunity with 21:48 remaining in the first half for her 11th goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, Bea Eppler ’17 tallied another free-position opportunity for her 17th on the year.
Soon after, though, Colby started to take control of the game. They scored the next four goals of the game. Hollis Perticone ’18, who led the NESCAC with 68 draw controls and was just named the NESCAC Player of the Year on May 4, put a stop the the Mules’ ferocious run when she found the back of the net for the 30th time this season.
Two minutes later, Eppler tallied number two on the day, bringing the Panthers to within two. After an Alex White ’19 foul, the Panthers were in a man-down position. Even at a disadvantage they were able to bring the game even closer, as Mary O’Connell ’17 assisted a Casey O’Neill ’19 goal with 2:03 left in the first period.
The Mules threatened to extend their lead to two, but Kate Furber ’19, a NESCAC Second-Team selection after being a mainstay in goal for the Panthers, made a save.
However, Colby took a 6-5 lead into the intermission period.
Jessie Yorke ’17 says the team talked about “confidence and trusting each other” during the intermission period. To win, the team had to play loose.
Colby opened the second half scoring when Sasha Fritts netted her 40th goal of the season. Eppler quickly answered, with an assist by MG Gately ’20. With the Panthers still down by one, O’Connell – who was named to the All-NESCAC First Team after leading the Panthers in points with 55 and assists with 22 and being second on the team in goals with 33 — scored her 34th of the year to tie things up.
After a Colby goal put the Mules on top once again, Gately tallied her fifth of the season. The Panthers retook the lead five minutes later when Jenna McNicholas ’19 put her 18th goal of the season in the back of the net, again assisted by O’Connell. Middlebury now had their first lead of the game.
This advantage was short-lived, however. Colby scored the next two goals, putting them up 10-9. With just over two minutes remaining, the Panthers needed a score to force overtime or two to clinch the victory.
In the final minute of play, the Panthers had opportunities to score but came up short. DiCenso and Eppler both had shots that hit the post. With 30 seconds left, Colby’s clear attempt failed when Delaina Smith ’17, another NESCAC First Teamer with her 27 takeaways, second in the NESCAC, added to her total with a stick check.
The Panthers retained possession and had one last opportunity, but O’Connell’s shot was saved by the Colby goalkeeper as the clock struck triple zeroes.
Evie Keating ’18, who was named all-NESCAC Second Team after ranking ninth in the league with 32 ground balls and second on the Panthers with 19 caused turnovers, talked about how the team’s seniors have inspired their teammates.
“[They] have been an inspiration to their teammates and coaches and have led a very young team to some pretty amazing wins and to a promising position for the NCAA tournament,” Keating said. “Even after Saturday’s loss, I have high hopes for our chances in the coming weeks thanks to the leadership from our seniors and the big roles underclassmen are stepping into.”
Perticone said much of the same.
“We have a lot of young talent on our team so this past weekend was a good experience to feel the jitters and pressure of tournament games,” Perticone said.
The Panthers season is not over, however. Middlebury will play at least one game in the upcoming NCAA tournament when they take on Plymouth State on May 13. In the event of a victory, they will force a rematch with Colby.
(05/11/17 2:19am)
In the wake of the disciplinary proceedings relating to student protests of Charles Murray, administrators and students have renewed past discussions about implementing restorative justice and restorative practices at the College.
These two terms are often used interchangeably, and their difference can sometimes be ambiguous. However, restorative justice is often defined as consisting of community-building alternatives to punitive action after an incident, while restorative practices refer to broader efforts to cultivate relationships and prevent conflict.
When it comes to the use of such policies in response to the Murray incident, however, students and administrators have articulated differing understandings of restorative justice and whether or not it could be applied retroactively.
In a conversation with The Campus, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of the College Katy Smith Abbott focused largely on restorative practices, which she characterized as a holistic “culture shift” that would not necessarily impact the basic structure of the judicial process. Though Smith Abbott stressed that she, like others in the community, is still gaining a fuller understanding of restorative practices, she expressed a reluctance to apply them immediately to the Murray protests.
“We’re in a really tough moment now where many of us can say, ‘Oh, if we’d already had restorative practices on this campus we would’ve had different kinds of conversations, post-March 2, that could’ve potentially influenced the judicial process,’” Smith Abbott said. “We are not comfortable saying we’re going to implement [restorative practices] in a rush.” She cited the advice of experts in restorative practices, with whom administrators have consulted, as the reasoning for taking a slower approach to implementation.
Rather than changing existing judicial procedures, Smith Abbott expects these practices to provide additional avenues for dealing with conflict. “It’s expanding the menu considerably, so that we have different resources and competencies to be able to ensure that we care for individuals and communities,” she said.
Even if restorative practices were applied retroactively to Murray protesters, she noted, “It’s not to say that there would be no judicial sanction for a policy violation, but [only] that the conversation would be informed by this work.”
In recent weeks, however, student advocates have advanced their own interpretation. A flier distributed throughout campus, titled “No Discipline Without Justice,” demands that the College “immediately halt its official disciplinary process and reconsider all discipline leveled against Mar. 2 protesters.” The flier also calls for the implementation of restorative practices, which, it asserts, “can radically and progressively change the College’s culture.” Additionally, in solidarity with students facing discipline, organizers at the Chellis House distributed armbands and pins reading “RJ,” for restorative justice.
Travis Sanderson ’19, who has been involved in the student advocacy, discussed its importance in an email to the Campus. “Without restorative practices, there is no long-term institutional change that will last and address sufficiently the pain and harm currently felt among segments of our community,” he said.
“Fortunately, we are moving forward as a College with restorative practices,” he continued. “Just not quickly enough."
The administration’s consideration of these topics may have its origins in a December 2015 town hall discussion with President of Middlebury Laurie L. Patton. At that time, Patton raised the possibility of implementing restorative justice in the context of bias and cultural appropriation, noting that restorative justice “focuses less on the idea of legal violation and more on the ideas of community and repair.”
In the spring of 2016, a four-step plan was created for implementing these practices at Middlebury. According to that plan, restorative practices “seek to build relationships and a sense of community in order to prevent future wrongdoings or conflict.” In addition, they aim to “reduce, prevent, and improve harmful behavior, repair harm and restore relationships and resolve conflict and hold groups and individuals accountable.”
Ultimately, however, due to financial restrictions, the College was unable to move forward with the plan. Its $30,000 price tag was impractical as concerns surfaced College’s financial difficulties, and the timing of the proposal would have required that it receive discretionary funding rather than simply being included in the annual budget.
Thus, the College has yet to implement the proposed plan, which would take about a year to complete. “We would need to have at least fifty trained facilitators on campus to address any conflict or concern using restorative justice practices,” Dean of Students Baishakhi Taylor said in an email. “It would take about twelve to sixteen months to get this many colleagues trained and create appropriate scaffolding of support around the practice before implementing it.”
Student advocates have cited Patton’s 2015 words as evidence for the benefits of restorative practices. In response, while Smith Abbott acknowledged the “understandable desire to say that this thing that the president first named as restorative justice could be implemented right now,” she concluded, “I don’t see the things as antagonistic — restorative practices and an approach to college policy violations being adjudicated by a community board.”
Still, Smith Abbott left open the possibility that the implementation of restorative practices could change the course of future disciplinary processes. “In terms of how restorative practices would impact the outcome of policy violations, I think that’s very real,” she said. “I think that’s where the Judicial Affairs Officers and the Dean of Students, in conversation with me and probably several others, would determine how we balance a desire to uphold college policies ... with the primary goal of any disciplinary process, which is individual growth, education, community and the repair of any fissure that has occurred.”
