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(03/09/16 10:49pm)
What is consent? Does consent have to be verbal, or can it be reached through body language? Am I supposed to get my boyfriend/girlfriend’s consent each time before having sex with him/her? What makes for good sex? Why don’t we talk about sex more as a community?
These were some of the questions that were raised in Winter and Spring-term Consent Workshops, organized and led by Amelia Marran-Baden ’17 and Jeremy Alben ’18. In light of recent sexual assault cases in the press and the John Doe case at Middlebury, Marran-Baden set out to create a collective initiative to reframe the way that we think about consent and encourage students to talk about sex. She was inspired by a mandatory “Consent is Sexy” workshop that she attended as a first-year at Barnard College before transferring to Middlebury College.
“The Consent Project is about giving students that space to talk about sex and to enjoy talking about sex,” Marran-Baden explained. “You’re going to have a better time if you’re open with your partner and open with yourself about what you want.”
Over bagels and popcorn, the workshop participants answered light-hearted sex trivia questions such as “how many nerve endings are in a clitoris” (the answer is about 8,000) and then broke off into small group discussions about sex, intimacy and consent. To date, the Consent Project has hosted one male-identifying workshop, three female-identifying workshops and one co-ed workshop, all ranging from six to 30 participants.
“It exceeded my expectations,” said Alben, talking about the male-identifying workshop that he led over J-term. “We really got the ball rolling around subjects that people don’t normally talk about in a group of peers.”
“I thought it was really wonderful to speak in a small circle and to share our perspectives on a generally more intimate topic such as sex,” orkshop participant Kai Wiggins ’16.5 said.
Initially, the workshop participants tended to have negative reactions about what consent means. Many students expressed their confusions and discomfort around the convoluted definitions of consent and the “he said/she said” dialogue that often ensues after cases of sexual assault.
“There’s an inclination nowadays to push back against this movement and say that so many people are being falsely accused,” said two-time workshop attendant Aleck Silva-Pinto ’16. “There have been false accusations, which is terrible, but if there’s more awareness, then more people are safe.”
After acknowledging their discomforts, workshop participants engaged in an open and honest dialogue about intimacy.
“This is in no way a blaming type of conversation,” Julia Lesh ’16 explained. “This is taking consent away from the realm ‘guys are at fault’ and acknowledging that the reason many of us struggle to confront our relationships with sex and sexuality is because of our society, our culture, the things that we watch, the things that we see and that’s not anyone’s fault.”
The Consent Project does not seek to demonize or extinguish hookup culture at the College, but instead to cultivate an environment on campus where students feel comfortable talking about sex and communicating with their sexual partner, whether it’s a one-night stand or a boyfriend of 10 years. Having a conversation is such a basic way to lead to a healthy understanding of intimacy and to normalize the various ways that people relate to sex: whether you really don’t like sex, you masturbate three times a day or you like to engage in kinky role play.
“There seems to be a disconnect between what students are doing and how they’re feeling,” said Marren-Baden, addressing the College’s hookup culture. “Why has sex become so normalized and yet talking about it has become so strange?”
“The more we talk about consent, the less we can justify fudging our standards,” clarified Francesca Haass ’16.5, who has attended several Consent Project workshops. “If this conversation spreads across campus, I think we have a real chance to close the gap between what we think consent should be and how it often plays out.”
As the Consent Project grows, Marren-Baden and Alben hope to draw a more diverse crowd to the workshops and make the space as inclusive as possible. To date, the workshops have consisted of mainly heterosexual, white students. Marren-Baden and Alben recognize that sex is in no way hetero-normative and seek to bring in as many perspectives as possible to their upcoming consent talks.
(02/24/16 4:50pm)
In a flyer released this week, Dining Services announced its decision to stop the sale of energy drinks on campus. The policy will take effect on March 7, 2016. Beverages such as Red Bull and 5-Hour Energy will no longer be available for purchase at any of the College’s retail locations. These locations include Midd Express, Wilson Café and The Grille. Guayaki Brand Yerba Mate, regarded as a healthier alternative to the previously identified energy drinks, will remain available for purchase.
The decision marked the culmination of a debate that began on Jan. 19, when Dining Software Intern Myles Kamisher-Koch introduced the topic in a Community Council meeting. In this meeting, Kamisher-Koch asserted that several Dining Services staff members approved of his proposal.
By presenting scientific research to demonstrate the several detrimental health effects of energy drinks, Kamisher-Koch ultimately argued that the sale of energy drinks violates Dining Services’ mission, stated on the College’s website, to “nourish and nurture today and tomorrow by sustaining mind, body and earth.” Kamisher-Koch’s data included a study finding that “up to 25 percent of current drinkers combine alcoholic beverages with energy drinks.” He also included reports that energy drinks promote poor academic tendencies and foster a “culture of stress.”
These concerns that Kamisher-Koch raised in his initial presentation appear to coincide with the opinions of several students on campus. “I learned in my psychology class that energy drinks are linked to high risk sex and drug use,” Jenna McNicholas ’19 said. Meg Knox ’19 agreed.
“The school has a responsibility to direct students to healthy choices through what they provide,” Knox said.
Opposition to this proposal in Community Council debate came mainly from students who believed the removal of energy drinks from campus shelves would violate a student’s right to choose what beverages they consume. Charles Rainey ’19 voiced his concern that this measure would lead to Dining Services “controlling what people consume,” and argued that he and others drink energy drinks responsibly, adding that the removal of the drinks from campus stores was too extreme a means of promoting student well-being.
However, those in support of the policy contended that Rainey’s concern was not a grave one. Fiona Mohamed ’18 stressed that the school would not be banning the consumption of energy drinks, but would be merely stopping their sale in retail locations on campus. Participants reminded those concerned with the change that they could buy the drinks at multiple retail locations situated close to campus.
Community Council held a vote on Kamisher-Koch’s recommendation on Tuedsay, Feb. 2. The proposal was approved 11 to 1, and Dining Services decided to adopt the resolution.
Dining Services’ flyer, signed by Executive Director of Food Service Dan Detora, echoes the Community Council’s sentiment. The flyer mentions scientific literature revealing a connection between energy drinks and unsafe behavior in young people, including “increased alcohol consumption, increased likelihood to drive while intoxicated, increased probability of use of other intoxicating substance and increased participation in high-risk sexual activity.” The flyer also restates Kamisher-Koch’s argument that the sale of energy drinks violates Dining Services mission, since, as the flyer reads, “consuming these products may result in serious health related issues such as; cardiovascular events, seizures and liver damage.”
(01/20/16 11:55pm)
Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo recently outlined his strategy to combat the rising opiate crisis that has gained attention both within Vermont and nationally. Various gangs have formed active drug networks in Burlington, causing concern for public health and safety. The mayor of Burlington, Miro Weinberger, has decided to give the city police the power necessary to fight drug trafficking and crimes linked to the rising tide of opiate addiction.
“Through sustained commitment to on-the-ground community policing and better coordination among all law enforcement and public health agencies engaged in addressing opiate abuse, we will turn back this trend,” Weinberger told the the Burlington Free Press.
Del Pozo expressed commitment to these ideals. In an effort to rid Vermont of opiate problems, he hopes to devote resources to street-level community policing and encourage treatment for addicts rather than jail time. In addition, del Pozo believes it would be beneficial to direct the majority of attention towards the mid and high-level drug dealers and traffickers instead of focusing on lower level users and dealers.
“We’re not trying to arrest our way out of this problem. We’re not trying to saddle small-time users with criminal records,” del Pozo said.
In order to achieve these goals, del Pozo plans to hire a full force of one hundred officers. He advocated increasing foot patrols and bike controls, as well as stopping as many street drug deals as possible. Additionally, del Pozo supports an approach that involves differentiating between those who are selling drugs for profit and those who are selling drugs to further endorse their addictions. He has also stated that he is interested in offering amnesty to opiate addicts who are willing and able to approach the police for help with their situation.
In conjunction with police efforts, doctors in Vermont will be advised to prescribe with caution, as the opiate addiction problem is partially attributed to doctors who over-prescribe painkillers. Vermont Health Commissioner Harry Chen and UVM Medical Center CEO John Brumstead will work alongside del Pozo to increase the resources available for those with opiate addictions.
The heavy focus of resources, time, and effort to combat opiate abuse is rooted in a human toll: drug overdose calls in Burlington rose from 34 in the past three years to 69 in 2015. Two drug-related shootings in Burlington resulted in fatalities within the past year.
Opiate addiction has also increased the number of crimes and thefts to occur around Burlington. When compared to rates from 2012 to 2014, robberies have risen 31 percent, assaults 22 percent, and retail theft 14 percent. Opiate addiction has proven especially prominent in the Old North End of Burlington.
Contributing even further to the problem, the prominence of the drug market has pushed more women towards prostitution and fueled the market for firearms in Vermont. Del Pozo noted that he is especially disturbed and concerned about the element of sex trafficking that accompanies the drug trade.
Unfortunately, Vermont will continue to be a hot spot for drugs if action is not taken. Drug dealers from out of state often prefer to sell them in Vermont, as opposed to major cities, because their wares are significantly more profitable when they constitute a significant portion of the market.
However, del Pozo remains confident that the situation in Burlington can be solved, and it is not yet outside the realm of police and governmental control.
“It’s not an overall tidal wave problem. It’s growing and it brings violence, but it’s manageable for a city this size,” del Pozo said.
(01/20/16 7:18pm)
Dear Editors,
I’m writing today to discuss the role that the Student Government Association (SGA) plays in addressing sexual and relationship respect. Last year, after a series of conversations with other institutions in the Northeast, the SGA decided to increase its commitment to promoting sexual & relationship respect here at Middlebury. This Thursday, January 28th, the SGA will co-host an Atwater dinner on these issues alongside It Happens Here and JusTalks. Over the past several months, President Gratch and others have met with a number of stakeholders on these topics, and have developed three guiding questions for students to explore alongside one another as we move forward: (1) What is our current culture surrounding sex and relationships at Middlebury, (2) What is the culture that we want, and (3) How do we get there?
We want to emphasize that these three questions are merely starting points for this dialogue, and that asking these questions will demand sustained follow up from administrators, the SGA, and students alike. We are not looking to tell one synchronized story about sex and relationships at Midd; as students with different identities and life experiences, we all bring different perspectives and lenses to the table on these issues. We are, however, interested in learning from one another, in deepening our sense of commitment to this community, and in beginning the process of establishing sexual and relationship norms on this campus.
Following in the footsteps of President Patton’s recent comments, including her thoughts on restorative justice as well as the value of having difficult conversations, the SGA wants to continue to host campus dialogues on sexual & relationship respect beyond the Atwater dinner. We are of the belief that envisioning a healthier, safer Middlebury requires not only looking forward, but also having frank discussions about where we are at today.
Whether you were able to RSVP for the upcoming Atwater dinner or not, we want you to know that the SGA is committed to continuing these conversations. Please feel free to reach out to myself, your Senators, or President Gratch in the coming months with any input or initiatives that you may have.
Respectfully Submitted,
Maddie Orcutt, Class of 2016
SGA Director of Sexual & Relationship Respect
(12/09/15 3:40pm)
On Thursday, Dec. 3, in an effort to raise awareness of HIV infection and the AIDS pandemic, GlobeMed in partnership with Chellis House held a panel discussion in honor of World AIDS Day. The panel of professors across different disciplines addressed this year’s central theme, “The Time to Act is Now,” when addressing their perspectives on HIV/AIDS around the world. Panelists consisted of Professor of the Practice of Global Health Pam Berenbaum, Professor of Economics Erick Gong and Professor of Psychology Rob Moeller.
World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day that began in 1988. Held annually on Dec. 1, the day is a formal opportunity for people across the world to unite in the fight against HIV, show support for people living with HIV and to commemorate those who have died from the disease.
Berenbaum opened up the panel by saying that people need to challenge the way myths and outdated stereotypes shape notions about HIV. For many, the stigma of testing HIV positive is a deterrent from getting tested. She noted that worldwide trends show that many people who get tested for HIV never pick up their results. “For a lot of people, the benefits of getting tested do not outweigh the costs because in testing HIV positive, some people have a much bigger risk to their lives from the person who is angry about it [than] to the actual AIDS,” Berenbaum said. However, testing remains a vital part of addressing HIV from the start.
“HIV falls into the larger public health problem of individuals needing to change behavior,” Berenbaum said.
She also expressed hope that the issue of HIV infection would be addressed on a global level. “Globally, what I personally would love to see is separating sex from other objectives,” she said. “We need to get rid of rape as a weapon of war. We need to get rid of human trafficking. The vast majority of pornography people enjoy is from sexual slaves. The people who are appearing in this pornography are subjected to HIV risk all the time,” she continued.
Moeller, whose research at New York University focused on HIV infection in black and Latino communities, articulated that the U.S. is in a major health crisis regarding HIV/AIDS. “The people who are most impacted by this are young [14-24] gay and bisexual men of color,” he said. He noted that the common belief that gay or bisexual men wear condoms less than heterosexual men do is false. The issue then lies in the smaller pool of potential partners that is experiencing higher rates of HIV infection.
“For gay men, the idea that sex can lead to death is a reality,” Moeller said. “I have never in my life met a gay man who was not afraid of HIV. The fear certainly exists.”
The panel addressed current medical treatment of HIV. While in the past the common medication for possible HIV infection was curative – to be taken after having unprotected sex with someone who was HIV positive – the current model of medication is preventative. “The problem with this is the issue of access and treatment,” Moeller said. He cited that only one in three doctors knows about pre-exposure prophylaxis, the new HIV prevention strategy that uses antiretrovirals to reduce risk of infection.
Transmission rates of the infection are much lower than common belief dictates. For one sexual encounter between a person with HIV and one without, the rate of transmission is 1/1000. With antiretroviral therapy, this rate is reduced by 70 to 90 percent. Adherence to treatment is thus considered very important. Resistance to the therapies can occur when the full dosage is not observed and the benefit of reduction of transmission rate does not occur.
“When people receive HIV positive tests, some of them will go out and have more unprotected sex because the cost goes down,” Gong said. He emphasized the need for treatment after diagnosis to improve the welfare of the infected person and because it prevents transmission of the infection.
“One of the things that economists have been looking at in terms of changing sexual behaviors is known as conditional cash transfers (CCTs) – you do something and we’ll pay you,” Gong said. With this method, individuals would receive vouchers when they showed up for treatment or extra incentive for fully completing treatment with additional money.
Gong also focused on the presence of HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa where he conducted most of his research.
“The puzzle is this: rates of HIV are much higher is Sub-Saharan Africa,” he said. “But if you look at the number of sexual partners between the average person in the United States versus Sub-Saharan Africa, they’re about the same.”
HIV/AIDS affects 33 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to Gong, vaccines are not available because large pharmaceutical companies in the United States are not addressing it. To encourage the production, economists suggest advance market commitment, or the “if you make it, we’ll buy it” approach.
“It’s not really about, ‘Let’s change the message,’ or ‘Let’s figure out the right wording to get people to use condoms,’” Moeller said. “What I think we really need is a vaccine and a cure, both of which we are very far away from attaining simply because we just don’t know enough.”
(12/03/15 2:12am)
Signs directed the way to the Bunker in Freeman International Center as audience members made their way to the premiere of Roadkill, the senior work of Tosca Giustini ’15.5 and Leah Sarbib ’15.5. Running from Nov. 19-21, the devised play explores four different friends’ connections to a girl named Lindsey McPherson, described by Giustini as “a reflection of the other characters, their hopes and desires.” At various points throughout the play, each character shares stories about their relationship with this girl, all of which are sexual or romantic in some way.
The story takes place in a world that producer and director Giustini called “a heightened representation of our media’s obsession with sex.” While the main action follows four friends, played by Kathleen Gudas ’16.5, Lorena Neira ’17, Will Lupica ’18 and Kean Haunt ’17, on a road trip to New York City, the underlying socio-cultural commentary unfolded through recordings created by Sarbib. If these recordings sounded familiar, it is because they were written and recorded in the style of their inspirations, which included the organization Christian Mothers Against Masturbation, literotica based on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, an NPR segment and more.
Sarbib referred to scenes featuring the recordings as “unreality scenes,” since they offered “a good way to make the points that we couldn’t make with the characters and a good way to preserve some of the work we did with the actors in rehearsal.”
The set was cleverly constructed, with metal poles forming the car in which the majority of the play takes place. When four of the characters get in a car accident near the end of the show, the actors meticulously disassembled the metal pieces, transforming the skeleton into a wreck at their feet. Small white pieces of paper decorated the floor, enabling the performers to create a dream-like atmosphere as they tossed them into the air.
Throughout the show, Lindsey McPherson, played by Caitlyn Meager ’17, represents and articulates taboos and myths of sexuality. From everyone else’s point of view, her character is all-knowing and constantly in control. She has also caused her friends a great deal of frustration and anger, leading them to finally confront her at a club in New York City. In this way, the car ride becomes a space of empowerment for the other four characters.
For the audience, these confrontations, while harsh, felt necessary and real. After all, these are people recognizing their hurt and claiming that they deserve better. But once Lindsey McPherson is left alone on stage, we are given the opportunity to see something softer and far more complicated, as she ends the play repeating, “I just want to be loved.”
Last weekend’s performance of Roadkill succeeded in being both funny and poignant. Because so much of the content was drawn from media representations in our lives and from the personal experiences of college students, the work was also vastly relatable for many viewers.
In describing her influences, Sarbib wrote: “… the line between our real lives and our play lives often got blurry – we’d end up talking about the play all the time and things from our lives would inspire ideas outside of rehearsal ... I’ve been influenced by things I’ve seen and lived and this idea has been brewing for so long now that, with a few exceptions, it’s difficult to pinpoint what comes from where.”
(12/03/15 12:11am)
Last week, Gary Delima and Sharif Cargo, both age 26 of Brooklyn, NY, were indicted by a federal grand jury for various charges of human trafficking in Vermont.
According to a statement released by the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont, “Delima and Cargo are accused of recruiting, enticing and maintaining two individuals referred to in the indictment as “Victim 1” and “Victim 2,” and using force, threats of force, fraud and coercion to cause them to engage in commercial sex acts between Sept. 2012 and Sept. 2013.” In addition, Delima was accused of transporting a minor, referred to as “Victim 3,” to Vermont to engage in prostitution earlier this year.
Delima and Cargo were first suspected of human trafficking in July of 2013 when law enforcement officials responded to a call in a South Burlington hotel and found the two men there with two women. The police found evidence of prostitution and narcotics on the scene. In addition, they found that one of the women had been listed online earlier that day as an available escort in the South Burlington area. Records from the website showed that Cargo’s email address had been associated with the email and other similar advertisements.
This past February, police received another call from a South Burlington hotel, where they found two women. These women said that they were engaged in prostitution and that Delima had brought them here from New York for that purpose. One of these two women was a minor, which would lead Delima to face worse charges, if found guilty of sex trafficking of a child.
If convicted of Sex Trafficking by Force and Coercion, both Cargo and Delima would face a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison up to a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to a statement by the U. S. Attorney’s District of Vermont Office. If found guilty of sex trafficking of a child, Delima could also receive ten years to a lifetime in prison.
The indictment of Cargo and Delima came just several weeks after U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont Eric Miller launched an anti-sex trafficking media campaign in Vermont in response to the rise in sex trafficking in the state in recent years. According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, they received 37 calls and reports of seven human trafficking cases that mentioned Vermont in 2014, which was up from the 17 calls and reports of three cases in 2012. As of June 30, they had received 14 calls and three cases referencing Vermont.
The media campaign led by Eric Miller consists of a website, ucanstoptraffick.org. The homepages reads, “U Can Stop Traffick – help end sex and drug trafficking in Vermont.” The website features the stories of three women from Vermont who were victims of sex trafficking and ended up abusing drugs. There is also a one minute public service announcement video and a list of available resources.
Prior to this indictment for human trafficking, Delima and Cargo were also indicted back in March for distributing heroin and cocaine in Vermont. This connection between the drug trade and human trafficking in Vermont is not uncommon.
Human trafficking often begins with an addiction to heroin, cocaine or other opiates while under the control of their perpetrator. Once dependent on drugs, victims of human trafficking often turn to using sex as a means to make money to feed their addiction and to pay off drug debts. Jasmine Grace, a survivor of sex trafficking and drug addiction featured ucanstoptraffick.org, elaborated on this idea in her interview on the website.
“You become addicted to drugs, so now you don’t have an actual pimp over your head, you have a growing drug addiction, so the only way to support that drug addiction really is to prostitute,” Grace said. “I didn’t realize that this was going to turn into a heroin addiction.”
Not only are victims of sex trafficking drug abusers, many are also helping financially support drug dealers.
“No one deals drugs alone,” said Geni Cowles, First Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Vermont district. “For every dealer our office charges there’s a circle of people, charged and uncharged, who make that drug dealing activity possible and profitable.”
Cowles said 75 percent of the people who support drug dealers are women. They provide support by giving them housing, cars and contact lists. Many women are also used to transport drugs or make minor deals. Cowles added that many of these women are also trafficked for sex. Of these women, Cowles articulated that 60 percent were under 30, most were addicted to substances and one quarter were in a romantic relationship with the dealer.
The current indictment of Delima and Cargo highlights the common trend that human and drug trafficking are inextricably linked.
In light of this rising trend, public and private groups are working to reduce human and drug trafficking in Vermont. In addition to the U.S. Attorney’s U Can Stop Traffick campaign discussed above, the Vermont Human Trafficking Task Force was formed in 2010. The task force included two representatives from Give Way to Freedom, a Vermont-based non-profit that works locally and internationally to end human trafficking and support victims. As a result of the Vermont Human Trafficking Task Force, legislation was passed in 2011 that mandated training on human trafficking for law enforcement and gave the possibility of a life sentence.
(11/13/15 7:29pm)
According to the 2015 Annual Security & Fire Safety Report due to release this week, nine rapes were reported last year, one incident of forced fondling and three incidents of dating violence occurred on the College’s campus in 2014.
These statistics are hard to understand without some context. How does the College’s sexual assault rate compare to that of other colleges and universities?
A massive survey of over 150,000 college students is making answering that question more clear.
On September 21, 2015, the Association of American Universities, an elite higher education trade group, released the findings of a 27-school sexual assault climate survey, one of the largest surveys about sexual violence among college students in the United States to date.The survey found that about one in ten female college students say they have experienced sexual assault involving penetration, by force or incapacitation.
Specifically, 11.4 percent of undergraduate women and 14.8 percent of LGBTQ students experience sexual assault involving penetration or oral sex. One in five students experience unwanted sexual contact, such as forced kissing or groping, and half to three quarters of students said they had experienced sexual harassment.
The survey also found that risk for sexual assault for females was highest during their freshman year and steadily declined thereafter. Among freshman, 16.9 percent of women reported nonconsensual sexual contact — including penetrative rape, oral sex, kissing or groping — by physical force or incapacitation. That percentage declined to a low of 11.1 percent among senior females.
Finally, the survey revealed that only 28 percent or less of even the most serious sexual assault cases were reported to university officials or law enforcement. Nearly three quarters of assaults went unreported because the victim did not consider the incident “serious enough,” they were embarrassed or they did not think the university or police would do anything about it.
150,072 students responded to the survey, which had an overall response rate of 19.3 percent.
These new statistics highlight sexual assault as a significant issue across American college campuses.
Making a specific comparison between the College and this national average is difficult. Concrete figures on the number of unreported sexual assaults at the College are unavailable. Associate Dean for Judicial Affairs and Student Life Karen Guttentag estimates, however, that sexual assault rates at the College are on par with national averages.
Data from annual campus security reports dating back to 2002 reveal that an average of five sexual assaults are reported each year.
Alarmingly, higher rates of sexual assault were reported in 2013 and 2014 — the most recent years for which we have data — than any other years in the past decade. Notably, in 2013, 17 sexual assaults were reported to Public Safety, more than three times the number reported the year before. Two instances of dating violence were also reported.
So far in 2015, only one instance of sexual assault taking place on the College’s campus has been reported to Public Safety. At least one other alleged sexual assault was reported to the College but it took place while a student of the College was abroad, namely the John Doe case.
Vice President of Communications and Marketing Bill Burger asserts that the College is not satisfied even with a low sexual assault rate.
“We will never be satisfied until there are no reports of sexual assault of any kind on our campuses,” said Burger. “While we hope the drop in reported cases is a reflection of the education, awareness and prevention programs we have put in place in recent years and of the increased public attention being given to sexual assault on college campuses, we take no comfort in these numbers and we will continue to act aggressively to address the issue.”
Associate Professor of Psychology Matthew Kimble has been researching sexual assault and sexual trauma on several northeastern college campuses.
“One thing is clear … sexual assault occurs on all types of campuses and no campus is immune,” said Kimble. “Even if the rates at a given campus were relatively low, there would still be good reason for the community to be ready to respond well when an assault occurs as well as have programs in place to prevent assaults in the future.”
(11/05/15 4:16am)
“What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we love black culture?”
Amandla Stenberg, teen actress and pop prophet, asked exactly that in a videopublished on Tumblr nine months ago. She wasn’t the first, but she fanned the question’s popularity. Since then it has blazed through corn rows of online activism, adding to the fire of voices chanting “hands up” and “black lives matter.” Her argument is simple: it’s “in” to adopt black culture. Hairstyles, ebonics, twerking and white rappers who aren’t from families of gravestones and bullets are all living proof of the “phenomenon.” In her words, “when a style leads to racist generalizations or stereotypes where it originates, but is deemed high fashion or funny when the privileged take it for themselves,” it qualifies as “appropriation.” She does a great job of indicting current pop culture in that crime.
But what Stenberg doesn’t include is context.
In the first article of this column, I defined “poverty” as “socially and culturally imposed disadvantage.” You can be privileged in some ways and impoverished in others. Under this definition, black people are racially impoverished in our society, which is why the appropriation discussed by Stenberg qualifies as the theft of impoverished culture by privileged culture. It’s one incarnation of it, another brick in that wall.
Black culture appropriation is a form of poor culture appropriation.
If we think of it like that, the issue looms throughout our history. Poor culture has always been appreciated, while poor people have not. Country music has diffused from the rural poor to honky-tonk teenage romantic melodrama, appropriated by Nashville for mass consumption while the people who invented it — the rural poor — are ridiculed as “rednecks.” So too is the case with punk. It’s a style of music that permeates through all of alternative, but its latter-day saints rarely reference the dark British underground of the Sex Pistols and the Clash while they’re sipping mojitos in mansions. Other instances of black culture appropriation have also happened, in very different times and circumstances, akin to what Stenberg rails against. Jazz and blues sweated from the pores of mid-century urban lounges and rock n’ roll beat out of basements and garages. They were voices from the cavern of poverty. Yet both were gentrified, distributed and tied to suburban radio and fancy stages while the original artists were left to wallow in sharecropper fields and bars.
All of these are classic examples of the appropriation of poor culture beyond just today, but the history includes more than just music. In the twenties, Bakerfix hair paste and African-inspired fashion were the rage, as recounted by Petrine Archer Straw, illustrating the gentrification of stuff that accompanied jazz and blues. Their appropriation lies in the same vein as pop culture today’s passion for formerly black hairstyles and ebonics. Even twerking has a historical parallel: the charleston. It started on black Broadway, but definitely didn’t stay there. Appropriation of non-music is also reflected in country and punk’s histories. How else to explain the popularity of overalls in honky-tonk teenage romantic melodrama, or Ramones shirts worn by people who don’t have any clue who the Ramones even are?
Black culture appropriation is an avatar of historical context. Rich people like to steal from poor people. Hairstyles, ebonics, twerkings and white rappers are just the latest manifestations. For that reason, maybe we should amend Amandla Stenberg’s question. Maybe we should ask something more broad and less isolated to the present. A question that’s more historically legitimate; a question that’s more inclusively fair:
What would America be like if we loved poor people as much as we love poor culture?
(10/21/15 11:35pm)
Contrary to popular belief, vocal acrobatics, flawless dance contortions and state-of-the-art technology are not always necessary for an entertaining show. Sometimes, all it takes is one voice. Live storytelling is more than simply a tactic to lull young children to sleep or to pass time during long car rides; it is an art that helps to celebrate, validate and make sense of the many layers of human experience. Such was the purpose of the third annual Cocoon, a storytelling event organized by the Middlebury Moth-UP in collaboration with Director of the Mahaney Center for the Arts (MCA) Liza Sacheli on Saturday, Oct. 18. Featuring six members of the College and broader Vermont community, the night centered on the theme of “roots.” August Hutchinson ’16.5 and Celia Watson ’17, producers of the Middlebury Moth-UP, served as co-organizers and hosts of the event.
As per Moth-UP tradition, there were only three rules to the Cocoon: all stories had to be true, speakers could take no longer than ten minutes and they were not allowed to bring any notes onstage. The resulting performances were delightful in their honesty and polished in their delivery, spanning a wide spectrum of ages, backgrounds and experiences. The lineup consisted of Alexa Beyer ’15.5, Bianca Giaever ’12.5, a filmmaker featured on NPR’s This American Life and founder of The Middlebury Moth-UP; Associate Professor of History Rebecca Bennette, Burlington-based storyteller Deena Frankel, Jabari Matthew ’17 and Naomi Eisenberg ’18.
Collectively, the stories spanned a timeline from Sept. 11, 2001 to a childhood in the Bronx to this past summer. Settings ranged from the bottom of a canyon cliff in New Mexico to a youth village in Israel to a Picasso Erotique display in a Montreal art museum. Images of stolen pink bikes, falafel and embarrassing tube socks all managed to cross the audience members’ minds over the course of the two-hour show. Born from each individual’s interpretation of the theme “roots,” this sporadic hodgepodge of times, places and ideas made for a night of laughter, reflection and a few shocked silences.
Alexa Beyer kicked off the show by connecting a humorous incident of childhood naiveté to her current mantra as an environmentalist. She radiated with positivity, even when recounting her innocently unassuming response to the man who stole her bike and tried to sell it for $500, and then her subsequent struggle to keep a drive-in movie theatre alive in the wake of Walmart’s descent. Her hopeful spirit and ability to reflect compassionately on negative situations around her shined through particularly well in her closing lines.
“Our enemies aren’t these two-dimensional, evil villains,” Beyer said. “What is a big company if not a bunch of people who cry at the sad parts of movies? […] We keep trying to stab them with the law and wonder why they duck.” Ending her story with a thoughtful challenge, half directed toward the audience, half to herself, she stated, “Change their hearts as individuals by doing things that are inappropriately kind.”
Rebecca Bennette gave a similar, albeit less direct, call for more open hearts and minds. Following a chilling account of her experience in Germany as a half-Japanese woman mistaken – and subsequently discriminated against – for being Turkish, Bennette remarked, “My point is not that I can speak with authority on all forms of racism. Quite the opposite.” Delivered with calm precision, her speech struck the most serious tone of the night.
“People are discriminated against because their roots are from the ‘wrong’ places,” Bennette stated. “Yet they are brave enough to come anyway.”
Continuing the discussion of identity and belonging – concepts that can prove hazy for those who do not fit neatly into a certain category – Naomi Eisenberg offered reflection on her service trip to Israel in a performance that managed to be both humorous and harrowing. Using moments of laughter as transition points, she navigated the challenges, joys and absurdities of her summer with impressive clarity and eloquence.
“Imagine spooning vomit back into your mouth,” she described of a soup that caused the entire service group to “poop their brains out.” “Now add hummus.”
Switching expertly between points of comedy and gravity, Eisenberg’s parting words spoke poignantly to the sense of displacement that many of us undoubtedly feel about certain places in our lives.
“I thought I already knew Israel. But after I saw the country turned upside down, inside out, I realized how rootless I was,” she said. “This is not a place we’re entitled to. We have to make our own roots here.”
Meanwhile, in a critical examination of their own roots, Bianca Giaever and Jabari Matthew both offered stories of stark self-reflection, though set in drastically different contexts. Giaever’s tale began after her graduation from Middlebury; Matthew’s story dated back to his toddler and elementary school days. Giaever’s whimsical adventure – which landed her on a cross-country road trip to New Mexico, following a list of poetic clues in search of a millionaire’s hidden treasure whilst trying to get over a heartbreak – seemed almost too ridiculous to be true, whilst Matthew’s account of his early childhood dance lessons and falling out with his best friend Richard struck a nostalgic chord with the audience in its relatability.
Ultimately, both brought to light the importance of understanding – or at least trying to understand – how we arrived to where we are today and all the people and places along the way.
“I didn’t want to make my story seem as if it was a class lecture,” Matthew said. “I wanted to give off the truth, which was that although I experienced what I did in my story, I am still figuring things out. And perhaps there is a lesson to be learned in my story, but whether or not there was, that was certainly not the point.”
Giaever’s story echoed the same spirit of self-discovery. Her manner of speaking was endearingly open-hearted, as if she were reading straight from the pages of her own private journal. Meanwhile, Matthew’s voice boomed with conviction, his expert vocal portrayals of the other characters in his story often creating the surreal sense of a one-man show.
Perhaps the performance that elicited the widest range of emotion from the audience was Deena Frankel’s story on love, life and loss. Beginning with a blind date at an art display about sex and ending with a somber mountain hike on Sept. 11, 2001 with her soon-to-be husband, Frankel infused her piece with a delicate mixture of amusement, joy and sadness.
“[The art display] was all about sex, in every permutation and combination that you can think of, and some that I’m sure you cannot,” she said, drawing huge laughs from the crowd. “What do you say to a guy you just met about this? ‘Nice brush strokes?’”
Frankel’s sophisticated and confident delivery stood as a testament to her experience not only as a storyteller, but also as a member of the Vermont community with a myriad of wisdom to share.
“Love has its roots in shared comedy and tragedy,” she stated. “Our stories are the roots of love.”
In an era that has shifted largely toward film, media and television, the power of live oral storytelling is often underestimated, its relevance as an art medium questioned. But as the packed theater of the MCA proved on Saturday night, there is a strong demand for this performance platform. Events like the Cocoon remind us of the importance of human connections in the absence of screens and push us to find meaning in everyday interactions. The live energy and sense of shared experience that flourish during these events are rewarding to audience members and speakers alike.
“To be able to share your stories is one thing,” Eisenberg said. “But to know that there are people who showed up just to listen is, to me, really beautiful. As long as there are people who are willing to share their stories, there will be people who are willing to listen.”
(10/14/15 10:06pm)
On Oct. 1 the Department of Public Safety released its annual Security and Fire Safety Report, highlighting several variances in crime rates on property under the College’s jurisdiction over the past three years.
The College is required to compile crime statistics in seven major categories to the federal government under the Clery Act – a 1990 protection law requiring all colleges and universities who receive federal funding to share information about crime on campus. These categories include sexual offensives, burglaries and alcohol violations. The report includes data from Public Safety, the Middlebury Police Department and law enforcement agencies in locations where Middlebury has a presence.
The most marked change since 2012 was the number of drug law violations. In 2012, the College witnessed 49 drug related crimes on Middlebury’s campus and 38 in residential facilities. However, after Vermont decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana in the summer of 2013, that number dropped to one violation total, and to two violations in 2014.
The report also showed significant variance in fires. After 2012 had a total of 12 fires, there was a dramatic drop to two fires in 2013. 2014 then saw seven fires.
Significant from this year’s finding also includes the statistics on sexual offenses. In accordance with the updated Violence Against Women Act, the 2015 report includes new categories and definitions of crimes related to sex offenses. As mandated by the Clery Act, sex offenses are defined as “any sexual act directed against another person, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent. Sex offenses include rape, fondling, incest and statutory rape.”
In 2012, there were five accounts of sexual offenses, which increased to 17 the following year. In 2014 there were ten reported sex offenses, including nine rapes and one case of forced fondling. However, due to required reporting changes, comparing 2014 statistics to those from the two previous years might not necessarily be indicative of overall trends.
Such findings in years past have invoked change on campus to educate students, faculty and staff about ways to tackle such crime. For example, in 2013 the College secured a grant from the Department of Justice to enhance campus programs aimed at preventing sexual violence. In addition, numerous educational programs hosted by students and faculty exist on campus to promote awareness and prevention of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. The Green Dot Violence Prevention Strategy launched this fall as a mandatory program for all incoming first-years and teaches bystander intervetion as a method to mediate potentially harmful situations.
Another initiative, MiddSafe, includes students, faculty and staff committed to providing a safe and confidential resource for peers in need of support and information around sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, domestic violence and other personal violations. The group’s goal is to function as a non-judgmental, compassionate and affective resource for individuals in emergency and non-crisis situations. Advocates provide an array of options to guide students toward medical, legal and emotional resources on local, state and national levels. MiddSafe advocates offer services such as a 24-hour hotline operated by volunteer student advocates.
“I’m happy to see the expansion and increased awareness of programs like MiddSafe and Green Dot, which I think are great steps towards eliminating power-based personal violence on campus” said Molly McShane ’16.5.
(10/08/15 3:02am)
On September 15, the makers of Trojan Brand Condoms released its first annual State by State Safer Sex Index ranking. The study found Vermont to be the state with the best sexual health in the country.
Trojan Brand Condoms, America’s number one condom, was led to produce the study based on reports that there are still nearly 20 million new cases of STDs being documented every year, and only one in three sex acts involve a condom.
The study used the criteria established by the Third Edition of the Sexual Health Rankings to rank states based on contraception use and the extent of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
To measure contraceptive use, the study looked at whether or not state mandated sex education in schools covered contraception and STD/HIV education, the percentage of high school students who were taught by their teachers the essential condom use topics, and the number of births by mothers aged 15-19.
To measure the prevalence of STDs, the study looked at the number of HIV diagnoses, Gonorrhea cases, syphilis cases, and HIV tests conducted in a given state.
In order to understand why Vermont ranked so highly in this study, it is important to consider how the legal and education systems work together to promote sex education.
For starters, Vermont state law requires schools to teach sexuality education as part of its comprehensive health program.
According to the National Coalition to Support Sexuality Education (NCSSE), this wide-ranging program has ten parts. NCSSE also specifies that Vermont’s sexuality education program is enforced by an advisory council, elected by the commissioner of education, who works directly with the department of education to figure out how this program will be best incorporated into the curriculums of public schools.
Ms. Jill Krowinski, the Vice President of Education and Vermont Community Affairs at Planned Parenthood, elaborated on some of the topics that Vermont public schools are required to cover.
“By law, schools are required to teach human development, sexuality, and reproduction; information about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and prevention; decision making about sexual activity including abstinence; and information regarding the possible outcomes of premature sexual activity, contraceptives, adolescent pregnancy, childbirth, adoption, and abortion as part of comprehensive health education,” said Krowinski.
Ms. Erin Randall-Mullins, a health educator at South Burlington High School, further explained the goals behind Vermont’s comprehensive health program.
“We emphasize comprehensive health education,” explained Ms. Randall-Mullins. “Students will receive current health information, and practice using it. The decisions they make are ultimately up to them- we feel like it’s our job to give them all of the information, and the tools to utilize it.”
Randall-Mullins also spoke about her own curriculum, and the way in which she facilitates discussions about how the media portrays sex.
“We try to rewrite what the media says is ‘normal’ with regard to healthy sexual behavior,” Randall-Mullins said. “We want students to know that asking a potential partner about their sexual history is normal. Discussing what forms of protection you will use is normal behavior.”
Instead of focusing on an abstinence based curriculum, Vermont, as with most high schools in the northeast, teach a sex education curriculum that has proven to be very informative. Studies from organizations like AVERTing HIV and AIDS (AVERT), have found that students will practice safer sex when given the proper information about it.
Randall-Mullins therefore accredits Vermont’s high ranking in Trojan’s recent study to the strength of sexuality education in Vermont.
“I think Vermont is ranked as having the safest sex because we do have a state law that all students will receive health education- students need to take a high school health course prior to graduation,” said Randall-Mullins.
To further understand why Vermont’s sex education program is so strong, Planned Parenthood’s role in supporting the public education system must be realized. For starters, Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest provider of sex education.
“Our Education Department supports the everyday work being done by Health Educators in their classrooms and school nurses in a variety of ways,” Krowinski began. “We are available to come into classrooms and talk about services available at local health centers. We also provide professional development opportunities for health and PE educators, the annual Working With Youth Conference, and through participation on community health coalitions.”
In terms of how Planned Parenthood increases student involvement, Krowinski pointed to Planned Parenthood’s Peer Education Program in Chittenden County. This program trains high school student volunteers to talk to their peers about the information and resources available to them.
Krowinski described the program as one that “seeks to empower high school students with accurate, factual reproductive and sexual health knowledge to benefit themselves, their peers and the community.”
To further supplement the curriculum being taught in schools, Krowinski highlighted the role parents play in enforcing a child’s learning and understanding of the material.
“By supporting sex education in schools and by having conversations at home, parents can impact the sexual health of their children,” Krowinski explained. “October marks Let’s Talk Month, aimed at getting families talking about sexuality and relationships. It’s a great time for parents to go beyond “the talk” and instead have ongoing conversations throughout their children’s lives about critical topics that can help young people make healthy decisions.”
In addition to enforcing the information being highlighted in the classroom, Planned Parenthood offers Vermont teenagers, especially women, excellent access to health care.
With 12 Planned Parenthood locations across the state, Vermonters have the opportunity to receive affordable services such as birth control, STI testing and treatment, and cancer screenings.
As reported by Ms. Krowinski, in 2014, 25,634 people visited one of these health centers, of which 94% of them were seeking preventative care services. Krowinski also made sure to note that Planned Parenthood provides free condoms to all of their sites, and are available upon any visit.
In addition to Planned Parenthood, students and adults also have access to organizations like Outright Vermont, Hope Works, and Women Helping Battered Women.
The combination of the state requiring a strong sex education program coupled with access to health services like Planned Parenthood explain why Vermont would be at the top of any study measuring safe sex.
(10/07/15 11:20pm)
“Do not go gentle into that good night but rage, rage against the dying of the light,” Michael Caine intoned, bringing the great words of the 20th-century poet Dylan Thomas into the cultural mainstream as mankind’s last hope shudders through space and time. This Wednesday, Oct. 7th, adventurers and innovators will once again invoke Thomas’s words to describe their explorations into the human experience.
The evening of Oct. 14 will feature several unique but cohesive performances. Before we mothernaked fall is choreographed by Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance, Scotty Hardwig, and explores the poetic processes and expressionist sensibilities of poet Dylan Thomas. Meanwhile, This is your Paradise, a composition by Salt Lake City-based dance artist Molly Heller, confronts struggle, resistance, hope and faith. “A Duet Called Blue” is a collaboration between Heller and Hardwig that follows the creation, disconnection and cracking undercurrent of energy that runs beneath the sea of human sensation.
Before we mothernaked fall references Thomas’s interest in the male form and its place in the world. Hardwig adapts the sentiment for modern times by sketching the homosensual body in an attempt to create a space “where the individuals identity melts into a group body,” according to dancer Doug LeCours ’15.
“It’s not about sex or identity but sensation, a shared sameness among the three bodies on stage moving through a physical experience together,” LeCours said.
LeCours will return to campus as one of the piece’s three performers. Noting that he has always had a strong advisor-advisee relationship with Hardwig, he is proud to make his professional debut at the College.
The sound score from the performance features text by poet Dylan Thomas. Unlike contemporaries such as T.S Elliot and W.H Auden, who focused on specific social and intellectual issues, Thomas is celebrated for writing that is emotionally lucid yet narratively obscure. By conveying the feeling of his subject more clearly than its definite form, his work possesses a quality that corresponds naturally with dance. Thomas’s storied life funnels into often-metaphysical idolatry, with a percussive rhythm that hammers lines in time with the reader’s heart, covering topics ranging from death to the human condition to lost childhood and the sea of coastal Wales. Hardwig played his works aloud as they worked to generate content, drawing from both his delivery and subject.
Both Hardwig and Heller have unusually organic and communicative creative processes, in which the final performance evolves organically from a continual dialogue between dancer and choreographer. Heller views the process as collaboration, both in terms of movement and the exchange of energy. A successful project invokes a strong sense of catharsis.
“Choreography helps me understand that I’m not any label; I’m no perimeter, I’m no thing. I am experience,” Heller said. “I actually believe that we are our experiences. The energy produced by a situation translates into our body and it’s felt and it’s manifested physically and we are those things, so we are our DNA and we are also our experiences. Identity is our way of negotiating those two things.”
Heller works and studies in Salt Lake City, UT, where she uses dance as a medium for healing. Her movement seeks to mend trauma through a heightened awareness of energy channeled through the physical body. Supported by Zen beliefs surrounding introspection and mindfulness, she also operates a teahouse, with the goal of supporting the individual within a greater community.
Her research into the healing powers of dance is interwoven into her pedagogical beliefs. The differences between her passions – dance and tea culture – allow her to expand the ways in which she perceives the world and to further appreciate ritual, sacred spaces and inner stillness.
This particular performance is bursting with a passion so potent it is felt tangibly amongst the audience. Explicit consciousness on behalf of onlookers or the dancers only impedes the journey to the liberation that this raw expression allows. Instead, the audience is encouraged to relax their minds and embrace the stillness of honest movement.
The first performance will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Oct. 14 in the Mahaney Center for the Arts. All performances are free and open to the public.
(10/01/15 3:04am)
On Apr. 7, 2009, legislators at the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier cast an historic vote legalizing gay marriage in Vermont.
“Those voting yes, 100. Those voting no, 49. One hundredneeded to pass, you have voted to override the veto,” announced Representative Shap Smith (D). The courtroom erupted in applause and cheering.
The story behind this legal battle began decades ago, under the leadership of Vermont lawyers Beth Robinson and Susan Murray, and prominent civil-rights attorney Mary Bonato. In Baker v. Vermont (1999), the trio clinched a unanimous court decision striking down a statute that barred gay couples from marriage. The ruling paved the way for civil unions, and eventually gay marriage in 2009. The State of Marriage, a new documentary that debuted at Burlington’s Main Street Landing explores the momentus accomplishment.
By 1996, activists had successfully mounted a campaign for gay marriage in Hawaii. However, an initial victory in the courts was nullified by a popular referendum in 1998. In light of this, the Vermont lawyers realized they had to win in three different arenas: “The court of public opinion, and also in the courts and also politically as well,” said Director Jeffrey Kaufman in an interview with Vermont Public Radio (VPR).
The group of lawyers had been preparing their legal arguments for decades.
“Susan was involved in her first LGBT family rights lawsuit in the late 1980s,” explained Kaufman. “Mary Bonato was one of the pioneers of the marriage equality movement. So they were laying the groundwork for this years before.”
However, just three years before Baker v. Vermont, the federal government passed the Defense of Marriage Act. Popularly known as DOMA, the federal legislation defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, allowing states to refuse to recognize homosexual couples married out-of-state.
Some gay rights activists condemned the grassroots effort as reckless and unrealistic. They argued that pushing for civil unions before other legal victories, like workplace security or anti-discrimination legislation, was pointless.
However, the critics were proven wrong. In a unanimous decision, The Supreme Court of Vermont ruled that to exclude the same-sex couple of Stan Baker and Peter Harrigan from the benefits of marriage was in violation of the state constitution.
“This is the first time that any state has not only recognized that same sex families exist, but for the first time has recognized that they have the same needs and deserve the same protections and rights as all other couples,” explained Susan Murray, referring to the legal victory in Baker v. Vermont. “That’s a first. That’s a legal and cultural milestone,” she added.
Ultimately, it is difficult to overemphasize the immensity of the legal victory in 2000. At the time, The New York Times called the civil unions “‘same-sex marriages’ in almost everything but the name.”
Director Kaufman was a radio host at the time of the legal battle. In an interview with VPR, he explained that the plaintiffs’ triumph had a profound effect on the gay rights movement nationally and internationally, precipitating the official legalization of gay marriage in Vermont in 2009.
“Other states, and actually other countries were influenced by what happened in Vermont,” Kaufman said.
In retrospect, it is difficult to imagine that the gay rights movement faced much opposition in Vermont, a state with such a progressive reputation. Yet the conservative backlash to the ruling was intense. After the court victory in 1999, a campaign known as “Take Back Vermont” emerged, with signs popping up in barns, houses and along streets across Vermont. Opposition groups became much more vocal, and rhetoric in opposition more heated.
The battle even had ramifications in the statehouse. Although Democratic candidate Howard Dean won the gubernatorial race, the Republican party rode a wave of popular discontentment over the decision and retook the majority in the House of Representatives.
“A number of politicians, when it came to voting for civil unions, ended up doing the right thing,” explained Kaufman in an interview, “even though they knew it would end up costing them their seats.”
The polemics are on full display in the documentary.
“One of the things we tried to do in the film,” said Kaufman, “is very respectfully capture both sides of the argument. We have a number of the very fierce opponents to marriage equality and civil unions, in the film.”
Many of these critics still rally against gay marriage nationally, which is one reason that co-producer Marcia Ross feels the film is so necessary.
“It’s important to have a sense of that vision to spark further change and inspiration for the future,” she said.
(09/30/15 8:57pm)
Barak adé Soleil crosses to the middle of the stage. The Chicago-based artist smiles infectiously at the audience. “I’m going to ask you to come closer,” he announces. His deep baritone instantly comforts you and makes you trust him. “There is plenty of space up here with me.” A moment of silence ensues, then the sound of one hundred people standing up, grabbing their bags and relocating to the front of the hall. Students hop onto the stage, curling up two or three feet from a still-beaming Soleil.
Suddenly, this is not a lecture. It is a conversation, reminiscent of those summer camp gatherings where you sing songs and roast marshmallows around the fire. Soleil could almost be a student, at least based on the “non-hierarchical space” he has created. Almost. Except then you remember that his legs are thin compared to the rest of his body. That not even the smallest of scuffs tarnishes the pristine surface of his powder blue suede shoes. That he sits there with the rest of us, not on the ground, but in a wheelchair. For all of the College’s attempts to diversify the student body, the physically disabled are extremely under-represented here.
Soleil’s “keynote performance” kick-started the 2015 Clifford Symposium, named in honor of Nicholas Clifford, longstanding professor in the History Department at the College. This year’s theme was “The Good Body,” challenging attendees to consider the process behind how society defines bodies as good or bad. Like many other attendees, Xuan He ’19 was somewhat surprised by the breadth of the discussion.
“I went into the symposium expecting to be lectured on body image issues,” she explained.
In the end, presenters throughout the three-day-long symposium challenged students to think beyond that, covering material related to race, sexual identity, class distinctions, history, education and many more concepts.
The mediums used for the expression of these ideas were also diverse. Some sessions featured lecturers, others consisted of film screenings. Dance Professor Andrea Olsen held a workshop that combined writing and dance, while choreographer Maree ReMalia provided a class on the Gaga “movement vocabulary.”
After inviting audience members to text him with their thoughts or comments, Soleil began his presentation by asking questions:
“What is a good body?” he wondered. “Is it thin? Is it a race? Is religion attached to it?” He paused, then delved deeper. “Do I have to be pretty to be a good body? Do I need to stand to be a good body, or can I lie on the floor?” At that point, he glanced at his phone. “I’m going to read this text out loud,” he announced. “Is a good body about me, or you?” Soleil considered a moment, then sighed. “Or is it about us?”
He then proceeded to tell a story on the “unfinished legacy” of the racialized, disabled body. He spoke of slaves, confined to a three foot by three foot space for months on end as they made the journey across the Atlantic to the New World.
“Can you imagine how good their bodies must have been to survive that?” he asked. “Good for work. For beating. For sexing. For selling.”
He brought up the history of exhibiting blacks in freak shows and circuses, telling the stories of both Joyce Heth, the supposed 161-year-old nurse of George Washington, and Saartje Baartman, also known as the “Hottentot Venus.”
He spoke of a “mixed” woman who underwent a stringent examination of not only her physical features, but also her sexual purity, her way of speaking and her ability to dance, all in order to pass as a white woman.
“Why do we keep trying to beat the body ‘good’?” Soleil lamented. “We keep trying to make it work, to make it good, to make it docile and tame.”
These sentiments were echoed in the symposium’s other presentations. Eli Clare, a self-proclaimed genderqueer with cerebral palsy, pointed out that the continuous scientific focus on “the cure” implies that certain bodies are “just fine,” while certain others need to be “fixed.”
Using Caitlyn Jenner as an example, Anson Koch-Rein, Visiting Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies, spelled out how only bodies that sustain one’s gender are deemed legitimate by society. Jenner took the extreme route in order to “fix” her body, to make her body “work,” undergoing surgery to legitimize its relationship to her gender.
Overall, the symposium stressed the relationship between social inclusion and the “good” body.
“We define good bodies by thinking about bad bodies,” Clare stated, explaining that interpretations of good and bad bodies are “grounded in systems of privilege and power.” By defining certain bodies as good and others as bad, by trying to “fix” bad bodies, we inevitably deem some people as belonging, and some others as not belonging.
Clare called on the specific example of higher education in order to relate this issue to the students in the audience.
“Whose body-minds are worthy of sitting in the classroom? Whose body-minds build the buildings? Mow the grass? Clean the bathrooms? Whose body-minds make that classroom possible?”
Much of the student body seemed to accept the idea that society arbitrarily created answers to these questions. In a view representative of many attendees, Gram Bonilla ’17 declared that Soleil “put it best,” when he stated confidently, “When I look at the disabled body, all I see is goodness, truth, people living their lives … The disabled body is good. I am simply in a social construct that is disabling.”
(09/24/15 3:04am)
On Wednesday, Sept. 16 — the same day classes began at the College — U.S. District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha ordered the College to temporarily re-enroll a student who had been expelled for an alleged sexual assault charge that took place while the student was studying abroad through the School for International Training (SIT).
The College released an official statement on Sept. 18 in reaction to Murtha’s decision, part of which states the following:
The Middlebury College Handbook holds students accountable for policy violations that take place between the time they first arrive on campus and their graduation. Under its policies, a Middlebury student’s off-campus conduct may be subject to Middlebury’s disciplinary processes when, among other things, such conduct may represent a threat to the safety of the Middlebury community or any of its members. Middlebury initiated an investigation and adjudication of the student’s conduct on that basis and we believe we properly applied our policies in this case.
Middlebury College is deeply disappointed by the court’s decision to grant the plaintiff, who currently is identified as John Doe, a preliminary injunction requiring Middlebury to allow him to re-enroll for the fall semester. We believe the court erred in its interpretation of the facts and the law in reaching this decision.
We are considering our legal options, but at this time we are obliged to comply with the court’s order.
Doe is being represented by Lisa B. Shelkrot of Langrock of Sperry & Wool, LLP in Burlington, VT, and Monica R. Shah and Naomi R. Shatz of Salkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP in Boston, MA. His counsel filed the lawsuit against the College for an “unjust and unlawful expulsion” on Aug. 28, after his appeals to reverse his expulsion were denied.
Following the court’s decision, Doe is now permitted to enroll in classes at the College through the fall 2015 semester while legal proceedings for the federal suit continue.
John Doe’s counsel asserts that their client “was falsely accused of sexual misconduct by Jane Doe.” Additionally, they state the College conducted its investigation after having already accepted SIT’s findings that Doe was not responsible for the charge and permitting him to return to campus for the following semester. As such, they state the College’s findings should not be upheld.
John Doe’s counsel argued that his expulsion throughout the proceedings will cause him irreparable damage in the form of reputational harm and lost educational and career opportunities. According to the initial complaint, the expulsion would cost him a position with a company he was to join after graduating that offered a starting salary of $85,000, a $10,000 signing bonus, and $5,000 in relocation fees.
The investigation led by the College was initiated after administrators were contacted by Jane Doe, who believed SIT had improperly conducted its initial investigation of the incident.
The College — represented by Karen McAndrew and Ritchie E. Berger of Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew P.C. in Burlington, VT — conducted its internal investigation through Ellen Coogan, an independent contractor who has investigated sexual misconduct cases on behalf of the College. Coogan concluded that John Doe’s “conduct towards Jane Doe constituted sexual misconduct” based on Jane Doe’s “assessments of credibility” and a “preponderance of evidence.”
The evidence submitted to the College by Jane Doe included: her statement to SIT in which she described John Doe’s assault that woke her from her sleep; a medical evaluation from a hospital in the country where John and Jane Doe were studying abroad; a medical report from Jane Doe’s physician in the U.S.; four pictures of blood-stained shorts that Jane Doe claims are a result of the attack; and four images of text messages allegedly sent by John Doe referencing the incident as a “cruel joke.” Reflecting on her finding, Coogan references the differences in credibility of both Jane and John Doe’s story. The defendant’s opposition states:
Ms. Coogan indicated that she was particularly struck by the consistency of Jane Doe’s account, and the way in which John Doe’s account changed over time. Id. She cited evidence that John Doe’s first statement to several friends, including Jane Doe, was something to the effect that he did not remember anything and had no idea what happened; that he next told another SIT student that he did not have sex with Jane Doe; he then admitted to an SIT administrator that he did have sex with her, but that it was consensual. John Doe also gave different versions of what sexual activity he was engaged in with Jane Doe. By the time of Ms. Coogan’s investigation, John Doe asserted that not only was the sex consensual, but that Jane Doe had initiated it.
John Doe described a very different story of the evening’s events. According to his account, a group of students that included himself and Jane Doe went out to a show, dinner and club on Nov. 7, 2014. Both John and Jane Doe consumed alcohol, but neither were visibly intoxicated. Later that night, John Doe, Jane Doe and Witness 1 — the latter of whom with John Doe had previously been engaged in a sexual relationship — decided to sleep in John Doe’s room. According to John Doe, he and Jane Doe then engaged in consensual, sexual intercourse.
John Doe’s complaint claims that Jane Doe “told a false account of what happened between her and the plaintiff on November 7-8, 2014, one in which she drank a number of drinks and has no memory of leaving the club and only remembers waking up in the plaintiff’s room, with a sheet over her face, engaged in sexual intercourse.” She allegedly then yelled, “Get off me. I don’t want this.”
According to Murtha’s ruling, John Doe, under his real identity, is currently listed as an “active student” enrolled in courses and was recently billed for the fall 2015 semester. However, if the College finds that John Doe’s expulsion is warranted, it will dismiss him as a student or, if applicable, later revoke his degree.
(09/17/15 11:52pm)
Hard sciences might not be the first association most people make with Middlebury College. But the critical thinking and spirit of discovery that the liberal arts curriculum seeks to promote are well in line with the skills needed to operate in a real-world laboratory setting. This summer, many students put their in-classroom training to the test as they took on research positions both on- and off-campus. Covering a diverse range of topics, three students’ summers of sci- ence all culminated in positive affirmations about their academic paths — as well as contributed to an ever-growing field of study on human health.
Eliza Jaeger ’17 worked as a research assistant for Associate Professor of Biology Mark Spritzer. Her team included Leslie Panella ’15.5, Erin Miller ’16.5 and Lauren Honican ’15, who is working post-grad as a lab technician. Professor Spritzer’s research centers on neuroendocrinology, the pathways and effects of hormones in the brain. Over the course of ten weeks, Jaeger studied the effects of primary sex hormones (in this case, testosterone and estradiol) in rodent brains on the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. One project aimed to determine whether varying levels of testosterone in aged male rats causes them to be better at completing spatial memory tasks. The results of this pilot study showed that higher concentrations of testosterone tend to correlate with better spatial memory.
Why is this research relevant? Because the decreases that humans see in primary sex hormones (testosterone and estradiol) are possibly correlated with age-related cognitive decline. By studying the effects of replacing these hormones in aged rodents, this type of research could lead to valuable insights on the relationship between changes in neuroendocrinology and aging.
From castration surgeries to counting brain cells in sectioned tissue, dealing with rodents in the laboratory had no shortage of challenges.
“Working with animals is one of the greatest privileges I’ve had at Middlebury, and it does not come without re- sponsibility. Because we were working with live animals, someone always had to come in on weekends to check on the ani- mals, and make sure food was rationed correctly and injections were administered on time,” Jaeger said. “I would say I have enormous respect and gratitude for the animals that we use in our experiments, and that working with them was a great but challenging experience.”
With hopes of earning a graduate degree in evolutionary neuroscience, Jaeger felt that her intense laboratory experience this summer helped to reinforce her resolve in her academic career. She plans to continue her research in the fall and spring semesters with Professor Spritzer, as well as write a research thesis during her senior year.
Meanwhile this summer, just a few rooms over inside Bicentennial Hall, Muriel Lavallee ’18 served as a research assistant for Professor Catherine Combelles in the department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. She worked alongside five other Middlebury students, Thilan Tudor ’16, Katherine Kucharzyck ’16, Madsy Schneider ’16, Julie Erlich ’17.5, Jennie Mejaes ’16 and a recent alum and a post-doctorate who will take on Professor Combelles’ responsibilities while she is on sabbatical in France dur- ing the school year. Over the course of eight weeks, the team aimed to uncover the ways in which endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in plastics (such as BPA and BPS) impact fertility and reproduction. Whether we realize it or not, we are surrounded by harmful substances. Many plastics with ‘BPA-free’ labels actually contain some BPS, and we constantly absorb these chemicals through our skin or ingest them from the plastics we use to hold our food and drinks.
“Being able to focus on this research for eight weeks in the summer was a unique opportunity and I’ve been exposed to so much,” Lavalle said. “Professor Combelles is brilliant and she has put together a lab that is collaborative and exciting to be a part of.”
Lavallee worked on folliculogenesis, the process in which ovarian follicles develop and secrete a mature egg. Women are born with a limited reserve of ovarian follicles, and current fertility tests use ultrasound to detect a progressed type of follicle, called the antral follicle, which is used as an indicator of the total number of microscopic primordial follicles in the ovarian reserve. Lavallee investigated granulosa cells, which surround oocytes in antral follicles and secrete hormones essential for oocyte development. The project holds important implication for our understanding of human fertility and the life cycle, and she plans to continue her work into the school year.
As Jaeger and Lavallee experimented with follicles, chemicals and rodents galore on campus, Kenzie Yedlin ’18 was hard at work on her own scientific endeavors on the other side of the country. Stationed at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Yedlin participated in a Summer Undergraduate Research Fel- lowship (SURF) in the department of pharmacology and toxicology. The goal of her lab team was to find a more effective treatment for triple negative breast cancer. Also known as TNBC, the disease accounts for 12-24 percent of breast cancer. Because it affects breast cancer cells that lack the three common receptors that other breast cancers drugs target, TNBC is more difficult to treat.
Yedlin and her team hypothesized that pretreatment of triple negative breast cancer cells with natural products would increase the potency of doxorubicin — a prescription drug that treats many types of cancers — allowing for the administration of a lower and less toxic dosage. Their project examined 16 different natural products from Papua New Guinea, a small island that accounts for six percent of Earth’s biodiversity.
An aspiring neuroscience major, Yedlin found the transition from college courses to real-world lab work to be somewhat overwhelming at first.
“I knew how to pipette, I knew how to measure things,” she explained. “We used some of the same tools, but often in different ways. It’s a completely different environment because at school you’re doing very specific things following very specific procedures, whereas at the lab you have to create your own procedure. Even though I knew how to pipette, I didn’t know why we were pipetting, or how to do it in a certain progression. The hardest part was feeling comfortable.”
By the end of the eight-week program, however, Yedlin expressed appreciation for the nitty-gritty of the hands-on research process, as she had achieved a deep familiarity with the tools and people around her.
“The stereotypical view of a science lab or science in general is that it’s very cutting edge and that it’s kind of a tough world. And it is, but it was nice to find a niche where there were really down-to-earth people, where mistakes were allowed,” she said, recounting incidents in which she accidentally damaged lab equipment on her first and last days on the job.
Back at the College, Jaeger experienced a similar sense of connection with her peers and her work. Despite any initial frustration, the care and precision she devoted to her lab project ultimately yielded great rewards.
“During one of my first intense cell-counting days, I was becoming discouraged by the monotony of counting small dark cells in rat neural tissue, when I came across what was unmistakably a mature neuron, complete with defined soma and dendrites. I remember that it really hit me then that I was looking at real brain tissue under a microscope,” Jaeger recounted of one of her most revelatory moments. “I called one of my lab mates over to look at the neuron, and we both got really excited. I remember this nerdy moment fondly, because it reminds me that there are people out there who 100 percent share my enthusiasm for the brain and all its mysteries, and that I can study it for the rest of my life if I want to.”
“We’re doing something that matters,” Lavallee added. “I’m so thankful for this experience and excited to continue this work during the upcoming school year.”
(05/06/15 9:26pm)
The year before I came to Middlebury, I lived in Israel for ten months while studying on a college leadership program for North American Jews. In many ways that year, I was given a single story of what Israel was. I left loving Israel and wanting to move there forever. I still feel very connected to Israel, but my relationship to Israel, Palestine and Zionism has changed since then.
During my first year at Middlebury, I heard fellow students in casual conversation saying: “Well, Israel just shouldn’t exist” and “Israel is trying to take over the entire Middle East.” This saddened and scared me. I thought people here were smart ... how could they say that?! Throughout my four years here, I have been extremely disappointed in the discourse surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Last fall, a burlesque performer named Una Aya Osato performed at Middlebury. Her performance touched on themes of sexuality, gender, carceral power, sex, gentrification and boycott of Israel. Two hours before her performance, I recited the Mourner’s Prayer for four men who were murdered in synagogue in Har Nof, Jerusalem earlier that morning. During her performance, Una put on an Israeli Defense Forces baseball cap, pointed a fake gun and shot it at random to audience members, threw the Israeli flag on the ground and flashed a poster reading “Boycott Israel.” Some audience members snapped in affirmation. These actions were offensive to me, especially considering the events that occurred earlier that day. I was taught to treat the Israeli flag with respect, as Israel is a holy place for many world religions.
The hardest part of the performance was sitting with my discomfort and noticing that the majority of the audience members were not uncomfortable. Why were they not questioning this narrative? Did they know that four men were murdered while in prayer that very morning? I asked Una in the Q&A how she came to her perspective and we spoke afterwards as well. We disagreed, hugged and kept going.
The recent display in Davis Library, sponsored by Justice for Palestine, highlights the inequities of access to resources and rights among Israelis and Palestinians. This is not inherently bad. However, there were many problematic elements of the display. The “Want to Go to the Beach?” infographic depicts a stick figure of a bearded man with payot – curls Orthodox Jewish men wear – and a gun strapped across his chest. This is offensive. The infographics also cite data from Wikipedia, which is not a reputable source.
I have noticed that the lectures and events that seek to criticize Israel or with controversial speakers have been heavily attended by students. Other lectures, like Jay Michaelson’s lecture “Why is Israel-Palestine Discourse so Polarized on Campus?”, which gave strategies for starting productive conversation, had 10 students present. The Rohatyn Center’s Fall 2014 lecture series on Israel had less than five students present at each one. Why are these spaces, which seek to bring nuance and dialogue to this region and this conflict, so void of students? Is it because we are apolitical or is it because we are afraid?
It is wrong to depict Israel as a country, government or army that can do no wrong. It is equally wrong to portray Israel as a country, government or army that can do only wrong. It is sad to me that whether you support or denigrate Israel becomes a barometer of whether or not you stand for social justice. If you support Israel, you must be conservative. If you support boycott of Israel and throw out words like “massacre,” “apartheid,” “genocide” and “Holocaust” freely, you can stay in the liberal camp. I believe you can love Israel and believe in – and work toward – social justice. Indeed, we can and should be using a social justice framework to think, act, learn and teach about this issue with more consciousness.
As “smart, globally minded” students committed to learning and seeking knowledge, we must not let nuance fall when we speak about this conflict. We must not just jump at controversy. We must try harder to educate ourselves and learn from one another in a nuanced way. If you are trying to learn more about the conflict, I encourage you to admit what perspective you are coming from, acknowledge what you don’t know, take your time to form opinions and learn from a variety of news sources – not just The Electronic Intifada. Also, ask people! Especially those who may have views different from your own.
Similar to how we approach so many other topics and conflicts locally and globally, Middlebury has the potential to have productive dialogue, programming and activism that highlights the nuance and comp complexities that exist in Israel and Palestine
(05/06/15 7:15pm)
Thursday through Saturday there’s going to be a performance of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner in the Hepburn Zoo. It’s a very famous play that focuses around the lives of several characters during the HIV/AIDS Crisis in New York City, one of the turning points in American gay history, as well as other themes like accepting your sexuality, racism, queerness and faith.
The play isn’t unique in its theme. The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer is also based on the rise of HIV/AIDS in New York City during the 80s. During this time, HIV was an unknown and unnamed disease largely affecting gay men. On the account that gay men can’t impregnate each other and the different attitudes of the time on safer sex practices, it was an unfortunate series of cause and effect that lead to such detriment particular to the gay community. But this was a particularly pivotal moment in gay history packed with social issues that sets it apart from many other epidemics that have faced humanity.
Because of its effect on homosexual men, it reinforced the idea that being gay, that having anal sex was wrong, and that being gay led to being sick. People called it “gay cancer,” and as the medical community became more aware of the disease it was referred to as GRID, Gay Related Immune Deficiency. Even as people who were not queer men were diagnosed with the disease, the stigma of HIV/AIDS being associated with gay men is something that still exists today. The Reagan administration was slow to address the pandemic and the gay community, having faced such homophobia, were not easily trusting of the publications relating to the disease, which themselves were not always the most informative. Many people died and the world was slow to care. So many people died that many older gay men refer to it as a time in which an entire generation was lost. Works like The Normal Heart and Angels in America strike up strong emotion in their audiences as they touch on the themes of fear, sadness, and hope, especially in the older members of the queer community.
But I did not grow up in these times. My sex education was not the best, but when I learned about condoms and STIs, I was taught it was an issue for everyone. I was not taught that it is a gay people thing; in fact, the majority of my sex education revolved around pregnancy. The language used around how sexually transmitted infections were transmitted was pretty much only discussed in terms of men giving STI’s to women. Aside from the fact that queer people are largely erased in our sex education, this is good in many ways. It is a signal of how slowly but surely we are removing the stigma of HIV being a gay man’s disease. Furthermore, sex education as a whole is improving with me having learned that even if you do have HIV/AIDS you are capable of living a normal life. We know it’s not contagious via shaking someone’s hand. We’ve learned a lot.
But in that transition we’ve had to a greater scientific understanding, we’re losing a piece of history, leaving a generational gap between my generation and that of my mother’s. I remember when I first came out to my mother, she told me how important it was to not get HIV. While it was refreshing to not hear her warning me about getting a girl pregnant (turns out she really had no idea I was gay), I remember being offended in a way. I remember telling her that HIV is not particular to gay men and that HIV isn’t the only disease to worry about. It was the most passionate I’ve ever felt about the misconceptions surrounding HIV. And even then, the fervor I felt then is nothing compared to that of someone who lived during the times or knew the people who died. It was a time when gay men were fighting to live and fighting for the voice to be addressed on every level from the personal to the political. And in light of the upcoming show, I think it’s important to think about the issues being art so that we don’t forget what has happened, in addition to enjoying the show.
(05/06/15 4:08pm)
Spring Awakening is a difficult play: difficult in its dark subject matter and complex textual foundation, difficult in the inherent interplay between reality and expressionism and difficult to review in the context of multiple losses of community members and ensuing discussions of high levels of student stress. Written in 1891 by German playwright Frank Wedekind to contribute to nationwide discussions and criticisms of the repression of German society and schools, the play is long, cynically dark and often impossible to understand. It should be noted, though, that under the confident direction of Associate Professor of Theatre Claudio Medeiros ’90, the large cast and creative team presented the tale of repression, suicide, rape and adolescent sexuality with insight, sensitivity and an impressive excess of theatrical talent.
The opening scene began with a spotlight on Artist-in-Residence Scotty Hardwig’s shirtless back, slick green hair and painted shoulders. Writhing as he wrote with a quill – Medeiros showed him videos of snakes hatching out of their eggs as inspiration – his erratic, devilish movements were at once captivating and disorienting as the audience tried to identify the mysterious figure presented from behind at the beginning of the play. Feverish, desperate scratches of the quill intensified the masked man’s urgent need to empty the contents of his mind onto the page, introducing the idea that this figure was also the creator of the events about to unfold.
“I think that what this interpretation of the masked man became is a highly expressionist image of carnal and expressive emotions in a way that’s life-affirming through a celebration of flesh, which is very unsentimental but also powerful and primal,” Hardwig said in the Friday post-show talkback.
At its core, Spring Awakening is about the repressed physical and sexual curiosities of school-aged teenager Melchior Gabor, played by Adam Milano ’15, and 14-year-old Wendla Bergmann, acted by Chelsea Melone ’15. This is both Milano and Melone’s last production at the College, and their interactions on stage crackled with unbelievable intensity as the two exceptional talents tackled their demanding scenes – including a beating and a rape – with characteristic prowess.
A simple set design comprised of blackboards filled with German text constantly reminded viewers of the omnipresent school system and the stifling traditions of generations past while allowing enough flexibility for the lighting design to signal scene changes from a forest to a reformatory to a barn to the warmth of a home. In the final scene, actors appeared under sheets to transform the sparse set to a cemetery full of gravestones, and throughout the production, sound, lighting and carefully chosen props created an immersive world that allowed for audience engagement and personal interpretation.
The break-out student performance of the evening came from Jackson Prince ’17 in his portrayal of Moritz Stiefel, Melchior’s best friend whose good-humored attitude toward his failing grades ultimately proves insufficient when he dramatically shoots himself at the end of the first act. Carefully revealing the character of a boy whose deep-rooted insecurities and depression cannot be overcome by his often delightful sense of humor and curiosity, Prince presented a character whose three-dimensionality and emotional struggle rings painfully true in an environment which is currently filled with dialogues about student stress and well-being.
Joelle Mendoza Etchart ’15 was a clear stand-out in her portrayal of the humorous prostitute Ilse. Though her time on stage was not long, she dominated with each line and natural physical comedy, eliciting easy laughs as she elevated her supporting role to one of the most memorable appearances.
Wendla’s innocent curiousity, spurred by her lack of experience, leads her to ask Melchior to beat her. Melone’s chilling screams and Milano’s passionate fervor were presented in an impressively tactful manner considering the dark subject matter. Though Melchior initially hesitates, he takes to the task with an animalistic desire that is repeated in a later scene when Melchior rapes Wendla in his first manifestation of sexual instinct, which is based purely off of an unsentimental education from books.
Spring Awakening was incredibly risque at the time of its release in 1891 and was only performed uncensored in England in 1974, with scenes involving solo and group masturbation still causing some uneasiness among today’s audience. Credit must be paid to Michael Brady ’17.5, whose character, Hanschen Rilow, loved and ‘killed’ nude women in famous paintings in a playful and angst-ridden unrequited tete-a-tete including unrestrained and ultimately unfulfilled masturbatory attempts ending in the destruction of the images portraying his two-dimensional idols.
The play places culpability for Moritz’s suicide and the rape of the innocent but curious Wendla on the caricatured school faculty and well-meaning but ultimately fatal decisions of the parents, not on the adolescents.
Wendla’s mother, Frau Bergmann, played with believable uncertainty and affection by Liana Barron ’18, still tells her daughter that babies are delivered by the stork, and when she finally agrees to explain to Wendla how babies are really created, she crafts a humorous lie about needing to feel a profound level of love impossible before marriage. The humor of this mistruth is shattered, of course, when Wendla’s ignorance of sex leads to a pregnancy which ultimately kills her because of its attempted termination.
Similarly, when explicit diagrams and explanations of sex and sexuality in Melchior’s hand are found in Moritz’s book after his death, Melchior is brought before a board of laughably incompetent faculty members, notably including Zac Lounsbury ’16 as the unbending Headmaster Sunstroke. The advanced age of the academics was further emphasized by chalk-white wigs, hearing problems and the painfully slow movements of a man named “Fastcrawler,” portraying a system more interested in protecting itself than in considering the needs of its students.
“The very heightened treatment of the professor scene, with the makeup and the wigs, that’s all for this production, but I feel that it honors the text, which moves from more realistic to heightened expressionist scenes,” Meideros said. “The idea of expressionism here is the same as in painting – instead of representing the reality as you see it in life, you represent the essence, the core of reality, therefore giving it expression.”
Indeed, the play offers an interpretation of Wendla’s rape that may prove perplexing to a modern audience. Melchior is thrown out of school for his writing and drawings about human sexuality, not his sexual domination over a 14-year-old girl, and in the final scene, the all-knowing masked man reassuringly informs Melchior that Wendla would have delivered a healthy baby had not her abortion failed. Adding more complexity to the issue, though Wendla clearly struggles to grapple with the ramifications and implications of her first sexual experience, she also experiences a profound spiritual and physical liberation from the encounter that questions the assumed wrong of Melchior’s rape.
Caitlin Duffy ’15.5’s superb portrayal of Moritz’s mother undergoing a nervous breakdown was further heightened by her crisp, captivating stage presence, proving a highlight of the production. Additionally, the raw emotions of Emma Eastwood-Paticchio ’15’s screams of agony after Moritz’s funeral stayed with the audience long after her confident and chilling performance as Martha Bessel, a victim of parental abuse.
In the final scene, when Moritz confronts Melchior in a graveyard – either as a real character or an expression of Mechior’s psyche – the use of an oversized suit to convey the idea of a decapitated head offered a biting glimmer of dark humor as Prince held his hand under his chin, alternating between left and right to give the idea that he was forced to exist in the afterlife carrying his head in his hands. This visual comedy – characteristic of the tragicomedy pervading the work – played in contrast to Moritz’s dark and disturbing pitch to Melchior to join him in the afterlife, a parallel universe of no pain which breeds pity for the living. In this climactic monologue two-and-a-half hours into the play, all signs pointed to an ultimate message that death is indeed a preferable choice to life, and the audience seemed to uncomfortably hold their breath as Melchior considered offering his hand to his dead friend.
Both Medeiros and Hardwig wanted to provide the audience with a visual link between the beginning and the end, and the surprising reintroduction of the masked man in the final scene proved to be one of the most successful theatrical choices in the play.
“One of my earliest ideas was to introduce the masked man at the beginning,” Medeiros said. “It was also my idea to have a dancer. In working with Scotty the idea was to open it up to multiple interpretations of who he might be. That the masked man is sinister is definitely true, and intentional.”
Hardwig’s reappearance reaffirmed the serpentine eroticism of the character implied to be the show’s creator. All-knowing and alive, his gracefully ominous movements supplemented a mysterious revelation that Moritz did not, in fact, have the power to take Melchior to the afterlife. In this viewer’s opinion, the finest moment of the play occurred moments before its end when the masked man turns to the two young boys – one alive, one dead – and says “In the end, everyone has his part,” telling Moritz that “you have the comforting knowledge of nothing” and offering Melchior “the tormenting doubt of everything.” It may have been a two-hour journey, but the play’s final message is ultimately one of hope in life, though it acknowledges the challenges inherent in being alive. And in the end, Melchior chooses life.
In the incredibly talented hands of the student cast, Spring Awakening was transformed from a dark, tragicomic commentary on repression in late 19th century German society into a relevant discussion of struggles facing adolescents regardless of time or place. It is not an easy play, but when facing issues as complex and relevant as mental illness, anxiety and adolescent sexuality, the brash, expositive lens of Spring Awakening is a welcome voice in what is hopefully only the beginning of an ongoing conversation.
