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(09/18/08 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] From our bookshelves, iPods and laptops to your Thursday morning breakfast table, here are our recommendations for the best of pop culture. Click on, check out and press play on these favorites - because there is a world outside "the bubble.""After Dark"By: Haruki Murakami (2004, translated into English 2007)This is the first thing I've read by Murakami. The entire book takes place in real time over the course of one night. Eri is beautiful and withdrawn, Mari is her loner sister that we meet in a Denny's at midnight and Takahashi plays blues in a basement when he's not hanging out with the owner of a love hotel. It's got sex, violence, surrealism... it's like reading a Dali painting. - Grace Duggan"The Last Mistress"Dir.: Catherine Breillat(IFC Films, 104 mins.)Maybe the Rivkin gender theory is going to my head, but this female-directed, French period piece writhes and bewitches with a winning combination of frankness and emotionality. While occasionally crude, the intellectual friction Breillat crafts in her focus on the power struggle of masculine and feminine sexuality is way above "The Other Boleyn Girl." - Melissa Marshall
(09/11/08 12:00am)
Author: Dina Magaril Last semester, I started writing The D-Spot because I used to be a sexaholic. I was addicted to sex. I wanted to write about it and read about and watch shows about it. I wanted it in the early morning; I wanted it in the afternoon and right before I went to sleep at night. I wanted to dream about it and wake up to it lying in bed next to me. I wanted it in the presence of a cozy heater during those cold winter nights and later, when the snow melted and the sun came out, I wanted it in the great outdoors. And when I say sex I don't merely mean the actual act of copulation, but also everything surrounding it. The moment when it was clear that it was going to happen, the anticipation, the build up, the trials and tribulations, the sweat and sometimes tears and finally, of course, the climax. I loved talking about it, analyzing it and wondering when I would see it next. I loved hearing about my friends' experiences with it, the good, the bad and the really bad. I waited for it by the phone and snuck it in during finals, senior week and graduation. It was my honeymoon period with sex - the love I felt towards this wonderful act, how perfect it seemed and how necessary and how everything else came second. But as my last semester approaches and the real world comes pummeling towards me, I've come to realize that there are perhaps more pressing matters I needed to be thinking about than having good sex. In my column, I explored such topics as meaningful sex (still recommend it), sexcycling (still don't recommend it) and spanking (to each his own). Yet as my time at Middlebury dwindles down to a lousy few months, I've started thinking about what is really important to me and, more significantly, what will remain important to me ten, twenty, fifty years from now. This includes: spending time with family and loved ones, finding a good job that I care about, building friendships that will last well into old age and eating really good food. In my quest to fulfill these aforementioned goals, I have realized, with some initial grief, that sex might have to take a back seat for a while. I'm growing up and leaving this place and these are my last few months to build a foundation that will provide padding for what will inescapably be a bumpy ride into the future. What I'm basically prefacing here is that The D-Spot has broadened its horizons, and will aim to explore a world outside the pleasures of physical intimacy. I hope I won't disappoint those of you who were hoping for mind-blowing tips for the bedroom and otherwise raunchy details of the sex lives of those around me. And I'm not saying that I won't break away every once in a while from what I know will be a hectic schedule of class, thesis writing and job applications to offer up some humble observations about what Middlebury students practice behind closed doors. But I'd like to use this column to talk about other topics that are on my mind as my four years of rigorous academics come to a close. So while I take these last few days of freedom to come to terms with my withdrawal, I hope those of you still living on campus and interacting with other students your age on a daily basis will continue to take advantage of the many opportunities for gratification on this campus - academic, extracurricular and nighttime. Especially nighttime - for the both of us.
(05/08/08 12:00am)
Author: Robert McKay "Jumpers," playwright Tom Stoppard's metaphysical circus show, went off like firecrackers across the Wright Memorial stage last weekend. It pitted Visiting Assistant Professor in Theatre Alex Draper '88, in the role of philosopher George Moore, against a horde of yellow-suited, acrobatic logical positivists known as "Jumpers." The Jumpers and the Radical Liberal Party they support spend their time inverting both their bodies and the theology-grounded moral universe that Moore pines for. var uslide_show_id = "9fb98d84-d49c-4af1-939c-53a737923833";var slideshowwidth = "468";var linktext = "";The plot is set in motion when Moore's sex-starved wife, the aptly named Dotty (Allison Corke '08), is implicated in the shooting of Professor MacPhee (Michael Kessler '11) at a Jumper party in the Moore's flat the night before the two men are scheduled to face off in a debate on the question of God's existence. The work's action plays out in the aftermath of the shooting and progresses with a delirious, lopsided lope as the distracted couple work out their internal struggles with tenuous but explosive references to one another. Draper and Corke tackled some extremely demanding scenes in which they had to convey a fiercely ambivalent relationship through the dialogue's often dizzying hail of philosophical parry and thrust. There were a number of emotional movements through which they had to expertly pilot their respective characters - they veered from rage and abortive seduction to an absentmindedness verging on the insane. They did an admirable job of it, though by the time the last matinee came along there were moments during which their through-line wavered, especially in the difficult, long bedroom scene. Draper's long philosophical monologues are some of the most difficult in contemporary theater, and he delivers them without losing the audience for even a moment. Along with Corke, he rose to the challenge of fusing together his character's intellectual and personal struggles. Rounding out the cast was the vaudevillian ensemble of Jumpers who was led by Sir Archibald Jumper, Moore's droll and foppish boss, who is played with impeccable dapper smugness by guest actor James Matthew Ryan. The Jumpers are joined by various visitors to the flat, such as quirky Cockneys who could have been penned by a mad postmodern Charles Dickens. The earnest, philosophical hall-porter, Mr. Crouch (John Glouchevitch '10.5), doubled as goofy comic relief and the play's sanest and most humane character. Glouchevitch played him well as a straight man to the mercurial flat owners. Inspector Bones (Jordan Tyrell-Wysocki '08, who also provided live hot-jazz fiddle music when not acting onstage) is the opposite of Crouch's even-keeled demeanor. He is pulled between two opposing and equally fanatical devotions - a fan's devotion to murder-suspect (and former chanteuse) Dotty and a cop's reverence for "the Full Majesty of the Law," which he invokes with ominously audible capital letters. Tyrell-Wysocki's overdrawn portrayal of the Inspector was appropriately grotesque, though he sometimes seemed so caught in the extremes of his own performance as to be out of sync with the other characters. It could of course be argued that this is thematic, but it should not be noticeable. Bones and Dotty certainly timed their interactions well, milking moments like the sudden appearance of MacPhee's corpse from the bedclothes, just as Bones stretched out his hand to present Dotty with an elaborate bouquet. Finally, there is one supporting character who is onstage for the entire show. Stephanie Spencer '09 plays Moore's secretary, the stoically long-suffering working girl who seems to be counting the seconds until payday, until she takes an unexpected and perhaps unwitting turn in the murder mystery's ambiguous ending. "Jumpers" contained some outstanding performances from Corke and Draper, and both its pacing and technical execution were admirable feats. Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre Vanessa Mildenberg's choreography, though it contained some (perhaps appropriate) amateurish round-offs by the tumbling philosophy majors, provided the necessary variety-show feel. Its comic effect was complimented by Professor of Theatre Mark Evancho's campy primary lighting and Resident Scenic and Lighting Designer Hallie Zieselman's elaborate moving set, the latter including a deus ex machina of Dolly seated on a giant crescent moon. The cumulative effect was one of zany, brainy bedazzlement. Bravo!
(05/08/08 12:00am)
Author: Dina Magaril As the school year comes to a close, many of us can't help but have only one thing on our minds - exams. Middlebury students are used to working hard and pulling all-nighters, but there's something about the impending weeklong designation of final exams and papers that has even the most expert crammer stressed out to the max. Luckily, I have a solution to these stress problems, and it doesn't involve Red Bull or Adderall, unless you want it to. We all know that exercise is one of the best ways to relieve stress and release endorphins. But since taking a hike to Snake Mountain may not fit into most of our exam schedule plans, I'm proposing an equally fun option - sexcercising.There are many ways to measure the benefits of having sex during exam week, and as long as you follow the guidelines depending on your study rituals, you should sail through exams satisfied in more ways than one. You can use sex in one of two ways - either as a motivating factor or as a guiding principle. If you're the kind of person who will feel even more distracted by a late-night romp in the library, try using sex as a goal. If you know that you won't be having sex until you finish writing that philosophy paper, chances are Nietzsche will start making perfect sense to you. It's incredible what a little motivating factor can do for the mind. If your issue is procrastination, try not to use sex as an excuse for neglecting your other work. This will only result in you being resentful of sex, and being mad at sex is never a good option. This is a relationship you will need to keep going strong and healthy for most of your life, so treat it well.For others, the struggle might involve the basic question of "To have, or not to have?" What's important here is to be respectful of each other's wishes. If one of you needs to have sex on a constant basis in order to get through exam week while the other can't even think about it for fear of ruining his/her mapped out weeklong itinerary then try to find a balance. If you're Type A obsessive-compulsive, pencil in a time to have sex. Sex can be the perfect segue from that dense Economics reading to understanding what Shakespeare was talking about. The key word here is compromise, and the goal is being respectful of each other's study habits while taking into account sexual needs, because sometimes, you gotta give a little to get a little. If finding someone to have sex with is stressing you out more than the thought of your upcoming finals, don't be too quick to rule out the safest sex of all. Masturbation releases the same endorphins as sex with another person, so whether you need a bit of solo time to unwind or simply don't want to leave your computer screen, be sure to keep a little TLC-me time as an option.So use Midnight Breakfast as the perfect chance to catch someone's eye and clue him or her in to what your perfect study break looks like over a bowl of piping hot oatmeal. But take a cue from the sign at the entrance to the library. Respect your fellow classmates that are trying to study by not having loud sex in close proximity to a thesis carrel or any other crowded study space. Feel free to explore Sunderland, BiHall and the newly constructed Axinn Center.Once you've found the perfect balance between getting your work done while getting laid during finals week, you'll feel calmer and clear headed and will most likely perform better. And no one can deny that a sex hangover is infinitely better than an Adderall one.
(05/08/08 12:00am)
Author: Felipe PrunedaSenties I would like to use this space to respond to a piece published in these same pages a week ago, which argued that feminists on campus have of late resorted to offensive tactics, like distributing fliers that indiscriminately point fingers at heterosexual men and catalogue them as walking sexual threats, ("Is responsibility for rape social or individual?" May 1). As a heterosexual man, I must begin by confessing that I do not believe that flier and many like it signal out every single man as a rapist or rapist-in-the-making. And I know so because I did not feel alluded to in what really was the outline of a case where the very occurrence of a rape was put into question because of the presence of alcohol. It seems to me sexual crimes are superficially ambiguous but fundamentally unambiguous, so we must be careful not to fall into the perception that the only form of sexual violence is of the "gang-rape-in-alleyway" variety. The cases that appear most difficult and uncertain, like alcohol-drenched assaults, are the ones where our shared responsibility becomes most apparent.The question, "Is responsibility for rape personal or social?" is absolutely pertinent here. If I had to answer it, I would say it is both. It is personal as far as the perpetrators are concerned, and social when it comes to how we prevent it before it becomes the staggeringly persistent problem that the numbers indicate it is, and how we respond to it when it happens. The flier dealt more with dubious, opaque policies that fail to properly address the issue, and thus it focused on the aspects of rape that concerns the Middlebury College community at large. The crime in itself is one thing, but the environment in which it becomes an epidemic (and many would argue Middlebury can be such a place) is, without a doubt, everybody's business.So yes, the flier did involve men, but not accusatorily. Instead, it implicitly asks what men can do about sexual violence. Statistics as alarming as "90 percent of all rapists are male" do not suggest that all men are, always have been and always will be potential, dangerous sexual predators. Instead, they hint at the fact that other males could play an important part in preventing a considerable number of those rapes by virtue of our common sex. Sure, we cannot take responsibility for every single one of them, but that cases due to psychosis or extreme cruelty can often be out of our hands does not mean we cannot act against more casual forms of sexual violence - most of which are symptomatic of unjust gender politics that pervade every day life. For instance, I can decide to discourage behavior that could lead to a situation like the one described in the flier - sex and drinking do not mix very well. I can remind myself that once I have made the conscious decision to drink alcohol past a certain point, then I have decided to give up an amount of control over my actions, and that therefore I am responsible for tampering with my capability to think and act clearly. Hence, this more unstable condition is of my own doing.I can object every time someone implies that a rape victim is asking for it - even if a victim has made misguided choices, like drinking too much, he/she is never asking for it, and these choices should not obliterate the perpetrators' accountability.I can check carefully the definitions of terms like sexual assault, sexual harassment, rape, and under what circumstances they happen, and see if I can find a balance between being safe and having a good time.I can speak to my fellow men about our approaches to sex, and in sharing perhaps reevaluate my own practices. I can decide not to fuel the insecurities of others, like threatening someone else's masculinity if they do not get laid on a particular night or if they do not drink hard enough. I can speak up if I happen to witness what seems to be any form of violence, gender-related or otherwise. It might turn out to be an embarrassing mistake, but that is better than doing nothing if my instinct tells me something's wrong.And, of course, I can do all of the above in the company of my male friends. I like to think that openness is a condition of friendship, and that whatever inhibitions one might have will be meaningless. I know the goal is to eliminate gender distinctions. Well, I want to make a distinction here, which says that men are the best people to speak to other men about gender violence. In short, we can watch after one another. And this is crucial - if one out of every five women on any given college campus will be victims of sexual abuse, then chances are I know many who have experienced it. A group of men once said that openly militant activism does not work for them. Well, what about the knowledge that, of four women you are close to, there is a good chance that one just has not told you that she is a survivor? When it hits that close to home, it is virtually impossible not to want to participate. We do not always get to see these the field from the other side. It is important to express how we feel about these stories when the protagonists decide to share them - but that won't happen, however, if we act as if we didn't want to know. It is up to everybody to act responsibly, but as men, we can certainly endeavor to create a friendlier, safer atmosphere.All of which is a roundabout way of saying that we do not need to be a direct part of the problem to be an active part of the solution. It is not possible that only rape victims decide to oppose it. Not only should we not endorse gender violence, we should fight it. As men, we could be guilty by inaction, which is the easiest way to be part of to injustice.Felipe PrunedaSenties '07 is a Media Services Intern.
(05/08/08 12:00am)
Author: Task Force on the Status of Women Readers of The Campus' article on the report of the Task Force on the Status of Women may have drawn inaccurate conclusions about the issues it addresses from the polemical nature of the article. The title, "Task Force finds sexist social scene on campus," projects the report as a quintessential man-bashing rant. The reporter failed to understand the findings in the report relevant to the social scene, and we question whether he thoroughly read the just-released report. He states, "the root of all of these social problems, according to the report, is male treatment of women on campus." Additionally, he describes the report as pointing to "students who are 'male, upper-class and athletic'" using alcohol to take advantage of women. This is inaccurate. Such a narrow misinterpretation undermines the complexity of the report and only begets negative, unjustified responses. What we DID say is that influence in the student social scene is unevenly distributed by gender, class and interest group. This is not an attack on a group - this is a descriptive analysis of what the campus community taught us about the social scene.It is important to recognize that the report IS NOT - contrary to The Campus' interpretation - about bashing men as sexist pigs, and sympathizing with victimized women. The basic message is that although some people find that gender relations on campus are fine, some people find it very unhealthy. The second message is that this is not about "men = bad oppressors, women = good oppressed". One of our major points is that reducing the debate to statements that 'men are like this, women are like that' misses the basic fact that gender is a relationship, NOT an inherent and fixed characteristic of a group (in biological terms, that's what we call 'sex'). This may sound like academic jargon and hair-splitting - but the point is that relationships can be chosen and changed, while we're stuck with the status quo if we are cursed with essential biological characteristics that drive behavior. The third message is that as long as a lot of people on campus are experiencing sexism and an unhealthy environment, that's a problem. Just because you didn't experience problems and think that everything is OK doesn't make that true for everyone else. The Task Force - which was composed of students, faculty and staff, female and male - didn't write this report as part of some crusading feminist conspiracy, and there was no set agenda going in. This is our organization and presentation of what hundreds of people on campus told us about their lives. Our information was based on - 1) a campus-wide survey to which we had over 900 respondents and hundreds of comments, and 2) on numerous focus group meetings where we reached out to all groups on campus. Those who read the report will see that we discuss gender relations in order to recommend ways to create a healthier community. Our major conclusion is that gendered social problems at Middlebury are complex and do not reduce down to a single 'root'. Playing the 'blame game' is, in our view, counterproductive. Tina Coll '08, Economics majorMichael Sheridan, Assistant Professor ofAnthropologyVicki Backus, Associate in Science Instruction in BiologyKarin Hanta, Director of Chellis HouseShirley Ramirez, Dean for Institutional DiversityAlison Byerly, ProvostMichelle McCauley, Associate Professor ofPsychologyCarrie Ramp, Area Director, Library & Information ServicesErin Quinn, Director of AthleticsRayna Rogowsky '09Hallie Fox '09
(05/01/08 12:00am)
Author: Melissa Marshall I am trading brown sweaters for worn linen, retiring Columbia boots for Madden flats, tired jeans for cotton dresses and my work ethic for three-hour meals on Battell Beach. And as I am restructuring my mood from hibernating bookworm to GPA-murdering social butterfly, I find myself deleting playlists such as "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," and facelifting my iPod with mixes boasting the promises of "Why Ponder Life's Complexities When the Leather Runs Smooth on the Passenger Seat?" While your Belle and Sebastian catalogue may be where you instinctively turn to, just because you have a favorite t-shirt doesn't mean you never update your wardrobe. Try these three artists on for size - they will at least keep you covered until the new Death Cab release on May 13. Besides awesomeness, the tying factors between the French duo M83, Baltimore childhood couple Beach House and Liverpool vixen Candie Payne is nostalgia. M83's fifth full-length release Saturdays=Youth is aptly named - playing itself as the ideal soundtrack for idyllic afternoons and windows-down windy roads. The first cut, "Graveyard Girl," incorporates the lushness of acclaimed 2003's Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts, but updates some of the duo's earlier shoegaze aesthetics with poppy percussion. Unfortunately, it drags me back to high school in a bad way with a cheesy spoken interlude including the gem, "I'm 15 years old and I already feel like it's too late to live." The '80s-inspired synth-pop tracks like "Kim and Jessie" and the more subdued "Too Late," however, more than make up for it, evoking simpler times scripted by John Hughes. Throw in lines such as "Kids outside worlds / They are crazy about romance and illusion" sung in Anthony Gonzalez's stylized vocals, and I feel exhilaratingly infinite after 20 minutes into the disc. The Phil Collins of our generation, M83's April 15 release is pure pop, masterfully memorable in its reconstructed musical memories of a past decade. Fittingly enough, Beach House is the perfect vacation from joint-rolling jam-bands, ghetto-gyrating Young Jeezy and even the plastic punch of the material girl's new single "4 Minutes" (no disrespect, Madge). From the opening harpsichord harmonies of "Wedding Bells," their second attempt, Devotion, blends the catchy chamber-pop of Matt Pond PA with the inebriating ambience of Tegan and Sara. The languid organs, wistful waltzes and the steady vinyl vocals of Alex Scally on standout songs "You Came to Me" and "Gila" add a '50s flavor and '60s sensibility to the Baltimore duo's sophomore release - the warped warbles on "Home Again" even evoking The Beatles at times. Despite the reemergence of peppy-girl group The Pipettes, the sugary sounds of Lucky Soul and Amy Winehouse's R& B revamp, Britain's Candie Payne purred and slinked her way into the critical eye with her freshman endeavor I Wish I Could Have Loved You More, slated for a May 21 release. Payne's seductive voice tangos with a guttural guitar and cheeky brass on the opening title track which has all the sex appeal, flair and intrigue of a classic Bond flick. The singer/songwriter sustains the tempting tension with "Why Should I Settle for You" - her adoration of Billie Holiday evident in her measured, smoky vocals while the perky percussion of "One More Chance" and "All I Need to Hear" reinvents Motown as modern. Although over-produced and forcibly a period piece at times, Payne's first album looks back and glances forward to a strong career for this Liverpool lady. So grab a blanket and a couple blank CDs and set about inventing some summer memories of your own. Visit http://www.hypem.com to download any of the above-mentioned tracks, and don't forget the sunscreen - only music is fun when it's burned.
(05/01/08 12:00am)
Author: Anthony Adragna While gender relations across campus have generally improved over the last decade, sexism remains a dominant and controlling facet of social life, a report released April 29 from the Task Force on the Status of Women (TSW) at the College found. In the report, the group acknowledges gains made by women, but stresses the amount of work remaining for the community, while also raising broader issues, irrespective of gender, for the College to consider. "The status of women has clearly changed in many ways in the past decade," the report concluded, "but there is still much to be done."Compiled by a student and faculty group of 13 that was chartered in 2007 to study the state of gender relations at the College, data for the report were gathered from group interview sessions, focus groups, one-on-one interviews and an electronic survey that garnered over 900 responses. Included in the 40-page report are 74 recommendations which President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and the administration will have the task of considering and implementing. Carrie Rampp, director of Resource Development & Services for Library & Information Services and chair of the Task Force hopes broader discussions about the report's conclusions will come in the fall.Alcohol, males dominate social sceneFor students on campus, these discussions could well focus on the social scene at the College, which, according to the report, revolves around alcohol and fosters sexism and negative gender relations. Parties at the College, according to the report, tend to be organized by students who are "male, upper-class and athletic," and who sometimes use alcohol and their control of parties to take advantage of women. "Female students also reported that in their first year at Middlebury, they were invited to parties by older classmen who they felt specifically targeted them for their inexperience with alcohol so they could make inappropriate advances," the report found. According to Rampp, the unhealthy social scene could be attributed to a number of factors, but alcohol is one of the driving causes behind problematic elements of the social scene. "When looking at the extremely micro-level you can come up with a whole host of symptoms that you might tackle, but we noted this broader root cause behind so many of the challenges," she said. The report additionally concluded that, within the context of this social scene, women often act in a hypersexual manner due to preconceived expectations about the promiscuity of college students. "Part of the reason they do not set boundaries," according to the report, "is that they need to fit into a social scene dominated by men, who are also often unaware or dismissive of safe sex and sexual assault issues."Other aspects of the social scene that are faulted in the report include the sexual-themed parties on campus, which induce women to dress in a demeaning manner to gain access, and the workload, which forces many to "squeeze 5 days' worth of social interaction into a 2-day weekend," leading to meaningless relationships and unsafe sex. The report additionally found that this sexual environment results in women under reporting assaults and confusion about what constitutes a sexual assault. "Many have been the cases when my women friends have been afraid to speak up regarding sexual assault," one survey respondent reported. Concerns arise in the report over the current system for reporting sexual assaults which some feel "is not designed to serve the interests of the victim." The conclusions do note great improvements on issues of safety on campus over the past 10 years, including more blue light telephones, better lighting and late-night ride options.Tina Coll '08, who served on the TSW, said the current sexual assault policy needs review and revamping. "There seems to be much confusion about the definition of and procedure for addressing sexual assault, which leads to thorny situations for women and men alike," she said. Rampant eating disorders, however, remain a large issue on campus. While the Parton Health Center has resources for students, many students surveyed indicated that these resources are inaccessible. Others feel it is hard to recover from an eating disorder at the College. Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology and member of the TSW Michael Sheridan said addressing the problem of eating disorders would require persistent work. "Eating disorders relate to the extremes of the 'work hard, play hard' idea that is a deeply embedded model shaping student behavior, which means that both need coordinated attention," he said.At the root of all of these social problems, according to the report, is the male treatment of women on campus, but additional criticism is leveled at the system that forces men to demean women in an effort to fit in. "Heterosexual males who do not fulfill this stereotype [locker room behavior] report having to change their behavior to appear more masculine, at the risk of being 'fag-bated,' or socially marginalized in other ways," the report found.More broadly, students cited the workload at the College as another cause of many negative behaviorsThe report hailed progress made towards creating a safe and friendly campus for GLBTQ, but stressed more work was necessary. It acknowledged the additional challenges faced by women students of color and less socio-economically advantaged students as well. New initiatives like the Queer Studies House were applauded.Work-life balance, respect top female faculty concernsIn addition to this thorough evaluation of student social life at Middlebury, the report also tackled the status of female faculty and staff members. Of concern to many female faculty members was the amount of work they faced, suggesting it was a main factor in their happiness with the College. "I think work-life balance needs the most attention," one survey respondent said. "I feel that women have to do more at work in order to succeed at the same level as men. If women make compromises for their family, it seems to come off as being weak or not professional."Another area of concern remains assisting female faculty members in locating employment for their spouse. "Given we are located in an isolated rural area, we believe that as we move forward in our efforts to hire and retain the strongest candidates, particularly more female colleagues of color, the College must take a more proactive role with regard to partner employment," the report concluded. Implicit sexism also appears to emerge in classroom settings, the report found. Female faculty members encounter aggressive male students with regard to grading and many reported receiving less respect than male colleagues in co-taught classes. One female member of the faculty described the climate in a survey response."It is clear that the students have very stereotypical presumptions about the characteristics faculty should possess to be 'professorial,' especially for certain disciplines," the respondent wrote. "Many of my female colleagues feel that we have to work extra hard to prove ourselves in class."Rampp said the report did not find significant evidence of prejudice in academic departments against female faculty. "I believe the findings in this area suggested that even in male-dominated departments the trends of our survey were very much in line with the broader community," she said. "While I wouldn't say none exists, it wasn't a significant finding of our report."Although the report found these trends of concern, it generally lauded great strides made throughout the College in the last 10 years. It points especially to the increase in female administrators, the greater gender
balance on the Board of Trustees and the equality of pay for men and women at the College.Challenges remain when looking to hire female faculty members, though the College has made improvements in that arena. Childcare, though improved, is another area of concern and the report urges greater time off for new parents. Additional work should be done to promote a healthier environment for GLBTQ female professors, to attract and retain female professors of color and to counteract a 'glass ceiling' that emerges after a female becomes 50, the report found. Task force hopes report will help communityAll of the 74 recommendations in the report address distinct goals, though they vary from broad to specific, from gender-specific to all-inclusive initiatives. Topics range from the very broad - "Be more proactive on a variety of gender-related issues" - to the very specific - "Create a signature GLBTQ event each year." There is little concrete said about how to achieve these goals, though it is not the goal of the TSW to implement them. "As a task force, we are not necessarily responsible for providing remedies for all the challenges we find," Rampp said. "In fact, that can sometimes work against you as your readers may instead focus on the flaws in your strategy and less so in the merits of your recommendations. We haven't said precisely how to do this, but that it should be done."Some of the most telling parts of the report came from the quoted comments before each section. Those selected for inclusion were not unique. "None of them are abnormal, and all of them are, sometimes unfortunately, 'normal,'" Sheridan said. "We put those quotes in there precisely because they are troubling. Reading an abstract report with quantitative data can make you forget that you're talking about real people's lives."Sheridan stressed that only time will lead to concrete and lasting changes to attitudes on campus. "Many of the issues we describe in the report are not isolated 'problems' that can be 'solved' with quick and separate fixes," he said. "Some of this stuff is systemic and complex. So I don't think there's a single easily isolatable 'first thing' to start with if I was prioritizing."Coll hopes the entire College community can become more involved in the process during subsequent reviews. "I hope that more men will get involved in future task forces," she said. "They have a lot of useful insight to provide on gender issues. It's not just a one-sided deal."Rampp suggested the report taught members of the community the universality of many of these issues."So much of what we found or that people brought to us couldn't be characterized as a woman's issue, or at least not any more," she said.While many of the issues raised in the report are troubling, Sheridan thanked the community for their cooperation and thought the report will lead to positive results. "I am particularly thankful to the many brave people who told us their stories, even when they hurt," he said. "I'd like to see this report become a tool for empowering everyone on this campus to change what we don't like about us, and to be very proud of what makes us such a good place to learn, work and live."
(05/01/08 12:00am)
Author: Alex Garlick Carbon offsets are not the answer to our planet's environmental crisis - in fact, they are economically problematic and morally suspect. The College feels differently. The Snow Bowl recently spent $7,138 on carbon offsets, the study abroad office is encouraging its students to spend $36 on offsets for their foreign travel, and in the most egregious case, the SGA is considering a bill that would make it mandatory for student groups and some sports teams to purchase offsets for their travels. The College funnels its offset money into Native Energy, a for-profit corporation based in Charlotte, Vt. Native Energy invests the money in wind farms and methane digesters, thereby creating renewable energy. This is a good thing, because for the carbon-neutral individual, creating renewable energy is better than sex.Enough is enough. It's outrageous that our tuition goes up five percent every year when we're wasting money on carbon offsets - now they may be forced upon innocent student groups.The moral problem with carbon offsets are that they reflect the dark side of American capitalism - I refer to the notion that we, as Americans, feel that when confronted with any problem, we can just spend our way out of it. (And then we wonder why there's so much anti-American resentment in the world.)The United States is in an environmental (and macroeconomic) mess right now because it consumes too much. Consider an item as environmentally benign as a book. It starts as a tree, and requires energy to be transported, turned into pulp, made into paper, bound and have ink applied to it. Throughout this whole process petroleum is needed to ship the book to each of the stages of production until it reaches the hands of the reader. Carbon offsets fail to dampen consumption - they encourage it. Offsets allow more consumption because they remove the best deterrence against pollution - our conscience. One could argue that the money spent on offsets used to curb deforestation would otherwise go towards consumption, but it actually may encourage more of it. The money spent on carbon offsets goes to a good cause, but if an individual is interested in curbing deforestation or covering landfills (as the offset company TerraPass does), why shouldn't he just invest in it directly and skip the moral masturbation? Instead of encouraging more consumption, the best path towards carbon neutrality would be curbing consumption. Is Mother Earth better off with me riding a bike to town or taking my car and then writing a $.35 check to Native Energy? Buying carbon offsets is the modern-day equivalent of the Catholic Church selling indulgences to sinners trying to repent. This practice caused Martin Luther to rebel and start the Protestant Reformation. In order to reverse the country's course towards environmental destruction, the United States may need a similar revolt.If an individual wants to offset his carbon output, he should be allowed to. I am not calling for the dissolution of the offset industry. However, the notion that the College is funding this practice with our tuition is offsetting. While carbon reduction is a worthy endeavor, carbon offsets are a waste.Alex Garlick '08.5 is a Political Science and Economics major from Needham, Mass
(04/24/08 12:00am)
Author: Sarah Luehrman I am a student at Middlebury College who can hardly be called a minority in any way - I "sit in a place of privilege … in sex, race, class, orientation [and] citizenship," according to Ryan Tauriainen's op-ed that appeared in last week's Campus ("Factcheck: the gay experience at Middlebury"). Yes, I am in the majority in all of those categories, a white, straight woman from just outside of Boston. But that does not make me limited in any way, and I'm tired of people telling me that it does.Ryan, why wasn't I invited to your party? You admit that the invite list was "strictly GLBT" (a telling adverb, I might point out), and go on to suggest (rather than assert?) that "open-minded straight people" were welcome to attend. Thanks, but when I don't know that the party's happening, how can I possibly get the message that I am welcome? I can assure you that I am a very open-minded straight person. I've even lived with a gay man, who I know will attest to my open-minded-ness. He was actually kind enough to invite me to queer-oriented functions when we were living together, and I assure you that I had more class and more discretion than to tap a gay couple on the shoulder and give them a big hearty thumbs-up and a smile.My anecdote might not measure up to your impressive list of roommates and friends who are different from you, but that's not entirely my fault. I am effectively closed off from the Middlebury gay community. Apparently being open-minded isn't enough to be viewed as worthy of a secondhand invite to your party. I have been on campus for just as long as you, Ryan, and you win - you've got more international and gay friends than I do. That is because I haven't actively sought to befriend any group of people over any other, gay or straight, American or international. The reason that parties are composed of mostly white people at this school is that the majority (the vast majority, I should say) of our student body is white. I can't make the same statement about gay people because I can't eyeball a person and correctly identify his or her sexual orientation, but if you insist that the majority is outwardly straight, I'm perfectly willing to believe you.Actually, I'll tell you something - I don't feel very comfortable attending social house parties, either. If I do, it's rarely ever with my boyfriend - when we dance together at parties like that, we feel a little conspicuous (even "awkward," to use your word) and prefer to just go with our friends to have fun. Just because we're both straight and everyone around us is also straight doesn't mean we feel comfortable displaying our relationship in front of lots of people we don't know. But I can say one thing for social house parties - at least I know when and where they're happening and I can decide myself whether to participate.You say that you are trying to provide a community for gay students who need a safe environment, Ryan, and I support that endeavor. I can't speak from experience - but it doesn't surprise me that Middlebury isn't necessarily an easy place to be out. But here's where I can speak from experience: by doing things like having parties to which you only invite queers, you are excluding a great number of people who might have something positive to contribute to that community. You might even be alienating some gays who don't want to exclude people like me (they do exist). You say that "only two of the students living in the Queer Studies House next year identify as 'gay'" - do you wonder why? I don't know, either, but from my perspective, atop my privileged throne, your community is exclusive, and I think that may have something to do with it. I hope that despite my privilege, you see fit to take me seriously.I wrote this piece out of an honest desire to express my opinion. I am not crusading against you, Ryan, and I don't claim to represent anyone but myself. I'm not asking you to step down from these issues. But, please, stop trying to claim ownership of Middlebury's gay community by deciding who gets to come to your parties and who doesn't. When you call gay students "my members," that is essentially what you are doing. Sarah Luehrman '08 is from Belmont, Mass.
(04/24/08 12:00am)
Author: Kathryn Flagg For students hovering near the "Middlebury PostSecret" bulletin boards in the New Library, news of the latest in on-campus confessions may drag them back, at long last, to their carrels and computers. MiddleburyConfessional.com hit campus early this week, and though the Web site's launch was accompanied by little fanfare, the site - designed to catalogue the anonymous, innermost divulgences of College students - is already gaining traction among on-campus surfers.The Web site, modeled after similar forums at Oberlin College and other universities, allows visitors to submit anonymous messages and comments that are then immediately visible online. Current postings run the gamut from the baffled ("What is this site??") to the baffling ("This school is a giant barrel of lolsauce."), and from apparently earnest queries ("Are you happy here?") and hesitant admissions ("I play football and I am bisexual, and no one knows the truth.") to the requisite dose of post-coital regret ("I can't believe I had sex with you. What was I thinking??").Behind the Web site's launch is Oberlin College senior Shibo Xu, who currently maintains the Oberlin Confessional and 10 additional "confessionals." The Middlebury Confessional is the latest addition to a suite of Web sites modeled, to some extent, after the Facebook phenomenon. Xu created the Middlebury Confessional after a friend at the College asked him to launch the forum. The idea appealed to him because of similarities between Oberlin and Middlebury, Xu said. "I think it's very successful at small colleges," he said.Like the confessionals at other colleges, Middlebury Confessional functions as a closed community. Confessions posted on the Middlebury site are accessible only to visitors surfing from the physical campus. "I don't want this to be like Juicy Campus," said Xu, who moderates offensive comments for all of the confessionals but does not keep records of the IP addresses of posters. "This is your business," he said, "your community."Though Middlebury Confessional is currently innocuous enough, the Web site's predecessors - including a similar site at Amherst College, for example - allude to what could be the uglier face of the Confessional spree. Xu acknowledged that when students disregard the Web site's requirements to refrain from using names, the banter can turn ugly."The confessionals can be a place for controversy," he said. "I'm okay with that." He continued, however, "You shouldn't be mentioning names. You shouldn't be attacking people anonymously."Two weeks following the launch of Amherst Confessional this March, The Amherst Student reported that the Web site had devolved into a forum for exactly this sort of gossip mongering. As the site tallied a surprising spike in activity, with submissions numbering in the thousands, students and administrators alike responded with concern."It is appalling," Amherst College Dean of Students Ben Lieber told The Student. "I opened it up and I was back in junior high school." Like Middlebury Confessional, the Web site did not fall under the jurisdiction of the institution, and Lieber told The Student that blocking access to the site would violate Amherst College's policy on the ability to freely access information. According to the student newspaper, however, President of Amherst College Tony Marx planned at the time to draft a letter to Xu, requesting that Xu close the site for the good of the Amherst community. Administrators at Sacred Heart University went one step further last week. "I was threatened with suspension and forcible removal from campus if the site wasn't shut down by midnight tonight," claimed Sacred Heart student Nicholas Dileso on a Facebook group devoted to "The Confessionals" on April 17. Xu confirmed that Sacred Heart Confessional was subsequently shut down late last week, though Xu said he would consider reactivating the Web site after devising a better system for moderation. Despite these potential pitfalls, Xu emphasized that the forum can have vast benefits for communities, allowing unique space for candid discussion."I do believe in free speech and I fundamentally believe that things are better said than unsaid," Xu said. "The space the confessional provides isn't really available anywhere else."How are Middlebury students using this space? Visit MiddleburyConfessional.com to see the site in action - for better or worse.
(04/24/08 12:00am)
Author: Dina Magaril Heat waves. Glistening, tan bodies. Short dresses, clean shaven legs and skin skin skin. We're all thinking about it. Now that spring has officially arrived our options for enjoying sex in new places has increased tenfold. So, with a little help from some outdoor-enthusiast friends, I've compiled a list of all the best places on campus to get it on out-of-doors. Of course, if you have a car the sky's the limit, but with gas prices skyrocketing each day, keeping it local might not be such a bad idea. Just remember, dealing with the outdoors presents a whole new set of issues to be aware of, such as bugs making their way into unexpected places, grass stains and unflattering sunburns. So don't forget to bring protection - condoms, sunblock and most important, a blanket or towel, and get in tune with you inner hippie.The Natural Ampitheater: This is a Middlebury classic, and while the ampitheater, located past the cemetery, is a great starting point it may be hard to resist picturing how many of your classmates have gotten lucky in this very same spot. Still, day or night, Midd students swear by this place. Just make sure you're the only couple there, unless Exhibitionism is your thing.Organic Garden: Organic sex. It's healthier for you. Just be careful not to ruin the freshly planted seeds.The Golf Course: Feel free to experiment here. This green terrain was obviously built with a bit of nooky on the brain. Eighteen holes means 18 opportunities for a change of scenery and positions, so get creative. According to the Middlebury Web site, which outlines the pros and cons of each hole's terrain (feel free to use this site as a reference - http://www.middlebury.edu/campuslife/facilities/golfcourse/layout/), hole 14 seems like a good bet as it is "set up in the woods a bit and you can't always feel the wind." A warm, secluded spot tucked away in the woods. Sounds perfect. But beware of hole 15 where "an unseen drainage ditch runs along the left side of the faiway." Download a scorecard to really get a lay of the land, or ask a member of the golf team to show you around. Just try to resist the urge to yell hole in one!The Cemetery: Yeah, it's kind of creepy. But look at it this way. It's usually pretty empty, and you can't deny that there's something sexy about the dark side. Try not to conjure up images of necrophilia and make sure you're not directly on top of a gravestone - try to show some respect. For those more adventorous lovers, bring some candles and chant your way into channeling the spirits. You may find out that having an other worldly audience turns you on.The Palmer Tree House: Tap into your inner child and get naughty with this great option on the far side of campus. Just be wary of splinters. Ross Roof: You may have to climb through a window to reach this ideal locale, but perks include watching the sunset, relative seclusion and perhaps grabbing a quick bite to eat, further proving the fact that you don't need to leave Ross, ever, not even for new and exciting sex opportunities.Those of you with more suggestions, feel free to post them online. And remember to keep in mind that hooking up outdoors means greater exposure, and a greater chance of getting caught, which for some of us is probably as good an incentive as any. So get back to man's most natural state with nudity and the outdoors. And with April bringing prospective students to campus in droves, we might as well embrace Middlebury's reputation for enjoying the great outdoors. Just try not to get in the way of any tours.
(04/24/08 12:00am)
Author: Kristen Ward and Aki Ito I was molested at age 3. The police told me I should have tried harder to get information about my rapist. My friend said he didn't rape her - she doesn't think it's rape because she was drunk. Even my family didn't believe me. I told him no, and he did it anyway.A guy in my class wears a shirt that says 'No means yes.' The man who raped my best friend lives in my building.These and many other powerful statements were made by courageous women and men last Thursday night at Lovefest, Feminist Action at Middlebury's annual speak-out against sexual violence. Students came together to speak out about their own experiences with sexual assault, as well as the experiences of their friends and family. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, one in six women, and one in 33 men, have been victims of sexual assault in the United States. Translated to Middlebury College, approximately 200 women and 36 men on this campus have been or will be sexually assaulted. Some of those cases are happening right here, right now on campus. In 2006, two cases of forcible sex offenses were reported to Public Safety. In 2005, four cases were reported. Yet, most incidences of sexual assault go unreported. How many of you know this person's story?We need these survivors' voices and experiences to be heard, validated and discussed on this campus by everyone in the community. Yet we rarely talk about sexual assault in our idyllic Middlebury bubble.We believe that this silence is partly due to a lack of understanding of what constitutes as sexual assault. How do I know if I have been sexually assaulted, or if I have sexually assaulted someone else? This confusion is shared by many of us.If our school really is, as it claims to be in the Handbook, "committed to promoting, through education and awareness-raising activities, a campus environment where sexual assault and exploitation are recognized as wholly unacceptable," then why are we only vaguely aware of what is prohibited on this campus? A few weeks ago, the school sent out a leaflet describing Middlebury's sexual assault policy. But we suspect that very few actually read the document before throwing it away.How many of us have heard comments like "I was so drunk that I didn't know what was going on, and before I knew it, we were having sex" or "I said no, but he continued anyway" or "We didn't go all the way, so it's not assault?" Yet under the Middlebury College Handbook, all of these are examples of sexual assault. How many of you are surprised that, if this happens to you, you can pursue both legal action under Vermont law and redress through the Middlebury judicial system?We don't know what the best course of action is at our school where our friends and classmates are being sexually assaulted, and no one is talking about it. But we need to come up with concrete solutions that make it less likely for sexual assault to take place, and in the case that it does happen, victims are provided with as much support as possible. A variety of systemic solutions exist, including a victim advocate, a social honor code, mandatory information sessions on sexual assault during freshmen orientation and a more transparent judicial system around sexual assault. After our conversations with sexual assault victims, human relations advisors and those who know the Middlebury judicial code well, one thing is painfully clear to us - if even one student, staff member, faculty member or administrator feels unsafe in our community, no one is safe. Until we reach that point of safety, we must vigilantly fight to get there.Sex can be fun and exciting and beautiful. Yet, at times, in a single night, it can shatter another human being's dignity and agency. Some say that the difference is a slippery slope. We disagree - there is a fundamental difference between wanted and unwanted sex. It is only when we shy away from discussing sex, violence and their repercussions that we begin to lose sight of that line. Speak up at http://mendthesilence.blogspot.com.Kristen Ward '08 is from Simsbury, Conn. Aki Ito '09 is from Tokyo, Japan.
(04/17/08 12:00am)
Author: Ryan Tauriainen Last week a gay student wrote a scathing op-ed ("Counter-productive Gaypril event baffles," April 10) to reveal to the campus that (gasp) there was a "gay party" the previous weekend. There were a few mistakes or misinterpretations that I will correct rather quickly. First off, it wasn't a "Gaypril" event (that is, one put on by MOQA) but rather a party that merely took place in April. I admit MOQA members came, but it was not limited to them. The party also wasn't exclusive to just "queers" though, admittedly, the e-mail list was strictly GLBTQ. Part of the e-mail suggested bringing open-minded straight people and there were certainly a good amount of them there. Here is my real issue - why is there all this talk of self-segregation when it comes to the GLBT community? There are countless parties on this campus, taking place at any moment of the year, in which the partygoers are either all straight or mostly straight. Does anyone ask where all the gay people are at them? I doubt it. There are parties that are either all white or mostly white. Do people wonder why our students of color are missing from them? Maybe, but I still doubt it. As it turns out, a large number of my friends at Middlebury are students of color or international students. At least half of my best friends are Asian. Two of the students whom I live in a Voter Suite with are international students. And I know first hand that there are parties for which the invite list is strictly international with the suggestion to invite interested American students. I'm not an outcast at these parties even though I wasn't on any invite list and am American. I applaud international student parties, and I think they are a lot of fun. I think it's problematic when we scrutinize functions that are geared toward minorities and never bat an eye towards ones that are for the majority culture. I was constantly frustrated during the creation of the Queer Studies House (QSH) because people kept thinking it was a means to segregate gay students from straight students, when it was anything but that. As it turns out, only two of the students living in the QSH next year identify as "gay." When gay students come here, there are many different sentiments. In some cases they have been alienated or victimized while in high school. Some students can only be "out" at Middlebury and never to their parents. Some gay students come from countries in which homosexuality is punishable by prison time or even death. We forget about these students all the time when we talk about how easy it is to be "out" here. These students need a community and I try to provide it for them. That is the purpose of MOQA, and that has been my purpose as a student leader on this campus. It has been my constant goal to create the most accepting environment possible for those students who look at their four years at Middlebury as the only time in their life in which they will be able to be openly queer. Many people fail to realize what these few years represent to some of our students because they sit on a place of privilege, whether in sex, race, class, orientation or citizenship. Middlebury might be a liberal place, but it can still be hard to feel comfortable for some of my members. Sometimes the open-minded students come on too strong. I know same-sex couples on campus who are completely out but feel awkward dancing together at dances because they are constantly stared at. Sometimes the onlookers give strange looks, but mostly the onlookers are full of smiles, interrupting their dance to pat them on the back and say things like "good for you!" As great as that is, being under scrutiny, whether positive or negative, can be uncomfortable. We don't want to be on display and we don't want to have to defend ourselves. We just want to live our lives normally - to dance with our partners without the stares, to meet other queer people for the chance of a relationship and to be comfortable in a crowd. And once a year, because there are different comfort levels concerning "outness," these parties are populated by a queer majority. If trying to offer that to my community, just once, is wrong then so be it. I refuse to give the queer community any less and I will not step down from these issues even in my last two months as president of MOQA, no matter what a columnist (gay or straight) writes.Ryan Tauriainen '08 is from Grant Pass, Ore.
(04/17/08 12:00am)
Author: Anthony Adragna UCLA police seek two criminals on campusMembers of the UCLA community continue to search for two prowlers who have recently terrorized various groups of people on campus. Police are seeking Jorge Angel Velasco and Brent Kennedy who have been seen in suspicious circumstances on campus recently. Velasco was arrested in March for prowling near a dormitory and was seen shortly after a failed attempt by an unidentified male to break into an occupied office. Kennedy was seen masturbating in a woman's bathroom and has been seen in the same general area several times in the late afternoon or early evening. The threats have prompted several security warnings to students on campus. One e-mail urged women to be aware of their surroundings when using the bathroom. "If they see somebody just doing any kind of strange behavior, they should call us and let the professionals take care of it," crime analyst Kristi Godines said.Velasco is mainly sought as a person of interest in the incidents. "People think maybe he has information that could be helpful in some of the burglaries and thefts on campus," Nancy Greenstein, director of police community relations for UCPD said. -The Daily BruinPenn hosts high-profile stars at election rallyThe University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) has played host to a variety of high-profile musical acts during the past week. Rappers Ludacris and the Gym Class Heroes performed over the past week, and the campus hosted R&B star John Legend. Performing the week before the hotly contested Democratic primary in the state, Legend sang to draw support for Senator Barack Obama, who is seeking the nomination for president.In his seven-song set at the UPenn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Legend serenaded the audience with "Ordinary People," one of his signature hits. The singer also graduated from UPenn in 1999. Appearing with Legend was Kalpen Modi, better known as Kal Penn, who also rallied in support of Obama. Modi currently serves as a professor at UPenn.The concert quickly attracted students. Kevin Rurak, a senior at UPenn called Obama's campaign a "once-in-a-lifetime thing for Penn and for this country."-The Daily Pennsylvanian Ph.D. student uses TV show as basis for thesisOne Ph.D. student has published a book about the late 1990s TV show "Dawson's Creek" to complete her requirements. University of Massachusetts doctoral student Lori Bindig has focused on the themes of sex, gender, race and consumerism in her masters thesis. She approached University of Hartford professor Jack Burns when considering what to examine for her masters work. After learning of her passion for the TV show, he suggested she take her love of "Dawson's Creek" and make it the focus of her work. "It was kind of surreal," Bindig said. "A lot of people thought I was crazy. Like, 'is she really going to school for this?' They thought I looked more like a character than a researcher.""People said to me, 'Who cares?' but I think the issues that go on within the show are deeply important and I really wanted to convey that," she said.-Daily Collegian
(04/17/08 12:00am)
Author: Grace Duggan In a continuation of last semester's anti-war theme, as seen in Matt Pepper's "St. Crispin's Day," this past weekend included five performances of Aristophanes' "Lysistrata." First performed in 411 BCE, "Lysistrata" tells the story of the end of the Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata (Veracity Butcher '09), a dynamic and empowered Athenian woman, orchestrates a meeting of Greek women to enlist their help. The play immediately blurs the lines between classical and modern with Lysistrata's use of a cell phone before her Athenian friend Myrrine (Stephanie Strohm '08) joins her, followed by several others (Michaela Lieberman '10.5, Jacquie Antonson '10). The women's entertaining argument over celibacy begins with the arrival of Lampito (Maegan Mishico '08.5) and her fellow Spartans (Elianna Kan '10, Canem Ozyildirim '10). With difficulty, Lysistrata convinces the women to help her force a peace by withholding sex from their husbands. Much to the chagrin of the Commissioner of Public Safety (Willie Orbison '08), the second component of Lysistrata's plan encompasses taking over the Acropolis. var uslide_show_id = "e8a8a1e9-77d2-442a-8767-182d0b04f313";var slideshowwidth = "468";var linktext = "";Inseparable from the performance were the two elderly choruses, both of which stole the show with their comical and thought-provoking interactions. Oftentimes, they proved to be more interesting than the rest of the play. Led by Justine Katzenbach '08.5 and Rishabh Kashyap '08, the two choruses begin in direct opposition to one another and come together by the play's end. The men (JP Allen '11, Schuyler Beeman '10, Brent Ballard '10, Will Bellaimey '10.5, Sasha Hirsch '10.5) entered first, sporting cardigans and hobbling around while trying to start a fire to burn down the Acropolis. The women (Lucy Faust '09, Rachel Ann Cole '08, Martha Newman '10, Nerina Cocchi '10, Natasha Chacon '10) followed, wearing flower-print dresses and white cardigans over the shoulders, stopping the men and beginning their intense back-and-forth dialogues. Even with masks covering their faces, the actors presented fully fleshed-out individuals that pleased the audience at every turn. The sex-strike quickly drives the men crazy, who appear onstage grabbing their groins and attempting to hide obscenely large erections while desperately seeking cooperation from their wives. This comes to a head in an extremely comical scene between Myrrine and her desperate husband Kinesias (Will Damron '09) during which she runs back into the Acropolis at the last second after several minutes of seducing and flirting with him. The sex-strike brings the men to their knees and the play culminates in the successful negotiation of a peace.In addition to the intense gender commentary running throughout the work, a number of references to the United States worked to connect the play's critique of war to this country's own current political situation. However, the bulk of these references did not occur during the performance itself. Posters for "Lysistrata" prominently featured the well-known anti-Vietnam slogan, "Make Love, Not War," and a distorted version of the American flag, 13 stripes and all, appeared over the entrance to the Seeler Studio Theatre, where the play was performed. Also, the set featured two overt clues, specifically a globe design on the floor that showed only the North American continent clearly and a seal on the door to the Acropolis that bore a striking resemblance to the United States' Presidential Seal. Characters were grounded in regional American dialects, with Myrrine talking like a Long Islander and the Spartans speaking in exaggerated and campy renditions of Southern accents. Unfortunately, some of the play's message was lost in its lengthy and overblown ending. At the conclusion of the peace negotiations, everyone moves inside the Acropolis to celebrate. One male chorus member remains onstage, picking up bull's testicles used during the peace ceremony to bring them inside. Much to the audience's delight, the door slams in his face twice before he can successfully join the party. This could have provided a great ending for the play, but instead the audience witnessed a bizarre square-dance ritual that did little to add to the strength of the work. This included the play's most obvious - and perhaps its weakest, given how much superfluous stage time it had - allusion to the United States, specifically a Statue of Liberty-inspired depiction of Peace (Cassidy Boyd '10), who wandered among the rest of the cast watching them celebrate the end of the war. Ultimately, the cast's depiction of Aristophanes' blend of comedy and sharp commentary seemed weighted toward the funny rather than the satirical, with the audience laughing at the array of intellectual wit as well as physical gags. The erect phalluses sported by male actors underneath their kilts were quite funny, as were the attempts of the achy and creaking chorus members to get into fistfights. "Lysistrata's" clever critique of the effects of war on its participating communities provided great food for the thought for an audience comprised of individuals well aware of the United States' current situation in Iraq.
(04/17/08 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] To the Editor:Having experienced Laurie Essig as a teacher I feel compelled to respond to the College returning her to tenure track and the resultant support expressed by the Middlebury community. While Laurie Essig as a person is extremely knowledgeable and the material she teaches is both interesting and intellectual, her classes far from uphold the academic standards Middlebury claims to embrace. In her Sociology of Freakishness class, a grade is awarded based on completion of a single 12-15 page paper with a presentation. Attendance is not required. This contrasts with a biology class where a student may be required to attend all lectures, discussions, pre-labs and labs on top of completing three to six exams, lab reports and a term paper. There exists a fundamental disparity that is inexcusable when all classes are given the same credit and weight in a student's GPA. At a school where grade inflation is an incessant discussion point, I fail to see how the College can endorse this style of teaching. Middlebury College must make a choice. Students can either complete rigorous and copious amounts of work in order to expand their knowledge and skills or the workload and expectations can be reduced to allow for more freedom in the learning process. It is necessarily unfair to have both standards using the current credit system. This is not a personal issue with a specific teacher, but a critical ethical dilemma facing the College as a whole that necessarily affects the question of tenure for Lauri Essig.Sincerely,Robert Hawkins '08Evergreen, COTo the Editor:I am not a Midd grad but I am the brother of several and the brother of a SIM member. The real victims of this are SIM as a whole and whomever enjoys their music. The other victim is common sense, as we all watch and worry as liability fears force Middlebury down a puritan path with all other colleges. Once "hazing" has been reported, the College has to cover its butt regardless of the severity of the situation, or whether it was even "hazing" at all. The truth is that there is a difference between good-natured, hilarious and fun initiation versus involuntary hazing. Everyone who has ever gone to college knows that - including the dean who delivered this punishment. The College could cover its butt in the future better by updating the Handbook to provide some guidelines to students on what counts as hazing versus what counts as initiation. Are all initiation rites of passage hazing? Before seniors have to start buying motivational Hallmark cards to "mutually respect" incoming freshman to their organizations, someone should provide some clarity on this. Hopefully that clarity doesn't ruin fun for every organization on campus and make it illegal to do anything edgy or funny. If it does, then the rule will be ignored just like every other unrealistic, ridiculous, unenforcable rule, and will only come up when busybody "third-party callers" insert themselves into situations about which they have no understanding. Sincerely,Jon AdlerTo the Editor:James O'Brien's opinion ("Bible-beating Conservative," April 10) not only is a remarkably bad piece of writing, it also peddles in the tired stereotypes and poor reasoning that I spend most of the year combating in my ethics courses. O'Brien's essay begins tellingly enough, by admitting he did not listen to the radio show that inspired his own holier-than-thou rant. It then continues by dispensing with conservative arguments against same-sex marriage in one line, so that he can get to his real point - ridicule of conservatives, Republicans and evangelicals, whom he generally assumes are identical. As someone who identifies with none of these caucuses, and who finds conservative views on gay marriage tragically mistaken, I nonetheless would prefer more respect for one's ideological opponent and for the importance of civil discourse than O'Brien displays. Not all evangelical Christians agree with the "Religious Right" on the issue of homosexuality, but for those who do, the issue is more than a matter of simplistic biblical interpretation. It is also rooted in a concern for what they see as the institutional pillars of a stable society. Rather than displaying ignorant contempt for the religious worldviews of opponents and supporters of gay rights, Mr. O'Brien might try learning a little bit about the arguments he wishes to publicly counter. David Tracy once wrote that unfortunately religion is "the single subject about which many intellectuals can feel free to be ignorant." Evidently, some aspiring intellectuals at Middlebury are all too willing to avail themselves of this freedom, too.Sincerely,James C. DavisAssociate Professor of ReligionTo the Editor:When I read James O'Brien's April 10 column, I was disappointed by his flippant dismissal of Christianity. Declaring that "its hard to take the scripture seriously" because of two lines and characterizing anyone who is against gay marriage as some backwards hick named Cletus with 12 kids only serves to drag what should be a legitimate debate further into the gutter of invective and ad hominem attacks. I don't disagree with O'Brien's general point about gay marriage, but I think it's immature and intellectually lazy to so completely write-off as idiots an entire section of society just because it disagrees with you. Politics in America are all too often reduced to the lowest common denominator, not in the least because we refuse to consider our opponents to be legitimate.?The only way to work through a cultural impasse like this is with a genuine debate, and in a genuine debate you have to respect your opponents and understand that they believe what they do for reasons other than pure ignorance.?Of course the homophobic pandering practiced by too many of our politicians is reprehensible, but so is dismissing as ridiculous the religion that is the center of so many people's lives.?Sincerely,Fraz Thomas '09To the Editor:I'm writing in regards to the opinion piece that appeared in the April 10 issue of The Campus written about "Bible-Beating Conservatives."I am one such conservative Christian. I do not resent the depiction in this article, though I profoundly disagree with the depiction of God in the article, but marriage is the issue.Leviticus, the letters of Paul, and the Gospels, all state, at least implicitly, that homosexuality is a sin. Marriage is defined, in the Gospels, as a covenant sealed before God. One arrives at these conclusions if one interprets Matthew 19 and 1 Corinthians 6 as the conservatives do. Sin and a covenant before God are incompatible. The issue that conservatives have with the legalization of same-sex marriage is that the religious institution and the civil institution are not clearly separated. Until they are clearly separated, and probably even after, conservatives will fight to establish theocracy in America. I disagree in this case, but I will protect the church before I defend the state.Sincerely,Steve Powell '10To the Editor:By and large, The Bunker has been a terrific success this year. The school, in all respects, has been incredibly supportive of our efforts to create a quality social venue on campus. With that support and a hardworking staff, we have had nearly a dozen parties since January, each with a capacity crowd. It is great knowing that The Bunker has been welcomed and an enjoyable addition to our social life here at Middlebury.Unfortunately, students' actions and behaviors threaten the future of The Bunker. Recently, there have been several acts of blatant disrespect, arrogance and selfishness that must be addressed. One of our staff members was hit in the face by an antsy, waiting student. Two we
eks ago, a trashcan full of urine was found upstairs. More recently, we have incurred significant property damage, including the breaking of a large picture window. Every week we find a continuous trail of cups and cans lining the paths, which is a mess left with the assumption that someone else will take care of it. There are no reasons that can justify any of these types of acts. It has to stop! The perspective gained from working at The Bunker makes me embarrassed as a student because this behavior makes us all look unappreciative and uncontrollable. Furthermore, the job of defending The Bunker, and part of our Friday night social life, is becoming increasingly difficult with these acts of arrogance. While the problem may be focused on a handful of people each week, we are all to blame and we are all accountable.Whether at The Bunker or anywhere else, do not use alcohol as an excuse for your lack of respect and common decency. If we, as a student body, do not stop this practice of disrespecting both the people and the property of our community, opportunities like the Bunker will cease to exist. Even worse, we will continue to have the reputation of being selfish, spoiled people. Sincerely,Dave Campbell '09Co-President, The Bunker
(04/10/08 12:00am)
Author: Rachael Jennings Who are you? Why are you here at Middlebury? What categorizations make up your identity and why do those groupings exist? On Monday, April 7, as part of the Gaypril series, a Queer Studies Panel took place in Hillcrest to stir up questions like these and raise awareness about the depth and profundity of Queer Studies in a dynamic world.Beyond recent news like the pregnancy of transgender Thomas Beady and other issues of popular culture, Associate Professor of German Roman Graf, Assistant Professor of Sociocultural Anthropology and Women and Gender Studies Laurie Essig and Women and Gender Studies Chair Sujata Moorti formed the diverse and knowledgeable panel that initiated deeper questions of identity.Essig began the hour by explaining to the circle of about 25 listeners how Queer Studies originated. Coming into academic awareness in the 1980s, the theory followed feminism. However, its predecessor -- feminism - relies on thee conception that socially constructed boundaries exist and need to be broken. Queer theorists view the world in much more fluid categories."It is about exploring the questions," remarked Essig. "'How did we ever start to think that there are gay or straight people? How did we ever start to think that there are even men or women?'"Further, though the movement could not have occurred when it did without feminism, Moorti explained that Queer theory is constantly pushing against feminism. She brought up famous artist Frida Kahlo - feminists declared that as a woman she should be celebrated, the gay and lesbian movement adopted her with the knowledge of her many - and often homosexual - affairs, yet the Queer theorists asked, "Why is it so important to fix her as homosexual or bisexual? Why is it expected that we should find this in her art? If you remove the categories, what happens?"Queer studies essentially examine life outside of its categories and norms. As Graf described, theorists study "things that don't line up. It is anything not 'straight' and normed," he said, "It shows that things are not naturally normed. It also shows that things can be un-normed."The panelists used the example of a baby's birth. Queer theorists believe that in our current culture if a baby is born ambiguous in any way, the doctors "fix" the uncertainty - the birth certificate needs to be stamped. The child is determined to be either male or female and then influenced to follow the according normative example. In this way, culture, politics and economics forces people to "be" either one gender or the other from birth.In fact, the first question Essig asks her students is usually, "What is your gender and how do you know?"Queer theorists trace the archaeology of knowledge back to what first decided that humans should be separated into female and male camps, bisexual, homosexual and heterosexual classes.Essig elaborated that there is comfort in categorization and gave a personal example. At a meeting, Essig once identified as "queer" and when the minutes were typed up it read "gay" instead."Queer theory's purpose is to shake up the answer of 'I am ... anything!'" remarked Essig. "Any claim like that you make needs to be taken from three steps back. You need to ask, 'Why am I this?' and 'Who isn't included in this category?'"Provoking many questions, the professors received many questions in turn. A common question of the attendees was just how to incorporate Queer theory into life and academia at Middlebury.The panel suggested that the College obtain a grant to effectively train the professors in Queer theory, or bring an expert in for a seminar devoted to its study. The current deficiency at Middlebury is a lack in professors who sustain an adequate knowledge base."That is how you force the school to react," said Graf. "You ask questions. If they don't know how to answer, they need to learn." The panelists agreed that pressure, however, not only needs to be placed not on just professors but the administration as well."It's not something you can't do," said Essig. "We can all be queer. It is not just about sexuality. Ask the questions: 'When did happiness become what we pursue? Where did capitalism begin?'"Yet the problem comes in the idea of creating a Queer Studies Department. Queer theorists do not condone the departmentalization of anything, and that is why most agree that a center would be most appropriate. "When Women's Studies was departmentalized, it lost its bite," explained Moorti. "It has become quite disengaged with the lives of women. A new norm is constructed all of the time, and that is the issue."Apart from forming a center, the panel emphasized the integration of Queer theory into every department, as now it is only actively represented by three professors.Another question raised was the notion of choice - do queer theorists believe that volition determines if an individual is gay or straight?The panel agreed that according to Queer theory, to whom we are attracted is a product of socialization. If there is any biological basis, one can only reach it through culture. Using the terminology "gay or straight" in itself goes against the theory, as those words presume that there are defined "men" and "women."Graf answered this question astutely - "Your erotic object choice is informed by your surroundings," he said. "And why are we talking about who we are having sex with instead of what we like to do?"One student, Chrissy Etienne '08, commented, "If you ask me if I am a lesbian or not, I would respond that it depends on the second." Etienne, like many, explained that one does not always only like women or men - it depends on many factors.However, popular culture has accepted and embraced what Graf called "hetero-normed homosexuals." He remembered that there was a gay couple pictured on the cover of a magazine.Who were they? "Two affluent white men and their adopted children," said Graf. "How hetero-normal can you get? Do I have to come out twice - once to say that I am gay and once to say that I do not want to get married?"Assistant Director of Admissions Shawn Rae Passalacqua explained that once homosexuality was accepted, it became "normal" and the activism died down. "There is no activism anymore because the 'image' is comfortable," he said.Queer theory begs individuals to make themselves uncomfortable, to break down barriers and classifications, to step outside of themselves and question the archaeology of everything they know."All of this comfort here is to stabilize the issues," said Essig. "We need it to be fluid. We need to keep moving."
(04/10/08 12:00am)
Author: Rodrigo Seira This past month was not an easy one for politicians. On March 10, The New York Times broke the story that linked New York Governor Eliot Spitzer to a prostitution ring, forcing him to resign only a few days later. On March 24, there came a second sex scandal as Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice after his denial of an extramarital affair. The three remaining presidential candidates also had some bruising moments during March as McCain misspoke in Iraq, Obama faced some tough questions about his pastor and CBS called out Clinton for her fake Bosnia story. Well, my mom always told me to learn from my mistakes but this March I think we should all learn from theirs. The Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, was the first of the candidates to stumble during his much-publicized Iraq trip. During a trip intended to highlight his foreign policy expertise, McCain repeatedly misidentified some of the key players in the Iraq war. It wasn't until Senator Joseph Lieberman whispered in his ear during a live statement that McCain corrected himself. While this story was largely overshadowed by other scandals, it does raise some questions. McCain's slip was surely not due to inexperience - so what happened? Some might argue that it was just a simple, thoughtless, mistake, but could it be that he had a "senior moment?" McCain is quick to remind the voters of his years of experience, but those years also add up to an age of 71. If elected, he would be the oldest president to ever take office, and mistakes like this makes me a little worried of what that age might imply. The Democratic frontrunner, Barack Obama, had perhaps the worst month of his campaign. "Inflammatory" speeches given by Obama's former pastor became public and forced Obama to answer tough questions about their relationship. In an attempt to publicly distance himself, and in order to bring closure to the matter, Obama gave his now-famous race speech. While the speech had overall positive reviews - and almost four million YouTube views - Obama's troubles were not over. His "typical white woman" remark sparked further controversy and divisiveness for a candidate that preaches unity. However, the latest - and possibly greatest - misspeak of the month was provided to us courtesy of Hillary Clinton. In several speeches and interviews this past month, Clinton repeatedly told the story of her visit to Bosnia as First Lady. She had claimed that while arriving at the airport, she was forced to run for cover under the threat of sniper fire, a story that didn't seem to check out. CBS was quick to rebroadcast their old coverage of the visit that shows a young, smiley Clinton posing for pictures and talking to a little girl on the tarmac. They couldn't even resist adding Clinton's obviously false description of the events on the bottom corner. After initially defending her position Senator Clinton gave up and told voters that she "misspoke" blaming it on sleep deprivation and tiredness. So what did we learn from their mistakes? From Spitzer and Kilpatrick, the lessons should be pretty obvious - no hookers, no affairs and if you happen to get caught, please don't make your wife stand next to you at the press conference. As for the candidates, the lessons might me more valuable. McCain is supposed to be the war veteran that is going navigate our way through this foreign policy mess. But is he too old? Obama markets himself as a new type of politician - one that supersedes divides and does not partake in the old style of politics. But if these last weeks have taught us anything is that at his core he is still well … a politician and susceptible to the same divisive influences. As for Clinton, her campaign has been built around the claim that she has the vast experience needed to lead this country. The Bosnia stumble is simply the latest development in a series of blows suggesting that she might not be that experienced. These misspeaks seem to hurt every candidates' strength, a combination that has proven to be deadly. The question now becomes who can do the best damage control?Rodrigo Seira '11 is from Boulder, Col.
(04/10/08 12:00am)
Author: Andrew Throdahl What could be duller than sexuality? Sure, it comes with its complications, like relationships, harassment and discrimination, but for most of the normal, well-educated students of Middlebury College, sex is tedious and predictable, nothing more than a lust that is occasionally entertained on weekends. In my mind, people who wear their sexuality on their sleeve are just bored by themselves, desperate for some type of minor thrill in their lives, some type of superficial scandal. They are lost in the maze of their own insecurities. Last week, upon receiving an e-mail invitation to a "very exclusive"... "secret Queer party," sent out by the masterminds of "Gaypril" to all the "LGBTQs" on campus, it seemed too adolescent to be taken seriously. Having some type of party defined by the orientation of the partygoers gives sex more weight than it deserves. It was therefore no party I would ever want to attend. The Middlebury Open Queer Alliance (MOQA) must be very thick to actually contrive segregation for its own trivial purposes. I can imagine the party-planners envisioning themselves uprooting flowers from an arid, heterosexual landscape. To add insult to injury, the theme of the party was "Gay Cliché," (or shall I say, in keeping with the portmanteau "Gaypril," "Clichay?"). The invite suggested those attending be "creative and original." I was always under the impression that the gay cliché was a taut heterosexual invention, but perhaps I've overlooked something. A friend of mine joked that dressing as a Catholic priest would, technically, have correctly fallen under "Gay Cliché," although surely what the invite meant was "dress like a promiscuous churl." If the theme of the party had not been gay sex, but the consequences of sex (love and marriage) regardless of inclination, the whole thing may have been suitable - although probably not much of a party by college standards. Some may scowl at my wagging finger and say, "Come now, Andrew, why does a silly thing like a party matter? Let your fellow queers party, and then you can all have a riotous rainbow orgy in front of the conservative suits." If changes are expected to take place in that aforementioned heterosexual landscape, then men and women, gay and straight, must coexist and work together, in work and in play. If MOQA - or gay activism in its entirety at that - intends to be constructive, "secret Queer parties" are disadvantageous. Perhaps a more powerful statement would be to retract my disapproval entirely, because, as I hope one day the people behind MOQA understand, subverting something only reaffirms it. How ironic for Gaypril.Andrew Throdahl is an Arts Editor from Allendale, N.J.
