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(04/18/07 12:00am)
Author: Kelly Janis Whether as part of a bagpipe-led procession in Shelburne, a bike ride in Brandon, a ski-down in Killington or a trek from a sugaring shack to the statehouse in Montpelier, Vermonters turned out en masse on Saturday to "Step It Up" and demand that Congress pledge to cut the nation's carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050.Residents of the town that spawned the national movement proved no exception in their zeal. An estimated 300 people gathered on the Middlebury Town Green to enjoy live music and drumming before assembling on the footbridge near the Marble Works complex for a group photograph.An hour later, the crowd poured into the Middlebury municipal gym for an environmental fair, kicked off with a performance by the Ripton-based folk trio Bread and Bones.As the twang of a guitar and string bass dissipated, the fair's coordinator, Stacey Lee-Dobek, took to the stage to welcome revelers to the event, which featured presenters from a wide array of local organizations committed to curbing climate change. "I want people to leave learning something," Lee-Dobek said. "And if you already know something, tell someone else."Lee-Dobek introduced Professor of English John Elder, widely respected in the community for his environmental activism. "In my brief remarks, what I want to focus on is the relationship between what we need to do and how we feel," said Elder. He proceeded to address three distinct sentiments. The first was that of grief and loss."We all know that climate change is already a very serious fact, and it is going to become worse even if we do everything right," Elder said. "The carbon is already in the atmosphere." Such a reality, however, is not cause for hopelessness - a notion underlying the second feeling Elder expressed. "This is a moment in which I think we need to feel powerful. Powerful for change," said Elder.As a consequence of this power, Elder said, we ought to conjure celebratory feelings, and orient ourselves toward "inclusive, pleasure-oriented environmentalism."Elder's commentary was proceeded by that of Ron Slabaugh, president of the Addison County Relocalization Network (ACoRN), which, according to brochures distributed at the event, aims to "revitalize our local economy to help our communities provide sustainable sources of food, water, energy, employment and other essential resources, and to promote conservation and a healthy environment." The organization, which was established in late 2005, meets monthly to discuss actions pertaining to such issues as local food, renewable energy and idling."We need to fashion a future in which we live with less energy," Slabaugh said. "It is time to move from despair into empowerment."The program continued with a performance by musical guest Catch Betty. "This first song is dedicated to the largest contributor to global warming in our area," she said. "It's called 'We Must Breathe Free.' International Paper in Ticonderoga, this one's for you." "We will not close our eyes to your deeds Ö the air and sky belong to us all," Catch Betty sang as fair-goers milled about with buttons declaring "I love wind power" pinned to their shirts, and giggling youngsters ran in circles with construction paper kites and streamers in tow. The gym's walls were festively adorned with colorful banners bearing such messages as "we are all a part of this chain" and "good planets are hard to find."A clothesline hung along another wall, brimming with eco-friendly suggestions attached to clothespins: "repair old things Ö give something away Ö donate old cell phones Ö ride the bus Ö walk Ö build bike paths Ö turn down water heater Ö replace lawn with native plants Ö collect rain water Ö no topping off gas tank."Against this backdrop, the crowd circulated to a selection of entertaining and informative stations. Among them was Vermont Soap Works' Sudzy Putty Fun Center, where, alongside a selection of the company's organic products, an extensive offering of soap scraps were available to be molded into a flurry of forms. "Instead of throwing them away, we've turned it into a way for kids to learn about scent, touch and shape," said Soap Works employee April Marble."We're in the market of helping the environment," Marble said. "We're very pleased to be here." Also represented was Rutland's Central Vermont Public Service Corporation (CVPS). "We're beginning a new renewable energy project here in Vermont," said Senior Energy Consultant David J. Dunn. "This fair seemed like the perfect place to highlight that, and support others who are fighting global warming."The project, known as "Cow Power," entails "a voluntary service rider that promotes development and reliance on renewable energy in Vermont." Its aim is to craft a market for energy generated from the burning of methane from cow manure. CVPS customers can opt to contribute an additional monthly fee to facilitate the company's quest to "deliver renewable energy one cow at a time."Idle-Free VT coordinator Wayne Michaud also turned out to promote his cause. The non-profit, grassroots campaign addresses unnecessary vehicle idling in the state and works toward the enactment of an idle-reduction law.Michaud was inspired to pursue the issue after witnessing trucks idling at the Chittenden Solid Waste District's drop-off center in Hinesburg. "They would go on for ten minutes," he said. "Finally, I decided I was going to call Chittenden Solid Waste."Subsequent to his phone call, the center posted anti-idling signs."They took my concern and did something about it," Michaud said.Idling at the center, and in other locations, did not cease altogether, however. "It's a long, drawn out process to make change," Michaud said. In spite of this, he is optimistic that his "business idle-free" initiative - one which he calls a "win-win" situation for businesses and the environment alike - is capable of garnering the support of lawmakers.This optimism seems to be contagious.Representatives of SolarFest 2007 - a two-day summer event in Tinmouth which brings together over 90 renewable energy and sustainable future exhibitors for a music, theater and dance festival dedicated to environmental activism - said they were motivated in their cause by the work of Bill McKibben. "We're very excited that he's doing that work and raising awareness," said Hugh Coyle '83.Middlebury's rally registered as an apt venue for similar work. "This event brings together a community of like-minded individuals," said SolarFest's Bud Yost.Coyle and Yost are unique in their attitude and approach. "People like to talk about the problem, and we like to provide the solution," Coyle said. "It's not just theory, it's not just ideas. We can do this."In an event report on Step It Up's website, Middlebury resident Greg Dennis concluded that the environmental fair and rally's "amazing turnout [is] proof that many, many Vermonters are committed to doing what it takes" to salvage the ailing environment.Much of this turnout may be attributed to the event's upbeat atmosphere. "It's not merely a guilt-ridden, hand-wringing, dramatic crisis," Coyle said. "There are exciting, joyful, good things out there to celebrate. We want to show the positive spirit of this movement."Elder echoed this sentiment in his remarks. He noted that, in some years, the shift in the sugaring season from March to February has caused tree-tapping to coincide with Mardi Gras celebrations, which he compared to Middlebury's environmental rally."Mardi Gras is a wonderful festival for us to think about at this time of loss, aspiration and potential," Elder said. "All over the world, in different religious traditions, there are ways to express what I think is essentially a sp
ring ritual of partying. Winter is almost over. Put on your dancing shoes, walk around the streets with your friends wearing bright clothes and then get serious about renewal: personal transformation, community celebration, and, finally, transformation of our whole system into something not only more sustainable, but more festive and fun."
(04/18/07 12:00am)
Author: Nathan Zucker "I'm here for a purpose. I do not feel like I'm passing through. I feel a measure of social responsibility in what I do. Writing is an ethical act," said Barry Lopez, ecological expert and author of the book "Arctic Dreams." Delivering the 2007 Scott A. Margolin '99 Lecture in Environmental Affairs, "The Wild Road to the Far North," Lopez addressed three important questions: "Who are you? Where did you come from? Why are you here?" The answers to these questions, he asserted, reveal much about our purpose on Earth, as well as offer a way to challenge ourselves to face the impending ecological problems. Margolin was a courageous student who strived not only to understand, but also to solve, one of mankind's most pressing problems, the ecological crisis. Although Margolin died tragically following his first year at Middlebury, he will be forever remembered by the series of lectures delivered in his name. This year's lecture was cosponsored by the Middlebury College Museum of Art (MCMA), Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, Environmental Studies Program and Environmental Affairs Office, and was part of the programming series "Reflections on a House of One Room," presented in conjunction with the exhibition "Robert Adams: Turning Back, A Photographic Journal of Re-exploration" on view at the MCMA through June 3.Each year, the Environmental Studies department funds a speaker who addresses various aspects of the tense interaction between humans and their environment. Lopez has dedicated much of his work to the study of how global climate change has affected the polar regions of the Earth. Although part of his lecture was devoted to this topic, the event was mainly a general discussion of how humans can improve their relationship with their planet. Lopez, who spoke for an hour in Mead Chapel on Thursday, was received warmly by a large audience, which was filled with students interested in environmental studies. In an interesting twist on his theme of environmentalism, Lopez emphasized how important his writing has been in helping him understand the intricacies of man's relationship with the greater community. For Lopez, writing is a way of exploring both moral and personal issues. Despite the rather general, philosophical nature of Lopez's talk, he did examine more closely several pertinent issues. One such issue was his criticism of the Bush administration's response to global warming, which he called "a repudiation of science." In a more broad censure of American politics, Lopez denounced both the Republicans and the Democrats for their failure to take control of climate change. According to Lopez, man's role in increasing the greenhouse effect has been known since the late 1970s, but no one has ever acted sufficiently on the issue. Lopez emphasized however, that it is not simply the government's problem, but one that must be solved by the general public as well.In a moment of optimism, he praised American citizens for becoming more knowledgeable and passionate about the issue."People know that more than a few dark horsemen are arrayed on the horizon. They don't trust authorities. Call your neighbor has replaced call your congressman," said Lopez. At the end of the lecture, the audience gathered in Mead Chapel gave Lopez a standing ovation. Several students asked Lopez questions, which ranged from scientific inquiries about population growth to personal questions about the role of reverence in one's life. Overall, there was a sense of satisfaction with Lopez's call to arms; those studying environmental studies were especially impressed. "I liked how he talked about community and the growing trend towards localization. That will be the solution," remarked Charlie Hofmann '10.Stone Conroy '10 added, "I wasn't sure what to expect from the lecture. He talked about issues above and beyond environmentalism. He seemed to be emphasizing that human beings have a capacity to do great things. He's asking why we aren't achieving that. Our generation's mission, and our personal mission, is to save the environment."
(04/18/07 12:00am)
Author: Derek Schlickeisen The largest global warming demonstration in American history took place on April 14, all thanks to an idea conceived by six recent graduates of the College and Scholar-in-Residence Bill McKibben. Step It Up 2007, a campaign of more than 1,400 coordinated demonstrations in all 50 states, called on Congress to pass comprehensive climate change legislation aimed at cutting carbon emissions by 80 percent before 2050.From an online launch in January with the modest goal of organizing 100 events, Step It Up 2007 rapidly grew into a national phenomenon that exceeded McKibben and his students' wildest dreams for the project."Step It Up was an incredible success that surpassed all of our expectations," wrote Jamie Henn '06.5, one of the project's earliest staff members, in an e-mail. "More than thirty senators and congressmen attended rallies. John Edwards attended one of our rallies and pledged 80 percent cuts by 2050. This is becoming a national priority."While the campaign enjoyed widespread support around the nation, organizers were pleased that the idea for the movement originated at the College."Step It Up took the incredible energy around climate change on the Middlebury campus and made it something national," wrote McKibben in an e-mail. "We were able to find people who cared passionately around the country and link them together in amazing ways that really demonstrated to Congress that this is not a second-tier issue for Americans. It's the beginning of a movement."While that movement may end, as McKibben and others hope, in congressional action to curb global warming, it certainly began in part at Middlebury."For anyone who thinks it is difficult to make change from the bubble of Vermont, Step It Up is a testament to the fact that big changes can ripple out from small places," said Jon Warnow '06.5, another one of the project's original staffers.Fellow project member May Boeve '06.5 agreed that Middlebury has a special place in the movement towards action on climate change, adding that the experience for her illustrates the opportunities available to students at the College."For any Middlebury student who has ever considered going out on a limb after graduating," Boeve said, "Step It Up showed me that not only is that possible, it's life changing."With sponsorship from major environmental groups like the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), Step It Up 2007 organized rallies at some of the nation's most environmentally symbolic landmarks. Particularly poignant demonstrations took place on top of the once-broken levees in New Orleans, as well as on top of the melting glaciers at Mt. Rainier and underwater near endangered Key West coral reefs."Overall, we have been stunned by the number of successful actions and the reports we have gotten from participants," wrote Henn. "It was a powerful day for many people."The New Orleans demonstration proved to be among the most powerful, with over 500 city residents and activists turning out in red T-shirts that read, "Save New Orleans, Stop Global Warming." Together with many environmental scholars, the event's organizers stressed that they saw a strong connection between climate change and Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged the city in 2005."Global warming is going to affect us and our children most," Tulane University student organizer Abbie Kamin reported on the Step It Up Web site. "Global warming is real, we have experienced it firsthand, and we can't afford to wait any longer to address it."More than one thousand marchers also converged on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to form what they called a "human postcard" delivering a simple message to Congress: "80% By 2050!"Though McKibben and his Middlebury graduates purposefully chose to organize local events around the country rather than a "march on Washington" reminiscent of the Civil Rights movement, their efforts have sparked comparisons to both the urgency and the moral imperative of that era.McKibben said "that to stop global warming, we need a cause with all the passion and moral urgency of the 1960s civil rights movement," read a story on Friday in The Philadelphia Enquirer. The Enquirer's home city played host to dozens of students dressed as endangered arctic wildlife who, in the shadow of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, witnessed a modified rendition of Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin" that lamented, "The Climate, It Is A-Changin."Will Congress respond to Step It Up's call to action? McKibben certainly hopes so, particularly in light of the Democrats' takeover of both chambers in last November's midterm elections."There's a possibility, especially if control of one or both of the houses of Congress changes hands, that we'll see some legislation finally," McKibben told The Campus just days before the election. "It's beyond belief that the United States hasn't passed a single real law to begin to deal with this problem."In the wake of Saturday's nationwide demonstrations, the banner that now headlines Step It Up's Web offered a pointed challenge: "Your move, Congress."
(04/18/07 12:00am)
Author: Peter Mueller The human being gets a tough rap. Turn on the news and you'll see all the bad things that humans do. Humans lie, steal, cheat and hurt each other. It seems that the human is always on trial. Most recently, the human being has come under scrutiny for changing the environment. However, changing the environment is something that humans do well. There was a day when a human emerged from the cave and made a shelter by moving the Earth with its hands. It was preferable to a cave - there was light and better circulation. Was the human the first animal to make a home? No, the bird had long had its nest, and the bees their hive.In time, the human being surpassed the others in its ability to change the environment. Slipshod shelters became farming villages, trading towns and booming industrial metropoli. The beaver's dam made way for the Hoover. This was progress. Growth continued for the same reason the human first left the cave. Humans are creatures of comfort.Today, Middlebury College has established itself as a leader in environmental responsibility. We have a wind turbine and a recycling facility. Students do their part by sacrificing two degrees of heat in their dorms. Yet, there is a striking dichotomy between environmental consciousness and comfort. Signs around campus tell me to unplug my computer when it is not in use, while the concrete behemoth, BiHall, serves as Addison County's second sun. We want to minimize environmental impact, but we also want to read in plush chairs beside Vermont's largest window. Sure, I'll put my computer in sleep mode, but I cannot honestly crawl behind my desk ten times a day to unplug it. I am a creature of comfort.Does my failure to do so make me a bad person and ensure the Apocalypse? While the answer to the former is open to interpretation, I certainly doubt the latter. Although I am concerned with man's growing relationship with the environment, I am, in a way, impressed. In another era, humans paid homage to idols to bring rain and a good harvest. They tried their best to influence the environment and could not. Modern human ability to change the environment is not so much contemptible as incredible. If only Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, could see the fruits of our Green Revolution. I'm sure she would be impressed. Today, the scientific community is confident that greenhouse gases are leading to an increase in overall Earth temperature. The implications of the rise in temperature are less certain; Ice caps melting, variable weather, and drought are just a few. If you occasionally open a newspaper you have probably heard it all. Again, humans love to report the bad news. Yet, on April 3, The New York Times inadvertently reported some good news in an article entitled, "Reports From Four Fronts in the War on Warming." The article addressed the geography of global warming, highlighting the places where change could hurt the most. Moreover, the piece reported on the human response to change.In Maasbommel, the Netherlands, construction has begun on a network of higher dykes and floating houses as part of what they call "climate-proofing." In Perth, Australia, the new Perth Seawater Desalinization Plant is producing over 38 million gallons of fresh water a day, according to The Times. Of course, without global support these technological responses are limited to places with the adequate means. I cite these examples to shed climate change in a glass half-full light. Although we may be the first species to directly change global climate, we are also the first species equipped to handle the change. Our history proves that this is something we do well. Let's not underestimate human ingenuity in the face of the Malthusian specter. To do so would mean a reduction in comfort that Middlebury's Nike-clad, Ipod-sporting environmentalist seems unwilling to make. I'm certainly not about to move back into the cave. Rather, I am optimistically standing by as the world's most creative species approaches a new challenge.Peter Mueller is a Junior Feb from Yarmouth, Maine
(04/11/07 12:00am)
Author: Brian Fung The inauguration of Bill McKibben's Step It Up environmental campaign will be marked this week by over 1,000 demonstrations across the country. Step It Up's primary goal - to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent nationwide by 2050 - has even received the support of U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). As exciting as McKibben's movement is, however, legislators should be wary of endorsing a proposal that is both overzealous and unrealistic.According to a report last November by the Energy Information Administration, total carbon emissions in the United States reached 6,008.6 million metric tons (MMT) in 2005. Step It Up's campaign would see emissions reduced by 4,806.88 MMT over a period of more than 40 years - but to succeed, the U.S. would be required to reduce its carbon output by an annual 111.78 MMT. And these numbers assume that emission levels will remain steady in coming years, which they most certainly will not.Since 1990, CO2 emissions in the U.S. have risen at an average rate of roughly 67.9 MMT per year, with little in the way to limit that output. Considering the task ahead, I fail to see how Step It Up expects to reach its objective without eventually moderating its position. To even approach the annual target of 111.78 MMT would require still greater, perhaps Herculean, efforts to offset the additional 67.9 MMT of carbon currently being added to the atmosphere every year.Then there are the politics of actually pushing the carbon bill through Congress. Suddenly slamming legislators with a number as high as 80 percent will likely turn away conservatives who believe in the primacy of other priorities. Meanwhile, critics of the bill will castigate its supporters for being alarmist and overly dramatic in their crusade to save the planet. "An 80-percent cut in carbon emissions by the year 2050," wrote incredulous LaRouche Youth Movement member David Dixon in a recent Executive Intelligence Review article. "Precisely the deindustrialization and genocidal scheme presented by Al Gore to a credulous U.S. Congress on March 21."This political brinkmanship will likely have the additional consequence of stifling into submission potential moderate backers - and does little to help the environment, anyway. While the urgency of global climate change cannot be adequately underscored, the reality is that, unpalatable as it may sound, McKibben and Step It Up may have to settle for compromise.Brian Fung is a Freshman News editor who hails from Rockville, Maryland.
(03/21/07 12:00am)
Author: Leslie Lim The Thomas J. Watson Foundation has named three Middlebury seniors among its 50 fellows for 2007. The fellowships awarded to Dalal Al-Abdulrazzak, Carolyn Barnwell and Sathyavani Sathisan provide $25,000 grants for a year of independent research and overseas exploration. Nationally, nearly 1,000 students from 50 participating colleges and universities entered the competition. The 179 finalists competed nationally for a Watson-sponsored year of travel and discovery. The recipients this year hail from 24 different states and seven countries, and will voyage to a combined 90 countries.The three fellowships received by the seniors ties the College with Williams College and the University of Puget Sound for the most awards received by an institution over the course of a year. This year also marks the 10th straight year that a student from the College has won a Watson fellowship, bringing the total number of College recipients to 25 since 1981."I have so much respect for the dedication and hard work that the other three nominees from Middlebury put into their Watson applications," said Sathisan. "All this, of course, would not have been possible without the rah-rah of Karen Guttentag [associate dean of student affairs and head of the selection process this year], who has been an amazing pillar of strength and support throughout the entire process." This year, the projects of the College's three Watson fellows span a range of subjects and destinations. Al-Abdulrazzak, a Kuwaiti national and environmental studies and biology major, will pursue her research on shark and stingray conservation efforts in the Bahamas, Fiji, New Zealand, Seychelles and South Africa. According to Al-Abdulrazzak, her decision to focus on the topic stems from a long-time interest in a group of organisms that has been globally misunderstood. "I was absolutely thrilled and honored," said Al-Abdulrazzak. "It still hasn't hit me yet, and I don't really think I'll fully understand the magnitude of what this means until I do my first dive, see my first shark or stingray, and realize that I get to do this everyday for an entire year." In high school, Al-Abdulrazzak participated in research at the Scientific Center of Kuwait, the largest aquarium in the Middle East. Al-Abdulrazzak said that the fellowship would afford her an even greater opportunity for exploration."It allows me to step outside the traditional role of a scientist and incorporate cultural perspectives into my research," she said. "I want to know how different societies design successful conservation efforts. The Watson Fellowship will give me the opportunity to satisfy that desire and make meaningful connections that will significantly further my lifelong passion for [these organisms]."Barnwell, an environmental studies and sociology and anthropology major from Concord, N.H., will focus on the effect of climate change. She will conduct her research by traveling throughout New Zealand, Tuvalu, Mauritius, the Chagos Archipelago, Micronesia and Palau. She hopes to explore the socio-environmental issue of who becomes responsible for creating a new kind of self-reliance when the resources that allow villagers to rely on themselves are no longer viable. Barnwell recalls the trepidation and excitement of the fellowship notification and all it held."We were expecting to receive the notification emails at 3 a.m.," she said. "Starting at 3:01 I kept refreshing my Midd e-mail inbox and nothing was there...every time I refreshed it my stomach flipped...until I realized that I should check my Gmail account. And there it was. I was so flabbergasted I could not stop laughing." Additionally, Barnwell noted the impossibilities of knowing what effects a Watson year would have on her. "I like not knowing how my project will affect my future or my career," she said. "The decisions I make and the people I meet along the way will absolutely give me a lot to reflect on. I am looking forward to creating a challenging and meaningful year for myself." Sathisan, a political science major from Singapore, will explore theater from a socio-political perspective by traveling to Malaysia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina. In her academic, extracurricular and personal opportunities, Sathisan has used theater to transcend the typical boundaries of political and ethnic conflict - a strategy that has proven more effective in many cases than discussion alone. Sathisan intends to explore further the interchange between arts and politics, and how theater can effect social changes on scales ranging from local to global. "I found it fascinating and revolutionary about theater, that in one evening you could assemble people from all walks of life, focus their attention on a political, social or spiritual theme and with creativity subsequently harness their energy to effect change," Sathisan said. "It is most often not merely the entertainment component but what happens post-performance that intrigues me the most."In preparation for a future involving international and corporate law, Sathisan credits the fellowship for expanding her personal and career-oriented horizons."My Watson Fellowship will enable me to employ theatre to understand the causes of societal schisms and the effective means to alleviate them," said Sathisan. "By gaining exposure to both the theoretical and culturally specific dimensions of conflict, I am confident that I will be able to play a significant role in bringing about greater peace both within and between people in areas of conflict and under-development."The seniors, once they set off for their studies abroad, will be forbidden from returning to the United States for the duration of their research - but if anything, the recipients reacted to that prospect with even more enthusiasm."I think it's absolutely fantastic," said Al-Abdulrazzak. "We, along with Karen Guttentag and the Watson Selection Committee have worked incredibly hard all year and it has clearly paid off. Each of our projects is unique and equally meaningful. I can't wait to begin."
(03/14/07 12:00am)
Author: Polly Johnson It was way back in 1784 when an ever-resourceful Benjamin Franklin, wanting to save on candles, first proposed the idea of Daylight Saving Time (DST). Yet DST was not even officially enacted until 1966, under the Uniform Time Act. Now, thanks to the passage of the more current Energy Policy Act of 2005, DST began last Sunday morning at 2 a.m. and will end at 2 a.m. on Nov. 4 - a full three weeks longer than last year.The initiative has a huge number of supporters who see the change as an easy way to conserve energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions. The hope is that the demand for electricity will fall during early evening peak hours, which will cut fuel consumption.But according to Campus Sustainability Coordinator Jack Byrne, the benefits go beyond energy savings, "From what I have read about studies that have been done where this has been tried before (particularly in Australia) the possible energy savings benefits are small - somewhere in the 0.5 to 1.0% range," said Byrne. However, there are other benefits, like lowering the rate of traffic accidents, more light to exercise after work and lowering the crime rate. So, it is worth doing, but not necessarily because it will make a significant difference in the consumption of energy."However, according to Sunday Night Group member Will Martin '07.5, while the policy may not create a huge environmental change, it will have a behavioral effect. "Regardless of any political commentary about the true motivation for such a change," Martin said, "the change does show hope for a more creative, pragmatic response to our energy situation. An effective response to climate change and energy dependency won't come from technology but from behavioral changes. This is one of them. We have the sun, let's use it."The initiative required the immediate changing of all College clock settings. Manager of Central Systems & Lab Support Rick James was in charge of making sure that the College's computer and technology systems transitioned smoothly. He alerted students via an all-student e-mail a couple of weeks ago, that "there would be extended downtime on Sunday, Feb. 18, from 7 a.m. to noon," during which the initial steps were taken to prepare for last Sunday morning. According to James, his team had to "patch every server, of which there are about 130, as well as the different operating systems - IBM, Linux, the different versions of Windows and Netware. We had to install patches and restart most servers." "Patching" refers to modifications of operating systems. The process, according to James, "took about seven or eight hours to get through," and included "four of us who worked that Sunday." Although it was a "tedious process," with the chance that something could go wrong, James and his team "got through it pretty well."So far, everything seems to have worked out okay. said James, "Everything seems to be going pretty well. A couple of issues here and there, but other than that, doors unlocked when they were supposed to, everyone seems to be getting to class on time and there have been no major issues."Although so far problem-free, James was quick to admit that he is "glad it's over!"
(03/14/07 12:00am)
Author: Ceara Danahar When asked about the best sugaring winter he's ever seen, Steve Fisher is quick to reply: 1980, hands down. That year, Fisher recalls, he boiled down enough sap to make 500 gallons of maple syrup. He accomplished that feat by using about 1,500 taps, one per tree. Now, a couple of decades later, the native Vermonter has decreased the number of taps he puts out and produces-on average, 150 to 200 gallons of syrup each year. Does he think the warmer winters Vermont has experienced in recent years have had an effect on syrup production? "They certainly have," Fisher replies without hesitation. Fellow sugarmaker and Professor of English John Elder echoes Fisher's sentiments. On sabbatical this year, Elder is studying food, conservation and climate change. He is writing "with a special emphasis on sugaring in Vermont.""Sugaring off"-as the pros call it-is often a family act. The Williams Farm of Middlebury, which sells its goods on Route 30, is a family-run business that began in 1976. Williams runs a slightly larger production than Fisher, who works as a stonemason full-time and calls syrup-making "mostly hobby, part business." However, the affable 50 year-old has been tapping maple trees since childhood and his family has been involved in the practice for nearly a century now. The sugar house that he operates out of was built during the late 1800s. His grandfather purchased it in 1945. It is located in nearby Grafton, where he lives with his wife Gail Ann. Fisher sells his products under the label "Wright Orchard Sugar House," and describes his setup as a "mid-size" production. He explains that "a lot of backyard makers put in 10 to 30 taps," while "some of the bigger outfits have 10,000 or more," or even up to 50,000. In the past few years, he has put out 600 to 800, while the Williams family has a few thousand taps.In the case of quantities of syrup that number in the hundreds of gallons and are obtained through thousands of taps, to create a single gallon of maple syrup, it is necessary to boil down approximately 40 gallons of sap. Fisher points out that "generally, if you can get a quart of syrup for ever tap you have, you've done good." In 1980, he and his family far exceeded that. Their remarkable outcome that winter prompted a televised tour of his sugar house on Good Morning America with Julia Child. The most ideal conditions for tapping trees depend on the levels of frost, snowfall, temperature and buds on the maple trees, which means that warmer winters have serious consequences for syrup producers. The goal, Fisher said, is to have deep frost coupled with temperatures around 40 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 20 degrees Fahrenheit at night. It is imperative that the trees do not bud during sugaring-once they begin to grow buds, the sap starts running freely and can freeze by nightfall. Winters with abnormally warm temperatures can cause this sort of unfavorable early budding. Deep frost is desirable in its ability to prevent this occurrence. Typically, Elder says, these conditions occur "in March and April, with many sugarmakers in Vermont traditionally tapping the day after Town Meeting." However, Elder points out that "the transitions from winter to spring become even more erratic and unpredictable than usual" as a result of global warming. The dilemma of early budding, Elder said, involves the germination of maple seeds, which occurs at 34 degrees Fahrenheit. In an early thaw, these seeds can sprout. They will subsequently freeze and die when cold temperatures return, "thus endangering the regeneration of the forest," Elder said.Again in 1980, "the best year we ever made syrup," Fisher described the winter as having been very cold, totally lacking snow and having frost that extended four feet into the ground. This created a prolonged season where "the sap ran so pure and so fast, we made syrup that looked like water." Besides early budding, another result of unnaturally warm winter weather is the possibility of disease entering the maple trees. Insects that are generally killed off by cold temperatures may survive. Some, like pear thrips, can eat away at a tree's buds, thereby affecting its foliage. Others can enter the tree through the holes left by the syrup taps. Fisher said that he has already noticed changes in the trees. He warned, "I think a lot of diseases would come into play the warmer it gets."Lucille Williams of the Williams Farm said she was most concerned with the present. Fisher offered hopeful predictions for this sugaring season, noting February's frigid temperatures and their resulting frost. When asked about her expectations, Williams cautioned, "You can't tell until the season's over."Williams asserted that her family's previous year of sugaring off "wasn't a great year. It was an average year." When asked about the future of her livelihood, she, however, responded with deference, "We just take it as it comes. Mother Nature determines what we do."It is with an uncertainty about the future of his craft that Fisher spoke of the challenges which face today's maple syrup industry. "I read some articles saying that in 50 years, the maple trees will be gone," he said. "It's kind of a sad thing to think. I see it already." Elder spoke with equal anxiety. "Some experts estimate that unless we reverse the current climate trends, maples could largely die out in Vermont by 2050," she said. "As a person for whom sugaring is an important way to be rooted in this region, I find such a prospect devastating."However, Elder was adamant about the potential for change. "Global climate change will not be reversed," said Elder. "But it can be significantly mitigated with concerted action on a national and international scale. We have inspiring leadership in our community from people like Bill McKibben, John Isham and members of the Sunday Night Group. It's time for sugarmakers, Middlebury students and others who love this landscape to be creative and determined activists, too."
(03/07/07 12:00am)
Author: Aylie Baker The Civil Rights movement of the 1960's dealt with issues of black and white. If you ask Van Jones, eco-visionary and human rights attorney, today that movement could be fought for green. "We all agree that we don't have any throwaway resources, species, energy sources," said Jones in his keynote address of last week's "Energy Symposium." But "we also don't have any throwaway neighborhoods or throwaway children. It's all precious.""Who are you going to take with you, who are you going to leave behind?" Jones asked of a full Dana Auditorium. "When the fires hit California this coming summer because of global warming, what's going to happen to the poor people living there? These are the questions we should be asking ourselves right now." Just over a week after his address, Jones' message continues to resonate on campus. Students from groups across campus are rallying in an effort to not only answer Jones' questions but also to see their own solutions put into action. "I am here because I am jealous, envious, bitter - the opportunity that you have, standing on the front end of this century, is unbelievable," opened Jones in his address, "The New Dream: Updating Martin Luther King's Vision to Meet Today's Ecological and Social Challenges." In his speech, Jones described how he looks to inject today's growing climate change movement with a necessary social dimension.If everything is precious, where does one begin a social movement? Jones described the inherent difficulties that arise in tackling social and environmental problems. "If you look at it as issue, issue, issue, you'll get confused," he insisted. "There's no issues. There's one solution. It's a Green economy, strong enough to lift people out of poverty."So what's a Green economy? Environmentalism is crossing into a new era. It's moved beyond conservationism and regulation. Today, we're investing in solutions."We're investing in the technology of the future," as Jones puts it.Leading the audience through his slides, Jones paused on a seemingly odd montage of pictures. "This is Cameron Diaz getting into a Prius. This is George Clooney getting into an electric car," he said, inviting laughter in the audience. "Big, big people are jumping on your bandwagon.""Your values are already winning," Jones insisted. "The green wave is not a marginal fringe, countercultural thing anymore, it is a huge massive intervention for the U.S. economy, growing on a vertical." Given current trends, he predicts that next year investments in Clean Technology will outstrip those of Internet Technology. This is where the social element comes into play. Given the exponential nature of investment in today's Clean Technology, thousands of new jobs will soon spring up. "Somebody's got to put up those solar panels," he explained, "they're on their way to being an electrical engineer - It's a green pathway out of poverty."Jones pointed to Oakland, California as an area in which the Green economy and its social applications are slowly being realized. In Oakland, he explained, "we're fighting for the Green economy because we're fighting for our lives." The city was the murder capital of the country last year. "We've got kids who've gone to more funerals than fair grounds in junior high school."Too often Jones said he has seen Oakland youth fall into drug dealing and crime. "We want you [kids] to be in the middle, not the fringe, not the afterthought, the center of an agenda that says we want you to be apart of saving the world." Oakland is on its way to achieving Jones' dream. It "became the first city in the country that said we are going to be independent of oil dependence by 2020."Here at Middlebury, a united force is already burgeoning. Members from African American Alliance, Women of Color, Distinguished Men of Color, Incarceration in Question, Roosevelt Institution, Sunday Night Group and Step it up 2007 have discussed group integration on a project as well as a series of initiatives drawing from Jones' ideas. Such inter-group integration is something that students and administration alike have been long been pushing for. "People talk about it," says Dolginow '09, leading organizer of the Energy Symposium. "But it has not yet been realized." A meeting to be scheduled this coming Tuesday will focus on how Middlebury, both the College and the larger community, "can incorporate Van's message of green collar jobs," according to Dolginow. Indeed, group collaboration will center around Jones' main premise of "uniting the country to fight global warming while lifting people out of poverty into our system of thinking and acting."Jones believes there is no doubt that the climate change movement is in full swing. It is whether we can fuse the climate movement with a greater social movement as exemplified through such group collaboration that remains in question. "It's up to us," says Jones. As the College positions itself at the forefront of environmental initiatives, Jones proposes Middlebury will be well rewarded, saying, "You're going to see presidential candidates mouthing your slogans, you're going to see the biggest, most powerful forces in this country, in the world marching, running to keep up with you."
(02/21/07 12:00am)
Author: Max Nardini My experiences last year as Sophomore Senator taught me that we, the Middlebury Community, do not have a common conception of what the Student Government Association (SGA) is, what it does or what it can do. Many define SGA as the voice of the student body. I agree. But what does "the voice of the student body" really mean? Allow me to share my thoughts concerning the function and purpose of student government. The structure of SGA is simple. There are two bodies: the Presidential Cabinet and the Senate. The Cabinet is composed of Committee heads, which are appointed by the President, while the Senate is made up of elected student representatives from the classes and commons. As part of its responsibilities, the Senate debates and votes on resolutions.Senate resolutions are best described as "resolutions of sentiment." They are meant to demonstrate student support of a particular plan or policy change to the administration. On certain issues, the administration and the SGA see eye to eye. SGA-sponsored buses to New York City and Boston for breaks serve as a fine example of such a resolution. In this case, student-representatives and administrators recognized a student need and worked together to implement the now very successful service. Other issues are more complicated. Middlebury administrators, like the managers of any good business, must perpetually balance college services with cost. Therefore, when a new initiative is proposed, the administration looks to see not simply if it has student support, but how high the initiative ranks on the list of student priorities. Take the Sunday Night Group Initiative "Middshift," aimed at making Middlebury carbon neutral, for example. Given the general scientific consensus on the pernicious effects of climate change, this initiative seems a worthwhile pursuit. However, the administration will want to judge student commitment to this plan. How high of a priority is campus-wide carbon neutrality for students? What about in relation to other college benefits such as funding for student clubs, the spring concert or financial aid? This is not to say that Middlebury could not have a carbon neutral campus, a spring concert and provide financial aid to students, but simply that the college does not have unlimited financial resources and must balance its expenditures.This is why ubiquitous and often irksome surveys are necessary. In and of themselves Senate resolutions, which are voted on by 17 total representatives, are usually not enough to demonstrate widespread student support. Surveys are the most comprehensive method for the SGA and the administration to weigh student opinion.So then, what is the value of Student Government? SGA is the potential bridge between the administration and the students. A position in SGA provides easier access to the administration, and thus the opportunity to voice student proposals and opinions, as revealed in surveys. However, members of the SGA must possess the conviction to meet with administrators - and to speak up. The best criteria by which to judge the senatorial candidates is whether you truly believe they are willing to put in substantial work outside the required weekly hour-long meeting, because that is what it takes to get anything done. As both a member of the Middlebury community and candidate for Wonnacott Senator, I am in favor of several initiatives. I am in favor of making our campus carbon neutral. I am in favor of continuing to raise awareness and support for the victims of genocide in the Sudan. I am in favor of installing a modest but effective number of "blue lights" with security call boxes around the campus. I am in favor of eliminating all harmful hydrogenated oil (transfats) from the dining halls. Finally, I am dedicated to facilitating open and informed debate on issues important to our community. Regardless of the outcome of the election, I will continue to work toward these goals because I genuinely believe that they are important. However, as last year's senatorial experience taught me, no one can honestly pledge to complete a laundry list of initiatives over the course of a year. Change takes time. Being elected Wonnacott Senator would make it easier to work toward realizing these goals. Still, win or lose, I cannot promise to achieve the above initiatives by the end of the academic year.What I can unequivocally promise is that I will fight to ensure that student opinion has a role in the policy making of Middlebury College. I promise to work to rally student support on important issues, and do my very best to ensure that the administration has a clear understanding of student priorities. Most importantly, I promise to always be open to the thoughts, comments and concerns of all members of our fine Community. Together we have the power to ensure that our short time at this incredible institution is one of which we can all truly be proud.Max Nardini is a Junior Political Science major from New York City. He is currently running for Wonacott commons Senator.
(01/24/07 12:00am)
Author: Tom Brant On Sunday afternoon, a peculiar chant echoed throughout McCardell Bicentennial Hall. "It's too hot in here! Carbon action, lets get some satisfaction!" The chant was the closing flourish of the Carbon Neutrality Summit, which ended Sunday, leaving its excited participants informed about the problems of global climate change. The three-day summit, which attracted 80 student representatives from nearly 15 schools across the Northeast, was sponsored and organized by students in the college's Sunday Night Group (SNG). Events included panel discussions with climate change experts, small group sessions and the first steps toward drafting a "Climate Neutrality Statement." "This was a historic event," said Jamie Henn '07, who helped organize the summit. "It shows that there's a growing movement on college campuses to do something about climate change, and I'm glad we were able to bring together so many people who are really wanting to make a difference."On Saturday morning, the summit participants met with Dan Worth, from the National Environmental Law Society, and Mark Orlowsky, from the Sustainable Endowments Institute in an informal panel discussion."The goal of the talks was to give people resources," Henn explained. "We didn't want to have [the speakers] lecture." The panel discussions with Worth, Orlowsky and other activists and experts gave participants advice on everything from reducing one's carbon footprint to investing in corporations that are socially and environmentally responsible.A second panel discussion included representatives from Native Energy, which invests in alternative energy sources, and Bright Planet. A Middlebury start-up, Bright Planet plans to introduce a bank rewards program that will work much the same way an airline credit card does - except instead of the user getting airline miles, the bank will invest a small amount of every purchase in clean-energy projects. On Saturday afternoon, students met in smaller groups to discuss specific efforts to combat carbon emissions and global warming. Andrew Karp, a first-year at Bates College, attended a group that discussed green building techniques, including the widely accepted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system used by the United States Green Building council. "It's interesting how important the green building movement is," said Karp. "One example is the attention that these buildings get just because they have a plaque on them saying that they are built to LEED standards. I've heard stories of students visiting colleges who see the plaque on a building, and are impressed so much that they decide to apply." Hannah McHardy, a first-year student at tiny Sterling College in Craftsbury, Vt., attended a discussion on education."People from all walks of life are agreeing that [climate change] is a definitive issue," McHardy said. "In the education group, we talked about ways to implement climate issues into the classroom." The climate summit brought together students who were all united in their efforts to promote climate change awareness, but who came from different colleges with different levels of environmental activism. This collaborative effort was one of the most beneficial aspects of the summit, said SNG member Sierra Murdoch '09. To help students from colleges with less environmental activism, the summit included a one-hour session on Saturday evening that provided tips and advice on how to gain student support on college campuses. On Sunday, the group made the first steps toward larger goals. It discussed ways to make the carbon neutrality issue important not only to college students, but to society in general. It also drafted a rough statement taking a stance on the climate neutrality issue, which SNG hopes to use as a way to expand the movement. Asked what she considered the most beneficial part of the weekend, Gaia Oyarzun, a first-year at Smith College, said, "It made me see how we can actually come together and change things. There are honestly a lot of people who I met that are committed to raising awareness of the climate change problem."Begun by student activists in January 2005, SNG promotes the awareness of environmental issues both on campus and in the Middlebury community. This weekend's summit was part of the group's current effort to make the College carbon neutral - essentially reducing the total amount of harmful carbon emissions to zero.
(01/10/07 12:00am)
Author: Andrea Glaessner With spectacular views and miles of forest right in their backyard, residents of the quaint Ripton community seem to have little to grumble about. But in their peaceful mountain oasis, the 566 residents struggle to stay connected with the rest of the world. Sure, there are televisions and telephones, and the booming metropolis of Middlebury is just a short car ride away, but imagine living in a town where surfing the web is like wading through quicksand.Three years ago, Ripton residents seeking broadband services turned to large service providers like Verizon. Rick Klein, an interim board member of RBC, remembers contacting Verizon requesting broadband service, only to hear two months later that the company was "not able to provide service to Ripton yet." Eventually, Klein discovered that Verizon was uninterested in investing time and expense to providing broadband to such a small customer base in Ripton.Instead of sitting around complaining about Verizon, Ripton residents made the classic Vermont move: they took matters into their own hands and formed a co-op: the Ripton Broadband Co-op (RBC). A co-op has the benefit of making group decisions about how to keep the services serving the community equitably and efficiently. Klein said, "We set the prices so we're not subject to the winds of the large service providers [like Verizon]."According to Associate Professor of Political Science Matt Dickinson, who is a resident of Ripton, "The co-op only charges what's necessary to keep [the broadband services] up and running." But the best thing for Dickinson is saying goodbye to those days of thumb twiddling in front of the computer screen waiting for an hour-long download to wrap up. According to Dickinson, "I can't tell you how wonderful it is to download things now. I used to joke about Ripton with my students, but it's like we're in the 21st century now." He may have to find some new jokes about living in an isolated, rural Vermont town, but that is a small price to pay for Dickinson and his family to be able to use their individual computers simultaneously and navigate the web without waiting around. In fact, Dickinson is aware of families who either moved out of Ripton or decided against moving there simply because of the lack of broadband Internet availability.Not only is broadband convenient, it may change a few lives. According to Paonia N'Shaiha, Chief Technology Officer of North Branch Networks (NBN), 22 percent of Ripton residents are unemployed during the winter months. N'Shaiha hopes that the new broadband technology will empower people in terms of employment. Having broadband at home means some residents can work from home. In addition, Ripton's local schools now have RBC broadband Internet and plans are in the works for an open computer lab during certain evenings for community members to take advantage of fast Internet if they do not personally own a computer. N'Shaiha would love to make the Internet accessible to everyone who wants it. "Unfortunately," N'Shaiha said, "I have to live in the real world and this stuff is extremely expensive to put together without enormous financial support." In regards to financial support, the state government has been supportive of RBC. According to Klein, "It's been helpful to have an encouraging climate. The state has definitely been behind us on this project."Dickinson agrees that other institutions have been extremely instrumental in implementing RBC. According to Dickinson, "We would not have broadband service here without the cooperation of Middlebury College, which allowed the Ripton Cooperative to place a transmitting tower on their buildings. Second, a huge contributing factor was applying for and getting a grant from the Vermont broadband council, roughly $25,000 if I remember correctly, to purchase equipment, in addition to two loans."The victory of getting broadband in Ripton is even sweeter because of complicated logistics and manual labor involved in its implementation. The idea was conceived in 2003 and it has taken three years to get the system up and running. N'Shaiha, a computer buff who describes herself as someone who "doesn't deal with any unit of time other than a second," designed the network from the ground up.N'Shaiha's plan starts with a fiber-optic cable fed to downtown Middlebury that is then converted to a wireless signal. The signal is broadcast to an antenna on the top of Bicentennial Hall before being redirected to an antenna attached to a wind tower in Cornwall. After reaching the Cornwall wind tower, the signal is redirected again to another wind tower antenna in Ripton and finally is beamed out to Ripton customers. The complicated plan just scratches the surfaces of the tremendous effort put into carrying out the entire project. According to Dickinson, "one of the drawbacks of a co-op is that everyone has to pull their own weight, including you." The RBC planners linked up with a Ripton resident who wanted a wind tower to power his home. NBN was responsible for putting up the tower, provided they could attach an antenna for wireless service to the tower. But it was up to the local Riptonites to "get out there on some blustery day to put the tower up," said Dickinson. The wind tower was not only difficult and expensive to construct, but its creation was met with some opposition from town residents who feared that their mountain vista would be obstructed by a massive wind tower in plain sight. Eventually, after a trial balloon was placed on the site of the future wind tower, residents came to a consensus and agreed to build the wind tower.The problem of where to place antennas is a problem with which NBN will continue to deal as it takes the Ripton model and brings it to other communities interested in offering broadband in their own small towns. According to N'Shaiha, "We really don't want this to look like New Jersey with a cell phone tower every half mile. So we're trying to find ways to do this creatively and sustainably." One of N'Shaiha's current projects is figuring out how to attach antennas to trees without causing damage to the trees. N'Shaiha is also experimenting with attaching antennas to existing structures such as grain silos and houses in good locations that can sustain a substantial amount of bandwidth, which can then be redistributed to neighbors.In the future, RBC will continue to work on extending coverage to the entire community. NBN is looking to use Ripton as a model for other communities, inspiring them to form their own co-op, or to invest in a commercial package provided by NBN. Governor Jim Douglas also encourages the implementation of broadband access for the entire state. In his inaugural speech, Douglas said, "I propose that by 2010, Vermont be the nation's first true "e-state" - the first state to provide universal cellular and broadband coverage everywhere and anywhere within its borders. When you turn on your laptop, you're connected. When you hit the send button on your cell phone, the call goes through. There would be no more endless downloads, no more hopeless hellos, and no more 'can you hear me now'." With Ripton paving the way, the new e-Vermont is on the horizon. Now that residents have the option to replace their slow dial-up with broadband for as low as $27.99 per month, Riptonites can surf happy. Dickinson has been surfing broadband in his home for a month now and finds the service efficient and reliable. In the future, Klein said residents hope to see RBC expand to provide voice over internet protocol. According to Klein, "I'd like to use RBC for all my communication needs and bypass Verizon entirely." Having jumped the huge hurdle of broadband implementation in a town of less than 200 households, Ripton residents have shown the power of cooperation and the future of communication technology in rural towns is looking bright.
(01/10/07 12:00am)
Author: Joseph Bergan Today, a new tradition is born. Each week, The Campus will attempt to paint a more intimate picture of our student body by featuring a short interview with a student selected at random. In our inaugural edition, Will Drucker responds.childhood ambition... To visit every square inch of land on the earth, literally. I soon realized this would take the better part of multiple lifetimes, good shoes and a steady cash flow.greatest fear... The human population and climate change.inspiration... Ernest Shackleton.fondest memory...Getting my first guitar.retreat... Canoeing in Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada.soundtrack... Radiohead's "Amnesiac" followed closely by the Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense."last purchase... A $30 couch for my room which fits so perfectly it's almost unsettlingindulgence... Coffee, hummus and climbing gearwildest dream... To be able to travel every square inch of the planet, still.≠
(01/10/07 12:00am)
Author: Ben Salkowe Former President Bill Clinton will deliver Middlebury's 2007 commencement address on May 27, marking the first address by a modern president to the College. The 42nd President of the United States will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the commencement and address an expected crowd of more than 5,000."It is a great honor to have President Clinton as the Middlebury College commencement speaker," said President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz in an official statement released to The Campus. "His dedication to a career in public service and the philanthropic work he has done since leaving public office are an inspiration to college students seeking ways to change and improve both our country and our world."Clinton will be joined by six other honorary degree recipients - Robert De Cormier, Janet Tiebout Hanson, James Gustave Speth, Marc A. and Dana Lim vanderHeyden and Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi. College officials are expected to formally announce Clinton's commitment, and the other honorary degree recipients, later this afternoon.The idea of bringing Clinton to campus was first proposed by the College's Board of Trustees, who secured the commitment with some assistance from a Middlebury alum who had worked for the former President.Since leaving the Oval Office, Clinton has worked for a range of major national and international causes through the William J. Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS initiatives and prominent collaborations with former President George H.W. Bush to raise funds for victims of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Clinton has also remained in the media spotlight as the nation's potential first First Man, should his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), enter the 2008 presidential contest. Sen. Hillary Clinton has not committed to attending the commencement with her husband. Before first running for the presidency, Bill Clinton served as the governor of Arkansas, chairman of the National Governors' Association and had been an attorney general of Arkansas. Elected president in 1992, and again in 1996, Clinton was the first Democratic president in six decades to win a second term in office. His administrations' accomplishments included a significant economic expansion, major welfare reform, budget surpluses, lower levels of unemployment, poverty and crime and high home ownership and college enrollment rates. While political and personal scandals clouded his later presidency, Clinton largely regained popularity after leaving office. The William J. Clinton Foundation has reduced the cost of antiretroviral drugs for over 500,000 people and works in 25 countries to provide medical services and treatment to adults and children living with HIV/AIDS. In addition, the Foundation's initiatives focus on international development, climate change, the childhood obesity epidemic in America and economic empowerment. Clinton graduated from Georgetown University and in 1968 won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University. He received a law degree from Yale University in 1973, and shortly thereafter entered politics in Arkansas. In addition to Clinton, six other individuals, all with ties to the College or local community, will be awarded honorary degrees.Robert De Cormier, founder and director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus, will receive an honorary Doctor of Arts degree. De Cormier graduated from the Juilliard School of Music and was the former music director of the New York Choral Society. De Cormier has conducted and composed for engagements ranging from Broadway to opera to television. Janet Tiebout Hanson, founder and chairman of $2 billion Milestone Capital Management, and a managing director at Lehman Brothers, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Hanson's Milestone Capital Management is the only women-owned institutional money market fund management company in the U.S. Hanson is also the founder of 85 Broads, an internet-based global network of former and current Goldman Sachs women professionals. Hanson's sister, Mary E. Tiebout, is a 1975 Middlebury graduate.James Gustave Speth, Dean and Sara Shallenberger Brown Professor in the Practice of Environmental Policy at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree. Speth was the administrator of the United Nations Development Program, the founder and president of World Resources Institute and a co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He is the father of Catherine McCullough, a member of the Middlebury College class of 1991.Marc A. vanderHeyden, the president of Saint Michael's College, and his wife, Dana Lim vanderHeyden, will receive an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. St. Michael's 15th president assumed the presidency in 1996 and announced last year that he would step down from the position in June of 2007. Dana vanderHeyden, who has served in various roles as a professor and academic administrator for almost three decades, is currently a member of the board of Vermont Public Radio, Burlington City Arts and the Region I Board of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi, a professor in the Baylor College of Medicine Departments of Pediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, and Neurology and Neuroscience, and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Center, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree. In 1999, Zoghbi discovered the gene mutation that causes the rare, disabling neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome. She is the mother of Roula Zoghbi, a member of the Middlebury College class of 2007.
(11/16/06 12:00am)
Author: Joseph Bergan Look around Middlebury's campus on a Friday night, and you will find a graveyard of old party locales. Fletcher House is quiet, only livened up from the little noise that spills over from the Mill. The mansion-like social houses of Ridgeline lie asleep like slumbering giants. Even on Rte. 30, Mumford and Meeker houses, filled with white paper, thumbtacks, ink cartridges and calendars, sleep in the chilly Vermont night.Middlebury was not always this way. There was once a time when the façades of Mumford and Meeker were adorned with Greek letters and their rooms were unfit for living. This was a time when fraternities ruled Middlebury. The Campus recently sat down with Dean of Advising Karl Lindholm '67 to try and understand what life was like in this now distant era."In 1967, we had 11 fraternities," he said, "and by responsible estimates I would say 90-95% of my graduating class was in a fraternity." Lindholm describes the frat scene at Middlebury during the 1960s as one of inclusion. "My roommate was not in the same frat, and we used to eat at each others' [fraternities]," he said. The pervasiveness of frat culture in the 1940s through the 1960s was quite different from the social scene today. Lindholm describes the frats as a simple way of life. "I went home after my sophomore year and told my father I had joined a fraternity. He asked me 'Why?' and I could not answer that question - it was just the culture," said Lindholm. About the sixties, he said,"All the freshmen lived in dorms and ate in Proctor," while all the members of the fraternities ate in their respective cafeterias. "There were very few constraints on underage drinking," he added. He describes the mood on the weekends where the houses on Rte. 30 would "roll back the furniture and have a party." Students would then hop from house to house looking for the best party. Some parties will forever live on in the College's memory. The annual demolition derby thrown by Sig Ep, (that was housed in present-day Meeker house) was one of these events. The demolition derby was not held in a vacant field but rather in a more central location - the Sig Ep property itself. "They would buy old cars, and then smash them up in their front yard," Lindholm recalls. Another wild adventure turned out to be the demise of SLUG, once housed at Fletcher House. In the early 1980s, the house members rented a bus and threw a party at Middlebury College's Breadloaf campus. In the aftermath, "the place was completely covered in cocaine powder," said Lindholm. The fraternity culture underwent many changes. "If you look at the yearbook in 1967, we're a bunch of straight-edge guys, and then you look at 1969 and everyone's got the long hair," said Lindholm. "It all had to do with Vietnam." An unpopular war, the women's movement and a lowered drinking age all caused students to migrate elsewhere for parties. By the time the 1980s rolled around, student participation in frat life had fallen to a mere 15 percent. The fraternity climate turned nasty. In one of the more colorful pranks in the school's history, two social houses on Rte. 30, displeased with the administration, created snow sculptures late one Saturday night. The sculptures were large and gave all church-going Vermonters a veritable sex-ed lesson. "I had to hire earthmovers to come in and knock those down," Lindholm said, "They were intricately constructed."In the early 1980s the Board of Trustees toured the remaining six fraternities on campus. An appraisal of damage found that four of the six houses required more money to repair them then they were worth. Fraternities did not hang on long after that and the College adopted the current co-ed social house structure which some would argue are now headed for the same fate as that of fraternities.
(11/16/06 12:00am)
Author: Kelly Janis The Social Life Task Force committee met last week to discuss a potential campus-wide survey intended to solicit ideas and input from students with reference to relevant social issues. The committee hopes to spark dialogue about pertinent issues regarding Middlebury's social climate."The committee is working to write a report which evaluates social life on campus and makes specific recommendations to the President and Board of Trustees," explained the Task Force's student head, Sam Temes '07. "As of now, we are planning on presenting our report to them in February. The committee's report is the first stage in a more comprehensive initiative to improve Middlebury's social life."The distribution of an all-campus survey, Temes said, is aimed at amassing "supportive evidence" for recommendations which the Task Force intends to make. "We have also discussed having a forum during the first part of Winter Term to share some of the work we have done and collect more feedback," Temes added. "Much of the work we have done thus far has been based on brainstorming that took place last spring with a group of students selected by the administration."Among the challenges that the Task Force faces are perceptions from the College community of its inefficiency. "The committee has made and continues to make substantive progress," Temes insisted. "While our work may not be immediately visible to the student body, our task has been to evaluate and suggest change in the form of a formal report to be delivered to the Board of Trustees." Temes said that it is not the Task Force's obligation to "implement change, 'solve' problems or make ongoing recommendations." Instead, the group strives to represent student interests and voice student concerns.In the course of meetings this fall, the committee has elected to focus on three chief areas. The first concerns the regulations governing registered and catered on-campus parties. "We have discussed suggesting the use of the bracelet system at more events as opposed to beer gardens to facilitate more mixing between over and under-aged students," Temes said.The utilization of assorted social spaces is also a matter of debate. According to Temes, the committee has entertained the prospect of "suggesting to the board the creation of a new social space, strictly for student social use."Finally, the task force has weighed the streamlining of social programming. Perhaps, Temes said, it would be prudent to craft "a student position, separate from the Student Government Association or Middlebury College Activities Board, to help manage a campus-wide social schedule and coordinate more co-sponsored and larger events."Student opinion on the distribution of such a survey and the potential implementation of such policies was divided. Will Surrette '10 said he was not convinced of the effectiveness of the avenues being pursued. "Any organization dedicated to somehow bettering, improving or altering the social lives of students is pointless and this College is wasting money on it," he said. Other students, however, were more optimistic. "It's refreshing that the College is receptive to students' needs," Jenn Giammattei '10 said. "I think it's a worthwhile effort."
(11/09/06 12:00am)
Author: Kacie Sherman On the green across from downtown Middlebury's Alpine Shop, the Addison Peace Coalition convenes every Saturday morning by the large stone fountain.For thirty minutes each week, the non-exclusive group joins together to silently demonstrate against the war in Iraq. Every Saturday since the start of the Iraq War, community members have met at the same time and place, to express their disapproval of the United States' military presence in Iraq. Their demonstration style is influenced by Quaker philosophy: the participants silently bear signs with slogans opposing the war, hoping that their silence will promote quiet reflection and conscientiousness amongst those who see them and those who choose to participate. Winslow Colwell, a Ripton resident, was the organizer of the silent protest. The group's size has ranged from six to thirty people, depending upon changes in the political climate and changes in the war's trajectory. Though the demonstrators do not vocally express their anti-war opinions, their Saturday morning gatherings are filled with opinionated discussions amongst those who attend, sharing news and opinions about the state of Vermont, the United States and the world. As Ann Hoover, a Middlebury resident, describes her fellow Coalition members, "we are people in the community who care about the direction of our country."Despite their formal name, the Addison Peace Coalition does not have any set bylaws or membership guidelines - much like the Quakers, also known as the Society of Friends. The Coalition is completely non-denominational, non-partisan and welcomes any interested individuals. Though their presence is minimally intrusive, the group does have a permit with the Town of Middlebury that grants them the right to the space they occupy every Saturday, enforcing their right to free speech even through silence. Hoover stresses that all area citizens and students are welcome, that everyone comes together with a sole purpose: "we want peace." Hoover's participation with antiwar activism is not limited to her Saturday witnessing. In January, 2003, Hoover marched with over 150,000 other anti-Iraq War demonstrators across the Mall in Washington, D.C. The march included speeches from various antiwar icons such as Ron Kovic and Liz McAlister. Hoover notes that, regrettably, little tangible change came from the march, but that it was meant "for oneself, more than persuading others." Hoover unabashedly admits her desires for this month's midterm elections, saying "I hope that Democrats take over everything - it is the only way to get out of the mess that we are in."The Coalition never actively seeks out recruits or publicity, but their conspicuous location and powerful signs have attracted attention from individuals and media outlets alike. With a style that is as peaceful and nonviolent as the message they wish to send, the Coalition's demonstrators serve as a thought-provoking reminder for reflection, no matter what one's political beliefs. The New York Religious Society of Friends sees meditation as a "means to develop cooperation and community," a means to counteract the effects of the war - and violence of all kinds - that degrades love, destroys lives and "tears the fabric of society." Whether antiwar or pro-Iraq, a passerby who noticing the silent witnessing on Middlebury's common will feel compelled to spend time in quiet introspection, and for those who share the same viewpoint of the protestors, to express their opinions more vocally or in a different style. The demonstrators' dedicated presence through sleet and snow in the upcoming months will serve as an inspiration to act for what one believes, and to hope that if nothing else, one's small-scale action will inspire the end of another's political inertia. Other Peace Vigils in the Area:VERGENNES: Saturdays, 10-11am at the Vergennes City GreenBURLINGTON: Monday-Friday, 5-5:30pm at Unitarian Church (top of Church St)RUTLAND:Fridays, 12-1 at Main Street Park at corner of Rt. 4 & Rt. 7.
(11/02/06 12:00am)
Author: Margaret McFadden There is no doubt about it, Middlebury College cultivates a culture of community concern. Some students volunteer with AIDS education programs in Africa, "give up" Feb break to build houses with Habitat or put off a pressing assignment to spend time with a Community Friend. A few years ago students involved with Project Biobus made the headlines of CNN as they drove a vegetable-powered bus across the US, one of many campus-wide efforts to raise awareness about climate change. These public expressions of altruism and activism come at a time when faith is relegated to the private sphere. In a culture where religious initiatives are stigmatized by contemporary politics, groups are quick to claim many motivations for service, except the five-letter word, faith, that carries a slew of unwanted associations.In an upcoming symposium, "Challenging Complacency: Do Christians Care About Social Justice?" members of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship want to challenge the notion that social activists must not claim Christianity and that Christians need not engage socially. Students in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship believe that faith provides something unique to the demand for a more just world. Jesus made radical claims about the poor, and while the institutional church has often failed to realize these ideals, they provide powerful motivation in the human struggle to advocate justice. Christianity has represented a drastic range of contradiction. There has been war and peace, oppression and liberation, bigotry and compassion…all in the name of Christ. In the midst of these inconsistencies, InterVarsity students have assembled a diverse group of intellectuals and activists to interpret the struggles of the past and provide hope for the future. The symposium events will represent the synthesis of intellectual inquiry and experiential service that lies at the heart of the religion. The students hope to explore the intersection of Christian belief, politics, history and most particularly, social justice. There are no trite answers, but they hope to learn together how to advance the human struggle to end injustice. The College has provided funding to bring a range of nationally renowned scholars and advocates to campus on Nov. 9-11. On Thursday, Nov. 9 the symposium will kick off with an address by the keynote speaker, Shane Claiborne, founder of "The Simple Way," a radical faith community that serves the homeless in Philadelphia. He will incorporate his life experience and personal conviction in a talk titled "Living the Revolution of Love: Christianity as a Way of Life." Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat, University of Toronto professor and resident of a solar-powered organic farm, will use biblical text to challenge current patterns of consumerism in her talk entitled "Christianity, Consumer Culture and Empire: The Biblical Story as Witness Against Social and Environmental Injustice." Author of the well-known book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Dr. Ron Sider will speak about poverty in his talk "Christian Faith and Global Poverty: And What Christians are Actually Doing." Lamont Hiebert, a musician who created the organization Justice for Children International, will give a concert on Saturday, Nov. 11. Justice for Children International seeks to prevent child sex trafficking and provides assistance for young victims of sex trafficking. A week of service projects will follow weekend events, allowing students to respond to the call to social concern through outreach to the local community. Service projects sites include the Rutland Jail and the John Graham Emergency Shelter in Vergennes. Other symposium events are a Celtic Mass for Peace and a silent retreat at Weston Priory in Weston, Vermont, where students will be encouraged to meditate on the voiceless and oppressed. For more details please visit the website: http://community.middlebury.edu/~cf/symposium.htm.MARGARET McFADDEN '07AN ENGLISH MAJORFrom Adams, N.Y.
(11/02/06 12:00am)
Author: Dean Atyia Commons-sponsored events kick-off Halloween festivitiesAtwater and Wonnacott Commons hosted Halloween events this past weekend, seeing a mixed result of student attendance. A Wonnacott-sponsored dance party, held in Prescott House, "never had more than 30 people at one time," said Lindsay Oliver '07, a Wonnacott Commons co-chair. The event was part of an initiative to promote more commons-based activity. While the turnout was slightly disappointing, Oliver said, "It helped people branch away from their class and dorm." Despite Cameron Kowall's '09 musical prowess and the inviting setting, the party lacked that which students avidly seek. "I think providing alcohol might bolster attendance," said Oliver. The Atwater-hosted Halloween event in the Freeman International Center, however, merged with VACA's party efforts to create a club-like scene that attracted a large crowd. The party was scheduled to last until 2 a.m. but the unexpected turnout coupled with the presence of alcohol at the event resulted in an early ending. Matt Boucher '08, an Atwater Commons co-chair, felt that it was disrespectful of students to so blatantly disobey the rules in bringing alcohol to the party. "While we were glad that people had such a fun time, the party would have been a much greater success had students respected the Catering staff allowing us to run it until the 2 a.m. end-time we had planned on," Boucher said.Despite putting six and a half hours of preparation into a party that ended early, Jennifer Brenes '09, co-chair of Atwater Commons, said, "It was my first event and I had a great time. I was shocked at how many people showed up from all over campus."Snow Bowl goes carbon neutral as ski season nearsMiddlebury College has purchased $7,138 worth of carbon offsets to support an environmentally-friendly Snow Bowl in the 2006-2007 ski season, according to a press release earlier this week. "The Middlebury College Snow Bowl may well be the first ski area to take carbon neutrality to this level by offsetting electric, gas, propane, diesel and biodiesel usage, as well as skier transportation to and from the ski area," said Tom Corbin, assistant treasurer and Director of Business Affairs, in the release.Students in Associate Professor of Economics Jon Isham's class on environmental economics first suggested the initiative in the Spring of 2006. "Working with NativeEnergy to make the College Snow Bowl and our ski teams carbon neutral reinforces the College's longstanding commitment to the environment both academically and in terms of institutional operations," said President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz in the release. "The fact that the project was initiated by a diligent group of students in an academic class further underlines the importance of fostering and empowering the ideas of the next generation."Many involved in the effort believe that the Snow Bowl is the perfect forum for initial efforts aimed at environmental protection because of the threats posed by global warming to the ski industry's reliance on natural snowfall and consistent cold weather for survival, according to NativeEnergy President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Boucher in the release. Curwood preaches hope over global climate crisisSteve Curwood, host of the weekly environmental news program, "Living on Earth," spoke Monday in McCardell Bicentennial Hall. The Robert W. van de Velde Jr. '75 Memorial Lecture sponsored his address, entitled "Media and the Environmental Crisis." Established in 1981, the van de Velde Memorial Lecture hosts annual talks on the convergence of public affairs and journalism. In the context of broadcast journalism, Curwood spoke of the two-pronged danger facing mankind and our environment, addressing both the current chemical crisis and climate change. Because of toxic waste practices in the past and the overabundance of chemicals in now outdated consumer products, he contended, most of our water sources have become dangerously contaminated. Curwood warned of chemical side-effects ranging from influence on sexual preference to socially deviant behavior. In discussing the global warming crisis, Curwood approached the topic in an unconventional way. Assuming familiarity with the problem, Curwood focused his argument instead on that challenge - and the opportunity - that he feels climate change produces. Sierra Murdoch '09 said, "After attending so many environmental lectures, it was really inspiring and interesting to hear someone with so much hope for the future."
(10/12/06 12:00am)
Author: Derek Schlickeisen Democratic House candidate Peter Welch headlined a climate change rally at the College last Friday, taking the opportunity to tie his opponent to Republican inaction on the issue.With the race still close just over four weeks before Election Day, Welch argued that Martha Rainville's election would support her party leadership's stance against significant limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Welch, now president of Vermont's state Senate, said in his speech that Democrats need control of the House to enact meaningful global warming legislation."This election is about whether or not we're going to have a Congress that will tackle this issue," Welch told the roughly 70 students and town activists gathered in the Twilight Auditorium. "As long as Republicans chair the Committee on Energy and Commerce, there will be no consideration of global warming legislation."In an election that could leave either party with a razor-thin majority in the House, the outcome of Vermont's race could potentially play an outsized role in setting the course of national politics for the next two years. With recent surveys giving Welch a lead just outside the margin of error for political polling, analysts predict that Rainville could yet pull an upset in a state that has trended leftward in recent years."I would say at this point that the most probable outcome is a narrow Welch win," said Professor of Political Science Eric Davis, a respected observer of Vermont politics, "but I'd put about a 30 percent probability on a narrow Rainville win."Davis explained that Rainville has remained competitive in the race by charting a moderate course on issues like global warming as a means of distinguishing herself from President Bush, who remains far less popular in Vermont than in the nation as a whole. In her latest television ad, Rainville promises to "join the fight against global warming" and calls for a reduction in the United States' use of foreign oil."Welch is going to hammer her on the Iraq war, so what she needs to do is find issues where she can distinguish herself from the administration and the Republican majority in Congress," said Davis.Such distinctions don't matter, say Welch and his supporters, because Rainville's election as a Republican would simply keep a party that has done little on global warming in power. "Martha Rainville will vote for Dennis Hastert as speaker," Welch told The Campus. "My opponent is about two more years of the Bush agenda."To help make his argument for change, Welch brought with him Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer, a long-time House proponent of environmental protections. Blumenauer, whose whirlwind tour with Welch also included campaign stops at American Flatbread and Happy Valley Orchards, called his friend the clear choice for young people who want to make their voices heard in national politics."Vermont is going to have an opportunity to send a signal that might make a difference in the direction of the House of Representatives," said Blumenauer in an interview. "He will be a breath of fresh air and a vote for change."At the College, however, Welch and Blumenauer may have been preaching to the proverbial choir: many students who attended Friday's rally went directly from the auditorium to a launch event outside for the Carbon Neutrality Initiative, a plan by which the College can achieve carbon-neutral greenhouse gas emissions by 2016. With leadership from the climate change-oriented Sunday Night Group and other student organizations, the plan will be presented to the Board of Trustees this February."The College has always been a leader in sustainability," said Sunday Night Group member Sierra Murdoch '09, "so I think that it's really important for the College to be at the forefront of this issue by reducing its carbon emissions."In introducing Welch at the rally, Bill McKibben, the College's scholar in residence in Environmental Studies, echoed Murdoch's praise of the College for its involvement with the global warming issue."I think that Middlebury has emerged as one of the most important places in the state - and indeed in the country - in thinking about climate change," he said. "There's more spirit and energy and intellectual power around this question here at Middlebury College than just about anywhere else."After McKibben's introduction and warm applause from the audience, Welch turned to the College's leadership in addressing climate change."I want to clap for you," said Welch. "We want Congress to pass a global warming bill that will pass the Middlebury-McKibben test."Many at the rally seemed supportive of Welch on the climate change issue. Surrounded by students sporting "Welch for Congress" stickers, McKibben cast the outcome this November in stark terms."We're running out of elections to waste," he said. "There's a possibility, especially if control of one or both of the houses of Congress changes hands, that we'll see some legislation finally. It's beyond belief that the United States hasn't passed a single real law to begin to deal with this problem."Antoinette Rangel, president of the Middlebury College Democrats, said that the Welch-Rainville race offered a unique opportunity to those students at the College who are interested in the challenge posed by global warming."The Welch campaign opens up a lot of great opportunities for Middlebury students because Vermont politics is so grassroots," said Rangel. Referring to Welch staffers like Andrew Savage '03.5, who serves as the campaign's communications director, she said that the state's politics proved especially accessible to recent graduates."It's a great chance to get your feet wet in the political realm coming right out of college."
