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(02/11/10 4:59am)
Dean of Cook Commons and Assistant Professor of American Studies Karl Lindholm has announced his plans to retire as part of the College’s retirement incentive program. His retirement will end a 38-year career at Middlebury, four of which were as a student.
While Lindholm’s official duties will end in December 2010, he is adamant that he will remain involved in the life of the College.
With children in the Middlebury public schools, his wife the chair of the English and American Literature Department and many friends at the College, he hopes to “find a way to be useful and maintain positive relationships [with the College community].”
“I’m not going to miss [my time at Middlebury],” said Lindholm, “because I’m not going anywhere.”
The Renaissance man of the Middlebury administration, Lindholm worked in a wide variety of positions during his time at Middlebury.
He has been affiliated with all five commons, taught in the American Studies Department, acted as the Dean of Students, Associate Dean of the College and Dean of Off-Campus Study and Advising.
While some have coznsidered Lindholm a “jack of all trades, but a master of none,” Lindholm prefers to see his “hybrid” status as a zpositive thing. He opts for the label “master jack of all trades,” and looks back on his time in a wide variety of positions fondly.
But, he worries about what his retirement could bring the College. In an e-mail to colleagues earlier this month, he said the College would lose an advocate for the commons system.
Because the commons system is a decentralized one, with multiple deans and student support staff, it “inevitably involves expenses,” which could result in a decrease in the program’s importance given the current economic climate.
Lindholm nevertheless emphasizes that this “blurring of the boundaries” between residential and academic life is important and vital in creating a “one-school approach.”
Lindholm’s tenure in two now-defunct positions — Dean of Off-Campus Study and Advising — has given him a special insight into the role of each in maintaining the College’s support system.
Study abroad was previously organized by the academic departments, where each department would coordinate with its own schools abroad. There was no “Study Abroad Office,” but rather a “Programs Abroad Committee.” Lindholm became known, informally, as the “study abroad advisor” because of his role in study abroad coordination and advising.
“Then,” he said, “the world got big,” and all study abroad was organized into what is today known as the Study Abroad Office. While he enjoyed the trips abroad he was able to take as Dean of Off-Campus Study, he acknowledges that the reorganization was a logical step and strengthened the study abroad program.
He sees a similar reorganization occurring in the absorption of the Dean of Advising position. Much of his work has been taken by the Center for Teaching, Learning and Research (CTLR), which now handles informal advising.
Furthermore, Lindholm notes the strong system of informal advising at Middlebury. For example, when a student’s advisor goes on leave or needs additional advising, he or she can turn to the CTLR, commons deans, department chairs or other professors for personal and academic support.
Lindholm’s academic specialty is the study of baseball. He regularly teaches American Studies classes on baseball, and particularly on the early Negro leagues. Other courses he has taught have covered the literature of the Vietnam War era and cross-cultural literature.
Cook Commons Residential Advisor Emily Picciotto is sure that Lindholm will be missed. Having had the ability to compare Lindholm to two other Cook deans, Picciotto believes he has done a good job.
In the end, it “comes down to people skills […] Karl has a way of talking that makes everyone respect him, but feel at ease at the same time,” she wrote in an e-mail.
Cook First-Year Counselor Abhishek Sripad ’11 agrees.
“His endless supply of hilarious anecdotes is what makes him a great person to be around,” he said in an e-mail.
(02/11/10 4:59am)
With the attention of as many ardent supporters as agitated detractors, Vampire Weekend released its second album last month, the inspired and eclectic “Contra.”
Few groups in recent years have been as divisive as Vampire Weekend. The band’s most fervent backers praise its fresh take on Afro-pop and penchant for clever wordplay while critics accuse the group of ripping off world music acts like Paul Simon and boasting an unapologetic smugness.
On “Contra,” the band retains the bright hooks and cultured lyrics that made it famous, but, in many ways, also shows tremendous musical and lyrical growth. Maybe “Contra” is the release that eliminates the petty bickering surrounding the band and gets it the recognition it deserves.
From the moment Ezra Koenig’s voice first lifts itself from the speakers on “Contra’s” first track, “Horchata,” the former Ivy Leaguers erase any speculation of a sophomore slump. The immediately hummable melody and bookish lyrics of the album’s opener are vintage Vampire Weekend.
But while “Horchata” faithfully adheres to the self-described “Upper West Side Soweto” style the band explored on their eponymous debut, the rest of “Contra” takes its global influences literally, drawing sounds from Africa to Jamaica, Japan to Mexico, and everywhere in between.
After “Horchata’s” tribal beats fade out, the band delivers one of its finest works to date, the insanely catchy “White Sky.” Koenig’s voice reaches the clouds with a cooing falsetto that weaves gently around a jittery polyrhythm, giving the song a pleasantly chilling effect.
From there, the band successfully delves into ska (“Holiday”), Auto-Tune (“California English”), and chamber pop (“Taxi Cab”) without skimping on any of their poppy charm. The reggae-inspired, M.I.A.-sampling “Diplomat’s Son” sounds like something the Clash might have experimented with during their “Sandinista!” days. Despite its eclectic nature, nearly every moment on “Contra” sounds fresh, making for one of the most enjoyable listens since, well, Vampire Weekend’s last release.
Lyrically, “Contra” retains the wealth of high-culture references that riddled Vampire Weekend’s debut. Those who disdained their allusions to Cape Cod, Louis Vuitton, and English grammar the first time around will be quickly turned off by “Contra’s” seemingly endless mentions of modern art, private schools and Manhattan high-life.
But beyond the album’s minefield of elitist quips lies the same self-deprecation and irony that marked their first release. On “California English,” Koenig wonders if a blue-blooded coed will “lose all faith in the good earth” when she abandons her expensive flat and organic toothpaste.
“I Think Ur A Contra,” laments the apathy of a girl who proved to be more interested in “good schools and friends with pools” than anything Koenig had to offer. As varied as “Contra’s” music is, the album’s lyrics retain a consistent theme: the emptiness of upper-class America. You knew there had to be something else on the boys’ Columbia-educated minds than just yacht clubs and campus romances.
Realistically, “Contra” probably won’t win over many of Vampire Weekends harshest critics, but it doesn’t aim to appease them. The band made the LP for fans of accessibility and lyrical substance and, in doing so, made an early contender for best album of 2010.
(02/11/10 4:59am)
CHANGCHUN — In November 2005, NaiNai (my grandmother) decided that she wanted to move to Changchun, China and in early March 2006, she finally made the move. I have spent the past four weeks living with her and YeYe (my grandfather) here in Changchun.
NaiNai is not your average waiguo laotaitai; she’s 83 years old and won’t let me clean my own room or dishes. Instead, she insists that I go rest. While many elderly Chinese stay inside after 70, NaiNai is always out and about. She complains that walking too slow makes her tired. She’d rather stand than sit. If she had had the training, she could have run twice as fast as I can, she claims. Moreover, while YeYe can read, translate, and explain the teachings of Confucius, the sagest advice has always come from my NaiNai.
These conversations — and the rest of family life — occur around the breakfast and dinner table. Meals are the highest expression of love in China, I find. The majority of ingredients that NaiNai puts in her meals are gifts from friends and relatives, who will drop by at any time of day to hand NaiNai gifts of fish, tofu, wine, fruits, etc.
One week ago, my NaiNai knocked on my door. She was nearly in tears. She beseeched me, “Look at all these leftovers!” Not eating enough obviously means that I am not a loving, caring or appreciative granddaughter. “If only your brother were here,” she lamented. “He’s such a good boy. And eats a lot!” Since then, I have gone to the gym every day — in order to eat those extra five dumplings. Soon, I fear, I’ll become a dumpling myself.
While I eat her cooking, NaiNai imparts serious advice and plans my future. My future consists of three parts. The first is to study Chinese at the local university and eat her cooking. The second is tutor lazy children of rich Chinese parents in English … and eventually build up my own English school. “I know,” she says, “you not interested become teacher, but this give you very good life.” The third is to convince my parents to retire to China, so they can inherit the apartment, live more than comfortably off their American pensions, and have me nearby. Also, as I am pursuing this life path, I need to keep in mind the following instructions:
1. Find a boyfriend interested in the same thing you are. For example, she asked me, when you move here to teach English, but have a boyfriend who doesn’t want to move to China or does not understand the language — then what will you do? You will have trouble.
2. Do not marry for money. Marry for money-earning ability. If you marry rich, he may be lazy or have no skills. You need to make sure he’s able to earn more than you spend.
3. Train your husband early. Within the first month of marriage, your husband must master the ability to use the dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, and vacuum. Abandon him in the kitchen and/or basement with the machines and plug in your headphones. If he doesn’t learn it within the first month, you’ll be doing that chore the rest of your life.
Thankfully, NaiNai doesn’t cook dessert. However, most nights she’ll tiptoe into my room with a big grin, holding a bowl of coffee ice cream. Luckily, by then I’ve digested five of the 20 filet-mignon dumplings she made especially for me, so I can accept the gift with a grateful, if disbelieving, smile. When she hands me the ice cream, she orders, “Study hard!” I immediately sit back down and close Facebook. Truly, NaiNai’s greatest skills are deciding what someone else needs and ensuring that they can’t refuse her.
(01/21/10 8:54pm)
I must begin this column with a quick apology. To anyone who read my last column before Christmas break, I am very sorry. Unlike most conservative youths whom I know, I fulfill the Republican stereotype of being very bad with a computer.
My roommate likes to tell stories of my inability to use iTunes. In a moment of computer-related stupidity, I sent the wrong version of my column to The Campus and that is why it looked as though I am unable to speak or write English. I have since been taught how to replace a file, so I hope your faith in me may return in time.
On another and much more serious note, there is one event which demands our attention, our concern and our sympathy far beyond any other. The earthquake that rocked Haiti is one of the most terrible events which many of us have ever witnessed.
As much of a cliché as it may seem, these are events that should show us the unimportance of national borders and different languages, much less political parties, compared to the common humanity whose pain we see on every Internet news site and newspaper cover as we go about our lives. The earthquake killed countless people and left thousands more homeless, destitute and in intense need of humanitarian aid. Whether you believe in the chaos of nature or the incomprehensible will of a god, it is something which no human agent, no government, political organization or group of experts could control.
Now, in the aftermath, we must concentrate on what can still be done, rather than what we wish people would do or whether their motives are pure.
Government officials, politicians and political theorists have argued for decades about the question of what one country’s government owes to citizens of another. For example, should America, undeniably one of the most powerful and financially able countries in the world, interfere in the civil war of Somalia or the genocide in Rwanda? These questions and others like them must come with a political agenda, ideology and a look towards the future of all countries involved.
Aid to Haiti does not bring the same complicated and political questions, and therefore should also be devoid of political backlash, bragging or berating. This is not to say that no political calculations go into the transport of massive amounts of goods which are expensive to obtain and problematic to deliver, but these are not the usual political questions. These do not involve enemy combatants or international treaties. Instead it is a question about aid to a country where the very ground has been ripped up under the feet of its people.
In the last few days there have been articles and blogs on both sides that have tried to politicize the disaster. On one side, there is the comparison of relief to Haiti with relief after Katrina.
People calculate the various death tolls, the rate of relief and try to compare the Bush and Obama presidencies. On the other side, there are those ready to criticize President Obama for capitalizing on the promises of aid. Hurricane Katrina was a truly terrible event which ended by raising political questions.
But the true horror of it was not in the arena of the political, but in that of the human — the human loss of life. The same is true on a much greater scale here. In a recent address, former Presidents Bush and Clinton asked for people to put aside their political differences and together attack the much more serious devastation. For once I can actually say that I agree with them both.
(01/21/10 8:42pm)
In an effort to comply with a faculty vote two years ago to require a thesis, essay or other independent work of every senior at the College, the English and American Literatures (ENAM) department was forced to reexamine the ENAM Senior Comprehensive Exams Program, colloquially referred to by students as “Comps.”
Comps, an intensive reading seminar for senior ENAM majors offered during Winter Term, features a heavy workload with a formidable reading list, several papers and an extended oral examination at the end.
Comps provides an intensive survey of English and American literature, including many influential authors and spanning a variety of genres and eras.
Because Comps did not satisfy the new independent senior work requirement, the ENAM department was faced with the choice of either requiring both Comps and a senior essay or thesis or simply the thesis. Moreover, according to department chair and Reginald L. Cook Professor of American Literature Brett Millier, “many ENAM faculty had grown disillusioned with Comps” and as a result “the department voted overwhelmingly … to get rid of Comps altogether.”
As Associate Professor of English and American Literatures Timothy Billings described it, this dissatisfaction arose largely from a feeling within the department that the program offered a “fairly superficial survey of literature” rather than “the kind of substantial experience we want our majors to have.
One hour to discuss a Shakespeare play, followed by one hour to discuss a Dickens novel — it amounted to little more than a series of hoops to jump through quickly, one after another. We all loved doing it because it was kind of crazy fun, but we had to admit that it wasn’t very thorough.”
Furthermore, with Comps as a requirement for the major, the department needed four professors to teach it every Winter Term.
This meant that “four whole courses of the creative or experimental type that one can only offer during J-term were not being offered, which we thought was an impoverishment to our curriculum,” said Billings.
The department opted to eliminate Comps altogether. Beginning with the Class of 2012, every ENAM major must write either a senior thesis or senior essay and will not have the option of taking a Comps class instead. However, as a way of easing the transition, members of the Classes of 2010 and 2011 still have the opportunity to take Comps as a substitute for, or in addition to, their independent senior work.
This year, the first in which the program is optional, Comps functions somewhat differently. Instead of requiring the class for approximately 60 majors, this year there is only one section. Within that class, five members are replacing their senior essays or theses with Comps, and three are completing both requirements.
Avery Finch ’09.5 and Eleanor Johnstone ’10 both opted to take Comps in addition to completing senior essays this year.
“It’s fun and interesting, and the classroom atmosphere is nice,” said Finch.
“With such a small group, it feels a lot like book club. We … talk about these great works, people bring in snacks and sometimes other professors from the department visit.”
Both students agree that this optional Comps class, taught by Associate Professor of English and American Literatures Marion Wells, seems more laid-back than the stories they have heard from past classes, and that this relaxing of the curriculum is for the better.
While the faculty may feel disillusioned by Comps, students do not necessarily share this view.
“My biggest regret is simply that [Comps] will no longer be offered after this year,” said Johnstone.
“We write a lot at this college. There’s a lot of emphasis put on the individual intellect and what students can bring to the table … I’m taking Comps because I’m already writing a critical essay in the spring, and spending even more time in the library on my own when I could be in engaging discussions with well-informed peers and professors seemed foolish. We’re undergraduates, and we always have a lot to learn from our instructors … I frankly think that cutting Comps dilutes the quality of the ENAM major. Keeping it and making a semester’s essay or a year’s thesis a requirement would enhance it.”
“I think it’s too bad that they’re trying to phase it out,” said Finch.
“I don’t know how it was different in the past, if maybe it was less valuable or enjoyable for the students, but I’m finding it to be a great sort of way to put a cap on my English degree.”
However, those classes without the opportunity to take Comps may not feel its loss as acutely as those with more exposure to the old ENAM program.
“Comps does provide the opportunity to read these amazing books, but they don’t necessarily get the airtime they deserve,” said Francie Alexandre ’12, a sophomore English major and member of the first class that will never have a chance to take Comps. “If I have to read a lot in a very short period of time, I’m much less likely to take anything from it. Although being able to discuss great literature is what the ENAM major is all about, I still like the program as it is, and I can definitely see the value in doing individual work in addition to all the other discussion courses offered by the department. Overall, I don’t think I’ve lost anything major in my ENAM experience.”
(01/21/10 7:28pm)
Mead Chapel was sparsely populated at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 18. The meager audience, however, was treated to a striking address by the Reverend William G. Sinkford. Sinkford, the keynote speaker for this week’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration, was the seventh president — and first African American leader — of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. In 1968, he graduated cum laude from Harvard University and went on to earn his M.Div. from the Starr King School for the Ministry in 1995. In 2001, Sinkford was awarded an honorary doctorate from Tufts University.
Sinkford’s oration proved the furthest thing from fire and brimstone — his tone was gentle, his voice rhythmic. And his words were powerful, underscoring the continued need for improved race relations in American society.
Sinkford began the address with an invocation to think and pray for those presently suffering in Haiti. He then quoted Dr. King’s little known and presently out-of-print text,
“Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community.” We must, explained Sinkford, take a closer look at America’s changing face in order to redefine the American ideal and retell a fuller, more complex national history. America, he pointed out, will soon no longer be a predominately white, Christian nation. Nor has it ever been truly homogenous — since the nation’s founding, there have been enormously varied lived experiences of race, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation. In an age of unprecedented diversity, we must re-imagine the typical American to encompass our country’s sheer variety of people. We must also part with the image of a white, straight, Christian America — a challenge, noted Sinkford, that many white Americans find threatening. And we must further work to rid ourselves of “a selective historical memory” that enables us to “claim our triumphs” and ignore a history riddled with racism, prejudice and unjust treatment of minority groups.
Reginald L. Cook Professor of American Literature and Chair of English and American Literature Brett Millier commented on the difficulty and importance of Sinkford’s task. “The Reverend Sinkford has lived the story he’s telling — he greatly changed the Unitarian Universalist Association in the direction of outreach and diversity,” she said. “It’s impossible to listen to him and not know how hard this is.”
Daniel Watson Jones, ’09.5, agreed.
“It was a really poignant discussion of realistic race problems,” he said. “He didn’t talk around them; he was really candid.”
Sinkford is undeniably witty, with well-placed word play alluding to race and ethnicity punctuating his speech — America has a “changing complexion”; race, in Obama’s America, is possessed of “interesting shadings.” Perhaps his puns are indicative of one of his points: that we are in need of new language to describe America’s ever-expanding racial and cultural diversity. According to Sinkford, diversity’s present lingua franca is insufficient: the phrase ‘melting pot’ belies a scenario in which new Americans are made to learn English and assimilate into the dominant culture, often at the expense of their original traditions and identities. It’s a “metaphor with real power,” Sinkford noted, that showcases “the homogenization of the American ideal.”
While Sinkford is a self-described religious scholar, purportedly interested in the spiritual aspects of race-relations, he ventured unabashedly into the political.
He brazenly decried the Republican attempt to brand Senator Harry Reid as racist as (and here, another witticism) “the pot calling the kettle black.”’
Sinkford’s intelligent writing and calm, powerful tone held the audience captive for the better part of an hour. The address really struck home, however, during the question-and-answer session, when Dane Verret ’12 inquired as to what sorts of skills are needed to inspire diversity and how we might acquire at skills at Middlebury. Sinkford, ever polite, noted that while he knows little about Middlebury’s attitudes toward race, he imagines it faces similar challenges as other predominately white institutions seeking diversity. These institutions, Sinkford noted, need to make sure students of color feel at home. The challenges are manifold — “How will students find a mentor? What about those students for whom this is an uncomfortable place?” — but the need for diversity is pressing. After all, pointed out Sinkford, the only way to assume leadership in a multicultural world is to have a multicultural education. Institutional intention to bring diversity, he notes, is paramount.
His message to Middlebury was perhaps best summed up by Dilanthi Ranaweera ’09.5.
“I particularly liked how he answered the last question,”she said.
“You can’t just talk about diversity without having an environment that welcomes diversity. Middlebury has come a long way in making that environment but there’s a lot to be done.”
(01/21/10 7:02pm)
When poet Crystal Belle ’04 walks into a classroom, she easily takes command, her effusive energy spilling out onto those who have come to soak up her wisdom.
As she shares her love of poetry and hip-hop to an eager audience, the devotion and enthusiasm she holds for her craft becomes a palpable presence in the room.
On Jan. 14 and 15, Belle brought this unique aura to Middlebury, taking a hiatus from teaching English at Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in order to give the College a taste of her many talents.
From conducting workshops on spoken word poetry and hip-hop as a teaching tool, to giving a lecture on urban education, to performing at Verbal Onslaught’s Spoken Word Open Mic night at 51 Main at the Bridge, Belle barely rested during her return to her alma mater.
Belle finished her two-day extravaganza of events with a book-signing of her first collection of poems, titled “Woman on Fire.”
The publication of the book last October was the culmination of a project that has been in the works for dozens of years.
“I feel like this book has been in my heart since I was at Middlebury,” she explained.
“It’s called ‘Woman on Fire’ because it’s the evolution of me. There are poems in here that I wrote my freshman year at Middlebury; there are poems in here I wrote my first year of teaching. So it’s like all these different poems from different points in my life. It’s kind of a celebration of what it means to be a woman and finding my voice.”
That voice began forming as early as nine years old, when she began writing for a fourth grade project.
“It started and it never stopped,” she said of her poetry.
While inspired by spoken word poet Saul Williams and writer Toni Morrison, Belle also credits her students as notable muses.
“Teaching, you will have a lot to write about,” she said.
“You literally see the have-nots. I see struggle every day in my classroom. I see what that looks like. I could never forget about that or become complacent.”
In her teaching, Belle takes an innovative approach to connecting with her students. Giving credence to hip-hop as a poetic form, she will play a song by Ghostface and then read a verse by Wordsworth, trying to show students that both are sincere styles of art. In this way, students receive an education more inviting than the one that Belle received.
During her schooling, Belle found the focus on the canon off-putting, and now that she teaches, she wants to rectify that experience for others. In literature, she focuses on the questions, “Where do you find yourself?” and “Where do you see yourself?” Belle hopes her students will use hip-hop as a way into the canon.
“I felt like every single thing that I read, for four years, I couldn’t find myself in it,” she said.
“I loved it because it was literature and I loved literature, I loved reading, but I never really felt like I could connect to anything I was reading. So when I think of my students, I think of how I can give them literature, but help them find themselves too.”
Belle never thought she would be a teacher. While in college, she had her sights set on a career in journalism, but experiences interning with ABC turned her off from the path.
“The environment was all about news that didn’t matter to me, or news that I didn’t think was relevant,” she said. “And I hated it. I hated the propaganda.”
After college, Belle received support from a Watson Fellowship to travel around the world writing poetry and researching hip-hop as a form that “started seemingly in an urban community in New York” and has now “happened to transcend the world.” The life-changing experience gave her even more material for her writing.
Today, Belle speaks with unquantifiable praise about both her poetry and her students. While her writing comes first — she is in the process of writing a novel — her teaching seems to light up her face just as much as when she speaks of her admiration for Tolstoy.
While she admits that she never knows how the public will receive her work, she still never shies away from giving a performance.
“Because I see the impact it has on people,” she explained.
“How writing can push people to think in that moment — to me, it’s something that has to be done. Of course, before every performance, I have butterflies, but there’s never a hesitation like, ‘Should I do this?’ It’s, ‘No, I have to do this.’”
Belle’s need to share her poetry means the rhymic cadence of her voice will never fall silent. Certainly the dozens of students and locals that packed into 51 Main on Jan. 15 to see Belle deliver her verses will be glad to hear that there is promise of rhymes to come.
(01/14/10 4:00am)
I am happy to report that I survived yet another holiday drill session performed annually by my extended family. How are your grades? Who are you dating? Have you come to your senses about voting liberal? What are you going to do with an English and Religion degree anyway?
After four years, I have all but patented a technique for shirking the lengthy, detailed responses that they desire. Good. Still Dale.
(None of my family members can remember that my roommate is a girl.) Just mailed the check to ACORN today. I plan on sleeping in Union Square next year. Keep it short and sarcastic. They seem to respond well to that.
My favorite question, though, has to be: So what is this J-term thing again? This year, the answer is less difficult because I am no longer the only Merriman with a Winter Term.
My dad, a first-year professor at Wofford College, will be spending his first J-Term in China. (Apparently, they don’t need “budget cuts” down south, not that I am bitter … )
Still, I provided the typical Middlebury response: “J-Term is an opportunity to try something new, to become a better snowboarder and to satisfy the body’s required alcohol quotient in order to survive the harsh Vermont winter.”
This year, though, I think that I will add an additional J-Term resolution to my list.
My friend at Elon University is taking a more practical route with a Winter Term class entitled “Cash and Check.” Although I had to laugh at the concept of learning how to balance a checkbook as a college senior, her course inspired me to strive for something more applicable. It’s not that my independent study about productions of The Merchant of Venice during the Holocaust won’t help me manage my post-college life … OK, maybe it is.
Thus, my Winter Term resolution is to become more domestic. I can sense my mother rolling her eyes all the way from South Carolina, but by the end of the month, I resolve to be able to make more than eggs, pasta, cookies, mixed drinks and anything grilled, my small yet perfected current repertoire.
Don’t worry. I’m not going all “Julie and Julia” on this column, but I do plan on experimenting with recipes, throwing a dinner party or two and generally putting my newly-acquired Atwater suite to good use.
What is most important about this goal is not that I come out of this month a gourmet chef, but rather that I feel like I have accomplished something for myself. I am going to ignore the fact that I have just shared this personal endeavor with the entire readership of The Campus and keep this challenge just for me. I already can anticipate the comments from my suitemates about “the H.Kay way,” my slightly messy and unconventional approach to, well, everything.
And I am sure I will be getting a call from my grandmother who once told me,
“Good thing your mom became such a good baker so that she could keep your dad around.”
Still, despite the slack I anticipate from friends and family, I remain confident that I, too, can perfect a homemade chocolate sauce in the confines of a college kitchen.
So, in addition to whatever “challenges” your friends suggest and whatever educational advancements your relatives insist you take on, I encourage you to do something for yourself, something new, in the spirit of J-Term. And if you fail to reach your goal and need some consolation, you can find me in my kitchen. I promise to have a burnt brownie waiting for you.
(01/14/10 4:00am)
I was 11 years old, and it was my first time back to Israel since my family had left when I was five. We decided to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem, and I clearly remember being surprised by how many soldiers there were, by the flood of olive drab around the ancient, cool sandstone. I asked my parents about the soldiers and they shrugged and responded, “That’s just how it is in Israel.” It was 11 a.m., and the date was Sept. 28, 2000. It was the day I became conscious of the political reality that gripped my birthplace, and it was also the day that the Second Intifada began.
I began my personal struggle to understand and make sense of Israel and the conflict with the Palestinians in what was arguably the worst decade in the history of the conflict. True, they have all been pretty bad, but what made this past decade so painful was that it followed the 1990s and its glow of optimism, potential and hope shattered by violence and despair. But, that confusing September day at the Wall prompted me to begin to learn more and to care more. My hopes for peace were born right about when much of the world’s died.
The past decade was marred by the blood and brutality of military raids and suicide bombs, by men with guns and murdered infants, by hopelessness and fury. The past decade was torn by war: war with the Palestinians, war with Hizballah, threats of war with Syria and talks of war with Iran, seemingly incessant war culminating in the horrors of the Gaza crisis one year ago. The past decade was one of desperate half-fixes, of incomplete withdrawals, of separation barriers and of flawed reliance on the fake panacea of democratic elections.
The past decade was one of international polarization, of increased talking and decreased listening, of formulas of right and wrong, at fault and blameless. The past decade was one of American complacency, of Israeli repression, of Palestinian radicalization. The past decade was one of misery and of tragedy. And yet I refuse to believe that “that’s just how it is in Israel.” Or in Palestine. Or in our world.
We must enter this new decade not swaddled in nearly giddy hope, as many were at the beginning of the past decade, but rather cautiously hopeful, tentatively optimistic. Allow me, in a burst of such tentative optimism, to paint a picture of the potential the next decade — and indeed the next year — holds. President Barack Obama and American special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell are preparing for a new, revised and strengthened effort to get the process moving in January.
Prime Minister of Israel Bibi Netanyahu, to the surprise of many, seems somewhat serious about making peace. Moreover, speaking very optimistically, talks between Hamas and Israel over the release of Israeli staff sergeant Gilad Shalit could progress, and lead to a landslide of potential: Gilad would be released in exchange for about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
With his release, the Israeli government would lose its central rationale for the morally odious and strategically blind blockade of Gaza. Moreover, chances are high that Marwan Barghouti would likely be released as one of the Palestinian prisoners. A reformed revolutionary with immense Palestinian street cred, there is a high chance he would take the reins of the faltering Fatah. Barghouti also has a better shot than perhaps any Palestinian leader at forging a unity government between Hamas and Fatah — and only through such a unity government could Hamas be brought into the process as a negotiating party and not a deal-breaker.
Avigdor Lieberman, arguably the most internationally loathed figure in the Israeli ruling coalition today, could potentially go on trial for complex corruption charges: his removal would be have an impact both symbolically and politically, as he is the beating heart of his rightist, nationalist party.
Negotiations with Syria, under already existent frameworks, could lead to peace between the two countries, and shift the dynamics of the region greatly. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process could get back underway, and perhaps this is the decade in which the dream of an independent Palestine and a safe, non-occupying Israel could finally be realized.
The aforementioned laundry list of positive potential, as a whole, is not staggeringly likely, but all of the developments mentioned are within the realm of possible. The main point is that there is positive potential in the region for the new decade. If you are interested in learning more about this potential, or about the immense problems in its way, or simply continuing the conversation about the issues affecting Israel and Palestine, we are starting a new group on campus, J Street Middlebury.
The group’s primary goal will be focused and sustained education, through meetings, an e-mail list, programming, student and faculty presentations and discussion. E-mail me if you would like to join (mzrothma@middlebury.edu) and help shape this new group, the discussion on this campus, and perhaps the region itself.
Let nation not lift up sword against nation, may we learn war no more. Happy New Year, and may this decade be better and more peaceful than the last.
Addendum: I just discovered that on Jan. 1, the op-ed I wrote entitled “I am a Zionist,” was republished on the official English language Web site of the Muslim Brotherhood. How’s that for breaking expectations to start off a new decade?
(01/14/10 4:00am)
“The Age of Stupid” is an idiotic name for a film that everyone should see. In its examination of cultural choices that ignore the impending effects of global warming, the film provokes a sense of urgency, disgust with consumerism, and a desire for change.
Actor Pete Postlethwaite poses as an archivist in the year 2055 after the major repercussions of global warming have reshaped the earth in dynamic ways.
He lives in a fortified structure in the Arctic Ocean north of Norway. Once inside, the camera zooms through the various levels of the base.
It contains collections from all national galleries and museums, preserved specimens of most species lined two by two, and a significant computer database.
The camera then takes the perspective of a computer screen as the archivist creates a video log. The first words out of his mouth are, “We could have saved ourselves.”
As he speaks, he fiddles with the screen and pulls up documentary footage of the present, filmed by director Franny Armstrong, to illustrate the consumer culture that led to the world’s destruction.
His archive follows seven stories: an Indian business tycoon opening up a low cost airline, a hurricane Katrina survivor who worked for Shell Oil, the oldest French tour guide of Mont Blanc, two children in Iraq, a woman in Nigeria and a British environmentalist who specializes in wind power.
Documentary footage framed in a fictitious future setting gives immediacy to a tragic future that may not be so far away. Opening images of 2055 are based on mainstream scientific projections of the effects of global warming.
However, in spite of this specification, these dramatizations feel a bit heavy- handed in their demolition of famous landscapes — Coney Island submerged in water, the Sydney opera house burning, Las Vegas covered in sand.
What was so effective about the film was less its apocalyptic imagery and more its focus on the actual present and the problems of today. The archivist considers the next few years leading up to 2015 and dubs them the formative time in human history when we had the chance to mitigate the negative effects of climate change.
The film insists that people now could instate a policy that would cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050, only allowing the temperature to rise two more degrees. The challenge: “questioning collective values” that fuel excess and restructuring society to achieve this goal.
Unsurprisingly, the film hits the oil companies hard, presenting alarming statistics about oil consumption and specifically showing the cultural and environmental devastation that a Shell oil drilling project brought to a community in Nigeria.
Yet, just as importantly, “The Age of Stupid” condemns the ignorance of the general public, claiming that “the government will only go as far as its populations demands.”
In the segment that follows Mark Lynas, the British environmentalist, Lynas meets paralyzing resistance as he fights for clearance while setting up a wind turbine project.
The people of the town ultimately reject the idea because they fear that the project will depreciate the value of their homes by obscuring the view of the English countryside.
At this point, the archivist returns to the scene and states: “It’s like looking through binoculars, observing people on a far off beach […] fixated on the small area of sand under their feet as a tsunami races towards the shore.” His comment is perfectly timed. The material is painful to watch, and his words, ominous.
The Archivist finishes his video log by bestowing his information upon whomever finds it, offering it as a cautionary tale. Hope for the audience, then, lies in stepping away from the film experience, knowing that it is not yet 2055 and now is the time to effect change.
(01/14/10 4:00am)
Here’s what I love about Middlebury, Vt., in no particular order:
The mountains — skiing, hiking...heck, just looking at them. I have lived in the Champlain valley, framed by mountains, for 20 years and I have yet to get sick of them.
My family — Gang’s all here! I never met a relative I didn’t like.
The potential for small-town embarrassment — the one time I get pulled over by the police, it happens on Main Street. A former English teacher, the woman whose children I babysit, and the kid who taunted me in high school for failing my license test all those times, all witness me crying hysterically and dry-heaving on the officer’s shiny black boots. I love me some character-building.
The Red Kelly trail — It’s the cross-country trail that loops around the golf course. It’s the first place I ever ran for longer than 500 meters, way back in the summer before freshman year of high school. It’s the place I realized that just because I’d been steadily getting worse at soccer for the nine years that I’d been playing, didn’t mean all hope was lost on the athletic front.
Sam and Megan — They’re the kids I babysit. Until I met them, I had an aversion to children. Then I was broke one summer and agreed to a full-time babysitting position. Now I’m all, “don’t be creeped out, I’m just staring at your kid ’cause it’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” Serioulsy, any day now I’m going to go all Brangelina on you.
Here’s what I love about Middlebury, Vermont, in no particular order, that I have only grown to love through Middlebury College:
Lake Dunmore — I’ve been going to the beach at Lake Dunmore for years, but my relationship with that body of water has grown infinitely more lovely since frequenting its shores with the crew team. Dawn on Lake Dunmore is a whole new level of beauty that I won’t adulterate with mere adjectives.
Scatter my ashes there when I’m gone.
The people — I’ve always been fond of my community members, but since I started writing for The Campus, I’ve had a chance to speak more personally with people that I would never have otherwise encountered. Middlebury is not the sleepy little town I believed it was as an angsty high school student looking to get out. There are things happening here. The people here make things happen.
College students — Sure, I’ve always admired them from afar, but I never actually knew any of ’em. Take it from me; they’re pretty great.
Farms — I never appreciated my agrarian surroundings until someone last year asked me what a silo was. I realize now that my rural roots are not universally understood, or appreciated. So it smells like excrement every once in a while. I like it: it’s a sign of spring.
With that, I will leave you. It’s been great. I hope your Middlebury gives you as much as mine has.
(01/14/10 4:00am)
In his sparse free time , sophomore English major and Ross Commons Co-Chair Patrick D’Arcy busies himself as the primary writer of music blog Kickin’ the Peanuts (KTP). With 10-15,000 unique hits a day, KTP is distinguished as one of the more prominent blogs on the Web, often listed in the “Most Popular” posts of music blog aggregators. D’Arcy talked with The Campus and revealed how he does it.
Middlebury Campus: What is Kickin’ the Peanuts?
Patrick D’Arcy: I like to think of KTP as a music blog of all genres. I post music from the musical libraries of characters from [Charles Schultz’ comic] Peanuts. Each character has his own music taste — for instance, Snoopy is really into electronic music and DJing; Lucy, she’s kind of snarky and as Charlie Brown’s nemesis, is into mainstream pop and dance; Linus is an acoustic indie soul and Woodstock is into hip-hop and rap. A format like this works great for me because my own taste in music isn’t really definable, I’m all over the place and like everything — this way I can post whatever I want. It also means that I end up with a pretty diverse readership, because the music I post is so diverse, which is cool.
MC: Can you describe how KTP came into existence?
PD: I had been reading a ton of music blogs for a while and I thought it would be something cool to do — I love writing and I love music. I started it in January of 2008 with one of my friends from high school and it’s kind of just taken off from there. There are a million music blogs out there and when we were thinking what we wanted ours to be like, we wanted something that would immediately set it apart from the other blogs, because as a music blog it’s really easy to get lost. We gave KTP the Peanuts theme and made it a multi-genre blog — you actually don’t see too many of those — to make it a little more memorable.
MC: How has it grown since its creation?
PD: It’s undergone two renovations — we’ve changed its layout twice, and it’s gotten a little funkier with each renovation; we’ve started selling advertising and readership has grown. I’ve kind of moved away from strictly adhering to the Peanuts characters’ music tastes too; the stripe on the web site is an inverted Charlie-Brown-stripe now, with purple, but it’s obviously still one of the fundamental parts of the blog.
MC: How do you manage to keep up with a quickly changing music scene as well as a full course load?
PD: I have a few music blogs that I go to every morning right after I wake up and download the music that they’re writing about and posting. Starting my day with music that way makes it pretty easy for me to keep up. Sometimes it gets really overwhelming, just because of the amount of music and information about music that exists out there, so for Kickin’ the Peanuts, I actually try not to post too much. I want to be a kind of filter for people. I know I could post 50 times a day, as a lot of the most popular blogs do, but the blogs I really like to read, filter and prioritize for me, so that’s what I try to do too.
MC: Has KTP opened any related doors for you?
PD: One cool idea that I’ve had for a next step is a kind of “boutique” record label. A music blog is a great platform for artists who are unexposed to get their music out there — it’s really the way to make a name for yourself today. It’s not unheard of for a music blog to start promoting an artist they feel really strongly about by selling a debut single or EP from the band. That’s something I’m interested in pursuing next. I’ve talked to Peter [Coccoma ’12], Sam [Wyer ’12] and Ava [Kerr ’12] in the Middlebury band Ava and the Gardeners about starting something with them. They have a sound I believe in so much and a sound I believe could really take off with the right type of promotion and exposure.
I also have so much music that DJing is something I’d like to get more into. I’ve done it a few times, and while I’m not really sure what I’m doing, I know how to use iTunes and it’s fun to play music for people who want to dance. I love to dance, too.
MC: What are some artists you’re currently listening to?
PD: I just got the new Beach House album the other day, which is amazing. It’ll most likely be one of those albums on everyone’s 2010 lists. The song that just came on in here is equally divine [Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”]. I was a big fan of the La Roux album [s/t] last year, and Phoenix obviously and St. Vincent. I’ll always love Rihanna. And [Nancy Ajram’s] “Mashi Haddi” was the best song of 2009, I’ll say it. I actually posted a list of my 100 favorite songs of 2009, which is currently up on Kickin’ the Peanuts.
MC: What’s your advice to someone who wants to learn more about music?
PD: Just spending time on blogs is a great way to find out more about what’s going on in the music world. Go to Kickin’ the Peanuts! The music industry is in a really interesting place right now, and blogs are becoming more ubiquitous and powerful as people start to rely on the Internet as the sole place to find out about music. Because blogs have become so influential on consumers of music, it’s really becoming up to blogs to define what the music industry is going to look like in the future, and no one is really sure of that right now. We have a big responsibility as bloggers, and it’s a bit of a paradox because we might be bringing down the industry that we live for. It will be interesting to see how blogs live up to their responsibility. I haven’t exactly figured it out yet.
Visit the blog at http://www.kickinthepeanuts.com.
(12/07/09 7:15pm)
I always get especially sentimental around the holidays. Perhaps it’s how they don’t change. In my family, the month of December means skiing, cookies, a Christmas tree and my mother’s nutcracker collection parading across the mantel in our living room. There are things about the holidays that you can depend on, and I always start to reminisce as Thanksgiving rolls around and the holiday season begins, suddenly aware of how things have changed in the past year, in contrast to how, after so long, Christmas really hasn’t changed at all.
Regardless of the reason, Thanksgiving comes and I’m looking at baby pictures and watching “Stepmom” and movies of the tearjerking sort and contemplating life more than is probably good for me.
It was in this spirit that I found myself quite the emotional wreck last week, reflecting on the fleeting nature of our college relationships. I suppose it’s inevitable that people come and go from our lives, given our environment. We can’t be expected to forever keep in touch with that person in bio lab who lives in Arkansas — not only do I have no desire ever to visit Arkansas, but I find her exceptionally annoying. Annoyance aside, it’s sort of sad to think that in two-and-a-half years I’ll probably never see her again. We bonded over carbon molecules, for God’s sake — surely that means something?
You’d think I’d be used to this by now, what with the disposable college students parading in and out of my pre-college Middlebury.
There was the baseball player and his beer. Every Friday night he was at my parents’ store, purchasing a 30-rack and maybe a ping-pong ball or two. It’s not that he had such a huge impact on my life or that we even exchanged many words other than:
“$24. 34, please.”
“Do you take Visa?”
But there he was every Friday until he wasn’t, and then I never saw him again. There were other regulars from the College: the blonde with leather jacket and peach Snapple, the couple that split a vegetarian wrap with Frank’s red hot on the side, the squirrely-looking kid on the Atkins diet who ordered Philly cheese steaks sans roll. I felt like I knew these students after a while, and the overly sensitive part of me wants at least a postcard. Is that really so much?
Of course, others have come and gone with a more direct impact. For a while in high school, our assistant ski coach was a Middlebury student. I worked one July with a recently graduated ES major who was spending the summer in town before starting a job in Oregon. Junior year of high school I had a student teacher in my English class who graduated from Middlebury that spring.
Gone, gone, gone.
I don’t mean to suggest, however, that our fleeting relationships are too disappointing in the end to be worth the trouble in the first place. On the contrary, I count myself very lucky to have known these students, even for a brief amount of time. Furthermore, as someone who understands the benefits of such interaction, I would encourage people here to find some way to be a part of the off-campus community (you know, with all that extra time you have kicking around). Coach a team, volunteer in a classroom, go down to the cannon and shoot the breeze with the kids playing hooky.
But whatever you do, for heaven’s sake, follow up with a text or something. At least during the holidays.
(12/03/09 10:00am)
“The importance of the Senior Committee is that it serves as a forum for seniors to decide on the senior class gift and plan events for the senior class,” said Senior Committee co-chair Julisa Salas ’10. The committee kicked off its programming with the seniors-only 200 days party in McCullough Student Center on Nov. 24.
“The 200 days party was a great start to the list of events that we will plan throughout the year,” added co-chair Samantha Maytag ’10.
“The inspiration behind the ‘Party in the USA’ theme was to serve as a reminder that although senior year comes with its share of challenges, it is also our last year to celebrate our achievements with our friends,” Salas added.
At the 200 days party, the co-chairs, including Salas, Maytag, Chris Lam ’10 and Will Silton ’10, announced the seniors’ chosen class gift. Seniors’ donations will create the “Class of 2010 Scholarship.” The scholarship will fund the financial aid of a future Middlebury student and is intended to favor international students.
“I am very pleased about the choice our class has made,” said Lam. “Not because I’m an international student, but more because it shows how much we value the opportunity to study in Middlebury and the need to maintain the diversity and talent in our college even under such an economy. It would be really sad to think that someone who is absolutely eligible to get such a great education has to be denied because of his financial status.”
Samantha Maytag is an environmental economics major with a minor in Spanish from Hillside, Colo. She enjoys skiing and showing horses. Maytag is on the Relay for Life Committee and participates in the Student Investment Committee and the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing, as well as a number of volunteer organizations on campus.
Maytag shared her not-so-secret motivation for chairing the committee. “I hope to use the Senior Committee budget to maximize on fun senior parties and events throughout the year,” she said. “I’m also looking forward to planning an exciting senior week for the Class of 2010!”
Julisa Salas is an English and American Literatures major and a French minor from New York City. She has been a part of the Community Council and the Student Government Association.
Salas brings experience in fundraising to the committee.
“As a student manager for the [alumni gift-giving] Phone-a-thon and a former intern for the Office of Annual Giving, I bring in an understanding of the incredible amount of work and effort that it takes to work toward our fundraising and participation goals,” she said. “We started fundraising at the 200 days party and will continue to fundraise until the end of the school year. I hope that every member of our class will donate to this worthwhile cause.”
Will Silton is an international studies/European studies major with disciplines in economics and Spanish from Sudbury, Mass. Silton is a member of Fletcher House, is the SGA Chair of Alumni Affairs and leader of the 2010 Winter Term installment of “the Hunt,” a competition among teams of students seeking to complete a list of obscure tasks. He also participates in soccer and basketball intramurals.
Silton recognizes the heavy responsibility of representing the entire class. “I think it is important that the Senior Committee include a diverse set of individuals in order to provide the most thorough representation of the senior class,” he explained. “In this way, we hope to reach out to everyone and field all potential ideas on parties, fundraising and our general Class of 2010 legacy.”
Chris Lam is a biology major with a Japanese minor. He hails from Toronto, Canada and Hong Kong. On campus, Lam sings with the a cappella group Stuck in the Middle, participates in Relay for Life and is involved with the International Student Organization and the Middlebury College Musical Players.
Lam said that he brings something different to the senior committee. “I think, being an international student, I can bring in a viewpoint that is different from the majority of the student body,” he said. “I am able to raise opinions or comments that are specific to certain groups of students on campus. Since I have worked very closely with the International Student Scholar Services office in the past, I also have a very good knowledge regarding the administrative side and diversity issues.”
All of the co-chairs acknowledged that they are not the only ones responsible for planning the senior events and encourage other seniors to get involved.
The senior committee meets as a whole nearly every other week. During the off-weeks, the sub-committees meet to work on their respective projects.
“This way [with the sub-committees], it is more efficient in getting things done, as we are all seniors and are very busy with our other work,” Lam acknowledged. “But the goal of the committee is essentially to create a place where we can discuss and pool ideas and subsequently craft a senior year experience that is unique and special to us.”
“We need more seniors to get involved, which will give us a better chance of throwing an epic party and making graduation week that much more spectacular,” Silton added. “Remember that Thursday night committee meetings are open to all seniors — don’t worry, they don’t cut into bar time.”
(12/03/09 10:00am)
ALEXANDRIA — We, the students of the Alexandria study abroad program, are welcomed in Egypt every day. That doesn’t mean that the Egyptians welcome us to Egypt. Rather, they prefer to welcome us in Egypt. What’s the difference, beyond a preposition?
In Arabic, the English phrase “Welcome to [country]” is translated as “Ahlan wa sahlan fii [country].” The literal translation back from Arabic is, “Welcome in [country].” Therefore, when we receive our daily greetings from those Egyptians whose English comes from watching the widespread subtitled Hollywood action movies on satellite TV, we mostly hear the “Welcome in Egypt!” variety (instead of our grammatically accepted “Welcome to [country]”).
I say “daily greetings” because these salutations are indeed a daily occurrence, and daily of a magnitude that I did not expect. I knew before coming here that I was not going to blend in — as blondes studying in China or South America also would not blend — but I didn’t expect to be vocally reminded so much. (But hear me out, for this is more than a typical tale of a white male from homogenous New Hampshire finally having to deal with “being different”).
To our credit, I believe that this phenomenon in is trickier than in many other study abroad locations, even others in Egypt and the Middle East. Simply put, unlike Cairo or Beruit, Alexandria does not see a lot of foreigners.
I also believe that our study abroad group was foolish for not expecting attention like this. We had all listened to the lectures on female harassment in Egypt, and while shouts of “Welcome in Egypt!” do not qualify as harassment, it’s a similar product from the same environment.
And, of course, the Egyptians greet us with more than just “welcome” — we also hear “how are you?” and “hi” — but “welcome” sticks with me, because as a classmate said, “I’ve been here two months and they’re still welcoming me.” But of course the Egyptians in the street cannot know how long we have spent here. To them, we are foreigners and in Egypt — and especially Alexandria — foreigners are temporary. Foreigners are tourists, and most of the ones the Egyptians see are still in their opening — and closing — week in Egypt, still fair game for “welcoming.”
But as noteworthy as we are being foreigners, we are even more worthy of note because we speak Egyptian, at least to an extent. This makes the average Egyptian much more interested in us, but more importantly, it lets us hear something other than “welcome.” A lifeguard on the Mediterranean coast talked intense politics with me for over an hour. A group of 10 year-olds led me around the zoo. A family in a park told me that I absolutely must sing for them (because all Americans are good singers).
The fact that the calls of “Welcome in Egypt!” have become slightly annoying is testament to the fact that we have passed through the “welcoming phase.” We have had meaningful connections with people here, and thus the seemingly meaningless, Middle Eastern-accented greetings just seem silly. But if anyone looks truly silly on Egyptian turf, it’s us, and if they want to point that out, that’s okay by me. As long as they’re still welcoming us.
(12/03/09 1:45am)
Despite the fact that Wes Anderson’s new film stars an assortment of furry creatures who scamper, scurry and crawl in the dirt, the characters of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” bear more similarities to the oddball humans of Anderson’s other films than to the actual animals they are supposed to be. Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman make their usual appearances and play their usual idiosyncratic characters. The customary pretension and insecurities can familiarly be seen resonating in the characters’ boasts and belligerence, even if it is out of animals that should not actually be able to articulate English words. These memorable Anderson quirks have been equally alienating and endearing to audiences in the past, and the films that have resulted generally achieve a zealous cult following rather than widespread, blockbuster success. Without question, though, “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” in melding the Wes Anderson method with the Roald Dahl children’s story, combines the best of both eccentrics to present a film that fully realizes its comic potential.
With an all-star cast headlined by George Clooney and Meryl Streep, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” recounts the attempted and failed reformation of the title character. Mr. Fox (Clooney), embodying his animal persona, begins the film with the much-maligned vocation of thief. Like all husbands with a familial commitment, however, he must soon give up the fun and perils of the high life for the boredom and security of the desk job. But as his son grows up and the tedium of his career overwhelms him, Mr. Fox begins to question the life he’s been living.
Determined to prove his worth, he undertakes the dangerous task of stealing from the three most notoriously cruel farmers around. When the farmers discover the robber in their midst, however, Mr. Fox’s surreptitious activities endanger the rest of the animal world. As the animals fight for their survival, a didactic tale emerges that ultimately moralizes on the value of being different.
Early in the film, as Mr. Fox asks his lawyer’s opinion, he says, “I understand what you’re saying, and your comments are valuable, but I’m gonna ignore your advice.” This statement, although referring to an entirely different question, embodies Anderson’s determination to stick to a style that has failed to resonate with viewers in the past because of its refusal to portray realistic characters. Instead, he has resolutely stuck to stories in which humanity is embodied by peculiarity. While “Fantastic Mr. Fox” bears the classic trademark eccentricities of an Anderson film, it is apt to appeal to a wider audience than his past offerings.
It is not the use of the creative genius of Dahl that will draw in new viewers, or the fluffy cuteness of some of the creatures inhabiting the film. Instead, Anderson’s use of animation as opposed to live-action is the integral element that makes the movie work. Audiences that would generally shy away from such unrealistically bizarre characters will be able to digest the strangeness in the form of a puppet fox, an apossum or even a psychotic rat. Ironically, these traits being displayed by animals marks an even more improbable story line than usual, but with audiences approaching the film already knowing the tale will contain a collection of animated animals, they will not be disappointed when the characters bear no signs of genuine humans.
Able to finally recognize the likeability of Wes Anderson films, audiences will likely be inclined to reassess his previous work, for, despite the strangeness threaded through his films, they do in fact find truth and sincere humanity in their emotional endings — compassion, honesty and dignity. “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is no exception. It stands out, however, in infusing its usual idiosyncrasies into characters that live beneath the ground. Ironically, that is where these most definitely inhuman characters find those most human of qualities.
(11/19/09 3:56am)
It is no surprise that many Middlebury graduates go on to pursue careers relating to the environment, sustainability or climate change (or all three). Scholars-in-residence like Bill McKibben and organizations like Sunday Night Group and Weybridge House encourage activism and environmental interest, and provide students with impressive credentials to bolster their résumés. Middlebury alumni have played pivotal roles jumpstarting environmental NGOs and movements like 350.org that are global in scale and are shaping international environmental policy today. While there are no doubt hundreds of alums currently involved in environmental work of one kind or another, the following profiles provide a brief sample of just a few. (Seniors, take note.)
Bennett Konesni ’04.5
After helping to start the Middlebury College Organic Garden (MCOG) while studying at Middlebury, Konesni’s passion for gardening has translated to his newest project — the founding of Sylvester Manor, a 243-acre educational farm located on an old plantation on Shelter Island, N.Y. “Our mission is to preserve and interpret the property,” Konesni said. “And to encourage a culture of food that is delicious, joyful and fair.” His uncle inherited the property and when Konesni suggested creating something similar to Shelburne Farms, there was no stopping them.
“I really enjoy designing things, then trying them out to see how they work.” Konesni said. “I guess I’m a little bit of an inventor in that way, whether it’s systems in the fields, a barn layout or an efficient office space.”
Konesni graduated with a triple joint major in music, anthropology and environmental studies with a focus in human ecology. After founding the farm, he now works as its executive director and is in charge of daily administrative duties, athough he tries to spend as much time as possible in the fields.
He cites his experience starting and managing MCOG as the one that ultimately encouraged him to continue to pursue farming and local foods.
“The experience of starting the garden, from navigating the college bureaucracy to building a shed to harvesting and selling our first produce, has prepared me extremely well for my life as an entrepreneur,” he said.
More than anything, Konesni said that his professors and classmates pushed him to pursue his interests — to grow, question and improve constantly.
“Professionals like Jay Leshinsky reinforced our budding knowledge and professors like Bill McKibben, John Elder, Anne Knowles and Jon Isham urged us on and fed us ideas to consider,” Konesni said. “Finally, though, it’s my Middlebury classmates. The encouragement and ideas that they have given me has been the best Middlebury gift of all.”
Konesni encourages all of us to visit the organic garden. “Get your hands in the soil and all of your other projects, classes, and relationships will improve,” he said. “It’s a powerful place — go explore it.”
Elizabeth A. Baer ’04
A former environmental studies & policy major, Baer is putting her degree to good use at Conservation International, an environmental non-profit based in Washington, D.C. Baer works in the Center for Environmental Leadership in Business on a team called Conservation Tools for Business.
“My team develops tools and methodologies for companies to help companies shrink, green and offset ecological impacts in their supply chains — the chain of growers, producers, transporters, exporters, processors and others who are involved in making products and delivering services for a company,” Baer said.
“We do this by helping companies develop targets for how they would like their suppliers’ performance to change, methods for building capacity in the supply chain, incentives to encourage performance improvement, monitoring methods to track change, and approaches to report on and communicate about changes with the public so that consumers can make more informed buying decisions,” she explained.
Baer enjoys the ways in which her work can have far-reaching implications, as even small changes made by major international companies like Starbucks, Wal-Mart or McDonald’s can have enormous effects.
While she has always considered herself to be environmentally conscious, she credits Middlebury with putting her consciousness into a global context and grounding it in science.
“It’s an extraordinarily exciting time to be in the environmental field,” Baer said. “We’re facing critical global challenges, certainly, and the science only tells us that things are getting worse. But at the same time, we’re seeing more and more companies, individuals and nations engaged in environmental issues than ever before.”
“The world is beginning to understand that environment is not an ‘either-or’ proposition, but that if we can shift our way of thinking and operating, ‘win-win’ solutions exist for us to develop sustainably while protecting the natural resources we rely on to thrive,” she continued. “The question now is whether we have the will to make the right choices and to implement the necessary changes quickly enough.”
Jason Kowalski ’07
After working to organize Step It Up 2007 with other Middlebury graduates and Scholar-in-Residence in Environmental Studies Bill McKibben, Kowalski now works as a policy coordinator at 1Sky, a start-up grassroots campaign urging congress to pass strong climate legislation as soon as possible.
“My role is to make sure legislators on Capitol Hill hear the demand for action coming from their constituents,” said the former English major. “And also to make sure advocates around the country have the tools they need to apply pressure to the legislative process. Overall, it’s a mix of lobbying, policy analysis and working with our grassroots network.”
Kowalski describes his experiences at Middlebury as key to his current career trajectory. “Working with great professors like Jon Isham really got me thinking about what I was learning in the classroom and how I could apply it to the real world.”
After taking science and economics courses, Kowalski worked with friends and professors to calculate the College’s carbon footprint and figure out how much it would cost to switch from dirty oil to sustainably harvested biomass.
“A combination of student support, solid relationships with the administration and economic analysis led to a triumphant ‘yes’ vote in 2007 from the Board of Trustees to move forward with the aggressive carbon reduction agenda being implemented on campus right now,” Jason said.
In many ways, Kowalski argues, Middlebury’s carbon neutrality initiative closely mirrors the battle underway in Washington right now — “only,” as Kowalski says, “Capitol Hill is much more hostile than Old Chapel.”
Bonnie Frye Hemphill ’08
After graduating in 2008, Hemphill finds herself working at Climate Solutions in Seattle as a fellow in business partnerships. A small non-profit working to accelerate practical and profitable solutions to global warming was a perfect fit for Hemphill after four years of involvement with Middlebury’s SNG.
“I give many of my classes and professors a good deal of thanks,” Hemphill said. “But far and away, I learned the most from Middlebury’s student climate activism. The basic skills of organizing — inspiring diverse folks to mobilize around abstract goals, conducting large group debates and cold-call phonebanking the media to show up at events — have all proven invaluable.”
At Climate Solutions, Bonnie coordinates the Business Leaders for Climate Solutions program with campaign planning, research, administrative, communications and networking support. “It’s a network of more than 550 northwest businesspeople making the case for building the clean economy,” Hemphill said. “It was just 125 at this time last year.”
Her work allows her to be involved in a number of projects at once, including drafting an op-ed for a utility CEO to publish in a local paper supporting Senate action or clean energy investment; researching green tax incentives; helping a group of businesspeople put together a trip to Washington, D.C., to testify before Congress about successful alternative energy projects; and, of course, reorganizing the database.
“Though I am pretty tired at the end of the day,” Hemphill said. “I can honestly say I love it. I took full advantage of Middlebury’s remarkable resources and networks to jump from school to my work here.”
Julie Baroody ’03.5
After graduation, Baroody envisioned herself working in international public health, but the former international studies major now considers herself very lucky to have found the Rainforest Alliance (RA). The RA is an international conservation organization that strives to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior.
“My current role is as coordinator of the RA’s climate activities,” Baroody said. “I’m thrilled to be part of the new and rapidly growing forest carbon community, with my colleagues finding ways to ensure credible reductions of greenhouse gas emissions through avoiding deforestation and forest degradation.”
While at Middlebury, Baroody was involved in environmental groups on campus, though she did not major in envrionmental studies.
“I lived in Weybridge House and attended ES colloquia regularly, and discussed environmental issues all the time with my peers,” Baroody said. “To me, integrating environmental issues into daily life, instead of focusing on them as something special or separate, is the only way to truly address some of the biggest challenges faced by individuals, communities, businesses and all the governments of the world.”
David Barker ’06
Barker has spent the past two years working as a project manager for the New York City Parks Department helping to implement a program called Schoolyards to Playgrounds as part of the mayor’s 30-year sustainability plan known as PlaNYC.
“The mayor wants all New Yorkers to live within a 10-minute walk of a park and since there’s not a lot of vacant, available land in the city, he saw the opening of 265 schoolyards (locked after school hours and on the weekends) as a practical way to accomplish this goal,” Barker said.
In his own words, Barker “has worn a lot of different hats for the team,” from attending participatory design meetings with schools to coordinating with different agencies during construction to make sure it does not interfere with other projects to responding to requests about the status of each project from public officials, civic groups and City Hall.
“I really wanted to be involved with something tangible after graduation,” Barker said. “There’s nothing better than seeing a barren asphalt yard be turned into a vibrant community space. The feedback from the schools and communities has been incredibly rewarding. At a recent ribbon cutting, the kids wrote each of us thank-you notes describing their favorite amenities. It’s work that rarely feels like work.”
While Middlebury did not provide the former Campus features editor with the technical know-how to interact with a team of architects, engineers and construction staff, it helped in other ways. “It taught me to look at the big picture, to communicate effectively through writing and public speaking and to juggle multiple tasks at once.”
Tyler Lohman ’08.5
After graduating with a joint major in geography and German, Lohman now works in New York, N.Y., as the general manager, sustainability director and chief operating officer of Dos Toros, a brand new taqueria in Manhattan.
While he does his fair share of burrito rolling — “I’m pretty solid: the trick is to use your pinkies at the end” — much of his time is spent scheduling, doing payroll, advertising, marketing and other customer relations duties. However, his true passion lies in making the company as “green” as possible.
“Being the Midd alum that I am, I don the few Patagucci and Pradagonia items that I own and have started to make the restaurant as sustainable as physically and fiscally possible.” Lohman said.
The taqueria currently features salvaged furniture, energy-efficient lightbulbs, low water usage toilets and faucets and greenware. In addition, the ceiling is constructed from tin found on the side of the road, all food waste is composted and even the used deep fryer oil gets turned into biodiesel — and, of course, the restaurant serves only local organic beans and sustainably raised chicken.
“Middlebury has influenced every move and decision I’ve made,” Lohman said. “While at school I knew I was learning things I believed in, but I did the work slightly more for the sake of the grade and what I thought the teachers wanted. But now, in the ‘real world,’ I’ve realized that I indeed do have very strong personal beliefs and tremendous drive to initiate my own projects — skills that I definitely picked up at Middlebury.”
(11/19/09 1:00am)
“We would often just sit on their porches, they would offer me cornbread and Coke, and we’d just talk for hours on end.”
For Sierra Murdoch ’09.5, this year’s undergraduate Environmental Journalism Fellow, this routine was the key to excellent reporting during her time in southwest Virginia this summer.
Murdoch is reporting on mountaintop removal mining — a process that involves blasting away the top of a mountain in order to reach the coal seams underneath — and how the longtime residents of the area are standing up against the degradation of their land.
Many of the people protesting this form of coal mining are former union coal miners who have “a long history of fighting against the injustices of coal,” said Murdoch.
During her time with these homegrown environmentalists, Murdoch was glad to witness that some progress was being made against this type of mining, especially when the Environmental Protection Agency denied permits to some potential mines after hearing the emotional testimony of some of these miners.
“It’s been a cool story to follow,” said Murdoch, seeing the direct link between their voices and political action. It’s been a lot of fun.”
The Environmental Journalism Fellowship began in 2007, with a group of 10 young journalists, including two Middlebury seniors. The program was funded by an anonymous gift of $1.5 million, which helps pay for the fellows’ stipend — $10,000 for graduates and $4,000 for Middlebury students — and the retreats that the fellows participate in at the beginning and close of the program each year.
This year’s batch of fellows reports on a diverse range of topics and comes from a diverse array of perspectives. They hail from as near as New Haven, Conn., and as far as Beijing, China. The attention-grabbing titles of the fellows’ projects show the breadth of the program’s reach — Nick Miroff of Arlington, Va., is researching the environmental legacy of the Cuban Revolution, and Christopher Weber of Chicago is writing about what should be done with factories abandoned in the collapse of the automotive industry.”
“The fellows have gone on to do astonishing things,” wrote Scholar-in-Residence Bill McKibben, who directs the program with Christopher Shaw, visiting lecturer in English and American Literature.
“[Some of them end up] publishing pieces in many of the foremost publications in the country, even though we are in a very tough environment for freelance journalism.”
The fellows meet for the first time at the Breadloaf School of English in the fall, where they are joined by a distinguished environmental journalist who they may probe with questions about their experience reporting on environmental issues. This year’s visiting reporter was Ted Conover, a well-known writer of narrative nonfiction and frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly and other popular magazines. Ross Gelbspan, Alan Weisman, William Finnegan and Rebecca Solnit offered their advice to the fellows in previous years of the program. Former Times reporter Keith Schneider will join the fellows at their last meeting in the spring.
“Myself being one of the least experienced at the table,” Murdoch said, “it was really interesting for me to hear pitches from already experienced journalists — people at the start of their career who have a sense of what creates a good story. I was in heaven spending an entire week just talking about writing and stories and environmentalism.”
The program culminates in a weeklong stay at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California. The fellows will share their stories with each other and with McKibben and Shaw, who by then already will have begun gearing to pick next year’s fellows after the May 15 application deadline.
According to McKibben, they have to sort through 150 to 200 applications each year, a task both time-consuming and difficult for the pair.
“I hope that [the number of applications] doesn’t grow because it’s heartbreaking to sort through them,” wrote McKibben in an e-mail. “I have all kinds of new respect for the Middlebury Admissions Office!”
Shaw gave an informational session on Nov. 18 for upperclassmen interested in pursuing a career in environmental journalism, or who are at least eager to share an environmental story with the world. Each year, the fellowship invites one or two undergraduates to participate in the program, and Middlebury graduates are invited to apply as well. Emily Peterson, a former fellow who now works as an assistant for the program in Washington, D.C., had some advice for prospective applicants.
“I would encourage interested applicants to think deeply about how their academic, professional, or personal experience makes them uniquely qualified to report on their proposed story,” wrote Peterson in an e-mail. “It’s necessary to become an expert in your subject area, and then to communicate your story with a sense of passion and ease that will inspire even a lay person to take interest in your cause.”
Murdoch also strongly encourages anyone interested in the environment or journalism to apply for the program.
“This has been an incredible opportunity for me,” said Murdoch, “as someone who hasn’t had too many bylines yet, to go through the rigorous process from beginning to end of doing solid reporting and producing a well-written project, and hopefully having it published.”
Murdoch plans to go back to southwest Virginia during Thanksgiving break to do some more reporting, and she will spend February and March after her graduation finishing up her work and recording some oral histories from the veteran environmentalists.
“The stories are particularly powerful in the men’s own words,” said Murdoch, “since they have such rich accents.”
After she completes her story, Murdoch hopes to continue writing about the environment, and although the job market for journalists may be slim, she has no qualms about the reams of content still left to write.
“There are so many interesting stories that need to be told, are waiting to be told, about Appalachia,” said Murdoch,” and I would love to have the chance to tell them.”
Prior to winning this fellowship, Murdoch spent a semester working for Power Past Coal, a grassroots organization she helped found with 40 other grassroots activists who want to end our reliance on energy from burning coal. For her work with this organization, Murdoch was one of six recipients of the 2009 Brower Youth Award, for which she will receive a $3,000 cash prize.
“The project was really stressful,” said Murdoch. “So it was almost a relief to get the fellowship because I could spend my summer sitting on people’s porches and just listening and learning, and I didn’t have to organize.”
(05/07/09 12:00am)
Author: Matt Joseph I don't think I'd be alone in saying one of the top reasons I came to Middlebury is because "the people here seem so nice." I can remember taking tours, visiting classes, going to the dining halls and spending the night during my senior year of high school in order to learn about what it means to be a Middlebury student. I thought it meant having a good time no matter what you were doing, enjoying the beautiful scenery, getting away from the city life, building friendships and getting an education to prepare you for life after college. But after four years of lectures, discussion sections and group study sessions, I've learned something new. I think as seniors this year, with this economy and the unemployment level, we've all had to confront ourselves about what we really want to do after we graduate. We spent these last four years struggling through labs, lectures, papers, problem sets, and exams, but for what? So we can apply to every job for which we meet the base requirements? And, for once, read every CSO senior spotlight that comes out in hopes that someone, somewhere is hiring? That's not what I signed up for, and that's not what being a Middlebury student is all about.We don't realize it when we're in class, but we're all surrounded by deeply passionate people who want to make a difference in their lifetimes. They want to take their education above and beyond. We know there are unbelievable opportunities for us all around the globe, and we know that we're capable. So why do we have to settle for jobs that make us ask ourselves, "what was it all worth?" That's not what being a Middlebury student is all about.I've learned that Middlebury students can do pretty much everything. They can learn several languages, teach English to underprivileged children, help the first black president get elected and even kick field goals in the NFL. There's no right path for a Middlebury student, and there's no telling where anyone will be five years down the road. So why squander this ability and force ourselves to do something we don't want to do? The problem is that companies all over the world are on hiring freezes and laying workers off on a daily basis. So the jobs that we all want, and can normally get, are in much shorter supply. But there are still places where we can find a great job and put our talent to good use. Right now, there are over 70,000 federal jobs listed on USAJobs.gov, the federal government's mandated job search engine, and more are being added daily. The government is the country's largest employer and has opportunities in almost every field. The Office of Personnel Management projects that in the next five years 550,000 federal employees will leave the government, and in only the next two years the federal government will need to hire 190,000 new employees to mission critical positions.So, if you want, go try and design the next space shuttle, or orchestrate the next aid plan to Afghanistan, or fight the war on poverty or prevent swine flu from spreading to places like Vermont. As Middlebury students, you can. Now that you've enjoyed the beauty and challenge of going to Middlebury, go do something that proves to yourself why you came here. And truly demonstrate what it means to be a Middlebury student.
(05/07/09 12:00am)
Author: Kelly Janis When the Middlebury College Board of Trustees convenes for its annual spring meeting from May 7 to May 9, money will be at the forefront of its discussions, especially the $20 million in budget cuts Old Chapel is planning for the next academic year. "By and large, we're going to devote most of our time to talking about the financial situation," said President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz, "and how we're doing in terms of our budget cuts, in terms of our projections for next year, in terms of the endowment and so forth."The Trustees' chief task is to approve the College's budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year."This year, of course, that has some extra meaning, given the financial situation," Liebowitz said.The Budget and Finance Committee works closely with Chief Financial Officer Patrick Norton throughout the year, vetting the projections and assumptions underlying the proposed budget. As a result, Liebowitz said, "there are few surprises by the time the [Trustees] gets to the table in May."Liebowitz explained that the College begins with a multi-year financial model that does not include specific items in the budget, and then negotiates annual budgets that include all funding for programs, but does not reveal the specific cuts that will be seen next year. In light of the economic downturn's impact on revenue, these cuts will be considerable, totaling approximately $20 million diffused across the College's operations. Liebowitz will announce the latest round of cost reductions approved from the Budget Oversight Committee's recommendations sometime this week, once directly affected parties have been notified."I'm sure we'll have some discussions about those," he said. "No one likes cuts."The Trustees will also consider resolutions on the comprehensive fees for Schools Abroad, Language Schools, the Bread Loaf School of English and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. Schools Abroad fees "vary from school to school, depending on what exchange rates are, as well as what the economic situation is in Japan vs. Italy, for instance," Liebowitz said.Language Schools fees are expected to increase by a whopping 5.2 percent, and fees for the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and Bread Loaf School of English by 4 percent, according to Vice President of Language Schools, Schools Abroad and Graduate Programs Michael Geisler. This is greater than the 3.2 percent increase of the undergraduate comprehensive fee to $50,780.Unlike the undergraduate program, the Language Schools do not rely as heavily on the endowment, instead drawing from their comprehensive fees to fund salaries and financial aid. While a smaller increase in the comprehensive fee would make it easier to market the schools to prospective students, it would prove detrimental in attracting and retaining faculty. "There was a time, about 10 years ago, when the Language Schools were among the most expensive summer language institutes around," Geisler explained.The expense made it such that the schools were reluctant to raise their comprehensive fees, for fear of losing students. In turn, Geisler said, the schools "fell behind significantly" in increasing salaries for summer faculty, especially in comparison to increases for regular academic-year faculty.As a result, many instructors - especially those in high-demand languages such as Arabic - are spending one or two summers at the Language Schools on account of their prestige before defecting to other institutions that can afford to pay more by limiting the number of programs they offer, and canceling them if they do not enroll to full capacity.The dollar's slide in value relative to the euro has introduced an additional layer of complication for the approximately 250 faculty members who come to the Language Schools from more than 25 countries across the world. Geisler said that over the course of the past two years, the average faculty member's "take-home" salary has decreased by approximately one-third."If they spend it over here, it's still fine," he said. "If they take it back to Europe with them, they lose a lot of money."Moreover, Geisler pointed out, when faculty members from overseas come to Vermont for seven or nine weeks during the summer, they cannot do research at home."And if you want to get a salary increase at the home institution, you need to do research," he said.Raising the comprehensive fees to support faculty salaries requires a trade-off, however. The Language Schools use a different financial aid formula than the undergraduate program, in which full demonstrated need is not guaranteed to be met. "I can't rule out that the increase may impair students' ability to attend," Geisler said.He described the tenuous balance as one that must be readjusted every year."We can't fall behind again," Geisler said. "Otherwise, other institutions will snatch up our best faculty, and that could kill the Language Schools."
