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(05/11/06 12:00am)
Author: LISIE MEHLMAN, POLLY JOHNSON AND KATHRYN FLAGG At their annual May meeting this weekend, the Middlebury College Board of Trustees granted tenure to eight current assistant professors: Tim Huang of the Computer Science department, Pete Nelson of Geography, William Pyle and Thierry Warin of Economics, Patricia Saldarriaga of Spanish , Pavlos Sfyroeras of Classics, Yumna Siddiqi of English and Jacob Tropp of History.Huang has coached students to perform successfully at computer programming competitions across the Northeast in addition to conducting research on topics such as artificial intelligence and computer science pedagogy. Nelson, currently at work on a project exploring the social, economic and political consequences of the migration of domestic baby boomers and Latino immigrants into rural communities, teaches courses on Urban Geography, Population Geography and Economic Geography. Teaching in the Russian and East European studies as well as the economics department, Pyle specializes in transition economies, and specifically the Russian economic system. Also from the economics department, Warin's research focuses on the politics and economics of the European Union. He is the author of three books and numerous articles.Saldarriaga is a published poet and has a book forthcoming on the 17th century Mexican writer, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz.Sfyroeras teaches courses in Latin and Greek and will soon have a book on the comedy of Aristophanes published by Harvard University Press.A specialist in postcolonial literature, Siddiqi came to Middlebury after teaching for several years at the University of North Carolina. She has a book forthcoming from Columbia University Press.The scholarship of Tropp, the current Spencer Fellow in African Studies, focuses on the history of South Africa, with an emphasis on the environmental practices and challenges of the Transkei region.Assistant professors generally are reviewed for tenure after teaching at the College for at least five years and no later than eight years, and the Promotions Committee conducts such reviews at the time of the professor's choosing. The review process includes sit-in evaluations conducted by fellow professors as well as evaluations from each professor's department. The process also considers unsolicited letters from students. In addition to these evaluations, the College requires that professors produce scholarly or artistic achievements of significantly high quality to be eligible for promotion to tenure.In the final stages of tenure reviews, recommendations for tenure are made by the president of the College to the Board of Trustees. Should a faculty member not be granted tenure, a similar review will be conducted at three-year intervals until the faculty member is promoted or leaves the institution.Library preps for final exam all-nightersThe library plans to accommodate late-night crammers again this finals period. It will be open 24 hours a day beginning the night of Sunday, May 14. Students will be required to flash their Middlebury Access card for entry past 9 p.m. through 7 a.m. This policy will apply to faculty and staff, as well. Don't get any ideas about saving research until the last minute, though, because the Circulation, Reference and Help Desks will be closing at their normal times. Therefore, any resources that will be needed overnight must be checked out prior to the standard 1 a.m. closing.The library announced for the first time last spring that it would keep its doors open all night for studious night-owls throughout the final exam period. This announcement followed complaints from students and initiatives from the SGA regarding library hours. While many students still bemoan the library's schedule during the academic semester, the Library and Information Services has cited funding and staffing constraints as obstacles to year-round 24-hour services.
(05/11/06 12:00am)
Author: BY TOM McCANN & RYAN W. REESE, SPORTS EDITOR Andrew Gardner has been named as the new head coach of Middlebury's men's and women's nordic ski teams, succeeding Terry Aldrich, who stepped down this past season after 31 years of service. Gardner arrives at Middlebury after being the head coach of the nordic ski program at Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) since 2000, and nordic program director since 2003. The beginning of the 2006-2007 nordic ski season next winter will mark the start of Gardner's reign, although he will officially join the staff this summer.Along with his lead role in athletics at CRMS, Gardner was also very active in the English department. He taught a class in Western philosophy, and has also been very influential in arranging a number of international ventures for his skiers over the past six years. There can be little doubt that Gardner will be a fine addition to the Middlebury sports fraternity, and while the Panthers have lost the iconic figure of Aldrich, the nordic ski program will be in good hands.Wood honored with POTWWhen it came time to select this week's NESCAC Player of the Week in men's lacrosse, one can be sure that it did not take very long. Middlebury defender Gabe Wood '06 served up a NESCAC championship after collecting a loose ball, running through seven Wesleyan defenders and slotting home a goal. The remarkable thing is that he did all of this alone and in only 13 seconds. With the game tied at nine, Wood provided the heroics, the title and the opportunity to advance further in NCAA tournament play. Through two games in the NESCAC tourney, against Tufts and Wesleyan respectively, Wood collected 12 ground balls and provided several key clearances as the Panthers progressed toward the conference crown. The senior from Tacoma, Wash. has been a rock in the defense throughout his outstanding Middlebury career and will look to lead the Panthers deeper towards the national title.This week, Wood and the rest of the Middlebury squad will face Springfield College in NCAA tournament play. The game will be played on Middlebury's Youngman Field this coming Sunday at 1 p.m. One can be sure that Wood and the Panthers will be ready to face their perennial foes from down south.Walker earns NESCAC awardSix goals and two assists in this weekend's NESCAC semi-final and final were enough to catapult Kim Walker '07 to NESCAC Player of the Week. The NESCAC title was the sixth straight conference triumph for the Panthers, who will look to ride the momentum of their 12-game win streak into their NCAA Regional game, to be held at Middlebury this weekend.Walker illustrated her dominance with a commanding performance in the NESCAC semifinal, notching three goals and tallying two assists on the game. She then added three more goals the following day, leading the Panthers over Bowdoin 14-8 in the title game. Walker also claimed five draw controls, completing a wonderful weekend for the New Jersey Native.
(05/11/06 12:00am)
Author: Dave Barker To the Class of 2006:Assuming no one drowned in Cook Common's foam last Saturday night, you will all be graduating in a little over two weeks. I am sorry I couldn't be there to deliver this speech in person, but Williams called offering more money. Don't take the wisdom here too seriously - I once separated my shoulder while wrestling late on a Friday night a few years ago. Read on though, because I won't be divulging how you too can become a major figure in U.S. agribusiness and then go on to save children all over the world as your commencement speaker plans to do. Instead, I think it's time to create a life-long Middlebury code that should serve you better than Painter's cane. Graduates are always told what they can and should do now that they have the opportunity to apply their prestigious education. Well, here are a few things you must never do. Your diploma certifies that you went to what Newsweek called the "hottest school for international studies." The bulk of you studied a foreign language. So inevitably, you'll have to pull out a few "cerveza por favor's" in the years to come. Never speak with an English accent. Remember, people know two things about Middlebury: it's cold and it has good foreign languages. If you must, blame any errors you make on not having studied at the College summer Language School.On a similar, academic vein, you must never misspel a word omit a comma or a period. Once your boss sees the first writing flaw, expect the question: Doesn't Middlebury have great English and writing programs? If you must, blame it on BreadLoaf or claim that you studied too many foreign languages. For economics and math majors, I expect the writing and English errors can be explained by your having worked with numbers for too long. I can hardly blame you for pursuing economics (the College's pre-finance program). Someday, you'll be playing with a retirement gadget at 55 in Bora Bora. Never forget, however, the rest of your classmates, who for the next few years will be living off lentils and millet. If only the Alumni Office set up a revenue sharing system to even out the playing field. As alumni, you'll have the opportunity to submit class notes to the quarterly magazine. Never tell your classmates about the latest BMW, job promotion, or cashmere sweater you bought on a honeymoon to Paris.Continue to primp and care about your appearance though. With a Middlebury degree, you must never be without a pastel polo or an expensive fleece. If ever questioned about why you're wearing clashing colors or your scruffy appearance, blame it on where you went to college. "Nobody cares about how they dress in rural Vermont!" Let me tell you what they do care about in rural Vermont: the environment. So, you must never litter, forget to turn out a light, or flush the toilet more than once a day. If someone gives you grief for that noxious-smelling exhaust from your car, take a cue from the Biobus and reply: "What did you expect french fry grease to smell like when it burns?"Speaking of things burning, I am burned out from a year of these. If you made it this far without needing a power nap to finish, I appreciate it. Congratulations on graduating. You upheld the Honor Code, now remember the Middlebury code.
(05/04/06 12:00am)
Author: KATHRYN FLAGG SGA releases vote count for recent SGA electionIn an e-mail to the student body on Tuesday, the Student Government Association (SGA) announced the long-awaited results of the 2006 SGA Presidential and Student Co-Chair of Community Council (SCCOCC) elections. The e-mail explained that the results were being publicized in order to "improve transparency and student involvement in the election process." The e-mail followed a week and a half of debate in the wake of the April 21 election, which included a last-minute "third party" campaign launched by Austen Levin-Coon '07.5 via e-mail encouraging students to abstain from voting and insist on transparency.Last week, current SGA President Eli Berman '07.5 expressed reservations about publicly disclosing the election results, voicing concerns that the potential disparity in the number of votes could be embarrassing to candidates. In continuing the debate over transparency, the SGA discussed publicizing the votes during their meeting on Sunday at Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson's home.According to the e-mail distributed by the SGA on Tuesday, Alex Stanton '07 won the presidential race with a total of 965 votes, taking 59.9 percent of the electoral vote. Alina Levina '09 received 399 votes, and 248 students chose to abstain. In the SCCOCC race, Annie Williams '07 received 774 votes, Mike Tierney '09.5 received 271 votes and Ryan Tauriainen received 15 percent of the vote with 241 votes. In the SCCOCC race, 320 students chose to abstain.Econ. panel discusses outsourcing pros, consGathering yesterday in John M. McCardell, Jr. Bicentennial Hall, three business professionals participated in a panel discussion tackling the challenges and potential benefits of increasingly common global outsourcing. The event was part of the Professor David K. Smith Visiting Economic Lecture series. Panelists included Scott Hardy, Nick Laird and Michael Zeliger, and the forum was moderated by Pieter Schiller '60, a partner emeritus at Advanced Technology Partners in Waltham, Mass.Hardy, founder of the NEOS Performance Overshoe, Laird, founder and chief executive officer of Global Realty Outsourcing and Zeliger, a partner at the law firm Kirkpatrick and Lockhart Nicholson Graham, were challenged during the forum to evaluate the changing face of American business in the face of outsourcing practices. The panelists discussed and debated whether or not outsourcing creates more jobs than it moves offshore, whether or not outsourcing jobs means "outsourcing America" and how outsourcing may limit the United States' ability to compete on a global playing field.The event, which was free and open to the public, was followed by a reception in Bicentennial Hall.Faculty engage research with indigenous peopleConvening tonight at 7 p.m. in the Robert A. Jones '59 Conference Room, faculty panelists will talk discuss their work with indigenous peoples. The panel, titled "Learning with the People of the Land: Faculty Perspectives on Working with Indigenous Peoples," will feature Associate Professor of Anthropology David Stoll, Assistant Professor of Music and Curator of the Ethnomusicology Archives Jennifer Post, Associate Professor of History William Hart, New England Consortium Fellow Richard Meyers and Director and Psychologist of the Human Relations Center and Associate Professor of English Gary Margolis.The event is being sponsored by the Office of Institutional Diversity and Voices of Indigenous People. Professors will address how their work with indigenous cultures has influenced their profession and research, how research contends with indigenous people and the implications associated with doing research with indigenous people.
(05/04/06 12:00am)
Author: Jack Lysohir For an antidote to that memorable (or unmemorable) Saturday night, fried eggs and a stack of pancakes are a must. While the made-to-order omelets at Ross Dining Hall are delectable, and a brunch at Rosie's is hard to beat - a stroll downtown to Middlebury's own Steve's Park Diner should not be overlooked. Steve's Park Diner is the small blue building located on 66 Merchants Row-just off Main Street, situated between Grace Baptist Church and Middlebury Town Hall. Although not a hotspot for Middlebury College students, Steve's has long been an important gathering place for residents of Vermont's favorite quaint college town. Steve's first opened as Val Do Mar Diner in 1927, located where the Mobil Station now stands (across from the Swift House Inn). In the late 1930s, Steve's moved to its current location and changed its name to the Middlebury Diner. Since then, Steve's has through a number of different owners - from cops to circus folk to blacksmiths to railroad tycoons - and was destroyed in the Hurricane of 1949, rebuilt and later bought by Steven and Beth Dow some 16 years ago. Just as the town fathers of Middlebury joined together in the early morning hours of the cozy diner in years past, Steve's is full of patrons who all seem to know each other and begin their conversations with "the usual" and end them with "see you tomorrow." To the Middlebury student, this can be intimidating but also somehow inviting. The service at Steve's is wonderful, in the way that most Vermont establishments have fine service. While Steve's does depart from the classic New York City diner with its polite service, it fortunately mirrors the speed of a great New York diner. Steve's is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. all week except for Sunday when the hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. The breakfast menu boasts the normal diner favorites. The omelets are filling, tasty and speedy, with a variety of available ingredients, including sausage, bacon, ham, mushrooms and hash. The morning sandwich is another good choice, simply one egg with a choice of meat and cheese on an English muffin. Steve's side orders are not particularly tasty; the hash browns are nothing special and the Blueberry Muffin was only palatable after copious buttering. On the whole the breakfast choices were wonderfully average, but also fairly well priced. It should be pointed out, also, that Steve's seems to veer from the emphasis on organic foods and the major emphasis on freshness that so many Vermont restaurants have begun to tout. However, there is one notable exception - the incredible maple syrup, made by Sugar Brook Maple Co., owned and operated by the proprietors of Steve's.Lunch at Steve's is another safe bet, but nothing out of the ordinary. The burgers are tasty and so are the French fries. The sandwich menu boasts a deep fried fish sandwich, moderately priced clubs and even an open-faced steak sandwich. Again, the Americana choices - BLT, turkey club, burger - are the best choices. Steve's Park Diner is a strong dining option, not only for of its fare but because of its place in Middlebury - and Middlebury's history. Eating in the front of Steve's one looks out onto the handsome green at the town's center. The spare, highly undecorated feel of Steve's emphasizes that this diner is about its customers. People come to Steve's not for outstanding meals, but because the food is good and the diner that sits across from the green is a Middlebury institution. I can only hope that in time, some Middlebury College students will be at Steve's ordering their Sunday morning "usual."
(05/04/06 12:00am)
Author: Erin Lackey On May 4, at 4:30 PM, Andrew Revkin will present a lecture on media coverage of climate change in McCardell Bicentennial Hall. This discussion, entitled "The Daily Planet: Why the Media Stumble When Covering Climate Change and Other 21st century Environmental Issues," is part of the "Meet the Press" series sponsored by the Middlebury College English Department and Atwater Commons. Revkin is a science and environment reporter for The New York Times. He has been writing about environmental issues for 20 years and has an immense knowledge of these topics. Author Sue Halpern describes Revkin as "one of few journalists that has been plugging away at this issue for years. He knows the science and knows the issues." Since his awareness about climate change is so extensive, members of Middlebury's academic community appear very excited to hear his thoughts on the media's coverage of climate change. In the lecture, Revkin will speak about the challenges facing environmental reporting and may present some possible solutions. Some of the topics in addition to climate change planned for discussion will include oil dependency and protection of endangered species. Said Halpern, "According to Revkin, news is typically described as an immediate happening that is relevant to the lives or concerns of a media outlet's readers or viewers. Global warming is the antithesis of that, with its impact spread out over time and geography and laden with uncertainty." The "Meet the Press" series decided to have Revkin speak because environmental stories are so prominent at Middlebury. About a month ago, Elizabeth Colbert spoke about similar issues, but was unable to answer some questions asked of her because they did not apply to her field. In addition, many students were disturbed by the fact that a global warming publicity trip to Montreal in January wasn't covered by the press. Colbert could not answer their questions about why this occurred since she is not a daily reporter. However Revkin, a journalist, should know why and will be able to explain how the press decides which stories to run and how to frame them.Revkin has worked at The New York Times since 1995. He has also written for Discover Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker and Science Digest. He has written several books, one of which is due later this month: "The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World." The book will feature his arctic expedition for The New York Times and describe the history of Arctic exploration, climate modeling and the future of the North Pole. His other book, "The Burning Season," was published in 2004 and investigated the murder of a prominent environmental activist in Brazil. The "Meet the Press" series was created several years ago and selects four or five speakers each year to visit campus. Unlike many lecture series, there is much more room for dialogue between audience members and speakers in "Meet the Press." Speakers typically lecture for 20 minutes and then take questions from attendees for roughly twice that time. This style is very attractive because it allows for a more participatory feeling. As a result of this more interactive lecture style, "Meet the Press" has seen some of the best attendance among the campus' various lecture series.
(04/27/06 12:00am)
Author: Katie Hylas This March, Associate Professor of English Timothy Billings was awarded a $181,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation - one of the largest grants ever offered to a Middlebury professor. The grant is intended to foster higher level interdisciplinary competence. Billings will use the money to study at the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London and work towards a master's degree in Sinology - the study of Chinese language, literature or civilization - over the course of the next year. Billings admitted that he is hesitant with the subject of Sinology because he does not possess an advanced degree in the study. He also suggested that this tendency among academics to behave tentatively towards studies which were not originally their own causes a dearth of research in areas where academic subjects overlap.Billings plans to break the mold, "Ever since I was a kid my passion has been for Shakespeare, but for the last 15 years, I have led a secret life as a China scholar." "The goal of my research," he continued, "is to make a genuinely unique contribution to the field of early modern European literary studies by extending the recent scholarship on representations of 'other worlds' at the margins of Christian Europe through original work in the relatively neglected area of travel writing on China." He also plans to use the expertise he will acquire to write a book to be titled "Illustrating China," which "will give a comprehensive overview of the literary depiction of China in European writing." Before he heads to SOAS to begin the one-year Master's program in Sinology, Billings plans to jumpstart his year-long academic journey by enrolling in the Chinese course right here at Middlebury College Summer Language Program. He achieved the equivalent of a BA in Chinese while he was working towards his PhD and will thus be fine tuning his classical Chinese.Though Billings has studied both modern and classical Chinese he feels he has only scratched the surface of Sinology. SOAS proclaims that its members must acquire "an armory of specialized skills - in bibliography, chronology, biography, linguistics, philosophy and so forth - that are essential for the in-depth study of cultural China both past and present." In the professor's own words, the program "focuses on mastering the breadth of complicated methods for sinological research in both modern and classical Chinese studies, which [I have] gleaned only haphazardly from within the field of early modern European literary studies while doing research on travel narratives about China." During SOAS's month-long spring break, Billings plans to apply for a residency as a visiting scholar at the American Academy in Rome so that he can study the archives which relate to European contact with China during the 16th and 17th centuries. Additionally, he plans to spend time inspecting Queen Elizabeth's letters to China. He will travel to Lancashire to examine and possibly photograph the letters. He also plans to take a week-long trip to Poland over the summer to investigate and perhaps contest the legitimacy of a map allegedly used by Samuel Purchas. After Poland, he will finish up the purely academic portion of his trip by studying collections in London, Rome and Paris and tying up loose academic ends. Afterwards, he will take a three week tour of late Ming and early Qing historical sites and relics in China. During his stay in China he plans to acquire photographs and engravings of key objects and sites. This interdisciplinary grant will allow Billings to simultaneously combine his academic passions and contribute to an area of study which remains largely untouched. Billings' students will benefit as their professor enriches his knowledge of Shakespeare with his access to the Royal Shakespeare Company and their performances. Hopefully he will return to Middlebury with new insights on Shakespeare and the performance of his works. He commented lightheartedly, "I admit, though, that I'm not looking forward to taking exams. But maybe going through that again after all these years will help me be a better teacher, too."The interdisciplinary approach and advanced education sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon foundation will enrich both Billings individually and the Middlebury community as a whole. "This opportunity is a literal realization of my dream in becoming a professor, which is to remain intellectually active - in essence, to remain a student - for the rest of my life, constantly learning while guiding others through discoveries of their own," said Billings.
(04/27/06 12:00am)
Author: Derek Schlickeisen Professor of Computer Science Matthew Dickerson's publisher released commercially last week his new book entitled "From Homer to Harry Potter: A Handbook on Myth and Fantasy." Co-authored with Augustana College Professor and Middlebury alumnus David O'Hara '91, the work investigates fantasy's roots in Biblical and classical texts as well as its manifestation in modern literature. "From Homer to Harry Potter" casts a wide net in its search for subject matter: over 11 chapters, Dickerson and O'Hara seek to define myth and fantasy and examine both modern fantasy and its roots in older literatures. Their goal, stated in the Authors' Note, is "to suggest a few general principles for how to think about and understand the genre of fantasy," as well as to illustrate those principles through a discussion of some of the more popular literary works of ancient and recent fantasy.For Dickerson, understanding modern works of fantasy means examining their literary influences. "The deepest understanding of the modern genres of fantastic literature is not possible without a good understanding of the many great works of literature over the ages that have inspired them," said Dickerson. "Fans of fantasy literature should be aware of these roots."Dickerson describes his interest in the topic of fantasy literature as decades-old: "In addition to my graduate work in computer science, I also did graduate work in Old English Language and Literature, and Medieval Studies," he said, adding that he has translated from their original languages several "great works of medieval heroic literature."This interest in experiencing texts of fantasy originally proved a major part of the research that went into "From Homer to Harry Potter." While Dickerson said he did examine other authors' writing on the topic of fantasy, his most important research was "a careful reading or rereading of many of these works of literature, that is, of the primary sources," including different variations of the story of Sigfried, "the archetypal Northern pagan hero," and the Icelandic Eddas. Said fellow author on fantasy T.A. Shippey in a testimonial: "Dickerson and O'Hara are as up to date on ancient muth and epic as on the latest in contemporary fantasy."Dickerson also cited his familiarity with co-author O'Hara as an important element in the book's production. O'Hara, with whom Dickerson became acquainted during his undergraduate work at Middlebury, now teaches Philosophy and Classics. "We have kept a close friendship over the years," said Dickerson.While Dickerson said he feels he wrote the book well and expects to lecture frequently on the topic now that it has been released, he expressed some reservations about his publisher's choice of title. "We didn't pick the title or the cover art. I like the cover, but I think I would have preferred a more literary-sounding title, and one less trendy," he said. "But the title, though it wasn't my first choice, will probably help to sell copies.""From Homer to Harry Potter" represents only the latest in a series of books relating to fantasy. In 1991, Dickerson published "The Finnsburg Encounter," a Christian fantasy novel set in the Dark Ages, and in 2003 he released "Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in The Lord of the Rings," an examination of some of the philosophies of "Lord of the Rings" J.R.R. Tolkien.Dickerson is also the author of "Ents, Elves and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien," a book set for release this November that examines Tolkien's philosophy regarding the natural world. That book, which Dickerson describes as "slightly more academic," will be published as part of the University Press of Kentucky's Agrarian Studies series.
(04/27/06 12:00am)
Author: KATHRYN FLAGG AND LISIE MEHLMAN College hosts multiple environmental speakersAn institution known for its environmentalism, Middlebury College will host two environmentally-minded speakers next week. Essayist and acclaimed environmentalist Scott Russell Sanders will speak in Dana Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on May 4. A professor of English at Indiana University, Bloomington, Sanders will read from his recently released memoir. On Friday he will host a discussion on community, sustainability and the writing life in the Middlebury College "Slow the Plow" student organic garden. Sanders is widely known as a renowned American essayist, and his work has appeared in the Georgia Review, Orion Magazine, Shenandoah (The Washington and Lee University Review), Arts Indiana, the Minnesota Review and the Kenyon Review.Also on May 4, New York Times science and environmental report Andrew Revkin will speak on media coverage of climate change. His lecture, part of the "Meet the Press" series hosted by the College, will be held at 4:30 in Room 220 of McCardell Bicentennial Hall. Revkin will present a lecture titled "The Daily Planet: Why the Media Stumble When Covering Climate Change and Other 21st-century Environmental Issues." Revkin has been a reporter at The New York Times since 1995. Previously he was senior editor at Discover magazine, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, and senior writer at Science Digest. Midd 8 hosts final panel featuring Bernie SandersMarking the end of a month-long series of discussions on global awareness and the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, Midd 8 will host an event tomorrow including a panel discussion on "Global Partnerships for Development" featuring Bernard Sanders. Sanders, Vermont's lone representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, will be joined by Middlebury graduate Parker Diggory of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, Amil Husain, the global youth coordinator for the U.N.'s Millenium Campaign and Alex Neroth van Vogelpeol, Northeast regional organizing fellow of Bread for the World. The event will take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Robert A. Jones '59 House conference room.The panel discussion, which is free and open to the public, is the last of April's Midd 8 symposium events. The symposium was named with the U.N.'s eight Millennium Development Goals in mind, which include the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, the achievement of universal primary education, the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other infectious diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and global partnering for development. The event was inspired by the "Live 8" concerts held world-wide last summer, merging activism and popular culture. The symposium included a number of panel discussions, lectures, a four-nation videoconference on preserving the global environment, a "Millennium Party" with live music and united activities from groups throughout the community that related to the Millennium Goals.MCAB aims for record ticket sales and turn outThe Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB) is expecting a huge turn out at this year's annual spring concert featuring Jurassic 5, Naughty By Nature and Rahzel. According to MCAB Concert Committee Chair Caroline Brewer '06, as of Tuesday night the box office had sold about 650 tickets. Brewer explained that "I've gotten a lot of emails from people at other colleges asking about tickets, and apparently the box office has gotten tons of phone calls as well. They are even printing more tickets because we are expecting such a big turnout." MCAB has committed itself to branching out to the wider community and has been advertising in Burlington and at other colleges around Vermont. They "are expecting a large off-campus turn out as well," Brewer explained. MCAB has received great feedback from people on campus and at other colleges and is looking forward to sponsoring a highly attended and spirited event.
(04/27/06 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] This past Thursday, students flipped through their weekly editions of The Campus to find a single-sheet, illegally-inserted letter that displayed a shocking, though probably not uncommon, ignorance of society's most famous bastion of free speech: the newspaper.The unauthorized insert referred to "biased coverage," and then proceeded to attack and debunk a single submission to the Opinions section.In good faith, we recognize that the printed word does not enjoy the same stature it once did in today's world of Blogs and BlackBerries, and that perhaps it is necessary to clarify some universal newspaper policies and practices and dispel rumors about what goes on in The Campus's own newsroom.The Oxford English Dictionary sheds light on some basic news definitions, to begin with.Coverage: "The act of covering an event, subject, etc.; the extent of reporting by a newspaper, radio station, etc.; reporting." Editorial: "Written, or ostensibly written, by the editor of a newspaper, as distinct from news items."Opinion: "A view held about a particular issue; a judgment formed or a conclusion reached; a belief; a religious or political conviction… What is thought of a person by others."The Campus's "coverage," includes any article for which reporting has been done by someone with a by-line identifying him or her as a Campus editor or staff writer. The Campus's weekly editorial strives to reflect the collective opinion of the staff, as written by the publication's current editor in chief. For highly polarized issues, we actually take a vote. When endorsing the SGA Presidential and SCCOCC candidates, the vote takes place after a 15-minute session with each candidate. The Campus's Opinions submission policy should not be a mystery: it is published below the editorial each week. The Opinions pages are where the newspaper fulfills its role as a public forum. Our in-house ad does not lie: even if your friends "tell you to shut it, we'll probably publish it." Any submission that does not contain libel, adheres to our word limits, puts forth an original opinion and is received by 5 p.m. on the Tuesday before publication will likely be printed. We even work with those who submit in order to help them comply with our publication standards. The Campus staff was genuinely disappointed that it did not receive a single submission in support of junior Alex Stanton's candidacy, especially since support for both candidates was readily expressed by the staff during the endorsement proceedings at our April 16 editorial board meeting. Our policy, however, which is analogous to most major newspapers, is to avoid submission solicitation in deference to the belief that opinions must be formed independently and not forced. The second disappointment of Election Day occurred when a message encouraging students to "vote to abstain" was sent to all students. The contents of the e-mail would have made an interesting Opinions submission, but as circulated, the e-mail was a gross misuse of the all-student function. The message should result in a clamp down on the number of students who have access to "all-student" in their address books.The fact that 1,612 students voted in this year's elections - rightly celebrated as an all-time record - is overshadowed by the poor decisions that were made on Election Day. Now you know how your newspaper works. Use it accordingly.
(04/13/06 12:00am)
Author: DANIEL ROBERTS '09 I was walking into The Grille when I saw crowds pouring into McCullough Social Space. A whole entertainment-fest was being given for prospective students. Apparently, Monday was the first of two preview days, a chance for admitted students to come and decide if they want to go to Middlebury.The College certainly busted out its most talented performers, and who can blame them? We naturally want the visiting kids to believe that everyone, at Middlebury plays a sport, pulls A's and still finds time to be in an a capella group (and in truth, most people here are like this). Senior Ellen Wohlberg came out and told some jokes. You know, warm up the crowd, get the prospies to pull their fingernails out of their mouths and laugh a little. Then out came the Mamajamas, to the delight of screaming girls all over the balcony. After this our swing dance club went on. Sure, the dancing was great, but I was simply impressed that this club even existed. Stuck in the Middle (SIM) went up, entertaining as always. Finally, the moment that inspired this article arrived.The Brothel was introduced as "a sketch comedy group that's just like Saturday Night Live." I had thought that Otter Nonsense stood alone in the Middlebury comedy scene, so I was excited to see what this new group had to offer. Their first skit was set in an AP English class, which I thought was a pretty clever way to cater to the audience of mostly high school kids.However, the "teacher" soon asked one of the "students" to read a poem. The boy explained nervously that his poem was entitled, "Confused." He read aloud: "I think I might be gay. At prom, Chelsea kissed me, and it was gross! I just wanted to look at Jerry..." After this, the actor awkwardly patted the other male student on the shoulder and sat down. I laughed for a moment, because it was clear that we were supposed to. Then my friend sitting next to me whispered, "That kind of seemed more mean than funny." I thought about what she said, and realized yeah, I was pretty offended. Was the idea for us to laugh at the gay kid? I turned around, and behind me, the six or seven other first-years I had been sitting with all looked horrified. One of them, a Feb guy, looked at me and said, "I'm really offended, and I'm not even gay." I felt the same.The skit, to be fair, improved from there. The teacher made a pass at one of the female students, which garnered wild laughter from the crowd. Perhaps they had regained their fans. The next skit was okay too. But I found myself still upset. It was that first skit; the more I thought about it, the more I saw it as being in poor taste. I mean, if there are high school boys coping with the possibility that they might be gay, isn't that exactly how they would feel - confused?I know a couple of guys in The Brothel, and they are funny, nice kids. They can do far better, I'm confident of that. My point here is not to give the group a bad review, but to suggest some advice that really goes for any performers here. Think about what message you want to send to your audience. Especially when performing in a venue that has the goal of luring admitted students to enroll at Middlebury.I know that the issue of being too "politically correct" is a hot topic here right now. In fact, I myself greatly resent the cautious, overly-PC culture we find in much of America today. I hate people who are too PC. I mean, if we can't joke about race, sexual orientation or religion, then where does that leave standup comedians? Still, I think our school is too clever and talented to resort to mocking gay teens. Personally, I have really been making an effort to stop using one phrase I unfortunately picked up in high school along with so many other kids: "That's so gay." Let's all make an effort to be more appropriate in our humor, at least in public. Am I wrong?
(04/06/06 12:00am)
Author: James Dolan, Focus Editor As Middlebury ushers in a new era of preparing for the future, the need to take into account all aspects of the College becomes all the more acute. One oft-overlooked element of the College's operations that has received renewed interest thanks to the Strategic Planning Process is the summer programs at Middlebury, which often rival the undergraduate program in terms of quality and educational innovation. Together, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Bread Loaf School of English and the Language Schools comprise a formidable trio of pedagogic excellence.Bread Loaf Writers' ConferenceThis year the 81st Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the oldest of its kind in the nation, will take place from Aug. 16-27. Director of the Conference Michael Collier said, "The conference will follow the form it has taken for the last decade, which includes small workshops that meet frequently." He also emphasized that this strategy allows the faculty to focus mainly on the participants of the program. Collier is the acting director of the conference, author of five books of poems, a Pushcart Prize winner, and was Poet Laureate of Maryland from 2001-2004.Since 1996, the Writers' Conference has seen a 250 percent increase in the number of applicants from 600 to approximately 1500 people. Despite the significant rise in applicants, the number of students and faculty participating in the conference has risen only slightly, from 225 to 250. Even though the programs are mainly for graduate students, Middlebury does accept several Middlebury undergraduates into the program.The conference boasts the participation of many distinguished writers in the areas of poetry, fiction and non-fiction, all of whom will be teaching the small workshops at Middlebury's Bread Loaf campus. Each faculty member has an extensive background in writing. Ted Conover, for example, is a winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction, as well as a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Linda Beards, author of seven collections of poetry, including "Flights of the Harvest Mare" and "The Ghost Trio," has received four Pushcart Prizes and a variety of fellowships, including one from the Guggenheim Foundation. Ursula Hegi, another professor, is the author of six works of fiction, including "Stones from the River," a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. They join a number of other distinguished writers participating in this year's conference.Bread Loaf School of EnglishThe Bread Loaf campus in Ripton is also the site of the Bread Loaf School of English. The Bread Loaf School of English opened in 1920 and offers graduate courses in literature for participating students. This year, a fifth Bread Loaf campus will open at the University of North Carolina in Asheville. After the opening of this campus, there will be a Bread Loaf campus located in each of the four quadrants of the United States. The other campuses are located in Juneau, Alaska; Santa Fe, N.M. and Oxford, England. Assistant Director of Bread Loaf School of English Admissions Sandy Legault, said that after opening Bread Loaf-Asheville, "We hope that Bread Loaf will be more convenient and more attractive to students in the South."The most recent Bread Loaf campus opened before Asheville was located in Guadalajara, Mexico. This campus was discontinued due to logistical reasons. Legault said they would like to find "a better fit for Bread Loaf, probably in another Mexican city."In addition to Bread Loaf's growth, the program is looking inward to improve the original campus on Bread Loaf Mountain. Administrators are working with Internet and Technology Services to enable wireless internet for students. This, Legault said, "is a huge improvement." Legault also said that renovations of several buildings are taking place.Enrollments for the Bread Loaf School of English have remained relatively steady in recent years. About 250 students enroll each year, making it the largest graduate English program in the country. It continues to be a selective graduate option for many students throughout the United States and abroad.Language SchoolsThe Bread Loaf campus is not the only active area of Middlebury during the summer. The main campus hosts Middlebury's numerous language programs. Summer Language Schools at Middlebury opened in 1915 with the introduction of the German School. Since then, the program has grown to include Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Portuguese was the most recent addition, added in 2003.The prospect of more language schools at Middlebury has been discussed in recent years. Directors of the program have considered many different languages for different reasons. Persian, Korean, Hebrew and Turkish are among the languages being considered, although new programs are not at the top of the agenda. Dean of Language Schools and Schools Abroad Michael Geisler said, "We are currently working at full capacity during the summer, with 1,300 students and faculty. This number may seem low, but you have to consider the 160-200 other student workers and researchers on campus." Housing for all of these people becomes an issue, especially since Language School faculty and families are also housed on campus. Currently, the Middlebury Language Schools are most focused on improving the language programs already in existence. For example, one such program is the International Cultural Studies Language Series, in which the entire community is invited to attend. In order to maintain the trademarked Language Pledge to speak only the language of the school, speakers are asked to do two presentations. The first is a main presentation in English for the community and a select number of graduate students. The second is in a foreign language and designed for the summer school students. "This approach allows the series to benefit both students, as well as the rest of the community," said Geisler.Middlebury students make up about 10 percent of the students enrolled at the Language Schools; however, applications come from all over. Last year, 4,391 people inquired about the Language Schools at Middlebury. According to Geisler, "Sometimes there are certain factors that keep people from applying, even though they want to attend. The program is expensive and it is also selective." Last year, 1,303 students enrolled, out of 2,297 applicants. Geisler also said that he believes they would see even more applicants if more students could afford to come. Tuition for the Language Schools ranges from $5,700 to $7,700, depending on whether a six-, seven- or nine-week program is desired.The recent affiliation of the Monterey Institute of International Studies with Middlebury has been a concern for some who argue that Monterey summer programs draw students away from Middlebury language programs and vice versa. Geisler admitted that, "At first I asked the question, 'Have we in fact affiliated ourselves with the competition?'" After some consideration, Geisler said, "Middlebury language programs really only lose a total of one to three students a year to Monterey." He said that the two schools' programs are very different. Middlebury has a total immersion program in which all areas of life involve the foreign language. Monterey is an intensive language program, but they do not practice the same "total immersion" strategy. Geisler said, "It's like comparing apples and oranges. It all depends on what the student wants. A student applying to Middlebury language programs usually doesn't apply to Monterey and one applying to Monterey usually doesn't apply to Middlebury."With three different programs focusing on either English or foreign language, Middlebury hopes to continue to build its reputation as a school that provides superior language education. Each of these programs have been around for more than 80 years and continue to evolve as the demands of each program change.-James Dolan, focus editor
(03/30/06 12:00am)
Author: [no author name found] Given the College's commitments to international studies and civic engagement, as well as its location in rural Vermont, the choice of Ann Veneman ["Veneman To Address Grads," March 16] as commencement speaker would seem an inspired one: she was raised on a "family farm in a small rural community" and became the first woman to serve as Secretary of Agriculture, from 2001 to 2005, before her most recent appointment as Executive Director of UNICEF. (It should be said, however, that the "small rural community" was outside Modesto, Calif., an agribusiness hub whose current population exceeds 200,000, and that the patriarch of the "family farm" represented Stanislaus in the California Assembly and later served as an undersecretary in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare under President Nixon.)After some reflection, however, we are concerned that the choice is inconsistent with the values of the College and with the values of most Vermonters. Those who applaud the College's efforts to support local farms, for example, will find her long association with agribusiness and genetically modified foods troubling, to say the least. Between her tenure as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture in the first President Bush administration and her appointment as Secretary of the California Food and Agriculture Department in the mid 1990s, for example, she served on the board of directors at Calgene, and represented the interests of Dole Foods in Washington. Later, as Secretary of Agriculture, she would receive a joint letter from the members of Vermont's Congressional delegation, who cited the treatment of dairy farmers as an example of the administration's "farmer unfriendly" policies.Environmentalists will likewise be troubled that, in her role as overseer of the United States Forest Service, she led the administration's efforts to reverse the Clinton administration's protection of 60 million acres of public lands from road construction, logging and other development. As an editorial in the Washington Post (July 16, 2004) noted, the new policies, intended to ease land use restrictions, "would … eviscerate protections for some of the country's last unspoiled wilderness."Those concerned about the effects of "unchecked globalization" on nations both rich and poor will perhaps also be disappointed. Since the Uruguay Round of General Agreement on Tarrifs and Trade (GATT), at which she served as a negotiator, former Secretary Veneman has been a prominent advocate of unfettered trade. Indeed, her positions on agriculture and trade are related: as Secretary, for example, she opposed the "precautionary principle" that would allow countries or, in the case of the European Union, groups of countries, to regulate imports of genetically modified foods pending further research.It comes as no surprise, then, that her appointment as Executive Director of UNICEF has drawn criticism. In a recent "Online Beat" column for The Nation, John Nichols quotes from a letter from Ravi Narayan of the People's Health Movement to Secretary General Kofi Annan, in which Narayan concludes that "her performance in [her previous positions] has been characterized by the elevation of corporate profit above people's right to food (U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25). Such a philosophy and practice would reverse almost six decades of UNICEF's proud humanitarian history and prove disastrous for the world's children." Furthermore, a recent article in Planned Parenthood's Choice! raised important concerns about her positions on women's rights and sex education, and their implications for UNICEF's mission.We do not mean to suggest that there is nothing to admire in her record, or that other colleges and universities would not find her an inspirational commencement speaker. We believe, however, that our own commencement should celebrate better the particular values that characterize Middlebury, both College and town.David H. Bain, EnglishEduardo C. Béjar, SpanishJeffrey Carpenter, EconomicsJane Chaplin, ClassicsDavid Dorman, MathematicsElizabeth Endicott, HistoryGloria Estela González, SpanishLeger Grindon, Film andMedia CultureWilliam Hart, HistoryAna Martinez-Lage, SpanishChristopher McGrory Klyza, Political Scienceand Environmental StudiesPeter Hans Matthews, EconomicsPaul Monod, HistorySujata Moorti, Women's andGender StudiesKamakshi P. Murti, GermanMargaret Nelson, Sociology and AnthropologyMichael Olinick, MathematicsEllen Oxfeld, Sociology andAnthropologyPaula Schwartz, French
(03/30/06 12:00am)
Author: Caroline Stauffer A bond exists between Middlebury College and the Dominican Republic - and it's not merely the dozens of students who flock to the island nation's beaches each vacation period. Travelers who take the time to explore the island outside of the usual tourist destinations may notice a lingering national deference to three of the still-developing nation's national heroines, the Mirabal sisters. The sisters - three of whom were tragically murdered in 1960 during the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship - are the subject of "In the Time of the Butterflies," the best-selling novel by Dominican native and Middlebury College Writer-in-Residence Julia Alvarez '71.Middlebury's link to the DR in fact stems from Alvarez and husband Bill Eichner's ownership of an organic coffee farm for the past 10 years: Finca Alta Gracia. The core values that seem to be intrinsic to Alta Gracia are analogous to those possessed by many in Vermont's Champlain Valley and at the College - sustainable and environmentally sound agriculture, third world development and a commitment to local communities and improving literacy. Many students have visited the farm over the years, whether completing J-Term projects or doing research for Middlebury's own organic garden. College graduates have served as volunteer teachers in the school adjacent to the farm.Just under two years ago, struggling to run the farm from afar and holding full time jobs in the states, Alvarez and Eichner turned the farm's operation over to the national Instituto Dominican de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales (IDIAF). Though they still own the property, Alvarez now describes their roles with the farm as advisory. The day-to-day management is handled by people who are embedded in the community, such as Filomeno Jiménez, who will enthusiastically talk for hours about developments in organic farming with visitors, and Alvarez thinks that is just the way it should be. Alvarez and Eichner have turned over other aspects of the Alta Gracia project as well. The coffee produced at Alta Gracia is sold in the United States by the Vermont Coffee company, which is committed to selling only coffee that guarantees fair wages for producers. When Paul Ralston, owner of the Vermont Coffee Company, first met Alvarez and Eichner, the pair was actually bringing back Alta Gracia coffee beans to the United States in duffel bags, trying to find a roaster that shared their philosophy of fair trade. Today, the Vermont Coffee Company sells Alta Gracia coffee and a second brew that blends Alta Gracia with a Sumatran and Costa Rican coffee known as Las Mariposas - another reference to the Mirabal sisters. The push to serve fair trade coffee in Middlebury College dining halls several years ago did not result in the College purchasing Vermont Coffee Company coffee, a disappointment to Alvarez, though several varieties of coffee served are labeled fair trade. Alvarez is still concerned with the ability of big coffee corporations to drive down the price of coffee, hurting small local farmers such as those that surround Finca Alta Gracia in the DR. "A lot of these farmers don't even read and write - they have no way to access first world markets to get fair trade, fair wage, fair return," she said. Alta Gracia has therefore looked to other sources of income in order to continue its projects when the price of coffee is down. One such source is "ecotourism." Sarah DeCandio voluntarily coordinates visits to the farm from Rutland, and many of the farm's visitors are Vermonters. IDIAF has formed a partnership with the University in Jarabacoa, enabling Dominican students majoring in agriculture or studying ecotourism to complete internships at Alta Gracia. Visitors to the farm enjoy traditional Dominican meals with the Interns and workers. The current interns do not speak any English and they estimate that less than five percent of the farm's visitors speak Spanish, often making communication difficult, but perhaps adding to the comfortably rustic experience. A visit to Alta Gracia requires a drive Southeast of Santiago, the DR's second largest city, a climb though a mountainous region that includes the highest peak in the Caribbean - sure to test any Dominican-issued rental car - to the city of Jarabacoa, a name originating from the Taino Indians who occupied the island prior to the arrival of the Spanish. The final stretch to the farm runs far out of town along a narrow mountain ridge featuring breathtaking scenery. Upon arriving at the farm, visitors first notice the coffee beans drying in the sun in the driveway. The seemingly primitive setup actually makes up one of the many innovative experiments IDIAF is conducting in hopes of finding methods to improve organic farming with limited technology. "The DR had been a plantation economy for so long - it takes generations to change to more sustainable system of agriculture," Alvarez said. The 1,400-acre farm produces 25 varietals of coffee. Approximately 70 percent of the coffee beans produced are deemed good enough to be sold in first world markets. In walking around the farm, one quickly comes to realize that coffee is not all Alta Gracia is about. Just up the road from the main building is a tiny library where volunteers regularly teach. The altruistic spirit of Alta Gracia seems to have transcended to the neighboring community, where a Spanish expatriate woman runs a ceramics studio and helps local women make traditional Taino pottery to sell.Alvarez admitted that she cannot claim to have written her latest novel "Saving the World" at the farm. In fact, she has done very little writing there at all, though she visits four or five times each year. "There is too much work to do on the farm to be able to enjoy the luxury of writing," she said. "That said, it feeds my soul - not to mention it assuages some of the guilt and burden I feel from being one of those lucky first world people who lives so well compared to the rest of our human family."
(03/30/06 12:00am)
Author: Michael Stefanik A recent survey based on data from a 1999 North American Academic Study Survey (NAASS) that questioned 1,643 teachers at 183 four-year higher-education institutions nationwide seems to shed light on a political bias toward progressivism on college campuses across the country. Students and faculty seem to be heading in divergent directions. The study claims that 72 percent of professors identify themselves as liberal, compared to a minute 15 percent of conservatives. Fifty percent are Democrats and 11 percent Republicans. These present-day figures represent a sharp increase from data obtained in 1984, where only 39 percent of college faculty identified with liberalism in the heyday of Reaganism. The shift has pervaded all departments. In English literature, 88 percent were liberal and 3 percent conservative. In sociology, 59 percent were Democrats and none were Republicans, demonstrating the tendency of the humanities and social sciences to lean left. Physics and chemistry, on the other hand, are 66 and 64 percent liberal, respectively. Students, conversely, seem to be heading in a different direction. Traditionally regarded as free-thinking liberal strongholds, college campuses are now seeing a shift in the political views of students. A study, conducted by the Institute of Politics at Harvard University, claims 27 percent of college students claim to be Democrats, 31 percent Republican, and 38 percent independent or unaffiliated. Sixty-one percent of the students surveyed approved of President Bush's job performance, nine percent higher than the general public. A possible reason for this may be the more-than-$35 million poured into college campuses by conservative groups every year. Another claim has been made that the right is a more unified, concise and passionate movement on college campuses and the left undisciplined and segmented along ideological and issue-based lines. Some have argued that the left is now being seen as reactionary and cliché to students on campuses. Student conservatives have positioned themselves as underdogs on oppressively liberal campuses. The overwhelming majority of liberal professors at academic institutions has been a cause for alarm with some, most notably reactionary author David Horowitz. Through his promotion of his "Academic Bill of Rights," an eight-point manifesto in which he seeks to eliminate political bias at universities in hiring and grading. He claims that a "liberal bias" at universities systematically excludes Republicans from joining college faculties. Until this happens, Horowitz claims, no diversity at the college level can be absolute. However, critics like Horowitz and studies like the NAASS tend to look only at the present state of affairs rather than postulating possible explanations, such as the tendency of liberals to value public service and their possible subsequent willingness to take low-paying jobs such as those in education.
(03/30/06 12:00am)
Author: Dan Stevens Ali Shapiro, a senior English major, has been awarded the prestigious Watson Fellowship by the Thomas J. Watson Foundation. At the conclusion of her senior year, Shapiro will embark on a year long tour studying the role tattooing plays in the lives of women in diverse cultures around the world.??Every year the Thomas J. Watson Foundation awards 50 liberal arts students the chance to explore the world for the purpose of independent study completely designed and planned by the graduating student. Shapiro is the 22nd Middlebury student since 1981 to receive a Watson Fellowship.Shapiro's research project, titled "Painted Ladies: A Cultural Exploration of Women and Tattooing," will explore the nature of tattooing in far flung areas of the world including Samoa, Tahiti, New Zealand, India, Morocco and Tanzania. Shapiro said the project stems from a personal desire to explore how tattoos have meaning in other cultures.??"I want to explore the role of women in tattoo cultures outside the United States, where tattooing still retains a sense of meaning, community and ritual, and the full participation of women is not an aberration from the norm, but a specific norm all its own," Shapiro wrote in her project proposal.Watson Fellowship projects are as diverse as the students and the universities represented. Shapiro's fellow awardees will be studying topics ranging from the way baseball enhances cultural immersion to tracking the Arctic Tern from the North Pole to the South Pole.??The process for selecting Watson Fellows is rigorous and competitive. Each member institution first requires an application with a project proposal from each student. The College then limits the applicants to a smaller group for interviews. Following this restriction, the institution then reduces the pool to an even smaller group to nominate to the Watson Foundation. Once nominated, the Watson Foundation designates a former fellow to interview each applicant. The highly selective process results in awarding fellowships to students that are highly motivated and largely independent.?? "The awards are long-term investments in people likely to lead or innovate," said Beverly Larson, the executive director of the Watson Fellowship program and a former Watson Fellow. "We look for people with passion, a feasible plan, leadership potential and creativity. The recipients get unusual freedom in global experiential learning."Watson Fellows are awarded $25,000 to spend largely independent of guidance or oversight. Fellows are required to submit quarterly reports and explicit financial statements. Another major restriction is a ban on travel to the Fellow's home country for an entire calendar year. The Fellowship is named for Thomas J.Watson, the legendary CEO of IBM. The foundation was founded by Watson's children and largely run by Watson's eldest son Thomas J. Watson, Jr., also a CEO of IBM. Watson Jr. is largely remembered for the role he played in piloting the computer revolution at IBM. The entire Watson family demonstrated the importance of international travel, many serving as foreign ambassadors - Thomas Watson Jr. himself served as ambassador to the Soviet Union under Jimmy Carter.
(03/16/06 12:00am)
Author: Bri Cavallaro Visiting Professor of English Michael Collier is the director of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference (BLWC), teaches English at the University of Maryland, College Park and was named the Poet Laureate of Maryland in 2001. His books of poetry include The Ledge (2000), The Neighbor (1995), The Folded Heart (1989) and The Clasp and Other Poems (1986). Collier is also the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship and NEA fellowships. Collier taught a poetry workshop at the college over Jterm and is currently teaching a modern poetry course.The Middlebury Campus: What circumstances led you to Middlebury for the year? Just a specific interest in these courses? Michael Collier: Well, I've had an association with the BLWC for over twelve years, and I've always wondered what it'd be like to be here over the wintertime - to teach here at the college - especially after I've had such wonderful students from Middlebury over the years. I've had lots of friends in this community, in the writing department, and it's wonderful to work with them.TC: What differences, if any, do you find between Middlebury undergrads and other undergrad and grad students you've worked with? MC: Maryland's a public university, and the range of students is much broader. It's much more difficult to get into Middlebury, and so the students are kind of higher-end than they are at Maryland. The students here also have a familiarity with literature that a good sixty percent of the students at Maryland don't. The curiosity level is about the same. At Maryland, there is just a wider spectrum. Graduate students are quite different - they come from all over the country and they've done really well wherever they've been as undergrads. We actually have a Middlebury grad studying poetry right now [at Maryland]. In this Modern Poetry class I'm teaching, students are much more active in discussion. There are plenty of opinions and there is a kind of eagerness. I think it has to do with the fact that most Midd students were the best in their class and were used to talking, that they've developed a habit of participation. It's great. It's fun. We get to penetrate more deeply into what we're talking about. Almost everyone is working at the same level. TC: What do you think an aspiring writer at Middlebury can get out of the Breadloaf Conference? What are your thoughts on writing conferences at Breadloaf - do you think an undergraduate student can really get a lot out of it? MC: I think this leads to a bigger question, that of the use of writing conferences at all. I think that Middlebury college students have a pretty good experience at Breadloaf for a couple of reasons. The first is that they're comfortable with the landscape, if not the actual structure of the courses. The other is that there are enough of them [students who attend Breadloaf] here - there are between either eight or nine - that they can create a little subgroup even if they are dispersed among the workshops. One thing people get out of workshops, though, is insight into what it means to be a writer, what it means to make your life into a life that's dedicated to writing. It comes in a couple forms, not just in the case of specific things you have to do, but in terms of the level of passion and energy and dedication. TC: Do you think being around other writers fosters that? MC: Yes, and I think people will talk about how that's the sort of thing they get out of a writer's conferences. That sense of community is one of the most important things that a writer could get out of a conference. They establish writing conferences that will get them through tough times, they'll exchange information about what they're reading. There's also the intensity of the experience, being exposed to lectures by faculty and craft classes and social opportunities. All of those things are intensely stimulating. The best is when people get something that they couldn't expect. If that happens, it's very exciting for them. I think Middlebury students can be nervous before they come up [to Breadloaf], but the teachers are very good and used to working with a wide range of students and I've found that in the years of working with Midd students, that they usually hold their own. They shouldn't be nervous on whether they could fit in. TC: I know you read a couple poems from your new collection at a recent reading. Would you like to talk a little bit about where they came from? MC: The inspiration for the poems comes from grief, I suppose, from losing friends who had died from, let's say, 1998 to about 2003. There was a big cluster of my friends who died. The poems were in response to that; it was a way of facing the grief I had buried - of examining it. It really came through in dream imagery, and when I wasn't working with dreams, it seems like birds and bird imagery were there to be avatars or a kind of connection to the dream world. Writing this book was unlike the other four books in that I didn't think consciously to what I was doing; I was mostly responding to images and rhythms, and I noticed afterward that so many had to do with words, so many were literal elegies for friends. It's an extended elegy.
(03/16/06 12:00am)
Author: Julia McKinnon When climatologist Michael Mann appeared at Middlebury to give this year's Margolin Environmental Affairs lecture, Benjamin F. Wissler Professor of Physics Richard Wolfson mysteriously presented him with a Middlebury College hockey stick.Why? Because Mann is nationally renowned for his work in calculating the globe's change in atmospheric temperature over time. And the graph he has come up with to measure global temperature takes the alarming shape of a hockey stick turned on its side.In his work, Mann strives to use statistical methodology to show that global temperatures are rising at an unnatural rate. His "hockey stick" graph shows global temperatures over the last millennium, relying on indicators like the width of tree rings and health of coral reefs to show temperatures in the years before thermometers existed. His graph illustrates gradual but steady global cooling over the thousand-year period until the 20th century, at which point temperatures began to increase. The end of the graph shows a dramatic upward thrust - the "hockey stick blade" - indicating that the last two decades have consistently seen record-high temperatures. Mann believes this increase to be caused by human activity.Mann came to Middlebury as this year's Scott Margolin Environmental Affairs lecturer. He works at Penn State University in the Departments of Meteorology and Geosciences, as well as in the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. His famous graph was accepted for publication in 1999 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).As this year's Margolin lecturer, Mann joined the good company of many other famous individuals in the environmental world. In previous years, the Margolin Environmental Affairs lecture has brought to campus environmental historian William Cronon, climatologist Steven Schneider, Paul Ehrlich, author of the "Time Bomb," and Eileen Clausen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.According to Wolfson, Mann was an interesting Margolin lecturer because, unlike many of the speakers from past years, "he's not at the end of his career." Instead, "Mann is up and coming," said Wolfson.Mann is indeed up and coming in that he still plans on conducting extensive research. So far, he has achieved much acclaim. Mann's hockey stick graph is what he calls "iconic." Since publication by the IPCC, it has served as evidence of anthropogenic-related climate change. An article by John Daly states that Mann's graph "in one scientific coup overturned the whole of climate history.""For policymakers, his graph became a symbol of how unusual climate has been over the last one hundred years," said Wolfson.A large group of environmentally-minded students had lunch with Mann and got to know him on a personal level before his talk. "Having lunch with Mann was a unique experience," said Lynne Zummo '06. "We all had the chance to sit down and talk with a brilliant climatologist about ideas that weren't necessarily science-oriented," she said.Mann seemed to be intrigued by the number of involved Middlebury students. "We talked a lot about big versus small colleges - he is at Penn state - and he was praising Middlebury for having an active student body," said Dan Berkman '06, "especially when it comes to environmental issues."Mann's lecture, entitled "Global Climate Change: Past and Future," was packed full, even though he had already given a lecture to about 100 science-oriented students earlier that day. Many students had to sit on the floor in the front and back of the room in order to hear Mann speak.Mann somehow managed to engage the diverse crowd. He stood before an audience in John M. McCardell, Jr. Bicentennial hall and explained climate change to English majors, members of the environmentally-oriented Sunday Night Group, hockey players and senior citizens from the town of Middlebury, all interested in what he had to say. "I was very impressed that he was such a good public speaker and people person," said Emily Egginton '06. "I thought his scientific presentation was [strong] because it was meant for a more educated audience but was still easy to grasp since he presented it so well."The overwhelming size of the audience suggests a great depth of interest in climate change issues at Middlebury. "This is the big issue of the century," said Wolfson. Mann's ability to achieve a well-designed scientific graph to depict human influence on climate change has brought him much recognition. Wolfson believes that the message Mann conveyed to Middlebury and to the IPCC is a crucial one. Climate change, said Wolfson, "is going to affect all of us. I don't think it's going to make the world uninhabitable, but it's going to cause other problems that exacerbate the injustices in the world. It will cause a strain for everybody."
(03/16/06 12:00am)
Author: Derek Schlickeisen Three months after Middlebury's faculty voted to merge the major programs in American Literature and English, opinions remain mixed as to whether the move was a good one. Proponents say the new Department of English and American Literatures reinvigorates an awkwardly organized literature program, while critics decry the loss of a curricular distinction unique to Middlebury.Beginning with the class of 2010, the major in American Literature will cease to exist. The new English and American Literatures major will limit to six the number of American literature courses that students may take to satisfy their major requirements. In addition, majors will be required to take a number of introductory courses introducing them to the "founding texts and authors of the tradition in English," according to a statement on the department's Web site.Supporters of the merger held that, under the current system of divided American and English literature programs, majors in one program of study are not exposed to material from the other program. Reginald L. Cook Professor of American Literature Brett Millier, who first proposed the merger, argues that the reorganized major program means that "something awkward and wrong is being set right, finally."Millier said she believes that most, if not all, students who have already declared majors in American Literature will choose to complete the requirements for that major. In contrast, Millier said the department is encouraging students who have declared English majors to re-declare English and American Literatures majors, as they will have already completed many of the required courses.Associate Professor of American Literature and Civilization Michael Newbury noted that, "the faculty of both departments will be entirely supportive of any student's desire to complete the new major."Preliminary descriptions for the 2006-2007 Course Catalog were due this past Friday, March 10. Said Professor of English Cates Baldridge, the new department "will be mounting a large, diverse and robust group of courses in American Literature next year, as well as several new courses in British Literature."According to Fulton Professor of American Literature Stephen Donadio, however, the plan for reorganizing the American Literature and English requires "no change whatsoever in the structure of [the English Department] or of the requirements for a major in English." Donadio, a staunch opponent of the merger, voiced his opinion in the November 2005 Opinions pages of The Middlebury Campus recently said that the intervening three months between the vote and Friday's submission of revised course offerings have not changed his opinion. The merger was "vague in its intentions and devastating in its impact," said Donadio.Students have reacted in as mixed a manner as their professors. "I trust the professors who petitioned for the merge," said American Literature major Amanda Tavel '07. "I trust that it is crucial to place American literature in a broader context - that you cannot look at the U.S. in isolation." Tavel added, however, that she wondered what the merger said about the value of those alumni holding degrees in American Literature. "What do you tell the previous generations of Midd alumni who devoted their undergraduate education to a program that is now seen as insufficient?" she asked.Fellow major Eli Menaker '08 said he did not view the major quite as favorably. "The American Literature department was another unique aspect of Middlebury College that is being assimilated into the mainstream," he said. "I think it's unfortunate that the administration believes it is better to reshape the College and make us similar to other schools."
(03/09/06 12:00am)
Dana Morosini Reeve '84, a Middlebury alum and widow of the late actor Christopher Reeve, passed away on Monday night after a battle with lung cancer, which she announced she had contracted this past August. She was 44 years old and a lifetime nonsmoker.
As chairwoman of the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which works to better the quality of life for those suffering from paralysis, Reeve worked tirelessly to care for Christopher, who was paralyzed from the waist down after a horseback riding accident in 1995.
After doctors initially predicted that he would never regain feeling or movement below his neck, through rehabilitation he defied the odds and recovered some feeling and movement. His story became motivation for millions who suffer from paralysis.
Dana and Christopher co-delivered the Middlebury College Class of 2004 commencement address on Sunday, May 23, 2004 to 5,000 attendees. Both received honorary degrees, which was the second Middlebury degree for Dana, who graduated as an English major in 1984.
Of Dana, John Bertolini, Ellis professor of English and liberal arts, said, "Dana Morosini - as I knew her when she was my student and advisee - was one of those people with the gift, the gift of making other people feel that life was wonderful. She walked into class with a smile and left with a smile. When she entered the class discussion -- which she did frequently - she always expressed herself with passionate vitality. Her sheer love of life came through in every word she spoke because she always seemed to be laughing in her thoughts, taking joy in the plays we were studying."
Bertolini continued, "I used to cheat a little by asking her more often than others to read parts aloud in class because she was just so alive when she read. She was the kind of student it's easy for a teacher to adore, and I adored her. May God give her family the strength to go on."
Reeve is survived by her and Christopher's son Will, 13, her father, two sisters and two stepchildren.
Written by POLLY JOHNSON
