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College Executives Make Up Elite of Addison County
[gallery ids="39002,39004,39003"] In recent months, executive pay has sparked controversy among faculty, staff and students as tax forms and op-eds have prompted a negative response to the salaries of the college’s top administrators. Executives at universities across the country earn high salaries as the competitive job market continues to bolster these positions in the realm of academia. The question, then, isn’t only why administrators have in the past earned “stay bonuses,” or why some of them earn nearly four times the amount of the average associate professor, but what such a high salary looks like in comparison to the greater economic landscape of Middlebury and Addison County. Physics professor Noah Graham ignited a wave of criticism over these top officials’ salaries after publishing the op-ed, “Executive Pay and Why It Matters” in the March 15 issue of The Campus. In the op-ed, Graham focused on “stay bonuses.” Executive salaries were augmented by additional “stay bonuses,” or payouts received after a certain number of years an administrator stays at Middlebury, to incentivize top administrators to remain at Middlebury during the presidential transition. Jeff Cason, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs, Mike Thomas, vice president for finance, and Gregory Buckles, dean of admissions, are the three remaining recipients of stay bonuses. At a faculty meeting last month, President Laurie Patton and treasurer David Provost touched on some of the issues regarding executive pay that have been circulating through the campus-wide debate this spring. The college has made an effort to provide transparent documents displaying comparative average salaries and total compensation between professors and peer institutions (Figure 1). Though the same kind of data for administrators’ salaries, adjusted for cost-of-living and aligned alongside other New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) colleges, is not available in the same format online, Provost did present similar data at the faculty meeting. Middlebury professor salaries as compared to comparable NESCAC colleges. Adjusted for cost of living.Middlebury CollegeMiddlebury professor salaries as compared to comparable NESCAC colleges. Adjusted for cost of living. According to the report “The Economic and Community Impact of Middlebury College” issued in 2014, the college is the largest employer in both the town of Middlebury and Addison County, with one in every 10 residents working for the institution. According to the report, 14 percent of the county’s population receive some economic benefit, due to direct employment at the college and the ripple effect of the college’s presence in the county. The Bowen National Research’s annual report on Addison County found that the median household income is $61,020, which is around 5 percent greater than the national median. The median property value is $236,400, nearly 14 percent greater than nationally. Middlebury’s salaries for its top executives are in stark contrast to the rest of the county’s finances. The comparisons of average household income in Addison County to that of top administrators could be seen as a tired rant against the top 1 percent. But the college’s influence on the county and town’s workforce justifies the recent scrutiny of the optics of high salaries in the context of Addison County.
Ripton Country Store Flooded with Responses After McKibben Op-Ed
[gallery ids="38510,38511,38512"] RIPTON — At the end of March, a local business had the most far-reaching for-sale notice imaginable. In an op-ed in The New York Times, Middlebury scholar-in-residence and 350.org founder Bill McKibben lauded the Ripton Country Store in an effort to help its owners find a buyer. The store has been nestled on Route 125 since 1879 and owned by the same couple, Dick and Sue Collitt, since 1976. The Ripton Country Store serves as something of a time capsule. Upon entering, you see hundreds of old glass bottles lining the top shelf to your right, a pot-bellied stove peeking out from the back and other shelves crammed with such food necessities as Vermont maple syrup. Residents come for chit-chat and scraps of local news, as much as the “lasagna noodles, rock salt, kitty litter, meatloaf mix, clothespins, starch and cupcake papers” – to name a few of the goods listed in McKibben’s piece, which shot to the top of the New York Times’s most-emailed list of articles. In short, little has changed over the 139 years of the store’s existence. In the mid-1970s, after Dick Collitt spotted an ad in The Wall Street Journal for the country store, the couple and their two sons fled the Pennsylvania suburbs with the aim of unearthing a simpler life in the Green Mountains. After 42 years, they are ready to retire. Before McKibben’s piece ricocheted across the country, the store had been on the market for nearly a year without any promising offers. Since the op-ed, however, things have changed. “The response has been tremendous,” Dick said. “The realtor has had over 50 responses from people who really think they want to buy it. He’s just a little one-man shop. I don’t even think he has a secretary and he’s doing pretty well with it.” Indeed, interest in taking over the Ripton Country Store has emerged from all over the United States. Most of the people who have contacted the realtor are, in fact, from outside Vermont, with aspirations similar to those that the Collitts had when they purchased the store[pullquote speaker="Bill McKibben" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]I think people may be yearning for actual communities, not virtual ones.[/pullquote] The desire to escape the “Twittery Trumpy twitchy mainstream,” as McKibben described in his article, is a modern-day version of the unhinged 1970s, when the country was still reeling from the Vietnam War, Watergate and race riots. “The idea resonates with the people who are responding,” Dick said. “They’re seeing all this shit about trade wars and shootings and Trump and all this stuff that’s going on and Bill paints this picture of this little tiny town and this warm and fuzzy little store. And it really is true, actually! We really are out of all that crap.” The life of Vermont country store owners may seem romantic, but McKibben did not paint a strictly idealized portrait of the Collitts’ life. He acknowledged that the hours are onerous. The store is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. It closes its doors only on Christmas. On Thanksgiving, for instance, the store is open for a few hours so locals can grab a forgotten package of stuffing or can of cranberry sauce. The work of the Collitts does not go unnoticed by the community, however. At the annual town meeting this year, residents showed their gratitude to the store owners. Along with a tribute in the Town Report, members of the community rose for a standing ovation and a rendition of “You Are My Sunshine.” “The town really appreciates us,” Collitt said. “Afterwards there was a cake in the shape of the store that said, ‘Thanks Dick and Sue.’” The risk that the store might not continue in its current vein—or worse, close altogether—has residents worried, especially given the trajectory of some other local businesses that have recently fallen by the wayside. McKibben notes the importance of the country store for Middlebury as well, noting that the loss of Dog Team Tavern rocked the community. “We really need this store to stay open for the town, and I think for the college too: I’ve been hearing from alumni all week who have stories of stopping in en route to Rikert or the Bowl or Breadloaf, and remember it fondly,” said McKibben in an interview. “After the demise of the Dog Team Tavern, a lot of the local institutions have passed on. It would be a shame to lose a real landmark.” The lack of cell service in Ripton also means that new owners would have to be comfortable with the prospect of some separation from screens. “We don’t get cell service up here,” Collitt said. “Almost everybody is getting away from that. Most people who’ve picked up on it are doing just what we did in 1976; they’re just getting away from the suburbs and all that.” The allure of returning to a simpler time and unplugging from myriad electronics that dominate everyday life resonated with readers, according to McKibben. “I’ve been struck by how many seemed to want some alternative to the life of screens--the fact that cell phones don’t work in Ripton seemed almost a plus, not a drawback,” he said. “I think people may be yearning for actual communities, not virtual ones.” Some students at the college are also bracing for the impending sale of the Country Store and what it might mean for the community. Charlie Mitchell ’18 perhaps took the McKibben piece more personally than other students. As a Food Systems major with ties to the local community through Middlebury Foods, he already has a stake in place. “When I saw the piece,” he said, “it really struck me as an opportunity—an unprecedented opportunity to flip the script on what we expect of students when they graduate and what we aspire to in our lives.” Mitchell soon began to ponder the possibility of taking over the store with several partners. He envisions teaming up with five others and sharing the responsibility of operating the business over a 30-year period, allowing each to also pursue other endeavors. “I think locating that uncertainty on something like a country store isn’t to fetishize the lifestyle or commodify it,” he said. “It’s to really ground our ideas for our future.” On the cusp of entering the “real world,” a time of near-constant contemplation and questioning, the idea of a “simpler life” appealed to Mitchell as well. While he has consulted financial advisors to gauge the feasibility of buying the store, he says he is in no way ready to sign a contract for the place. “Seniors get kind of cut loose and there’s a lot of loneliness, dissatisfaction, and struggle in that time period,” he said. “I’m not saying this is a way to run away from that struggle or to be afraid of that. But it is a total alternative vision for what life could be.” Amelia Pollard is a direct descendant of general store owners who opened their doors in Proctorsville, Vermont in 1860.
Accuser Drops Charges Against Kevin Mahaney
The woman who in January accused notable alumnus and donor Kevin Mahaney ’84 of covering up rape dropped her charges against Mahaney from the civil lawsuit on Monday. The plaintiff, who had been granted anonymity in the case, released a statement stating that Mahaney had no part in the assault, and that she was dropping all charges against him. The lawsuit will proceed against Howard Rubin, 62, who now remains the sole person accused in the lawsuit. “Earlier this year, I decided that, to move on with my life, I needed to tell the story of what I endured and to seek justice through the court system,” the plaintiff said in the statement. “As part of that effort, I brought a lawsuit against not only the man who committed the assault, Mr. Howard Rubin, but also against Kevin Mahaney, with whom I was friends at the time of the assault. I now realize my decision to include Kevin in the lawsuit was a mistake and that he bears no responsibility for what happened to me. Kevin played no role in the attack, assisted me in its immediate aftermath, and continued supporting me for months thereafter,” she said. “I now understand Kevin does not know Howard Rubin.” The plaintiff arrived at a voluntary discontinuance of the lawsuit, in which she agreed to drop the charges of aiding and abetting that she had submitted in early January. The lawsuit originally asked Mahaney for 17 million dollars in reparations, and accused him of helping to “cover up” the rape and torture that the plaintiff accused a wealthy Wall Street investment manager, Howard Rubin, of committing against her in 2015. The lawsuit originally accused Mahaney of persuading the plaintiff to not seek legal or medical treatment in the wake of the alleged assault she experienced in a penthouse in Manhattan. Mahaney filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on March 12, claiming that he does not know Howard Rubin, and had no part in the alleged assault of the plaintiff. Mahaney is the namesake of college’s Center for the Arts. Middlebury released a statement on Tuesday noting that the charges against Mahaney had been dropped. The plaintiff’s lawyer did not respond to a request comment on the retraction of the civil lawsuit against Mahaney. All charges are still being held against Rubin. Mahaney is president and CEO of the Olympia Companies, a real estate development company based in Portland, Maine. The Morning Sentinel, a newspaper in Waterville, Maine, reported on March 13 that Colby College had terminated a development project contract with the Olympia Companies in response to the lawsuit against Mahaney. Colby had hired the company in January to oversee the building of a hotel at the college. When asked whether the college would reconsider the decision in light of the dropped charges, Kate Carlisle, a spokeswoman for Colby, said that they would not resume work with the Olympia Companies. “We have already terminated the agreement, and are moving ahead to develop the property ourselves,” Carlisle said.
Woman Accuses Donor Kevin Mahaney of Covering Up Rape
Update: Since the publication of this story, the plaintiff withdrew her claims against Kevin Mahaney from the lawsuit. A prominent alumnus of Middlebury College has been tied to a sexual assault case in the New York supreme court. In a civil lawsuit filed in January, Kevin Mahaney ’84, a major benefactor of the college and the namesake of its Center for the Arts, was accused of helping to “cover-up” and “emotionally manipulate” a 20-year-old woman after she had been allegedly raped and tortured in a Manhattan penthouse in 2015. The allegation is the fourth sexual assault lawsuit brought against Howard Rubin, 62, a wealthy Wall Street investment manager. Although Mahaney denies any personal relationship with Rubin, Mahaney was named in the lawsuit after having a long-term “friendship” with the young woman. The emergence of Mahaney in the suit — which alleges that he paid for the woman’s college tuition and rent in Los Angeles after the alleged rape, urging her not to report it to the police or seek medical treatment — comes a full two years after the initial alleged assault by Rubin. The woman, who was allowed to proceed in the courts under a pseudonym, Julie Parker, met Mahaney, 55, at the Polo Lounge in Los Angeles in 2015. She was 20 at the time of their meeting, and according to the lawsuit, the two quickly became friends despite their age difference. Shortly after, Mahaney flew the woman to New York, where their “friendship,” as referred to in the lawsuit, evolved into a relationship in which Mahaney “encouraged [Parker] to treat him as a ‘mentor’ and ‘confidant.’ ” The two never had sexual intercourse, but their relationship remained ambiguous — they sometimes “cuddled and kissed,” according to the lawsuit. After spending time together, Parker told Mahaney that she hoped to attend college, but that her financial situation made the goal elusive. Mahaney, according to the lawsuit, put Parker in touch with a third party, Nicole Minton, who he claimed would connect Parker with a “wealthy guy willing to pay for having lunch and drinks together.” The client was Rubin and he offered the plaintiff $2,000 in exchange for lunch. According to the lawsuit, the victim met Rubin in the Russian Tea Room in Manhattan on Nov. 5, 2015, where he provided her caviar and alcohol. After several rounds of tequila and other drinks, the suit stated, Rubin’s assistant supposedly arrived at the midtown establishment mid-meal, clutching a non-disclosure agreement. The agreement claimed that any disclosure of the interactions between Rubin and the plaintiff would leave her vulnerable to being sued for up to $1 million. Allegedly, the victim asked Mr. Rubin and his assistant why she had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. He responded that it was to protect his marriage and children, as well as his business, the suit said, and so Parker signed it. “Hindsight is 20/20,” the lawsuit says. “It was an intoxicated, impromptu decision made by the plaintiff without legal counsel or even the thought that something horrible was about to transpire.” The complaint said that Parker was then escorted by Rubin to his apartment tower next door. The lawsuit details a violent attack involving electrocuting devices, clamps and other instruments in what Rubin called his “toy room,” a 200- to 300-square-foot space that other victims dubbed the “dungeon.” The suit further states that Rubin used a date rape drug on Parker and tied her wrists in order to immobilize her. He then punched and slapped her before sodomizing her with a dildo and later raping her himself. After assaulting her, he supposedly “thanked her for a pleasurable experience” before leaving to meet his wife and children for dinner. Rubin’s lawyer declined to comment on the allegations. On Monday, a spokesperson for Mahaney dismissed any notion of a cover-up. “As we have said all along, Kevin Mahaney did not introduce the plaintiff to Howard Rubin and does not know him, so Mahaney’s alleged participation in this incident is not just implausible, but impossible,” the spokesperson said. After the alleged rape, the plaintiff immediately telephoned a friend and the two went back to Mahaney’s condominium, where the plaintiff had been allegedly staying at the time. Parker claims that Mahaney asked the friend to leave the room before she delved into the “details” of what had just occurred. The lawsuit said that Mahaney discouraged her from seeking legal or medical attention, telling her that Rubin could destroy her with his wealth and power, as well as the non-disclosure agreement. “Ms. Parker’s claims are authentic and injuries genuinely real,” said a spokesperson for the plaintiff who requested anonymity. “Her privacy and well-being is of the utmost concern. Please consult the Complaint and public filing for further reference on all things related to Ms. Parker’s suit.” Mahaney’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the case on Monday, arguing that the lawsuit’s claims were not substantiated. In the claim, Mahaney does not deny that Parker returned to his apartment following the meeting with Rubin. But his lawyers assert that any claim that he dissuaded her from going to the police was false. Further, the motion addresses the lawsuit’s assertion that Mahaney laid out the consequences of reporting the encounter, saying that the advice, “whether good or bad, is certainly not actionable.” Mahaney’s motion to have the case dismissed also said: “These claims are belied by lack of even a single allegation that Mr. Mahaney knew or had any relationship with Mr. Rubin whatsoever, either before or after the alleged assault.” “We continue to vehemently deny these preposterous allegations and are confident that when the Court reviews our motion to dismiss, the truth will prevail,” Mahaney’s spokesperson said Monday. Parker’s primary cause of action against Mahaney cites “aiding and abetting fraud,” which indicates he is “criminally liable for the conduct of Defendant Rubin.” After the alleged assault, Mahaney confirms in his motion that he enabled her to attend college in Los Angeles to pursue stage and theatrical makeup design, by covering her tuition and rent payments in full. But Parker and Mahaney provide very different contexts for his acts of generosity. Parker’s lawsuit indicates that the financial support stemmed from a desire by Mahaney to control the young woman, and enabled him to wield power in their relationship. It is unclear whether, after the alleged attack by Rubin, Mahaney and Parker continued to engage in the romantic ambiguity of “kissing” and “cuddling” that they had prior. As Parker began suffering from panic attacks and depression, the lawsuit said, Mahaney would fly out to Los Angeles and “remind her of the terrible things that could happen if [she] told anyone” about the attack by Rubin, and that “if anything was reported, that Mahaney would no longer be there to ‘protect’ her, or pay for her apartment or college.” Although Mahaney insists in his motion for dismissal that he in no way knew Rubin, it is unclear whether he can still be legally liable for his supposed knowledge of or involvement in Parker’s case after the alleged rape. According to Parker’s allegation, however, she appeared at his doorstep with visible “injuries that she had sustained from the rape.” Mahaney won a silver medal for sailing at the 1992 Olympics and is now the CEO of Olympia Companies, a real estate firm based in Portland, Maine. According to Colleen Fitzpatrick, Middlebury’s vice president for advancement, the college does not release giving information from donors. Although Fitzpatrick did not divulge the exact amount of Mahaney’s donations to Middlebury, he is a significant donor to the arts program. The college renamed the Center for the Arts after him in 2007 on the occasion of the building’s 15th anniversary. After a Campus inquiry last week about Middlebury’s response to the allegations, the college released a statement on its website, saying that “Middlebury is committed to fairness for every person, which includes ensuring that people have the opportunity as a matter of due process to respond to allegations made against them.” The statement continued: “Middlebury strives to reduce sexual violence within its community, and responds to all allegations made under its policies. Middlebury will continue to monitor this case closely.” Parker is seeking $17 million in damages, plus legal fees, against both Rubin and Mahaney. The plaintiff is expected to file an opposition to Mahaney’s motion to dismiss within the next 20 days.
Transcript: Interview with President Laurie Patton
This interview took place on Jan. 31. The transcript was lightly edited and includes clarifications made by President Patton, which The Campus agreed to as part of the terms of the interview. ELIZABETH ZHOU: We thought we’d dive in by asking you to revisit the moment when you became the 17th president of Middlebury College. If you could travel back to that moment, knowing what you know now, what advice would you give yourself? LAURIE PATTON: I would say a couple things. The first is that I would make sure that when you think you know a community, you really know a community. Make sure you listen carefully to the ways in which your assumptions about a community might be different than reality. I think that’s just good advice for any college president or any new leader. I also think being a dean of a larger institution is 80 percent the same as being the president of a smaller one. But there are ways in which being a president has a bigger scope of a job. You are accountable to more constituencies. So I have seven constituencies I’m accountable to — students, staff, faculty, alums, parents, trustees and donors. The town and the state are also key constituents. I think being accountable and balancing to all of those constituencies given (a) how complex higher education is, and (b) how wide-ranging those investments are, is an important thing to know. When you’re a dean, you’re slightly differently configured. You don’t have all those constituencies. Deans also don’t have what many people call the “internal-external” problem, which all presidents have. How you think about and connect with people on the inside is different than how you think about and connect with people on the outside. And, often, the needs of the inside community are very different than those of the outside community. Every president has that challenge in some way or another. Another thing I would say, not so much in the spirit of advice as appreciation, is that the students are even more amazing than you think they are. There was a moment when I was in the receiving line [after the presidential announcement in 2015] and I met two students. One was a literature major and the other was a chemistry major. I didn’t know which was which. I said, “Oh, how do you like studying literature?” And the person — the woman — started talking about how great literature was, and I said, “Well, it sounds like you love being a literature major.” And she said, “Actually, I’m the chemistry major.” And I thought, “Wow, these are fantastic students.” Then I turned to the other student and said, “Well now can you say as much about the chemistry major, given that you’re the literature major?” And he proceeded to talk about the chemistry major. These are the kind of students that I came for. AMELIA POLLARD: How do you see the relationship of the College to the town? PATTON: We are deeply connected to the community in a number of different ways. I think that there is only one question the president of Middlebury has to ask the community: “What do you need and how can we help?” and, very particularly, “How can we help on projects of common educational purpose?” The relationship has been exciting, because we are now working on five or six major projects where we share common educational purpose. For example, we’re we’ve created year-long internships at the Town Hall Theatre, the Sheldon Museum, and the community music school. I am pleased about new things that we’re doing to support the Addison Central School District in creating the International Baccalaureate curriculum. Several students are working in the community to help train teachers on what the student experience of the International Baccalaureate will be like. Finally, we have a project underway with Habitat for Humanity, which is a perfect Middlebury project. We are working on a plan to donate land to build Habitat houses. The Art and Architecture faculty are interested in creating courses to help design these houses in an advanced, environmentally sensitive way. These are ways in which the partnership with the community has been highly productive. And it’s energizing for all of us. It’s what a good college should be doing. ZHOU: Knowing that you occupy a unique position with a lot of responsibilities, to whom do you look for professional guidance? PATTON: I have network of people I speak with. There’s a group of women presidents who talk to each other, call each other when things are tense or when they need to think through problems. And there are several male college presidents whose advice I value. I don’t know if you’ve heard about the executive coaching industry. CEOs and leaders of colleges frequently have coaches who they can talk to about different challenges and issues. This can be really helpful. For instance, I work closely with members of the Senior Leadership Group. They are great people. But with supervising a team you have to be careful. You know you’d probably be friends with them in other contexts, but no matter how easygoing and accessible you are, you’re their boss. And that’s something you have to be mindful of. That’s one reason a coach can be helpful: they have some distance from the day-to-day work and that perspective is important. I talk to my coach frequently, and it’s a good relationship. Family’s always great, because you know they have your best interests at heart. It’s also very important to me that I maintain my long-term friendships. Every day I get up and write to two or three friends, just as a form of gratitude. I also frequently just check in with them and see where they are. So every day I have a conversation with one or two friends that are completely unrelated to Middlebury. ZHOU: Thinking about your role as president, and going back to the Town Hall Meeting last fall, there was a little bit of pushback or confusion around the idea that there might be some conflict between your personal opinions and your opinions as a president. Knowing that that was a really limited format for everyone to engage with the idea, is there anything you would like to clarify regarding your role? PATTON: Yes. I wouldn’t have come to Middlebury if I didn’t believe that my values were not aligned with the institution’s values. Every day I think about Middlebury’s values, articulate Middlebury’s values, promote them and talk about them. I do so because I’m committed to them personally. So that’s the most important clarification that I would make. ETHAN BRADY: Last January, The New York Times wrote an article that was widely distributed on social media, showing a ranking of schools that have a lot of students from the top one percent, compared to the number of students from the bottom 60 percent. This was data from the class of 2013, so it could be a bit out of date. But Middlebury ranked ninth on that list. What is the college doing to address socioeconomic disparity, in terms of both numbers and impacts on campus culture? PATTON: I think that the larger question that this article raises has to do with economic inequality in our society, which is one of the major issues of our time. Let me offer a couple thoughts about that. One of the most interesting moments at the PEN America convening [in January] was our answer to the question of what was the biggest issue on campus for us right now. It was interesting because the number one issue was not race, even though that’s a big issue for us right now. It was class. That’s a signal for us that we need to continue to talk about that issue. I think there are two different ways you can address those issues. The first is increasing financial aid. As you know, financial aid remains my number one priority for fundraising over the next ten years. I think is essential that we increase the number — slowly — of people on Pell Grants, and that we increase the number of people on financial aid. That’s the kind of work that I do—and love to do—every day. But we have to do this sustainably. As you all know, I’m committed to balancing our budget. That’s crucial. And that’s why I want to keep pushing on fundraising for financial aid. I’d like to continue to grow that percentage in a way that’s financially sustainable. I don’t want to create a deficit problem five to ten years from now. I’d rather do it in a way that is truly sustainable. The second thing we need to do relates to campus culture. It’s essential that we start having conversations across class difference, the way that we have started to do around questions of race, LGBTQI, religious difference and so on. I think we need to embrace it fully. I would welcome student proposals on how we do that. Third, I think there are also generational differences between professor and students, things that might have been said in class in previous eras that are received the same way now. For example, when a professor says, “Do this assignment while you’re all sitting on the beach on spring break,” and many students in the class cannot afford to go to the beach on spring break, that’s a concern. So I think those three things are far more important for us to focus on than the small percentage differences between one college and another. Obviously, our financial model is such that right now, in order for us to provide the education that we do provide, full-paying students play a role. But the more we can create greater access through all the ways that we just talked about, in both getting into Middlebury, and then studying at Middlebury, the better off we’ll be. And we need student leadership to help with that. Because the student experience at the everyday level is where we can get better. POLLARD: What niche do you think Middlebury occupies amongst the other NESCAC schools and in the larger scope of higher education? How are we going to continue to differentiate ourselves moving forward? PATTON: On certain days — when I’m feeling like having a sense of humor — I think there are days when we can’t decide whether we’re Amherst or Hampshire. We’re in between those two places. But if you actually look at us, we are an elite liberal arts college with fantastic graduate programs. That is what we are. We’ve had all these metaphors in the strategic planning process. We’ve talked about a constellation. We’ve talked about an ecosystem. And all those are great metaphors. But none of those are going to be the sort of “heart” language that people land on. And a fantastic liberal arts college with great and vibrant graduate programs is the right description, and it also is something that people recognize. In terms of the NESCAC schools: We’re the only one in Vermont, so that’s kind of interesting. Second, I think we have a combination of intellectual intensity, first-rate athletic programs, focus on language-learning, environmental leadership, and a globally networked curriculum. Those are also the directions we’re moving, the areas where we want to keep improving, and where students, faculty, and staff are enthusiastic about moving. Those should be the kinds of things that continue to distinguish us. But what I really would like to see in the NESCAC schools is more collaboration. What are the ways in which we could collaborate more, not just on the athletic field? For example, Colby has a first-rate museum of art, and wouldn’t it be interesting for them to collaborate with our museum, which is growing and changing and doing interesting things — and has a new pink sign, right? Or if there is a NESCAC school which has a great physics department, and another has a great biology department, then why not have exchanges between both? And so forth. I think we could get so much more done if we collaborated and exchanged more in academic ways. But that takes a lot of coordination and effort, and everyone’s so busy running their own colleges, that that may not come to fruition so quickly. BRADY: It seems that in the wake of Charles Murray, a lot of people now have a certain association with this school. So as an ambassador of the institution, when you’re traveling around, across the globe, how do you defend the institution, and what do you talk about in those interactions? PATTON: These are questions that are good for everybody, because at a certain level we all are ambassadors for Middlebury. But as the person for whom that’s a primary job, I would say several things. First—and this is from my inaugural address—I would say that we are actually good at having arguments for the sake of heaven. Sometimes it’s painful and messy and hard, and breaks us apart and breaks us open. People may not land exactly where other people want them to land. They may not land where they intended to land. There are all sorts of tough distances between intentions and effects that happen in these hard conversations. What people communicate may not have the positive effect they intend, and that is always hard. In all of the pain that the community and students felt last year, I have two strong memories. One was right after the event, when I spent an hour in a kind of “mini-seminar” with students to talk about what had just happened. The second was the student-sponsored debate that occurred a couple weeks later. All of the same issues were there, and it was remarkable to see students, once again, leading in this difficult space, and doing so respectfully and rigorously. I found both of those occasions to be very moving events. That’s the first thing I’d say: we’re good at that. The second thing I can say now is that we have had a record number of applicants this year, which is a wonderful fact. That includes a record number of students of color, as well as a record number of international student applicants. Who knows why that is the case. Last spring we did a study of admitted students, and one of the interesting findings was that students were still intending to enroll at Midd because it was perceived as a place where real issues are talked about in really hard ways by real people. I was impressed by that, and that’s something I speak about when I’m traveling around the globe. The third thing I would say is that it’s a deeply difficult national moment. Our challenge at Middlebury is that we need to embrace the difficulty of that moment and live through it. It’s a challenge, but it also is an opportunity to figure out some new ways of living together, and to figure out some new ways of speaking together, and to figure out whether, as we move forward into the future, we can find a way to live across difference and to talk across difference. I actually have appreciated the opportunity to be an ambassador and speak about Middlebury in those ways. BRADY: In the internet age, when people are able to communicate across the globe in seconds, and publish an article or an essay and post it online, how do you think that affects this idea of speech, or the public sphere? PATTON: I think it makes a huge difference in every minute of our days. I would say to students: you exist in a public sphere that nobody else has existed in, ever. And I can’t imagine some days what that must feel like. At any moment, you don’t know whether you’re going to be a public person or not. Before, when you decided you were going to give a speech, you would prepare, and that was the public moment, and there was a transition into the public moment. Now, there is no transition. I think that makes it very difficult to figure out in any given moment whether something is a public conversation or whether it’s a private conversation. And that boundary is constantly oscillating. So that’s the first thing that would be deeply challenging for students today. And I think it’s one of the reasons why the public sphere and participation in the public sphere takes more courage today. And it’s why it is essential that we continue to challenge everyone at Middlebury to have that courage today, no matter what. The second thing is that this relationship between intentions and effects that I mentioned earlier is an interesting one. You can burn a Qur’an in Florida and there can be physical violence and protest about that action somewhere halfway across the globe. Or you could think about burning a Qur’an and write about it online, and there can be physical protest to that somewhere in Afghanistan. So whether it’s in debates about policy, whether it’s in other intellectual work, whatever it is, in online work you don’t know what the effects are going to be. And those effects are exponentially magnified. That means that being a public person is a totally different experience than it was even 30 years ago. The third thing is, actually, a real opportunity. This is related to the question of online learning in the context of the liberal arts. Our Associate Provost for Digital Learning Amy Collier talks about creativity, connection, and community as the key components of online learning in a liberal arts context. If there ever was a community that could figure that out, it’s Middlebury. So even with all the challenges that I just noted, because we have different campuses, because we have so many well-established schools abroad, we can do online learning differently. The way I think about Middlebury now is not so much a noun, but a verb. We are travelers. In that way, we always have to learn how to travel well. We travel across campuses, both digitally as well as actually. There are ways in which we have a real interesting opportunity to make sure that that this instantaneous quality of online life, as well as that hyper-connected quality of online life, can be in service of liberal education. I think we need to continue to reflect on that. Of course, every institution of higher education has that, but I think we have a particular opportunity to do that differently. POLLARD: My next question is about how Monterey has been incorporated into Middlebury’s vision, and whether you see it as an outlier or a new direction moving forward. David Provost noted how Monterey was actually going to need to make seven percent budget cuts moving forward. In furthering Monterey as an institution, how are you going to try to navigate the budget? PATTON: I’ll begin by saying I think Monterey is of real value, both to Middlebury and to the world. We need only turn to the example of how much it has helped in the last three or four months on the issue of North Korea. So many of the scholars at Monterey, particularly in the area of nuclear nonproliferation, have helped to do what good journalists should also do, which is say, “Well, wait a second, what they’re claiming isn’t true,” or “Let’s look exactly at what those Korean capabilities might be.” I also would point to the fact that the number of Peace Corps volunteers who go from Monterey and then back to Monterey is among the highest in the country for educational institutions. They are a leading institution in areas of public service and international development. The third thing that comes immediately to mind in terms of the value of the Institute is the number of interpreters who graduate from Monterey who go on to work for the UN and other institution across the globe. What we increasingly see is that, even in an age of machine-learning in language, more and more language experts are needed in order to work with that artificial intelligence to make sure that the language learning tools are as accurate as possible. In terms of the history of Monterey’s value to Middlebury, I think we’re seeing a couple of things. This semester a number of faculty are going to be traveling to Monterey from the college, including many who haven’t had a lot of connection to Monterey, and I think that’s a good development. We also have many faculty who travel from Monterey to Middlebury, and that has had a positive effect, too. We’ve had people come help us think about changing ways of learning. For instance, given the importance we place on immersive learning in Middlebury’s new mission statement, it’s natural that we would look to the interesting things they are doing with immersive learning at Monterey. I think we can learn from those initiatives. The president’s course that I taught last spring on water was also a good opportunity to engage across different intellectual cultures of the College and the Institute. We had some wonderful conversations about, for instance, plastics in our oceans, and how you could take a literary approach, a business approach, a policy approach, or a scientific approach to that issue. Everyone in the room was talking about these issues, and that could only have happened with faculty and students from both Monterey and the College there. I think that we are continuing to deepen the relationship in encouraging ways. Middlebury as a whole needs to achieve financial sustainability. And I’m pleased that, as David Provost said, we’re not only meeting our goals, but are surpassing them slightly. Monterey has actually surpassed its own goals for budget sustainability at a greater percentage than the College has. I’m proud of my colleagues at Monterey for that. Do they still have a hill to climb? Definitely. But so far, I’ve been impressed by how well they’ve done. So I expect that Monterey will continue to create a very clear path towards financial sustainability. I hope that all of the units will meet financial sustainability in the next three years. The main thing I want to say about Monterey is that every part of Middlebury should wish for its success. Part of what it means to be a great liberal arts college with fantastic graduate programs is that every unit should wish for the success of every other unit. That’s our only way forward. If a unit does well, either intellectually or financially, that helps everybody: all boats rise with that tide. That’s the perspective I want to make sure people embrace. BRADY: The master plan was a document produced in 2008, which is similar to Envisioning Middlebury. Does the college plan in the future to follow that document? In what ways can we balance the vision that we have with financial realities? PATTON: There are three things I would say about that. The first is that any institution that is responsible to a master plan is going to revisit it every five years and ask, “Are we going in the right direction?” I have known institutions who ignored their master plan, and then ten years later went back and said, “Oops, that plan doesn’t look anything like what we’ve done.” Last year, we did a thoughtful update to the master plan to recognize changes in our thinking. We have a Buildings, Grounds and Lands Subcommittee of the Board of Trustees that is vigilant about this. A perfect example of the need to update a master plan would be the temporary building that we will begin work on in the next several months. That was an important moment for Middlebury, because it’s exactly related to your question, which is how you figure out a way to respond to needs that you didn’t anticipate. Think of Bicentennial Hall, which is a beautiful building with wonderful views and, seemingly, all this space. But in a much shorter time than anyone thought possible, it became clear we needed more space for the programs that Bicentennial Hall contained because the number of students who wanted to major in the sciences grew. And so, the question became, what do we do? We looked at a number of different options. We looked at buildings in the community, we looked at moving and shifting departments, and so on. And the number one thing that drove this change was student interest, and being able to deliver to our students the opportunity to be science majors in fields of their choice. It was that simple. When you think about space and the master plan, you’re always thinking about what is the best and most effective way that we can fulfill our educational mission. That’s the second thing that I wanted to talk about: the way the College and larger Middlebury is governed. Any changes to the master plan need to be talked about with the Buildings, Grounds and Lands Subcommittee of the board. We had several meetings with that committee over the last few months. We reviewed what the building might look like and we interviewed architects. It’s actually an exciting process, especially if you know the building is truly meeting a real need and that it will further Middlebury’s educational mission. The third thing I would say around the vision for the master plan is that we need to think carefully about how we’re using space. For example, inclusivity as an everyday ethic is something that’s important to me. I think a lot about the fact that this campus was not built for students from underrepresented backgrounds. It was built for students, usually white students, who lived in the 1800s. They were not necessarily wealthy, but they were certainly middle class, and were going to go into very traditional male vocations. How do we think about changing that space? We can’t afford to tear down all the buildings and create new spaces, but I think there are ways that we can continually think about space utilization in different eras, and 2018 looks different than even 1998 did. I’ve also been thinking a lot about the spaces between buildings and inside buildings, or even on buildings. What can we do with those spaces? The Committee on Art in Public Places has begun to discuss an initiative that would focus on art that would welcome, and be authored by, and contributed by, students from underrepresented backgrounds—exactly in those kinds of spaces. Consider the wonderful murals that have been done in the Anderson Freeman Center. Why not do several murals around campus like that? Why not think about the next ten years as a place where art can occupy a new role on campus, and create a different kind of space utilization that could be more welcoming, and make our campus more welcoming? Lastly, the new building will provide what we call swing space, which will allow for the renovation of Warner, Johnson and Munroe over the next several years. Those three buildings are not ADA compliant, and don’t meet standards for universal design. That just feels unacceptable to me. We live in a world where people with disabilities should be welcomed and able to thrive on our campus. A number of aspects of universal design will be built into the new temporary building. That’s a big priority. It’s not sexy in any way, it’s not a huge thing, but it’s long-term. In the end the effect will be a much more welcoming campus, and that’s what matters. POLLARD: You mentioned before that there are needs we don’t anticipate as a college campus. And as of recently, the Me Too movement was brought to the fore by what’s commonly been referred to as “The List” being released the week before we went onto winter break. To what extent do you think the college is able or responsible for addressing this issue moving forward? PATTON: The first thing I’ll say is that our Title IX office has grown substantially over the last ten years. We’ve added HROs, we’ve added JAOs; we’ve added a director and more staff. And that has been in response to the needs on campus. And if history is any indication, I expect and have confidence that the Title IX office will continue to respond to the needs of students. I think that the number-one priority for the Title IX office, and for Middlebury more broadly, is to make sure that we are a place where students feel that they can report crimes of bias, crimes of sexual assault, and all of the other areas that fall under Title IX. That has to be our number-one priority. Another top priority has to be for fairness for all students. Those two things are what we’re committed to and what our Middlebury values demand. So moving forward, what I expect, and know we can and should do, is to make sure that we live up to those values even in changing situations. The Me Too movement opened up all sorts of difficult issues for everyone around questions of sexual assault, around questions of reporting, and so forth. I put a lot of confidence in the student group that is advising the Title IX office, and helping them continue to get better. We need to make sure that we continue to respond to the changing needs, as we have done in the past. POLLARD: Do you see any kind of educational element moving forward? Any kind of blanket, almost required-for-all-students portion? I know that the Vermont executive branch has required an in-course training for all government officials on sexual assault training. PATTON: We do have training as part of orientation. I think it’s great that all first-year students have that training and we put that in place in the last couple of years. And I think we should continue it. That’s absolutely essential. Let’s also continue to make sure that that training is relevant to the kinds of constantly changing situations that we’re seeing. And I think that conversation should be had on a regular basis. And if we need to expand or change what we’re doing given the situations that we find ourselves in, then I expect and have confidence that we’ll be able to do that. The educational element is key. The Title IX office is eager to embrace that, and deepen that as an opportunity, and I support it 100 percent. BRADY: The Title IX office is sort of like a justice system. Thinking of the campus as almost a small society, what is justice on this campus? And what does that mean for the students who go here? PATTON: The first thing your question reminds me of is that the Dean of Students’ office is going to be embarking on a series of focused conversations with students on the question, “How do we live together?” That’s a central question for all of us that’s related to that question of justice. Second, I’ve been pleased with and want to continue the conversations between faculty, administration and students on how we continue to evolve and address questions through our judicial system. On any college campus, judicial systems should be fair and they should be open. They also should reflect the sense that the conversation about what is justice is always evolving. I think Middlebury is committed to that. In my training in conflict mediation, we talk about three different kinds of justice. It’s important to remember that there are three different kinds of justice that are part and parcel of our world. There are many more, but certainly three major ones. The first is the idea of justice as a system of equality, where ideas about fairness take center stage. The second is the question of justice as equity: how much I put in is what I would get out of any given social engagement. That’s where I would expect something equitable, but not necessarily absolutely equal. A lot of times when you discuss some of these questions, people say, “Well, I’m not necessarily going to have an absolutely equal conversation about this issue, or an absolutely equal solution to this problem, but I would hope that we could all work towards an equitable conversation and an equitable solution.” The third kind of justice is a moral one. This has to do with righting historical wrongs and acknowledging where society does not fully recognize of some of its citizens, or does not fully represent them, or does not take care of some of its most vulnerable people. All of those three ideas of justice should be at play in the mini-society that is Middlebury. And the number-one thing we have to do as a society of learners and teachers is to reflect on those three ideas of justice and what their relationship is with one another. Can we design a system that makes sure that those three ideas of justice are part and parcel of how we live together? I am enthusiastic about the introduction of restorative practices. About 50 people have been trained in that area. The primary application will be in student life. Part of my answer to the question of how we live together is making sure that we not only continue to work on and evolve a fair and just student conduct process, but also, as a supplement to that, have the cultural habit of restorative practices. We’re going to be rolling restorative practices out over the next couple of years, and students and student life will be leading that effort. I remember talking about that in December of 2015, and stating how transformative it could be for Middlebury, so it’s delightful to see that moving forward. Amelia Pollard and Elizabeth Zhou transcribed this interview. The following questions were answered by email on Feb. 14. CAMPUS: Should a private college treat speech the same way the U.S. government does — under a First Amendment framework? Or, since it is a place of learning where many people develop their answers to moral questions, does it occupy a "third space" in our society? PATTON: Whereas public universities are obligated by law host even the most controversial, divisive, and in some cases repugnant speakers; as a private institution, Middlebury does not carry this burden. I remain, and Middlebury remains, committed to the First Amendment principles of free speech and by extension, academic freedom. That’s part of who we are as an American institution. I also believe that with that right — as with any right — we have responsibilities. At Middlebury, it is our responsibility to cultivate in our students active and critical inquiry which means exposing them to ideas that may be uncomfortable. At the same time, we also have the responsibility to reflect on and incorporate the principles and values of our community. My goal is, was, and continues to be an inclusive public sphere where a richness and diversity of voices are heard and, importantly, respected. CAMPUS: What did you learn from Charles Murray's visit to campus? Is there anything you would have done differently? PATTON: It was an incredibly painful and difficult situation. I have learned from and been forever changed by the degree to which people were hurt by the events that occurred — both on our campus and beyond. I think we could have turned inward sooner, to collectively ask ourselves, “What just happened?” I’m also pleased that over the past year we have done a lot of work around our speaker safety guidelines to ensure that we have the time and the input to fully prepare for speaker applications. Likewise, the work done by the Committee on Speech and Inclusion Middlebury College is a really important step as we learn how to listen differently and better. While the community is still healing, I believe that we are in a very different place than we were a year ago in how we are thinking about speakers and our priorities and values. CAMPUS: Female leadership is consistently held to a double standard in our society. Are there moments in your Middlebury career in which your gender has felt particularly prominent? PATTON: When I am asked this question, I respond by saying that that Middlebury has been ready for a woman leader for a while. Faculty, staff, and students all have been quite welcoming of my own particular collaborative style of leadership. And we’ve got some impressively strong women leaders in other positions at Middlebury as well. So overall, it’s been easy and productive. I think difference of note is in people’s expectations. My staff and I note the disappointment that people — students, faculty, staff, alumni, and more — express when my schedule prevents me from responding to them immediately. There is a greater degree of expectation overall that I will always be available. Studies show that female professors who devote the same amount of time (sometimes even more time) to their students as male professors, are paradoxically thought of as less accessible than men. That is because the expectations of women’s availability is so much higher. But these kinds of things go with the territory, and my view is that you just politely and skillfully point out to people that they need to shift their view. CAMPUS: In light of the emphasis being given to mindfulness on campus, how do you personally de-stress? PATTON: Three different ways: First, I practice vipassana, or insight, meditation. In December I spent time at a small retreat with my niece in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Second, I write. I find scholarly and literary pursuits a powerful way of cultivating mindfulness. There’s nothing like the focus of mind that comes from creating a persuasive paragraph in a scholarly argument, or building the best stanza for a poem. Third, I walk the dogs with family and friends. Dogs keep you completely grounded. They don’t care about their image or reputation; they care about staying connected. And that’s a great lesson for all of us. CAMPUS: Do you find time for scholarship while doing all the functions of the presidency? PATTON: Yes. I pursue scholarship for an hour a day, no matter what. I can’t do much more than that, but that is a non-negotiable. I have a book coming out in 2019 on controversies in the study of religion, and a third book of poems coming out this spring. Writing is a basic part of who I am and it helps me be a better intellectual and institutional leader. Middlebury has been welcoming and supportive of that commitment. I have been privileged to be a guest teacher in faculty classes several times a semester. People seek each other out to talk about their ideas, including their president. That’s Middlebury at its absolute best, and it’s a fantastic part of the job. And it helps because faculty and students and staff can connect with you as a fellow thinker. CAMPUS: What is one item on your bucket list for your time at Middlebury? PATTON: Institutionally, I hope we can create more art in public spaces that are inclusive of all of Middlebury’s communities. The personal item is dog-sledding. I ventured out to do that last winter, and I hope to do it regularly. CAMPUS: What is the strength of the hills, to you? PATTON: I’ll never forget the moment in November of 2014, when I was walking up to Mead Chapel to be introduced to the community. Someone shouted out a variation of the psalm written over its doors, “The strength of the hills is hers also!” That moment caused me to ask the very same question that you have asked. The strength of the hills to me has three different aspects. First, the mountains are all about staying power. They persist. And we should too. Gary Snyder writes about them as “streams of power.” Second, mountains remind us that we are small. Emily Dickinson ended one of her poems about mountains with the line, “I’m kneeling—still—“. She wasn’t kneeling out of false reverence, but a sense that there was always something bigger surrounding her, and that gives us a profound perspective on our daily distractions. Third, mountains can also bestow a sense of contemplative peace. The poet Li Bai puts it the following way: “You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain;/I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care.” I hope for those moments for all our students. CAMPUS: Where do you see the institution in 10 years? PATTON: Here’s where I want to go: in 2028, Middlebury should be a place where we have taken advantage of our global network of offerings to enrich our curriculum in all of our units. I hope we will have made significant progress on access and affordability. We should have named and be close to achieving a new environmental goal. I’d like Middlebury to be a place where faculty, staff and students see themselves as drivers of innovation. In particular, there should be a clear place to incubate curricular innovation, where people can make changes and keep traditions. I hope in 2028 we have built a more inclusive community — through increasing team based approaches to the classroom, experiential learning, and restorative practices. I hope we will have an improved residential experience with more diverse staff, and an ongoing artistic initiative to make more inclusive spaces on campus. In 2028, I also hope we have a sense of empowerment and alliance between administration, staff, and faculty. Our final goal should be that, in 2028, Middlebury community members share a clearly articulated sense of values and that we remind ourselves of them often.
Local School Shooting Threat Derailed
MIDDLEBURY – Until last week, Vermont had evaded the fear of school shootings that have swept the nation. The state was put to the test last Thursday after two separate tips reached Rutland County authorities regarding a teenager, 18, who was thought to pose a dire threat to the community. A young woman from Poughkeepsie, NY, contacted police after receiving messages from the teen, who is her, claiming he wanted to commit a shooting at a high school 30 miles south of Middlebury. Two days later, a parent also contacted authorities regarding suspicious behavior. The eighteen-year-old was Jack Sawyer. In the span of only a few days, Sawyer was searched, arrested, arraigned on multiple charges of attempted aggravated murder and held without bail. Sawyer’s comprehensive plan to kill students at Fair Haven Union High School in Fair Haven, Vt., was thwarted in a matter of days through the swift action by local officials. Sawyer’s life had been unstable in the past few years. After being kicked out of the local public school, he was being treated at a resident facility in Maine for the past year for anxiety and depression. According to Sawyer’s father, David Sawyer, he had checked himself out of the facility and returned to Vermont to seek a job on Feb. 9. The disturbing affidavit written by Det. Sgt. Todd Wilkins last week detailed the events leading up to Sawyer’s arrest. On Feb. 13, Sawyer purchased a shotgun from Dick’s Sporting Goods. Two days later, Chief William Humphries was contacted by the Duchess County Sherriff’s Department regarding text messages Sawyer had exchanged with a young woman from Poughkeepsie, NY. In the exchange, the woman questioned why Sawyer had returned to Vermont. “Back in VT I’m trying to start fresh,” Sawyer replied. “Just a few days ago I was still plotting on shooting up my old high school so it’s not like I really wanted a future anyways.” The woman also was the one to notify Sawyer of the Florida high school shooting. Sawyer had been recently fixated on the 1999 Columbine shooting, and was reported by Det. Sgt. Wilkins to have been reading about it recently. “That’s fantastic. 100% support it,” Sawyer wrote in response to the massacre in Florida. After reviewing the messages, Det. Sgt. Henry Alberico and Wilkins located Sawyer in Poultney, Vt. The two interviewed the teenager thoroughly, and it became evident how substantial his plan to kill students at Fair Haven High School was. Through the interview, the two learned of Sawyer’s aspirations to purchase an AR-15 and 9 mm Glock (both of which he could legally purchase in Vermont), the journal he had started months earlier entitled “Journal of an Active Shooter,” and that he simply wanted to kill “as many as [he could] get.” This scare came only days after the school shooting on Feb. 14, in which 17 people were killed by a gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Immediately after the Florida rampage, Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, stood by the existing gun laws, which are some of the weakest in the nation. The was given an “F” grade by the Gifford Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, named for the former Arizona representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was seriously injured in a mass shooting in 2011. For Scott, it took the threat of a school shooting in Fair Haven to reconsider the question of gun legislation, although he declined to offer any specific changes that he was open to. He expressed his shift in stance at a press conference last Friday. “If we are at a point when we put our kids on a bus and send them to school without being able to guarantee their safety, who are we?” Scott said at the news conference. “I need to be open-minded, objective and at least consider anything that will protect our kids.” Since the fall, Senator Dick Sears, a Democrat from Bennington, has worked on a senate bill that would create a process to remove guns from citizens who appear to be a threat to themselves or others: those like Sawyer. For the next two weeks, the Senate Judiciary Committee will work on bringing the bill to a vote. Gun Owners of Vermont, a group that endorsed Gov. Scott in the 2016 election, remains adamant that there be no strengthening of gun laws in the state. Ed Cutler, vice president of the group, told the Burlington Free Press that he suspected Scott was yielding to political pressure. “I hope he comes to realize that we’re his core base,” he told the paper.
Carol’s Nears Closing
In a college town like Middlebury, a local coffeehouse is a staple for study sessions, reunions, first dates and interviews. For the past 12 years, Carol’s Hungry Mind Café has served as a hub for students and professors alike to share ideas away from campus. Three weeks ago, though, owner John Melanson received an eviction notice after months of missing his rent payments. Melanson said the recent downtown bridge construction has severely hurt the café’s sales and now, even though the building’s landlord has been patient and generous — a letting him pay, he said, “a thousand here and there” — he is left with no choice but to close. After a few regular customers learned of Melanson’s decision, one of them, Doug Patterson, a local environmental consultant, started an online GoFundMe campaign to keep the café afloat. As of Jan. 23, the campaign had raised more than $2,800 from 46 donors toward the $20,000 goal. Still, Melanson said that while he was grateful for the GoFundMe effort, he doubts he can remain open much longer. (He declined to give a closing date.) The business’s financial troubles began last summer when the downtown rail bridges closed on Main Street and along Merchants Row. The protracted construction has led to the loss of 14 parking spots near the coffee shop, as well as the obstruction of pedestrian walkways around the café, which is located at 24 Merchants Row. “If I looked at my books from the year before last, it has cost about $30,000,” Melanson said. “The summers are a very important part. That’s when the tourists come, they sit, they spend 30 bucks and they go.” Melanson started the café with the late Carol Ross in 2005. Melanson had been widowed a few years earlier, and in 2004 he met Ross through the online dating site Match.com. After meeting in person, Ross pitched the idea of starting a coffee house together. Just a few months later, the business plan was in place and the two opened Carol’s Hungry Mind. In June of that year, Ross was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away soon after. Although they met on an online dating site, Melanson and Ross were never romantically involved together. “That doesn’t mean that I didn’t love her. I did,” said Melanson. “I admired her, we shared much of the same musical and literary background.” Today, Melanson is romantically involved with one of Carol’s closest friends. They started seeing each other after Carol passed away. “I am not only grateful to Carol for giving me the gift of the coffee house but also for introducing me to Karen and making my life whole again,” Melanson said. Before opening the café, Ross worked at the Vermont Community Foundation and Melanson worked for a furniture design company. For Ross, opening a coffee shop was a longtime dream. She came into Melanson’s life, he said, at a point when he was lacking direction and purpose and so he was easily persuaded to give the café a try. “I did leave my work at Vt. Tubbs, the furniture factory, soon after deciding to start Carol’s,” he said. “It wasn’t a hard decision.” “I had no idea I would love it so much,” Melanson said in an interview Sunday. “I was a very reclusive type of person. I wouldn’t go out and meet new people. And I knew I was going to be on stage at Carol’s. Now I love it. I go on vacation and I can’t wait to get back.” Although the shuttering of Carol’s would be life-altering for Melanson, the Middlebury community — professors, students, and those not connected to the college — would also feel its sting. Just last summer, Middlebury Chocolates, another popular spot for meeting over café au lait or cocoa, closed when its owners converted the shop to a wholesale business and moved to Vergennes. On a campus that can feel cut off from the town’s community, Carol’s provides students with a link to the outside world. Melanson sometimes furthered that connection by befriending students. “I was looking at the painting exhibition at Carol’s last February, and he started a conversation with me out of the blue about art and books,” said Daniel Cho ’19.5. “From then on, our relationship has grown to becoming actual friends who catch up regularly. He’s so eager to get to know students from Middlebury.” Authors like Jay Parini, a professor of English and creative writing, have written entire books within the café’s confines. The café’s high ceilings, ocher walls and chalkboard menu seem to encourage linger over an espresso. “For many years I considered Carol’s my study,” Parini said. “I sat at a small table at the back and wrote poems and novels. I loved working there. It would be shame to see this café gone from Middlebury.” Melanson insisted that the college was critical to the café’s success and, as a result, he has no plans to move the business elsewhere. “As I always say, without the college, I wouldn’t be here,” he said. “I wouldn’t open up a place like this in Brandon, let’s say, because the college is essential to it and everything that surrounds the college—the students, the professors.” Robert Cohen, a professor of English and American literatures, can often be found at Carol’s, planted at a table by the window. He lamented the café’s looming closure in an e-mail, penning an ode to the coffee house that also captured the solipsistic life of the academic. “It’s a good place to write or read or just stare into space, pretending I’m not eavesdropping on my colleagues’ conversations,” Cohen wrote. “Maybe for those of us who spend a lot of time in our own heads, the buzz of human discourse in the background serves as an important lifeline.” As businesses come and go in Middlebury, the college has realized its own stake in a vibrant downtown, where restaurants and shops are a draw for prospective students. Employees of the college serve on committees and boards like those of the Better Middlebury Partnership (BMP), the Addison County Chamber of Commerce and the Addison County Economic Development Corporation (ACEDC). Last year, the BMP and the ACEDC secured funding to help merchants whose businesses were disrupted by the construction. Although the grant has since expired, the organizations are now looking for more funding to assist businesses. “We have been an active partner in those conversations,” said David Donahue ’91, an assistant to college president and the college’s director of community relations. “Those organizations are also thinking about new and creative ways to bring energy, and customers, into the downtown.” Still, some residents argue that local officials are not doing enough. In a recent column in the Addison Independent, Gregory Dennis expressed concern that the $52 million bridge project could have lasting consequences. “Without measures to protect existing businesses and fill empty storefronts,” he wrote, “in a worst-case scenario we could end up with fancy new bridges over trains running through Nowhere: a place that used to be called downtown Middlebury.” Cohen, the English professor, also imagined the town without a meeting place like Carol’s. “Ideally the presence or absence of one little coffee shop wouldn’t be a world historic event,” he said. “But imagine this town without it. It’s hard to feel good about civic life without some civic spaces that draw people together.”
Vermont Lawmakers Legalize Recreational Marijuana Use
Following threats of a federal crackdown on marijuana, Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed recreational marijuana use into law today, making Vermont the first state to legalize marijuana through an elected body rather than through a ballot initiative or voter referendum. On Jan. 4, just hours after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his intention to limit recreational marijuana use nationwide, the Vermont House swiftly voted 83–61 to legalize possession of marijuana in the state. The Vermont Senate then approved the measure via voice vote. Scott had previously vetoed a senate proposal to legalize marijuana last May, but has since shifted his stance after this most recent proposal. Vermont is now the eighth state plus Washington D.C. to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. This bill will allow individuals over the age of 21 to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, grow up to two mature marijuana plants at home, and cultivate four immature marijuana plants. All of these measures will go into effect on July 1. But unlike all other states in which recreational use of marijuana is legal, Vermont’s bill lacks guidelines to set up a commercial market for marijuana, thus still making it illegal to sell marijuana in the state. Instead, Gov. Scott will set up a committee to examine taxing methods, commercial value and general logistics of a potential venture into recreational sale of marijuana. Despite last year’s veto, the governor had already expressed his desire to sign the bill into law prior to Monday. While the bill comes as a result of a Democratic legislature, Senate president pro tempore Tim Ashe took time to thank those who opposed the bill, citing the opposition pressure as “a step in a process to a more rational system.” Even though many on the Democratic side of the aisle had hoped for the creation of retail marijuana markets, the version today still stands as significant progress for advocates of marijuana legalization. Matt Simon, a legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project, called the signing of the bill as a “big step forward in Vermont.” However, Simon said that Vermont has a long way to go to maximize the benefits of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. While the bill does ensure that those with small amounts of marijuana in their possession won’t be charged with a crime, it does little to mitigate the illegal production and sale of marijuana. Simon, along with the Vermont Coalition to Regulate Marijuana (VCRM), is instead working to set up a retail market for recreational marijuana similar to that in California or Colorado. According to the VCRM, doing so would “create jobs, produce tax revenues, and stimulate local economies.” Whether this venture into the market occurs remains to be determined by Scott’s special committee. The bill is a reflection of a larger movement towards marijuana legalization across New England. Maine and Massachusetts have already passed legalization measures while New Hampshire is currently undergoing the process. Rhode Island and Connecticut are also looking to begin the legalization process later this year. In an announcement on Monday, Scott clearly outlined the implications of the bill’s passage for Vermonters. Although the consumption and cultivation of marijuana will be authorized come July with his signature, Scott emphasized in a statement to Vermont’s General Assembly that it remains a controlled substance, and that selling it in Vermont is still prohibited. “Today, with mixed emotions, I have signed H.511,” said Scott in a statement on Monday. “I personally believe that what adults do behind closed doors and on private property is their choice, so long as it does not negatively impact the health and safety of others, especially children.” The legislation decriminalizes personal use of marijuana for Vermonters over the age of 21, but simultaneously creates stricter policies on other instances of the substance’s use. Marijuana remains a Schedule I substance, alongside others such as heroin and LSD. In coming to a compromise over the bill, Scott successfully negotiated for criminal penalties against individuals who sell or make available marijuana to individuals under the age of 21.
Werner Christmas Tree Farm Gears Up for Holidays
As the holidays descend on Middlebury, the Werner Christmas Tree Farm has gone into overdrive to prepare for its 26th season. The owners, Cheryl and David Werner, started the farm after David’s father, Fred, who had a passion for planting trees, gave them a batch of Scotch pines. The family business has since trickled down to Fred’s grandchildren, who now often come back to Middlebury between Thanksgiving and Christmas to serve as the farm’s elves as sales go into high gear. Amanda Werner, a Skidmore College graduate and full-time cheesemaker at Champlain Valley Creamery, is the only one of Cheryl and David’s children who helps year-round. The farm consists of 25 acres near the couple’s home, with another 10 acres in Lincoln, Vermont. The farm aims to sell around 2,000 trees each year while having 35,000 planted trees in various stages of growth. At the time of Fred Werner’s gift of pines, Christmas tree farms were ubiquitous across the region. An Addison County Christmas Tree Growers Association, which has since disbanded, had a substantial membership base. “We plant in spring, and we always plant more trees than we end up cutting off,” Amanda said. “In the summer months we’ll shear the trees, using a long knife like a machete. We walk around them and swing the knife, knocking off the tips of the branches to outline the shape we want.” The undulating nature of the Christmas-tree industry calls for a spike of 10 to 12 workers during peak season, while only the immediate family works during the rest of the year. In the coming month, the family will divide the workload, with Cheryl Werner handling checkout, Amanda Werner making wreaths and David Werner creating garlands. On a typical December weekend, the farm can anticipate around 200 people searching for Christmas trees. Equipped with measuring sticks and bow saws, some customers like to cut their own, while others choose from the selection of pre-cut trees. The trees are not distinctly organized by height, but workers direct customers to fields that typically have certain height ranges. “We say that most people have eyes taller than their ceiling,” Amanda Werner said. “They may think a six-foot tree sounds like a good height but then are drawn to trees closer to eight feet in height.” David Werner, who is a full-time woodworker the rest of the year, runs most of the business operations in his workshop on the property during the holiday season. The decorated barn is stocked with maple syrup and garlands but has wood clamps and tools peeking out behind the garlands on the walls. Cheryl Werner occupies the rest of her time as a teacher in plant, animal and mechanical sciences at the Hannaford Career Center. Amanda Werner hopes to keep the family business going when her parents retire, possibly in the next few years. She also hopes to add new programs and activities to the farm. “It’d be really fun if we could have a build-your-own-centerpiece workshop,” she said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever have enough time and people to do this, but we do have a sleigh, and one of the horses knows how to pull it. We would also need snow for that, though.” Although entirely a retail operation today, the farm used to ship trees wholesale. The appeal of a true Vermont pine tree drew orders from as far as the Caribbean. Amanda fondly remembers packaging trees for Bermuda nearly 15 years ago after a heavy snow. Transported in the bottom of a large ship, the trees were unwrapped hundreds of miles away with the snow still intact on them. As climate change becomes more apparent each year, the Werners have noticed less snow and later freezes. “Obviously, we’ll have to deal with warming more and more in the future,” Amanda Werner said. “This year was a little bit easier for us because we had that cold snap early in November and we need three hard freezes before we can do any harvesting. The freezes trigger a sort of hibernation of the trees [that] sets the needles.” To handle the warming climate, the Werners have shifted most of their brush cutting up to their mountain fields. These areas get colder earlier and allow for the first harvesting of the season. With a warming Vermont climate, the farm may have to move more of its production to a higher elevation. However, the lack of snow has not prevented customers — both local and out-of-state — from flocking to the farm as soon as Thanksgiving leftovers start to diminish. According to David Werner, the lack of snow has meant a steadier stream of customers during the month of December, rather than a swarm at the first sight of flurries. With snowy days farther apart, people are no longer willing to wait for the increasingly rare snow days. For more information on the Werner Tree Farm, visit their website at www.wernertreefarm.org.
Rep. Welch Discusses GOP Tax Plan
Tax proposals recently released separately by Republicans in the House and Senate could reshape the financial lives of thousands of Vermonters if passed. Peter Welch, a Democrat who is Vermont’s lone representative in the House, articulated his opposition to the House plan in particular in a wide-ranging interview with The Campus. Welch said he was especially struck by the discrepancy between the Republicans’ claims about the tax plan — namely, how it would impact the middle class — and the reality. “If the tax bill accomplished what [House Speaker] Paul Ryan says is the goal, I’d be for it,” Welch said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “The reality of the bill is 180 degrees different than what he’s talking about.” In assessing the tax bills, Welch said he considered two main components: how the proposed tax plan would affect the budget deficit and whether the proposal would benefit the middle class. The proposed House bill is projected to add $2.3 billion to the budget deficit and strip a range of popular itemized deductions that taxpayers rely on each year. One of the dubious justifications made by Republicans for the tax plan, Welch said, is that by lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, firms will reap new profits and eventually increase wages. “There’s literally no empirical support for that claim,” he said. “There’s no indication that this tax bill, with a corporate tax cut, would somehow result in pay raises from the workers, and that’s a big claim that Ryan and the Republicans are making.” Welch notes that, across the board, 80 percent of the benefits from the tax plan would accrue to the wealthiest one percent of Americans. “You’re going to have 99 percent of taxpayers fighting for the crumbs,” Welch said. “They’re saying it’s going to benefit the middle class, but they can’t prove that.” The elimination of the estate tax would play a major role in that disparity. Doing away with the estate tax would only impact two in 1,000 Americans, providing a significant tax break to estates worth more than $1 million. Welch said that although these properties are appreciating in value over time, the capital gains are never taxed as the inheritors would receive the market value for the estate at the time of death. Itemized deductions — eligible expenses that taxpayers can claim in order to reduce their taxable income — have also been slashed under the House proposal. Medical costs, nursing home expenses, school supplies purchased by teachers out of pocket, student loan interest, state and local income tax— all of which were previously deductible on federal income taxes — have been collectively removed in the most recent House bill. The bill also contains certain provisions that disproportionately affect certain regions of the country. In the House plan, for example, damage caused by wildfires and earthquakes would no longer be deductible from taxable income, although wreckage from most hurricanes would be. “If you lost your home in the California fires, you can’t deduct your loss,” Welch said. “And that feels very much like an attack on a ‘blue state.’ Flood or fire, you still lost your house, so why can you deduct the loss in one case and not the other?” Another striking aspect of the House’s tax proposal is a lack of transparency in its drafting process, Welch asserted. Although most legislation is crafted following a series of open hearings to allow for public input, this tax bill was drafted entirely in secret in the Speaker’s office. Most House members, including many Republicans and members of the Ways and Means Committee, were unaware of the plan until it was formally proposed in the House. “The problem with a bill written in secret is that you can’t have public input into the whole process,” Welch said. “It creates a situation where you’re not focusing as much on the policy as you are on chasing votes to get to the magic number of 218 in the House.” Using a procedure called the “closed rule,” Republican leaders have denied the opportunity for any member to oppose an amendment to the existing bill, he said. As a result, Welch, along with Vermont Senators Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy, have tried to raise public awareness to combat what they call a disastrous bill. “Our effort is to get as much public awareness of what’s in the bill and how bad it is so that there’s a reaction of how the bill increases inequality, adds to the debt and fails to promote economic growth,” Welch said. Welch suspects that Republicans are determined, and willing, to pass any tax bill in order to claim success following months of failed and stalled legislative efforts. In summarizing his greatest concerns about the bill, Welch highlighted the trend between both tax bills: an attempt to compensate for losses stemming from the elimination of the estate tax by hurting the middle class. “These eliminations are a direct take-away from the middle class and it’s hard to justify that under any circumstances,” Welch said. “And most egregiously for taking away these benefits to pay for the elimination of the estate tax for billionaires.” Welfare programs will feel the most immediate repercussion from the cuts, Welch contended. In the long-term, however, he noted that the bills’ effect on the federal deficit could negatively impact future generations. “We’re borrowing money to pay for the tax cuts, and the people benefiting from it won’t be paying for it,” Welch said. “By driving up the deficit, it’s going to put enormous pressure on Medicaid and Medicare and Social Security programs.”
You’re In for a Wild Ride: Rough Cut Replaces 51 Main
MIDDLEBURY — After reinventing the space and installing a prominent new bar, Rough Cut opened its doors last Saturday, Nov. 11, at 51 Main’s old site. The new space, adorned with brick walls, wooden trim and hanging light fixtures, provides a warm atmosphere and an amber glow. After nine years of operation, the college sold 51 Main to Ben Wells, owner of the Marquis Theatre for the past three years. Wells noticed a lack of Southern comfort food in the area and has swept in to fix that. Wells has managed restaurants in Boston, Jackson, Wyoming, and Boulder, Colorado, and has now taken on the prominently featured space on Main Street. Since taking on the Marquis, Wells has made a notable effort to make the theater an integral part of the community. He says that he hopes to do the same with Rough Cut. “One of my philosophies with the restaurant is that the word ‘restaurant’ actually comes from the old French word ‘to restore,’” Wells said. “People enjoy going out and having a fun time in a positive, warm, energetic environment.” Wells is hoping to reinvent the lower level of the restaurant, too. The College had used the downstairs for storage and office space, but Wells plans to eventually repurpose the space into a performance venue. The team has been experimenting with different types of wood and spices for their selection of smoked barbecued meat. The restaurant also emphasizes its beers and bourbon cocktails. The bar features as many as 12 beers on tap and has created a batch of specialty cocktails. As the restaurant establishes itself in the coming weeks, Wells intends to bring some more vitality to Main Street. “It’s really important to me — small town, small communities,” Wells said. “If we as community members and business owners aren’t involved, then who is?”
Burlington Telecom Deal Nears Joint Venture
After months of debate, a second round of voting for the acquisition of Burlington Telecom ended in a tie on Monday, Nov. 6. Burlington’s City Council was evenly split between supporters of Keep Burlington Telecom Local (KBTL), with a $12 million bid, and the Toronto-based firm Ting, which offered $30.5 million. Burlington Telecom has been hotly disputed ever since ex-mayor Bob Kiss’s administration covertly transferred $17 million from taxpayers to the company to keep the utility afloat in 2007. In addition to that infusion, the city borrowed $33 million on Burlington Telecom’s behalf over the past eight years from CitiBank. The current mayor, Miro Weinberger, inherited the tangled financial mess but managed to avoid legal repercussions from Citibank in January. The agreement between CitiBank and the city involved, among other things, a $10.5 million upfront payout to the bank, with a stipulation that Burlington Telecom must be sold within three to five years by the city. CitiBank was promised half of the city’s profits from the sale. The City Council now has the task of choosing between bidders selected by the Burlington Telecom Advisory Board, a group of civic leaders. The remaining bidders are Keep Burlington Telecom Local, the co-operative engineered by citizens determined to keep the company in local hands, and Ting, a publically-shared, multimillion-dollar firm determined to reinvent Burlington Telecom. “The piece that’s too bad about what’s going on now is it’s simply become political,” said David Provost, chairman of Burlington Telecom’s Advisory Board and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration at Middlebury College. The voting procedures have received heightened attention since last Thursday, when Councilor Karen Paul D-Ward 6, citing a conflict of interest in the vote, decided to quit her day job as a staff accountant at McSoley McCoy & Co. The announcement highlighted the importance of the vote for the city. Paul has not responded to requests for comment on her decision. With the second tie vote in the City Council, city officials proposed that Ting and KBTL take on Burlington Telecom as a joint venture. It is unclear how such a partnership would work. The two have been given until Friday, Nov. 10 to resolve what a joint venture would look like. In the meantime, there is stiff time pressure on the City Council to resolve the impasse over Burlington Telecom’s control. Further complicating matters is the role of yet another company that helped the city with the payout to Citibank. To secure that financing, Burlington reached out to Blue Water Holdings (“Blue Water”), the company that has also taken on the finances of the bridge project in downtown Middlebury. According to Provost, the city can control who purchases the telecommunications company only up until Dec. 31. After that, the decision is transferred to the leadership of Blue Water. Both the Burlington Telecom Advisory Board and Mayor Weinberg have voiced their strong support for Ting as the preferred bidder. “We sent forward KBTL with the key understanding that its bid didn’t meet the financial standards,” Provost said. “If we sent them to the council, that would give the co-op a longer chance. Burlington Telecom employees are concerned that KBTL doesn’t have the capital and the resources to grow the company.” KBTL’s primary lender is Maine Fiber. Although the supporters of the co-op think the city should own as much of Burlington Telecom as possible, according to Provost, over the next five years $25 million will go back to the firm. “The irony of them saying ‘keeping it local’ is that all of the money is going to Maine,” says Provost. Supporters of KBTL have cited that Ting has weaknesses in its offer. Council President Jane Knodell (P-Central District) doesn’t think that Ting’s proposal will be able to adequately provide the returns to Burlington that the people deserve. “What we’re giving up is local ownership and local control. Because that’s very valuable to me, I think we need to be compensated,” Knodell said. “We should get more of our returns.” According to Knodell, the co-op would directly provide returns to taxpayers in the form of dividend checks or, if the co-op were able to provide it, through lower prices. The caveat is that Burlington residents who don’t use BT as their provider won’t recoup the same benefits. Another concern of Knodell’s is the discrepancy in value of Ting’s earnings in Burlington as compared to those in the stock market. As a publicly shared firm, the majority of gains will thus end up with the shareholders, rather than Burlington residents. “The company is poised to have very strong growth in subscribers and growth in profits,” Knodell said. “They will benefit from that. Burlington taxpayers will not, because they will no longer be the owners.” Ting has tried to appeal to residents in the Burlington area by embracing Vermont’s rural vibe and promising investment in local businesses. The firm’s parent company is called “Tucows,” with two cows as its logo. “You’d think it’s a Vermont-based company,” says Provost. Scheduled meetings this week between KBTL and Ting will determine if the two parties can agree on a strategy for a joint purchase by Friday. If they are unable to do so, there is speculation that one of the other bidders that had fallen off the City Council’s short list may be brought back to the table. This includes an Indiana-based company, Schurz Communications. “I think Ting would have to fundamentally rethink its approach for this joint effort to work. To be a partner with the coop and allow the coop to be the real operator and equal owner,” Knodell said. “It seems like a pretty longshot. But I won’t rule it out.”