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(10/18/17 11:48pm)
MIDDLEBURY — Gun control in Vermont has always existed as an anomaly of legislation in comparison to the state’s otherwise progressive stance. During the 2016 presidential election, in a survey by The New York Times, Vermont was the only state where the majority of gun owners voted for the Democratic candidate. Indeed, the confluence of a rural landscape and progressive ideals has led state politicians to hold a distinctively centrist position when it comes to gun reform.
The mass shooting at the country music festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 1 has again ignited the debate around gun control in Vermont. A Vermont native, 35-year-old Sandra Casey of Dorset, was among the 58 victims killed in Las Vegas. In Washington, lawmakers are focusing on a deadly gun accessory known as the bump stock, which was used in the Las Vegas massacre. And once again, the Vermont legislature has taken up the thorny issue of the state’s gun laws.
Unknown to many at the college, students are allowed to bring their own personal firearms onto campus. Students need to register their guns with the Department of Public Safety, where they are kept under lock and key. But students can check out their weapons for hunting and other related activities whenever they wish.
Vermont law does not require a permit for shotguns, handguns or rifles, and therefore there are no additional proofs of permit required by Public Safety to keep a firearm of this nature on campus. Similar to the dualism present in the state, Middlebury’s crunchy campus also has a group of students who value having access to their firearms while at school.
“There are a small number of students, fewer than, 20, who store a weapon to participate in hunting or related activities,” Dan Gaiotti, associate director of Public Safety, said. According to article C.6. in the College Handbook, weapons are prohibited on campus. However, students are allowed to check out their guns from Public Safety for the activities listed above.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has engaged in the debate surrounding gun control before, often taking an uncharacteristically conservative stance. After the Sandy Hook massacre, he argued in a statement, “If you passed the strongest gun control legislation tomorrow, I don’t think it will have a profound effect on the tragedies we have seen.”
The difference in the Las Vegas shooting is a firearm accessory that has become a flashpoint in the debate on Capitol Hill over the last few weeks. The “fire bump stock,” or bump stock, is an add-on for semi-automatic weapons to enable them to more closely resemble a fully automatic firearm. A dozen were found in the hotel room of the Las Vegas shooter.
Both Republican and Democratic Congressmen have proposed bills that would ban the production and distribution of bump stocks. Although the National Rifle Association initially backed such a ban, the organization announced on Oct. 13 that it did not support the proposed bills. The N.R.A. cited ripple effect on other firearm accessories for its about-face on a bump stock ban. The group also said it hoped that bump stocks could be addressed through regulation, instead of law, by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).
Although the partisan divide remains, both sides are narrowing in on necessary reform. At a news conference on Oct. 4, Sanders stressed the need for immediate gun reform. “While it is too late for the victims in Las Vegas, and the victims in Newtown, and the victims in Charleston, and the other terrible shootings we have seen, it is not too late to prevent the next set of innocent Americans from becoming victims,” he said.
In contrast to other shootings, the emergence of the bump stock with the Las Vegas massacres has given representatives a tangible point of reform. The ATF does not see things as clearly. Bump stocks were approved by the agency prior to the mass shooting, and now legislators are scrambling to figure out how and why.
House Speaker Paul Ryan has asked the ATF to provide an explanation for the allowance of bump stocks. During a weekly news conference on Capitol Hill, Ryan called for a regulatory regulation of the automatic accessories, as opposed to a legislative one, enraging Representatives who believe a vote should be brought to the House.
“That’s really just a way of saying they don’t want to stand up and be counted on the question of whether bump stocks should be illegal,” Vermont Rep. Peter Welch (D) said in an interview for Vermont Public Radio. “And it mystifies me, really, because fully automatic weapons are appropriate in combat, [but] they’re illegal in civilian life, they’re illegal.”
The waning fervor surrounding gun reform, only weeks after Las Vegas’s mass shooting, has prompted states to take the debate of bump stocks upon themselves. Last Thursday, the state Senate in Massachusetts voted 33–0 to ban the sale and possession of bump stocks and other accessories that allow firearms to mimic the rapidity of automatic weapons. A day earlier, the Massachusetts House approved the bump stock ban 151–3, leaving the bill ready for the signature of Republican Gov. Charlie Baker. He had already agreed to approve the ban if it passed both the House and Senate.
Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) has joined forces with Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders to back comprehensive federal gun reform in the aftermath of Las Vegas. But at this point, it is unclear whether the elected officials will follow the sovereign route forged by Massachusetts, or will continue pressing Rep. Ryan in the House to allow a vote on the matter.
(09/27/17 11:09pm)
WILMINGTON — Jim Burke has long been a friend of bears. Upon deciding to move to North Carolina, though, he is determined to ensure that his 62-acre property can still act as a “safe haven” for bears even after it is handed off to new owners. His proposition first received attention last week, after he pitched his idea for a wildlife refuge to the Wilmington Development Review Board.
In the week since the board meeting, Burke has quickly gained national press coverage on what has become known as a “wildlife refuge for bears.” First reported in the Brattleboro Reformer, the story was picked up by news organizations like CBS News and The Washington Post as Burke’s mission was incorrectly interpreted as a bear rehabilitation site, rather than a more general wildlife refuge. The attention increased as headlines labeled the property a “bear sanctuary.”
The selectboard is currently in the process of reviewing Burke’s proposition. According to the chair of the Development Review Board, Wendy Manners-Seaman, the board is assessing the ability of Burke’s proposed land use to meet zoning ordinance standards.
“I just want to ensure that my 62 acres remain a safe place for all animals that come onto my property,” Burke said. “That was my intent. It got a little twisted, you know; it’s the old telephone game.”
While Burke does not intend for the new owner of his land to continue the relationship he has cultivated with nearly a dozen bears that move through his property each year, he does at least want to prevent future hunting and trapping. He has kept “no hunting” signs around the private land since 2008. Upon moving, he wants to be assured that the trust he has formed with the bears will not be severed by new owners with an alternate agenda.
“I enjoy nature coming through,” Burke said. “But probably a little more than most people.”
Burke and his wife have counted as many as ten bears sitting out around their backyard on a cool summer night, and during peak seasons around 18 bears circulate through the property.
“This is a highly populated area for bears,” Mr. Burke said. “But I’ve decided that I could live with them.”
The first bear that Burke forged a relationship with is one he calls Mama Bear.
“I’ve had a relationship with her for 12 years now,” he said. “She’s brought cubs here every other year.”
Burke claims that when Mama Bear brings her cubs to his house, they have become so accustomed to him that he is able to scratch their noses and feed them out of his palm. Although he has become close to several bears, including ones he has named Nick, Ringo, George and Jill, his most infamous bond is that with Cocoa Bear.
“Everyone knew about Cocoa Bear around here,” Burke said. “People take bets on when I’m going to get mauled.”
Cocoa Bear was an orphan cub when Burke and his wife, Patty, first took him into their home in Wilmington. They started mixing formula for him, along with feeding him sunflower kernels and flaxseed for extra nutrients. Eventually Cocoa graduated to a diet of apples and granola. Burke said that the cub became so accustomed to him that he would sit in his lap.
“My wife and I just raised him as if we were his family,” Burke said.
Cocoa Bear left the residence after five weeks, but still returns to the area for around a month each year. Although it was a lot of work, Burke said it was an incredible experience that he would happily repeat.
When Burke first started having these close encounters in 2005, there were no laws issued in Wilmington to stop him from feeding the bears. In 2013, Vermont’s laws changed, and he then ran the risk of violating the law by intentionally feeding bears on his property.
Nearly one year ago, on Sept. 29, a search warrant was executed on Burke’s residence by two Vermont game wardens, Richard Watkin and Lt. Greg Eckhardt. The wardens had previously seen bears feeding from plates of food left in Burke’s yard. He claims that the game wardens illegally trespassed onto his private property to see this interaction.
A press release issued by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department in December 2016 explicitly blamed Burke for vehicles hitting bears near his property, which partially borders Route 9. He said that these claims are inaccurate and roadkill should be attributed to the fact that there are no wildlife corridors near his house for animals to safely cross intersections.
“I’ve been blamed for a lot of things,” he added. “Every time there’s an article about bears, I’m mentioned. The truth is I live with the bears.”
Environmental organizations have also noticed the conflict between major roadways and large animal migration. Although the Nature Conservancy is primarily concerned with the protection of land and waterways, it has recently become part of the Staying Connected Initiative.
“The project looks at corridors connecting wildlife activity,” said Lynn McNamara, director of Critical Lands for the Vermont chapter of the Nature Conservancy. “We’ve done a lot of mapping work that involve critical pathways.”
The state has worked with several organizations to protect land on both sides of the road to avoid these collisions with wildlife.
“We like to protect the land, but we recognize that owning one little island of nature preserve is not going to protect everything that exists around it,” McNamara added.
According to bear biologist Forrest Hammond, though, there’s a stark difference between protecting the bears, and humanizing them. “A bear that has been fed no longer behaves like a wild bear,” he said in the same press release issued last September. “These bears often go from house to house foraging for food and they gradually lose their fear of people. They can present a danger not just to the person feeding the bear, but also to their neighbors for many miles around.”
As the Review Board deliberates, Burke says that he’s stopped feeding the bears as frequently to prepare for selling the house. “They’re gentle creatures,” he said. “They might chase each other down into the woods, but I don’t fear them. They’re not aggressive.”
Although his life is closely linked to the animals now, Burke says he could not have imagined having this unique relationship when he first moved to Wilmington in 2002. Last week, the Burke property was officially put on the market and he will be leaving his community of bears for a home near Asheville, North Carolina, this coming week.
(09/20/17 11:59pm)
VERGENNES — After seven years as a key establishment in the downtown area, Middlebury Chocolates bid the town farewell last month. The cozy spot tucked away in Frog Hollow Alley hosted a potluck featuring Understory Farm’s roast pork on Aug. 27 as a way to have a final moment with members of the community.
The chocolatiers who started Middlebury Chocolates are Stephanie and Andrew Jackson. The couple were professional audio engineers prior to creating the shop, and moved to Vermont from North Carolina in 2010.
“My husband and I made some chocolates to give to a friend in town, and they were so good that they wanted to sell them,” Stephanie said over the phone. “So, we started selling at Carol’s Hungry Mind Café.”
It became clear that the Jacksons had a special talent as chocolatiers at the same time that they became interested in starting a coffee shop in Middlebury.
“We just had this idea that we’d start a little coffee shop and wanted something to go with the coffee,” Stephanie Jackson explained. “The chocolate kind of took on a life of its own.”
The couple had no intention of making chocolate when the store first opened. After having their second child, the two were ready to explore a new adventure in rural Vermont. Andrew Jackson is from upstate New York and has family from Johnson, Vermont. The Jacksons described New England as a great place to raise kids.
“We’ve kind of been stuck here ever since — but in a good way” Stephanie Jackson joked.
In almost a decade, the company has changed and grown. The chocolate industry itself has also grown since Middlebury Chocolates opened its doors. When they started the business, Stephanie Jackson explained, there were around two dozen small batch chocolate makers in the United States. Today, she estimates that there are over 300 chocolate companies, all with similar goals of the Jacksons of a business model that is humble and works to bring sustainable foods to the table.
“It’s kind of exciting to see that people are making or care about how their food’s being farmed,” Stephanie Jackson said. “There’s a lot more spotlight on direct and fair-trade organics. Educating the public was a big hurdle that we had to get over.”
Along with the chocolate industry, the town of Middlebury has also changed since Middlebury Chocolates’ arrival. Restaurants and businesses have changed hands. The people in town also change often, as each year brings a new class of students to Middlebury College.
“Watching the flux of people is always interesting,” Stephanie Jackson noted.
Although Middlebury Chocolates retail store no longer exists, the company has moved to a commercial kitchen in Vergennes in the revitalized Kennedy Brothers building. The structure is made up of cider operations as well as several office spaces.
“There’s a café and farmers’ market here — it’s got a really nice vibe,” Stephanie Jackson noted.
The decision to shift to a different mode of operation was initially based on the fourth child the couple is expecting.
“That was a big, surprising jolt,” Stephanie. Jackson shared. “We knew we were stretched thin as it were. Something needed to give so that we could give the full attention to our family. It was very bittersweet.”
In moving to Vergennes, the company will transition its focus to wholesale and keep the business growing steadily. Selling online, as well as to a few local businesses such as the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op, has been the main priority in the first few weeks in their new commercial kitchen. In order to stay in the loop of local customers the company is working on developing a Community Supported Agriculture plan where people can come and pick up chocolates on a regular basis.
Middlebury Chocolates’ relationship with the college has also been an interesting dynamic since its opening. According to Stephanie Jackson, there were a few years in a row that the college tried to create a presence from the company on campus, but she admitted that their price point was too high. The couple hopes to stay connected with the school in some form, however, and has already talked to faculty about bringing a special pop up to a Commons at some point this year. In the past, the company has also worked with the college’s Alumni Relations department, often sending Middlebury Chocolates’ products to donors.
Due to the fact that the store swiftly closed its doors just a couple of weeks before classes started for the fall semester, some students speculated that the timing of the closure was calculated.
“We weren’t trying to sneak out or anything,” Stephanie Jackson assured The Campus. “It mainly happened to be great timing with our lease and the place we were in.”
She explained that the building that Middlebury Chocolates resided in, at the end of Frog Hollow Alley, had planned work to install natural gas in the coming months. The construction would have forced the storefront to close for a period regardless, so their landlord gave them the opportunity to terminate their lease prematurely.
“We wanted to move before the busy season really kicks in,” Stephanie Jackson said.
She did not deny the possibility of another future retail store.
“Part of me says yes,” she admitted. “But I can’t promise that.”
With she and her husband mostly running the store, the hours were tremendously demanding.
“Retail is like a small child or a puppy — you have to nurture it constantly,” Stephanie Jackson said.
“There was never a time that we didn’t work 12 hours a day, seven days a week.” The extensive hours is something that Stefan Eisler, an employee who started working for the couple back in Middlebury, tries to alleviate for them a bit each week. “I like to make sure they can spend time with their family,” he stated. “Anything I can do to help out.”
The store has hired college students to help out over the years in Middlebury, however, and still employs Eisler, who has found some advantages from the move. “It’s like I have my own laboratory now,” Eisler said in a phone interview.
Looking forward, the company hopes to keep up the in-person experience by holding tastings at tea houses, cafes, or vineyards in the region. The business is hoping to partner with people in the community to facilitate a similar feel to that which the retail store evoked.
“We love our community and would love to see how much we can bring it together,” Stephanie Jackson expressed.
(09/14/17 4:01am)
On top of music lessons, sports practice and SAT prep, the students of America are now taking on a new role in the age of Trump: political activism. Although young people have been vocal at protests and rallies since the Vietnam War, a new wave of young teens has leapt onto the political scene since Jan. 21.
Vermont has had its share of motivated middle school and high school students who have identified a place for themselves in a convoluted political era. Ethan Sonneborn, a 13-year-old, announced in August that he is running for governor after noticing that there is no age requirement for the highest ranking state elected official. He only just started eighth grade in Bristol, Vermont, but clearly views age as irrelevant to politics.
In the Burlington Free Press, he stated, “We just elected our oldest President, and he tweets like a Kindergartener.”
Rather than juggle a political campaign with schoolwork, Hope Petraro, a 15-year-old from Montpelier, has decided to organize a rally instead. This Sunday, Sept. 17, at 11:30 a.m., citizens from around the state are expected to gather for her rally, the Race Against Racism. The event begins with a 5k run, or walk, that is followed by a lineup of speakers, musicians and artists — all convening to begin a conversation that has few platforms in the community.
“We’re trying to make the event accessible for youth,” Petraro said in a phone interview. “We want them to get their feet wet in a world of activism so that they care about racism or social or climate justice. We want them to care for something important.”
Petraro moved to Vermont from Brooklyn at age 12, and was greatly influenced by the large number immigrants she was surrounded by growing up. The adjustment to a predominantly white community after becoming adapted to one of many colors was supported by resources and forums Petraro found online.
“I retreated to the internet to help find my place in this new community I found myself in,” Petraro said.
“I found a lot of people who were very into social justice. There are all of these people on social media with progressive ideals who want to have these challenging conversations.”
To translate this newfound interest in politics into hands-on involvement, Petraro began to bring up discussions of race and social justice to those close to her in Montpelier. Quickly, teachers and peers suggested that volunteering in the community would be a means for Petraro to immerse herself in the state’s problems. Soon she was canvassing and working in the local Democratic Party phone bank, contacting residents across the region.
In a state with a political leader as progressive as Bernie Sanders, Petraro quickly was able to tap into the reservoir of activist groups in Vermont. Partnering with her event Race Against Racism are organizations such as Justice for All Vermont, Migrant Justice, and the locally-based Montpelier High School Diversity Club. The proceeds from the registration fee of $10 for adults and $5 for those 18 and under will be given to these partner organizations for their future endeavors.
Mark Hughes, co-founder of Justice for All Vermont, experienced a similar “culture shock” as Petraro when moving to Vermont from a relatively diverse town in the Midwest. His organization has backed legal reform in the state, such as H.308, a racial justice bill passed last May by Governor Phil Scott. Hughes will be a key speaker at the event on Sunday, as he will attempt to kick off a dialogue about racism that has been dormant in Vermont until recently.
“We don’t discuss race in Vermont,” Hughes noted over the phone.
“We don’t have the opportunity to have conversations and engage in activities with folks that aren’t like us. That difference could be our race, socioeconomic standing, or political preferences. With events like this we have an opportunity as a community to pull together — to raise awareness.”
Although his organization is run entirely by adults, he recognizes that young people are crucial in the laborious task of breaking barriers in Vermont.
“We’ve got to get some young folks, ones from other locations and also the ones in their twenties,” Hughes remarked.
“I’m an old guy; I’ve been at this for just a few years, but I’ve been around the block a few times. I’m not going to be around much longer.”
In Petraro’s view, the Race Against Racism marks the beginning of a new brand of activism led by young students in the state.
“I think that the Trump presidency — and a lot of the discrimination and bigotry that’s surfaced because of it — has seriously motivated students,” she said.
“A lot of them feel as if they, or their friends, or their community as a whole, is being personally attacked.”
(05/11/17 1:13am)
On Saturday, May 6, Vermont residents gathered at busy intersections and the sides of railroad tracks in an effort to “green up” the state. The green trash bags doled out each year by the non-profit organization Green Up Vermont allowed communities to remove the trash that had accumulated in public spaces throughout the year.
Started in 1970 by former Governor Deane C. Davis, Green Up Day has evolved into a Vermont tradition. The annual initiative has grown to become a day when local businesses, families and school groups join together to clean up the creases of the state that silently fill up with unwanted trash.
In order to solidify Green Up Day’s place on the state’s calendar, former Governor Richard A. Snelling created a 501 (c)3 non-profit called Green Up Vermont to run and organize the event each year in 1979. The organization orchestrates the distribution of trash bags throughout the state, and the event is promoted on local television and radio shows.
“There’s something happening in every town — all 251,” Melinda Vieux, executive director of Green Up Vermont, said. “Bit by bit, Green Up Day has grown over the years, until in recent years; people in Vermont have started to call it a Vermont icon.”
In Middlebury, Charlotte Tate and Peg Martin serve as coordinators between Green Up Vermont and the town in facilitating the cleanup. In her final year as coordinator, Martin leaves behind a strong legacy. “A true force of nature,” Vieux said, referring to Martin, who has provided the spark for the town of Middlebury’s involvement since the 1970s.
Each year, Martin can be seen tending to her “pet spots,” including areas beneath the railroad overpass and along sections of Route 7, all while adorned in her staple Green Up Day regalia: a floppy straw hat decorated with flowers and trash.
Local businesses in Middlebury have encouraged residents to participate in Green Up Day and hosted cookouts for the event. This year, organizers of the Middlebury Maple Run have pledged discounts on the cost of participating in next year’s run for those who joined in Green Up Day. As proof, runners simply need to provide a photograph showing them with a green plastic bag filled with collected trash.
Tate, one of the town’s coordinators, said that she wished students from Middlebury College were more involved in Green Up Day. “I’ve tried to bring it up to students here at the College, but it’s a very busy time,” she said. “The easiest thing is for people to take responsibility for their own travel course. If everybody were to do that, it would make a big difference.”
Although the numbers are still being calculated from this year’s Green Up Day, about 22,000 people participated statewide last year.
“There’s all this emphasis on numbers, and that’s a huge challenge for us,” Vieux said. “That number came from town coordinators, and that 22,000 figure is conservative. Rather, it’s its aliveness that determines its success.”
In passing the baton to the next Green Up Day coordinator for Middlebury, Martin hopes that whoever succeeds her continues to encourage more individuals and groups to be involved.
“I think there’s the opportunity to get a lot more people organized,” she said. “If you get a group of people going, it goes pretty quickly. You can cover a lot of ground.”
(05/04/17 2:31am)
This spring, the Vermont Women’s Fund, a program of the Vermont Community Foundation based in Middlebury, is awarding $124,000 in grant money to 14 organizations throughout the state. The funds will be used to teach financial literacy to girls from ages 12 to 25 and to help them develop jobs, skills and find mentors. The initiatives included an array of programs designed to launch women into today’s competitive workforce.
Vermont’s robust history of philanthropy has long supported the empowerment of young women. Whether because of economic hardship, family burdens or distressed relationships, many teenagers and 20-somethings in the state have struggled to obtain financial opportunities.
The Vermont Women’s Fund has parceled out grant money to non-profit organizations that aid young women since 1994. Each year, the donor base has strengthened, with private donations and public attention rising.
“We’re all about economic self-sufficiency,” said Meg Smith, director of the Vermont Women’s Fund.
The organizations to receive the grants all have the primary goal of helping young women who may not find support in their family to better their lives in the future. Since its founding, the Fund has awarded more than $2 million to programs that align with the organization’s mission.
Some of this year’s recipients encompass career development and exposure to various fields and industries. For example, Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity received $10,000 in order to mobilize a team of young women interested in the construction field. This group of women will have the opportunity to build a home for a local, low-income family, giving them the skills for a potential future career. Another program, MedQuest, received funding to immerse high school students in healthcare careers, fostering connections in the field.
Through a reactionary tactic, other organizations were chosen for their rehabilitation approach to economic and personal hardship girls face. Destined for Something Big, an initiative through the John Graham Shelter, helps women reach independent stability through career field trips, workshops and peer group meetings.
Vermont Women’s Fund has recently taken on funding for Change the Story, an initiative to make systemic change within the state to strengthen opportunities and equality for women. The mission is backed by two other organizations, the Vermont Commission for Women and Vermont Works for Women, in a collaborative effort.
The substantial aid doled out this year by the Fund and its involvement with Change the Story illustrates the group’s determination to make a difference in the lives of young women. In the coming years, the Fund hopes to tackle some of the impediments to female success in the state.
“It goes deeper than programs; we’re really trying to look at some of the causes,” Smith said, referring to the lack of opportunity for women. “We’re trying to address, statewide, how women should be getting equal pay and taking on issues of family leave and work-friendly environments.”
(04/27/17 1:37am)
As one of the whitest states in the country, Vermont is attempting to adjust for racial bias after data has surfaced surrounding discrimination in traffic stops. The demand for legislative action has stemmed from a state-based non-profit called Justice For All.
According to a study conducted by the organization Crime Research Group, black drivers in Vermont are twice as likely to be arrested after a traffic stop than white drivers. The non-profit was selected as the vendor to collect the traffic stop and race data by the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council. These figures drove Justice For All’s Co-founder and Executive Director, Mark Hughes, to propose a bill to address racial bias in the criminal justice system.
The bill, H.308, has already passed through both the Congress and Senate, and is now awaiting approval from Governor Phil Scott. According to the proposed legislation, the bill includes a 13-person “advisory panel” to direct the state in “racial disparities in the criminal and juvenile justice system.”
With the rise in statistics, such as those from The Sentencing Project, which cited the stark racial disparity of incarceration throughout Vermont, lawmakers have become determined to address the issues of racial bias throughout the criminal justice system.
In regards to promoting and drafting legislation, “data is the linchpin of all monitoring capability,” Hughes said.
The Crime Research Group’s data has continued to play a significant role in promoting the bill. They were selected as the primary vendor for data collection of traffic stops by the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council last year. All of the data is posted publicly on their website, and provides greater transparency in the criminal justice system.
“I think law enforcement has been very open to providing the data, and I think for the most part Vermont State Police has done a pretty incredible job of training all of their officers on how data needs to be collected and published,” the Crime Research Group’s Executive Director Karen Gennette said. “I think that we’ll find many law enforcement agencies will be willing and interested in doing the same thing.”
Although the bill has garnered support by politicians through this data, some are unsatisfied with the stigma that the advisory panel is pegging to the police force. Representative Gary Viens (R) of Newport has expressed pushback on the bill, particularly with his 32 years of personal experience in law enforcement.
Regardless of debate in Congress, the bill passed unanimously in the Senate on Thursday, April 21, after a third reading. Senator Jeanette White (D) addressed the fear of stigma that Viens and others had expressed by claiming in an interview with Vermont Digger that the advisory board was meant to address the system as a whole, rather than a specific sector.
“This bill, when passed, will be a small step in the right direction towards addressing what we know now to be an issue in the state,” Hughes said. “It’s my hope that this bill will continue to raise awareness and attention.”
(04/21/17 2:40am)
The Education Studies (EDST) program has proposed a new double major, intended to compensate students’ work towards obtaining teaching licensures with academic validation. Currently, the Education Studies (EDST) program only offers a minor, which students can take in one of two directions: a focus on general education studies or the attainment of a formal teaching license.
The Education Studies Program has for years enabled Middlebury students to obtain teaching licenses in the State of Vermont. The program has won popularity for its ability to provide insight into education as a discipline and how the system functions in America.
Although students are fortunate that Middlebury offers an education minor, the current system requires those who are pursuing teaching licenses to take 13 courses in elementary education or 12 courses in secondary education. These parameters exceed what is asked of most majors at the College, leading administrators to conclude that the demands do not fit the program’s status as a minor.
Headed by Director Jonathan Miller-Lane, the EDST program has drafted a proposal that creates a double major, with Education Studies and another discipline of the student’s choice, as the most advantageous way for students to fulfill the teaching license requirements.
The proposal was brought to the attention of the entire faculty on April 7 at the Faculty Plenary meeting, when the Educational Affairs Committee, a six-member body responsible for the direction of the undergraduate curriculum, endorsed the program after months of consideration.
At the meeting, the committee provided a summary of the agenda, stating that it embraced “the idea of training students as teachers” and of “recognizing education as a discipline worthy of scholarly pursuit.”
The proposition of an EDST double-major has now finally passed the first stage in the process of garnering support. Next comes a vote by the entire faculty, expected later this year.
“The committee studied it over several months, requested additional information, met with representatives of the program, and determined that the proposal merited their support,” said Suzanne Gurland, the dean of curriculum and chair of the Educational Affairs Committee. “The full faculty will have the opportunity to discuss the proposal at an open meeting, and then to vote on it at a subsequent faculty meeting.”
The interdisciplinary double-major will first become available to first-years arriving fall 2017, assuming the proposal is passed at the next faculty meeting. The double-major is aimed only at students who are pursuing an elementary- or secondary-education teacher’s license. The minor in education will still be available for those who are interested in the field, but are not aspiring to teach. Education Studies, however, would not be available as a stand-alone major.
Students who opt to participate in the double-major must still enroll in a “professional semester” as was previously required with the minor. This involves a full-time teaching experience in a local school, which students may choose to do either during their senior year or during a ninth semester after graduation. This professional requirement enables students to gain real-life experience in teaching, under the guidance of a “master teacher” and a College advisor.
“The depth of students’ learning in the licensure curriculum is akin to that in other majors, and involves substantially more coursework than a minor,” Gurland said. “So if the proposal for a double-major passes, it will be a more accurate description of students’ learning.”
(04/21/17 2:28am)
Last year, Geoff, a 24-year-old graduate of St. Michael’s College with a degree in Philosophy, was looking for affordable housing in Vermont. Del, an 89-year-old retired G.E. and I.B.M. employee, was seeking a housemate willing to provide company. The two were united through HomeShare Vermont, a nonprofit organization that matches people who are looking for reasonable housing prices with a homeowner with a spare room. The two now switch off cooking meals and often watch “M-A-S-H” or go on hikes together.
HomeShare Vermont initially began as a program to match elderly people living alone with younger individuals willing to help out around the house, allowing senior citizens to stay at home longer. The program was founded on reciprocity, and acts as a traditional bartering service. HomeShare “guests” do pay a small rental fee, but last year this averaged only $230 a month, typically saving renters hundreds of dollars.
Formerly known as Project Home, HomeShare Vermont is now celebrating its 35th anniversary, founded in 1982 by a group of volunteers. The program was launched with the help of several University of Vermont professors and has continued to expand over the decades, eventually becoming an independent 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization under the leadership of Kirby Dunn, the executive director of the organization. Although it began in Chittenden County, HomeShare Vermont now serves Grand Isle, Addison and Franklin Counties.
In order to ensure that housemates are paired properly, the process involves a rigorous matching service in which applicants are required to provide three references and must also undergo five different background checks. After participants are deemed a “match,” there is a two-week trial period in which the two live together to see if they are compatible. The methodical process has resulted in a 90 percent success rate.
Established as a prominent nonprofit organization in the state, HomeShare Vermont has also received international attention for its services. At the first International HomeShare Congress in Paris in 2009, HomeShare Vermont served as the sole representative for the United States. HomeShare programs in other countries are more focused on providing affordable housing for students.
“That’s something that we want to explore in the future: to have a closer working relationship with the local colleges,” Kirby Dunn, executive director of HomeShare Vermont, said. “That’s one thing we’ve seen elsewhere that we’d love to incorporate.”
To celebrate its anniversary, HomeShare Vermont is hosting an event in South Burlington today, April 20. The event is inspired by Moth, a storytelling initiative that has a program at the College in which people recount powerful, humorous or emotional moments in their lives. Moth was first heard on Moth Radio Hour on public radio — creating a platform for real people to recount true events. Two award-winning Moth storytellers, Sue Schmidt and Kevin Gallagher, will headline the celebration. The stories of the evening will center on home life and the joy of living with others.
The event will ideally convey a sense of why organizations like HomeShare Vermont are integral for facilitating these close, home connections through shared experience. The anniversary event will also include live music, with performances by the band The Brevity Thing.
The success of HomeShare Vermont in the last 35 years has made the group’s leaders want to continue growing the program. The initiative is looking to offer a consulting service to help other organizations around the country establish programs based on the model. “There are a lot of opportunities here,” Dunn said. “The need is only going to increase because we have an aging population and affordable housing continues to be a growing problem; and we meet both of those needs. There’s a major role for us in the future.”