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(03/13/13 5:19pm)
Girl is a few drinks in. Feeling a good buzz, but maybe had a couple too many. It’s one a.m. and this Ridgeline basement is crowded, the floor is sticky and the playlist is beginning to lose its sophistication. Unknown Boy approaches and without even a pleasantry, proceeds to latch himself onto her waist from behind. Over the next couple of minutes she gets a look at his face and she/he/they make(s) a decision about what is to come.
Of course, this is not the sole gender configuration in which this or similar “courting” rituals take place, but we have all seen it happen — if not taken part in it. I always held a holier-than-thou attitude towards such activities — I would see it happen, scoff a little and then wouldn’t give it a second thought. And now, though I still think it is reasonably bestial, I do realize that most everybody else thinks so too. I have come to realize that the majority of our students don’t want to participate in and party in such an environment. They do not wish to meet people in this manner. They do not wish to engage in a hook-up culture that is erratic, often leads to regret and is sometimes dangerous.
The subjects for my informal study have been my Brainerd first-years. First-years often get the reputation of being the driving force behind the sweatiness, crowdedness and drunkenness of social gatherings. As a senior, I bought into this belief and religiously stayed clear of the Bunker and other such first-year hotspots. But after many a conversation, I have come to believe that the majority of first-years do not desire these sweaty and drunken weekends. Are we failing as a school to provide our younger students with the social events they really wish — and deserve — to have?
Maybe this is a naïve judgment. Maybe I am a blind optimist. And maybe my Stew kids are a particularly wonderful bunch (which they most definitely are). But what I hear again and again is that they are (a) not fans of the larger, sweatier, darker party scene, (b) they are frustrated with the social scene here and particularly the lack of options and (c) they would love avenues to meet people in ways that are not shallow or often not even conducive to a conversation. So yes, I do think we are failing in meeting their needs.
This does not mean that they don’t want to dance themselves silly and, God forbid, even have a couple of drinks. But they wish to do so in a space where they can converse, chat up their Proctor crushes, show off how smart they are, be in control of their surroundings and be safe. That, I think, is perfectly reasonable. And we should all step up to the challenge and make this wish a reality.
I think that solution is three-fold: (a) I believe that the silent majority needs to reclaim the party scene, (b) challenge the current hook-up culture and (c) reignite the dating scene on campus.
(a) Let’s get together and throw parties on a scale that we want them to be on and create the environment that we want. Let’s wake up and realize what is unhealthy about the dominant current party culture. Recognize that you aren’t the only person who thinks that, and then say and do something about it. Recognize that the majority can shift this culture. We must be mindful of what expectations we create for entering students and what expectations they create for themselves around the party and hook-up culture at Midd. What is most visible and shapes the norm is what is loudest. But it is rarely what is most popular.
(b) We are a campus of brilliant individuals — we were leaders in our high schools and communities. This, right here, is the Mecca of the eligible. So when we meet new people, why should we dumb ourselves down and act like nincompoops? I have heard the argument that alcohol can serve as a social lubricant. To that I say, sure — it lowers our inhibitions. But drinking should not ever give us the license to de-civilize how we interact with those that we are interested in.
(c) Thus, date. There isn’t a reason not to. Build up the courage and do it right.
In the meantime, we have to be more realistic about our wrongs and begin to pick up the pieces. We need to stop pretending on a Monday that the previous two or three days didn’t happen. We have too many hospital transports and situations requiring sober friends. We need to drink more responsibly. We have too many cases of sexual assault and harassment. We need to look out for each other more. We are a largely white and privileged private liberal arts college. We need to stop pretending like that means that the ugly doesn’t exist here.
So, maybe, if you think you overdid it last time, drink two fewer drinks next time and see how your night goes, ask that boy or girl out on a date to Sabai Sabai, get a group of friends together and throw a good party, get yourself STI tested at Parton. Take a step and lets reclaim our weekends.
NIAL RELE '12 is a Brainerd CRA from Mumbai, India
(03/13/13 5:05pm)
The Sexual Assault Oversight Committee (SAOC) has been dedicated to the development and implementation of an advocacy program, and we are so excited to finally set this much-needed project into motion. The advocates will consist of a diverse group of students, faculty and staff, with the desired effect that any survivor of sexual assault, interpersonal violence or stalking, as well as anyone who wishes to support a friend dealing with these issues, will have a confidential and specially-trained resource to provide information and support. Students who are selected as advocates will receive comprehensive training around these issues from campus and community professionals, including WomenSafe and RU12.
Advocates will be available through a student-staffed hotline, or through direct contact to any of the student, faculty or staff advocates. The Advocacy Project will officially launch in Fall 2013. Student applications can be found at go/advocate and are due on Monday, March 18.
The impact that this resource could have on the Middlebury campus cannot be overstated. An SAOC survey conducted several years back showed that survivors of sexual assault are most likely to seek help from peers or a known faculty or staff member. Students may have questions about many areas related to sexual assault: emergency needs, medical and emotional care, filing a complaint on campus or with the police, academic accommodations and seeking supportive resources.
Empowering students with these tools and information can be vital in allowing them to make their own decisions and to support their peers effectively, whether that means providing survivors with facts about the judicial process, accompanying them to a SANE examination or just being a friend who is willing to listen. Joe Biden recently commented on the extremely powerful work of those who attempt to eradicate sexual and domestic violence, telling them “you will never know the profoundly positive impact you have had.”
Students who courageously join this project to provide the support survivors often need will no doubt create this meaningful change in both individuals and in the greater Middlebury community.
EMILY PEDOWITZ '13 is from Briarcliff, N.Y.
(03/06/13 11:17pm)
Last week’s op-ed, “A Call for a More Inclusive Movement,” attempted to show how white privileged men are excluded from feminist and other activist discourses on campus. It is important that all members of our college community, including those who are viewed as vehicles of oppression, feel welcomed in spaces.
Weil suggested that privileged white males should not feel ashamed of their identity. This absolutely is a critical point to honor. In so doing, and in working to create welcoming spaces, however, we must not obscure systemic dynamics of race, power and privilege.
Middlebury as a space was historically created for privileged white males. The power and money that fuel this college, despite shifts in the face of the student body in recent decades, is still in the hands of white privileged males.
What exactly does this mean? Well, it’s tough. As privileged white men ourselves, we have struggled a lot in searching for understanding and in trying to see in a new light that which we are taught to ignore.
We have not come to an answer. Yet, this scarcity appears to us as abundance. Perhaps we have stumbled upon the greatest lesson: we do not possess all the answers.
We are all socially positioned in unique ways based on our multifaceted identities, which by no mean boil down to merely our gender and race. From this situated point, we fundamentally have different experiences, even of the same space. To us, this means we should listen to peoples’ experiences and not write them off if they do not exactly align with our own.
Weil asserted, “so-called feminists like Kaufman have created a culture wherein economics is synonymous with male-dominance.” Interestingly, this presupposes that Kaufman has not herself experienced the department of economics as a space dominated by men.
In fact, by excluding the possibility that Kaufman studied economics, Weil further illuminates how even he himself imagines it as male-centered. In fact, not only has Kaufman taken an economics course or two, she majored in International Politics and Economics.
Whoops! Okay, yup. We have done it too. A lot. As privileged white males ourselves, we have made normalized assumptions that discount possibilities of validation of the experiences of other folks. To be honest, we still repeatedly make this mistake. We admit this because we find it really important to take responsibility. Without acknowledging how we mess up, we really can never set things right.
We ourselves are on a long journey riddled with imperfection. However, in that we see the potential to learn and grow. And unlearn and shrink as well. A dose of each is certainly necessary.
Throughout our lives, both subtly and overtly, we have been taught a lot about how we are to act in this world. Growing up as privileged white males, we are imbued with a sense of confidence, often ensuring our voices are heard and considered in decision making.
However, the flip side of this is that we are often taught to doubt others. We are taught to doubt those who are often systemically excluded from decisions that disproportionately affect them. Okay, yes. Here, we supposedly really respect critical thinking. And yes — critical thinking is good. But there is a difference between critical thinking and denying someone else’s experience merely because it deviates from our own.
Our commitment to being critical thinkers must include rigorous self-critique. Not out of distaste for who we are, but out of love. Love for wanting to live a caring life. Love for embracing our own fragility. Love for those whom we mistakenly harm. Love too for our fellow privileged white males.
It is through love that we are guided to take responsibility for the ways in which we perpetuate and benefit from our dominant positions. This responsibility for challenging ourselves and our fellow white males on multiple forms of oppression should not be undertaken with the notion that we ourselves can fix everything. We cannot do this alone. Thinking we can is one of those scary things our white male privilege often teaches us.
Sure, we need to speak up. But also, and much more importantly, we need to step back and listen. We need to listen deeply and truly honor experiences different from our own.
As privileged white males, we need to listen to our fellow privileged white males. Sadly we are taught to keep our emotions bottled up, a source of such great destruction. Possessing privilege does not make us bad people, but it does make us responsible for working to challenge and dismantle its unjust foundations. If you wish for a safe space to engage in this process with fellow privileged white males, please join us on Fridays at 4:30 p.m. in Chellis House behind Proctor.
Written by DAVE YEDID ‘15 of Port Washington, NY; SAM KOPLINKA-LOEHR ‘13 of Ithaca, NY; and JAY SAPER ‘13 of East Lansing, MI
(03/06/13 11:12pm)
After Nathan Weil’s piece, “A Call for a More Inclusive Movement,” came out in last week’s issue of the Campus, I heard responses that generally fell into one of two camps. The first sort praised Nathan’s article for finally giving voice to a long harbored but scantly spoken sentiment. These responses were from men. The second sort of response expressed frustration at the broad generalizations and simplifications rampant in the piece. These were from women.
I sit on the fence between these groups, and in this article, I hope to weave the salient points from each “side” into an argument more conducive to encouraging the “inclusive movement” of which Nathan speaks than any galvanizing but polarizing article ever could.
I agree with Nathan’s central point, which I have identified as the necessity of male inclusion in feminist practices. If the women’s rights movement of the ’60s didn’t illustrate the imperative for male and female partnership, I don’t know what could have. I see women’s empowerment not as a “women’s issue” but as a human issue. When women are safer, the world is safer; when women are economically independent, the world market grows; when women are educated, the world takes strides towards more democratic, peaceful politics. Since everyone benefits by women’s advancement, everyone should be encouraged to push for it.
If you believe in this advancement towards equality (which is different from sameness), you are a feminist. I have not fingers enough to tabulate the number of conversations I have had with young men and women who in one breath express support for equality and in the next make the urgent disclaimer that they are not “like, a feminist or anything.” Why is this? Well, the word “feminism” conjures a picture that looks something like this: a woman who never shaves, hates men and cares nothing for sex. Since I cannot give the concept of gender equality a new name, I have waged a grassroots battle against this misperception because it has repelled scores from embracing a movement working for basic human rights.
Unfortunately, the name is not the only thing that has discouraged many from considering themselves feminists; there is also the issue of tactics. Nathan speaks in his article about one woman, Sam Kaufman, and her actions. He cites her “radical” feminism as representative of the entire climate of gender work at Middlebury, and identifies her use of buzzwords such as “bro,” “econ” and “ADP” as alienating for a white, privileged male like himself. It is this alienation that has led him to opt-out of both feminism at Middlebury and feminism writ large.
Though I cannot dispute Nathan and others’ feelings of alienation, in the same way that he cannot argue that the perception of discrimination in the economics department is “false and manufactured,” I would question the productivity of disassociation. If one “believe[s] in equal rights for all,” and merely disagrees with the manner in which identity politics are being treated at Middlebury, would it not be more constructive to enter the dialogue and reshape it to be more inclusive? The beautiful thing about student groups here is that they are highly responsive to the needs of their target audience: us. If any student — especially a white, male and privileged one — were to approach the leaders of FAM (Feminist Action) with an idea for a gender inclusion campaign, I strongly suspect the idea would be well received.
If one believes in the principle (i.e. gender equity) but disagrees with specific manner of mobilization around that principle (i.e. perceived anti-male at Middlebury), engaging the movers and shakers in said movement is infinitely more productive than leaving a farewell note, which is essentially what Nathan’s article represents. Though he calls for “a more inclusive movement,” he suggests he is not willing to help build one by calling himself a feminist and entering the trenches to shape the dialogue; signing out of a conversation cannot be mistaken for participating in one. I view Nathan’s feelings of alienation not as motivation to quit the movement, but to join it, because like him, I know feminism can’t continue without supportive men and women pushing forward.
That said, I encourage men who were galvanized by Nathan’s article to consider experimenting with self-identification as a feminist or attending a FAM meeting and presenting a proposal for a male-inclusion campaign. I would also encourage these students to play the feminist field, so to speak; like everything else in life, feminists cannot be lumped together without qualification, and they do not all behave and think like Nathan’s “radical” Middlebury feminist archetype (hint: the author of this article is one). I challenge you to find individuals you can relate to and see how you can lean in instead of opt out.
Similarly, I press upon the women of this community the necessity and desirability of inclusion. Though historically white males have been largely responsible for repressive gender policies, there is no reason to blame white male students at Middlebury for errors they didn’t commit. Instead, they should be accepted as allies.
My hope is that if both sides engage in debates about feminism and its practice at Middlebury, the stark line between “us” and “them” will begin to blur, and one day, feminism will be a word embraced by most and needed urgently by none.
Written by BREE BACCAGLINI '15 of San Francisco, Calif.
(03/06/13 11:07pm)
I write to address two points raised in your article “Abroad Programs Raise Concerns” printed Feb. 28, 2013. First, it is important to note that Ms. Stewart’s complaints were not unfounded, and I apologized to her in December on behalf of the C.V. Starr Middlebury Schools Abroad for the difficulties she experienced during her time in Chile. I also told her that we would closely monitor the situation, which we have been doing and will continue to do. I have since had several conversations about the program in Chile, including one with the Faculty Advisory Board. We have taken steps to make sure that the quality of the experience there will improve, and I believe it already has.
Second, the article suggested that President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and I were unresponsive to Ms. Stewart’s concerns. I first heard from President Liebowitz about those concerns in mid-November 2012, after Ms. Stewart had been to see the President during his office hours. This was the first time I had heard of her concerns. I contacted Ms. Stewart on Nov. 28, asking her to meet with me, and she and I had a productive conversation on Dec. 3. During our meeting she informed me about the difficulties she had experienced during her time in Chile, and I told her that we would take steps to address the situation, which we have done. I would have been happy to share this information with the reporter if the Campus had contacted me for a response.
Submitted by Vice President for Language Schools, Schools Abroad and Graduate Programs MICHAEL E. GEISLER
(03/06/13 11:01pm)
This op-ed was written in response to Ryan Kim’s winning TEDx talkat the Nov. 8 student speaker competition. Kim will speak at this Saturday’s TEDx event.
Ryan, I’m glad that you had an amazing summer experience — traveling the country by rail. There is so much to learn in this nation and I sincerely thank you for sharing that experience.
The three vignettes in your talk are cute and interesting but your conclusion is troublesome. You mention that people “treat huge swaths of our country, like the Midwest, like the Deep South, as fly-by zones or forgettable remnants of the past.”
What people? Not the people where I’m from. I grew up in one of those “fly-by zones” — the Midwest — and my family has lived in the Deep South since before the War Between the States. We don’t live in a “forgettable remnant of the past;” it’s my childhood and my family, my heritage and hopefully my future. I don’t need to be reminded that there are real people and real culture in these areas. Not to mention that there were even real people and culture in these areas for thousands of years before colonization. The fact that these reminders are necessary is incredibly offensive and a manifestation of “coastist” elitism.
The whole concept of a “fly-by zone” is funny because of how recently in human history we mastered flight, which nobody believed was possible. That is, until Susan Wright encouraged her sons in Ohio. Without the Midwest, you would not be able to fly over these cultural backwaters.
So who is your audience? It doesn’t seem to be anyone from these “fly-by zones.” This phrase reeks of and fundamentally appeals to a view of coastal cultural domination. Just because my state only makes it to the foreground here every four years on the first Tuesday in November, does not mean you should just fly over Ohio.
Ryan, ultimately this really isn’t about you at all. It’s about why that coastist view of the rest of the country resonated so strongly with the judges here. I’m disappointed when such coastism that bites at everyone from the South and Midwest is so celebrated.
For the curious reader, I leave you with a brief list of culturally significant people you may have heard of (or should look up) who called these “fly-by zones” home: Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Toni Morrison, Patricia Polacco, R.L. Stein, Grace Lee Boggs, Ulysses S. Grant, Malcolm X.
Ryan, I’m glad that you are trying to challenge this regionalism and urge people to “pause and consider the magic you can find in our own backyard.” But, I urge you to refine your conclusion. Yeah, there are real people in the Midwest and Deep South. But some of us don’t need to be told that.
Unity,
Barrett Smith ’13 (Ohio)
Message Endorsed by Midwestern SCUM (Stopping Coastist Undercurrent at Middlebury): Jay Saper ’13 (Michigan), Hannah Rae Murphy ’14 (Michigan), Jessica Munyon ’13.5 (Iowa), Mara Moettus ’15.5 (Minnesota), Leah Pickett ’13 (Kansas).
(03/06/13 10:58pm)
I have grown to appreciate and accept Middlebury as the college that I attend. Daily we engage in dialogue surrounding identity. But many of these discussions are empty, one-dimensional and do not engage concepts of intersectionalities and larger societal structures that may influence one’s identity. We make assumptions about how people identify themselves and what that means for who they are as people and who they represent politically.
As a black woman who identifies as a womanist, I was a bit floored reading Nathan Weil’s op-ed for the Campus last week, “A Call for a More Inclusive Movement.” A lot of his article seems to talk about being made to feel uncomfortable in particular spaces and particular discourses around campus. While I would like to commend Nathan for his contribution to the Campus, I would also like to challenge him, and those who “amen” along with his piece, to consider a few points.
Spaces are marked. They typically are not explicitly marked, but they are marked nonetheless. It just so happens that many of the spaces at Middlebury College — like the rest of the country — are marked “straight, white and male”. This isn’t necessarily by the fault of straight, white men that attend this institution, but symptomatic of larger oppressive social structures that exist on this campus. I challenge Nathan to think about that when he writes about the five women in his econ class. I doubt Sam Kaufman’s op-ed about feminism or even feminist activism on campus is the reason for lack of diversity in your econ classrooms. I do not think there is a “false and manufactured perception of discrimination [that] sits like a dark cloud over the department.” Maybe there is something about that particular economics class that marks that space as male as well as white. Maybe there are particular microaggressions hidden in the discourse and the literature that would make people that are not male and white feel marginalized and uncomfortable. Maybe because of the lack of diversity in the class people feel as though their identities may be Orientalized or they may be forced to speak for the entire race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, socioeconomic group and so on and so forth.
It is very easy to dismiss or overlook things that may make others feel uncomfortable when you are not a part of their group. As a male, it may be hard for you to recognize something that may be oppressive to women if it is not explicitly stated. As someone who is white, it might be hard for you to recognize if something is discriminatory or oppressive to people of color. And this is not your fault. You happen to live in a country where your race and gender are “unmarked” and “unmentioned” as integral parts of your identity. This is why many people start to feel uneasiness when whiteness and maleness becomes marked in discourse.
I want to challenge you to take pride in your discomfort, for it is a privilege and not a burden. For these four years that you attend Middlebury College, people will make you think about yourself before entering certain spaces. You will hear discussion and debate surrounding the factors that make up your identity and self-hood. This discomfort is something that some of us on this campus will have to deal with from the time we are born till the day we die. This discomfort extends well beyond the institution of Middlebury, and into larger oppressive institutions in this country and around the world. If you can bask in this discomfort you will be able to navigate spaces and begin to recognize marginalization, Orientalization and discrimination of particular people, and you will have the power to help make these spaces less oppressive.
I would like to apologize if you have felt that you are not welcomed into discourses of feminism or equality for all people. Do not feel that you “cannot join most of the liberal activist movements on this campus.” Feminism is about fighting patriarchy, not men. People who fight for racial and ethnic equality fight systematic racism, not white people. People who fight homophobia fight oppressive systems and oppressive people, not people who are allies.
Personally, I would love to see you and more people like you at meetings and rallies around these issues. If you are in favor of dismantling systems of oppression, I think there are many groups on this campus that would welcome you with open arms. I hope you and many of the students on this campus that feel the way you do can open their hearts and minds to discomfort, and begin to use the privileges that you have been granted as tools to help disable oppressive systems rather than sit back with your hands in the air yelling “what do you want me to do about it.”
Written by DAY WILLIAMS '14.5 of Trenton, N.J.
(03/06/13 10:55pm)
At 5:15 p.m. on Sunday, March 3, I walked into Ross Dining Hall to grab an early dinner. The line was already relatively long, and as I waited, several guys lined up after me. They were all wearing hats, and some of them were wearing sport coats and dress pants. Their conversation soon caught my attention, as they were debating whether or not to join their friends earlier in the line to avoid the wait. One of them moved first, going up to the front of the line to have a chat with a friend and then conveniently joining him. The rest of the pack soon followed, though not before one of them threw a handful of mixed greens from the salad bar into a saucepot.
I was fuming at this point. Cutting the line was rude enough, but ruining an entire pot of sauce was an utter disrespect to both the dining hall staff and to other students!
The first thought that sprung to my mind was that they were not Middlebury students. I felt an urge to ask them for their IDs, but I realized that I lacked the formal authority to do anything. There was no way to figure it out. I looked around, and all the other students remained silent. Perhaps, I thought, I was overreacting.
However, the gang did not stop their disturbance. They soon gathered around a long table and began jeering and yelling. Their raucous voices filled the dining hall and ruined my dining experience. By then I figured that they must be Middlebury students to be so openly obnoxious. I later learned that they were hockey players (at least some of them were).
A million thoughts ran through my mind. Should I confront them? Should I call Public Safety? Should I just sit there and tolerate their behavior? I wasn’t sure what to do.
I wasn’t sure what to do because I don’t know how others feel about such behavior. I wasn’t sure what to do because nobody went up to them and told them to be quiet. I don’t know if other Middlebury students think that it’s stupid to take such things seriously, and I was worried that going up to a gang of bros would result in nothing but humiliation. I also didn’t know if such an incident would be worth the time of Public Safety.
As I was hesitating, three Public Safety officers arrived on the scene. I quickly walked up to the officers, told them what I saw and identified the remaining members of the group. I was so proud of the person who called them! He or she did something that I hesitated to do. While the behavior of these hockey players was tolerable to many Middlebury students, it was not to me. I am glad that I wasn’t alone in this.
Silent consent to their behavior will only encourage them to cut in line, contaminate the food and cause disturbance again in the future. I am ashamed of those hockey players for behaving in such an un-Middlebury way. Knowledge may be the primary component of an education at an elite institution like Middlebury, but manners and the ability to conduct oneself with grace are also important. College is a time when we all make mistakes, and I think we can all look to the past and point out something we could have handled better. Even the highest-ranked leaders in our government can say the same. Take, for example, former President George W. Bush, who did similar stupid things when he was at Yale (see his Decision Points). However, that does not mean we should overlook such things when they happen or that these students should not apologize for what they have done. I sincerely hope that they can stop tarnishing the image of Middlebury athletes — and that none of them will become a future President of the United States.
Written by WENBO ZHANG '13 of Vancouver, Canada
(03/06/13 10:52pm)
On Feb. 10, “The Map Project” went up in Davis Library. The project documented locations where students had experienced sexual assault at Middlebury. And if there was one lesson from this map, it was that sexual assault occurs everywhere at Middlebury. With the exclusion of one residential building, every dormitory on campus was covered by at least one dot. And with more than 100 red dots spread out across the Middlebury campus, the fact that sexual violence has affected so many of us was made visually clear.
Collecting locations for this project was extremely easy, a fact that unfortunately speaks to the pervasive and common experience of sexual violence at Middlebury. However, this also shows the willingness of students to bravely share their experiences in order to raise awareness of an urgent issue. After a few weeks of light advertisement for the project, more than 100 students had submitted locations.
As a group, “It Happens Here” chose to pair this project with the powerful stories that students submitted for the event last spring. No matter how often we hear the statistic that one in four women, as well as one in seven men, will experience attempted or completed rape during college, the gravity and the pain inflicted from this violence is most truly understood through personal narrative. The event last spring brought 500 Middlebury students, faculty and staff to listen to and stand with students who had personal experiences with this violence, whether it was a close friend who was a survivor, a mother or themselves. The event highlighted our intolerance of permitting this form of assault in the Middlebury community. This intolerance of sexual violence is extremely necessary in order to form a community that is aware of sexual assault, is kind and sensitive to its survivors and is willing to stand up and prevent sexual assault in the future. Therefore, we are asking you to share your story — whatever that story might be — for the spring event this year.
Seeing the more-than-100 red dots spread across the Middlebury campus gave me the chills. It wasn’t just the sheer number of dots — just one dot is one too many. But I can imagine the powerful stories that each dot represents, and I know that the sharing of these stories can truly spur change. It can be a poem, it can be a sentence and it can be 10 pages long. It can be about rape. It can be about words. It can be about anything in between that was violating. It can be about an experience at Middlebury or an experience that occurred before you started college. It can be about your sister, your brother or your friend. When sexual assault touches one in four women at college, we all have a story to share and we all have the power to write our way to social change, to a campus where there might not be so many red dots and so much pain covering our home. Share your story at go/IHH.
Written by EMILY PEDOWITZ '13 of Briarcliff, N.Y.
(03/06/13 10:46pm)
“It’s getting hot in here so take off all your clothes.”
The above lyric is not only a line from rapper Nelly’s hit song “Hot in Herre,” but it also seems to be the Midd Kid’s anthem once the weather starts to warm up. Last Thursday, I noticed that it was unusually warm. My body had become accustomed to negative degrees and frostbitten hands. I figured in five minutes the warmth would pass, the clouds would again cover the sun and the bipolar snow/hail/sleet storms would continue. But an hour later it was even warmer! I could not believe it, so I checked my phone — low and behold, it was 45 degrees. The first thought that came to mind was, “thank you global warming” (sorry environmentalists).
My stroll through campus was all of sudden much jollier, and with a pep in my step, I hummed as the snow melted around me (not really). On my way to Atwater dining hall (totally forgetting that I had Language Tables), I saw something I just couldn’t fathom. A girl was casually walking in mid-thigh shorts and flats. It couldn’t be! Shorts! Being raised by a West-Indian woman who thought winter was the season of the devil (go figure), I could not even think about wearing shorts until it at least broke 65.
I was baffled by this girl’s courage to bare skin in weather that could change in literally five minutes. I myself had forgotten what my feet looked like without fuzzy socks and duck boots on. I can’t even remember the last day I didn’t have a scarf wrapped around my neck. I even forgot what it looked like to see the sun in the sky. I could not believe that this girl exposed her knees to the world in February!
After the initial shock from seeing shorts subsided, I asked myself “what is life anymore?” I go to a school where people think 45 degrees is summer. I heard the other day that apparently it snows sometimes in May. I wondered what the weather gods had against Middlebury. If only the state of Vermont was able to bribe them with Ben & Jerry’s for a day without snow that turns into ice.
Although I am only a first-year, I have the feeling that Midd students create a great tolerance for cold weather. What other school has kids that can walk around in single-digit weather with just a North Face fleece on? Well, probably any school in the coldest regions of the U.S. People from Minnesota never let you forget that they are from Minnesota and that 20 degrees for them is “so like no big deal.” And those poor Californians don’t let you forget that they are from Cali, and that this cold is “hella not cute.” However, I know that when I go home to the Big Apple and my friends complain about 30 degrees being “freezing,” I say “you don’t know freezing if you’ve never been to Vermont.”
Middlebury has made me appreciate the little things, like seeing the sun out on a regular basis. That heat wave we had last week made my day better, and I am sure that it did the same for some other folks. Seeing the snow melt put a smile on my face, and even when it comes back (give it two days) I will still have a reason to smile. Although spring seems to be ages away, spring break is only two weeks away. So smile. March 22 is only 15 days away from being yours and mine.
Written by DIKU ROGERS '16 of Brooklyn, N. Y.
(02/27/13 11:16pm)
The Educational Affairs Committee (EAC) recently convened a working group to discuss the possibility of integrating internships, fieldwork and other types of experiential education formally into the curriculum, possibly for academic credit.
The working group, made up of faculty from a variety of disciplines, and one student, will submit its recommendations to the EAC by spring break following continued discussion and involvement from faculty and students.
One of many questions the working group will seek to answer is whether the College should grant academic credit for experiential learning.
The Education in Action Center (EIA) currently grants credit for unpaid internships during winter term under the criteria, as stated on their website, that the internship “will provide you with an experiential opportunity for exploring career options, connecting to academic work, and/or pursuing a deep personal interest.” A for-credit winter term internship requires the student to have a faculty adviser and an academic sponsor.
Many organizations and companies require that a student receive academic credit for an unpaid internship. The College offers a transcript notation to satisfy some employers’ requirement for credit, but some students are nevertheless turned away from an internship every year because of the College’s policy, according to Special Assistant to Academic Affairs Sarah McGowen.
“We know that it is more difficult for our students to compete for those opportunities … because other schools do offer [credit],” said Assistant Director of Career Services Tracy Himmel-Isham, who added that this issue has been more problematic for students interested in certain industries including finance, communications, art and entertainment, as organizations in these fields most often require interns to work for credit.
However, the administration remains adamant that the decision to grant credits for internships will not be taken lightly.
“Credits are a big deal,” said Tim Spears, vice president for academic affairs. “So the faculty are understandably going to take a look at this issue pretty carefully.”
He added that the decision to grant credit for summer internships or fieldwork would require implementing a system to ensure quality control of the intern experience.
“The answer simply can’t be that everything that students are doing outside the classroom under the umbrella of the College is deserving of credit,” said Spears. “That would be silly.”
Formal integration of experiential learning has been a long-discussed debate among the faculty.
“Most faculty are not opposed to students engaging in internships, fieldwork and so on, but many wonder how these [endeavors] connect to the learning goals of a liberal arts education,” said McGowen in an email. “[The faculty] have differing views on how best to do this, but they tend to agree [that] … whatever it is we do, it should be done well; it should be a rigorous and meaningful experience for the student.”
“This has been on our docket for years and years,” said Himmel-Isham. “[The EIA] understands both sides of it. We would never want to do anything that watered down what an academic credit means to this college.”
Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science Murray Dry is among a number of faculty members opposed to formal integration of experiential education into the curriculum, although he does encourage summer work that does not distract from liberal arts course work and is not for credit.
“I am categorically against [integrating experiential education into the curriculum],” said Dry. “This constitutes a redefinition or a serious broadening or diluting of what is meant by liberal education. It’s a mistake.”
McGowen emphasized that although the possibility of granting credit for such learning experiences is on the table, this issue is just one of many to be discussed by the group. Foremost among the questions the group plans to address is defining experiential education and its appropriate role in the curriculum.
“Regardless of whether students are getting credit for internships, students can clearly learn from internships in order to enrich their lives and advance in the marketplace,” said Spears. “[Experiential learning] fits in an interesting way with a comprehensive understanding of liberal arts learning.”
Spears defines experiential education, an expansive term, as “any educational experience that takes place outside of the classroom that either enhances, extends, speaks to, or reinforces what’s happening in the classroom.”
“Admittedly, some versions of experiential learning take up issues that are only slightly connected to what’s happening in the classroom,” Spears added.
“I would love to see students get credit for summer work when they are mentored by a faculty member,” said Liz Robinson, director of the Project on Creativity and Innovation (PCI), in an email. “But what I think is even more important is to get students to take advantage of the opportunities we are offering to apply what they are learning … whether it offers credit or not.”
PCI works to facilitate experiential learning on campus and connect real-life experiences to the classroom.
A number of experiential learning opportunities are currently available on campus through PCI and programs including MiddCORE, Solar Decathlon, Old Stone Mill and EIA’s Civic Engagement program.
Proponents of experiential learning feel that the benefits include helping undergraduate students prepare and plan for their careers.
“Internships are a huge component of that career education trajectory [when] you may be identifying an area of interest,” explained Himmel-Isham.
Dry disagreed, saying that “in terms of a job or a career, [an internship] is not the way to go about it and it certainly doesn’t serve any lifelong interest in learning.”
He added, “I think experiential education is cheating the student from the opportunity to get the most out of this very limited leisure [and] freedom from the demands of work.”
McGowen also sees potential benefits for the faculty as well students in introducing more experiential learning into the curriculum.
“[It could be] a way for faculty to enhance their pedagogy to think about … the best way that they can deliver that content,” she said.
Another major consideration of the working group is the logistics of granting credit, especially for faculty and staff involved in advising, supervising or facilitating such programs.
“Staff and faculty have priorities already,” said McGowen. “Ideally faculty are using the summer to do research and rejuvenate themselves and if we suddenly require them to oversee internships then that’s going to be in conflict with other things that are equally important.”
The working group will also discuss whether or not to make experiential learning a graduation requirement, whether to include this option as a distribution requirement or otherwise.
Amanda Wiggans ’14.5, an intern with PCI, takes issue with the possibility of requiring students to have this type of experience before graduation.
“Then people are looking for an internship because they have to and not because it’s going to be something that they want to do, or something that is valuable to them,” she said.
Regarding implementing a for-credit internship requirement, McGowen noted, “[It’s] a question of access. Obviously not every student can afford to do an unpaid internship in the summer; they need to work for money.”
The media has recently given attention to the question of unpaid internships and academic credit for a number of reasons including the legality of unpaid work.
Moving forward, the working group has scheduled forums in the following weeks to hear the opinions of faculty and students.
“I think students are very eager to discuss how experiential learning relates to their education at Middlebury,” said McGowen.
(02/27/13 11:12pm)
After just 15 days in Cameroon’s chaotic capital city, I am still in the process of starting anew. I still haven’t braved the outdoor marché without the reassuring presence of my host mother by my side, and many of my days are governed by the overwhelming desire to find a good Wi-Fi connection so as to maintain contact with the world I left back home. Yet, as I embark on this venture, a daunting four more months in this foreign place looming ahead of me, I often stop and wonder: do I really miss Midd?
Africa doesn’t yet seem like home, but it no longer seems like it couldn’t be. Thousands of miles from the people who have known me all of my life, I feel surprisingly not alone. I find comfort in the smiling faces of the street vendors I pass every day along my road, and in the taunting smirk of my 16-year-old host brother as he teases me for sleeping too much (people here wake up at four or five a.m.; it really is ridiculous). But the fact that he notices my absence at breakfast every morning (does he even eat breakfast? I wouldn’t know…) is reassuring. Not enough to make me forgo my 8 a.m. wake up call, but it’s nice to know I’m missed.
I’m also not dying from lack of creature comforts. Who’s to say that hand washing my underwear in a tub of water on the floor of my bathroom is less comfortable than lugging a heavy bag across campus, to Forest basement, in the pouring rain? And really, Nescafé instant coffee with powdered milk substitute often has more taste than the gray drizzle that comes out of the machines in Proctor.
In a sense, I do miss Midd. I miss teachers who care about you as a student and as a person. I miss leaving my room in the morning without someone asking me if I want to iron my shirt (and oui, Maman, the answer is still non!). I miss having real conversations with people, as opposed to stinted versions of small talk as my brain furiously tries to comprehend what my companion is saying. I miss being able to go out after the sun goes down without a required male companion. And I deeply miss panini makers, melted cheese and fish whose heads and tails have been removed before they hit my plate.
And yet, these things are easily replaced with the unique aspects of life that I love about Yaoundé.
I love the hilarious conversations I have with the other passengers on my taxi ride to school. I love the enormous stained-glass window in the chapel on campus (nearly equivalent in beauty to Mead). I love the abundance of fresh pineapples, papayas and avocadoes I can buy for pennies along the side of the road. I love late-night conversations with my host mother as she teaches me to speak her local village’s dialect, and explains why after living in Paris for 30 years, she realized she belonged in her native Cameroon.
So yes, Midd, I do miss you. I catch occasional glimpses of my life in America on episodes of “Gossip Girl” streaming in French, and in the popularity of songs like “Barbie Girl” and Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me,” and I can’t wait for this temporary “exile” to be over. But I’m also not ready to come home. I’m grateful for the time I have away and the experiences I will have in Central Africa as it slowly but surely becomes chez moi.
Written by JORDAN MCKINLEY '14.5 from YAOUNDE, CAMEROON
(02/27/13 10:03pm)
While I agree with Zach Drennen ’13.5 in his column “Divestment: No Excuse for Inaction” that divestment does not go far enough, his argument undersells the fight that the environmental movement will face in attempting to achieve his outlined solutions.
Divestment is not the single solution to climate change. Middlebury divesting will not have an impact on ExxonMobil’s finances. But divestment offers steps that are ambitious. It is a risk that will drive home the scale of the problem. While divestment itself won’t end climate change, the media attention of hundreds of campuses and cities across the country divesting will bring attention to the energy and the power of this movement — to the power, in particular, of the youth in the climate movement who will inherit this climate-changed world.
This energy and this media needs to be harnessed and transferred into a national movement calling for change, the exact change Drennen outlines. We need to break our addiction to fossil fuels. But breaking this addiction is not as easy as turning off the lights when you leave your dorm room or walking to Shaw’s instead of driving there. Our individual behavioral changes will not make a dent in our climate problems without a broad national movement. Consumer patterns won’t change without an overwhelming push.
We are the group that is already concerned about climate change. Many of us are far more conscious of our carbon footprints than the majority of this country. A change on the scale necessary to combat climate change requires large-scale action and widespread behavioral changes. This change requires education. We need to leave the bubble where climate change is salient and talk to folks who are complacent or uninformed. We need to offer steps that match the scale of the problem. Telling someone to turn off the lights when they leave a room, as Drennen suggests, when we’re talking about droughts and superstorms and sea level rise seems almost trivial.
One of the many problems with the public perception of climate change is a feeling of helplessness. Once we push people past apathy and into concern, they realize how big the scale of this problem is and how many things need to change. Empowering this population and mobilizing them into action will require work. It will require organizing people to tell their representatives that climate change is the most important issue we face today — that it encompasses all other issues, from the economy to national security to health care. We need to push our leaders into action, because only national legislation will reach the people and corporations whose behaviors will never change without incentive and without serious cause on the timeframe we’re working with. This leadership from the United States will inspire other countries to take action.
The people who have contributed the least to climate change are the people who are suffering the most. The frontline communities are not the communities who can change their behavior to truly impact our trajectory, though it would be a lot easier to confront if this were the case. This is our responsibility. We need to move beyond individual action, target certain changeable behaviors and have collective action like we saw last weekend in the streets of D.C. As those 40,000 voices become millions of voices, the noise will grow so loud that you can’t avoid it. Then we will see change in our governments and in our corporations.
Divestment is a start. Closing our windows is a start. Solar panels on our houses are a start. But we are looking at a narrow window of opportunity to slow the rise of the oceans before the damage is done and the process is too far in motion. Only ambitious action, from our campus to our state to our country to the world, can save us.
Written by HANNAH BRISTOL '14.5 of Falls Church, Va.
(02/27/13 10:00pm)
In my opinion, people tend to feel one of two ways about summer. They are either anticipating the break from the routine of the academic year, eager for a change of scene and schedule, or they are anxious at the thought of being away from campus and separating from the community and resources that are available to us from September to May. Honestly, I think most people feel a bit of both as we read our various “Hot New Opportunities Added on MOJO” emails.
There are few summer options that bridge the gap between these two feelings. On one hand, many internships are uncompensated, uninteresting and give us little room to express ourselves. On the other end of the spectrum, branching out completely on our own is both daunting and often unfeasible. If you’ve contemplated any of these pickles during this, the summer-planning season, I encourage you to consider applying for MiddChallenge 2013.
MiddChallenge is looking for project proposals in the categories of Arts, Business and Education, Outreach & Policy. Finalists will pitch their proposals to a panel of judges on March 15-16. Winners will be given $3,000 for the summer, access to Middlebury’s summer room and board program, office space and alumni mentoring.
A MiddChallenge grant offers the best of both worlds when it comes to summer plans. It provides a break from packed schedules of the academic year without severing the support and resources the College community can provide. Above all else, it gives participants the opportunity and resources to focus on something that they believe and come out of the summer having worked on a pretty awesome project.
For more information go/middchallenge. Applications are due on March 9.
Written by JOANNIE THOMPSON '14 of Rosemont, Penn.
(02/27/13 9:58pm)
Learning to navigate a new community is a daunting task. For seasoned Midd kids, we forget that we were all once fresh faces on campus. We confused AXT with AXN (go/map), worried about how to maximize the ingredients in Proctor for a delicious creation and tested out study spots around campus before finding our favorite nooks and crannies. Some of the lessons — like how to prioritize our time and foster meaningful friendships — continue to resonate, even for those of us in our last few months at Middlebury. Thankfully, the campus is full of special services for its students — a fact we tend to overlook after settling into a weekly routine. Therefore, we took this week to poll three Student Wellness Leaders about their favorite services around campus. Here is what they told us:
This spring is Addie Cunnif’s final semester at Middlebury. Among her top priorities: acquiring hobbies and finding a job for her future life. Thankfully, Midd can help her do just that. For her two mandatory PE credits, Addie logrolled and learned how to pop-lock-‘n-drop it in a Riddim workshop. Some of her friends have gone ice climbing, been CPR certified or gone spinning in the YouPower Cycle room for their PE credits. While mandatory PE may seem like a throwback to middle school, Addie is glad that she was pushed to step outside of her comfort zone. When the reality of graduation hits, drop-in hours at the Career Services Office give her time to construct a polished cover letter or resume for her hopeful employer. The CSO can even conduct mock interviews to get you thinking about your best qualities. During Addie’s last semester, it is a real comfort to have those services available.
Coming to Middlebury, Sierra Stites was initially overwhelmed by all of the College’s resources. Her academic and social worlds were now centered in the same place in a way that she hadn’t yet experienced. Now that she’s a seasoned junior, Sierra has a better idea of how to make the most of her time at Middlebury. An appointment with Director of Learning Resources Yonna McShane at CTLR helped Sierra work on time management strategies and helped her avoid the Middlebury tendency toward an overflowing schedule. Together, they looked over syllabi and arranged calendars in advance. And with all that planning, Free Friday Films (now offered every week!) are definitely something Sierra has taken advantage of since her first year on campus (only two weeks more until Les Mis!). Last, but definitely not least, Sierra’s commons dean and faculty heads have been instrumental in making her feel a part of the Middlebury community. Discussing academic and personal matters, as well as the best brands of jeans, is never amiss in the Commons office.
Like most sophomores, Sanela Smaka has a few semesters of experience under her belt, but she still has much to learn from being on campus. Being in the middle of her Middlebury career offers its own benefits and challenges. While it’s easy to slip into a familiar routine, Sanela has found sophomore year to be the perfect time to spice things up by using the resources she already knows to explore new things. For Sanela, figuring out the MiddRides schedule has made it much more exciting to check out live performances at 51 Main on a frigid Friday night. Sanela loves to cook and eat delicious food. Every week at Dolci, she can enjoy the festive atmosphere and unique menus or even work behind the scenes as a chef. No matter how you do it — big steps or small — Sanela thinks that sophomore year is the perfect time to push herself to explore new things while having the reassurance of a few semesters worth of experience.
These are only snapshots of the many ways you can take advantage of the Middlebury community. Whether you need academic or emotional support, career guidance or an opportunity to unwind, Middlebury is there to help. So the next time you’re stuck with a resume question or can’t figure out the best way to express yourself in a cover letter, stop by the CSO’s drop-in hours. When you need a concise thesis statement, writing tutors in the CTLR are there to help. Get your heart pumping with some yoga or Zumba and then set a countdown for Dolci tickets at 9:00 p.m. However you choose, take advantage of the Middlebury bubble before it pops.
Members of the Student Wellness Committee
(02/27/13 9:56pm)
I love Middlebury, but, despite all its beauty and opportunity, I am constantly disappointed in the culture of debate on campus. Daily, we engage in identity politics, doing nothing to further the conversation surrounding issues of importance like race or gender-based discrimination. Instead, through our characterization of whites, men and the privileged as the enemy, we discourage people who might have otherwise been valuable allies from joining the cause at all. We have confused activism with conflict and conversation with vitriol.
I was first faced with this reality about a month into my first year last year. A friend and I were getting ready to go on a bike ride to Breadloaf when, realizing our tires were low on air, we headed to the campus bike shop near ADK. We were turned away at the door: it was Women’s Wednesday. Clarifying that all we wanted to do was quickly use the pump in the corner of the shop, we unsuccessfully petitioned for an exception.
My FYC seemed utterly unfazed when I told him what had happened. He and his colleague tried to assuage my concern, assuring me that “every other day of the week belonged to men [like me].” That is simply not true. On the other six days of the week, the bike store is open to both men and women. There is no Man’s Monday or Tommy’s Tuesday and I don’t want there to be.
In the Jan. 24 edition of the Campus, Sam Kaufman '12.5 published a column titled “What I’ve Learned About Feminism at Middlebury: A Manifesto of Sorts.” In a last hurrah before graduating, she sought to “rally the base” and kickstart a new and broader feminist movement on campus. For all I know the base was rallied. I, on the other hand, was just left angry. Her manifesto was all too representative of Middlebury’s style of activism. From her use of catchwords like “bro,” “economics” and “ADP,” to her condescending assumption that “white,” “heterosexual” and “privileged” men would have stopped reading before her penultimate paragraph, she did nothing to convince me I should join the cause. In fact, she made me feel that as a privileged-white-male-economics major, I was anything but welcome amongst those who fight for equality.
We probably all know that economics is the study of prices and choices. What many on this campus often fail to recognize is that economics is equality’s best friend. Economics helps us to understand extremely complex and multidimensional relationships from employer-employee interaction to the decisions made before choosing whether or not to wear a condom. Take these examples from our own economics department. Assistant Professor of Economic Erick Gong is researching the effect of HIV testing on the behavior of those individuals who are tested. He wants to better understand the relationship between being deemed HIV positive or negative and the riskiness of one’s subsequent actions. Assistant Professor of Economics Caitlin Myers has used econometric models to research issues related to gender-discrimination as well as reproductive rights, health and access.
It is easy to dismiss students of economics as ruthless pre-Wall Street types whose only concern is making that six-figure salary and spending July on Nantucket, but that would be both unfair and false. There is nothing wrong with wanting to go into business. Without business we wouldn’t be able to Skype with our parents after class or get on a $5 Megabus to Boston to visit friends from high school. Business has lifted millions out of poverty in India and China and made Insulin available to those with diabetes. Economists are concerned with far more than just profit, and it is time students on this campus understood that.
There are five female students out of 25 in my economics class. I wish that number were two, three times higher, but so-called feminists like Kaufman have created a culture wherein economics is synonymous with male-dominance. It is truly a shame, but a social barrier to entry has arisen, impeding women who might be interested in studying economics from actually doing so. A false and manufactured perception of discrimination sits like a dark cloud over the department. In a similar way, white men are dissuaded from entering the debate on race and gender relations. In this case, however, the perception of unwelcome is anything but fabricated.
I believe in equal rights for all. Gay or straight, male or female, Cowboys fan or Giants fan, I don’t care. I think the 14th amendment was ratified 77 years too late, but I cannot call myself a feminist. Even though I probably believe in every one of them, I cannot join most of the liberal activist movements on this campus because I cannot bear to be treated like the enemy for the simple fact that I was born privileged, white and male.
The greatest accomplishment of Middlebury liberals has been removing me from their ranks. I am a member of the Democratic Party and I want the Paycheck Fairness Act to pass and the Defense of Marriage Act to be repealed, but I cannot identify with many left-wing elements on this campus. They discount me by the simple fact of my birth, but who I am won’t change. I’m white, privileged and male, but I don’t feel uncomfortable with or ashamed of it. As for my major, that’s a choice I made and the prices were mine to weigh.
Written by NATHAN WEIL '15 of Geneva, Switzerland
(02/20/13 6:05pm)
On Feb. 10 Public Safety announced an increase in parking ticket fines from $10 to $50, a change that has been applied to weekday and night winter ban and faculty and staff lot parking violations.
To decrease the number of tows required and increase compliance with the parking regulations, the fines were raised to magnify the “deterrence factor” of receiving a ticket, said Associate Dean of the College and Director of Public Safety Elizabeth Burchard.
“This change is necessary to reduce the gap between the previous ticket fines and the cost of a tow for the same violations,” wrote Burchard in an email to the student body. “Parking enforcement continues to be necessary, and consistency and equity are an important part of this process.”
Burchard said that Public Safety has received a number of complaints that the discrepancy between a $10 parking violation fine and the $125 charge for the first tow is too great.
Public Safety often tows cars that are parked overnight in winter ban and faculty/staff spaces in order to free up the spaces for snow removal and use in the morning, although they are “trying to continue to reduce the need to tow,” said Burchard.
Burchard acknowledged a “grace period” for those using college facilities such as The Grille or the library after midnight, but cautioned against pushing this limit.
“At a certain point we do realize that the night is over and now faculty and staff are going to start arriving in the morning,” said Burchard.
Burchard pointed out that Public Safety contracts to a tow service. Public Safety will occasionally waive the high tow fee for students who appeal the charge, and in these cases, the cost of the tow is absorbed by the College.
“That doesn’t really seem right,” said Burchard.
Dan Vatnick ’15 said the new fines are too high and that the current system of charging tickets to students’ accounts is ineffective as a deterrent.
Vatnick suggests that Public Safety fine the students directly instead of billing their parents, or preventing students from registering for classes until all fines are paid.
“Then, kids would have to actually deal with the consequences of a ticket instead of just letting their parents pay for it,” he said.
Burchard added that the number of tickets and tows has decreased significantly since she began working at Public Safety in 2001. She noted that while 5,773 tickets were issued in the 2001-2002 academic year, that number is now down to 3,549 tickets last school year.
A common complaint from students is that faculty and staff lots take the most convenient locations.
“A parking spot in Kenyon doesn’t count for real parking because it provides no utilitarian purposes,” said McKay Sheftall ’14.
Faculty and staff are given priority for the spots most proximate to classrooms and buildings.
“[Students spots are] more at the peripheral of the campus,” said Burchard, “so students are usually putting their cars [in these spots] and leaving them there. Unfortunately students don’t always like where the available spaces are located.”
In addition, students often note that the ratio of student spaces to faculty and staff spaces does not seem to reflect the population and the need for spaces.
“The faculty and staff lots are never full,” said Hannah Dietrich ’14.5.
Burchard described the system of parking regulations as a “strategic process” because there is a limit to the number of spaces and “we need to control how they are used.”
An idea that has been brought up among those responsible for parking regulations is to find a way to better associate parking spaces with housing assignments, said Burchard.
In order to make parking available for every permit holder, Public Safety must take into account external factors such as the current construction that has closed much of the Kenyon lot, said Burchard. The first-year spots that were once in that lot have now been moved to the lot behind the Kevin P. Mahaney ’84 Center for the Arts, with a number of news spaces added to the Ridgeline lot.
Most students have little to no experience with parking violations, but Burchard said that a small group of students have trouble with adhering to the regulations for a number of reasons.
Burchard emphasized that Public Safety is open to feedback.
“We are looking at the fact that there have been changes to parking … We are trying to figure out if we did it right,” said Burchard.
Written by JEREMY KALLAN '14
(02/20/13 5:59pm)
“Guiri” is a colloquial term used in Spain to describe what is considered to be the stereotypical tourist or foreigner, and it is associated primarily with people from Northern Europe, the U.K. or the U.S. While I’ve heard it used in an endearing or light-hearted manner — “Of course you two finished your drinks before me, you’re both guiris!” — I’ve found that it is more often than not accompanied by derision or condescension — “Of course you went to Kapital and Joy this weekend, only guiris go to those clubs.”
While being referred to as a guiri doesn’t particularly bother me, I do find it a bit odd that almost all of my classes and social encounters seem to revolve around this common theme: how NOT to look like, act like or sound like a guiri. In my obligatory seminar on Spanish culture, we were told on the first day that the purpose of the class is to “accept cultural differences,” “adopt Spanish behavior” and “use appropriate gestures and body language,” so that by the end of the semester we would all be bona fide madrileños. Since then, it seems as though what is more important than learning “how to be” a Spaniard is learning “how not to be” a guiri. Our professor will caution us with warnings such as, “Only guiris take the metro, real madrileños use the bus” or “Only guiris would eat paella on the western coast of Spain.”
I have also encountered these informal lessons in social interactions with Spaniards: “I can spot that North Face-wearing guiri from a mile away.” “You WOULD know all of the lyrics to Pitbull’s verse in ‘International Love,’ you guiri.” “Ordering water at a restaurant? What a guiri.” As I can recognize the truth underneath the assumptions, I am able to laugh along. It is only when guiri is used in a negative way that “lacks merit” that I am resentful toward the label.
Before my program in Madrid started, I went to a Real Madrid game with my mom at the famous Santiago Bernabeu stadium. The score was tied 2-2 in the second half, and an offensive play was building up for the home side. As Cristiano Ronaldo was winding up for the shot, everyone in the stadium lifted themselves from their seats in anticipation. When the shot did go past the keeper to give Real Madrid the lead, the crowd roared and everyone jumped out of their chairs, including my mom and me. As we sat back down, two elderly men grabbed our shoulders and yelled at us for standing up before the goal was scored, and that our thoughtlessness prevented them from seeing the shot go in. Assuming that we couldn’t understand them, they continued whispering nasty things to one another in Spanish about “those stupid guiris,” and ultimately concluded that we “must be Americans.”
Had we been the only people to stand up in the stadium perhaps I would understand their frustration; however, as this was obviously not the case, I was offended by the accusatory use of the word guiri. Not only was Ronaldo one-on-one with the keeper (of course a goal was about to be scored), but we were also not acting alone in this apparently guiri behavior. “Those damn Americans, always standing up right before the goal is scored” just doesn’t seem like a justified insult.
It was never my intention or expectation to completely assimilate to Spanish culture, or totally “fit in” in Madrid. I’m taller than a great deal of the men, kind of Asian-looking, and I wear athletic shorts outside in the winter — I don’t think I’m fooling anyone, nor am I trying to. Yet, I still feel this internal tug-of-war between embracing the fact that I’m a foreigner and rejecting it, between embracing the word guiri and rejecting it. Even though I take the bus to school instead of the metro, sometimes when I go to a store or restaurant and order in Spanish people will still respond to me in English. It seems as though regardless of what I say, what I do or how I do it, I can never be a true madrileña, so I may as well just continue wearing sweatpants outside of my apartment and receiving dirty looks. Why bother?
Written by EMILY DUH '14 from Madrid, Spain
(02/20/13 5:23pm)
Last Saturday morning, the seven of us gave a 45-minute presentation in front of the full Board of Trustees advocating for divestment of Middlebury’s endowment from the fossil fuels and weapons manufacturing industries. We spoke for the hundreds of students across campus who have expressed their support of divestment. In this column, we seek to sum up our argument, using direct quotes from our transcript.
Jeannie Bartlett: We’re here today to talk about divesting Middlebury’s endowment holdings from fossil fuels and weapons manufacturing industries. Divestment will include making a public commitment early this spring, freezing investments in those industries and being completely out by 2016, the same time we fulfill carbon neutrality.
Laura Berry: One of our major concerns is the presence of weapons-related violence in this world. From the stagnant rate of firearm murders in the U.S. and the mass tragedies such as the Sandy Hook Massacre and the Aurora theatre shooting, the horrifying presence of firearm related violence in the U.S. is more evident than ever.
Teddy Smyth: In the Copenhagen Accord, the world agreed: the highest “safe” temperature rise is two degrees Celsius. If we burn through all of our reserves, as currently projected, we will exceed the amount of carbon we can “safely” burn five times over. So we’re left with a choice: either we continue burning through our reserves and blow past the two-degree target, or we lock up a large portion of the carbon reserves worldwide.
Craig Thompson: According to Investure’s December 2012 review of our endowment, 3.6 percent of our portfolio is invested in fossil fuels and 0.6 percent is invested in weapons manufacturers. This is the part of our portfolio we believe that Middlebury should divest. Research by HSBC, the United Nations, Mercer, Aperio Group and McKinsey among others support the notion that the predicted “cost” of divestment is likely insignificant. In the Divestment Panel in McCullough last month, Mark Kritzman, professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, presented a largely theoretical paper he wrote titled “The Cost of Divestment.” Mr. Kritzman’s analysis does not mention risk or risk-adjusted returns and uses investment assumptions that are not applicable to our portfolio or, we believe, the Board’s decision.
Divestment also circumvents the significant political and environmental risks that these industries face in the upcoming years. Middlebury invests its endowment with an infinite horizon with respect to returns, and as a result the question of when anti-carbon emission legislation will occur, either in one year or in 10, does not change the fact that there could be significant impact on intermediate- and long-term profitability not currently priced into the market. Restrictions on using this carbon are almost inevitable if the planet as we know it is to survive.
Nathan Arnosti: Divestment from South Africa provides a clear legal precedent. A legal comment at the time noted that ‘the courts give wide discretion to trustee investment decisions.’ ... The UNEP Finance Initiative reports in 2005 and 2009 confirms the legality of integrating non-financial considerations into investment decisions.
The College’s investment objectives explains that the endowment’s ‘earnings support the diverse programs and initiatives of the Middlebury College community in perpetuity.’ Isn’t it fair to consider that our earnings from investments in fossil fuels and weapons do not support the college’s initiatives?
Laura Berry: Middlebury has already placed social and environmental concerns at the forefront of its academics and campus operations. We ask that the Board vote to divest from fossil fuels and weapons manufacturers because the missions of these companies run directly counter to the Middlebury education.
Middlebury now has the opportunity to take its role as a social and environmental leader to the next level. Middlebury would be at the forefront of a national movement with over 256 active divestment campaigns on college campuses. We would be the first of our peer institutions to divest and would undoubtedly inspire other institutions in the United States to once again follow in our footsteps and consider divestment.
Kristina Johansson: Divestment from fossil fuels and weapons manufacturers will have a powerful impact, as it did in South Africa 25 years ago. Middlebury’s divestment, in conjunction with divestment at other institutions, can spark a shift in the public discourse on climate change and gun violence. We mean to reduce the political power of these industries in Washington, which has prevented meaningful legislation on climate change and gun violence over the past few decades. Widespread divestment will also signal to the government that academic institutions desire an economic and political environment that no longer coddles fossil fuel producers, but rather nurtures the development of clean, renewable energy.
Fernando Sandoval Jimenez: We are not an isolated community. We are not immune to the effects of climate change and weapons manufacturing. We are a global community, and we are proud of it. It only makes sense that we honor our responsibility to the members of this community.
We have shown that we care about the environment by putting our money forth to green this campus. It is now time to fully embrace our values, to put our ethics forth and to show that we care about ALL members of our global community. And we can do this by taking ownership over where our money goes, and what our money does in the world.
Jeannie Bartlett: The first step we propose is to choose a strategy. Middlebury is in a somewhat unique situation because our endowment is managed by Investure, together with the endowments of 12 other institutions. The first option, then, is for Investure to divest all the funds it manages … A second option is for only certain Investure clients to divest … A third option, of course, is for Middlebury to divest independently of Investure, and manage the endowment using an in-house manager or by forming a new consortium with like-minded institutions.
The second step is to make a public commitment to divestment. On March 4, students are “marching forth” to support divestment, and we hope that you can join us then with a positive announcement … We ask for a commitment by March 15. We realize the logistics of any of the strategies we’ve outlined will probably take time to implement. The commitment should identify a strategy for divestment, set a timeline for implementation and dedicate paid time and energy into implementation.
By 2016, at the same time that we fulfill carbon neutrality, we hope Middlebury can announce that our portfolio is free of fossil fuel companies and arms manufacturers.
Finally, investing to advance Middlebury’s mission is an ongoing process. We should continually reflect on and improve the alignment of our investments with our values.
JEANNIE BARTLETT ’15 is from Leyden, Mass.
LAURA BERRY ’16 is from Nashville, Tenn.
TEDDY SMYTH ’15 is from Augusta, Ga.
CRAIG THOMPSON ’13.5 is from New York, N.Y.
NATHAN ARNOSTI ’13 is from Saint Paul, Minn.
KRISTINA JOHANSSON ’14 is from Stockholm, Sweden
FERNANDO SANDOVAL JIMENEZ ’15 is from Nochistlán de Mejía, Mexico
(02/20/13 5:01pm)
Last week I experienced the curious feeling of missing someone. I actually didn’t realize I missed this person (who I will call Django) until I made what I then thought was an arbitrary and mindless decision to call him. When I hung up the phone I was overcome by an unexpected sensation of loss and surprised myself by applying that precious term of missing to the situation.
The curiosity surrounding missing lies in the duality of its nature. First, it is an emotion that we cannot experience independently. Unlike sadness or anger which can be internalized, missing needs a direct object whether it be a time of life, a person or a favorite red beanie chock-full of sentimental value (last seen 02/16/13, Palmer House).
The second aspect of missing’s duality is that it functions as both a remedy and a solution. The phone call serves as a perfect example. I called Django because I missed him; I missed him because I called him. Often missing is identified only in the past tense. “I missed you guys!” has become my opening one-liner upon returning home and seeing my parents. But what does that really mean? I missed you, but I’m only realizing it now. I was actually fairly competent on my own. It seems like a complete waste of emotion. But that’s only for the emotionally dehydrated.
I believe that missing, even in its retrospective form comes from a genuine place. It’s not easy to generate an organic missing from scratch. And why should it be? Social as humans may be, we’ve still got an evolutionary battle to win and it wouldn’t make sense for us to be wired in a way that roots us to things we can’t have. Adaptable individuals that we are, we busy ourselves with the present and the immediate.
But it’s not fail-proof. Just listen to the song “Hey There, Delilah.” As we go about our lives we subject ourselves to an onslaught of stimuli, some of which may pluck you tick-off-the-back-of-a-dog, arms-flailing style right out of the happy present moment. In this uncomfortable state of free fall down Memory Lane, which turns out to be sloped at a sheer 75 degree angle and coated in black ice, we tap into survival mode. Your body computer runs a series of algorithms in an effort to fuse the past and present and get you to some underground railroad installment on Memory Lane. The product manifests itself subtly in a phone call or a well-drafted Facebook message. Eventually it resolves in a simple acknowledgment that takes a variety of linguistic forms including, “I miss you” or maybe “I meeeesssss youuuuuuu.” All that just to pull the trigger to start the cycle again. Perhaps aspiring vegetarians can identify with this phenomenon. Eliminating such divinities as BLTs or chicken parmesan from your diet is an all or nothing kind of deal. Pacifying the cravings with an infrequent “treat yoself” kind of day only refuels the fire and each subsequent craving will come back with increasing desire. In the least cannibalistic way, we have to keep the taste of what we know we miss fresh in order to miss it.
Facebook provides bountiful quantities of these tastes in its Costco-free-sample-formatted newsfeed. So often we are reminded of the things we miss that it’s possible we’re becoming habituated to that unsettling, my-skis-are-coming-apart feeling of straddling the past and present. Mr. Zuckerburg taunts us by refusing to take things out of sight and therefore out of mind, but also treats us by offering an emotional shortcut.
The result is a bloated and somewhat distorted version of missing. French and other languages preserve the weightiness of the verb “to miss” with vocabulary and sentence structure. In English we can miss both the nine o’clock bus and the granola that is no longer available at Proctor dinner. The French came up with two distinct words that more accurately reflect the vastly different emotional states of these scenarios. With regards to the granola, where Anglophones would say, “I miss you,” francophones say “Tu me manques,” which literally translates to “You are missing to me.” Clumsy and indirect as it may sound, it implies a kind of missing puzzle piece image that I think more earnestly conveys the emotion. You were a part of me and now you are gone and I feel emptiness where you once were, it says. A New Yorker comic’s depiction of yin sitting on the edge of a hotel room bed puts it nicely too. Yin is on the phone and there’s a speech bubble reading, “I miss you too.”
I don’t blame Facebook. I don’t miss missing people. Missing is an evolving emotional field. Maybe it’s only the appropriate language distinction that is missing, so that we can better account for the emotional disparity between missing the 9 o’clock bus, missing high school (but only after revisiting a Facebook album titled “STUUDDYY HALLL ’09”) and yin missing yang.
Written by MEREDITH WHITE '15 of Orinado, Calif.