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Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025

Opinion


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Turn 'em off, they're too bright, turn 'em off

For nearly four years, after long sessions in any number of hidey-holes where I pretend to do work, I have traipsed home in the dark. This is hardly unique at Middlebury, upon Davis’ closing at 12:00 a.m., students stream out of the building, returning to their dormitories like careworn monks. A late-night ...


The Setonian

I miss Liberal-Republicans: An old Vermont political tradition

“Liberal-Republicans” often seem like an oxymoron in today’s politics. In a time when political identity feels like a team sport, it’s hard to picture a Republican being called a liberal without some irony. Yet in the Green Mountain State, that phrase has historically represented an entire political ...


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On breaking your fall at Middlebury

As your mid-terms drag on and Thanksgiving Break still feels far away, it can be easy to put your head down and power through the next few weeks of autumn. However, we want to encourage students to instead look at this time as an opportunity to engage in some of our favorite fall activities that will ...


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On being enough: the value of imperfection

I grip the steering wheel tightly as the white spire of the chapel looms into view. Despite the excitement I feel for my last semester, a familiar stream of thoughts enter my mind: What if I don’t do well in my senior projects? How will I be prepared for a future career? What if I can’t demonstrate ...


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Is OpenAI at our (Midd)CORE?

Last week, MiddCORE announced its partnership with OpenAI for its J-Term program. The announcement raises questions about whether OpenAI and its generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool, ChatGPT, being invited in this way to our campus reflects an endorsement of such a controversial company and ...


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The value of physical media: Artificial intelligence and art

Over the last few years, I’ve been slowly indoctrinated into the cult of physical media. There is no shortage of YouTube video essays made by 20-somethings living in Brooklyn that rave about the cultural, philosophical, aesthetic and moral value of dvds, records and film photography. And it’s hard ...


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The AI conversations we’re not having

As a super senior graduating this coming February, my college experience has spanned two distinct eras: before artificial intelligence (AI) and after AI. My introduction to AI came over Christmas break in 2022, when my tech-obsessed father showed me ChatGPT. My family crowded around my laptop, collectively ...


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Brick by brick, we care about how our campus looks

As the Chateau celebrates its 100-year anniversary and the first group of Middlebury students takes up residence in New Battell, we are reflecting on the meaning of the buildings where we study, work, and live. Buildings are part of what makes our campus feel distinctly “Middlebury.” Recent and ...


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Your first year seminar should be fun

I’ve had many moments at Middlebury over the last few years where I marvel at what I’ve been able to learn here. Taking classes that are actually functional — invigorating, even — has been a fairly novel delight in my academic career, coming from a high school which is consistently on the list ...


The Setonian

Sampling error: you

 Two weeks ago, I made the case for specifying the global problems you wish to spend years on. Today I want to place these choices at the right altitude, because from arm’s length everything blurs and from 10 years out it usually becomes embarrassingly clear. Set aside the buzz lines, and your ...


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Middlebury does not protect free speech

President Ian Baucom entered his tenure with multiple public statements asserting “the freedom of our students to express and explore thoughts outside orthodoxy, inside and outside the classroom, without fear or hesitation.” And yet, the reality of students on our campus dictates otherwise. With ...


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I’m re-learning my mother tongue

In February 2024, I wrote an op-ed for The Campus titled ‘I’m forgetting my mother tongue.’ Within one day of publishing, I was contacted by over 30 students who grew up and live outside of the regions where their mother tongue is spoken. Together, we mourned the loss of our linguistic heritage. ...


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Addressing the hole the closure of MiddSafe will leave behind

When the Center for Health and Wellness (CHW) recently announced the termination of the MiddSafe Hotline and Mental Health Peer Educators (MPHE) program, it cited a lack of student use as the reason. They pointed to the increase in mental health resources in the CHW as having supplemented the need for ...




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