I remember with nauseating clarity when my high school boyfriend paused an episode of Black Mirror, turned to me, and said, “I think we should break up or go on a break for the summer.” What I said in response has been erased in my memory by the brutal shock of the blow and the paradoxical feeling ...
Over a year into the Covid-19 era, and it seems that things might be finally turning around. Are the long anticipated moments of mask unveiling and social gatherings and in-person classes upon us? With recent vaccine developments in the U.S., many of us have replaced skepticism with optimism. That is ...
It’s been 553 days since we last printed an issue of our newspaper. It’s been 555 days since we were told that we were being sent home from campus due to the pandemic; it’s been 555 days since we gathered in our basement office to work on publishing an issue that looked very different than it ...
Since the start of the academic year, Colby has had 11 Covid-19 cases, Amherst has had 23, and Bowdoin has had 42. Tufts has had 25 this week alone, and a significant outbreak at Connecticut College resulted in 180 positives since students returned to campus. And while we too like to believe that Vermont ...
My mom FaceTimed me last Saturday, joking that I should call up my dad and brother and remind them that I’m the only reason either of them are alive right now. We laughed about it, but it felt heavy. I know — more than most — what it would have been like to lose someone on 9/11. At the time ...
My first love was my home. Mine is the block with the broken sidewalk tiles and the dogs that always bark at inconvenient times and the houses that have seen a century more of the world than I ever could or would. Now, though, I know in my heart — and most definitely in my parents’ bank account ...
While the school year may be coming to a close, a new fiscal year — and the implementation of a new College budget — is fast approaching. This is a moment to reflect on what should be included among the college’s highest priorities before these decisions go into effect on July 1. Paying all ...
“The rich will find their world to be more expensive, inconvenient, uncomfortable, disrupted and colorless; in general, more unpleasant and unpredictable, perhaps greatly so. The poor will die,” Kirk R. Smith, an environmental scientist, said of the coming impacts of climate change on the world. While ...
Though it’s been over a decade since the infamous “Midd Kid” music video first graced the internet, many current students are still well acquainted with its catchy chorus. The satirical video premiered in 2010 to mixed reception — some commended the parody for highlighting long-standing stereotypes ...
In many ways, culture is invisible; unless you squint your eyes to bring it into focus, it fades into the background. And it remains elusive precisely because it touches every aspect of our day-to-day lives: From jokes at the dinner table to the stickers we plaster over our laptops to the angles and ...
Less than a month from graduation, I’ve recently caught myself doing that thing most seniors do at this point in our college careers: reflecting on all of the moments over the past four years — both miniscule and monumental — that have made this place home. Looking back, my time at Middlebury ...
One phrase I said a lot as a Middlebury student, in response to questions about my wellbeing: “This week is pretty rough.” Usually, I said this in passing, walking down College Street or waiting by the Proc panini machines. Often, I would throw in a self-deprecating joke or an eye roll. You know ...
It was October 2, 2020, after dinner. Somehow, I was convinced that it would be a fantastic idea to bike all the way down College Street, holding a cup of boiling hot coffee in my left hand. “I do it all the time. Look!” Rena circled her bike around me while sipping on her coffee, encouraging me ...
If you know me, you’ve heard this story. In middle school, I devoured Donna Tartt’s 1992 debut novel about a group of Classics majors at an elite private college in Vermont who conspire to kill one of their friends. Then I read it again in ninth grade — and again the next year. During my junior ...
"By failing to take the time to do simple tasks like properly returning to-go containers, we are acting as though we see staff members as nameless faces that are simply here to serve us," writes the editorial board.
“I believe in God, and the right to self-determination of transgender people. Do you see a contradiction in my beliefs? Can I still be a Christian?”This is the question I asked Dr. Peter Kreeft, a recent campus speaker who was invited by the Newman Catholic Club, and whose views I deeply disagree ...
I think that it is a sad reality that inviting a Catholic intellectual who believes all the teachings of the Church to Middlebury is scandalous, but such a state of affairs is not nearly as surprising to me as it once was. In my nearly three years on campus, I have seen multiple instances of intolerance ...
As a trans student, I have always been constantly aware of transphobia on Middlebury’s campus. As is the case everywhere else, it’s impossible to avoid. Here, almost everyone keeps their transphobia close to their chest if they know it’s there, and far from their minds if they don’t — but ...
This editorial is a reflection on the Zeitgeist 2021 survey results. You can read all of the results here. As we near the end of our second Covid-era college semester, we should take a pause and allow ourselves to mourn what could have been. What could have been a student’s first year characterized ...
This past summer, the Movement for Black Lives inspired conversations on race and white supremacy to a larger extent that the United States has experienced in decades. Many individuals and institutions asked themselves seriously for the first time: what actions do we have to take to combat racism? Although ...