Last Thursday, Nov. 9, hundreds of members of the Middlebury community gathered in Mead Chapel for a town hall meeting. The event was originally planned by Women of Color and the Black Student Union with support from SGA and was subsequently co-opted by the administration, who claimed it had been already ...
There has not been room to talk about the importance of students’ roles in this issue with administration, so I’m going to make it. For context, this will stay aligned with Thursday’s town hall, but is applicable to other situations. First I want to thank students who share and continue to give ...
In recent weeks there has been much discussion on our campus about Middlebury policies and processes prohibiting acts of discrimination and harassment, including those based on race. I write today to state clearly my position and the position of my administration. I am steadfastly committed to rooting ...
Last spring, I was elected by the student body to co-chair Community Council. This is sometimes surprising to me given how few students know what Community Council is. I can’t help but also notice that Community Council is sometimes nebulous for faculty and staff. In this column, I will share and ...
In a class last week, I co-led a discussion on “Travesties,” Tom Stoppard’s play partly inspired by “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Being the studious student I am, I brought with me “The Collected Works of Oscar Wilde” in case I needed to reference his work and/or pretend to be more ...
The administration has criticized this paper’s coverage in public and private, and to our editors. They have implied that this paper contributes to negative perceptions of our school. They have shown discomfort and grown defensive when community members have shared their stories. The administration ...
We, a group of more than 40 Middlebury faculty, wish to publicly express our outrage and disgust at the images of racist and violent graffiti discovered in a classroom last week, as reported in The Campus on November 1. Moreover, as we stated in our September editorial, we stand with Addis Fouche-Channer ...
The following piece is directed towards cishet (people who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth and are straight) men: I want to be intentional about not speaking for anyone who experiences sexism, whether they are women, trans women or queer men. Though I sympathize and strive to be ...
Middlebury College is a truly strange and absurd place when it comes to campus politics. To the outside world — including potential students abroad, first-year and transfer students — Middlebury is marketed as this progressive, liberal, environmentally-friendly, socially-aware place. And once you ...
Dear President Laurie L. Patton: The hateful graffiti photographed by a student in Munroe Hall undoubtedly relates to the incident of racial profiling involving Addis Fouche-Channer after the Charles Murray protests. The graffiti also implicates Bill Burger, who is known to have driven the escape vehicle ...
In response to the Editorial Staff’s ‘Wanted: Student Spaces’ from October 18th: We agree that there are fewer spaces on campus now with converted lounges and changes to the Crest Room. We take issue, however, with the use of the Knoll as the “best example” of this trend. The Campus claims ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99NaRJQzXiM I am embarrassed to admit that I had not heard of Joan Didion until May of this year, when Sue Halpern (the college’s favorite scholar-in-residence) gave me a copy of her essay collection, “Slouching Towards Bethlehem.” As I made my way through Didion’s ...
Last spring, in the wake of Charles Murray’s visit to campus, Provost Susan Baldridge convened a group of faculty, staff and students to form an independent committee dedicated to the task of considering the issues of speech and community on campus. Since then, we, the members of what came to be called ...
First things first, figure out the roommate problem. Now that you’ve cleared the room, affirmed consent, and done what evolution commands, you’re just sweaty and cramped up in a twin bed. Most students on this campus sleep in a twin extra long bed 39” x 80”; barely enough room to fit you and ...
We need to treat our staff better. Right now, there is an extreme lack of respect for dining hall, facilities and custodial staff by students. It’s beyond unacceptable. Let’s take my hall this year for example. It’s home to some lazy people. If you leave plates around in your room, fine. Empty ...
A sad day it is indeed when supposedly “liberal” publications like The New York Times and The Guardian are seen practically falling over each other singing praises of those bold Defenders of Democracy, the Senate’s newest Knights of Truth, Bob Corker and Jeff Flake. Seriously, if I sound mockingly ...
When you are a person of color engaged in an innocent activity and security officers leap to the conclusion that you are a dangerous suspect, it is hard not to conclude that you are a victim of racial profiling.
The Crest Room: formerly a meeting space for the SGA during some hours, arts and crafts center at others and ambiguous pseudo-lounge when unlocked and unoccupied. Now it is a faculty lounge from the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and a student lounge from 4:30 p.m. onwards. This makes the Crest Room ...
There is an intoxicating and surprisingly tenacious myth in American politics, one seemingly oblivious to the distasteful reality that increasingly contradicts it. Nevertheless, it continues to waft happily down the hallways of banks, Congress, and indeed this college. Behold the golden calf of centrism, ...
Millennials. Everyone hates us. Our propensity for arrogance and merciless decimation knows no bounds. Industries, products and practices we’ve “killed” — according to the internet — include: beer, Buffalo Wild Wings, Applebee’s, golf, cars, home ownership, Harley Davidson, the 9 to 5 workweek, ...