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, ...
Before I came to the U.S. for the first time as an exchange student in grade 11, I had to attend a week-long seminar that was supposed to prepare us for the American culture waiting for us on the other side of the ocean. I very vividly remember one of the volunteers telling us that the biggest problem ...
In the last few weeks, administrators have heard numerous new reports, both on and off campus, of racism. Racism is present at Middlebury, and it will not be tolerated. We must come together as a community to address it. I argued in my inaugural address that inclusivity must be an everyday ethic — ...
The college bookstore is an inevitable, unfortunate part of the Middlebury experience, contributing significantly to our school’s textbook problem. Middlebury does little to address the substantial burden of excessive textbook costs on students. Faculty can assemble booklists without regard for the ...
“Yo bro, that was an absolute savage move!” Person sinks the final cup in a game of beer pong. Spectators comment, “Savage.” “200 pages of reading?!? That professor is a savage.” No one will deny that these and other similar phrases are prevalent on Middlebury’s campus. I either hear ...
Three weeks ago I touched on the importance of original reporting in this column, and argued that the blogosphere would never replace traditional media because the very existence of news relies on reporters immersing themselves in their respective beats. In that column, I mentioned newspapers like ...
The answer is a lot of things. From whitesplaining to people having conversations in doorways, I have a lot to say. If you know me personally, this isn’t anything new. If you don’t know me, well, now you know. The purpose of this column is to talk about issues I think are important. Topics range ...
There is nothing more celebrated at Middlebury College than a student-led business venture. Middlebury dedicates an enormous amount of its financial and human resources to entrepreneurship. This meticulously animated video perfectly demonstrates the way our school tries to attract prospective students ...
The critiques in Austin Kahn’s piece “Culinary Colonialism” are vital in a growing culinary scene dominated by young white male chefs who accumulate wealth and accolades through the sale of “global” and “ethnic” cuisines. As he rightly points out, Fiasco’s initial menus very much fell ...