“Middlebury is not a charity.” Critics of Go/Refuge, the movement for the College to take an active role in the world refugee crisis, have presented this argument. The criticism, though not yet fully elaborated, seems to base itself on the idea that an institution of higher education’s only obligation ...
In the midst of a refugee crisis, driven in large part by turmoil and civil war in Syria, the provision of safety, food and shelter for displaced persons is a priority for conscientious segments of the international community. And rightfully so. Communities around the world are eager to lend a hand ...
With J-Term more than halfway over, many of us have accomplished a great deal: we have plowed through new Netflix series (Making a Murderer, anyone?!), spent afternoons at the Snow Bowl and caught up on much-needed sleep. But while many enjoy this brief respite from the busyness of the spring and fall, ...
My dear people of Middlebury, I saw an 18-year-old white woman crying in front of 800 people in Mead Chapel; she’d been publicly berated for wearing a hat. Not out of spite. Not out of hate. She had been attending Middlebury for a matter of weeks and did not yet learn that wearing a sombrero was ...
Dear Editors, I’m writing today to discuss the role that the Student Government Association (SGA) plays in addressing sexual and relationship respect. Last year, after a series of conversations with other institutions in the Northeast, the SGA decided to increase its commitment to promoting sexual ...
Terrorists are attacking America and they are winning. There’s a certain image people think of when they read “terrorist.” However, I was not thinking of Osama Bin Laden or ISIS, although they are certainly terrorists. I was thinking of people like Mr.Donald Trump. Obviously, Donald Trump is not ...
I am ashamed. Part of me got swept away with the media portrayal of refugees coming into Europe. It all scared me. The hundreds of thousands crossing the Mediterranean at night, sleeping rough on the streets, trying to get into Britain by sneaking onto the back of trucks or walking the channel tunnel. ...
As the New Year arrived, the Syrian Crisis entered the fifth year of its genesis. With a UN estimate of 6.5 million dis- placed within Syria and 3 million fleeing refugees, no near end is in sight. Older teenagers and adults, however, reminisce to a time of malaise when the Jordanian capital (Amman) ...
Last Friday, the Middlebury faculty voted to indefinitely renew the Pass/D/Fail program. The program permits students to take two courses for college credit, receivng a “Pass,” D or “Fail” in lieu of a traditional grade. The faculty also extended the deadline to invoke the Pass/D/Fail option ...
“Have you been feeling depressed or down for most of the day nearly every day? Are you experiencing a loss of pleasure in activities you usually enjoy?” After a full summer of conducting phone interviews in a neuroscience lab that studies depression, these questions are burned into my memory. And ...
This fall, I submitted an application to the Small Concerts Initiative and was given a grant to bring hip-hop artist, Chris Felner, aka “Felly,” to Middlebury. His show was scheduled for last Friday, and ultimately he performed for over 550 students. However, just prior to his arrival in Vermont, ...
I’ve been trying to write an article about my experience watching Clickshare (the faculty-produced show written by Midd alum Lucas Kavner ’06.5) last Wednesday night. I left the play feeling isolated, frustrated, and shaken. While my peers laughed I found myself more and more disturbed by the choices ...
The First Amendment is arguably the most defining piece of the United States’ Constitution; “defining” in the sense that it effectively provides a foundation for the American ideal of liberty, which is central to our country’s political identity. The First Amendment affords us the opportunity ...
Three weeks ago, I called for Middlebury to take action in combating the Syrian refugee crisis. While President Patton’s administration has not yet acknowledged this, both our community and the wider higher education community have. Last week, Jeff Holland ’19 wrote an op-ed publicly supporting ...
So great is the sadness of our times. The recent shootings in Colorado Springs and San Bernadino brought to light a disturbing fact; in the United States this year there have been more days with mass shootings than not in the United States. From Beirut to Kenya to Lebanon to Paris to Syria, the global ...
One student at the stress forum last Wednesday said that the goal while pursuing a degree at Middlebury is to optimize the experience. That means finding the “perfect” balance between schoolwork, clubs, and social time. It means if I don’t maximize my daily activities, I might lose out on what ...
I completely stand behind this week’s editorial. Cultural appropriation is real on this campus and the voices of those who have been offended need to be heard and validated. The editorial’s call for increased understanding, empathy and awareness is an important one that hopefully going forward, ...
To say cultural appropriation is a challenging topic to address in a way that does justice to all perspectives would be an understatement. We cannot resolve this issue. We will fail to engage perfectly or properly. But we will make a compassionate attempt to engage on this issue and offer our thoughts ...
I was sitting here thinking about what I hoped to get out of this meeting and the idea of emotion has been a reoccurring theme for me. It’s been mentioned a few times in this meeting and every time we’ve gone around I hoped that we would latch on and delve a little deeper, but I still don’t think ...
To put it bluntly, Felly is the epitome of cultural appropriation and white privilege. He takes the culture, the language, the style and the stereotypical criminality of black culture and uses it for aesthetic purposes. His music continues on the tradition of musical blackface, in which white musicians ...