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Friday, May 15, 2026

Opinion


The Setonian

Framing It Happens Here

As the student organizers of It Happens Here (IHH), we wanted to take time to further the conversation around triggering and advertising. It Happens Here is a student-run sexual violence awareness group. We invite Middlebury students to anonymously share stories that detail personal experiences with ...


The Setonian

New Logo is a No Go

Last Wednesday, students who opened up the Middlebury.edu webpage found themselves looking at a baffling new logo.  With the start of the New Year, the College has rolled out a new visual icon and brand identity system for the College and its affiliate institutions. The new logo – a shield featuring ...


justalksreal

Give JusTalks Staying Power

It is only two weeks into Winter Term, and JusTalks has once again hit the ground running. Between their keynote speaker, Robin DiAngelo, and their main event, which drew over 100 first-years in its third year running, many members of the Middlebury community were able to dive headlong into important ...


The Setonian

Divestment’s New Mission

Divest-Middlebury invites you all to read our new mission statement:  Divest Middlebury believes Middlebury College has the potential to be a leader in social responsibility and sustainability. Middlebury College’s mission statement identifies environmental stewardship and global engagement as critical ...


The Setonian

The Problems with Giving America a Raise

I know that there are plenty of issues floating around just in time for holiday conversations with your politically extreme family members. So in anticipation of this inevitable reality, I have chosen to revive an old topic that has recently lost some of its steam: the minimum wage.  For those of you ...


TV-Cartoon135

The Real Side of the Hunger Games

After I saw Mockingjay Part 1, I was a bit of an emotional wreck. Not because I love Peeta and couldn’t stand to see him hurt and turned evil or because Jennifer Lawrence’s acting was so moving, but because a lot of the movie resonated with so much of what is going on in the world today. The Hunger ...


Racism-Cartoon

Remembering Ferguson at Midd

In 20 years, our children may ask us where we were when Michael Brown was shot. When Darren Wilson’s non-indictment was handed down. When people took to the streets because they have had enough police brutality, dead children, distorted justice and militarization. Michael Brown’s death was a wake-up ...


MiddCourses-Edited

The Benefits of MiddCourses

One of the most beautiful and terrifying aspects of college life is the perpetual change.  These four years are some of the least constant of our lives. We build our days around dorms and classes and teachers and friends that will inevitably shift in a few months. Academically, we immerse ourselves ...


The Setonian

On the Verge of Big Money

Two Saturdays ago I saw Joey Bada$$, a 19 year-old rapper from East Flatbush, Brooklyn, perform in New York City at Irving Plaza. The concert was the first of two New York shows marking the conclusion of Joey’s U.S. tour, a crazy run of 36 shows in 46 days, and it was absolutely bonkers. The night ...


Snow-Cartoon2

Beating the Winter Blues

The cold has finally arrived. Snow has carpeted the grass and framed the buildings with a border of white. Temperatures are dropping and freezing drizzles make walks to class ordeals. Those poor unfortunate souls who have to make the trek to Twilight or the Mahaney Center for the Arts know the pain ...


The Setonian

Reasons to Divest

We are in a different place than we were last time. During the last public divestment from fossil fuels campaign, that is. Personally, as a first-year last year, the word “divestment” seemed taboo on this campus and I could not fully wrap my head around it. On the one hand, it was sullied because ...


born-to-run

Born To Run

Millions of years ago our common ancestor with chimpanzees made an extraordinary decision. It gradually took its knuckles off the ground and began to walk on two legs. Of course, this was not actually a conscious decision. Evolution selected for this occurrence because, for some arcane reason, it was ...


The Setonian

More to the Story of Voter ID and Abortion Laws

Erin has selected for this week one of the most complex and nuanced problems America has grappled with over the past fifty years: abortion. However, she also previously discussed another complex issue in Voter ID laws. I feel the need to address both, at least in part.  I’ll start with Voter ID laws. ...


The Setonian

An Open Letter to the Faculty

To the Faculty,  We write to you as the student leaders of the group MiddIncluded. We are spearheading the campaign to change Middlebury’s current cultures and civilizations requirements. This letter is an effort to clarify what our campaign stands for, to explain why these changes are necessary ...


Patton-Cartoon2

A Warm Welcome to President Patton

After months of speculation, the College announced our 17th president on Tuesday — Dr. Laurie Patton, the current dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Duke University. In last week’s editorial, we laid out the qualities we wished to see in our next president, and in all of these areas, ...


Opinions5

A Right to Privacy in the Internet Age

Last year, I wrote a column urging students and the public in general to pay more attention to the news surrounding the large trove of information Edward Snowden leaked to The Guardian. The leaks detailed a vast network of domestic and international spying put in place by the US government. In the year ...


Opinions4

On My Honor

Three weeks ago I found my bike in a bush. I had locked the wheel to the frame, but not the bike rack. Someone had thrown my bike into a bush. This wasn’t an isolated incident. Two other friends have had their bikes thrown into bushes. Now when I walk by all of the bikes are locked to the rack. I ...


The Setonian

Be the Party You Wish to See in the World

I am a little late on the uptake, but it appears our campus has taken a renewed interest in our social, or lack thereof, lives. Or perhaps long-simmering tensions have boiled over and all our angst and frustration is being made known. Or maybe we just had an opportunity to complain. No matter what perspective ...


The Setonian

Try MiddCourses

As registration for spring semester approached during my first year at Middlebury, I remember the stress and excitement that came with it. And, like any enterprising first year with nearly a semester of experience under his belt, I immediately began trying to figure out all the important course information ...


Opinions3

Party of Small Government?

There is much hypocrisy in politics, but after the midterm elections last week, one point bothers me more than ever: the glaring contradiction between Republicans’ founding mantra and their current values.  In its 2012 platform, the GOP reaffirms its support for small government. It states, “This ...




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