In my last column, I discussed three important responsibilities of the SGA on campus: 1) allocating the student activities fee, 2) managing student organizations and 3) serving as a vehicle for students to change institutional policy. It was on the third front, I noted, where there is much room for ...
One of the hardest parts of being a fan of hip-hop is being asked the following question: “how can you listen to music that revolves so much around the glorification of violence?” I usually deflect the question by saying something about how you can consume art without endorsing its message, but ...
When two news sources asked to approve their quotes and the article before it was slated to print in last week’s issue, it became clear to me that the line between the press and press releases is becoming difficult to discern. The practice of allowing news sources to read and edit quotations as a ...
I hope I will not appear as too much of a nerd by assuming you know about the world famous Italian plumber Mario. Mario spends his time jumping on turtles and saving Princess Peach in the aptly named “Super Mario” video games. By today’s standards Super Mario is a quaint game as it contains no ...
I was sitting in Wilson Café last Wednesday, preparing for a job interview with a friend, when my phone buzzed with a New York Times Breaking News update. “Gunfire Reported in Canada’s Parliament,” it read. It was a headline that no Canadian thought they would ever see. In disbelief, I opened ...
A year and a half ago I decided to take a gap year. The term “gap year” invariably implies backpacking through some countries, picking up the local tongues and doing some pro-bono work. I did a bit of that, but was never one of those hostel-hoppers you find in European cafes. Instead, I chose to ...
President Obama claims to not be on the ballot this November; however, in a few days, we will see if voters agree with that or not. Republicans need to gain six seats in order to “Fire Reid,” the Democratic Senate Majority Leader. The field is not good for Democrats. They are mostly on defense, ...
It is a joy to live in a home rather than a dorm. Whether coming back from the library to find your friends catching up in the living room or simply returning after a hectic day to water your plants, off-campus life is a source of strength and often tranquility in the craziness of life at Middlebury ...
Student behavior over Homecoming weekend struck a nerve for many townspeople in Middlebury who were affected by the large and rowdy party on Weybridge St. Angry responses flooded in via Front Porch Forum — an email-based community bulletin — causing Bill Burger, the College’s Vice President for ...
For decades, video games served one main purpose. From “Pong” to “Space Invaders” to “Super Mario Bros.”, games were created and shared to entertain. People played to have fun, to escape from the world for a few minutes, to engage with experiences that were competitive, interesting and enjoyable. Slowly, ...
In the fall, American voters will most likely turn their Congress red. This would be a mistake. Phil argued in his article last week that Americans would (and should) elect Republicans to the House and Senate because Americans want to see economic reform. He is not entirely wrong, but what he and any ...
It was 8 o’clock on a Thursday morning when I heard a knock at my front door. The sky was blue, the birds were chirping, and … nobody I knew in my three years of college existence would be knocking on my door right now. “… Carolyn! Do you want to … come in?” That was the first moment I ever ...
We have all seen them: the placards on every table in our dining halls hawking EatReal, a student-run organization seeking to advocate for more socially and environmentally responsible food at the College. The idea is to move toward a food system that is local/community-based, humane, fair and ecologically ...
For much of its early history, hip-hop’s basic unit was the group. The most popular artists of the mid to late 80s, when rap began to make headway into mainstream pop-culture, were groups: Run-DMC, Eric B. and Rakim, NWA and Public Enemy. As the 90s rolled through, more individual stars began to ...
We are writing in response to the article Oct. 8 Campus article “Report Shows that Sexual Assault Numbers Tripled.” While we think it is important that the topic of sexual assault is covered in the Campus, we were disappointed by the ways that the article misrepresented the issue. First of all, ...
Everyone is anxious on the first day of school. You walk into a new classroom, you scan the room in the hopes you know some people, you pray the syllabus is reasonable, then your professor walks in, starts to take roll and you settle into the swing of it. But for gender nonconforming students, this ...
Over the last few weeks, a portion of the student body here has been upset about something. Not the kind of upset where they’re not being themselves for a while, and finally, a friend pulls them aside and says, “Hey, Chase, do you want to talk about anything? I’m here for you, man.” Rather, ...
A few weeks ago Erin proposed that the environment and global warming would — or rather should — be a major issue this election cycle. That is simply not going to be the case. To quote President Clinton, “it’s the economy, stupid.” More importantly, that hurts Democrats and their overall standing ...
Shortly after the administration announced its controversial change to the tailgating policy, many students asked me why I, as the President of the SGA, had no knowledge of the impending change. Their concern highlights a question I imagine many of you have pondered at one point or another while at ...
I had the remarkable experience of growing up as an ex-patriot. Yes, I grew up in the strange and foreign land of Canada, our friendly neighbor to the North. While my citizenship remained firmly American, an interesting thing happens when you live abroad. You suddenly become the spokesperson for your ...