On February 12th, Max Kagan ’14 wrote an op-ed in The Campus entitled “Just Call AAL Other” in response to a recent student-led campaign that seeks to modify the current Cultures and Civilizations requirement. The current system requires students to take one class with a large focus on each of ...
Last week, the Campus updated us on Middlebury’s plan to become carbon neutral by 2016. The degree of precision found in this initiative is incredible. To cite but one example, Middlebury collects data on where each and every woodchip burned in our biomass plant is harvested and milled. This seems ...
The discipline of political science has come quite a long way since Aristotle’s Politics, arguably the classic work in the study of politics, which asked and answered questions about our nature as political animals. Whereas Aristotle’s methods in that book were primarily observational and logical, ...
If I were to try to describe it, I would root my answer in dichotomies: overwhelming yet exhilarating, unknown yet expected, intimidating yet motivating, and most importantly fearful yet rewarding. No, I am not talking about skydiving or meeting Will Ferrell, but rather the trials and tribulations, ...
Google’s effectively unparalleled capacity for high-level innovation may prove to be the source of many of the technological innovations that will define human advancement in the 21st century. Inherent in the spectacular potential of companies like Google to reshape society, however, is the profound ...
A sea of blonde and brunette ponytails filled the social space for a discussion on body image disorders and ideals for women led by Courtney Martin, author of “Perfect Girl.” She argued that a dire consequence of college women pursuing the image of “the perfect girl” is the self-hate of the ...
In the fall of senior year at my high school, the question people were constantly asking each other was not ‘where are you applying ED?’ but rather ‘to which Ivy are you applying ED?’ Given this attitude of my classmates, I hope that none of you will judge me on the following dilemma I faced. I ...
I did not plan to write for the Campus this semester. I am studying abroad and had hoped to spare the Middlebury community my whining and myself the dangerously inflated ego that being published in the Campus might cause. And, frankly, I was looking to get away. Alas, many things are easier said than ...
You don’t control where you came from or how you were born. You don’t have control whether you were born with privilege any more than you can control whether you were born without it. The one thing you do have absolute control over is your actions. I don’t want anyone to think that I am blaming ...
What pops into someone’s head when you tell them you go to Middlebury College? Languages? 350.org? The price tag? Or have they never even heard of it? This past week Bill Burger, vice president of communications, pondered these questions when soliciting feedback from students, faculty and the board ...
I am sure that many of you, like me, fall into certain familial rituals after spending a few days back home on break. Laundry is done in collective family-sized loads, your normal dinner schedule is thrown horribly out of sync or perhaps you must perpetually update your parents as to your whereabouts, ...
Here at Middlebury, we live by an extensive set of rules. Some are necessary to maintain our safety, but many are superfluous and actively undermine our autonomy as students. A student body that lacks agency also lacks community standards. I simply propose that we deserve more trust. The presence of ...
When I read the article by Jeanette Cortez, class of 2015 and from Los Angeles, not Philadelphia, as reported in last week’s issue, “Not Like a Fifth Class,” I had an immediate, almost visceral reaction. In her article, she criticized the negative reactions of students of color to incidents of ...
My parents often ask about my future and about what I’m doing to prepare for a career. Most of these conversations descend into arguments, during which they become frustrated with my steadfast uncertainty about what I want to do. During one such discussion, my father exclaimed in frustration, “Where ...
Hey kidiots! Does that start us out on the wrong foot? These days I’ve been feeling like my social filter is made out of Swiss Cheese, holes punched through with the heavy artillery of being “totally over it.” I am frustrated with how seriously we take each other and bummed with how we casually ...
Self-proctored exams are one of the most visible manifestations of our honor code. Our professors hand out the exams, answer questions, and then retreat to their offices, coming back only occasionally to check in and make sure everything is ok. For the Economics department, this norm may be changing. ...
To the Editors: I am writing as an alumnus and recent visiting instructor (Winter Term 2014) in support of the student cultural organization, Midd Included, and in particular their campaign to revise the Cultures and Civilizations requirement at Middlebury. As Midd Included accurately puts it, "Under ...
Last night I had another terrible experience with Western Union. It was supposed to transfer my money to my friend in need in Rhode Island within a minute. But, the transaction was not processed until the next day. I spent four hours trying to fix it. The company told me that my first name “Muhammad” ...
A recent student initiative suggests that Middlebury’s system of academic requirements is in need of reform. Specifically, the authors of the proposal, Daniela Barajas ’14.5 and Rana Abdelhamid ’15, criticize the AAL requirement for failing to embody the College’s commitment to expose students ...
An article in the November 13, 2013 edition of the Campus, “Racial Casting Call Criticized” quoted Debanjan Roychoudhury ’16 as saying that “being a student of color at Middlebury is kind of like taking a fifth class.” I hope that after this piece comes out, someone quotes me saying that being ...