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 ...
This has been a good year for movies. Tom Hanks gave a mesmerizing performance in Captain Phillips, Mud captured the spirit of the South with subtle grace, and 12 Years a Slave depicted slavery without resorting to revisionist comedy and violence. The movie that most blew me away, however, was Martin ...
To honor Valentine’s Day, what better to discuss than relationships and sex? Middlebury is probably not unique in its messed up idea of courtship. Think about how you usually meet the people you sleep with. It’s at a party full of grimy, sweaty students that you weave your way through. As a woman, ...
The philanthropic sector in the U.S. is broken. According to Jeffery Sach’s estimate in his book, The End of Poverty, just $175 billion dollars annually over the next 20 years, appropriated efficiently, could end global extreme poverty, defined as people living on less than $1.25 a day. The estimate ...
If before this issue of the Campus hit the stands, you were to walk up to a student in Proctor and ask them what they think about the new dining swipe system coming soon, most would look back at you puzzled. “What swipe system?” Here’s what we know. A swipe system will be implemented. This is ...
I recently asked a top administrator what percentage of the faculty read the Campus in some capacity every week. “What do you think?” She asked me. “Fifty percent.” “Try twenty,” was the response. Twenty percent is unacceptable. Faculty members, you are part of our community. To receive ...
You cannot avoid them as you walk around campus. The black posters with white writing that reads, “It Happens Here” plaster every door in the Proctor entryway, line the glass on your way into Ross, sit on all the tables in Atwater and coat the walls of the mail center. Sexual assault survivors work ...
Last week in my article “Empathizing with Mental Illness,” I made some serious errors that offended some readers. First, I want to apologize to those I offended and to the Middlebury Campus editorial staff. I accept responsibility for my submission. Even more importantly, however, I want to thank ...
I spent most of my life wanting to be more alone: wanting to leave neighborhood pickup whiffle ball games early so that I could instead go read a book, wanting my own bedroom at home instead of sharing with my brother, wanting to leave home for college and, once here, waiting anxiously to have a single. ...
Fun facts about my oral contraceptive use: • The reminder to take my birth control pill (a chewable, generic brand that sounds like the scientific name of a flower that blossoms only at night) on my phone is scheduled for 9 a.m. every day and says “babies making babies!” because I think it ...
Last Thursday I was fortunate enough to catch the screening of Pandora’s Promise in Dana Auditorium and the star-studded panel discussion that followed. The film offered an engaging narrative that provides an argument for nuclear energy that I’m sure supporters of the technology have been waiting ...
It is no secret that Midd has a predictable social scene. You know that, for example, you will usually find the athletes at Atwater and the minorities at KDR. Several friend groups are dictated by socioeconomic status, whether it is being highly privileged or being here on a full ride. I’m somewhere ...
Last June, The Guardian published leaked data via National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden that revealed the boundless surveillance of private electronic communications, both domestic and foreign, by the US government. Always skeptical of unchecked political power, the American public largely ...
About a year ago the SGA hosted a student forum on the future of the Honor Code. Members of the SGA, the Judicial Board and some faculty members were present, and an invitation was sent to all students encouraging them to come and voice their opinion. As it turned out, a grand total of two students ...
On Jan. 13, seven students from the class of 2013.5 auditioned to be the student speaker at their graduation at the end of the month. While only one student, Danny Loehr, will be delivering his speech at the ceremony, the following three students submitted their speeches to the Campus. It is not ...