Mental illness is not a personal shortcoming; it is a disease that is exacerbated by the shame that comes with stigma. We as a society gravely misunderstand mental illness. While we are universally willing to treat bacterial infections, mental illness is presumed to be a personal shortcoming rather ...
Before having ever stepped foot inside my freshman dorm, I had already landed myself in academic hot water. I had not been performing to the academic standard that was expected of me upon my acceptance to Middlebury College, and I was warned to do better. Before I was even an official student, there ...
The start of J-term is one of the happiest times of the year for Middlebury students. Unless you are one of those masochistic types who has opted to take J-Orgo or a CW, most Middkids have plenty of free time to ski, sleep, and relax. For me, J-term has always been a good time for soul-searching and ...
I am very comfortable with myself, thank you very much. I like to think I am confident with who and where I am. Do I regret not studying abroad? Me? Why would I ever regret something like that? You must have me confused with some other less confident person! Okay, fine; maybe just a little kind of sort ...
The newspaper you are holding in your hands would read very differently had the school administration not deliberately shied away from an important civil dialog. This should reveal something to all of us about the attitude that the administration is taking on this issue, and even more importantly, why ...
The day that I was supposed to head home for winter break and the holidays, I put my foot down on the brake pedal of my car and it didn’t stop. It was a scary moment that could have resulted in serious damage, so I decided to take my car to the mechanic before braving the 300 mile journey to Western ...
The most marked observation I took away from my short-lived skiing experience is the recognition that people of color are not skiing along with me, but rather operating the ski lift, pouring the hot chocolate, and serving the poppy-seed scones to skiers. “American ski culture continues to exist as ...
The New Year always provides an opportunity for reflection. While BuzzFeed is littered with lists looking back at “14 Animals who Melted your Heart in 2013” and “33 Times Joseph Gordon-Levitt Charmed your Pants Off in 2013,” we have decided to look forward to 2014, with these six headlines we ...
Upon entering the room where Professor Amy Wax was scheduled to speak, the first thing many people noticed were brightly colored signs with a single word written on it: racist. Some students brought these signs in anticipation of a heated lecture, in part due to hype created both by middbeat and by ...
It’s that time of year again. The ‘jobs/internships’ tab on MOJO is slowly filling. Questions like “is there any way Middlebury would give me funding for this?” and “Do they really mean econ majors only?” are once again popping into our heads as we scroll. The emails from home are growing ...
When simple solutions and polished narratives are applied to complex issues, there is often something fishy lurking beneath the surface. Such is the case for Teach for America (TFA), which presents itself as an organization that recruits graduates of elite colleges, like Middlebury, and provides them ...
Too often, our politics is corrupted by advocacy, leaving no time for reflection or critical thought. Every new piece of information serves only to bolster or refute an argument we were already trying to make. The danger of such an approach to politics is evident: it is close-minded and simplistic. ...
Ah, Thanksgiving: a time for giving thanks for friends, food and family; a time when we can put aside our differences and come to terms over pie and turkey. It is one of the most noble of traditions. It is also the weekend when your little sister comes home from college and tells you that an online ...
We are the generation that is the least aware of how technology is changing our lives. Our gadgets, and the virtual realities that we can enter through them, can make us forget why we need to be present in the here and now, but only if we allow them to. I am writing in response to Cheswayo’s brilliant ...
On Friday, a week into “new member education” — “pledge” for those not versed in doublespeak — the leadership of Kappa Delta Rho received a letter from Dean of Students Katy Smith Abbott stating that in response to “an allegation of potential hazing,” all functions of the house would ...
From across Ross dining hall you spot a girl. It’s the same brown face you often see in passing around the campus. Long black braids swinging past her shoulders in the mid-lunchtime frenzy, you smile at her and she smiles back. You’ve never spoken to her, or maybe you have? You shake the idea from ...
“Privilege” is a word we love to use at Middlebury. It works well with our classroom discussions on the global south, how we perceive our relationships with the town, and even how we treat waste at our dining halls. It is not a term that often enters our bedrooms. I had a shocking reminder of exactly ...
This week our paper looks a little different because we have a few new writers — high school students! Two weeks ago, middbeat posted a video made by an English class at Middlebury Union High. Although the video was made a few years ago, it is still relevant and highlighted an issue we, as the College ...
To the Editors of the Middlebury Campus, We would like to offer some comments and clarification on the article entitled “Reading and Ranking: Shaping the Class of 2018” in the November 14, 2013 issue of the Middlebury Campus. First, thank you for spending time with the Admissions Office to shed ...
Akrasia is the ancient Greek word for “weakness of will,” or, in other words, acting against one’s better judgment. This past week makes me think that the U.S. might have itself a bad case of the stuff when it comes to climate questions. As Greenwire and The New York Times report, the EPA lowered ...