An increasingly dominant strain of thought at American universities and colleges embraces a certain materialism. Materialism here refers not to a consumerist urge or to a Marxist ethic, although neither is wholly unrelated, but rather to a worldview that treats reality as no more than what can be observed ...
In November 2011, a student at Williams College painted the wall of a dormitory with a racist, profanity-laced death threat aimed at African-Americans. In response, the administration canceled all classes, athletics and extracurricular activities to hold a school-wide discussion and lunch as a college ...
By now, I would hope that the majority of students at Middlebury College have heard of the whistleblower Edward Snowden and know why he is currently stuck in legal limbo in Russia. Most people have probably also heard of “Planning Tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization, and Management” (PRISM), ...
We are, I have been told, part of the worst generation ever: the entitlement generation, the lazy generation, the generation of Facebook, mass connectivity and environmental activism. Now, there is a certain tendency in this country to look down on the up-and-coming youth while glorifying the deeds ...
Bill McKibben, one of the nation’s leading environmentalists, actually pollutes far more than the average American. And he’s justified in doing so. Last week I presented why a concept known as “earning to give” may be, counter-intuitively, a better strategy to do good than working in the non-profit ...
Ted Cruz really does not want you to get health insurance. Through a combination of snark and a false bravado that might trick his constituents into thinking that the Canadian-born Senator from Texas was actually at the Alamo, Cruz, Utah Senator Mike Lee, and the Tea Party were able to convince the ...
At around 9:30 AM, my friend's mom arrived to pick him up from school. Fifteen minutes later, three moms and two dads came by to collect their children. By eleven, most seats in the classroom were empty. I asked my teacher, now for the seventh time, why everyone was leaving. My heart began to beat ...
As faculty members at Middlebury College, we were extremely saddened by the lack of civil debate following the removal of the American flags that comprised the 9/11 Memorial on campus. Regardless of how you might feel about 9/11 and the use of American flags to represent those who died or about Abenaki ...
Anna Shireman-Grabowski ’14.5 is a member of the Middlebury College community. She is our classmate, our co-worker and our friend. She has cared for us, taught us, learned with us and challenged us. We acknowledge that Anna’s actions on Sept. 11 were deeply offensive and/or triggering for many ...
Imagine Ben. He’s outgoing, incredibly kind and extremely bright. When he was 16, he witnessed global poverty for the first time while traveling abroad. It was an experience that changed his life. While in college, he did community service every week as he pursued a dual degree in economics (which ...
Learning is painful. It took me a summer to realize that, but our liberal arts education can be unpleasant. Or at the very least allow us to see unpleasantness that already exists. The jump from our cozy bubble of educated students and professors into the real world can be jarring. You find that people ...
While students have been away for the summer, the citizens of Middlebury have been debating the merits of a College Town plan to move the town offices to the site of the Osborne House (77 Main Street, adjacent to the Ilsley Library). Opponents of the plan have criticized it for the lack of parking, ...
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year for me as a Jew. While fasting this past Saturday, I reflected on my own actions that have caused harm. I prayed for forgiveness and in the year to come better fulfill my highest obligation of tikkun olam – repairing the world. During the afternoon break ...
One of Middlebury’s strengths is the drive with which students endeavor to make the world a better place. We don’t always agree on how to do this, and thus the College has recently witnessed impassioned debates on a number of important issues. Many, including myself, have been enriched by these ...
The action on Sept. 11, 2013 carries intense emotions for a few reasons. On the one hand, the 9/11: Never Forget Project plays on the heartbreak of the day year after year to maintain the emotion of being attacked. On the other, using the American flag carries a long legacy of American imperialism, ...
As a member of the Middlebury College alumni community, I feel compelled to share my reflections on the offensive and deeply saddening act that occurred on its campus on the twelfth anniversary of September 11, 2001. I graduated from Middlebury College in 2012. This year, I spent the anniversary of ...
As a close-knit liberal arts college tucked gently away in the bucolic Vermont countryside, it becomes easy to think of our actions and the scope of our influence as contained within a bubble. But in truth, our actions on campus reverberate far beyond our small community. The insulation between Middlebury ...
“I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad ... [that] the use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable ... if you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons ... you will be held accountable,” President Obama stated last December. However, while Secretary Kerry has now confirmed ...
Forget everything you thought you knew about why Middlebury College must divest. It is not about abandoning profitable investments for moral reasons. It is about abandoning investments with little hope of future growth. It is about getting out of a bubble that is about to burst. Last year, we watched ...
On Aug. 28, each member of the Middlebury community hoping for a statement from the College concerning the divestment of our endowment from fossil fuel companies received what they had desired. However, the news contained in the email sent out by President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz wasn’t ...