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Thursday, Feb 12, 2026

Opinion


The Setonian

Our Generation's Rwanda?

Last year, President of the United States Barack Obama asserted in a White House press release that one of “America’s greatest goals must always be to foresee, prevent and respond to genocide and mass atrocities.” But last Friday marked the two-year anniversary of the Syrian civil war, a conflict ...


The Setonian

Parade of Coffins

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to support a bill that would impose a ban on some assault weapons along with other measures aimed at reducing the likelihood of another tragedy like Sandy Hook. That bill, in all likelihood, will now die in the Senate. Even if it somehow ...


The Setonian

A Response to Hillcrest Graffiti

As student organizers within the divestment campaign on this campus, we would like to make clear that groups that have been working towards divestment at Middlebury, including the Socially Responsible Investing Club, Divest for Our Future and Sunday Night Group, disapprove of the recent appearance of ...


The Setonian

Dialogue and Diversity of Thought

At the activities fair a couple weeks ago, I was wandering the aisles of clubs and organizations when I spotted a friendly face behind the College Democrats table. In his typical outgoing fashion, this friend shouted to me that I should come join the College Democrats. I politely declined, and when ...


The Setonian

Deconstructing the Delta Decision

On March 18, Community Council voted to disband Delta. The decision came after the Residential Life Committee conducted its biennial review of Middlebury’s five social houses. Delta was the only social house that the committee recommended for disbandment. While disbanding Delta, formerly known as ...


The Setonian

In Support of Delta

To whom it may concern, As Delta alumni, we are writing to express our collective concern over the potential disbandment of the Delta student organization at Middlebury College. To a significant portion of campus, Delta represents a welcoming and inclusive environment where students may gather to enjoy ...


The Setonian

Reclaim Your Weekend

Girl is a few drinks in. Feeling a good buzz, but maybe had a couple too many. It’s one a.m. and this Ridgeline basement is crowded, the floor is sticky and the playlist is beginning to lose its sophistication. Unknown Boy approaches and without even a pleasantry, proceeds to latch himself onto her ...


The Setonian

Is it Okay to Miss Class to be Arrested?

This week, I had a hard time writing my story for the news section. On Monday evening around 6 p.m., just as we were about to begin layout for the newspaper, we received word that four students had been arrested while attending a protest at the TransCanada northeast U.S. office in Massachusetts. The ...


The Setonian

Chavez, North Korea, and the Lack of Coherent Anti-U.S. Rhetoric

The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, has died. One of the last bastions of old-school socialism has passed away. He was undisputedly among the most important and frantically adored national leaders during the early years of the 21st century, and hundreds of thousands of his followers have since ...


The Setonian

Justice. Just Is. Just Us?

The banner brandished by the dozens of students marching down Storrs Walk last Monday read “Divestment is a tactic; justice is the goal.” There’s often a good deal of talk about the j-word in any number of settings — legal, environmental, social, economic, etc. — and I think more often than ...


The Setonian

'They Asked Me Where I Get This Stuff, I Told Them I Don't Know'

In my past columns, I’ve discussed the value of a liberal arts education in its ability to endow us with critical-thinking and writing skills — everything a future graduate needs to take the world by a storm. However, I am now of the opinion that there is a crucial gap in our education. This last ...


The Setonian

Student Supporters Needed!

The Sexual Assault Oversight Committee (SAOC) has been dedicated to the development and implementation of an advocacy program, and we are so excited to finally set this much-needed project into motion. The advocates will consist of a diverse group of students, faculty and staff, with the desired effect ...


The Setonian

The Legacy of 'Old Middlebury'

At a family party over the holiday break, I got to talking to a friend of my parents, a man in his 50s who graduated from Middlebury in the early 80s. In our conversation we covered all the basics of typical college small-talk – majors, abroad plans, clubs, you know the drill – but kept returning ...


The Setonian

Honoring the Honor Code

With the review of the College’s Honor Code, which this year includes the Community Forum held this past Monday, March 11 and the forthcoming creation of the Honor Code Student Committee, it is important to take time to assess the effectiveness of the code itself, both in theory and in practice. As ...


The Setonian

Social Houses and the Truth in Marketing

Next Tuesday, Community Council plans to vote on whether Delta, the social house commonly known as ADP and which currently occupies Prescott house, will be disbanded as a recognized social organization. The vote comes in the wake of dorm damage that once again exceeds the maximum set by the College. ...


The Setonian

Middlebury, Je T'ehhh...

“After living in a big city and growing so much, it’s hard to shrink back down to fit into Middlebury to adjust back to all this stuff,” a friend who had recently returned from a semester-abroad-in-a-major-European-cultural-and-historical-urban-environment said to me in an Atwater stairwell on ...


The Setonian

Loving Privileged White Males, Not Loving Oppression

Last week’s op-ed, “A Call for a More Inclusive Movement,” attempted to show how white privileged men are excluded from feminist and other activist discourses on campus. It is important that all members of our college community, including those who are viewed as vehicles of oppression, feel welcomed ...


The Setonian

Put It in My Backyard

My last column talked about divestment — how I believe that it has powerful symbolic value but that it must not be used as a substitute for personal or community-level changes that would directly reduce the amount of carbon emissions for which we are responsible. Although I appreciate Hannah Bristol ...


The Setonian

Sequestration 101

Last Friday, President Obama began the gradual enactment of the long-dreaded “sequester,” a series of budget cuts that will cut funding from nearly every American government agency. Nearly everyone seems certain that in failing to avoid this “last resort,” bipartisanship has yet again proved ...


The Setonian

Not a Goodbye Letter: The Push for Real Inclusivity

After Nathan Weil’s piece, “A Call for a More Inclusive Movement,” came out in last week’s issue of the Campus, I heard responses that generally fell into one of two camps. The first sort praised Nathan’s article for finally giving voice to a long harbored but scantly spoken sentiment. These ...




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