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Monday, Dec 8, 2025

Opinion


The Setonian

Setting the Record Straight on JusTalks

While we appreciate your inclusion of our initiative in the Campus this past week, we were perturbed by the narrative that was constructed about JusTalks in the article, well-intentioned as it may have been. In Hudson’s interview, he used neither the adjective “generic” nor “pedantic” to ...


The Setonian

Did Romney Really Win the Debate?

At the conclusion of last Wednesday night’s presidential debate, the media consensus was clear — Governor Romney had won the debate. President Obama underperformed. The race for president was going down to the wire. Yet, beneath both the outpouring of elation among Republicans and the head-banging ...


The Setonian

An Easy Way to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Don’t carry your groceries all the way from Shaw’s up the hill back to campus. There’s a FREE bus every half hour from town to campus. Public transportation within Middlebury is available FREE and travels from campus to town and back. As a daily Addison County Transit Resources (ACTR) rider since ...


The Setonian

Finding Common Ground

Many thanks to the staff of the Campus for its coverage of the Project on Creativity and Innovation, including the accompanying editorial, “Expanding Your Liberal Arts Education.” As a faculty member, I am encouraged when all members of our community engage in lively, even contentious back-and-forth ...


The Setonian

Thanking PCI Contributors

Speaking on behalf of colleagues at the Project on Creativity and Innovation (PCI), many thanks to the Campus for running the series of articles last week about the opportunities that PCI has assembled for students. Alongside all educators at Middlebury — faculty and staff alike, on the Vermont campus ...


The Setonian

Feminism and Sex at Middlebury

A fair question that’s been lobbied at me by various individuals who have read my column has been whether we even need to worry about feminism, especially on a campus as progressive as Middlebury. This is often followed by the assertion that women are perfectly fine in today’s society, so feminism ...


The Setonian

Blowin' in the (Somewhat Uncomfortably Warmer) Wind

So, anybody interested in talking about climate change? No? How about global warming? Wait, that isn’t politically correct anymore. How about rising sea levels, significantly more expensive living, increased health problems and the prospect that our children (assuming procreating is something some ...


The Setonian

Vocations and Videos of Violence

Reactionary. Obscene. Stupid. These terms apply to both the YouTube video that has sparked protests across the Arab world and the mindless retaliations themselves. On Sept. 11, 2012, exactly 11 years after the infamous attacks that defined our century, in Benghazi — a town that in recent months has ...


The Setonian

Reflecting on Constitution Day

Representatives Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Ron Paul (R-Texas) don’t have a lot in common. Kucinich is for tighter gun control; Paul is not. Kucinich is pro-choice; Paul is pro-life. Kucinich voted for the Affordable Care Act; Paul did not. The differences abound. Surprisingly, then, both men claim ...


The Setonian

In Praise of Science

In a world of smartphones, computers, medicine and astronomical advancements, we are constantly surrounded by products of science. Yet despite the hype over iPhone 5, some people do not even wonder how it came to existence. The difference between the excitement over a new electronic toy and the apathy ...


The Setonian

Expanding Your Liberal Arts Education

A liberal arts education. Trumpeted in the College’s brochures and website, and reinforced by professors and students alike, these few words form the basis of Middlebury’s identity as an institution of higher learning. Increasingly, opportunities like those offered by the Project on Creativity and ...


The Setonian

A Call for Collaboration

This past Saturday night, approximately 100 students flocked to the McCullough Student Center for Jamnesty, an event co-hosted by Verbal Onslaught and Amnesty International. The event entailed an exploration of pressing social issues through various forms of art. Students used spoken word, music, dance ...


The Setonian

Middlebury and the Mantra of "I'm So Busy"

Those three words, those three damnable words: “I’m so busy” or its common mutations “I’m too busy” and “I have so much to do!” Assuming you’ve spent more than a week on campus, you’ve heard this phrase at least once. As a senior, I’ve heard it countless times; I’ve used it myself ...


The Setonian

The Islamic Thought Police

In November 2004, a 26 year-old Dutch-Moroccan man named Mohammed Bouyeri ambushed filmmaker Theo Van Gogh as he rode his bike to work. Bouyeri shot the filmmaker eight times with a handgun and attempted to decapitate him with a large knife. Death was the sentence Van Gogh earned for directing a movie ...


The Setonian

Is it Just a Gaffe?

Each election year, an overenthusiastic media tries to convince us that a single verbal slip-up can destroy a Presidential campaign. Gaffes are reported endlessly, featured in attack ads, defended and debated, only to retreat from the limelight and be forgotten come Election Day. This year has featured ...


The Setonian

Preventing Cheating Culture

Although cheating at Middlebury sometimes feels like a non-issue — or at least, a non-discussed issue — last month’s events at Harvard have sparked an important conversation. In its biggest case of cheating in recent memory, Harvard announced in late August that it was investigating over 100 ...


The Setonian

JV Sports: Who Knew?

I am proud to say that I have discovered the best kept secret on campus. A new panini to be made at Proctor? No.  An uncovered secret society? No. Give up? Some people in this situation would say “I would tell you, but I would have to kill you.” But, don’t worry, I will be generous. Drum roll ...


The Setonian

Life's Not a Competition, But I'm Winning

Time in general and, more specifically, here at Middlebury, is valuable. Never was this more apparent than as I sat in the news office in the early hours of Tuesday morning, contemplating the multitude of tasks in the coming day, Campus-related and otherwise. Everywhere you look people are running toward ...


The Setonian

The Right's Race Issue

The day that Barack Obama became the nation’s first African American President is one that will forever live in our history books. Many Americans felt a sense of pride due to our ugly history filled with slavery, discrimination and hatred towards African Americans and many other minority groups. Even ...