Last semester, prior to final exams, a professor of mine surprised the class by providing each student with two mix CDs. A sweet gesture – we now all had new jams to carry us through our ten-page research paper and gut-wrenching three-hour final exam. But, really, why had he taken the time? Although ...
In the beginning of August, I found myself with no job, no place to live and, somewhat unexpectedly, no boyfriend. Was this my welcome into this mystifying time period known as the "Super Senior Feb semester?" Having one class a week while my graduated friends observed Ramadan in Tunisia and started ...
During the health and wellness presentation of my freshmen orientation three years ago, 500 other first-year students and I were given two memorable pieces of advice to get us through our first few weeks at Middlebury. First, we were encouraged to aim for a seven on a ten-point scale of appetite. That ...
Just a few months ago, when I was still a senior at Middlebury, I felt pretty cool. I had a really loud best friend. Sophomores re-tweeted me a lot. I ate with intimidating people in Atwater, and we pretty much monopolized off-campus parties (at least for anyone who'd heard the word "Alpenglow"). ...
Like those Hollywood sequels that never live up to the originals, President Obama's re-election vision outlined at the Democratic National Convention appeared flat compared to the optimistic, inspiring and defined rallying cries of 2008. The goals of last week's speeches were, firstly, to unite Democrats ...
The weird part about writing my column this fall is that I will never see it in print. I am spending the semester in Australia, but I decided at the end of last year to continue writing this column, assuming – incorrectly – that the upcoming election would be both interesting and centered around ...
Welcome home, Middlebury. "Home" has a different definition for all of us. For the first-years who only just pushed over-eager parents out the doorway of a new dorm room, the idea of calling this place home may seem a little far-fetched. For the seniors who feel like they've been here forever, and ...
Upon returning to campus every September, students are confronted time and again with some form of the question, "what did you do this summer?" And, after hearing countless responses, a general theme begins to emerge: students don't lose their intensity over the summer. Why else would the most commonly ...
Maecenas id tellus eu dui faucibus pulvinar. Vestibulum iaculis, diam ut faucibus scelerisque, tortor dui gravida ligula, eget sollicitudin nisi arcu in purus. In metus nibh, ultricies eu sollicitudin in, venenatis id leo. Quisque nunc nisl, placerat ac interdum vel, aliquet tincidunt est. In pharetra ...
I arrived at Middlebury College almost four years ago. I had just spent my senior year of high school in Israel, hiking, washing dishes, attending rallies, exploring cities, learning another language and another way of being. Arriving in Vermont, I was skeptical as to how much I could learn about the ...
Sometimes the most fruitful forums are those that yield no concrete solutions. The forum in McCullough this past Tuesday addressed alcohol use and dorm damage through a faculty-student discussion in an attempt to address some recurrent issues. The quality and breadth of the dialogue is both promising ...
“When men have realized that time has upset many fighting faiths,” Justice Holmes states in his dissent to the court opinion in United States v. Abrams, “they may come to believe even more than they believe the very foundations of their own conduct that the ultimate good desired is better reached ...
I don’t do goodbyes well. So, I’m just going to skip that part. I may be sarcastic and cold on the outside, but I have a secretly squee core that I expose to no one. Kind of like Snape. Except like Snape in the Order of the Phoenix, not the end of the Deathly Hallows — I’m not ready to tell ...
Hello, Ladies. Look at the picture in this column. Now back to your man. Now back at the picture. Now back to… actually just keep looking at the picture. At this moment, you are looking at your future, nay, your destiny. You see the man your man could be. Not bad, huh? Before you respond, let me ...
On the final Saturday of my orientation last February, we gathered at the Snow Bowl. Fresh with the energy that comes with making new friends and eager to solidify our places in the group, we tore off our shirts to the strains of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and ran out into the snow and sunshine ...
September 11, 2001 is hardly a blur. I vividly remember the confusion and the chaos that ensued after school was released early and our mosque shut down. The subsequent days were the most trying of our lives. The pain of losing a dear friend of our family, our “Uncle” Tariq Amanullah (Allah Yarhamhu/May ...
As a junior at Middlebury College — as a sister, daughter, peer and friend — who has seen the negative consequences of alcohol abuse on families and friendships, I have many mixed feelings about drinking. Because this week has raised reaction of all colors to both the Campus’ coverage of the Alcohol ...
Imagine you’re a parent, and you want to make sure your daughter never burns herself on a stove. Do you: 1) Try to hide every stove in the United States; 2) Teach your child that a stove can be used responsibly, or it can burn down the house and kill everyone in it. Do you want to raise a Julia Child, ...
The open dialogue introduced by administrative leaders at Tuesday’s alcohol forum made it clear that a “dry campus” is not the only answer (let alone any). But no matter its intended interpretation, it’s troubling to initiate a conversation about collaborative action and personal accountability ...