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May 24

Seniors React to Announcement that Graduation Will Move Indoors

Update: Former SGA President Charlie Arnowitz has released the following video to address the “We the Middkids” petition to keep commencement outside.

Early Friday afternoon after taking a class photo, the graduating class of 2013 was informally told that this year’s commencement ceremony, taking place on Sunday, would be moving indoors. The commencent website states that the ceremony will take place outdoors, rain or shine. This move would limit students to only two guests at the ceremony, with others forced to watch a live stream elsewhere.

Not even an hour after the announcement, students have taken it upon themselves to keep the ceremony outside. Former SGA President Charlie Arnowitz just sent out an email to the senior class encouraging them to email President Liebowitz the following sample message:

President Liebowitz,
As a member of the Class of 2013, I respectfully request that the Commencement Ceremony remain outside. Many of us have friends and relatives who have traveled here from around the country and the world under the premise that they would be able to attend Commencement, rain or shine, as it represents an important achievement for each of us. We strongly feel that the ceremony should remain outdoors in order to remain as accommodating as possible.

Thank you,
Members of the Class of 2013

MiddBlog will update this post as more reactions and responses from the administration are received.

May 6

Monday Reading: May-time, Play-time, Yay-time

Hey all. Sorry for the delay in Sunday Reading, but hopefully you were all too busy enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend to notice. Now that we’re all back to the grind and the last week of classes, here’s some material to help you pass the time until you can get outside again.

Gap Yah: Is taking a year off before college a bad thing? Midd sure doesn’t think so, but this article might make you rethink some of that voluntourism you may have been planning on doing.

Williamsburg: I used to think that this was just a place with colonial re-enactors in Virginia. #trueconfessions But this NYTimes reporter took a closer look at the culture of Brooklyn’s hipster hometown.

Linguistics: Lawl, LOL isn’t funny anymore. (duh.)

Poetry: A beautiful poem making the rounds recently titled, “Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal” by Naomi Shihab Nye.

Parks and Rec: The more I think about this, the more it makes sense? There is a Parks and Rec porno.

Seasonal: And appropriate. White boys in salmon colored shorts. (I better see some Midd submissions soon…)

Science/Art: Heather Dewey-Hagborg collects hair, smoked cigarettes, and other trash to extract DNA and create portraits of what the person behind the remnant might have looked like.

Advertising: How do you tell a child where they can get help for child abuse, even while accompanied by their aggressor? This organization figured it out.

And your video of the week (I love drunk jokes/stories):

Apr 30

Divestment: Students and Professors Weigh In

Check out some of the latest news from this week on the issue of divesting Middlebury’s endowment. Seven students spoke on a panel Sunday night to discuss all sides of the issue, while SRI and Divest for Our Future posted a video of faculty support yesterday.

Apr 28

Sunday Reading: It’s (finally) Spring!

The weather has finally taken a turn for the better. With sunshine and temperatures in the high 60s/low 70s all week, it’s sure to be a great start to the month of May! Enjoy it now before the stress of finals starts to come in…

New York City: Check out these never before seen photographs of the Big Apple from the early 1900s and this awesome “Inception” like map of Manhattan.

Twitter: Where do all of your tweets go? Wired investigates.

Linguistics: I really like this article slash it talks about a pretty cool language trend.

White House Correspondents’ Dinner: Just once I wish MiddBlog would be invited to the #nerdprom.

Technology: What if you could virtually drive through Google Street View? Now you can.

Weddings: I love a good wedding, but not these wedding dresses.

Art:  I love lasers and I love forests. See them combined in this awesome new installation.

Escalators: You wouldn’t think an escalator could be awesome. This will prove you wrong.

And your video of the week:

Apr 25

1 Comment

MiddBlog endorses Rachel Liddell ’15 for SGA President

Rachel Liddell '15

Rachel Liddell ’14

This is a joint post written by Audrey Tolbert ’13 and Olivia Noble ’13, co-lead editors of MiddBlog.

The Middlebury Student Government is probably the most widely known and least appreciated organization on this campus. In the past, nearly every student on campus has known the president’s name, but not many have known what they did on a daily basis, nor did students actively engage with the SGA on issues they cared about. This year has shown a marked improvement on that front, with increasing levels of engagement from students – from the 75+ crowd at the presidential debate last night to the 300+ users on the SGA’s new “We the Middkids” website. All of this reminds us that the SGA President is not just the guy who got us break buses, or who instituted pass/fail – a president represents the student body in every regard.

As we look to the trio of candidates before us for the 2013-2014 school year, each has their strengths and weaknesses. Through their letters of intent, websites, and the debate last night, Middblog has seen that each candidate is extremely passionate and has a variety of good ideas for where this campus should be going. But ultimately, good ideas will only get a president so far. A candidate must have the force of personality and the tenacity to see these good ideas through. SGA President candidates year after year have a lot of campaign promises, a lot of wishful thinking, and a lot of good ideas. However, only rarely do candidates present themselves with the force of personality and will to make these good ideas a reality.

With that in mind, MiddBlog has decided to endorse Senator Rachel Liddell (’15) for the position of SGA President. Liddell is well-spoken, articulate, and incredibly driven. We strongly believe that she is the candidate for the job and would best represent the student body to the administration. A president’s greatest responsibility is to represent the student body and be a good negotiator for student issues. Liddell is smart and willing to hold her ground on issues that matter to the student body like divestment and local food. Her platform differs from the others in her willingness to tackle complicated administrative issues like credit for internships, sexual assault awareness, and the honor code to name a few. Her platform is ambitious, but we believe that Rachel has the drive and enthusiasm to get it done.

Both Naylor and Labarba have interesting ideas and are strong candidates, yet it is our belief that Liddell has the greatest potential to make any and all of those a reality. Let us know what you think of Liddell, Naylor, and Labarba in the comments below and don’t forget to vote on May 1st!

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