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Jan 27

Middlebury Chosen for 2013 Solar Decathlon

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that Middlebury College was one of 20 collegiate teams selected to compete in the Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013.

After November’s announcement of Middlebury’s bid, the College is buzzing with excitement with word of the selection.

Via Middlebury’s News Room, President Liebowitz said:

We are honored that our students will have the opportunity to represent Middlebury and the value and power of a liberal arts education in the Solar Decathlon. The team defied expectations in the last competition, overcoming a lack of an engineering education to create a sustainable and efficient home. With unwavering support from the community and institution, our students will meet the challenge once more.

After an incredible fourth place finish by the Middlebury Team at the 2011 Decathlon (with Self-Reliance, a 21st-Century New England farmhouse), the team’s 2013 bid takes a new direction.

More than 80 students have signed to be a part of the team for the In-Fill home. In-Fill is a home that, as Middlebury reports, “will adapt and evolve to inspire healthy, resourceful living on underutilized, neglected city properties. As the name suggests, the home will ‘fill in’ leftover urban spaces.”

This year’s competition will be held at Orange County Great Park, a change from the previous location of the National Mall. It is noted by the Department of Energy for its emphasis on sustainability. Fellow Vermont School, Norwich University, was also selected to compete in the competition. The full list of selected teams, and the Department of Energy’s announcement can be found here.

Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California, the competition site for Solar Decathlon 2013. (Photo courtesy of the Orange County Great Park Corp and Department of Energy.)

Founded in 2002, the Solar Decathlon is a biennial competition. The competition comprises of the decathlon’s 10 contests which gauge the performance, livability and affordability of each home.

Jan 26

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Middlebury Center for Social Entrepreneurship Launch

A year ago, a J-term class along with Professor Jon Isham and several key advisors developed the framework for the Middlebury Center for Social Entrepreneurship, and this week, the Center is celebrating its official launch with a series of lectures, workshops, and keynotes by top social entrepreneurs.  Having been a member of that class, I can personally say that the work that will be done and that has already been done at this center is very important and very exciting and I can’t wait to see what comes out of it.

Social entrepreneurship at its core is about finding new and innovative solutions for challenging problems.  It is about creativity and persistence and coming up with solutions that correct not only the problem at hand, but the systemic causes behind these problems.  A brief description from those at the center itself:

The Middlebury Center for Social Entrepreneurship is designed to be a hub in a growing global network of schools, colleges, NGOs, government agencies, businesses, and foundations that are committed to sharing ideas and resources in order to build 21st century solutions.

This week, the MCSE is hosting its first annual symposium on social entrepreneurship.  If you missed the opening address last night by Bill Drayton, Ashoka Founder, don’t worry, there is plenty more to come.  Check out the full schedule of events to see when lectures, keynotes, and other important events are occurring.  For those on campus, a series of exciting workshops are starting in just a few hours at noon, focusing on a range of topics surrounding the issue of social entrepreneurship.

After the jump, a little more about what the Center will be doing into the future.

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Jan 26

Life Skills: Cheap Art

JP Allen ’11 initiated the Arts Runoff series and spent Winter and Spring ’11 as a MiddBlog Lead Editor. He is currently working as a NYC Urban Fellow. Read all life skills posts here.

JP's ticket wall

We’ve all heard Middlebury is a bubble. Most arguments that begin there end urging students to burst out. While that is great advice, there are also plenty of incredible resources within the bubble that can be easy to ignore or take for granted until graduation.

The arts are one of the biggest. Think about it: at Middlebury, $12 sounds extravagant for a theater or dance show that features talented people and high production values in a venue five minutes from your room. You’d be hard-pressed to find that kind of deal anywhere else.

So here is some advice for the potentially more awesome but definitely more jagged and expensive post-graduate art world:

Pay for what’s good

Art is expensive. Recent graduates are (almost always) broke. In order to bridge the gap, I suggest going for quality rather than quantity. You can take risks on cheap events and save your big money for stuff that’s been recommended by friends. I had a grand plan to review a play a week in NYC, but I didn’t have the time or the budget. Instead, I splurged on one showing of Sleep No More and am still thinking about it. Just remember: paying money for experiences tends to make people happier than paying money for objects.

Don’t be discouraged by what sucks

Because some art just sucks. One of the first plays I saw after college—paid $18 to see—was godawful, pretentious, poorly acted and too long. It was like small-town community theater minus the feel-good message and cute children. People were getting paid to make this garbage? Middlebury can spoil people in lots of ways. But you can build a base of good arts options in your next setting without too much difficulty. One great way is to…

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Jan 24

SGA Sound-Off: Thoughts on Earnest Discussion, Needed Debate, and the Problems of Silence

An open letter to fellow senators, students, and the Middlebury College Community,

This past Sunday, the SGA voted on a MiddView bill, approving up to $98,000 in funding (half the cost of the trips) for the next three years. See previous coverage here. We, the undersigned, believe it was an injustice to the Middlebury College community, and a disgrace to the principles of Student government for us, as a senate, to vote on the MiddView Bill this past Sunday.

Our grievances on this matter are two-fold:

First, the process by which the bill passed and the consequences for not observing proper decorum. It was irresponsible of the Senate not to delay the vote on the bill to the next meeting, seeing as there had been no time for prior review of the bill (as the by-laws require), nor were there thorough and/or official presentations of the facts and consequences of this case. It was reckless to vote on a bill of this importance (allocating nearly $300,000 of student activities fee monies (if the administration needs the full half contribution each year)) without giving it the proper time for debate and discussion.

Second, the funding method itself (who is paying for these trips, and at what percentages) is problematic, and deserved a full discussion not provided for at Sunday’s meeting.

Now, we are 110% behind OINK as the philosophy of having outdoor and other educational experiences before or during orientation. As some of the few members of the senate who were here for MiddView Trips and not OINK trips, we can personally attest to their value. However, this bill  and its potential consequences (good and bad alike) deserved to have an actual debate in the SGA, not just to be hastily pushed through without time for a fully informed discussion and vote.

It seems that somehow, it was forgotten that our role as senators is to discuss the merits of the issues, and present the clearest representation of potential impacts of any legislation. Upon the proposal of said bill, it was clear there were opposing views. These opposing views expressed concerns with regard to funding that could not be immediately or coherently addressed in full. They also expressed concerns with the agreement reached with the administration, and at no time was an explanation or presentation on those meetings given to the senate.

There was an attempt to table the vote of the bill until next week when more research could be done (senators could speak with constituencies, an official finance committee presentation could be made regarding fiscal impacts, presidential cabinet members could offer their insights, etc.). Regrettably, however the vote to table the bill until next week lost with a five to seven vote.

There are several issues with the course of this past Sunday we’d like to address:
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Jan 24

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SGA Sound-Off: JusTalks, MiddView and Printers

In a very eventful second meeting of the New Year, the SGA discussed and voted on several pieces of legislation. Still surprised we have an SGA? Wondering what it does? Check out a former SGA Sound-Off post from earlier this year for the sparknotes rendition of SGA and read below for the very latest!

JusTalks: If you haven’t already heard about JusTalks, be on the lookout (and check out their website)! A group of 20 students from the Social Justice Coalition are working to bring about mandatory workshops during all students’ first Jterms — the idea being that these workshops will be safe, inviting spaces for people to engage in conversations relating to all kinds of societal and personal issues that are all too often neglected in wider campus discussions such as race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, gender, and privilege.

As they say in their call to action, and as Rhiya noted in her discussion to the senate Sunday evening, the idea is that JusTalks “will be a forum dedicated to free communication, thoughtful discourse, supportive self-analysis, leaning into discomfort, and dynamic community building.” They are reaching out to the entire campus community for feedback and ideas, so be sure to lend your voice, if not in person, then on the web. The SGA passed the proposed resolution in support of the spirit of JusTalks, to be renewed as further details of the program are delinted in the spring.

OINK/MIDDVIEW: After a heated discussion of sources of funding, the SGA voted and approved of the MiddView bill as sponsored by Joanie Thompson ’14 and Nathan LaBarba ’14 with eight votes for the bill, two votes against, and two abstaining. The bill allocates $98,000 of SGA funding for the Fall 2013 MiddView Trips (approx. half of the total anticipated cost). The MiddView Trips (focused on Outdoor activities or otherwise) all students will attend and will be embedded in the Orientation week. This differs substantially from the current OINK model of only being able to accept a certain number of applicants and having the trips occur during the first weekend of the semester. This also differs substantially from the previous MiddView model where it was co-payed by the Administration and participation fees, and the trips were opt-in by choice and before orientation.

Additionally, the bill permits for the SGA to pay up to 50% of the costs for the years 2014 and 2015, (so, potentially up to $98,000 again, though we were assured it would be less after a significant amount of one-time start up costs occurred for 2013), with the hopes that by passing the aforementioned measures of supportive funding, it is “expected” that by 2016, the funding will come from somewhere other than the SGA. Stay tuned for a post to follow regarding the debates on this vote.

PRINTERS: To close the meeting, the SGA passed a nearly unanimous vote of support for a printer station to be installed in McCullough Student Center. Be on the lookout for that soon!

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