Work Hard, Play Hard and Ron’s Speech
President of the College Ronald Liebowitz posted a short message on his blog regarding reaction to his recent Baccalaureate Address saying, “The reactions have been mixed: Many thought the topic (of the address) was inappropriate for the occasion and said they were offended; others thought it was about time the issue of alcohol use was raised and they believed the core message….I certainly did not intend to offend anyone, and I apologize to those I did.” This follows Dean of the College Tim Spears’ oft noted topic in his blog this year with posts on Self Governance and What’s in a Beer.
For those of you that didn’t attend Baccalaureate this year, here are some highlights from the transcript:
“You will soon leave the artificiality of the Middlebury campus, often referred to on many idyllic liberal arts campuses like ours as “the bubble”…Such blissful ignorance of the outer world tends to magnify one’s trivial daily experiences. The elimination of trays in the dining halls, or losing McCullough social space and Proctor to renovation somehow takes on a level of importance equal to truly significant events, such as the recent cyclone in Myanmar or the massive earthquake in Sichuan Province, China.”
“The issue I believe we have failed to address effectively is that of alcohol abuse and the consequences it has for individuals as well as for our community. Obviously, this is not a problem particular to Middlebury. But of course, simply because so many colleges and universities seem to exhibit paralysis on this topic does not mean we should accept irresponsible and self-destructive behavior….At the heart of the problem is the prevailing attitude one hears so frequently from students … that it’s OK, indeed normal, to drink heartily once, twice, or three times/week because one has worked so hard.”
“It is interesting to hypothesize as to why this generation in particular has taken the work hard, play hard approach to life in college to the extremes it has. Some who have written on the subject believe it is the need to release pressure that students feel coming from their parents…; others see it as a reaction to the pressure caused by increased competition for jobs and opportunities brought about by globalization; and others, still, including many students with whom I have spoken during the past three years, believe it is simply a function of the current work and activity load at Middlebury, which, I agree may very well be out of whack. The great amount of work assigned by our faculty, they argue, prevents many students from pursuing a healthy day-to-day balance between work and non-work activities, which creates the kind of pressure cooker that is best relieved by intense drinking.”
“For us, as an institution of higher education, responsible for providing the best possible liberal arts education, our limited success so far calls upon us to rely more on student leadership and peer pressure than on administrative policies and programs. Administrative directives can’t get us very far when the socialization among newly entering students into the newer version of work hard, play hard is so strikingly quick – or has taken place before students arrive here. Students themselves need to be a large part of the solution, and some have already shown how effective their involvement can be.”
Challenging the Class of 2008, Ron says,
“Do not accept self-destructive behavior from your friends and peers. You would not have come to college here in the first place, nor exercised the diligence and focus necessary to complete your degree, had you not believed firmly in the values of a liberal arts education. Believing in the liberal arts means you believe in learning, in the lifelong worth and possibility of personal growth and engagement in the world around you. Our world today needs you and your generation to combat the self-destructiveness of extreme behaviors with the creation and support of communities characterized by individuals watching out for one another. We look to you, now steeped in the life-affirming values of the liberal arts, to work hard and play hard with wisdom into the future.”
Taking a page out of the Sarah Franco playbook, MiddBlog asks: Was this the most appropriate time for President Liebowitz to give this speech? Do you agree with what he had to say?
I wasn’t at the speech, and possess no insider knowledge. My one thought in terms of timing is whether this was designed to help preempt the “tradition” of graduates staying up all night pre-commencement and still being wasted during the ceremony. Every year, as the faculty pass through the students during the processional, the smell of alcohol is pungent and depressing – this year, I didn’t notice it as much, so perhaps the speech dampened people’s (consuming of) spirits…
Beyond the fact that this isn’t exactly the kind of awe inspiring speech that one likes to hear at a graduation, I just can’t help comparing Liebowitz’s response to college drinking with that of McCardell’s. While one president attempts to find a solution the other one is attempting to find others to blame.
anonymous 7:08 — whether or not one thought it was an awe-inspiring speech, a few things.
1) the two are not presidents. One is, and one is a former one. The former one himself noted in a New York Times Op-Ed, after leaving office, that the “drinking problem,” or “binge drinking” was one of three things college presidents would never talk about in public while in office, and he was using the fact that he was out of office to address it…this makes comparing the two “presidents” approaches unfair. Emeritus President McCardell was president for 13 years; why didn’t he try to address it earlier?
2) We may have read different speeches. Liebowitz doesn’t seem to be blaming anyone but the institution of higher ed (and not only Middlebury), and seems to be accepting blame. His message is less about blaming others but rather more about drawing a lesson from the lack of success the College has had in dealing with how we tolerate the behavior that comes from irresponsible drinking. He asks us to consider taking a more active role in setting standards in the communities students will next inhabit in order to live a more fulfilling life.
3) I, for one, can identify with the main point, as I have been forced to pay for dorm damage I didn’t commit, or walk around vomit on my way to the bathroom in my dorm, or witness unnecessary disrespectful behavior. Houston, do we not have a problem???? Or are you saying we don’t?
4) I have to wonder why he would subject himself to the predictable criticism that would come his way by challenging this kind of behavior; it must be a big issue for administrators and especially presidents.
Was it the wrong place to address this issue? Maybe, but it surely was a subject that needed to be engaged, and I think it was brave to do so. I didn’t see it as a criticism of the class, but I do see the larger message that graduates and all of us could take with us after Middlebury, and I suppose that is something substantive.
Of course it is an appropriate time. Who says graduation speechs are suppose to be all cheery?
It take guts to raise a controversial point that needs adressing. Given that he has the power to get folks thinking/talking, he did the right thing.
Based on the feedback, it worked.
I think this was a brave thing for the president to take on. It is also a topic that needs to be discussed. It is way to often that we see our classmates going to the health center or porter hospital being way to intoxicated. I hope this jump starts some further discussions.