The Campus 3/12

In an effort to deepen MiddBlog’s coverage of campus issues, this is a recurring column that comments on selected Campus newspaper articles, published most Thursdays of the school year. This allows a place for the Middlebury community to comment, expand, and discuss important issues in a dynamic way.

This Week in The Campus:

• SGA vote fails to inspire turnout / Editorial: Wasn’t going to say it but told you so on low turnout. That said, Hiba is off to a fast start meeting with everyone she can think of in the past week. I think the agenda-less SGA meeting is a good idea for now, if only to spice things up. Nothing like a new found freedom after months (years?) of rigidity. I am still waiting for the SGA website to go back online, or at least someone should take me up on an offer to have key SGA people blog on MiddBlog. Want publicity? Start here online. Posters and dining hall comment cards take work, hard work.
• Faculty votes in favor of honor code change: Yup. Faculty in favor of proctoring exams? Surprise, surprise! Again the challenge: getting 2/3 of students to vote on this. Then again, we could adopt Prof. Dry’s way of doing this and have faculty do this de facto without student approval. Watch out for rogue teachers proctoring without consent…
• Commitee spreads wealth around: As a member of the Finance Committee (which has a functioning website on which you can comment on all funding decisions), I think it’s important to have a discussion on how the FC is responsive to the student body. It’s a conversation long overdue, and The Campus does a good job outlining the issue. If you’re passionate about funding and student organizations, apply to be on the Finance Committee (email sgafc at midd for an application or check back in your inboxes for an SGA message on 3/9).
• College finds success in 4/2, so far: Props to Acting Provost Tim Spears for nailing the 4/2 system. I agree, it’s working and it will have to work especially with the financial situation. It would be too easy to abandon the Commons system entirely in such a financial downturn, but a good move last year to switch to 4/2 is saving the future of The Commons.