1. The Final Countdown by Europe

No explanation needed. Get ready to rumble, as the 80s would tell you (seriously, check out that hair). Perfect pump-up song for almost any occasion. 

2. Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson

Seriously, how could I dare to call myself American without a rockin’ Kelly Clarkson song? This song is PERFECT for almost any life event (Finals week? check. Break up or love life drama? check. Sports loss? check.) Get up and kick some butt. Now. Kelly’s got your back. 

3. Tonight is the Night by Outasight

Yeah it is, get s*** done! 

4. Carry on My Wayward Son by Kansas

…they’ll be peace when you are done! I know, almost as cliche as Final Countdown and Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing, but so worth it. 

5. Till the World Ends by Britney

Or finals do – 

6. Let it Rock by Kevin Rudolf

Because when I arrive [and kill that bluebook exam!], I… I bring the fire- 

7. I Feel For You by Chaka Khan

I feel for you… [you can do it! Take a break and dance a bit!] I feel for you……

8. Sleepyhead by Passion Pit

To wake you up, sleepyhead! Semi-liquid energy. 

9. Higher Ground by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Keep on turnin, cause it won’t be too long… keep on sailin’ on to higher ground! 

10. Upular (Pixar Remix) by Pogo 

Always “Up”-lifting. (Get it, Get it?) 

11. Coming Home by Diddy – Dirty Money

Almost there! So close… and then you can sleep/rock out/begin your next adventures!

What does your playlist have blasting out of those earmuff library headphones? Comment with your favorite tunes below!

While the details are still forthcoming (we’ll keep you updated), according to SGA President Vin Recca’s email, students ”will be able to take up to two courses Pass/Fail starting next spring.  The program will run on a provisional basis for the next three years.”

Previous Pass/Fail measures have been voted down by the full faculty, but this time, according to Recca, “It brings me great joy and pride to inform each of you that the Pass/Fail measure voted upon at today’s faculty meeting passed with a strong majority.”

Shout-outs to the Educational Affairs Committee chaired by Provost Alison Byerly, the SGA Director of Academic Affairs and Chair of the Student Educational Affairs Committee Georgia Wright-Simmons ‘12, and the orignial sponsor of the bill,  Cook Commons Senator Michael Polebaum ’12. Remember May 15, 2012 folks, going down in Middlebury History!

Final Otters Show: 5/14 10PM Atwater Dining Hall

Otter Nonsense have a new video up! Watch it and a see a picture of a bird after the jump.

And a picture of a bird I saw near Coffrin:

SGA President: Charlie Arnowitz

Student Co-Chair of the Community Council: Luke Carroll Brown

Senior Senators: Anna Esten, Nathan Arnosti
Junior Senators: Will Potter, Killian Naylor
Sophomore Senators: Danny Zhang, Rana Abdelhamid
Feb Senator: Anna Shireman-Grabowski

Atwater Senator: Hannah Stonebraker
Brainerd Senator: Christian Holmes
Cook Senator: Rachel Liddell
Ross Senator: Firas Nasr
Wonnacott Senator: Naila Jahan

When I spoke to Public Safety this evening, they insisted that the alarms were part of the regular checks that officers do to ensure safety. However, multiple students with prior citations were confronted with officers who had visited their room, confiscated bongs, marijuana, and distributed citations. Others received texts from friends warning them that their fire alarms would go off next, and if they had citations they should be concerned.

Even if Public Safety did intend to conduct the alarm tests for the primary purpose of finding drugs, it is within the legal rights of the administration. However, I believe that this community, which has recently engaged in multiple public forums to cultivate a more trusting, supportive, and safe campus (It Happens Here, Alcohol Talks), has been betrayed by its administration. IF (and a very strong IF, since no one has confirmed or denied those intentions yet) it was deliberately to confiscate drugs, the actions of Public Safety have not only undermined efforts to create an open dialogue between students and administration, but will, I believe, lead to less honesty, less discretion, less respect, and many more problems in the future. So Middlebury, what do you think?

Adam Benay 13.5′ and Greg Dorris ’13 of Ottter Nonsense made a video. It’s funny! Make more!!

Also, where are all the ladies at Midd and when are we going to get a Girls spoof on hand? Alexandra Kennedy, Alyssa Limperis, Jenny Johnston, and non-improver comedians/underclassmen I don’t know because I’m sooo old…I’m looking at you.

Why are you running for SGA President?

How do you feel you represent the student body as a whole?

If you could only implement one initiative next year, what would it be?

Evaluate your future relationship with the administration and your ability to push back.

Ask any question of your fellow candidate- Charlie

Ask any question of your fellow candidate- Ryan

Where do you see the SGA in the next 5 years?

Also, visit both candidates pages at go/charlie (or here for his facebook page) and go/ryankim4prez to get informed and go/vote Thursday at noon.

A Day in the Life of Charlie Arnowitz

-Boy needs to choose a different alarm. 

-That laundry bit was so smooth (despite the fact that no one does laundry 1^st thing in the AM). I like the synthesis of platform points with Charlie’s daily excursions (also McCullough bit). 

-You are having trouble with that printer because it is a copy machine. 

- It was super cute when Procter friend Abigail Borah passed her knife to Charlie. In the roman era that would have been a threat, but after weird slo-mo sound effect I now understand that this is an aesthetic decision to demonstrate Charlie’s ushering in of modernity, as well as his dexterity at navigating well-loved dining hall products. 

A Day in the Life of Ryan Kim 

-Cinematically this is bomb. Wistful, cute, and riding on the always-welcome coattails of recent Oscar slamdunk The Artist.

 -The bit with former governor Jim Douglas in the ADK chairs seems to justify a vote for Ryan based on squishing something large and ambiguous into a little ball, and on three bullet points. On one hand, the strategy of simplifying complicated bureaucracy into key issues is commendable, on the other hand, this was probably a lost opportunity to reference actual platform points

- A lot of emphasis on strength Mr. Kim. You after the go/brovote? Also, I’m not really knowledgeable about basketball, but that was a foul, right?

-Leibz’ cameo was the best part of this video, but I’m pretty sure that’s dirty campaigning. Is that an implicit nomination? Was that run by the opponent? Is that necessary? Should I take Poli-sci before I graduate/write posts on campaigning? 

So were the authority cameos out of line? Did Ryan’s dreamy taste in music drive you to middfesh to find out whether he’s single? Did Charlie’s nostalgic 90s voice-over undermine his points? Did you want to cuddle him when he broke down in that delightful giggle around 1:33? Also, both videos showcase dorm rooms severely lacking in decor: is anyone else concerned with the spartan walls of Middlebury’s student body?

Now go be a conscious citizen and read their actual platforms: Ryan Kim & Charlie Arnowitz.  And go/vote.

updated 11:11PM: current SGA Prez Vin Recca, thanks for your edits. I will miss you.

Midd-blog readers, lost prospective students looking for information about Quidditch and individuals who regularly google my name, welcome to my new advice column/series “Dear Cody.” Every week (or whenever I’m bored slash don’t want to do my reading for intro to contemporary lit. theory) I’ll be taking posts from Midd Confessional and imposing my advice on the anonymous OP (confesh slang for original poster).

Dear OP,

Let’s start this blog post off by saying that when I say “OP,” I’m really talking to every member of this college community. So, hello everyone. I apologize to the masses for my long mono-induced absence. That being said, I am coming back this week in a big way to address a problem that I find particularly troubling and something that we should all be talking about—political apathy, especially in regards to the local SGA elections that will be going on this Thursday at noon until noon on Friday.

If one were to peruse Midd Confessional in order to gauge student interest about the upcoming elections, one would find comments and opinions that are either completely rooted in indifference or focused on superficial descriptions of candidates as “mean” or “good-natured” or “pompous.” Rarely do we find discussions about the candidates’ platforms (found at go/charlie and go/ryankim for Charlie Arnowitz ’13 and Ryan Kim ’14, respectfully) or anything that would suggest that we as a student body are truly engaged by the political process.

Traditionally, the percentage of students who go to the polls come Election Day is less than 30%. I think it’s baffling that a student body full of passionate, bright and vibrant young adults who, presumably, elect to come to a school like Middlebury in order to learn the kinds of things that will lead to inciting positive change in the world, don’t choose to engage in a system that could help improve life on campus.

This is not a blog post written with the intention of endorsing either Charlie or Ryan but rather a blog post written with the intention of endorsing the vote and the process itself. By not voting, we forfeit our voice and our agency in transforming this school into a place that serves its students. We have the power to make a difference even through a medium that, to some, seems small and insignificant. We have to mobilize and become active participants in the electoral process here at Midd—if we choose apathy over passion, silence over raised voices we let ourselves down.

At the end of the day, if you can facebook and do your homework, you can go/vote and do your homework. It’s a process that takes, quite literally, 2 minutes and could make a big difference at this school.

With love and admiration,

Cody

Here’s the breakdown:

• MCAB $303,750
• SGA Operations $131,680
• Special Interest & Activities $90,322.73
• Academic & Activism $16,445
• Cultural and Religious Life $41,695
• Club Sports $102,304
• Arts & Media $140,825
• Social & Special Interest Houses $20,265
• Community Service $43,954
• The Commons $75,000

The most contentious issue of the night (and why it was moved to RAJ for the larger audience) was over the budgets of the Commons. Historically, each Commons has been allocated $7,000 per year in addition to a larger ‘pool fund’ under MCAB’s purview in order to host larger events (Viva Ross Vegas, etc.). This past year (11-12), the Commons budgets increased to $9,000 each, and a new Inter-Commons Council retained full autonomy of the aforementioned pool fund ($45,000). The proposed (and now passed) budget decreases the amount of funding individual commons receive to $6,000, with the pool fund of $45,000 remaining the same, and under the control of the autonomous Inter-Commons Council.

Klenet presents the budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year.

Scott Klenet ’12, Chair of the Finance Committee presented a lengthy and detailed report upon the entire proposed budget, and how the Finance Committee comes to their determinations. On average, Student Orgs received an 18% reduction in funds, which Klenet explained paralleled the fiscal realities the Finance Committee and student funds are facing. As Kathryn Bostwick ’12, Finance Committee member later reiterated, “What we’re facing right now is that we need to make cuts, everywhere.”

The cuts in funding come on the heels of a decrease in the reserves and a long history of over-budgeting.

In July 2011 the reserves stood at $413,000, however after large allocations and continued commitments such as MiddView and the FIC Gym, the reserves currently stand at $128,000. With the return of unspent funds and balancing of the books, Klenet projects that the reserves will stabilize around $250,000 by July 2012. In relation to previous years, the entire ($970k) budget is only 3% over the anticipated funds coming in during the next fiscal year (from the Student Activities Fee & the portion of parking fees that go to us), as compared to 8-10% historically.

The packed room at the RAJ.

Many students, staff, and faculty came and spoke in support and opposition to the bill, mostly all in relations to the Commons portion.  Senator Michael Polebaum ’12 was the first to speak in support of the budget as posed, and to identify larger fiscal factors: “I rise tonight as a student… as one of the few members of this student community who actually believes in the commons system… I also stand here worried about at our financial security. This administration has asked us to foot bills… to make a long story short, this body has been put into an unprecedented situation where we fill gaps that the administration has left open. I’m not saying that we should be harshly conservative in our finances… but we need to spend it with an eye to the future, and I worry… that we have not been doing that. This budget… is a budget that has been well thought-out… based off of funding from previous years, but based off of what the Finance Committee believes will be spent in future years… Do I wish that the commons had unlimited funding, yes…. but that’s not the reality that we’re dealing with…  we will now be allocating the proper amount of money.”

Questions over the spending of the Commons Budgets took a large part of the meeting. While Klenet presented that the Finance Committee had found $4,000-5,500 was the “demonstrated range of Commons’ natural spending capacity… where  the normal spend pattern of the Commons are,” many commons council tri-chairs disputed this, saying that they were spending and/or had allocated their full $9,000, and would have no more than a few hundred dollars left at the end of the year.  The Atwater Senators present noted they had stopped meeting as they had no further funds with which to grant proposals. Frustration with the budgeting process was also largely acknowledged, with both the Finance Committee and Commons representatives noting that increase communication, far earlier in the year would have benefited everyone, and pledges to work towards that in the future.

Despite repeated acknowledgement that the Commons are certainly not like student organizations and they are absolutely integral to the Middlebury Community, the base is that they are, however, as Klenet ’12 concluded, “competing for the same resources” as all other organizations on Campus.  Klenet calculated the reduction in the individual commons funding to be 16%, comparing to the general student orgs average 18% cuts, as they have continued use of the pool fund, as well as administrative funding of the Commons.

While certainly some may have left the meeting unhappy, under new budgeting procedures the SGA Finance Committee has enacted for the past year, they encourage groups to return if, indeed they need further funding in the next year. So while the budget of the each Commons rests at $6,000 now, they were encouraged, if programming does prove to go above that, to return to the Committee.

As Atwater Commons CRA R.D. Jenkinson said in his closing statements, “I have a lot of faith in the finance committee…. and that this is one decision they’ve done a good job with it.”

Despite the smaller number of candidates in the running than the past (a discussion for another time), this election is sure to be just as interesting! In case you haven’t heard (aka. gotten facebook invites to their campaigns or seen the SGA email) the two presidential candidates are Ryan Kim ’14 and Charlie Arnowitz ’13 (Arnowitz’s additional site here). From noon Thursday, May 3rd- noon Friday May 4th, they’ll be going head to head for the presidential title as Middkids head to the polls (go/vote). Last election we reached a record turnout of 40%… let’s see if this election can break it yet again (really hope so, come on Midd, use your votes!!)!

Based purely off their online presences & letters of intent, here’s a quick recap of the candidates (to see full platforms, visit respective pages for Kim and Arnowitz). This is by no means comprehensive, and we encourage you to also check out these two events to meet & hear more from the candidates, as we’ll be doing before casting our votes:
SGA Presidential Candidate Forum, Sunday (Today!!) 2:30pm, @McCullough
Candid Candidates, Tuesday, 7-9pm, @Gifford Amphitheater

Onto the intro summaries…

Ryan Kim ’14 clearly has the hipster swag thing going for him, along with a strong background in working with the administration and town (most notably with the Business Development fund, which recently passed). He states, “I’m running for President because I believe that I have a deep understanding of the pulse on the campus that I feel empowers my perspective to ask the right questions, and hopefully to create positive change.” His agenda mirrors this statement, asking lots of questions  ranging from town gown relations (suggesting possible business mentoring/internships, student representative to the board) to revitalizing the SGA (with open office hours, communication) and the Finance Committee. Kim also discusses matters from gym hours & equipment, printing, enhancing the the grille/juice bar, to examining work with the administration & administrative policies (such as 1% art in public spaces, EdLibery, Bookstore). He encourages people to think creatively about potential solutions, “What I hope you have found here is not a list of my solutions to a laundry list of complaints, but a thought-provoking investigation of unanswered questions.”

Charlie Arnowitz ’13 totally has the text with hillz territory solidified, and also holds a strong background in leadership with student organizations: from being Hillel President, Student Democrats Vice President, and a former SGA senator. He states, “I’m running for SGA President because I’d like to give back to Middlebury… I’ve got both the experience and the heart to lead next year’s SGA.” Arnowitz’s platform ranges from student life (making McCullough a real student center with bringing back Pub Night, more couches, etc), student activities streamlining and cooperative efforts, diversity issues (sponsoring of Jus Talks) & social house issues) to technology (printers, laundry, wireless, banner, cleaning supplies), to academics (incentivizing public professor reviews and curricular reform with Pass/Fail and distribution requirements), social responsibility (2016 neutrality – focusing on cuts, not offsets)), and SGA transparency and reform (better social media presence, website, review of constitution).

Both candidates have solid and diverse platforms, seen in the repeat addressing of many top issues (enhancing/improving student life and social spaces, student org dynamics, improving the SGA, printers, etc.), and splintering in others (town/gown relations for Kim and Academic issues for Arnowitz). It will be interesting in the forums to see what else is discussed and which issues are given most priority by the student body. So stay tuned, read their platforms, get to the forums, and Go/vote!

Any links to material that we’ve missed ? Leave a comment and we’ll be sure to update!

Always a classic, always inspiring!

 1. Taking Breaks & A Bit of Booze will bring You Great Success

For real y’all. It’s scientifically proven by the great (and brilliant) Jonah Lehrer. “Scientists have determined that people in a relaxed state and a good mood are far more likely to develop innovative or creative thoughts,” according to NPR coverage of Lehrer. Let me clarify. First, on the adult beverages I truly mean just a bit, not Middkid Video style here. But by all means, grab a Woodchuck as you read/write/edit away! There’s a reason why Happy Hours are named as such. Second, on the breaks, really take the time to peace out every once in awhile: attend a lecture or panel totally unrelated to your topic, go for a run, spend a two hour proctor dinner with your friends, etc. You’ll come back refreshed, and if you’re lucky maybe even reach an epiphany along the way!

2. Laundry Can Wait, Showers Cannot

We’ve all done it. Wondered if ‘those jeans’ are good to wear another day, smelling ‘that shirt’ to see if it’s moderately acceptable. Just buy yourself an extra week’s worth of underwear and men’s white T’s now. You’ll thank me later when you’re two weeks pre-deadline with lots o’laundry. And by all means, don’t skip showers, you’ll think it saves time, but it is always well worth spending.

3. Small Tokens are where it’s at!

When it’s 3 a.m. and you’re checking your footnotes for the trillionth time, you’ll want something to bring you back to the real world and the larger picture. Whether it’s a photo, a special piece of jewelry, a favorite pen, lucky socks — (heard it all) find something meaningful to keep on you. Or, get something new and decide it’s special and meaningful!

4. Get Cranky at Totally Unnecessary Things & Enjoy It

Dear EIA/Career Services, while I love nothing more than your mission, all your partner offices, and your amazing staff, please don’t send us emails trying to convince us that we should spend our crazed thesis-deadline time trying to make a video for your compilation of job search advice to next year’s seniors… where what we ‘win’ is just being in the video and some grille money? How about finishing my thesis, perhaps? Timing is key, and the weeks you sent those (three, really?!) emails (with a deadline of the 30th?!) are pretty much crunch time & deadline zone for everyone. Send this during senior week, or just send someone with a camera to senior week events — you’d get tons more footage and way less annoyed grumbles that way! Also, that freshman in your intro level class complaining about a three page paper? This is what I have to say about that.

5. Your friends are the most amazing people on the planet

Seriously, as if you didn’t know this before, your friends are amazing. Whether you’re the only one writing a thesis or all of your friends are too, the de-facto support group, source of smiles, love and inspiration you have is a treasure trove, so be thankful and express your gratitude. From food deliveries when you truly cannot separate from your computer, to encouraging notes, emails, mix cds and inspiring links… nothing strengthens friendships like thesis writing. (Yeah, I’m talking about you. And yes, you’re amazing).

6. Midd is Awesome, You and Your Thesis are also Awesome & You are Incredibly Lucky

OK, so technically 3(4?) things in one. But a 7 things list is so much hipper than a 10 things list, so deal with it. Seriously, when(/where/why/who/how/what) ever other point in your life are you going to be able to devote 1, 2, or 3 semesters (counting J-term here) to learning about something so obscure, you probably are now one of 10-20 experts in said subject. It’s truly about the journey, not the destination; revel in the discovery! And major shout out to the Undergraduate Research Office(URO) and their Senior Research Project Grants. If you didn’t know this exists, consider this your something new (and vital) you learned today (and on my top 5 list of things to love about Middlebury). Supporting senior research, you can apply for up to $1,500 in research funding from the URO! So you can totally go to those obscure museums, exhibits, even apply to attend or present at conferences and have Midd support it! Despite the crazed time that finishing up can be, take a minute to remember how blessed you are to be here.

 7. No Project Will Ever Be Harder or Feel As Good When It’s Finally Complete. That Is, Until Real Life.

Cannot totally certify that this is true. But from what I’ve heard, it’s pretty spot-on (alumni, what would you say?). Loop back to #6 if you don’t believe me, and I’ll let you know in a year or two.

And she is your best friend?
And you are also a girl?
And you only like boys?
And you really, truly are
convinced you are straight?
What do you do?
What do you identify as?
Who do you tell?

These questions are among many that I asked myself a few years ago when I realized that I no longer had purely platonic feelings for my best (girl) friend. They are questions that are not unique to my situation.  Many women struggle with them as they try to figure out how their sexuality decided to turn its back on its owner, to turn from solid to liquid to gas, to seek out something new.

I was reminded of these questions a few weeks ago when a close friend of mine called me and said, “I’m the straightest person you’ll ever meet, and yet I have a crush on a girl.”  She, like so many of us, was thoroughly confused how she could now feel so passionately for a woman she had only previously thought of as a really, really really, really good friend.

It can be quite a surprise when you — a woman who loves to date men and identifies as heterosexual — starts thinking about another woman in a more-than-cuddle-buddy way. I felt very uncomfortable.  Having a best friend who always had time for me and was genuinely interested in my life was fantastic, but imagining getting to know her more intimately (much less have sex with her) was terrifying.  I was scared to lose our friendship, but more importantly I was also scared to pass up an opportunity that would result in growth and development in my life.

In a situation such as mine there was no right or wrong answer.  Whatever decision I made would simply result in a different outcome.  I chose to try to absolve my confusion by telling her my true feelings. The result was  one we can all hope for: she in fact wanted to be with me too.

I do not wish to delve into particular details regarding this specific relationship, but rather to say that it undoubtedly changed me.    I was engaged in this relationship in such a different manner—emotionally, mentally, intellectually, physically—than I had been in my previous relationships with men.  I questioned and fostered parts of myself that I barely even knew existed.  Dating this woman led me to realize that my identity has a very fluid aspect to it.  (During this time I also was introduced to words like “identity” “fluidity” “bisexual” and “sexuality”).  It is not as if before I had been blind to homosexuality, many of my friends identified as gay or bisexual, but I had never examined how this label, or rather this experience, was relevant to my life.

I did not call myself a lesbian or even bisexual.  I did not hide my relationship, or with whom it was with, but I was not yet comfortable applying a bold label that would allow others to determine who I was.  If I was struggling to find who I was, I was not going to let others decide for me.  Furthermore I did not think that I was meant to be with other women.  I felt right with my girlfriend, but imagining being with another woman made me even more uncomfortable than I had felt about being intimate with any woman. It was only she.  And men.

It is difficult to overcome these seemingly contradictory feelings—being in love with a girl, being in a homosexual relationship, and yet not seeing oneself as gay—and there is no one solution to work through them.  They are quite cumbersome to break down. I found it was best to take no notice of the outside forces that were pressuring me to come out to the world. This allowed me to explore at my own pace.  Intimacy found its way between the long conversations and coffee dates. It had its own agenda. It was okay to believe she was the only woman for me. It was okay to take things one day, one step, at a time.

Telling other people was simultaneously easy and difficult.  I told a very select few friends right away and others waited months to find out.  As the months passed, though, I became more and more aware of my growing happiness and fullness, and I wanted to share with others why I felt this way.  I wanted them to be introduced to its source. I never explicitly said, “Oh yeah, by the way I’m gay,” but I felt comfortable with saying, “Oh, have you met my girlfriend?”

This relationship shifted my perspective on myself, on relationships, on humans.  Now I really try to see the person I am dating, the person I am falling in love with, rather than their sex or their gender.  I see the qualities in them that complement, highlight and strengthen the qualities within myself.  Of course I need to thank my first girlfriend for what she gave me, but I also need to appreciate that I did not just walk away from this opportunity.

Let’s be honest- A relationship is not a race. There is no predetermined end point. There are guaranteed to be hiccups along the way, but treat them as you would any other—with honesty and curiosity.  This relationship suffered from its own difficulties, as all relationships do.  But for me it is worth looking over these blemishes and acknowledging the beauty of it and the doors it opened for me (and I am sure for her as well).

Did I tell her I liked her? Yes. Did I second-guess myself? Absolutely. How did it turn out? We dated for over a year.

I heard like twenty guys got arrested for beating Wale up this Saturday. I wouldn’t know because I discovered a new brand of vodka that tastes like fairies and flowers and ended up watching an entire season of the Vampire Diaries. If you too missed out on some musical magic this weekend, check out Paul Rosenfeld’s mocumentary following student band Goat Pack (Ricky Chen ’13, Daniel Vikum ’12, Sam Wyer ’12, Matt Hedgpeth ’12) to a basement in Dartmouth. “It’s like the best dream you ever had,” says Daniel Vikum. Yes, Daniel, it is.

Midd Students perform a Flashmob at last year's Symposium

If the endless number of events at prospie days wasn’t enough, last night marked the start of Middlebury’s annual student research symposium.  The keynote address featured Brian Deese ’00, special assistant to the president for economic policy.  Today, with over 200 presenters in roughly 27 disciplines, you are almost guaranteed to find something you are interested in.  While many seniors present on their thesis or senior work, anyone with a project can share their work.  The presentations, each lasting roughly 15 minutes, are grouped in thematic categories and staggered throughout the day, mostly occurring in Bi Hall.

For the timeline of events, head over here.  The full schedule is a good 16 pages long, so look it over and learn something new today!

P.S. Middblog will be covering a number of the talks, but given the enormous volume of presentations, we can’t be everywhere at once.  If you are tweeting, use our hashtag #middsym and we’ll compile a post over the weekend of student responses.

The concept has hit college campuses, resulting in sites like “What Happens at Hamilton” and “Michigan GIFs” (there’s also the NESCAC-wide “What Should We ‘Cac Me“). Now Middlebury has followed suit with “What Should Midd Call Me.” From breakfast for dinner in Ross to class registration and “Like a Prayer,” WSMCM is off to a giggle-inducing start.

WHEN IT'S 70 DEGREES AND SUNNY OUTSIDE BUT I'M STUCK IT THE LIBRARY DOING RESEARCH

This Tuesday you may have noticed Proctor’s (and Ross’s?) rather provocative display. 30 or so stacks of cup racks, with no cups. Attached to the stacks was a sign that read something along the lines of, “These were full when you guys left for Spring Break. Where have all our cups gone?”

Then, around 7 pm that evening, one of you, whose name I will not point out, wrote in reply, “Where did my $50,000 go?” This person believes that because of this person’s $50,000 tuition, the College should have purchased new cups for us all. This person is completely wrong in so many ways, which I will not take the time to point out. This person’s friends all laughed at his antics while others who read this person’s contribution to the sign walked away in disgust. Frankly, I don’t know where this person’s sense of entitlement has come from, but I hope (and am pretty certain) that most of you don’t believe the college should baby us by buying us new dishes when we take them or throw them away.

I had a conversation with Virginia on the Proctor dining staff that night. Because students are constantly looking for and asking for more cups and dishes during dining hours, often hostilely, she has taken to visiting the recycling center on her own time, without pay, and filling boxes with dishes and cups that students have thrown away. Her frustration almost moved her to tears. She took me back to the dish wash station and introduced me to the people who wash our dirty, disgusting dishes (without ever asking for a thank you), and they shared her sentiments.

The thing about this is that there is a really simple solution to this problem. If you take a dish out of the dining hall (which is fine), bring it back. Don’t put it in the box on your hall that says “please return to dining” because we all know that those just sit there.

Every one of us is at fault here, even those of us who don’t take dishes out of the dining hall. We all walk past those boxes and say to ourselves, “Nahh, I didn’t put anything in here, so I don’t need to take it back.” In a perfect world, we would be right. Unfortunately there are many people on this campus who think that they can put stuff there and that, for some reason, they are entitled to something we are not, which is an exemption from being responsible for their own mess. Until this changes, the rest of us have to do our part and carry those boxes back to the dining halls.

I wouldn’t have written this if I didn’t talk to Virginia in Proctor, who is impassioned beyond belief about this issue. If any of you had heard her, you would have been moved to do the same thing, trust me.

So let’s just all do our part and help out our outstanding dining staff, which serves each and every one of us for $3.17 per day, by bringing them back the dishes we have taken. I’m sick of drinking ginger ale out of a mug.

The schedule labels events by who is invited: Prospective Students, Parents, and all you other hanger on-ers “All are welcome!” (siblings?? Friendless sophomores?? WHO DO YOU MEAN?)

Sometimes I like to leaf through Middlebury Admissions material just for fun, everything looks so exciting, so intriguing, so packed. If only Middlebury Admissions had written my college applications, I could probably be graduating Harvard, like Grad School, two years ago. With a reality show en route.

In between meet-n-greets with Mchaka Mchaka, Campus Republicans, and Arts n’ Crafts (one wonders who staffed the committee responsible for choosing student groups to represent Midd), I believe there is a nefarious message afoot. You thought you got into Middlebury because you were smart? Try attending all 71 events in the 72 hours of prospective weekend! It’s a test. And I for one, don’t intend to fail.

So gather Middlebury ‘All are welcome!’ It’s time to rise to the challenge to attend every single event. Any interested parties can contact me for 5 Hour Energy Shots, a shot of whiskey (so long as it’s from 4-5AM on Thursday 4/19 once the moon aligns with the steeple of Old Chapel). Victors will be granted an honorific sticker to be placed on your pending degree. It will say “Vanquisher of Prospective Weekend 2012. I.E. Real Student, not like all you other charlatans.”

Until then, I will be in the Abernathy Room fielding questions at my ‘underground panel’ of prospective students who happen to wander in.

(This is really me, on the photo for the English Department web page.  Even though I major in Literary Studies. It’s a lie prospective students! It’s all a lie!!)

I bet one of the Felice Brothers at Sepomena will make out with you this Friday if you find it…

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That is all. Updates will be posted (so long as I am not removed from CC)