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Posts tagged ‘middlebury’

Apr 25

7 Things You Learn After Writing a Thesis

For those who have finished, CONGRATS! For those still working, almost there!! And to all those looking at exhausted seniors, this is for you. Get some wisdom in advance, you’ll be in the Lib Cafe chugging caffeine with a stack of books soon.

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

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Apr 19

GIF Meme Takes Campuses By Storm

Meme site “#WHATSHOULDWECALLME” chronicles the life of a law student through little animated images (or GIFs) that characterize and epitomize her reactions to various events and interactions. The site has amassed avid followers, internet infamy and has spawned dozens of “knock-off” sites (“MYLIFEASAKITTEN” and “How Do I Put This Gently,” for example).

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

 

Apr 19

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The Dish on Dishes

This is a guest post by sophomore Nathan LaBarba, an SGA Senator.

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.

Mar 11

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SGA Sound-Off: Freedom of the Press, MiddView Final Amendments, Pass/Fail Updates & More

Good evening folks! After a brief discussion regarding last week’s meeting, the Senate got right down to business with several new bills and updates on the table.

The Campus Freedom of the Press Bill: passed unanimously, this bill ensures that the funding The Campus receives (awarded by the SGA) cannot be altered due to the nature of opinions of The Campus’ coverage regarding the SGA, SGA affiliated groups, or the SGA’s Executive Cabinet members. Appeals in this matter, instead of going to the SGA appeals committee, would directly go to the Student Activities Office.

MiddView Amendment Bill: After a long process of bringing the MiddView bill to fruition and debates over the funding split between the SGA & College Administration for the program — this amendment provides for the SGA to lock-in paying 50% of the trips cost for the first three years (previously passed up to 50%), with an agreement that after three years, the administration will fully cover the cost of the trips. While concerns were raised as to whether the verbal agreement with the College Administration described in the bill would be a binding commitment, the Senate was assured that in Vermont (only state that has this, apparently?) verbal agreements are binding. This bill passed with one dissenting vote.

Lamberti Faculty Appreciation Committee: While Staff awards are chosen by the SGA Senate, the Faculty award is chosen by a committee of five juniors and seniors of diverse academic fields of study along with the Dean of Faculty. If interested on serving on this committee, lookout for an email from President Recca in the near future asking for applicants.

Pass/Fail Update: Since the SGA passed the Pass/Fail resolution, the Resolution has been working its way through the Student Academic Affairs Committee, who then passed it promptly to the Educational Affairs Committee (EAC). As President Recca explained is within the EAC’s purview, the EAC has made some changes to the version passed by the Senate. The major changes are three-fold. First, the resolution passed by the SGA allowed for a student to take 2-4 class pass-fail over the duration of their study. This new version more holistically combines the idea of pass/fail with AP & Internship credits to create the space for a more tailored individual educational experience. The new version proposed would allow for student to apply at most 6 of 36 credits needed to graduate through the following: 6 APs, 6 Pass/Fail courses, 6 Internship credits, or some combination of the three.

Secondly, the version passed by the SGA passed a resolution mandating that professors would be blind to who is taking their class pass/fail. The EAC has altered this part of the proposal so it is not a blind situation, professors would know which students taking courses pass/fail (as some faculty felt it was unfair for them to not know, as they would not be able to allocate time to students with that in mind). Lastly, the EAC verision allows for pass/fail to fulfill distribution requirements, as lnog as they are not in one’s major or minor — something the version previously passed by the SGA prohibited. The EAC is presenting the results and findings of their open meetings in a Faculty Meeting this week. Following that, the EAC will formally present the resolution to the Faculty Meeting in April, whereupon it will most likely be voted on in the May meeting. Once the EAC formally presents their resolution, the SGA will examine the revised version and vote on the support of the new measure.

YouPower Midd Bike-Room/FIC Gym Update: After some administrative delays, the bike room is expected to be up and running hopefully a few weeks after spring break.

Until next week, enjoy your Sunday evening! And as always — email your senators if you want to know more about this, or any other legislation. We’re here to serve you, so be sure to share your voices.

Mar 4

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SGA Sound-Off: EdLiberty Bill

Alrighty folks, in possibly the longest (and most well-attended) meeting of the Senate yet this year, there was quite the lively discussion this evening. As always, I’m here with the scoop. Apologies in advance for grammatical, spelling, and/or nonsensical errors, running on thesis-deadline fumes my friends.

In old business discussions: (1) The ad-hoc committee on the restoration of Worth Mountain Lodge is still going and will continue to report on progress. (2) After a polling of constituents as to what newspapers they most prefer, with overwhelming support for the New York Times the Presidential cabinet will keep this in mind when re-negotiating the contract for subscriptions (current contract ending this year).

However, to the meat of the meeting, the EdLiberty Proposal. The brainchild of Brian Foster ’13, EdLiberty is a community-building media and information sharing platform that would allow students, faculty, alumni, staff (anyone with an @middlebury.edu email) to instantly generate content that would be immediately made visible and open to the entire Middlebury community. It’s a four-prong platform, made of: Thinktank (a discussion platform for open conversations), Bulletins (where anyone could post events and activities), Newsroom (a space for posting news links), and video (would be administered by Old Chapel to promote Middlebury videos: sports, arts, performances, speakers, etc.). The bill requested $33,500 in start up funds from the SGA, which if received the administration would match at $33,500 to fund the full request amount of approx. $67,000.

Brian Sirkia, head of MiddVenture Community, shares his opinions regarding the EdLiberty proposal. The Crest room was filled nearly to capacity, with chairs (and couches) brought down from the upstairs gallery to accommodate all attendees.

As previously alluded to, this bill brought many voices, questions, and opinions from  senators, the SGA Presidential Cabinet, and the student body. In his presentation Brian Foster ’13 identified that EdLiberty fills a community need that he saw since being a first-year here at Middlebury, the ability to have a platform for full, open discussions within the community, bringing voices from all across campus and beyond. With EdLiberty he stated, “For the first time anyone in the community can communicate with everyone else at once.”

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