We, 20+ students from all over campus, are in the process of presenting the following idea to every campus organization, interest house, sports team, and faculty and staff department, in order to seek endorsement of the idea, as well as feedback on what kinds of themes and facilitators need be included in the final product. We are not interested in independently planning an event, but instead seeking feedback from every corner of this campus, in order to plan a series of conversations that best reflects the interests and needs of this community.
As students who feel that we do not currently supplant our classroom education with adequate interpersonal education regarding issues of identity, privilege, and power, we call for an increase in dialogue, discourse and leadership training around principles of race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, gender, privilege etc. We do so believing that such interpersonal engagement would enrich our Middlebury experiences, by creating opportunities to genuinely learn from the immense experiential diversity that already exists on this campus, and further demonstrate Middlebury’s commitment to developing true global citizens.
To this end, we are committed to creating a structured, safe space, in which these discussions and reflections can begin to occur, for all Middlebury students. JusTalks will be a forum dedicated to free communication, thoughtful discourse, supportive self-analysis, leaning into discomfort, and dynamic community building.
