Be a JusTalks participant!

JusTalks will give participants the opportunity to engage in open and honest dialogue about personal identity and experiences. Participants will get a chance to learn more about their peers through activities and discussions, inviting students to engage on a deeper and more genuine level than our lives on campus often allow.

Participants are invited to partake in fun events starting on January 14^th.  The first mandatory event will occur on January 18^th with a Keynote address to get participants thinking about identity and how it affects our perspective on the world. The program will continue on Saturday, January 19^th. Participants will be led through discussions and activities from 9:30am to 5:30pm, with a break for lunch in Atwater.

Time Commitment:

• Participants must be on campus from January 14^th through January 19^th.
• Many events during that time are optional
• The events on January 18^th (Keynote address at 7pm) and January 19^th (actual day of JusTalks 9:30am to 5:30pm) are mandatory

The sign up will be open from October 10^th to October 13^th. Please check back for the link. Participants will be chosen on first come, first serve basis and there will be a wait-list.

Become a student facilitator for JusTalks!

The student facilitators selected for JusTalks 2013 will be trained to guide a group of 15 student participants through activities and discussions related to different aspects of identity.  Facilitators will be trained to create a safe space for their group members to allow for honest and personal discussion. Student facilitators do not need to be experts on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc. but they do need to have an interest in asking questions and encouraging dialogue related to these topics.

It can be very difficult to open up to people you barely know, to share personal stories, or to talk in front of a large group. We are asking participants to delve into discomfort by sharing their histories and personal stories and being open to unfamiliar stories and opinions of peers. This is a challenging and important step that we are asking participants to take, one that requires a safe space and a discussion leader to make participants feel comfortable. We are inviting non-participating students to apply to be student facilitators for these discussions.

Facilitators will need to feel comfortable talking in front of a group and giving directions to peers with energy and enthusiasm (when appropriate). They are welcome to share their stories, but their main role is to listen, create a safe and welcoming space for discussion, and recognize when the group needs an additional question, an explanation, or time to reflect.

Time commitment:

• Student facilitators will be required to attend 2-3 meetings/training sessions during the fall term and might be asked to do short readings in preparation for the event.
• Student facilitators must be on campus from January 14^th through January 19^th and willing to go to both mandatory and optional events for participants.

Applications will be available on September 24^th and are due on October 5^th. Please check back in on September 24^th for the link.

Thank you!

Sign-On Letter

The following sign-on letter has already been endorsed by the group names below. Add your name in the comment box if you would like to endorse JusTalks independently or comment if you would like to request a presentation to a group you are a part of.

We, the members of the Middlebury Community, hereby join in the call for an increase in campus confrontational dialogue, discourse, and leadership training.

We endorse the pursuit of infrastructure that will facilitate discussion, reflection, and action around issues of social justice and equality, recognizing: a) the need to uphold Middlebury College’s Mission Statement, in which the activities of bridging understanding, individual reflection and producing global actors are acknowledged, b) the integral role of issues of race, gender, orientation,sexuality,ability,class and power in a 21st century liberal arts education, c) the preservation and perpetuation of various societal biases and bigotries within the Middlebury Community, and d) the importance of transforming the very foundations of our institution, in parallel to the profile of the people who populate it.

We do so acknowledging the necessity of reflecting before acting, and the potential to produce a more equitable and open community, and individuals ready and willing to work to repair fractures that divide their communities beyond Middlebury.

We believe that Winter Term offers the ideal opportunity to begin this lifelong process of reflection and action, and that any programming should be mandatory for all first-year students. This proposal is unique in that it does not require a reworking of coursework, nor does it increase the work load of an already overburdened student population. Instead, this would provide an opportunity for students, during a less stressful time of the year, to engage the ‘ethical, and social qualities essential for leadership in a rapidly changing global community.’

We are keen to begin a community wide discussion on potential programming methods and techniques, and are committed to ensuring that facilitators represent the full complexity and complement of human potential and perspective that lives and breathes in this community.

Student Organizations
WRMC
Student Investment Committee
Student Government Association (SGA)
Globe Med
Distinguished Men of Colour
Roosevelt
The Middlebury Campus
Middlebury Mountain Club (MMC)
Social Justice Coalition (SJC)
Socially Responsible Investment
Women of Color
College Democrats
United For Undergraduate Socioeconomic Diversity (U/FUSED)
Alianza
Otter Nonsense Players
Middlebrow
DREAM
MCAB – Executive Committee
SGA Institutional Diversity Committee (IDC)
Change in Spirit: Shifting the Paradigm from Poverty to Prosperity (Winter Term Class)
Middlebury Geographic
Juntos Migrant Outreach
Newman’s Club
Prajna Meditation Club
Midd For Play
African American Alliance
Admissions Office Senior Fellows
Philosophy Club
Aikido Club
Midd Slam
The Bobolinks
J Street U
MOQA
Middlebuy College Organic Farm
International Students Organization
Hillel
Freshman Posse
Sophomore Posse
Feminist Action at Middlebury (FAM)
College for Every Student (CFES)
Mischords

Athletic Teams

Women’s Rugby Club
Men’s Rugby Club
Men’s Alpine Skiing
Women’s Alpine Skiing
Women’s Golf
Men’s Water Polo

Interest Houses

KDR House
PALANA
Munford House
Jewett
Weybridge House
Xenia
Earhart Mod – Local Living
Portugese House

Residential Life

Atwater Residential Life Staff
Battell 1st Floor North
Battell 1st Floor Center
Battell 1st Floor South
Battell 2nd Floor North
Battell 2nd Floor Center
Battell 2nd Floor South
Ross Commons Council
Cook Commons Council
Stewart 1
Stewart 3
Stewart 4
Allen Basement
Allen 2
Allen 3
Hadley 5
Hadley 6

And more to come….!