April 2007

Sports Headlines, 4/30/07: Men’s tennis wins fourth straight NESCAC title, advances to NCAA tourney; women’s lacrosse to host NESCAC final four; men’s lacrosse advances to NESCAC semis with 16-4 win over Trinity; four Middlebury women win NESCAC track & field titles; softball registers 20th win of the season, beating Wesleyan 10-1; baseball completes three-game sweep of Hamilton.

Rutland Herald editorial focuses on speech at Midd by marine ecologist: “Mankind is at the end of the era when it could feed itself with the fish from the sea. Fishing as a way of life is on the way out, and the oceans are unraveling as a natural ecosystem. These were the observations of Jeremy Jackson, a marine ecologist of international stature, who delivered a lecture at Middlebury College on Friday. “

04/27/07: An update from Ron Liebowitz and Clara Yu on the Middlebury College-Monterey Institute affiliation: “The two of us want to provide an update on the Middlebury-Monterey relationship and invite you to contact us if you have any questions about the progress that has been made in deepening the affiliation between our two institutions. “

Annual spring concert event to feature Guster and The Format April 27: “On Friday, April 27, at 8 p.m. the Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB) will present its annual spring concert in Middlebury College’s Kenyon Arena. The event will feature the bands Guster and The Format, as part of Guster’s ‘Campus Consciousness Tour.’ “

Middlebury students take first place in computer programming competition: “A group of three Middlebury College students finished first among 37 teams in a computer programming contest held on April 20 at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The Middlebury team included seniors Anna Blasiak and Kevin Chirls, and junior Jeff Wehrwein, and was the only team to successfully to solve all seven problems within the allotted three hours.”

Men’s Tennis Completes Fifth Straight Undefeated NESCAC Season: “Middlebury completed its fifth consecutive undefeated NESCAC season as the Panthers picked up a 7-2 win over Trinity in the regular season finale. Middlebury has now won 39 straight NESCAC matches, dating back to a 4-3 loss to Tufts on April 5th of 2002.”

Jewish scholar Susannah Heschel to speak April 26: “On Thursday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m., Dartmouth professor Susannah Heschel will present a lecture titled “From Jesus to Shylock: Christian Supersessionism and ‘The Merchant of Venice’” in the Robert A. Jones ’59 House Conference Room.”

The event is the 20th annual Hannah A. Quint Lecture in Jewish Studies.

Middlebury senior awarded Keasbey Scholarship for study at Oxford: “Olivia Bailey, a Middlebury College senior from Londonderry, Vt., has been awarded a prestigious Keasbey Scholarship to support two years of graduate study at the University of Oxford.”

A note from the president on College’s emergency policies and procedures: “This week’s tragic events at Virginia Tech have led to many questions about the safety of the Middlebury campus, and our procedures for dealing with dangerous intruders or threats from within the campus community. “

Rutland Herald: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders applauds Step It Up: “Bill McKibben of Middlebury College and the entire Step It Up team deserve an enormous amount of credit for the great work they did on Saturday, April 14, with regard to raising awareness about global warming. In Vermont, I was pleased to have attended five separate events and, throughout the state, there were more than 60 events. Nationally, there were more than 1,400 rallies …”

Virginia Tech massacre prompts colleges to re-think security: “The massacre at Virginia Tech has campus security officials in Vermont and beyond re-examining their safety and emergency notification procedures, officials said Wednesday.”

… At Middlebury, officials are exploring the idea of installing a tower-mounted siren or some other public warning system in the wake of the Virginia Tech incident.
“It would be a loud siren or signal that would say to the community there is an emergency, get onto your e-mail or get your cell phone on to find out what the nature of the emergency is,” said dean of planning John Emerson.

Middlebury gathers to offer condolences to Virginia Tech community: “Students, faculty and staff from Middlebury College took part in a noontime gathering on Tuesday, April 17, to reflect on the shooting rampage the previous day at Virginia Tech University, where a student shot and killed 32 people before turning his gun on himself.”

Step It, born at Middlebury College, sparks 1,400 events across the country: “On this historic day, Americans called on their leaders to act immediately to stop global warming. In all 50 states, at more than 1400 iconic places across the nation, we have united around a common call to action: ‘Step It Up Congress: Cut Carbon 80% by 2050.’ Your move, Congress. “

Bill McKibben, head cheerleader, blogs about the day at Grist.org: http://www.grist.org/comments/dispatches/2007/01/08/mckibben/index14.html

New Yorker correspondent and author Jeffrey Goldberg speaks April 23: “On Monday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m., Washington correspondent for The New Yorker and author Jeffrey Goldberg will deliver a lecture titled “Israel, Iran and the Future of Terrorism.” The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will take place in Dana Auditorium in Sunderland Language Center, located on College Street (Route 125).”

Wanted: High school geniuses for four-year, $200K stay in rural Vermont: “When Aron Holewinski received a letter two weeks ago inviting him to visit Middlebury College in the United States on an all-expenses paid trip, he was incredulous. ‘My parents couldn’t believe it,’ said Holewinski. ‘I had to call up and check with the College.’”

USNews.com: Health: One Man’s Case for a Lower Drinking Age: “John McCardell is a man on a mission. The former president of Middlebury College and founder of the nonprofit group Choose Responsibility is traveling the country this spring to drum up support among college presidents and policy experts for a counterintuitive proposal: that given the growing problem of binge drinking on campus, it’s time to drop the drinking age below 21. “

Post-9/11 issues for Muslims in West to be topic of conference Apr. 20-21: “On Friday, April 20, and Saturday, April 21, a Middlebury College conference titled “Muslims and the State in the Post-9/11 West” will take place at the Rohatyn Center for International Affairs.”

Phi Beta Kappa Scholar Sarah Morris to speak April 16: “Sarah Morris, a classicist and archaeologist in both the department of classics and the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, will deliver a lecture titled “Isaac and Iphigenia: Human Sacrifice in Antiquity” on Monday, April 16, at 4:30 p.m. in Twilight Hall, located on College Street (Route 125).”

Trustees approve mandatory fees nearing $47,000 – News: “Mandatory student fees will total $46,910 for the 2007-2008 academic year, according to a letter sent to parents on Tuesday. The higher total reflects a combined 5.25 increase over this year’s mandatory fees, including a five percent increase in the comprehensive fee set by the College Trustees and a 50 percent increase in the student activities fee set by the Student Government Association (SGA). Mandatory student fees will total $46,910 for the 2007-2008 academic year, according to a letter sent to parents on Tuesday. The higher total reflects a combined 5.25 increase over this year’s mandatory fees, including a five percent increase in the comprehensive fee set by the College Trustees and a 50 percent increase in the student activities fee set by the Student Government Association (SGA). “

Author Barry Lopez to speak on “The Wild Road to the Far North” April 12: “On Thursday, April 12, author Barry Lopez will deliver the 2007 Scott A. Margolin ’99 Lecture in Environmental Affairs at Middlebury College. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 7 p.m. in Mead Chapel, located on Hepburn Road off College Street (Route 125).” Lopez’s best-known work is the book Arctic Dreams, which won the National Book Award in 1986.

Snow showers, that is. Middlebury received a few inches of wet snow overnight and it snowed most of the day on April 5. Unseasonably cool weather was on tap through the weekend, with a warming trend forecast for next week.

Three Middlebury College student proposals awarded funding from the Kathryn Wasserman Davis 100 Projects for Peace: “MIDDLEBURY, Vt. ― The Kathryn Wasserman Davis 100 Projects for Peace program has selected 100 proposals submitted by students from 66 colleges and universities to receive funding for the summer of 2007. Students from Middlebury College developed three of the winning proposals. The Middlebury College Office of the President has also announced that it will fund two more proposals under the same terms of agreement as the Kathryn Wasserman Davis 100 Projects for Peace program. “

Student-organized symposium to explore “Gems for Guns: Resources in Africa” April 15-19: “From Sunday, April 15, through Thursday, April 19, a Middlebury College symposium, “Gems for Guns: Resources in Africa,” will explore issues around Africa’s natural resources. The week-long event is designed to provide an understanding of how the exploitation of resources drives the continuous conflict and underdevelopment that plagues the continent. The symposium will also explore China’s developing interest in African energy resources.”

The Greening Of America’s Campuses: “It was a crisp September night in northern Vermont, and the narrow meeting room on the ground floor of a Middlebury College dorm was packed with students. They had gathered to hear Bill McKibben, resident scholar, author, and environmentalist, sketch out the future of climate activism. “

First annual Spring Student Symposium to showcase undergraduate research April 13: “MIDDLEBURY, Vt. ― On Friday, April 13, from 12:30 – 7:30 p.m., more than 56 Middlebury College students will showcase the results of their recent research efforts as part of the first annual Middlebury College Spring Student Symposium. The symposium will highlight student work through a mix of lectures, performances, posters, artwork and readings. “