Middlebury Headlines » 2007 » August

Ask Hiba! How Facebook spawned a maverick Ann Landers at Middlebury

tetchell — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:19:00 +0000

Seven Days: Ask Hiba! How Facebook spawned a maverick Ann Landers at Middlebury: “If you’re about to start school as a freshman at Middlebury College, and you have questions about your dorm room or class schedule, where do you turn? To the college Web site? To the admissions office? This year, thanks to the social networking site Facebook, you can ask Hiba Fakhoury ’09 for advice. “

American Campuses Get Greener Than Ever – Kaplan College Guide – MSNBC.com

tetchell — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:32:00 +0000

American Campuses Get Greener Than Ever – MSNBC.com: “As vigorously as colleges are encouraging students to research environmental problems, students are prodding colleges to purchase renewable energy and set ambitious carbon targets. In part because of student lobbying, Middlebury College in Vermont adopted a goal of carbon neutrality by 2016, says Nan Jenks-Jay, dean of environmental affairs. ‘Students were telling us, ‘You’re not doing enough’,’ she says. Undergrads at dozens of schools have gone so far as to vote for increases in their activities fees to help finance green initiatives.”

Debate on lower drinking age bubbling up – MSNBC.com

tetchell — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:52:00 +0000

Debate on lower drinking age bubbling up – MSNBC.com: “Over the strong objection of federal safety officials, a quiet movement to lower the legal drinking age to 18 is taking root as advocates argue that teenagers who are allowed to vote and fight for their country should also be able to enjoy a beer or two.

“Libertarian groups and some conservative economic foundations, seeing the age limits as having been extorted by Washington, have long championed lowering the drinking age. But in recent years, many academics and non-partisan policy groups have joined their cause for a different reason: The age restriction does not work, they say. Drinking has gone on behind closed doors and underground, where responsible adults cannot keep an eye on it.

“It does not reduce drinking. It has simply put young adults at greater risk,” said John M. McCardell, former president of Middlebury College in Vermont, who this year set up a non-profit organization called Choose Responsibility to push for a lower drinking age.

Middlebury College now home to Ernest Hemingway Family Collection

tetchell — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 20:32:00 +0000

Middlebury College acquires archival materials of Ernest Hemingway and the Hemingway family: “The Middlebury College Julian W. Abernethy Collection of American Literature has acquired the Ernest Hemingway and Hemingway Family Collection. The archive includes family correspondence, journals, more than 1400 original letters and 151 scans of Hemingway’s letters. The material dates from the mid-19th century to the author’s death in 1961.”

Bill McKibben appears in Leonardo DiCaprio documentary, The 11th Hour

tetchell — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:49:00 +0000

Bill McKibben appears in Leonardo DiCaprio documentary, The 11th Hour: “The 11th Hour’ is the last moment when change is possible. The film explores how we’ve arrived at this moment — how we live, how we impact the earth’s ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including Bill McKibben, scholar in residence at Middlebury College, former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey and sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau in addition to more than 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who discuss the most important issues that face our planet and people.”

Bread Loaf School of English awards 49 master’s degrees at commencement

tetchell — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 14:50:00 +0000

John Elder gives Bread Loaf School of English commencement address: “On August 11 at Middlebury’s Bread Loaf campus, the Bread Loaf School of English completed its 88th summer with commencement ceremonies, during which 49 students received master’s degrees.
The speaker at the Saturday night event — selected as always by the “seniors,” as the students who are completing their degrees call themselves — was John Elder, a long time member of both the Bread Loaf and the Middlebury College faculty. Introduced on Saturday night by Bread Loaf School of English Director Jim Maddox, Elder holds a joint appointment in English and Environmental Studies at Middlebury and his courses at Bread Loaf reflect his wide-ranging interests in both fields.”

Read John Elder’s address

Two Middlebury graduates receive Fulbright scholarships for study, work abroad

tetchell — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 18:08:00 +0000

Two Middlebury graduates receive Fulbright scholarships for study abroad: “Two recent Middlebury College graduates, Jennifer L. Higgins and Amber L. Rydberg, have received Fulbright U.S. Student Scholarships to work, study, and travel abroad in 2007-2008. … Higgins, of Rochester, N.Y., who graduated in February 2007, will travel to the Darhad Valley of Mongolia to study the traditional animal care and veterinary practices of nomadic herders. … Rydberg, from North Easton, Mass., and also a February 2007 graduate, will travel to South Korea to undertake an English teaching assistantship with local children.”

Grist.com includes Middlebury on list of greenest campuses

tetchell — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:21:00 +0000

Grist includes Middlebury on list of 15 green colleges and universities: “This Vermont college is a hotbed of climate activism. Student group MiddShift pushed the board of trustees to approve a plan to make the school carbon-neutral by 2016. Students have also led the charge to host energy-saving contests in residence halls, increase use of public transportation to and from campus, and turn down campus thermostats. A handful of students and recent alums, along with scholar-in-residence Bill McKibben, helped organize the Step It Up 2007 campaign demanding action to fight climate change, and now a Middlebury delegation has joined up with the Climate Summer campaign in New Hampshire.”

Editorial, the Burlington Free Press: The power of Green has been unleashed

tetchell — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 12:55:00 +0000

The power of Green has been unleashed | Opinion: “The race is on to see who can become the most facile in moving to carbon neutrality. Which state better to lead than Vermont? What better place to begin than our universities? Who better to lead than students? The University of Vermont has plunged ahead with its wide-ranging effort to make the campus the core of a drive toward green economics. But leaping ahead on the front to reduce carbon footprints is fleet-footed Middlebury College, not to be outdone by colleagues in Burlington.”

Getting a second life in a virtual world at Middlebury College | Addison Independent

tetchell — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:14:00 +0000

Living in a virtual world: Second Life at Middlebury | Addison Independent: “Kiyup Ingraham was all set to lead a group of Middlebury College staff and students through the virtual world of Second Life recently, when the teleportation system crashed, leaving him stranded on a dance floor in Vienna. This happens sometimes, he said. Pretty soon, they’d be up and flying again. In real life, Ingraham goes by the name Joe Antonioli and is an educational technology specialist at the college. Since last week he has been running a series of workshops to train students and tech staff in Second Life, an Internet-based virtual world where users can socialize, share digital creations and even buy and sell things for real money.”