Editorial - 4/14/11

Rumors often circulate during the mid-months of Spring regarding big events coming to the College. Last week, Old Chapel finally announced our 2011 Commencement speaker will be National Ski and Paralympic Hall of Famer Chris Waddell ’91. The jury is, however, still out on the identity of this term’s headlining concert.

We are enthusiastic about having both a Middlebury alum and such an accomplished athlete and humanitarian speaking at this year’s Commencement, but unfortunately for many, the utility of the speaker often depends on the familiarity of the name. The long wait for the Commencement speaker announcement and the lukewarm response from the student body beg the questions of how exactly our guests are chosen and whether or not students have a voice in the process. An April 8 email from Dean of Planning and Assessment Susan Campbell calling for nominations for the 2012

Commencement speaker and honorary degree recipients suggests that students can certainly contribute to the process; however, the selection of the honorary degree recipients and Commencement speaker ultimately boils down to the decisions of the selection committee and the simple fact of scheduling conflicts with many potential recipients.

In terms of musical guests, the students of MCAB manage the process, and they are very receptive to input from the wider student body. Similar to the process for choosing a Commencement speaker, however, finding an act for the spring concert is contingent on several variables, and so far this spring exogenous, unfortunate occurrences have stunted the process. More schedule conflicts and guests backing out unexpectedly further complicate an already precarious balance between budget limitations and student desires. Unlike the Commencement speaker selection process, we think attracting a performer for the spring concert has a little wiggle room for improvement.

College policy mandates that musical acts can only come on a weekend night. Our NESCAC neighbors often host concerts on weeknights, though, which may help draw in a more diverse array of performers. Although our school should be a great environment for a musical guest, our geographic location does not make us an ideal spot for a band on their biggest performance nights.

Additionally, the number of concerts greatly affects the musical milieu on campus. We appreciated MCAB’s efforts to gauge student preference for one large concert or several small concerts in their survey this fall, but we would also appreciate knowing which route MCAB plans to take at the beginning of any given semester. We absolutely recognize that the difficulties inherent to bringing a performer to campus have little to do with how well MCAB does its job, but keeping students in the loop throughout the process might garner helpful feedback as to other bands to invite or whether forgoing a big name concert for a series of unsigned artists might suit the campus climate better.

Even if MCAB does not solicit student opinion outright, they always seem to welcome it. We must sound the familiar call of the Campus editorial in urging students to speak up and voice their opinions regarding MCAB choices, and in the case of the Commencement speaker and honorary degree recipients, we encourage students to add their two cents where they can, whatever effect it may have.

People will always resurrect the perennial debate over big names versus quality speakers. Some will vehemently argue for famous acts while others will tout smaller acts that deliver a great performance. Whomever Old Chapel or MCAB successfully draw to campus, we could all stand to suspend our judgment until after they speak or perform, and certainly we can remember that the first step to a great event is just to show up.