It is only two weeks into Winter Term, and JusTalks has once again hit the ground running. Between their keynote speaker, Robin DiAngelo, and their main event, which drew over 100 first-years in its third year running, many members of the Middlebury community were able to dive headlong into important discussions around identity and community. Yet beyond the personal value these discussions had for students — which testimony shows is significant — there is also broader, less-talked-about value for the campus as a whole in having students reflect on how they want to engage with and better understand their peers.
We on the Editorial Board have written about numerous challenges we face as a campus community, including our lack of inclusivity, our at times damaging party culture, and our ongoing struggle against sexual assault, among others. What all of these challenges have in common is that they do not have rubber-stamped solutions. They require dialogue and student involvement — and not just among the 100 or so first-years who volunteer to participate. In order to make change we need everyone, and that is why we at the Campus believe that JusTalks should be mandatory — taking the form of an ongoing discussion that is woven into the first-year experience.
So what does that look like in practice? This fall, four First Year Seminars had required JusTalks discussion sections. Two trained JusTalks facilitators met once a week with each of these classes and created space for important conversations around identity and life at Middlebury. Professors counted attendance and engagement as part of the participation grade. Based on the success of this pilot and the third annual J-Term event, six of the seven seminars this spring for incoming Febs will have have a JusTalks discussion section. We applaud this progress and hope that professors and college administrators will consider including JusTalks in each of the 40 freshmen seminars in the fall of 2015.
JusTalks is an organization that focuses on engaging in dialogue about matters of identity, race, gender, sexual orientation, class, ability and religion. While events like Midd Uncensored during orientation focus on what we are bringing to Middlebury, JusTalks focuses on the Middlebury experience and how that intersects with the experiences we have had elsewhere in our lives. As we move through our first few months on on campus, it is important to intentionally take a step back, reflect and engage in conversations about the issues we have seen on campus and think about how we can work together to make Middlebury a stronger community that works for everyone.
Some students come into these conversations ready to roll. They have the language, are constantly thinking about their identities and they know the ropes — whether this is because they have wanted to engage with these issues or because some aspect of their identity has left them with no choice but to constantly engage. Others, however, may have come from communities that fit the Middlebury norm and that did not require them to engage with these questions. These students may not choose to come to the larger JusTalks event in J-Term, but by having mandatory discussions throughout their first semester, they would have an opportunity to learn, engage and embrace the discomfort that comes with these discussions in a safe space, setting the tone for more thoughtful community-building over the next three years.
The argument to expand JusTalks is not a new one. After its first year, key members of JusTalks have led multiple efforts to emphasize the importance of the program and its benefits for the college community. Yearly increases in attendance of the January event and the growing JusTalks affiliation with our First Year Seminars are clear signs that the College recognizes the value of the program. In an Op-Ed last February, outgoing Dean of the College Shirley Collado discussed whether the JusTalks event should be mandatory for students and whether a mandatory event changes the nature of the discussions. As a Board, we believe the benefits outweigh the costs of making JusTalks a mandatory part of the Middlebury for first-years. While there has been great attendance at the JusTalks discussions of the past several years, we ought to have students who might not necessarily engage on issues of race, privilege and identity of their own accord attend JusTalks, too. In fact, the impact of the discussions might be greatest on the students who have not yet thoroughly reflected on what it means to be a member of this community.
Some professors have identified challenges with making JusTalks a mandatory part of the first year experience; however, none are insurmountable, and we hope to address a few of them here. First, while it may seem like more work for professors, experience has shown that the JusTalks facilitators are more than capable of running their discussions independently. The degree to which a professors choose to engage with the program is entirely up to them.
Second is the issue of time. Many students complain about the punishing schedule of the semester, and adding another mandatory commitment is certainly not something we take lightly. Once again, however, the benefits of JusTalks outweigh the costs. Taking one hour each week to explore the complex issues of identity is well worth it and will pay off as a long-term investment for the community.
The third issue is related to the curriculum. Many liberal arts purists object to the program’s ostensible lack of academic merit, especially if they are required to factor students’ participation in JusTalks into their final grade. Instead of factoring into a student’s grade, we suggest that JusTalks attendance would be considered a non-academic requirement that is tied to one’s second PE credit — the credit would only be validated upon completion of the semester.
One further consideration is that there are students on this campus who are marginalized for non-traditional reasons that might feel unwelcome at JusTalks. It is no secret that students with religious or conservative viewpoints are often silenced on this campus. Many of these students would likely forgo participating in discussions on hot-button topics at the risk of being vilified. In order for JusTalks discussions to be a safe place for truly all voices within the Middlebury community, the programming be mindful of the diversity of opinions at all ends of the spectrum on this campus.
Having taken all of these factors into consideration, we as a Board support the JusTalks coordinators’ vision of a permanent, mandatory JusTalks union with the First Year Seminars. Years of successful programming and student initiative have proven that this concept has staying-power, especially as it continues to bring new and younger students into its leadership. It is a powerful and meaningful program that is run by students and for students — exactly the kind of initiative that the College should be supporting. This is a critical moment for JusTalks, and we call on the administration to take this opportunity and help amplify the already significant impact that this organization has had on our campus.
Artwork by VAASU TANEJA
