Letter to the Board of Trustees

Two weeks ago, the Campus published an editorial titled “Disrupt the Finance Pipeline.” We have received a great deal of support from members of Middlebury community with whom the editorial resonated. The piece discussed the tendency of driven students to gravitate blindly toward the financial sector, often captivated – for good or for ill - by the prospect of monetary stability. To a certain extent, it is a student’s own responsibility to reflect upon the reasoning behind his or her aspirations. But purposeful, motivated students with ambitions that do not align with the financial sector deserve to be met halfway. Thankfully, there are many remarkable resources affiliated with this college. One such resource is our accomplished Board of Trustees. Accordingly, the editorial board would like to call upon the Board of Trustees to aid students in their search for post-graduate work outside the financial industry.

During her inaugural address this past weekend, Laurie Patton called for members of the Middlebury community to “be bigger in [their] aspirations and yet also to be smaller and linked to a larger cause.” Many Middlebury students fit the laudable description – wildly ambitious yet deeply focused – and such students would benefit enormously from the experience, input and influence of the Trustees. Middlebury has deliberately cultivated a student body with a diverse array of interests and talents. Accordingly, the Middlebury community ought to be able to facilitate an equally diverse array of post - graduate endeavors. We readily acknowledge that the prevalence of the financial sector is a systemic phenomenon, and to suppose that a single action can negate this prevalence would be naïve. But support from the Trustees would constitute an tremendously productive step in the right direction. Therefore, we ask the Trustees for assistance in disrupting the proverbial “finance pipeline.” We are sure that grateful, qualified and eager students would answer the call.