John Schurer for SGA president 

The editorial board is proud to endorse John Schurer ’21 for SGA president. Through his work with organizations like the SGA, MCAB and ResLife (to name but a few), John has demonstrated exceptional, genuine commitment to the Middlebury community over the last three years. We are confident that he will be an excellent representative for the student body and a dependable liaison with the administration. His track record of empathetic engagement has prepared him to run a more accountable and open-minded student government.

From the moment he started at Middlebury in the fall of 2017, John not only sought to engage meaningfully with his community, but to make the college a more welcoming, work-able place for those around him. During his first year, John started the social media campaign #MeetMidd, seeking out and sharing the stories of countless classmates. Inspired by those stories, John went on to represent his peers as a class senator.

Throughout his campaign, John reiterated his commitment to active listening. Meeting with our board, he candidly admitted that he “is comfortable not having all the answers.” We trust that he will exercise a similar humility as president. On that note, we sincerely hope that he considers integrating core pillars of his contenders’ platforms into his own.  As each led distinct, innovative campaigns in their own right, all three of these candidates only stand to gain by engaging with the ideas and initiatives proposed by their competitors. 

Unlike many previous presidential races, this year’s endorsement was not simple. Members of the board expressed enthusiasm for all three contenders. To that end, we commend the passionate canadacies of Arthur Martins ’22.5 and Myles Maxie ’22. Both demonstrate bold, unyielding visions for equitable change within an organization that is regarded by many as inefficient and inaccessible. Where Arthur places a much-needed emphasis on coalition building, particularly in regard to his advocacy for mental health support and the international student community, Myles urges institutional structures at Middlebury to remain self-critical, identifying transparency and collaboration as areas in which there will always be room for improvement. They would both make terrific SGA members — or presidents — in years to come. 

John has proven to have strong relationships with many administors. As the college continues to navigate a profoundly confusing and complicated time, we believe it is important for the next SGA president to hit the ground running come fall.  John’s wealth of institutional knowledge and familiarity with internal processes give him the necessary skills to work alongside administrators during this time. We hope that in moments when student voices merit particular recognition, John will leverage his established relationships to vouch for them.  

We trust that John’s extensive background working with and inside the SGA will not prevent him from taking hard stances on difficult or controversial issues. He has proven himself to be patient, diplomatic and mature.  We encourage him to be decisive when and where needed. 

Throughout his time at Middlebury, John has made repeated, wholehearted efforts to get to know each and every one of us. As he has shown through the  production of Moth-Up and the founding of #MeetMidd, John cares deeply about Middlebury’s stories. We can think of no candidate more qualified to value and tell our stories as SGA president.

This editorial represents the opinions of the Middlebury Campus’s editorial board.