Midd Briefs Abatements of Smoke and Noise, No Such Luck for Fundraising

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Smoking Ban?

by Andrea Gissing

Students for a Smoke-Free Middlebury (SFASFM) held its first open discussion forum Monday night in the lounge in Pearsons Hall. The new organization, which was formed on Sept. 26, is working with Mariah McKechnie, residential systems coordinator, to address smoking at Middlebury College, especially pertaining to the effect smoking has on non-smokers on campus.
SFASFM is in the process of creating a proposal to address smoking at Middlebury which it hopes to present to the Student Government Association sometime in late November. At present, SFASFM has seven goals on which they look to base their proposal: Prohibiting the use of tobacco in College dorms, prohibiting the acceptance of donations from the tobacco industry and providing and advertising for free, accessible treatment for people wishing to quit smoking.
Monday night's forum was a chance for SFASFM to present its ideas to the College community and to receive input from students. Despite the fact that the forum was not widely-publicized until Monday , people from both sides of the issue came to discuss the initiative being worked on. It was made clear that the goal of SFASFM was not to convert smokers, but to make it easier for non-smokers on campus to avoid cigarette smoke.
Questions arose regarding whether SFASFM was trying to eliminate cigarettes from campus. "I don't want to have to walk downtown to the bridge to smoke and then walk up to Bicentennial Hall for my lab," commented Alexander Gaston '05.
Smoking areas were debated at the forum, from residence hall designations and establishing a smoke-free zone around buildings to creating smoking huts for inclement weather. "This will be more of a cultural change for people than anything," said McKechnie, regarding the possible changes. "It'll take time for it to take affect and it will take time for people to know what's going on."
SFASFM is planning more open forums this semester so it can continue to develop its proposal before presenting it to the SGA and the Community Council. If the initiative passes, as with any Handbook change, decisions made would not take effect until the next school term.
"I think the forum was great," said Jonathan Wang '05. "We had people representing both sides of the issue and everyone was willing to help."

Atwater Noise

by Nicholas Emery

Many students are having difficulty sleeping past 7 a.m. in Allen Hall, Coffrin Hall and Le Chateau because of early morning construction noise from the new Atwater dormitories and dining hall sites.
According to Dean of Atwater Commons Scott Barnicle, the contract that the construction company has with Middlebury College states that they are not allowed to start construction until 7 a.m. However, during the first week of construction, workers started even earlier, prompting students living in Allen and Coffrin to complain to Barnicle. These students also circulated a petition and submitted it to President McCardell.
Barnicle acted on these complaints, and now the workers adhere to their 7 a.m. starting time. But many sleep-deprived students say this is still too early. Most students' sleeping patterns do not coincide with a 7 a.m. wake-up, and Atwater residents claim that they have been suffering as a result.
"It wakes me up every morning," said Matt Engler '06. He added that the blasting knocked out the electrical outlets on the first floor of Allen. Students report hearing heavy equipment driving with metal tread over rocks and asphalt, loud engines and what appears to be drilling. Barnicle, who offered residents earplugs and window reinforcement, believes the early construction and the resulting noise is "disruptive to student studying and lifestyle." Many sleepy students would surely agree.

Fundraising Challenge

by Pierce Graham-Jones

An anonymous donor has challenged Middlebury College and the Middlebury College Board of Trustees to raise $30 million in new gifts by the end of the school year.
If they meet the challenge, the donor will contribute another $10 million. The result could be $40 million in new money by 2005, a welcome surprise after the recent national recession.
However, the challenge is not without stipulation. All the gifts included in the $30 million must specifically fund one of Middlebury's top current projects (the new library project, the Atwater Commons project or the financial aid fund) or must alleviate the budget. Further, the new gifts must be paid in full by 2005.
The responsibilities for raising the money will lie equally upon the trustees and President John McCardell.
The donor requires the Trustees to contribute $15 million and McCardell to lead the solicitation of the other $15 million as new gifts.
The College is excited to face this challenge. Not only will the $10 million help tremendously if the challenge is met, but the challenge itself will provide a great goal for givers to work towards.