Hunt Responds to Study Abroad Decision

Author: Ginny Hunt

The foundation of our community stands equally on respect, trust and communication. At the December faculty meeting, the faculty Educational Affairs Committee (EAC) and the faculty body as a whole abandoned each of these principles during the discussion of study abroad grades.
Prior to the faculty meeting, the EAC met with student representatives to discuss the substance of the plan they were to endorse at the meeting. Based upon those discussions, the Student Government Association endorsed the EAC proposal, trusting in the word of the EAC, confident in the strength of student-faculty bond. When the EAC learned in the hours before the meeting that their proposal was to be challenged, no effort was made to contact students or to solicit any student input whatsoever. The faculty made their decision in a vacuum.
The foundation of the student and faculty relationship was not cracked by student indifference or inaction as some have suggested, but rather by a blatant disregard for the mutual trust that has long bound our community together. Although the faculty is not formally bound and compelled to consult the student body, it seems that on a campus like ours, where we value the insights and opinions of all segments of the community, they clearly should. For this reason, a student committee meets and works in conjunction with a faculty committee to make curriculum recommendations.
Students realize the importance of the faculty/student relationship and are committed to its enduring place in our community. We must not be indignant or angry. Instead, we all must ask, "How do we fix that which is now broken?"
Study abroad has the potential to be transformed on a solid foundation, while continuing to maintain its place as one of Middlebury's peaks of excellence. The first step is to open the lines of communication once again. Second, as a gesture of good faith and an affirmation by the faculty of their belief in the student-faculty bond, the faculty should reconsider the inclusion of study abroad grades, working to ensure that the full force of the student voice is heard.
In the months to come, study abroad is an issue that will continue to be important and contentious. The student body is ready to move on a foundation of respect, cooperation, and progress. We hope the faculty chooses the same.

Ginny Hunt is president of the Student Government Association.