Editorial Rallying Behind J-Term

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The students have spoken.

As the faculty launches its review of Winter Term, a commanding majority of respondents to The Middlebury Campus' poll expressed support for the one-month, one-course interlude between the fall and spring semesters.

Ninety seven percent said Winter Term should be preserved. An additional 77 percent ranked it integral to the Middlebury experience.

The statistics amount to nothing less than a "save J-Term" consensus in the student body. The editorial board of The Campus now joins this chorus of support for Winter Term, which we consider a hallmark of the curriculum.

The faculty is wise to periodically reassess Winter Term's role in the academic calendar. The goal, however, should be to strengthen the Middlebury tradition - not to eliminate it.

Winter Term is part and parcel of Middlebury's vision for higher education. The College's curriculum -steeped in the liberal arts - aims to combine depth and breadth of academic experience.

Winter Term can inspire both. Unfettered by the competing pressures of the regular semester, students channel their energy into a discipline of their choice, be it in their specialty or the farthest thing from it.

Physics majors may take a leap of faith and enroll in a dance class, stretching their academic horizons. Senior English majors, on the other hand, are obligated to sign up for senior comprehensive examinations to consolidate the knowledge they've already acquired in the field.

To borrow words from the College Catalog: "This intensely concentrated term allows students to gain great efficiency in learning as they study a single technique, problem or body of material."

When we asked alumni reflect on their Winter Term experiences, personal narratives poured in. Their fond memories powerfully confirm Winter Term's role in the Middlebury experience. For some, it was the single most memorable part of their college careers.

There's no denying that Winter Term also enlivens the otherwise dark, frigid month of January in Vermont. Activities ranging from skiing to snow shoeing to ice climbing lure students outdoors to take advantage of all the region's recreational offerings. The Winter Term course schedule thankfully enables this engagement with the outdoors in a way the traditional, four-course semester never could.

With a united voice, students and alumni alike rally behind Winter Term.

As The Campus probes Winter Term in its news coverage, the editorial board will continue to comment on key areas of concern: Will the Febs become Jans? What will become of the intensive Winter Term classes that are a staple of foreign language program?

For now, we ask the faculty to acknowledge student and alumni support for Winter Term by striving to strengthen the January tradition, not devise alternatives that bypass it.