Social life task force convenes

Author: Lisie Mehlman

In response to student vocalization of discontent with social life on campus, the administration has developed the Social Life Task Force. An amalgamation of students with different interests selected to represent the diverse College community, the Task Force held its first meeting in Forest Hall last Friday afternoon, gathering to discuss the ostensible decline of Middlebury's social life.

Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson and Dean of the College Tim Spears facilitated the first meeting but plan on attending only a few more sessions before handing over full control of the Task Force to its student members. They stressed that the Task Force should be student-driven and that they were involved only to provide support. They also informed the students that their ultimate goal is to present a series of recommendations to the administration regarding ways in which they can foster an improved social life on campus.

When asked about the impetus for the creation of such a Task Force, Hanson said, "We have heard a lot this year from students about the lack of a satisfying social life on campus. Students have the creativity, the ideas and the energy to change social life. We started the task force in order to facilitate their efforts and help improve social life."

Marco Casas '07, a member of the Task Force, said, "Coming back from my semester abroad I noticed that social life in Middlebury had deteriorated dramatically. I am a person who loves doing his homework but also likes to foment social interaction. So, I felt inclined to put an end to this crisis." His displeasure, which compelled him to join the committee, was echoed by many other students in attendance at the meeting. Other Task Force members cited the over-under 21 age divide as a problem they sought to alleviate. Still others hoped to develop social activities on campus that were not so heavily alcohol-oriented. Most students called for the creation of alternatives and a wider variety of events offered on campus.

Hanson believes that the real goal of the Task Force is "to identify what students want for social life and help them identify barriers to establishing that social life. We want to help them remove those barriers. We also want students to expand their definitions of social life. Is social life only parties with alcohol on Friday and Saturday night or are their other activities and events that students enjoy?" During the meeting, Hanson explained that she had noted a change in the College's social life and she attributed it at least partially to the fact that there is not a lot of student energy - in terms of organizing events - put forth. She noted that there are a lot of people on this campus who sit back and wait for someone else to organize things for them.

While it is true that the number of registered parties has been on the decline, many of the students perceived the root of this problem as lying someplace altogether different. Students in attendance voiced that the stricter enforcement of state liquor laws and the increased presence of members of the Middlebury Police Department made it difficult to participate in social activities on campus. Casas claimed that one of his primary goals in serving on the Task Force was to assure students "that every weekend there will be a cool activity for them to engage in without being harassed by the Middlebury police."

Interestingly, once a discussion of current issues and future goals got past the usual topics of the liquor laws and their effect of driving social life off campus, the student representatives began to discuss why exactly alcohol lies at the heart of what are perceived as social events. Some students explained this phenomenon with the good old "work hard, play hard" motto to which so many Midd kids subscribe.

The meeting members then began to talk about how difficult socialization was for so many students on campus, and the idea that alcohol is necessary to facilitate social interactions was discussed in some depth.

From here, members played with the idea that after freshman orientation, students never really get a chance to forge bonds with their classmates that are not in their direct social circles. Casas addressed this notion, saying, "Like in every community, social life in Middlebury is subdivided into different groups. That is quite natural to me. The problem is that Midd kids get sucked into their little groups and quickly lose their interest and initiative to interact with other groups outside of their own. That causes activities - like the McCullough Dance Parties, Social House Parties, etc. - to be aimed at certain groups only thus becoming monotonous and repetitive with time. I've noticed that most Middlebury students lack the self-confidence to leave their preconceptions behind and remember that they came to college alone."

The Task Force came up with a hefty list of goals for itself. But what challenges lie ahead as they proceed with brainstorming creative and feasible solutions to the problems currently plaguing campus social life? Hanson believes that these might lie in the fact that "we still have to work within local ordinances and the law, and we are half way through spring semester, which will challenge the group to finish by the end of the term."

Casas, however, believes that "the group's goals can certainly be met. We met with a solid and diverse group of students who seem ready to voice their opinions. Everything should be fine as long as the administration keeps up the willingness to enhance the Midd experience shown during our first meeting."

Still, with the growing trend of social events being planned and thrown by the Commons. It remains to be seen whether the efforts of this Task Force will be fruitful or whether they will have been made in vain.