Middlebury College has always been at the forefront of liberal arts academia, continually raising the bar of excellence for similar institutions to follow. To keep this beautiful place at a superior level, administrators need to change it to meet the demands of prospective students. In the four years I have been here, a new library, two dorms and a dining hall have opened. Social houses play less of a role in weekend festivities. And departments have changed faculty and staff to better the academic environment. Midd has certainly been a growing, evolving, ever-changing system. But these changes are merely modifications to the well-grounded structure of a small, liberal arts college.
As Midd changes, we all need to remind ourselves of this structure and what Middlebury will always be - a rural top tier institution with a small student body.
To the faculty and administrative staff: proactively make yourself available to students. Encourage students to stop by your office. Make replying to their emails a top priority. Take a sincere interest in what students do on campus. This is what students expect when they go to a small college like Middlebury.
To the student body: don't expect a social paradise. Party when and how you want to, but don't realistically think a keg should be available every weekday or even every weekend night. Hope for the occasional Rugby or Ski Patrol party, but don't cry to the administration when you can't find a campus-wide alcohol-friendly event on a Friday night. We go to Middlebury, not Florida State.
We're not some ivy league school where professors are distant and exclusive, and we're not some big state school where parties rage every night of the week. We're Middlebury. Now, we shouldn't necessarily let this prohibit us from making changes that better our college community. But, when we make these changes we should always keep in mind what this school means to us.
Did we really apply to Midd because we thought we would be partying every night? I cannot speak for everyone, but I assume that that most of us applied because we wanted the academic attention, access to Vermont's outdoors, and the ability to interact with an outgoing student body.
As we continue to make changes to this place, let us not forget what it truly is to us.
Written by Opinions Editor JAKE KUIPERS
