MiddBriefs

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Gargeya, Stephens, Nardini win SGA elections

In the Student Government Association (SGA) elections held last week, Ashwin Gargeya '08 took the Junior Half-Year Senator position, Emily Stephens '10.5 became the Feb Senator and Max Nardini '08 was elected Wonnacott Commons Senator.

According to Gargeya, the new Junior Half-Year Senator, "small changes...will let the school truly be a reflection of us."

Stephens pledged to focus on "defining common goals, building group unity, and forging an identityÖ [within] the Middlebury community."

Nardini, who represented the Class of 2008 as a Senator last year, promised to lobby for a carbon-neutral campus, to continue Public Safety's "blue light" initiative and to make student opinions and priorities heard in SGA policy.

The SGA said it would release final vote tallies later this week.



Feminist group unhappy with blue light initiative

Feminist Action at Middlebury (FAM) is dissatisfied with the College's proposed program to increase the number of blue lights, emergency phones and lighting on certain paths on campus, according to some group members. Elizabeth Lyon '07, a participant in the dialogue concerning the Public Safety initiative and a member of FAM, expressed optimism about the College's plans but remained upset with the speed at which they are being implemented.

"It is still not clear to me," said Lyon, "why it has taken so long for [the administration] to demonstrate [its] concern for the safety of our students."

Lyon also questioned the value of a program that may be aiming in the wrong direction, suggesting that the Public Safety initiative requires a larger scope.

"Most violence and sexual assault does not happen on unlit paths," she said. "It happens in dorm rooms."

FAM would like to see more money allocated to safety education, which would head off safety threats before they occur and preclude the need for emergency phones, according to Lyon.


Administration reaches Strategic Plan targets

According to a report drafted this month by Dean of Planning John Emerson, the College administration has made progress regarding the objectives stipulated in its Strategic Plan, Knowledge Without Boundaries.

To lure top applicants, the Office of Admissions has implemented a new academic rating system and introduced a policy of reduced loan expectations for Early Decision students, according to Emerson.

A new Chinese graduate program will be introduced this summer, and Middlebury's new language school in Arabic will open this September in Alexandria, Egypt. To promote student unity and to attract influential speakers, a college-wide convocation series is scheduled for March 3rd with Rwandan hero, Paul Rusesabagina, as its star orator.

To ease transportation difficulties for staff members, the college has assisted Addicson County Transit Resources (ACTR) in creating a new bus route between Middlebury, Brandon and Rutland.