middbriefs

Author: Bryant Cobb

Library sells books to community members

From Nov. 12 to Nov. 19, the New Library hosted a book sale. All of the books sold were either books that had been withdrawn from the selves to make room for newer editions or were duplicates of books that the library already has.

On the first day of the book sale, books were available for purchase only for members of the Middlebury community. Later, the sale was opened to the general public. By the end of the week, any unwanted books were given away for free. Books that were not sold or given away were then recycled at the end of the sale.

Joseph Watson, preservation and processing manager and organizer of the book sale, said that the library gave away the remaining books for free at the end of the week because "we wanted to ensure that books were given away so that they could be reused instead of recycled." Watson went on to say that a very small percentage of books were ultimately not either sold or given away.

The proceeds from the sale go into the library's materials fund, which is used to purchase new books for the library. Watson said that he does not know when the next book sale will be but stated that usually the library holds one or two sales per year.


Debate society to host first in political debates

This week, the Parliamentary Debate Society will be moderating the first in a series of debates between the College Democrats and the College Republicans. All three organizations hope to begin to have monthly debates that focus specifically on the issues that will be addressed during the primaries this winter and the general election campaigns next fall.

This week's debate will focus on the federal government's role in education and is to be held in The Grille. The exact date and time of the debate was still being worked out at press time. Democrats and Republicans will debate over what should be done about No Child Left Behind, what changes, if any, are needed to current affirmative action policies and how teachers should be compensated. The debate will last approximately an hour with the time equally divided between the three aforementioned subjects.

Both sides are anxious to begin debating. "I feel as though they will be a fantastic way to present and discuss various viewpoints on policy issues, like education and the economy, that are currently shaping American politics," said College Democrats President Emily Gullickson '10.


Summer professor gets German political honor

Karl Obrath, a professor of German at Middlebury's summer language schools, received the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany from President of Germany Horst Kohler.

Obrath received the award for his work in "advancing German culture and literature beyond the borders of Germany." Specifically, the award recognizes Obrath's almost 40 years of work in the classroom. The award presented to Obrath, the Bundesverdienstkreuz, is considered one of the highest honors that can be given to a person who is not a citizen of Germany.

Obrath formally received the award on Nov. 8 from the German general consul of Chicago, Wolfgang Drautz. Obrath is currently the associate director of the German language school at Middlebury and has been teaching at the language school since 1980. This summer, Obrath plans to return to Middlebury once again to teach undergraduate level courses in German.