op-ed A decision from the top down

Author: Max Nardini

The administration recently announced that, effective spring semester 2009, Winter Carnival will be shortened to a two-day event. Then, later in the spring, there will be no classes on the day of the Student Research Symposium. This change was made without substantial input from the student body and strikes a major blow to one of Middlebury's most established traditions.

The College's Winter Carnival is the oldest and largest student-run carnival in the country. Midd-kids greatly appreciate this three-day celebration, coming in the middle of a long, cold winter. Whether cheering on our first-class ski team at the Bowl or just playing in the snow, Carnival weekend is a time to unwind and have fun.

Certain administrators, however, argue that attendance at Winter Carnival events (most notably, the ski races) has dropped significantly in recent years. Thus, they continue, there is little harm in eliminating the Friday off. In my experience, Winter Carnival spirit abounds right from the start. Still, if the administration has a point, we should be brainstorming how best to reinvigorate Winter Carnival weekend, not truncating it.

There is also talk of moving the ski races from Friday-Saturday to Saturday-Sunday to allow students with Friday classes to attend. However, if there has already been a decrease in spectators to Carnival races, doubtless holding them on a Sunday will only exacerbate this problem.

Furthermore, no long weekend means (obviously) no Thursday night dance party. For the past three years, I have been one in waves of spandex-clad students flowing into McCullough to '80s it up with Orange Crush. This event is almost as popular as the Saturday Ball itself. Moving this concert to Friday night would be no panacea. With Carnival weekend so compressed, students may "burn out" on Friday, and be less likely to attend the (always spectacular) Ball on Saturday.

I wish that I had had the opportunity to raise these concerns with the administration. However, despite the fact that I have been in the Student Government for three years, the first I heard of this calendar change was two weeks ago - long after the decision had been made. Indeed, the Calendar Committee, which ultimately recommended the change to President Liebowitz and the Board of Trustees, did not include any student representatives. Furthermore, no one is fooled by the claim that students had ample time to respond to this calendar change, as it was mentioned in the Strategic Plan. When members of the administration want to hear student perspectives on an issue, they hold open forums specifically on that issue. They ask the SGA Senators to e-mail their constituents. They post on their blogs. They do not merely tuck the proposed change into the Strategic Plan, which, at last count, numbered 111 pages.

Lest anyone think otherwise, in my opinion an all day Student Research Symposium is a fantastic idea. I attended last year's symposium and was very impressed by the work of fellow students. I also agree that if the event were held on a day with no classes, it is likely that more students would be able to attend. However, it is not necessary to steal a day from Winter Carnival. Holding the symposium on a Saturday or Sunday would be just as effective. After all, students who would attend on a Friday off would attend on a weekend date. Put more cynically, students who would not attend on a Saturday or Sunday would probably not eschew a three-day weekend to attend on an otherwise free Friday. In fact, the Symposium is harmed by this calendar change, which turns an otherwise excellent event into something to be rebelled against.

In a previous issue of The Campus, James O'Brien submitted an op-ed entitled "Hey Administration! Lieb our Beirut Tables Alone." This article, while hysterical, does not, in my experience, adequately sum up "the administration." For one, the members of the administration rarely, if ever, wear powdered wigs. Second, the administration is not an amorphous power that seeks only to interfere with student affairs. On the contrary, Middlebury administrators work tirelessly for the betterment of the College community. This calendar change was not made out of malice. It was made in support of a superb event that showcases student achievement. However, in this instance, the administration did not seriously take student opinion into account when making this decision. Had they, they would have seen results like those in the recent Campus poll, which indicates that only 3 percent of students support the change.

Devotees of Winter Carnival should not yet lose hope. Recognizing student opposition, President Liebowitz and other administrators are eager to explore alternatives that will allow us to keep Winter Carnival intact. Those interested in restoring Carnival weekend to its fullest must continue to make their voices heard, either by e-mailing their SGA representatives or President Liebowitz himself. The calendar for 2008-9 may already have been determined, but the calendars for 2009-10 and beyond are not yet set.

At Middlebury, we are lucky to have administrators who are so dedicated to making our experience meaningful. For the most part, these administrators really do want to hear what the students have to say. Therefore, it is our responsibility to let them know that in their haste to innovate, they have crippled one of Middlebury's most prominent traditions. We must remind the administration that as Middlebury looks to the future, globally, we should not forget about the present, locally.

SGA President Max Nardini '08 is a Political Science major from New York, N.Y.