op-ed False assumptions cause unwarranted controversy

Author: Alpheus Chan

The op-ed written by Jordan Nassar last week regarding the pending closure of The Mill is one of the worst-researched, error-filled, most assumptive pieces of literature I have ever read. Hopefully such poor research habits do not translate to his academic pursuits.

Let me debunk several of the myths fabricated by Nassar. First of all, although fire violations are individual violations, seven of nine rooms in The Mill had their smoke detectors removed, dismantled or disabled, not four of nine. Other fire violations included candles, incense and objects hung from the sprinkler heads for a total of 19 violations house-wide. Furthermore, nine of these violations are considered serious by the College. According to Doug Adams, the College administration considers fire safety to be of the utmost importance for dorms (social houses included) over other violations like underage drinking or alcohol abuse in general.

When Delta became a non-residential organization last year, it was also an individual issue. Organizations such as social houses are comprised of individual members, and should hold their members accountable for their actions. If Delta were punished for the actions of one of its members, 19 fire violations within The Mill definitely make the organization accountable for their actions. In the Delta case, the IHC voted for probation, but the Community Council ultimately decided that Delta should become non-residential. The IHC deemed that the case of The Mill is as severe as Delta, and therefore merits a comparable punishment. A less severe suggested punishment will not only likely get overridden by the Community Council, but the legitimacy of the IHC will once again be questioned.

However, the biggest problem I have with Nassar's article is how loosely he throws the race or homophobic card around. How one connects a fire burning a hole in the floor to the IHC hating international students and homosexuals is beyond me. The culture referenced by the IHC does not refer to anything having to do with ethnicity or sexual preference. Instead, it refers to the blatant disregard of the College's fire safety policies embraced by the majority of the residential members of The Mill.

Nassar makes it sound like The Mill is the only organization on campus that accepts international students, minorities and homosexuals. However, as an international student on campus, I have never been denied opportunities to participate in activities or join any of the College's organizations. Furthermore, as a member of Omega Alpha, I have found that the organization prides itself on the diversity that exists within the house. It is an organization with an eclectic mix of people with diverse interests.

Finally, as to Nassar's accusation that the IHC wants to dissolve The Mill, that is the farthest thing from the truth. As a member of a social house and the IHC, wiping out a social house serves no purpose to my own social house or the IHC. It is, in fact, detrimental to the social house system as a whole at Middlebury College. The IHC strives to promote the growth of social houses and for the continuation of their presence on campus. Eliminating a social house takes us further away from that goal. At the same time, the IHC is a self-governing body and needs to fulfill its judicial functions as fairly as possible. If the IHC does not do its job properly, the organization will lose its legitimacy and the Community Council and the administration may take its self-governing power away. Is that the best way to promote the social house system?

Delta has proven that if the members of a social house are dedicated enough and willing to put in the effort, a social house can be revitalized and restored, bringing its membership even closer. Instead of letting the administration wipe out The Mill altogether, the IHC wants The Mill to reinvent itself and continue to serve as a community that accepts any and all students, regardless of race, color, creed or sexual preference, for many years to come.

Alpheus Chan '08 is from Vancouver, B.C. and is a member of Omega Alpha.