The annual Spring Student Symposium kicks off tomorrow with a myriad of presentations running all day in McCardell Bicentennial Hall. Since the symposium’s inception in 2007, participation has skyrocketed — 220 students are scheduled to showcase their work this spring. “Conducting a significant research project, developing an original piece of creative work or pursuing another form of other independent inquiry gives students the chance to put into practice what they have learned about their chosen fields of study,” say Pat Manley and Karen Guttentag, co-chairs of the program committee. “The symposium is a celebration of this process throughout the Middlebury experience, from students’ first-year explorations to their capstone senior work. It provides an opportunity for faculty, staff and students to come together to enjoy the fruits of Middlebury’s core mission: knowledge without boundaries.” Here, The Campus highlights some of tomorrow’s interesting presentations.
Restorative Justice at Middlebury College
Clayton Paschke ’13, Matthew George ’12, Dana Callahan ’13, Ben Manger ’11
Paschke, George, Callahan and Manger joined forces to research systems of restorative justice and their use in academia.
“Restorative justice,” wrote Paschke in an e-mail, “is an alternative judicial system in which all stakeholders affected — victims, offenders and communities — come together in the wake of a violation or crime in order to heal the harm done.”
Restorative justice is a collaborative process that, instead of “focus[ing] solely on punishing offenders, instead integrates victim needs.” It’s also immensely effective: “restorative Justice processes have been consistently found to reduce recidivism by 20-30 percent,” wrote Paschke.
Processes of restorative justice have been put to work in public schools nationwide, and Paschke, George, Callahan and Manger explore whether such systems might be implemented at Middlebury. “Currently, we feel that the Middlebury College judicial process falls closer on the retributive end of the continuum — in other words, we need to make the process more wholesome and restorative.” For the student researchers, the symposium provides an initial forum in which to expose the college community to ideas of restorative justice and make a case for its implementation at Middlebury.
Our ultimate goal in presenting is to spread our message,” said Paschke. “We need to mobilize students and faculty to inspire real, tangible, and necessary change. The success [of restorative justice] has been witnessed on many American college campuses, including CU-Boulder, which has an awe-inspiring 99-percent satisfaction rating among students, faculty, staff, and local residents. If they can do it, why can’t we?”
“Restorative Justice at Middlebury College” will be held 2:30-2:45 p.m. on Friday, April 16 in MBH 216.
Dialogues of Tradition and Nationality in the Legal Systems of Cameroon’s Muslim North
Eleanor Johnstone ’10
Johnstone’s research stems from her time abroad last spring with the School for International Training’s Development and Social Change program in Cameroon. After spending time in Ngaoundéré, Cameroon, Johstone realized she wanted to better understand the relationship between Cameroon’s national legal system and Islamic law in the north.
“I was aware that the town’s culture was heavily dependent on the Islamic lifestyle and its rules; at the same time, I was in an African country, not an Arab nation, so the depth and meaning of these rules was more nuanced and particular,” Johnstone explained. “I decided that I wanted to see how I could challenge my own nation’s assumptions that religion had to be separate from law and the operations of a nation (although we certainly aren’t consistent with that policy in the U.S.). Ngaoundéré was a great place to try that.”
Johnstone conducted her research for three weeks, analyzing “how the public is treated by the dual legal system. In the end, my project was an assessment of the basic design of both legal systems, a description of the pros and cons of their relationship, and a concluding observation on how this relationship impacted the public that it was meant to serve.” She experienced firsthand the difficulties faced by researchers working in a host culture, among them participant’s motivations for response, the researcher’s own social status — and getting typhoid. “People were pretty forthcoming and open, although it sometimes depended on the setting. I found that the authorities presented a more biased and self-flattering perspective; I was also aware of being white and female, and therefore receiving different or adjusted information than had I been a male or a local.”
For Johnstone, participation the symposium is a way to demystify widely-held Western perceptions about Africa and Islam. It’s also an exciting way for students to “appreciate each other’s academic talents. We spend a lot of time on school work here but we tend to avoid displaying our work, mostly because when we socialize we want a break, and perhaps also because it’s very easy to seem proud. And it’s great when other people can see and appreciate the kind of things that you pour yourself into 45 hours a week.”
“Dialogues of Tradition and Nationality in the legal systems of Cameroon’s Muslim North” will be held at 1:50-2:05 p.m. on Friday, April 16 in MBH 216.
Architecture and Identity: Moshe Safdie’s Ben Gurion Airport
Derek Matus ’12
Matus’ interest in the Ben Gurion Airport began on a summer trip to Israel in 2008. “I can remember after the long plane ride, walking down this massive ramp while looking through a wall of plate glass onto the Israeli landscape,” wrote Matus. “I travelled around the Kinneret, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and Petra, the whole time seeing some pretty impressive, ancient architecture. On the way back, I passed through Ben Gurion a second time, and in a way, the airport framed my trip to Israel.”
Matus’ research was inspired by a final paper he wrote for a modern archicture course last semester and his work covering the symposium for The Campus last year, where he was struck by the “diversity and quality” of student presentations. Matus decided to participate in the symposium in order to further research his interests. “Also, a few of my friends decided to present and I’m a goner for peer pressure.” Matus turned to magazines, blogs, theoretical writings and monographs in order to learn more about Safdie’s work as well as contemporary airport design. “The research process,” he writes, “turned out to be much more enjoyable than painstaking or difficult.”
Like other participants, Matus lauds the symposium’s championing of student work. “Since Middlebury is a liberal arts college with a definite emphasis placed on teaching, its nice to see students being encouraged to pursue their own independent research.” And it seems that his presentation is the beginning of a lifelong pursuit: “I don’t know if I’ll continue with the Ben Gurion Airport, but I definitely want to keep pursuing my interest in architectural history, design, geography, art and Israel. “
“Architecture and Identity: Moshe Safdie’s Ben Gurion Airport” will be held from 3:30-3:45 p.m. on Friday, April 16 in MBH 216.
Upcoming symposium to showcase student work
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