From the President's Desk

Middlebury, it has been four wonderful years, and while I’m ready to go, graduation is also bittersweet. I will miss my friends, classes, professors and activities, and I will miss being surrounded by mountains, books and seemingly limitless resources. I will also miss being involved in the Student Government Association (SGA). That is a different takeaway from many past presidents, so I’ll explain myself.

Middlebury is an extraordinary place — to be here is a privilege. But it is also an imperfect place, and we all want it to be better. I challenge students, both inside and outside of student government, to more actively engage with this campus. We should not have empty lecture halls when speakers come to campus, empty rooms when student organizations meet, empty inboxes that should be full of committee applications, empty seats at community forums and other opportunities to engage with this institution. We’re all busy, it’s true, but there is a conspiracy of silence and a culture of apathy at Middlebury that we don’t talk about. All of the privileges and resources we have here — all of the professors and peers that we have here — are worth nothing unless we take advantage of them.

I therefore ask Middlebury students to become more engaged with this institution. We have a student government, and it is an excellent opportunity to get involved. But it is not the only opportunity. Indeed, while at many large schools student government serves as the primary conduit for student interaction with their administrative superiors, at Middlebury that sort of a relationship doesn’t exist: students go directly to administrators with grievances. As a result of this lucky predicament, common complaints about the SGA not being “visible” don’t bother me as long it is functioning adequately and doing the things it needs to be doing.
Beyond the SGA, however, this college is full of opportunities for students to take ownership of institutional policy. But they don’t. Only if students show that they care about this place — all aspects of this place — will we be given a voice on any aspect of its governance.

I am very proud of the work of my administration this year. We have worked hard to engage with the College, and our reward has been engagement back and positive change. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the members of my cabinet, who have prioritized the pretty unglamorous work of student government. You, my friends, are awesome, and I can’t thank you enough for taking this plunge with me.

I am also grateful to the many administrators, at all levels, with whom I have worked this year. Many folks in Old Chapel have been excellent, but I’d like to give a special shout-out to Associate Deans of Students Doug Adams and JJ Boggs. I’ve never met two people more dedicated to making Middlebury work.

I am very confident in Rachel Liddell’s ability to lead the student government next year.  She’s going to do a great job. But she can’t do it alone, and even the best SGA team in the world won’t be able to help her if she wants to make the sorts of changes that a record number of student voters seem to want. She needs an actively engaged student body. She needs you.

Middlebury, thank you for these four years and for the opportunity to serve as your student government president this year. It has been an honor and a privilege.