What seems like a long time ago, I made a choice I proceeded to doubt. It was not until a few years had gone by that I understood why coming to Middlebury was one of the most important and best decisions I have made. However, I am sure by this point that sounds cliché. Lately it seems our institution has come under fire. We dropped in the US News & World Report College Rankings to seventh place, a new brand of activism seems intent on tearing down much of what Middlebury has built for itself, and more and more it seems our attitude is generally ambivalent towards the College. So who dare stands to champion our fair institution?
School spirit is not something that simply pops into existence. In fact, more often than not it is built over centuries. Well, we’ve had centuries. Where is our spirit? Sadly, it is non-existent in a lot of ways. Our traditions seem stale and two-dimensional. Whose fault is this, truly? Well, let’s take a look at the administration. If we took a broad sample of all the schools in the United States and compared administrations, I would say ours would end up in the top five percent. Yeah, they annoy us sometimes and we may not agree with everything they do, but they are pretty good. They show genuine interest in what we do, they take us seriously, they keep the lights on. To be honest, we should be thankful they even care at all. I am sure I do not need to point to examples of other schools’ administrations that simply do not care.
Our faculty is pretty great, too. We have the privilege of being students to really smart people. And when I say really smart, it is not a passing phrase. I mean, they are way smarter than you. Yes, freshman correcting the professor, we are talking about you. I do not know where we get these professors, but I would sure like to know. What kind of a professor asks about why I haven’t talked in class? Or invites me into their home for dinner? What kind of people even do that?!
So the administration is fine and the faculty is pretty great. Where does that leave us? Well, if you want to know where true responsibility lies we need only to look into the mirror. That’s right, I’m talking about you. Yeah, you, with the cynicism and the hands in your pockets, sipping a beer you got out of a social house basement fridge, wondering if the party next door is any better and if not you should probably just turn in. I’m talking about anyone who would rather rave about in college existentialism than make great memories. I’m talking about every person who complains about a lack of social scene and refuses to make any.
I was not surprised when Middlebury dropped down to seventh place. I am impressed we stayed at fourth for as long as we did. We’ve gotten, well, lame. We have become more concerned with what we can tear down instead of what we can build. The general consensus is to disavow ourselves of a struggling project rather than fix what is broken and make it something worth working on. Ask yourself, why do you love your school? If the answer is your friends, well, you would have those anywhere. Hopefully. What about this place, what is unique to Middlebury that gets you excited? Got nothing? Go find something.
We have often been referred to as the worst generation ever. I hate this term. Yet, looking around the student body, what do we stand for? Do we stand for ranting on the Internet instead of making substantial change? Do we stand for cynicism and vanity? For fear of getting our hands dirty or embarrassing ourselves? Jack Nicholson’s quote at the start of the The Departed is, “Nobody gives it to you, you have to take it.” He was, of course, referring to organized crime. The message is an important one, nonetheless! If we want to make a place that we reminisce about for the rest of our lives it is going to be some work. The majority of that work is going to come from the student body, because like it or not, we can be the true source of change around here if we find things worth changing.
To leave you with one last anecdote, my father told me when I entered into my first relationship that it was going to be hard work. Like everything else he said, you are always working on your relationship, always trying to make it better. This goes well beyond the realm of romance. Our experience is not going to be handed to us. College is not a rollercoaster we enjoy for four years and then politely exit. Our experience is ours, to make incredible, or merely mediocre.
