Community Council Update

On Tuesday, May 3, President of the College Laurie L. Patton and Special Assistant to the President Dave Donahue visited Community Council to discuss several recent Council initiatives as well as broader questions pertaining to the long-term role of the body.

Patton’s visit began by giving brief thoughts on several topics that had been selected by the Council members. The first subject was the Honor Code, and whether it should be amended. Patton said that one of her primary concerns with the Honor Code is its inability to address cultural differences in regard to plagiarism.

“We have real cultural differences that are genuine around what it means to present your work as your own,” she said. “People who come from other cultures with different citation practices will paraphrase a lot of the quotes … and they get called out for plagiarism and it becomes extremely painful.”

Patton spoke next about the protected breaks recommendation introduced by Emma Bliska ’18. Patton advised that Bliska emphasize that her proposal seeks primarily to make mental health a higher priority in the design of syllabi.

Finally, Patton addressed the College’s involvement with the town of Middlebury. Patton cited economic differences as one frequent source of tension.

“The town used to have the wealth, in 1800, and the College had none,” she said. “Now the College has the wealth and the town is struggling. That’s a structural inequality that we can do a lot to help change without necessarily compromising our educational mission.”

Patton went on to discuss her Conversations First Model for approaching contentious issues, and explained why she finds it to be a superior method. Patton cited recent student activism in regard to gender-neutral bathrooms as an example of the positive effects of conversation.

“There was an electronic petition that hit me out of nowhere about gender-neutral bathrooms, from Trans and Allies,” she said. “I was like, ‘whoa — how do I respond, what do I do?’ So we had a conversation … and when the group and I met, they had a ten-point plan, and it was all doable. There wasn’t anything unreasonable in it. It was a very good, future-oriented plan. So they left kind of surprised, like, ‘We weren’t expecting that!’ I was like, ‘Well, that’s because you didn’t ask.’”

Finally, the group discussed the Council’s long-term role. Patton emphasized that she finds the Council to be a valuable force, and hopes that it can continue long into the future.

On Tuesday, May 10, the Council met for its final session of the 2015-16 academic year. The Council welcomed Roberto Lint Sagarena and Jennifer Herrera, director and associate director of the Anderson Freeman Resource Center, respectively, who gave an update on LGBTQ-related inclusivity initiatives.

Lint Sagarena and Herrera shared that the administration has adopted several new policies following a meeting in Old Chapel with the Trans Affinity Group. These policies include faculty training on the importance of respecting students’ preferred gender pronouns, updating the school website to include more information about the College’s health coverage of gender transitions, and expanding the number of gender-neutral restrooms across campus.

Clair Beltran ’16 asked how faculty might be incentivized to implement these policies, given the possibility that some could be resistant to change.

“Part of it, hopefully, is a persuasive enough presentation of why it matters,” Lint Sagarena responded. “After that, if it becomes something where there are faculty who are creating hostile a environment, that would be addressed on an individual basis.”

Council members also responded to questions posed by incoming Student Co-Chair David Pesqueira ’17 regarding the Council’s accomplishments this past year and what members hope to address next year.