Fall-ing into place: our ins and outs this season

With the brisk mornings and bright foliage of autumn finally sweeping across campus this week, we wanted to reflect on the most memorable parts of the season and what parts of life we could really do without. Your personal fall ins and outs list may look different, but we hope this provides some inspiration for what we’ll keep around for the rest of the year and what will be swept away like the many leaves now dotting our lawns. Whether this is your first or last fall at Middlebury, there is always time for self-reflection and growth.

Out: Disrespecting personal space

We are all busy people and have many tasks to complete in a day. However, let’s remember to keep people’s boundaries in mind and not waste each other’s time. Whether this looks like gossiping with friends while standing in front of food in Proctor or abusing shared spaces like communal bathrooms and the quiet floors in Davis, we need to leave these disrespectful actions behind. 

These annoyances, while ranging from trivial to legitimately irritating, can easily make someone’s bad day that much worse, especially once the colder weather and shorter days begin to set in. Be aware of your surroundings and please, if someone politely asks you to move, help them out.

In: Bringing some fun and flavor to college life

Our first “in” is learning more about each other’s quirks and embracing the spontaneity of college life. We hope to see more of our professors interrupt lectures by sharing cool stories and anecdotes, and students helping them do so by asking how their professors’ weekends were on Mondays. We appreciate Kathy’s Proc games as a fun way to spice up the dining hall experience, as well as the variety of random academic lectures and fun stress-busters sponsored by various organizations. We call for students to keep embracing the unique aspects of this college that break up the daily routine and make it a unique place to live.

Out: Superficiality

Asking the name of a person you’ve already met many times over is out — at least have the decency to ask a mutual friend for their name if you’ve managed to forget. Small talk without genuine interest in the person across from you by circumstance in the dining hall or walking to your next class is also out. Instead, seek out meaningful new relationships. That could mean setting up a weekly lunch date with an acquaintance you’d like to know better, or reconnecting with an old friend for a walk outside. Honesty and open communication are much better than vague pleasantries.

In: Being kind and dedicated to your friends

On a similar note, be generous and care for those who care for you. Engage in meaningful acts of dedication that demonstrate intentionality and a lived interest in the relationship. This could be small — offering to fill someone else’s water bottle when you’re about to fill yours during a busy time in the dining hall or in the library — or more involved, like dedicating time to talk about their emotions or writing someone a heartfelt, handwritten note. 

Out: Being distracted in class

We’ve all seen it in lectures: Someone’s playing The New York Times Spelling Bee game in class, the person next to them is watching YouTube or setting their fantasy football lineup in a lecture hall, and everyone in the back row is clothes shopping.

These people are absorbing nothing of what their professors are saying, mind-numbingly distracted under the disguise of a laptop notetaker. Unfortunately, these habits detract not only from their own educational experience, but from that of everyone sitting behind them, who can’t help but avert their attention from class instruction to judge their peers based on their Wordle trials and errors.

There are so many more hours in the day when these activities are appropriate, but engaging in them while in class is unacceptable.

In: All things autumn

This one’s obvious. We’re excited for shorter and cooler days, sweaters, boots, Knoll harvests and taking in the foliage. We happily anticipate the perennially creative and unpredictable Halloween costumes of Midd Kids and the seasonal decor that spreads throughout town. There’s no better place to spend the fall than in Vermont, and we welcome it with open, flanneled arms. 

We’ll leave you with some of our parting thoughts on smaller, sillier parts of life that we enjoy or could do without, in no particular order.

In: Berries at breakfast in the dining halls; voting; NYT games (just not in class); college-funded subscriptions to major newspapers such The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal; liking and commenting on friends’ Venmo transactions; nickels; coordinating a cool outfit for class; on-campus arts events; and class crushes.

Out: Wasps swarming you while eating outside; pennies; stealing drinks from fridges at parties; and making unnecessary and abstract noises in class.