Editorial Task Force on Social Life shows potential

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The transitory state of social life at the College is a topic of frequent informal discussion among students, but it remains to be seen whether students are actually concerned enough to take action.
That said, the first open meeting of the Student Life Task Force did produce some interesting dialogue, and the Task Force has set the ambitious goal of revitalizing what is often considered a dead social scene on campus.
Now that the Dean of Student Affairs Office has taken the initial step in assembling the Task Force, let's hope that students take matters into their own hands.
Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson has said that students are not sufficiently proactive as social event organizers. While this may be true, the College should recognize that students face a number of formidable barriers in organizing events, such as the time-intensive TIPS training and the increasingly rigid enforcement of state liquor laws. In general, students are not aware of how to go about organizing social events through the College.
The Task Force should work to identify channels through which students can pursue a more active role in brainstorming and planning social events.
Recently, the College has filtered the majority of funds and social spaces into the commons. This has resulted in some popularly attended commons events, but the student criticism The Campus received in the wake of Brainerd's costly pool party implies that students are still not satisfied attending commons-sponsored social events alone. The key to keeping the majority of students socially happy is to offer a variety of social options.
In this spirit, the College should not be antagonistic to the social house system. Despite some recent internal problems, the social houses can still offer parties that keep students from venturing off campus on weekends.
Students also have the opportunity to show that alcohol does not have to be the main attraction at social events by getting involved in student organizations. MCAB should be applauded for booking not one, but three big-name acts for the annual spring concert, a show that is sure to be widely attended.

Report anxiously awaited

Last September, President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz appointed a task force of 20 faculty, staff and students, known as the Human Relations Committee (HRC), to compile a comprehensive report addressing the issue of diversity at Middlebury. Following a pair of open meetings that enabled the Committee to gather suggestions from the community at large, The Campus reported this past November that the Committee planned to deliver its report to Liebowitz at the end of J-Term. It is now April 6 and we are still awaiting the recommendations. A small delay would have been acceptable, given the recent prominent discussions of racism on campus, but such a prolonged holdup without an explanation is unacceptable. The end of the school year is fast approaching, and for the Committee's recommendations to be thoroughly discussed and implemented, the final version must be released as soon as possible. The report's topic is too important to get lost in the year-end rush.