Two seniors – Kathryn Benson '13 and Barrett Smith '13 – will run for Student Co-Chair of Community Council (SCOCC) in the wake of the resignation of Luke Carroll-Brown '13.5 from the position in late August.
The elections, which will take place on Sept. 24, will determine the student who will serve as co-chair of the council alongside Dean of the College Shirley Collado.
In this role, the elected representative will preside over a council of elected and assigned students, faculty and staff. The student co-chair helps to fulfill the organization's dual role within the college governance structure as both an advisory body to President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and as a body with the power to appoint members to select committees.
The student co-chair also serves as a voting member of the Senate and assumes the role of the interim Student Government Association (SGA) president in the event that the elected student is unable to fulfill the role, as with the resignation of last year's SGA President Riley O'Rourke '12.
According to SGA President Charlie Arnowitz '13, a re-election was necessitated by the resignation of Carroll-Brown after he secured a semester-long internship in Washington, D.C.
"I will be stepping down from my position as Student Co-Chair of Community Council in order to pursue an internship this fall," wrote Carroll-Brown in an email. "I submitted my temporary withdrawal forms to the Registrar on August 16th and plan on returning to Middlebury for [the] spring semester."
According to Dean of the College Shirley Collado, Caroll-Brown has worked with the SGA President and Elections Committee in order to ensure a smooth transition in his absence.
"I am really happy about the opportunity that Luke has this semester," Collado said. "I know that he really wanted to co-chair the Community Council – and I would have loved the opportunity to work with him – but I'm really supportive of his decision."
Arrnowitz echoed Collado's statements.
"Though I was really looking forward to working with Luke, I respect his decision," said Arnowitz. "Both of the candidates [who have declared their intent to run for the co-chair position] are really active students – people I know to be strong leaders – and I think that either one would do a great job."
Both Benson and Smith have been active members of the college community, occupying myriad roles throughout their college careers.
Benson served as the co-chair of Ross Commons Council in her sophomore year, was the Junior Senator for the SGA in 2011 and also served as a student activities intern in 2012. This summer, Benson worked as the residential life and student life summer intern.
Smith has been a member of the Social Justice Coalition, has served as a teacher's assistant in the science department, and plays on the College Quidditch team.
For two months last fall, Smith also served as a First-Year Counselor in Stewart Hall, until he was fired from the position after having allowed a non-Middlebury College student to stay in his room for longer than is permitted by the college handbook.
In the ensuing debate about the appropriateness of both Smith's conduct and the administration's decision to remove him from his position, students, faculty and staff were incredibly vocal, creating a discussion that ignited the campus for weeks.
Though similar in their desire to act as a representative for all members of the college community, the two candidates differ markedly in platform goals.
"One of the central components of my platform will be trying to encourage greater collaboration between student organizations and academic departments," said Benson.
In her position as the student activities intern in 2011, Benson explained that she often received emails from professors lamenting not having been informed about student events in which they wished they could have participated.
"Community Council is all about having those types of conversations," she said. "It's about how students interact with faculty and staff and the town community."
According to Smith, if elected, he would seek to enact a social honor code, and also try to encourage a more representative democracy at the College.
"I want the students to be much more involved in their own governance," said Smith. "Most Middlebury students are just involved by voting every year, but in a community as small as ours, I think that each person can take on a much more vocal and active role in the political life of the community."
Smith proposed trying to establish larger political bodies, such as all-school meetings, or larger assemblies, where students can gather to discuss the issues that affect everyone.
"I would like to work to create a much more democratic system, where every student has a lot more power than they have – or perceive to have – now," he said.
The two students will participate in an open debate on Sunday Sept. 23, with elections opening the following day at noon. Simultaneously, first-year students will also be given the opportunity to vote for their First-Year Senator. J Whelan '16, Hasher Nisar '16, Roy Wang '16 and Graham Shaw '16 will all run for the position.
Following the SCOCC election, the Community Council will resume its weekly meetings, which will be held for the remainder of the year on Monday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. in the Axinn Center at Starr Library. Meetings are open to all students.
Two Candidates Run for SCOCC
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