2002 Archive

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Mentions of Middlebury College appeared in
the following media in 2002:

Associated Press

Boston Globe

Burlington Free Press

CBS

Christian Science Monitor

Chronicle of Higher Education

CNN

College Planning and Management Magazine

Lacrosse Magazine

MSNBC

National Public Radio

New England Cable News Network (NECN)

New York Times

Rutland Herald

Ski Magazine

South Carolina Educational Radio

Sports Illustrated

TomPaine.common sense: A Public Interest Journal

Associated Press

On Monday, October 13, The Burlington Free Press ran an article on the lecture of Ari Fleischer and the demonstration on the front page of the Vermont section. The Rutland Herald's article appeared on page one of the paper. The Associated Press also ran the article.

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The release of former prisoner Ngawang Choephel by the Chinese government and Ngawang's association with Middlebury as a visiting scholar in 1993-1994 have been the subject of articles by the Associated Press on Jan. 20 and 21, the electronic edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education on Jan. 22, and many other national print and broadcast media.

Boston Globe

In the September 30, 2002 Boston Globe, a front-page article, "Some colleges find a bit of faculty life enriches dorm life," mentions Middlebury several times. The article discusses the completion of Ross Commons and three additional paragraphs quote Robert O'Hara of the biology department, describing him as an "advocate for the residential college model." See the paper's Web site.

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Middlebury College was mentioned in an article in the 2/27/02 edition of the Boston Globe, "Life is sweet in maple time," about John Elder, the sugarhouse he built with his two sons, and his new book, "The Frog Run." The article, accompanied by several photos, is on the front page of the food section and in the electronic edition of the paper.

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Middlebury College was also mentioned in a March 13 Boston Globe article, "All faiths question handling of abuse: Debate over celibacy as factor is rancorous." The article includes a discussion of the allegations brought against the Hare Krishnas and states that "a Middlebury College sociologist" (Burke Rochford) wrote an investigative report on the Krishnas published in the sect's official journal. See the paper's Web site.

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The September 27, 2002 Boston Globe ran an article, "Students' prescriptions worry health counselors," that quoted Gary Margolis, director of the counseling and human relations center and associate professor of English. He points out that colleges want their students to fully experience the big milestones of young adulthood, such as separation from family, as part of their growth process. The increased use of prescription drugs among college students masks some of the emotions that naturally occur during these milestones.

Burlington Free Press

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The spike in interest in the Middlebury College Language School's Arabic program received coverage in an Associated Press article that ran in both the Burlington Free Press and the Rutland Herald on Sunday, June 16. The article details the demographic responsible for the increased demand and some of the challenges the program faces in light of heightened tensions in the middle east. The text of the article is on the papers' Web sites at: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/bfpnews/local/sunday/3000h.htm

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The Monday, Nov. 11, edition of the Burlington Free Press included an article on page one of the Vermont section titled "High school students apply early to college hoping to get an edge." The story is about Middlebury's early decision program and was written by Leslie Wright, who happens to be a member of the class of 1984.

CBS

On Monday, Jan. 21, WCAX-TV (CBS) ran two stories on Middlebury on the 6 p.m. news--one about the Martin Luther King Prayer Breakfast in McCullough that included a mention of alumnus Gladstone Chandler, one of King's professors and mentors at Morehouse College, and a story about Ngawang Choephel's release that included some remarks from Gary Margolis.

Middlebury College was the subject of an interview on CBS Radio's "Osgood File" on Nov. 26 when Nan Jenks-Jay was interviewed about the deconstruction of the old science center. The "Osgood File" is a syndicated show that is hosted by Charles Osgood. It has an audience of 12 million people nationwide.

Christian Science Monitor

The Christian Science Monitor, along with half a dozen large dailies in New England, have run an Associated Press story on the increasing interest in Middlebury's summer Arabic program and the challenges it faces teaching the language in tense political times. The article, which was conceived, researched and pitched to the Associated Press by the public affairs office, also ran in the Rutland Herald and the Burlington Free Press.

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Middlebury College was mentioned several times in a March 28 article in the Christian Science Monitor titled "Rethinking Religious Tolerance." Most of the article focuses on issues discussed at the "Women in Religion" symposium that took place on campus earlier this year. Many of the participants, including the organizer and Professor of Sociology and Religion E. Burke Rochford, are quoted. Middlebury student Koby Spio-Garbrah is quoted as well.

Chronicle of Higher Education

Middlebury was the topic of a "Short Subjects" item on page A10 of the April 26 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Titled "Lip Shtick," the story describes the kissing demonstration organized by author Michael Christian earlier this month and quotes students who protested against it.

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A Taxing Fiasco
March 1, 2002

by Richard Morgan

Imagine receiving someone else's W-2 form, and then realizing that a co-worker probably just received yours.

That's exactly what happened -- over and over again -- at Middlebury College in February, after officials mailed almost 300 of the wage reports to the wrong people.

Officials on the Vermont campus quickly fired off a letter to employees, apologizing for the "processing error" and directing them to "preserve privacy" by discarding all of the forms without opening them.

"We had a problem," acknowledges F. Robert Huth, the college's treasurer. "But, you know, nobody died. And what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so we're looking to get a lot stronger."

Mr. Huth oversaw the recall, which found that 7 percent of the 3,600 forms sent out -- roughly 260 -- had been addressed to the wrong people.

He credits Middlebury's "honest and trusting community" for helping to minimize the problem.

Revised forms were sent out with blue stickers to signal that they were going to the right people.

Mary M. Hurlie, the college's senior administrator of organizational effectiveness, says officials received only a few complaints about the W-2 debacle. "For the most part, people weren't all that concerned."

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The Feb. 22, 2002 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education's Chronicle Review mentions Middlebury in an article titled "Rule by Those of Little Faith." The article discusses discrimination against religious student groups on campus and mentions that the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is investigating situations at Middlebury and several other colleges.

CNN

On Oct. 14, CNN, MSNBC and New England Cable News Network (NECN) each aired stories on Ari Fleischer's visit in Middlebury. The NECN story can be viewed at http://www.necn.com/local.asp under "More Stories." On the same date, all three Vermont stations--WCAX-TV, WPTZ-TV, WVNY-TV--as well as local stations KDAF in Dallas, WTMJ in Milwaukee, and CNEWS9 in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area aired stories as well.

College Planning and Management Magazine

Middlebury College was listed as the number-two school in an "admittedly idiosyncratic" list of 11 green colleges on page 18 of the March issue of College Planning and Management magazine. Noel Perrin, an environmental writer and adjunct professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth assembled the list, which cited Middlebury for Bicentennial Hall, use of no pesticides, and composting.

Lacrosse Magazine

The Middlebury women's and men's Lacrosse teams were the focus of two in-depth feature stories in Lacrosse Magazine recently (Summer 2002). The main focus of the articles is the recent championships both teams secured, although the article explores the recipe that has led to a Lacrosse dynasty at Middlebury.

MSNBC

National Public Radio

Middlebury College was mentioned in conjunction with an interview with Julia Alvarez on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" program on Sept. 11 and again on "Morning Edition" on Sept. 14, 2002.

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Middlebury College was mentioned several times March 13 when Paralympic gold medalist Chris Waddell of the class of 1991 was interviewed on the National Public Radio show "Fresh Air."

New England Cable News Network (NECN)

New York Times

The lead article of the National section of the December 4, 2002 New York Times, "Advocates for Animals Turn Attention to Chickens," includes a photo of and quotes from animal rights activist Miyun Park '93. The article states that "Ms. Park began questioning how farm animals were raised while at Middlebury College in Vermont, where she wrote her senior honors thesis in philosophy on the need for a new animal rights ethic."

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Middlebury College was mentioned in the September 30, 2002 New York Times on page A21 of the national section in an article titled "It's Not Time or Newsweek, By Design." The article mentions the fact that several members of the Bush administration have granted interviews to niche magazines and cites Ari Fleischer's interview with the Middlebury Magazine as an example.

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Middlebury College French professor Ed Knox was quoted in a New York Times article that ran on Saturday, July 6. The article, titled "In The U.S. Nowadays, Little Love For France" explores the French-American relationship, past present and future. Knox weighs in the summary graph of the article, stating that "These are the two civilizations that think they have lessons to teach the whole world," he said. "Which makes them rivals."

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Middlebury College received a mention in an Associated Press article that ran in the New York Times on July 3. The article explores a new Smithsonian Institute exhibit of Modern Mongolia and Genghis Kahn. In the fourth paragraph, the article mentions that once the exhibit is finished at the Smithsonian, it will move to Middlebury College.

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Travis Jacobs is the author of a letter to the editor printed in the Jan. 21 edition of The New York Times regarding a proposal by Democratic Party leaders to hold the 2004 primaries earlier. The paper identifies him as a professor of American history at Middlebury College.

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The March 27, 2002 New York Times op-ed page includes a piece by Bill McKibben, "Unlikely Allies Against Cloning," which identifies him as a visiting scholar at Middlebury.

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A New York Times editorial about scholar athletes and NESCAC schools that mentions Middlebury ran on Saturday April 6.

Rutland Herald

On Monday, October 13, The Burlington Free Press ran an article on the lecture of Ari Flesicher and the demonstration on the front page of the Vermont section. The Rutland Herald's article appeared on page one of the paper. The Associated Press also ran the article.

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The spike in interest in the Middlebury College Language School's Arabic program received coverage in an Associated Press article that ran in both the Burlington Free Press and the Rutland Herald on Sunday, June 16. The article details the demographic responsible for the increased demand and some of the challenges the program faces in light of heightened tensions in the middle east. The text of the article is on the papers' Web sites at: http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/Archive/Articles/Article/48536

Ski Magazine

Middlebury College is mentioned in an article on the Snow Bowl in the February 2002 issue of Ski Magazine. The article includes several photos and is available on the magazine's web site at http://skimag.com/article/hometownhills.cfm?alias_id=10442.

Jay Parini of the English department and Peter Mackey of the Snow Bowl are both quoted.

South Carolina Educational Radio

John McCardell is keeping up his efforts to publicize Middlebury while on leave in the sunny South. On April 12, he was a guest on "Walter Edgar's Journal," a weekly radio program that is broadcast statewide on South Carolina Educational Radio. John mentioned Middlebury several times as he and the host talked about small liberal arts colleges, admissions, costs and athletics.

Sports Illustrated

Middlebury College graduate Zachary Herbert '02 appeared in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd this week (July 8). Herbert was a driving force on the men's lacrosse team, earning first-team All-American status after leading the Panthers with 52 goals this season. Herbert was also the NCAA Tournament M.V.P. Herbert ended his career fifth on the school's all-time scoring list with 135 goals and 61 assists for 196 points.

TomPaine.common sense: A Public Interest Journal

Middlebury College's recycled science center was the subject of an article, "Piece By Piece: Middlebury College Recycles Paper-and Its Old Buildings," that appears in the March/April issue of E/The Environmental Magazine at http://www.emagazine.com/march-april_2002/0302curr_middlebury.html. The article, which was written by Visiting Scholar in Environmental Studies Bill McKibben, includes photographs of the old science center before the deconstruction and during the process. It was also reprinted in the current issue of TomPaine.common sense: A Public Interest Journal at http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5514.

USA Today

In the Tuesday, Jan. 22, edition of USA Today, an opinion piece titled "Sports, brains vie at elite colleges" mentions Middlebury College as one of the colleges that "recently announced that they will start accepting fewer students for whom athletic prowess is the difference between admission and rejection."

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USA Today mentioned Middlebury College in a summary biography of Vermont Governor-elect Jim Douglas '72 in its Thursday, Nov. 7 edition. The paper stated that Douglas was the president of the Young Republicans while at Middlebury.

USA Weekend

In the Sunday, Jan. 21, edition of USA Weekend, the answer to a question about alumnus Ari Fleischer in the "Who's News" column includes a mention of Middlebury College.

Vermont Life

The most recent issue of Vermont Life magazine (Fall 2002) carries a multi-page spread about the museum's current exhibit of 1930s Farm Security Administration photographs of Vermont and mentions Nancy Graff '75 as the curator of the exhibit and author of the accompanying catalogue.

Vermont Magazine

The February 2002 issue of Vermont Magazine includes an article titled "Posse Power: Minority students at Middlebury College find strength in numbers."

Vermont Public Radio

On the morning of Friday, Oct. 11, Vermont Public Radio aired an interview local "Morning Edition" host Steve Delaney did with Fleischer. Listeners can hear the interview here. VPR also reported on the demonstration on Monday, Oct. 14, during the local news on "Morning Edition."

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VPR will broadcast the comments of Eric Davis during a three-day period this week--Tuesday-Thursday (September 17-19, 2002)--regarding a recent political poll. The comments will be aired at 7:50 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. each day.

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On Sept. 12, 2002, Middlebury College Professor of Political Science David Rosenberg joined University of Vermont Professor of Political Science Robert Kaufman on the Vermont Public Radio live call-in show "Switchboard" for a debate about whether or not the United States should attack Iraq. You can listen online at the VPR Website by clicking "Listen Online" at the bottom of the paragraph describing the Sept. 12 show at http://www.vpr.net/vt_news/switchboard.shtml.

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VPR aired a story on Sept. 11, 2002 about Elie Wiesel's Sept. 10 lecture at Middlebury. For the story, visit VPR's Web site at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/vpr/news/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=393404.

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Vermont Public Radio aired a story on Jan. 19 about the Portuguese Language School that included remarks by Michael Katz and Jeff Cason. On Jan. 22, VPR ran a story on the Foundation for Excellent Schools that included a description of a recent event at the College for local middle school students. The purpose of the event was to allow college student mentors to give the children a taste of college life and inspire them to consider attending college themselves. Activities included a hockey game, a meal in the dining hall, and a tour of a dorm.

Wall Street Journal

In the Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2002 edition of the Wall Street Journal, an article titled "Bad News Bears: Two Indicators Show Stock Prices Heading Lower" quotes an article from the College Mathematics Journal by Paul Sommers of the economics department. His article discussed the Super Bowl Theory (stocks rise in the year after an original, premerger National Football League team wins, and fall otherwise). According to Sommers, "While the theory still enjoys popular support, its predictive power today is much less than it was 12 or even six years ago."

Washington Post

The Washington Post ran a front-page article on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2002, titled "Colleges Lobby to Move Up in the Polls" that mentions Middlebury in the first paragraph. The article discusses the growing marketing efforts by colleges to influence the academic reputation or "peer assessment" category of the annual survey sent out by U.S. News and World report to college and university presidents across the country. Information from the survey is used to determine the annual rankings, published in the current edition of the magazine. Article can be found here.

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Middlebury College is mentioned several times in the 4/23/02 electronic edition of The Washington Post in a weekly column by Jay Mathews, which this week is titled "The Bigger, the Better When it Comes to Wait-Lists." Jay Mathews recently interviewed John Hanson for a story in the print edition on the same topic that will appear roughly within a week.

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Middlebury College was mentioned in a Washington Post article, "Demonstrators Rally to Palestinian Cause: Arab Americans, Supporters Drown Out Other Issues," that appeared on Sunday, April 21, 2002.

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Middlebury College was mentioned today (Jan. 11, 2002) in an article in the Washington Post's Style section about accusations of plagiarism surrounding author Stephen Ambrose. The College was mentioned in association with David Bain, who is quoted in the article. The story is on the paper's Web site at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28869-2002Jan10.html. David and Middlebury are included at the end of the story.

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The Middlebury College Language Schools were mentioned in the 5/28/02 Washington Post in the second paragraph of an article titled "Mastering Arabic's Nuances No Easy Mission." The story mentions the increase in enrollment at the Arabic School. The text of the article appears on the paper's Web site at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18134-2002May27.html.

WCAX-TV

The conference of geologists taking place at the College on Saturday, April 20 was featured on the WCAX-TV (CBS) 6 p.m. news, which interviewed several of the participants following the earthquake Saturday morning. The piece did mention the College but unfortunately misidentified Ray Coish as being a geologist from Norwich University and not Middlebury.

Chicago Tribune

Middlebury College and Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Bob O'Hara were mentioned in a Sunday, Nov. 10, Chicago Tribune article titled "Is there a doctor of philosophy in the house?" The story discusses the residential college system at the University of Chicago, where faculty live in the dorms.