MiddNews
A television project created and reported by Frank Sesno '77 aired recently on the History Channel. The two-hour documentary titled "Ronald Reagan: A Legacy Remembered," was shown on Nov. 25 and rebroadcast on Nov. 29. Sesno reports that he gained unprecedented access to those who knew Reagan best and worked with him most closely. He spoke with Nancy Reagan and other family members, former Soviet leader Gorbachev, both Presidents Bush, Michael Deaver, James Baker, and others. The film featured some very personal and insightful stories. "The whole experience was truly incredible-terrific access, depth and perspective," said Sesno. "I am thrilled to have done this."
Activities on the environmental front this fall at the College have focused heavily on energy conservation. An environmental orientation for first-year students attracted about 60 students; an electricity reduction contest was held in November among first-year students in residence halls; and an open house was held in the environmental dorm rooms of the recently opened LaForce Hall, which features energy star appliances, plants, non-toxic cleaning products and laundry detergents, and energy efficient lights. Free fluorescent bulbs were given out to arriving students in the fall.
The "Careers in the Common Good" (CCG) program was launched in early November by the Career Services Office. CCG provides resources, information and programs to students and alumni who are interested in exploring nonprofit and socially responsible careers. The kickoff event included a workshop led by a representative from Action Without Borders/idealist.org, a career panel with representatives from various nonprofit organizations and socially responsible business ventures, and a networking lunch. The 40 participants included both seniors and underclass students who are in various stages of their career searches.
The Career Services Office plans to continue the initiative by forming a CCG advisory group comprising students, faculty, staff, and community members to discuss the direction of the program for the spring semester and into the next academic year.
A recent class project by students in assistant professor of biology David Parfitt's class "Neurological Disorders: Individuals, Families, and Society" drew the attention of area media outlets. The class organized "Accessibility Awareness Week" during the week of Nov. 18-22 to help students, faculty, and staff to understand the difficulties encountered by disabled members of the campus community. In addition to panels and seminars presented throughout the week, the class rented 20 wheelchairs from local vendors for the "Wheelchair for a Day" program, a three-day effort that permitted members of the College community to use a wheelchair while going about their daily activities on campus. Among the news outlets that ran stories and photos of the event were the Addison Independent, The Burlington Free Press, and The Addison Eagle. For more information and photos of the event, check the College's Web site at /pubaff/news_2002/wheelchair.html.
Those interested in original scholarly work about international affairs can log on to Middlebury's Rohatyn Center for International Affairs Web site at /~rcfia/papers/papers.html, where the Center maintains a series of working papers on a variety of public policy topics. Currently the series comprises six papers. Titles include "The European Union and the New American Foreign Policy" by Harvard's Stanley Hoffman, "South Asian War Games" by Middlebury's Russell Leng and Adil Husain, and "Freedom, Fairness, and Wealth" by former ambassador to France Felix Rohatyn of the Middlebury class of 1949. Rohatyn's paper is adapted from a lecture he presented on campus in October of this year when the Center was renamed in his honor.
Nine colleges were represented at the second annual "Work Group on the Retention, Success and Satisfaction of Black and Latino Male Students" conference, which was held at Middlebury in November. Among the colleges represented at the conference were Dartmouth, Vassar, Haverford, and Franklin and Marshall. Participants attended workshops, and listened to keynote speaker Juan Flores of City University of New York. Flores, a German studies professor, said that minority males face more difficulties in society than many other groups. The purpose of the conference was to strengthen the ways that campus organizations deal with issues pertaining to these groups.
Media understanding is an important component of the educated individual's arsenal of knowledge. At Middlebury, one person who provides media knowledge to students within a liberal arts context is Jason Mittell, who was recently appointed assistant professor of American civilization and film and media culture. Among Mittell's research interests are the history of television, media criticism, media and cultural history, animation and children's media.
Mittell's fall semester courses included "Media and Childhood in American Culture" and "Television in American Culture." As an occasional source of expertise for journalists, he has commented on topics such as children and the media, the recent wave of quiz shows and reality television, and the end of "Seinfeld."
A Dec. 4, 2002, story in The Middlebury Campus newspaper, reports that one of the country's most outspoken and dedicated advocates of the residential commons system recently joined the Middlebury College biology department. Robert O'Hara, who is a frequently quoted expert on commons systems, maintains a Web site called The Collegiate Way (www.collegiateway.org), which is devoted to providing information about residential life.
Commenting to the student newspaper about Middlebury's commitment to a commons approach to residential life, O'Hara noted that commons systems are not solely for the benefit of students. "People underestimate the importance of the commons system to faculty," said O'Hara. O'Hara says that the whole institution is invigorated by the kinds of events and traditions a commons system brings to a campus community.