If calling from campus, use the following extensions.
INFORMATION DESK, ext. 3100
CENTER FOR CAMPUS ACTIVITIES AND LEADERSHIP, ext. 3103
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Doug Adams, Director
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Derek Doucet, Outdoor Programs Director
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Tammy Grant, Administrative Program Coordinator
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TBA, Assistant Director for Student Organizations
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TBA, Techncial Coordinator
These offices may be reached by dialing 802-443-XXXX (the extension) from off campus.
This handbook is provided to give a brief introduction to student life and the many opportunities for student involvement and leadership at Middlebury College. The College believes that an active co-curricular program supports and complements a student's academic experience by providing opportunities for students to develop intellectually, socially and emotionally through involvement in leadership positions, group membership and event planning.
In addition to its stimulating academic life and its impressive location in beautiful natural surroundings, Middlebury College offers students a varied social life and the opportunity to take responsibility for their own co-curricular life. There are many cultural, social, athletic, musical, religious, political and special interest groups active at the College. Many of these groups bring artists, performers, speakers and programs to campus, which all contribute to a rich social fabric. In addition, many campus groups are involved in producing their own art forms, from student bands to theater groups to a student operated radio station and several publications that effectively report the thoughts, opinions, and literature of the College community.
There are many opportunities to participate in the life of the College and local community and to learn through involvement in leadership positions. Becoming involved in a student organization either as an officer or as a member at large will give you the opportunity to participate in a group and influence the planning and implementation of projects and events. This involvement will help you develop valuable life skills. By serving on the Student Government Association or sitting on a College committee, you will develop policy and work on issues important to students. Through volunteering in the community, you will learn about the town of Middlebury and provide a valuable service to its people. By serving on a Commons Council or being a Junior Counselor or Resident Assistant, you will become an active participant in the residential life of the College.
Plan to be involved at Middlebury. There are myriad options from which to choose. Participation in and commitment to co-curricular activity will help you grow and will enrich your experience at Middlebury.
The Center for Campus Activities and Leadership (CCAL) actively supports student initiatives in co-curricular programming. The staff provides students with resource materials, guidance, and training, runs leadership development workshops, facilitates student efforts in pursuing ideas, and coordinates the Student Information Desk. This office also coordinates a number of special annual activities such as MOO (Middlebury Outdoor Orientation), FOO! (February Outdoor Orientation!), Winter Term Workshops, and Winter Carnival.
CCAL also serves as the center for scheduling on-campus spaces for student organizations for events, on both weekdays and weekends, and for loaning out sound and audio-visual equipment for student events.
The Center for Campus Activities and Leadership is located in the east tower on the second level of the McCullough Student Center. Students are encouraged to drop by anytime!
The following is a partial listing of facilities and services that are available to students through the Center for Campus Activities and Leadership.
McCULLOUGH STUDENT CENTER: The McCullough Student Center is a place for the Middlebury College community to congregate in an environment that is at once inclusive and distinctive. The Center is designed to complement the smaller, residential neighborhoods of the Commons by fostering a dynamic, urban atmosphere and provide opportunities for planned and spontaneous meetings day and night. For students, faculty, and staff the Center is both a destination and a busy thoroughfare. It creates and environment that highlights and celebrates the College's diverse community in an attractive, welcoming, and socially vibrant gathering place. To this end, the Center staff strives to provide excellent service, useful and up-to-date information, and active program support for a wide range of social, intellectual, and cultural events.
Features of the McCullough Student Center include The Grille, MiddXpress (convenience store), Student Mailroom, The Crest Room, Student Information Desk, McCullough Social Hall, and the Mitchell Green Lounge and Conference Room. The Center houses the offices of the Center for Campus Activities and Leadership, The Alliance for Civic Action, Student Employment, the Student Government Association, and McCullough Dining Operations. The Center also has ATM and PIN machines.
MITCHELL GREEN LOUNGE: Located on the third level of McCullough, the Mitchell Green Lounge accommodates up to 40 people in a relaxed atmosphere. Student organizations are free to schedule meetings through CCAL.
BAND ROOM: Student bands may practice and store musical equipment in this space located in the Service Building. In order to confirm available practice times and use of the secure cages please contact the CCAL's Administrative Program Assistant.
DARKROOM: The fully stocked darkroom is located in the basement of Forest Hall and is available for student use upon the completion of an orientation process and receipt of $110.00 fee per academic year. For access to the darkroom and information on the orientation process please contact the Cook Commons Coordinator.
GAMUT ROOM: Located in the basement of Gifford Hall, the Gamut Room is a late night coffee house providing food and entertainment to the College community on Sunday through Thursday nights from 9:00 p.m.–1:00 a.m. It provides a variety of off-campus and student performers on selected nights. The menu includes coffees, teas, juices, bagels, muffins, cookies, and organic fare. For more information please contact the Wonnacott Commons Coordinator.
SOUND AND AUDIO-VISUAL EQUIPMENT: The Commons Offices have a variety of sound equipment and audio-visual equipment for use at functions outside of McCullough. This includes amplifier/mixers, CD players, microphones and stands. Students assume all financial responsibility for any lost or damaged equipment.
For information about Middlebury's 130 student organizations, check the student organization listing.
Weybridge Environmental House: The Weybridge Environmental House is home to students who seek to inform themselves and the College community about pressing environmental issues. House members form a community of supportive peers with a shared interest in examining our role as humans within greater natural systems. They also seek to minimize their negative impact on the environment. Through faculty discussion dinners, lectures, hikes, letter-writing campaigns, and networking with other college environmental houses, Weybridgers strive to live responsibly. Weybridge has a unique meal plan. Instead of going to the college dining halls, residents order food in bulk from the main dining hall and cook for themselves as a community. They also supplement their vegetarian diet with a harvest from the house's organic vegetable and herb garden.
Jewish Center: This is located on the dining level of The Freeman International Center. It is where students come together each week for a short Shabbat service followed by Friday evening dinner. The Jewish Center consists of a kitchen and a small meeting room used for the Jewish Center Speaker Series and weekly Hillel lunch meetings. Freeman Annex is used (closed off from the rest of Freeman) for large events such as Parents' Weekend bagel brunches. The Jewish Center is run and maintained entirely by the Hillel students.
PALANA (Pan-African-Latino-Native American) Living & Learning Center - A Multicultural Association: This residential center located at Carr Hall accommodates up to twelve students who have demonstrated interest and dedication to our many cultures. The PALANA Center consists of living facilities, a library, computer space, kitchen, and a classroom. Residents are active participants in planning and implementing events. The Center supports the needs of students of diverse cultures, provides an experiential living space designated to aid retention, creates common ground for exploration of issues of cultural diversity, and serves as a locus in the Middlebury community for cultural programs, receptions, and social events.
Residence Life at Middlebury College affords students substantial opportunities to initiate, organize, and direct the cultural and social life of the College. Leaders within the areas of Residence Life provide mentoring and peer counseling for other students. The following are ways in which students may take on leadership positions and become involved in the workings of the residential life and Commons system on campus.
First Year Counselor Program: First Year Counselors (FYCs) are members of the junior class who volunteer to spend their junior year living with first year students, helping them to adjust to college life. In this mutually beneficial program, FYCs develop valuable leadership skills throughout the year by acting as mentors and advisors to the new students. Through the FYC program, the first year students have live-in advisors who play an important role in their adjustment to life at Middlebury. Selection of FYCs takes place in the spring of each year. The selected FYCs then return to campus for an intensive training period a week prior to first-year orientation. They are also given on-going support and training throughout the year.
Resident Assistant Program: Resident Assistants (RAs) are usually members of the junior or senior class who are selected to live in a college residence hall and serve as leader, manager, counselor, and helper of the residents who live there. RAs have all of the responsibilities of Junior Counselors, plus the management of the building and programming for their residents. Many RAs also choose to serve on Commons Councils. The program provides valuable training and skill development for those students serving as RAs. Selections for these paid positions are made in March of the junior or sophomore year. Those selected return in late August for a training session before the arrival of the new students. Continuing support and training are provided throughout the year.
Commons Residential Advisor Program: Commons Residential Advisors (CRAs) are recent graduates of Middlebury who are full-time employees and work in a residence hall, which they manage and direct. They are also responsible for overseeing other residences within their Commons cluster. They work closely with Faculty Heads in the organization, development, and functioning of the Commons and House System, and in addition work with the offices of the Dean of Students and Residential Life. CRA selection takes place in March of the applicant's senior year. Those selected receive room, board, benefits, and a salary.
The Commons System: The purpose of the Middlebury Commons System is three-fold: to create more opportunities for meaningful interaction between faculty, staff and students; to empower students to determine the nature of their intellectual, social, and residential life outside of the classroom, and to build a greater sense of community at the College. Each Commons Council works with the residents of the Commons, the Faculty Heads, and the Affiliates to develop programs and events that enrich the community and serve the needs of the students. The Commons System allows for the creation of smaller, more intimate communities on campus. Each Commons has one or two faculty members who serve as Faculty Heads and may have any number of faculty and staff affiliates who participate in events.
The Commons and Faculty Heads are as follows:
Atwater Commons: Stephen & Emmie Donadio
Brainerd Commons : Robert Schein
Cook Commons : Pat Zupan
Ross Commons: Katy & Steve Abbott
Wonnacott Commons: Will Nash and Deb Evans
Commons Council: Each Commons has a Commons Council consisting of ten to twenty members representing the various residence halls in the Commons group. This Council handles the affairs of the Commons, determines how the budget will be spent, and plans social, educational, and cultural events for the members of the Commons and the College community.
Inter-House Council (IHC): This organization serves as a means of communication and cooperation among the six coe-d social houses on campus.
Social Houses:The six social houses at Middlebury are co-ed living facilities whose members involve themselves in service to the community and provide a social outlet for the campus. The houses are Delta, Kappa Delta Rho (KDR), The Mill, Omega Alpha (Tavern), and Xenia.
Want to start a student organization? The Center for Campus Activities and Leadership (CCAL) will support students in the process outlined below.
1. Organize your first meeting to meet students who are interested. Reserve a room with the office assistant in CCAL. Advertise in the Middlebury Weekly Calendar and put up posters on campus to announce the organizational meeting.
2. At the same time, touch base with an Assistant Director in CCAL to pick up the Outline for Middlebury College Club Constitutions. This will be the guideline that will walk you through the process of developing the needed constitution.
3. Chair your first organizational meeting. Discuss the purpose, list those students who show interest, and form a committee to draft a constitution and budget.
4. Submit your proposed constitution, sample budget, proposed events for the year, and roster of interested students to the office manager of CCAL. The SGA Constitution Committee will meet with you to review and act upon the request.
5. As a recognized student organization, the officers may meet with the Finance Committee to request funding. (Funding is not guaranteed.) Request forms are available at the Center for Campus Activities and Leadership.