| by Sierra Abukins
The inaugural fellows created a bilingual booklet to help the community engage - in both English and Spanish - with new sidewalk murals along routes to Salinas schools. The multi-year partnership with the Transportation Agency for Monterey County lets faculty and students put their skills to work on local community projects.
| by By Dr. Amy Cooter, Robin O’Luanaigh, CTEC Researcher DiRi, Brooke Allison, Toby Graf, Frances Breidenstein, and and Kendra French
Moms for Liberty (M4L) is a so-called parent’s rights organization that has achieved incredible momentum and political gains since its inception in 2021 by latching onto and amplifying some of the most contentious cultural flashpoints of the time. Despite suffering numerous public controversies, M4L’s rhetoric and activism have dramatically impacted schools, school boards, and both local and national politics while inspiring similar organizations to take root. This paper qualitatively examines core themes and ideas that M4L has used to accomplish these outcomes via content analysis of M4L’s national website materials and their Town Hall at the 2024 Republican National Convention. We find that M4L messaging weaves together interrelated narratives rather than presenting distinct, issue-focused materials, and that these narratives center on themes of Conspiratorial Thinking, Political Engagement, Gender Roles, Parents’ Rights, and Identity-Based Narratives. While less of an overt presence in the dataset, Nationalism and Christianity are also important for contextualizing these narrative themes.
| by Sierra Abukins
Hear student perspectives on why the Middlebury Institute is a great fit for Soka’s globally minded students, who are eligible for a scholarship providing 25 percent off tuition.
| by Caitlin Fillmore
Unique weeklong intensive helps conference interpreters who aspire to reach the pinnacle of the field.
| by Caitlin Fillmore
Attendees discuss current job openings and internship opportunities with employers like Stanford Health Care, TransPerfect, Honda, and the U.S. State Department, making connections with alumni working there now.
| by Marissa Gonzalez
Almost 50 Middlebury Institute students are practicum this semester spending their time and gaining invaluable skills in locations all over the globe from Alaska to Kenya.
| by Caitlin Fillmore
A long-running partnership with the Army War College immerses policy and language students in realistic diplomatic negotiations over an intense weekend. This marks the tenth year of the International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (ISCNE).
