Day 22: Activities, Activities

Feeling sleep deprived for real
Listening to Les Pecheurs De Perles - Au Fond Du Temple Saint by George Bizet
It's 3:14 AM and NEGATIVE 16 degrees Celsius outside
I'm taking a break from reading an environmental science textbook, which I'll have to use to write a paper that's due this morning

Last week, a student activities fair pamphlet read that there were over 150 student-led organizations around campus. That's a fairly large amount for a campus with 2600+ students.

I mean, what can I say? Students here LOVE doing activities because it makes them feel productive, significant, and like a part of a certain community.

I get to use the Internet maybe 5 minutes a day (just to check my school webmail, most of the time), and several days ago, I received an invitation by e-mail asking us Febs to run for the Feb Freshman senator position on the SGA (Student Government Association) on campus.

On a side note, some groups here in Middlebury College "have a lot of power". It's kind of funny (or not) how so many kinds of activities and such are so intense and taken so seriously in college. Maybe that's what it will be like in life after college? I mean, maybe as people get older, their desire/need for goals and accomplishments grow bigger and more important?

Anyway, I'm not getting into SGA. I don't think I'm wanting to get myself into school politics (and either way, it's totally different from high school).

I would rather try out things I have never done in the past! Don't you think it's more fun to get a taste of all the things your new environment can offer you?

Of course, I'm not saying that you should never do something you've done before, but instead "BE OPEN MINDED". A lot of people here tend to think that they have open minds and are willing to think in different ways, but - hell says N-O. For apparent reasons. I mean, it's a liberal arts school.

Anyway, to whoever is reading this, I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and try out completely new things. Things you've never done before. Things you've never even thought of doing.

I need to go finish my essay, so here I'll leave you with an interesting e-mail I got today (or at least I thought it was interesting, in several ways). Maybe you will learn something that's very subtle?

Statement of Resignation

Dear Students,

Please allow me to take a moment of your time to express a message of great importance to me. This past year has been an unbelievable experience for me filled with many highs and lows, opportunities and challenges, and a fair share of accomplishments and shortcomings. It has been a true honor and a privilege to represent such an amazing group of people in a number of different capacities over the past few months. I have cherished my time as President, as a student leader, and as your peer, and will take much away in terms of wisdom, personal growth, friendships and memories as a result. It is therefore with a mixture of both great appreciation and sadness that I write you today to announce (and for some confirm) my official resignation as President of the Student Government Association (SGA). I will be taking time off this semester to be at home with my family and recooperate mentally, physically, and emotionally from what has been a strenuous and eventful academic year.

While I am in no way obligated to do so (a point which has been made abundantly clear by friends, family, and members of the administration), I would like to briefly explain the reasoning for my departure with the full understanding that I will not be able to adequately convey all of the details and influential factors of this situation, both for reasons of confidentiality and complexity. I am stepping down as president of the SGA because I violated the terms of the academic honor code we all signed in our first-year as Middlebury students, and as a result I have been asked to take a semester off from campus.

There were a number of medical and personal complications which hindered my academic performance over the course of the fall and winter term, and I fell behind in my work. In my frantic attempt to get caught up in my work, I did not take my usual precautions in insuring I cited everything properly in my assignments, a mistake which would prove very costly. As a consequence of this carelessness, I improperly cited some sources and missed others entirely, and therefore committed plagiarism. I received notification over February break of the possible infractions, and upon looking over my work, also came to the conclusion that I had indeed plagiarized, at which time I took full-responsibility for my mistakes.

Although the infraction was unintentional, it was still a violation of the academic honor code, and I am now owning up to the consequences of my actions. Again, while I was not obligated to disclose any of this information, I believe as a matter of principle that part of the process of owning up to my mistakes is confronting them and acknowledging their existence, so that I can rectify the situation, rather than trying to avoid or hide them. I would therefore like to apologize to the student body. As a Middlebury Senior and a student leader, you and I both have come to expect better, and I am sorry for failing in that regard. Believe me, there is no one that feels worse about this situation than I, and I do hope you can forgive me.

I also hope, however, that no one feels sorry for me either, for I do not feel sorry for myself. I am not ashamed of my mistakes, failures, or shortcomings. A bit embarassed, yes, and I regret that these things happened the way they did, but I am certainly not ashamed. We are all human, and we all make mistakes—admittedly some worse than others, but what matters most is how we deal with our mistakes and overcome our failures. In the words of the great writer Paulo Coelho, “Defeat exists, but not suffering. A true warrior knows that when he loses a battle he is improving the skill with which he wields a sword. He will be able to fight more skillfully next time.” I look forward to taking some time off, and coming back to finish my academic career at with strength and vigor.

So what happens next? There will be a special midterm election in the next two weeks for a new president of the SGA who will finish out the rest of the year. Antoinette Rangel will act as President of the SGA in the interim period. An Election Council consisting of five students will be selected within the next day or so, and will be responsible for running the election. There will be an information session for the SGA positions available (SGA President, Junior Class Senator, Freshman Feb Senator, and Brainerd Commons Senator) and over the weekend students who wish to be candidates for these positions will need to gather student signatures and write a letter of intent before they can run for office. Anyone may run for SGA President, but you must be a Junior to run for Junior Senator, Freshman Feb to run for Freshman Feb Senator, and in Brainerd Commons to run for Brainerd Commons Senator. Once the candidates are approved by the Senate, campaigning will be allowed to officially begin. For a full 24 hours, from Noon on Thursday of next week (March 5^th) to Noon on Friday (March 6^th) students will be able to log on electronically to vote.

In closing, I would like to be "real" with you all for a second and leave you with the following: in times of great crisis lies great opportunity. As a result of the economic recession and the budget deficit of the college, we are in a unique time at Middlebury where a number of decisions will be made over the course of the next few years that will significantly change the structure, programming, and operations of the College for many years to come. As students, we are a significant part of the Middlebury community (we are, after all, who this institution is created for). Our tuition accounts for a substantial portion of the endowment. We live on campus, and we are given four years to make most of our time here. Therefore, we should have some say in the decisions being made on campus.

The Student Government Association is the tool the students have been provided to represent the voice of the student body on all matters. Therefore, you need to ask yourself if the SGA is doing for you what you need it to do? Is your voice being heard? Are you being fully represented? Whether you are a member of the SGA or not, having your voice heard and having an impact on campus requires some sort of active participation. Think about what you want from your SGA. Find out who your representatives are and speak with them. Learn what the major issues are and help be part of the solution.

With the upcoming election, you have the opportunity to continue to take steps in the right direction. Now is the time when the students must assert their stake in the decision making process on campus, and the SGA is a mechanism that has already been established to help you do so. I urge you not to miss this opportunity, for it is as Coelho eloquently states: “When we postpone the harvest, the fruit rots, but when we post pone our problems, they keep on growing.”

Thank you again everyone for your time and support. It has been quite the honor and experience serving as SGA President. If anyone has any questions or comments feel free to contact me.

To the Seniors graduating this year, it’s been a wonderful journey these past four years and I look forward to witnessing the many great things that will come out of this group.

Tanyán glá yo, pilamayaye matakuyapi!

All the best,

Toka ci' Wayata Hokshila

Bobby Joe Smith III

What did you think? Just from reading this e-mail, I get a feeling that this guy is plain amazing.