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Activist Listening

Activist Listening

by Sophie Clark

Politics Documentary Personal Journals

Season 1

The Fight for Fair Grades with Arthur Martins

When every college student in the country was removed from campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and students alike had to ask themselves: "how on earth do we grade people this semester?" Someone leading the movement asking for equitable grading at Middlebury was my guest today, Arthur Martins. We discuss what that movement looked like, what he learned from it, and whether Middlebury, and colleges as a whole, suffer from an empathy gap.

Cops off Campus with Arlo Fleischer

With the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement many college students started to critique their college's use of policing as a means of controlling the student body. I talk today with Arlo Fleischer, a member of Middlebury's branch of the national movement for Cops off Campus. We discuss how Middlebury's use of "Public Safety" officers affects students, how to reimagine campus safety without the use of officers, and what the future of Middlebury policing looks like.

Activism from Midd to your Home Town with Marisa Edmonson

After being forced to leave Middlebury due to the pandemic, the last thing Marisa Edmonson '19.75 wanted to do was go home to Paonia Colorado. But, when she got there, the combination of the resurgence of BLM and her own pull to confront racism in her home town of Paonia led her to found the movement to Decolonize Delta County School District (DCSD). In this episode we talk about how to enact activism outside of a college bubble, and how to create successful grassroots movements at home.

Decolonizing Middlebury's Curriculum with Wengel Kifle

In this episode Wengel Kifle '19.75 and I talk about her involvement in the movement to decolonize Middlebury's Curriculum. Starting in 2018, Wengel and our former classmate Treasure Brooks led a meeting for White Allies asking us to show up and fight for a fairer Midd. We talk about how that initial push went, what came out of it, and how Middlebury is dealing with its curriculum now.

Fair Wages with Celia Gottleib

Middlebury College can often feel extremely stratified between the staff and the students. One example of new-found solidarity between the two was when the student body protested for higher staff wages in the Fall of 2019. This protest was organised and led by a number of students, including my guest today, Celia Gottleib. We discuss how she worked with the staff to bring this issue to the forefront, how she encouraged people to march during a blizzard, and what the future of staff-student solidarity looks like.

Fossil Fuel Divestment with Leif Taranta

People come from around the world to study Environmental Studies at Middlebury College, so why on earth was a school that touted its environmental credentials so proudly still investing in fossil fuels? My guest today, Leif Taranta, asked just that as a member of the group fighting for Fossil Fuel Divestment. In this episode we sit down to discuss how that movement got started, what made it ultimately successful, and what the future of environmentalism at Middlebury looks like.