Talk:Middlebury College
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[edit] Ranking
Isn't there somewhere else besides the very first paragraph we can talk about rankings etc? A past iteration of the page had it somewhere down farther. That's where it should still be. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.233.13.32 (talk) 18:27, 17 February 2008 (UTC)
[edit] The Real Question Is
Why is someone at Williams [yes, IP addresses can be tracked] so concerned about Middlebury's Wiki page? I only brought up Williams and Amherst because you seem to ignore the same concerns in their entries (first sentence, no less!), and I'm curious as to why?
Oh, and I've returned the entry to the way you'd like it. I expect to see you doing some more editing on other college Wiki entries.
- thank you for compromising with me. i feel bad that i misled you though. i should let you know im not actually a williams student. im just currently homeless right now, and i use the library facilities… i suppose i should be completely honest, and admit that i do have a grudge against middlebury college. it’s just that the day i got rejected from middlebury college, everything in my life started going wrong. but i’m trying to turn things around. im actually coming up to middlebury for a second campus visit next month. we should hang out. i’ll be in the library basement. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Petitepassionz (talk • contribs) 16:00, 20 January 2008 (UTC)
[edit] selectivity
why are you so obsessed with the term "highly selective"? and amherst? and williams? maybe there should be a section about how middlebury college is fixated with its relative selectivity. and amherst. and williams. would you feel bad about middlebury college if it wasn't considered highly selective by college admissions magazines? do other highly selective colleges feel the need to tout thier "selectivity"? in the very first sentence of thier wikipedia article?
I think what was there was a fair compromise, and it will probably revert to that in the end.
yes, they indeed do. check the williams and amherst college pages; they all have highly selective. i think midd deserves the same as well.
[edit] Hippies
Middlebury College does not exist only for "it's [sic] selectivity" or "long history of amazing scholarship" [actually, the article reads "distinguished scholarship"], but these two elements, along with many others, do characterize the college. Admit it--you're picking on Middlebury in particular and ignoring the subjective terms found in all of the other college entries. Why is Williams College still listed as being "highly selective" and Amherst as being "elite" in their introductions? You haven't wasted your time correcting those egregious errors. Perhaps once you’ve removed all of the subjective terms from the entries for all of the top colleges, the Middlebury “hippies” and “goons” will stop “defacing” this entry. Deal, Dartmouth goon?
[edit] admissions officer
actually "highly selective" is a subjective term. Every school or organization could define itself as highly selective. i'm sure your counterpart at university of phoenix also considers his institution "highly selective," so really what's the point? it's all empty talk, and hardly npov. so let's remove it.
the bigger question is whether middlebury college exists only for it's "selectivity" or "long history of amazing scholarship." why are these in the introduction? are these the defining aspects of middlebury college? does middlebury college only exist to impress high school kids? or does it have a real history?
if "highly selective" is to be in the article, it should be in a separate section about middlebury's reputation. and it should include the references to these college magazines you apparently cherish. the concept of selectivity needs to be in context. wikipedia entries shouldn't be written though the prism of college admissions.
and yes, i am spiteful towards hippies who are trying to hijack wikipedia and turn it into an advertisement for their college. so please don't deface the page again middlebury goons.
[edit] Highly Selective
Believe it or not, "highly selective" is a real term that is found and referenced in hundreds of websites (including dozens of college guides and college web sites). It also is used in plenty of Wiki entries for elite colleges (e.g., Williams College). And your reference to "Middlebury goons" does nothing to help your cause--it just makes you look spiteful, which you may or may not be for whatever reason.
[edit] the ad
I reworded some of the Middlebury article to make it more objective, and less of an advertisement. eg, "highly selective" isn't a real term. It's something admissions offices use to market themselves to high school kids. The same with "long tradition of amazing scholarship." Every college in the world thinks they have a "long tradition of amazing scholarship." If the Middlebury article gets it, every college article should too. you're not that special.
Please don't deface the page again middlebury goons.
[edit] what's the point?
This page reads like an advertisement for Middlebury College. Is there any actually objective information about the school or its history? Or just more chessey claptrap about how Middlebury is the most perfect place on the entire earth? This is pathetic.
It is amazing that this article continues to tout Middlebury's numerical ranking in the incredibly flawed and biased US News survey. It puzzles me that the execrable U.S. News rating tables continue to be taken seriously in any way. There is little doubt that a major publisher will soon offer a new (and hopefully much better) college ranking system that takes into account ALL important academic and societal contribution categories. Take a close look at where Middlebury ranks in a critical category such as research vis-a-vis Williams or Wesleyan...Oh, research quality is not measured by US News?...hmmmmmm. The Financial Times of London counts quality of research as 20% of its total score when ranking UK institutions of higher learning...We could go on and on.
Anthropologique 18:41, 6 September 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Early history naming disparities
The History of Addison County[1], published in 1886, lists November 8, 1797, as the date of the charter of the Addison County Grammar School (page 344), as established by act of the state legislature. It may not have been active, however, until the new year. Additionally, it establishes that the legislature granted the College's charter to the "President and Fellows of Middlebury College" (page 347), the legal name of the corporation today. The use of "Middlebury Academy" is not clear, but it is unlikely the degree-granting institution was known as that. Both legally and operationally, the College and the Grammar School were seperate institutions, although they did exist in the same building for the first few years (this building was later known as East College, which burned in the 1860s at about the site where Twilight Hall stands today). Aiken1986
[edit] Course Selection
Check this out before you choose any classes...
MiddKid.com, a local student site, offers online course evaluations. You can use this site to reference classes you’re thinking of taking, so you can see how other students have rated the teacher and material. You can also post your own ratings to help out other students. Check out http://middkid.com/eval/ for more information.
from the College Prowler guidebook, Middlebury College - Off the Record
[edit] this college was mentioned on Slashdot.com
Not to make THEM famous.... just this...
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/26/1752250
"History department has voted to ban students from citing it as a resource. An outright ban was considered, but dropped because enforcement seemed impossible."
[edit] Using of wikipedia
According to an New York Times articel, the school has forbiddin his students to use wikipedia as an trustfull source for their studies: http://media.www.middleburycampus.com/media/storage/paper446/news/2007/01/24/News/Wikipedia.Distresses.History.Department-2670081.shtml?sourcedomain=www.middleburycampus.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com
194.171.35.202 11:10, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] "shire town"
The term "shire town" is likely unfamiliar to many. At the very least it should be linked to an article on the term. The current link redirects to "county seat." 76.19.147.79 18:42, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
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- I've lived in Vermont much of my life, and though living in Boston now, I still find myself visiting my home state at least monthly. I have never heard a Vermonter, native-born, or newcomer, ever use the term "shire town" in speaking. Yes, I know the state of Vermont Agency of Transportation uses the designation. The term is very charming. And, I am sorry to see Vermont's language rapidly lose its remaining sense of regionalism. However, Wikipedia's Manual of Style calls for common usage. Common, as in a commonly understood language, not base. Common usage is county seat. I'm no opponent to poetry, and not looking to dumb things down, and I fully believe in learning from context, but this is an encylopedia. The object of this article is to present information about Middlebury College, not introduce the reader to a charming but archaic variant of county seat. I wonder if the editor using it might appreciate its poetry more than its meaning? Unfortunately I don't think there is a place remaining in the United States where shire town would not be archaic. In my life the only place I've heard it spoken in conversation was in Obam, in Scotland. I suggest if you feel Middlebury's (the town) status as county seat is pertinent to the article on Middlebury (the college) we compromise here and use the far more common "county seat." Or, avoid it altogether. CApitol3 21:44, 14 June 2007 (UTC)
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- GearedBull- you make a good argument against using "shire town"; I disagree, but your contribution is very valuable, so thank you. I have heard the shire town moniker used, both in Addison County and in Bennington County, where the frequently used "Northshire" and "Southshire" designations refer to the county's two shire towns, Manchester and Bennington. I understand the concern about the romance of the language, but prefer this term given my exposure to it. I don't believe it belongs in the article, but do know that it's occasionally used. Aiken1986 02:57, 15 June 2007 (UTC)
[edit] "Highly Selective"
As several people have pointed out already, the term "highly selective" is entirely subjective and has no place in an encyclopedic article. Yet somehow it keeps creeping back in to the opening paragraph. I'm a student here, and honestly it doesn't threaten my self-esteem in any way for this college to be described using only facts. I can summarize all of the "selectivity" content in one sentence: Some people said some good stuff about us. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.233.212.53 (talk) 02:29, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
[edit] selectivity?
i think middlebury is very, very selective. doesn't that count for anything????
Petitepassionz (talk) 23:31, 19 January 2008 (UTC)
[edit] John Chavis
Although the historical record indicates that John Chavis studied at what would later be known as Washington & Lee University, there is no evidence that he received an academic degree from W&L. There is no doubt that Alexander Twilight received an academic degree from Middlebury College in 1823. See this reference:
