The Concerned Students of Middlebury have deliberated to find the most equitable ways to make an endorsement of candidates in this election cycle. We have made the following endorsements for candidates based solely on their platforms and their record at Middlebury College for supporting marginalized communities and uplifting voices that have been underrepresented. The CSM Executive Board is excited to endorse:

• Myles Maxie for SGA President
• Sophia Lundberg for Co-Chair of Community Council (Fall)
• Aubrianna Wilson for Junior Class Representative

We have confidence that these candidates will do the work to effectively make a Middlebury that supports all students.

CSM Executive Board*

*In this endorsement process, our Executive Board acted impartially and required all candidates to recuse themselves from the formation of the endorsement committee, formulation of all endorsement procedures, and vote on endorsement.

To Our Middlebury Community,
 
Black lives still matter. We started our first message with these words and unfortunately, approximately a year later, we still are faced with the same issues that require the reiteration of the phrase.
The recent murder of yet another Black human, Daunte Wright, a twenty-year-old Black man, represents another piece of evidence supporting unfortunate truth of the fabric of the United States of America: pervasive systemic racism, and specifically anti-blackness, continues to exist and will persist until we as a society take action to dismantle the structures that contribute to it.
This is a heavy statement, but one that needs to be said, without apology or pause. When we as a community speak about being allies and practicing anti-racism, it’s equally important we address the fact that these issues will not go away overnight, especially without tangible action. It takes work and effort from all of us as a community to ensure tragic atrocities such as this can be prevented. When people demonstrate a refusal to take action to support marginalized people, they aid in the perpetuation of these systems.
As individuals in a small college community, it can sometimes feel difficult to find ways to be involved. We have compiled a list of things you can do to work against these systems right now:

1. Racial Justice Resources: Educate yourselves and others on how racial justice and policing interact. Think of ways that this presents itself in our community and how we can promote racial justice here in the Middlebury community through this lens.
2. Be Active in Our Campus Community: There are current campus initiatives working now to dismantle structures of racism and oppression (including but not limited to JusTalks, Cops Off Campus, Concerned Students of Middlebury, and more). Additionally there are numerous campus organizations supporting BIPOC and marginalized students. Reach out and find ways to get involved to support those in our community.
3. CSM Instagram: We will be posting information on how people can financially support the family during this time as well as other ways to support Black community members.
4. Meaningful Check-In: Check in and talk to the Black people with whom you have an established relationship with. This is a time for finding ways to support those around you, so consider taking the time to do so. 

Last May, our letter to President Patton was sent and a few short days later we received a response, one that marked a time of partnership with our administration as we collectively have worked towards a more anti-racist campus. Since then, we have worked diligently with our college administration and intercultural student organizations to create a Middlebury community that works to support all students regardless of background, and where the most marginalized of us can have a voice. We do not propose that this is perfect and all of the work is being done as quickly as we would like it to happen, but we are remaining committed to this because it is the progress our campus community has needed for decades. We will continue this work because that is precisely what the Concerned Students of Middlebury were created to do: support those in our community who face marginalization based solely on the premise of their identity. We hope to work beside each of you in this mission as well.
To the Wright family, although we know you likely will not see this, we will never know the grief that your family is feeling right now; however, we feel indescribable pain alongside you and want to work to dismantle the systems that allowed this to happen. It is the least we can do.
In solidarity,
Myles Maxie, CSM Co-President

with permission from
The CSM Executive Board

To Our Middlebury Community,

The last few months have marked a potential turning point in the COVID-19 pandemic. The release of multiple vaccines and continued progress towards greater public access works to grant all of us a great deal of hope in making it through a difficult time, one in which many of us have dealt with great loss and grief. We want to take a moment to acknowledge that.

Unfortunately, inequities continue to present a threat to our collective community truly moving forward. The recent statements of Governor Phil Scott as it pertains to restricted access to college students not originating from the state of Vermont not only threaten the way in which we consider ourselves as a collective Vermont community, but also the health of the said community. Unvaccinated students living in close quarters, interacting with each other and community members, and receiving only inequitable solutions for a sense of relief is a description of a recipe for disaster. It disregards the simple fact of the matter that— contrary to what Governor Scott seems to suggest— we are still active members of the local community meaning we will continue to influence the community prevalence and spread of COVID-19 if left without true assistance. 

With basic consideration, it is clear that all students, including those not originating from Vermont, should be vaccinated in the same mode as any other Vermont resident while actively residing in Vermont; however, the most important corollary of this that requires even more attention is our sub-populations who are at higher risk of infection. A college student not originating from the state of Vermont is not immune to COVID-19 nor any of the ailments that exacerbate the illness. They are equally at risk as vulnerable populations who happen to have been an official resident of Vermont for a longer period of time. They deserve equitable access and treatment as their susceptibility to the COVID-19 virus is a reality and their official residency does not change the fact that they deserve treatment and protection. 

COVID-19 poses a threat to each and every one of us. Living in a small residential community with communal housing only exacerbates the threat posed by the virus alone Simply put: COVID-19 does not show exception to an individual based on the state they originate from. We are all able to contract the virus and unfortunately spread it. Delaying vaccination of thousands of students for thirty days can be detrimental to the collective community health. We urge Governor Scott to treat the students of the colleges in this state— who were counted in the census and thus played a role in dictating the number of vaccines Vermont received to begin with— equally to all other residents as it pertains to vaccinations, given we are held to the same expectations in terms of other obligations (taxes, local statutes, interaction with the economy). If you agree, please consider reading our recent suggestion to the state of Vermont and Middlebury College and signing on here. We will be delivering this to the proper channels by Sunday for further consideration and action.

We want to end this by taking the time and space to acknowledge that regardless of the verbiage of Governor Scott, you are as much an integral part of Vermont as anyone else. When you shop here, work in the state, pay taxes, attend school, and contribute to the very fabric of what we have come to know as Vermont life, you belong here and should consider yourself to be a Vermonter if you so choose.
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In solidarity,
​Concerned Students of Middlebury