Inside the mind of the student body

A letter from the Academic Editor

What do you have inside your head, GMC? We hear an awful lot of talk about activism, about sports, about running around naked showing the Democratic gubernatorial candidate your holy of holies, but we rarely hear much about what kinds of ideas you have. No one is ever talking about your intelligence.

That's not to say that you're dumb. Far from it. But unfortunately, the thoughts flickering around the furnace of your mind don't get the news coverage that they should. Which is a shame, because, after all, this is an academic institution. A place of learning. Of knowledge. Of ideas.

We want to hear your ideas, GMC. We want your naked views to streak through the Mountaineer, flaunting your floppy thoughts for all the campus to see. And the best part is that you don't have to do any extra work.

Here's the deal. Almost every week, you're probably writing some sort of essay or response paper to the issues you are discussing in your classes. We want to publish the essays and responses that you are proud to call your own. If you've written something for class that really makes you feel good about the education you're receiving at Green Mountain College, we want to share it with the rest of the campus. We want everyone to know about the fantastic academic work that is being done at this small school. We want your fellow students to know. We want the faculty and staff to know. We want parents to know. We want visitors to know. But most of all, we want you to know.

Students: if you have an essay or response paper that you'd like us to consider, send it to Mountaineer@greenmtn.edu as a Word attachment.

Professors: if your students have turned in papers that you believe they should be proud of, either recommend that they send it to us or send us an e-mail to let us know and we'll contact the student to encourage them.

In this issue, we're proud to publish the first installment of "Inside the mind of the student body." In Delicate Balance, Margo Logan wrote a response paper to "Protected Landscapes and Cultural Landscapes: Taking Advantage of Diverse Approaches” by Nora Mitchell and Susan Buggey. We hope you enjoy it and find yourself compelled to submit a piece of your own.

Because you are doing great things here. And that's something everybody should know.