We have a little homework for you to do!
1. Read the following selections:
Please keep track of things that intrigue, inform, or annoy you.
2. Write your own definition of the "mathematics of social justice."
3. As you read the newspaper or peruse the web, look for relevant articles, and bring your favorites with you. For instance, I'm looking at reports of two recent studies, one concluding that civil unrest is more likely to occur in countries with young populations, and the other finding that hundreds of children in agricultural states have been exposed to dangerous farm chemicals while at school. Could my students evaluate these claims?
We can only accept checks, made out to Middlebury College. Please send to MSJ Workshop, c/o Priscilla Bremser, Department of Mathematics, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753. Registration is $120.
We will be partially reimbursing travel for PA/NY Campus Compact members, and perhaps others if the budget permits.
If you are flying into Burlington Airport (BTV) and would like to use our local van service to get to campus, contact Linda Williams (if she hasn't already contacted you) with your flight times. Prices vary depending on how many people are in a particular van, so Linda is trying to coordinate rides with Middlebury Transit. They will also need your cell phone number, if you have one, in case of delays.
If you are driving to Middlebury from Pennsylvania or New York, find your way to U.S. 87 north, and take exit 20 (just south of Lake George). At the traffic light, take a left, pass several outlet stores, and turn right on state route 149 to Fort Ann. Turn left on U.S. 4, and stay on that when it bears right in Whitehall. Soon after you cross into Vermont, take 22A north. In Shoreham, turn right onto 74, which ends in route 30; take a left, which will bring you to campus.
If you are coming from Amherst or points south and east of there, take U.S. 91 to exit 6. At the stop sign, turn left onto route 103, and follow that to U.S. 7 north. Go through Rutland and on to Middlebury. Just after route 7 jogs left (at the Middlebury Inn) and then right, take a left around the green onto route 125 west. This will bring you through town and then to campus.
From Boston or central New Hampshire, get on U.S. 89 north. Take exit 3 in Bethel to route 107 east (mind the left turn over the bridge), then north on route 100, then east on 125 through the Middlebury Gap, and then north on U.S. 7. Just after route 7 jogs left (at the Middlebury Inn) and then right, take a left onto route 125 west. This will bring you through town and then to campus. NOTE: astute map readers may notice that this route involves going southwest from Bethel to go north. If this offends you, and you are brave, take route 12 north out of Bethel (meaning go straight when 107 goes left). Turn left onto Camp Brook Road, a.k.a. the Bethel Mountain Road (or if you're really clever, take the Watershed Road shortcut and turn left where it ends onto Camp Brook), and go up and down to route 100 in Rochester, where you turn right and proceed as above. It saves five or ten minutes, assuming no wrong turns.
ONCE YOU'RE ON CAMPUS, things get tricky because of building and road construction. Here's a campus map; you will be staying in Brooker (west of the cemetery), eating in Ross Commons (across route 125), and attending sessions in Bicentennial Hall. Brooker is easiest to access from College Street (route 125). So coming in on route 30, take a left on Storrs Avenue past the main library, and then left again onto College Street. Coming in from route 7, just stay on route 125. In either case, turn left just past the top of the hill onto Adirondack View Road (the first left after the blinking light) and follow that to Brooker, where Karen and/or I will meet you. College Street may be torn up, so be prepared for delays. But cutting through campus is risky because of one-way lanes and building construction detours. After you've unloaded, you'll be parking in the lot next to the Robert A. Jones House.
Our campus becomes a language institute in the summer. The schools in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian will be in session during our workshop. Because these are immersion programs, each student signs a pledge to use only the target language for the duration of the session. Please respect the pledge while on campus. We will be having breakfast in the dining hall alongside the students, so if you know one of these languages, feel free to give them some practice!
On campus: the Language Schools offer films in target languages; see the college events calendar for details. Information about the Middlebury College Museum of Art can be found here. I have arranged for temporary passes to our fitness center and pool -- click here for the schedules. If a walk or run is what you're after, the trail around the golf course is about 5 kilometers (bring bug spray). Karen Levin (our student expert) and I can help map out shorter or longer routes if you'd like.
Close to campus: the Henry Sheldon Museum is "the oldest chartered community history museum in the United States." Another option is the Vermont State Craft Center gallery at Frog Hollow. Both of these are an easy walk from campus. The Vermont Folk Life Center is slated to re-open in a new location a few doors up from the museum; at this point it's unclear whether it will be ready the week of our workshop.
Farther afield: about 2 miles from campus is the UVM Morgan Horse farm. A little closer in (but it would be a long walk) is Otter Creek Brewing.
Access to the trail up Snake Mountain is about 5 miles away. The hike itself is a 3.6 mile round trip (about two hours), the reward being a great view of the Champlain Valley and the Adirondack mountains to the west. Here's a description and map. The Green Mountain Club describes more challenging options. For a more gentle stroll, consider the Robert Frost trail -- about a mile long with some of Frost's poetry on signs along the way -- or the Spirit in Nature path center. Both are in Ripton, east of Middlebury on route 125.
For those who prefer history over hiking, Fort Ticonderoga is a short ferry ride across Lake Champlain from Shoreham. Options on this side of the lake include the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and the Rokeby Museum, an Underground Railroad site. Finally, the Shelburne Museum (about 45 minutes away) is more like a campus, devoted to "art and Americana."