January 19, 2001
Middlebury College fetes mid-year
graduates with annual ski-down celebration on Feb. 3
MIDDLEBURY, Vt.―Eighty-six
students from the class of 2001 expect to receive bachelor of arts
degrees from Middlebury College upon the mid-year completion of their
academic requirements at the liberal arts institution in Vermont.
These graduates first entered College during the spring term instead
of the fall, and subsequently earn degrees mid-year. Because they
must nevertheless wait until May to receive actual diplomas, the
College plans a special mid-winter celebration to more immediately
honor their accomplishment. This year, the annual “ski-down” in cap
and gown will take place on Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Middlebury
College Snow Bowl in the nearby Green Mountains.
Following the custom initiated by
mid-year graduates over a decade ago, most students choose to
participate one way or another in the festive procession on the
slopes. Led by a Middlebury College standard-bearer, honorees ride
the chairlift up the mountain and parade back down again in a
procession of caps and gowns, blue and white balloons, skis,
snowboards, sometimes snowshoes, sometimes toboggansand even,
once, a canoeto the cheers and hearty congratulations of
family, friends, and College faculty and staff waiting
below.
The College also looks forward to
seeing its ski-down graduates return later each spring, when they
join the rest of their graduating class at the College’s official
commencement ceremony on the main campus in May.
For more information, contact Glenna
Emilo, Middlebury College campus event coordinator,
802-443-5335.
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