News

Muslims share meaning of head scarves

Posted on March 1, 2010 |

• Middlebury
• Middlebury College

By Andrea Suozzo

MIDDLEBURY — The hijab, or head scarf, is one of the more recognized — and at times, controversial — symbols of the Muslim faith. For some, it represents female oppression; for some, modesty; for some, faith.

For most Americans, the hijab is simply a mystery.

So when three Muslim students at Middlebury College spoke about their reasons for wearing hijab last Thursday, the hall was packed with people sitting on the floor and craning in through the doors to catch some of the conversation.

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Symposium de-romanticizes India

Posted on March 1, 2010 |

• Middlebury
• Middlebury College

By Urvashi Barooah

MIDDLEBURY — The land of Bollywood, the “call center capital,” creator of curry and home to the Taj Mahal. India is a country of 1.5 billion people with a booming gross domestic product of about 7 percent even during the world’s recent recession.

A rising superpower, India is extremely diverse with 18 official languages and about 700 dialects, is expected to be the world’s third largest economy by 2050, is the largest democracy in the world, and, yet, it’s a country mired in contradictions of religion, ethnicity and language.

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Bristol eyes contentious town plan vote

Posted on February 25, 2010 |

• Bristol
• town meeting day

By Kathryn Flagg

BRISTOL — The long-simmering issue of sand and gravel extraction in Bristol comes to a head on Tuesday when residents cast votes on a proposed update of the Bristol Town Plan and a new ordinance that would regulate gravel mining.

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VUHS Spanish teacher wins $100K fellowship

Posted on February 25, 2010 |

• Vergennes
• education

By Andrea Suozzo

VERGENNES — It’s not often that high school teachers can take a semester away from teaching to focus exclusively on creating a more progressive learning environment.

But that is just what Vergennes Union High School Spanish teacher Kristine Kirkaldy will do next fall. She recently became the second teacher from VUHS to win a Rowland Fellowship, which each year awards $100,000 to up to 10 Vermont secondary school educators to fund a semester researching and developing a project focused on “enhancing the institution’s culture and climate,” according to the foundation’s Web site.

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