Middlebury students have put together a “mutual aid” spreadsheet to help each other after the school announced Tuesday that spring break would begin one week early and remote instruction would follow in late March.
The move by the college came in response to concerns about the coronavirus.
As students work on packing up their rooms or arranging last-minute travel, the spreadsheet has tabs for people to offer or request help with housing, transportation, storage, food, health care and emotional support.
Leif Taranta, one of the students who started the spreadsheet, said the goal is to rally community resources to make sure nobody falls through the cracks during this abrupt transition. Students were alerted Tuesday that, with a few exceptions, they needed to arrange to leave campus on Friday. Middlebury has a form for students to fill out requesting financial assistance with travel expenses, but many still need help, Taranta said.
“Our biggest concern is low income students,” Taranta said. “Really anyone who isn’t wealthy can’t buy a plane ticket with two days notice.”
Taranta added that for certain students, including LGBTQ students without accepting families or international students facing visa concerns, going home may not be an option.
“Anybody can have a special situation and not be able to leave. The idea is we can all help each other,” Taranta said.
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In less than 24 hours, the spreadsheet — which was widely shared on social media — was flooded with responses from students, alumni, faculty, staff and local community members offering help.
People offered rides to and from transportation hubs including Burlington International Airport, as well as carpools to further destinations such as Boston, New York and even Atlanta. Faculty, staff and locals have offered to house students, store student belongings and provide meals. On the emotional support tab, students, faculty and local clergy have left contact information for those looking to talk, with one local resident even offering to let students play with her dog.
Senior Adrienne Goldstein posted a ride offer to the Washington, D.C., area, and wrote that anyone who is worried about paying for food can send her a request for funds on Venmo.
“It’s a pretty terrible situation for everyone but for some people especially they need their on-campus job for money, they need their dining plan for food,” she said. “This is such a stressful time and having food and having transportation shouldn’t be an added stress.”
Mike Roy, the dean of the library, saw the spreadsheet circulating on Facebook and posted an offer to store boxes in his barn. The college is allowing students to leave labeled boxes in their dorm rooms and offering to place belongings in communal storage in the event that students do not return before the end of the semester, but many students are scrambling to find an alternative place to put their stuff.
“I just feel terrible for these students who are in this situation,” Roy said. “I thought it’s the least I can do to be helpful.”
Housing offers have come both from locals and from alumni across the country. Katie Corrigan, who graduated in 2019 and now lives in Chicago, saw the spreadsheet on a friend’s Instagram and posted a housing offer.
“If someone gets stranded at O’Hare airport or for some reason needs somewhere to crash for a day or two I can definitely provide that,” Corrigan said. “What’s the point of community if you’re not willing to take care of people who might not have the same resources as you? Even though I live in a really tiny apartment, if I can offer up space to someone who might otherwise be on the street, or in a bad situation, I can’t think why I wouldn’t do that.”
Many of the locals offering support learned of the spreadsheet on Front Porch Forum. Jennifer Molineaux, who lives in Middlebury, is offering housing for students in need.
“It seems like an ‘of course’ kind of thing. Of course we would help,” Molineaux said. “It’s a small house so it would get tight eventually, but of course if it’s a crisis we will figure it out.”
In a related effort, students have also arranged for boxes to be set up outside the library where students can take or leave food, cleaning supplies or medical supplies. At the end of the week, all unclaimed food items will be donated to the local food shelf.
Taranta said it has been heartwarming to see the Middlebury community come together around this grassroots student effort and support each other during a difficult moment.
“We’re in this time of chaos and collapse in many ways and this is really when people have to start taking initiative and taking care of each other outside what might be the normal institutional channels,” Taranta said. “People are realizing, wait, we do have the ability to offer things that we didn’t even know we could offer or ask for help. I hope that we keep that up.”
