Hi! I’m very interested in Middlebury academically (and athletically as a prospective varsity athlete). From the research I’ve done, it seems to be a very outdoorsy student body (let me know if this impression seems misguided), which I love! However, I’m curious about the student culture outside of this. If I come to Middlebury, it would be as a varsity athlete, and I’m wondering how much of an athlete/non-athlete divide there is on campus. As a queer athlete it is important to me to be able to expand beyond athletics socially! Also, I’m not sure if anybody knows what the LGBTQ+ scene is like or how progressive Middlebury is, but if anybody could provide input on that it would be awesome!
Middlebury is about as progressive as they come. It is, in fact, also very outdoorsy. My kid, who grew up in a suburb just outside a major city, got into hiking, cross country jogging, and camping.
I don’t think that any of the NESCACs can be considered anything but progressive.
My kid, who is graduating this year, is LGBTQ, but not an athlete. It was never an issue. Not in the sense of “people were OK with it”, but in the sense of “nobody actually cares, except somebody who wants to ask them out or set them up”. Kind of like nobody cares if you’re lactose intolerant unless they’re serving ice cream for dessert (BTW, lactose intolerance is what’s normal for mammals, the people who can tolerate lactose are the mutants).
The athlete/non-athlete divide is about the same as it is at any liberal arts college. My kid had some friends who were athletes, however, the pandemic did make it difficult for athletes to socialize with non-athletes, or even with athletes in other sports. After the pandemic, my kid had moved into the “art” house (there are a number of residences with themes, hers is for students who also engaged in fine and performing arts or creative writing, mostly on top of their major). Similar things happened to the different athletic teams - they generally isolated together, and by the time students could start visiting other hallways and residences, the core friend groups and socialization patterns were set up.
If not for the pandemic, there likely would be more socialization going on between larger groups.
In all honesty, though, athletes will always bond the most with their teammates.
Some stories about LGBTQ life at Midd, including for athletes:
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