A hollow sycamore tree stretches upward between Mead Chapel and Gifford Hall, casting a wide shadow over picnic tables, pathways, and Adirondack chairs. With the absence of wood in the trunk, students fill the tree with their thoughts and longings, scribbled across bits of old classwork, rolled up, scrunched up, and jammed into the “Poem Tree.”
Gifford houses primarily sophomores in a combination of singles, doubles, and suites. But its central location makes it a meeting ground. Groups practice in the large lounge, students climb the ladder to the not-so-secret fifth-floor cupola for views of the Adirondacks and Green Mountains, and the basement performance space and kitchen, called the Gamut Room, regularly holds student concerts and poetry readings. Open the side exit and you’ll spill out onto the stage of the Gamphitheater, a regular locale for improv shows, a cappella concerts, and speaking events like The Middlebury Moth-Up.
“When I was a senior in high school, my dad and I went to The Moth-Up,” says Alex Burns ’21. “I was blown away by the stories of the students and staff. And they also just seemed like a bunch of cool people. It was one of the reasons I came to Middlebury.”
489 College St.
Middlebury, VT 05753