Last weekend you could have made history by skiing at the Snow Bowl and playing 18 holes at the Ralph Myhre Golf Course on the same day. Due to the unusually warm weather, the golf course opened on March 16—more than two weeks earlier than its previous tee-off date of April 2. The Snow Bowl, meanwhile, stayed in operation through Sunday, March 18. The manager of the Bowl, Peter Mackey, thanked everyone “for sticking with us through the tough winter,” while Jim Dayton and his golf course staff hustled to get the course ready for its earliest opening ever.

On a more international note, recent graduate Jahd Khalil ’11 interviewed associate professor Febe Armanios for Egypt Independent in response to the recent passing of Pope Shenouda III, the charismatic leader of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church. An authority on the Coptic faith, Armanios is the author of the book Coptic Christianity in Ottoman Egypt (Oxford University Press, 2011) and teaches courses in Egyptian history and politics, and women and gender in the Middle East.

In commemoration of the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, Middlebury College joined forces with performing artists around the country for Shinsai—a global showcase of music, theatre, and discussion. (Shinsai means “great quake” in Japanese.) Our student newspaper, The Campus, gave extensive coverage to Middlebury’s collaborative Shinsai event coordinated by the theatre department.

Eric Davis, professor emeritus and secretary emeritus of the College, is doing regular commentary about national and local politics for Vermont Public Radio throughout the 2012 election season. His five-minute segments can be heard on alternating Saturday mornings at about 9:35 a.m. during VPR’s broadcast of “Weekend Edition.” Here is Eric’s most recent commentary in which he discussed Republican challenger Randy Brock’s chances to unseat Vermont’s incumbent Governor Peter Shumlin. (Brock, by the way, is a 1965 graduate of Middlebury while Shumlin graduated from Wesleyan.)

When MiddPoints was published in hard copy, over 71 percent of staff and faculty said the classified section was their favorite department in the publication. Now with the spring-cleaning season upon us, here’s your chance to unload your used merchandise again—this time using the new online MiddPoints Weekly classified advertising section. It’s easy to post a new listing or scan down the list of items—such as theatre tickets, used furniture, and computer gear—for sale.

Since its founding in 2009, the Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE) has focused its yearly programming on a different theme, such as citizenship, environment, and education. Next year the CCSRE will be looking at race, ethnicity, and immigration. Be a part of the planning process, let your voice be heard, or just observe the inner workings of the center on Thursday, March 22, from noon to 1 p.m. in Carr Hall Lounge when the CCSRE steering committee and friends convene in an open meeting. All are welcome.