MARLBORO, Vt.—The Marlboro College community pushed to allocate $1,000 from a campus fund to support students applying to transfer to other colleges at Town Meeting on Wednesday.
The community discussed students’ desire to use the Washer/Dryer fund, a sum of money set aside primarily for improvements to the campus. At the Meeting, they also advocated for more representation in the campus-focused working group.
Town Meeting is a weekly forum of the Marlboro campus and the surrounding townspeople, where the community makes recommendations to the college through Selectboard, a group of Marlboro students and faculty who are elected to lead the meeting.
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Fumio Sugihara said many colleges have removed their application fees, which should make it easier for students to send out applications.
“Hopefully, as students look to transfer, [fees] will not be as prevalent an issue,” he said, according to the Town Meeting minutes. “Furthermore, we do hope to work with other colleges to find other opportunities for students who are considering a transfer.”
Chief Advancement Officer Rennie Washburn said the college is looking to start fundraising for a transition fund to help students, staff, and non-tenure-track faculty with anything that relates to their role in the merger.
Nikolas Katrick, the outdoor program coordinator at Marlboro, said he and other members of Town Meeting proposed a resolution on the future of the campus. The petition asked to include two elected students, two elected staff, two elected faculty, and two residents of the town in the working group addressing the future of the campus. Katrick recognized that the Marlboro Board of Trustees will have the final decision on the matter.
The Marlboro Board of Trustees originally organized the campus working group to include one student, one staff member, one faculty member, and one resident of the town, all elected by the community.
Katrick then asked if it was possible to include members of the graduate school staff in the working group. Selectboard clarified that students could nominate graduate school staff to fill two elected staff positions.
Sara Coffey, alumna and co-chair of the Marlboro campus working group, said the chairs of the working group seem in favor of adding more positions and encouraged people at the meeting to engage in conversations surrounding the possible merger.
“I live here locally, I’ve been a volunteer at the college for 30 years, and I want to acknowledge the loss that we’re all feeling,” she said, according to the Town Meeting minutes.
Coffey said the working group will meet for the first time on Dec. 9.
