Alison "Sunny" Symroski Weir

After my Sophomore year at Middlebury I decided to transfer to the University of Michigan to study journalism. (I got married on graduation day & divorced 20 years later.)

After college I served as a Peace Corp Volunteer in Taloqan, Afghanistan, and next moved to went to San Francisco to help start a "counter culture" magazine called SunDance (which crashed after three issues).

I then raised three wonderful children while doing some freelance journalism and photography. (All three graduated with honors from UC Berkeley; my son also has a PhD from Caltech & one of my daughters has a Masters degree from Berkeley.)

In early 2001, I went to Gaza and the West Bank as a freelance reporter. When I returned I founded a nonprofit organization called "If Americans Knew" to tell people about Israel-Palestine; wrote a book called "Against Our Better Judgment" (this has sold 30,000 copies!) continue to visit the region occasionally (not long ago to Iran & Beirut), and frequently give lectures and write articles on the issue.

(Because of my work on Palestine, you may see claims on the Internet that I am supposedly extremist or "anti-Semitic," etc, but in reality I oppose bigotry of every kind and have allies from across the political spectrum and of diverse races and ethnicities, including Jewish, Christian, Muslim, etc.)

Most important, I have eight grandchildren whom I'm delighted to regularly babysit (I've posted a few photos).

I now live in the San Francisco area (after periods in Washington DC, Oregon, & Sacramento), but often go on speaking tours to other parts of the world & US (I spoke in Middlebury a few years ago).

I still enjoy hiking, kayaking, camping, and a little skiing in the Sierras. I would enjoy having coffee and catching up with former classmates anytime we're in the same area! I hope to attend June's reunion.

Please feel free to get in touch with me – my email address is alisonweir@gmail.com and my cell phone is 415-847-1782 (I also text).

I grew up in a military family that moved often – I attended high school in Japan and Georgia. I went to Middlebury sight-unseen on the advice of a teacher, and was hugely excited when I arrived. I found the campus and Vermont beautiful, and loved being able to learn to ski, attend concerts on campus, visit New York with a roommate, etc. – a far cry from Georgia!

I still cherish that time and the fellow students I met, though, sadly, I've failed to stay in touch with anyone. I appreciate this website and being able to re-connect. Thank you to the people responsible for creating this!