Middlebury Chapel can keep its name

A Vermont Superior Court judge decided on Oct. 4 that Middlebury Chapel at Middlebury College can keep its name, dealing a blow to a lawsuit brought by former Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas that sought to restore the building’s original moniker, Mead Memorial Chapel. 

The lawsuit over Middlebury Chapel — a.k.a. Mead Memorial Chapel — is not fully resolved, but a judge said Middlebury College won’t have to restore the chapel’s old name.

MIDDLEBURY — The lawsuit filed by former Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas challenging Middlebury College officials’ 2021 decision to rename the former Mead Memorial Chapel will move forward now that a judge has denied the college’s motion to dismiss the complaint … (read more)

Swooping down, a righteous vulture/ Points his talons at “Cancel Culture”/ Enough! he squawks, leave the pastard be/ Let wrongs live on in history…

Middlebury College is asking that a judge dismiss a lawsuit brought against the institution earlier this year by former Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, who in March sued the college for its decision to change the name of the former Mead Memorial Chapel. 

Dave Silberman’s personal attack on Jim Douglas seems as ill-informed as it was manifestly uncivil.

This is our history! So why are we trying to hide our past? Whether we like it or not it plays a role in the development of our state.

His lawsuit is a farce and an abuse of our court system’s limited resources.

Slavery, racism and other public issues are viewed very differently by the public today than in past times when they were overwhelmingly accepted and were unobjectionable under then-existing laws.

If Middlebury College’s action to remove Mead’s name from Mead Chapel were founded on more than terror of the Woke Pandemic, they would tear down Mead Chapel and return the original contribution, plus interest, to the benefactor’s heirs.

It seems irrelevant (contrary to what Gov. Douglas suggests) that the Legislature put eugenic laws into effect 19 years after Mead made his very public statements in support of these evil ideas — and that therefore there is no proven connection between th … (read more)

Former Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas is suing the college for its 2021 decision to change the name of the historic structure, formerly known as Mead Memorial Chapel.

Middlebury College has decided to remove the Mead name because the man whose gift established the chapel, Gov. John A. Mead, advocated and promoted eugenics policies in Vermont in the early 1900s.

MIDDLEBURY — Point CounterPoint faculty musicians continue to celebrate the camp’s 40th anniversary with a another concert of chamber music on Thursday, Aug. 1, 8 p.m., at Mead Chapel on the Middlebury College campus. The professional musicians who teach … (read more)