The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) objects to the College’s broad anti-harassment policy and claimed that the Aunt Des videos, part of a campaign to raise awareness about dish theft from the dining halls, violate said policy.
The administration has dismissed these claims of discrimination as unwarranted.
Samantha Harris, a lawyer and writer working with FIRE, posted an article on Feb. 7 titled “Middlebury College Administration Violates Its Own Speech Code” in which she stated that the Aunt Des videos violate the College’s policy.
The character of Aunt Des is portrayed with specifically Greek-American mannerisms and accent. Harris claims that the use of stereotypes violates the College’s anti-harassment policy.
The College will make no official response to FIRE.
“The Aunt Des videos are a light-hearted effort to bring the students' attention to a longstanding problem and they've been received by the campus community in this spirit,” said Sarah Ray, director of public affairs.
“Middlebury encourages and promotes free speech and diverse viewpoints and, as is stated in the Middlebury College Handbook, the College ‘is committed to maintaining a campus environment where bigotry and intolerance are unacceptable,’” said Ray. “Other colleges and universities have similar guidelines.”
Maria Stadtmueller, a writer for the communications office, played Aunt Des in the videos.
“Lots of people in parts of my native New Jersey speak and gesticulate in a similar way. Aunt Des was one of them. She was a real person on the Greek side of my family — a no-nonsense, suck-it-up Spartan — and I’ve just embellished a little,” said Stadtmueller.
The Aunt Des videos prompted a student-produced parody video that aimed to both further the goals of the dish campaign and poke fun at the videos.
“I think FIRE is overreacting a little and taking advantage of what is an otherwise admirable campaign to make a dig and stir up controversy concerning Middlebury’s administrative policies,” said Audrey Tolbert ’13, who played the character of Aunt Des in the parody.
The Colleges anti-harassment policy states that, among other things, “Harassment may include repeated slurs, or taunts in the guise of jokes, or disparaging references to others, use of epithets, stereotypes, comments, gestures, threats, graffiti, display or circulation of written or visual materials, taunts on manner of speech and negative reference to customs when such conduct is based on or motivated by one or more of the protected characteristics identified above.”
“I do not automatically associate someone of this ethnicity to someone who is stingy and adamant about having dishes returned to the dining halls,” said Tolbert. “In the portrayal of Aunt Des, I think the school was really trying to create someone who was intriguing, entertaining and just plain weird. They needed someone who could grab the attention of the entire student body and I think they succeeded to some extent with the creation of Aunt Des.”
In her article, Harris posed the question: “For example, if the Aunt Des videos had been put out by a student or student group, and Aunt Des had been Jewish or Mexican rather than Greek, do you think we might have a different situation on our hands?”
According to Tolbert, the administration has been supportive of the Aunt Des parody thus far.
Overall, there seems to be little negativity about the Aunt Des videos on campus. The administration has expressed no intention of revising the anti-harassment policy in response to FIRE’s claims.
FIRE’s mission is to “defend and sustain individual rights at America's colleges and universities” according to their website. “These rights include freedom of speech, legal equality, due process, religious liberty and sanctity of conscience — the essential qualities of individual liberty and dignity.”
Middlebury College Administration Violates Its Own Speech Code
Aunt Des provokes controversy
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