MIDDLEBURY, Vt. (WCAX) – A Vermont judge on Tuesday heard arguments in a case some say embodies the debate over cancel culture. Three years ago, Middlebury College stripped Gov. John Mead’s name from an iconic chapel on campus, claiming that he played a role in advocating for the eugenics movement.
On its face, the case is a very specific debate over whether the chapel was a gift to the college or whether it was given under a specific contract. But it’s evolved into a bigger discussion of how society remembers controversial times.
After a yearlong hiatus, lawyers are chiming in on a lawsuit raising questions about how we interpret the views of the past.
Middlebury Chapel was formerly known as the Mead Memorial Chapel for more than a century. It was named for the family of Gov. John Mead after he donated $60,000 to build the chapel for his alma mater. That is until 2021 when Middlebury removed Mead’s name over claims the governor, who served from 1910 to 1912, voiced support for Vermont’s controversial eugenics movement in a goodbye speech to the Legislature.
Former Republican Gov. Jim Douglas sued Middlebury College, claiming removing Mead’s name is breaking a contract.
“This is a highly factual situation with an extremely bizarre event of de-naming this chapel after more than 100 years,” said Brooke Dingledine, Douglas’ lawyer.
In an all-virtual hearing in front of Vermont Superior Court Judge Robert Mello, Douglas argued the intent was to memorialize Mead and his family and their contributions to the community and college. He said Mead made the $60,000 donation with the expectation the chapel would carry his name, and the Mead estate is owed restitution.
“In their wildest dreams, no party to this contract would have ever believed that Middlebury College would have stripped the name and used Governor Mead as a political scapegoat in the year 2021,” Dingledine said.
But Middlebury College’s lawyers contend the donation for the chapel was a gift and the college should be able to make any changes it wants.
“When you give a charitable gift, a donor cannot go into court and seek to have a court enforce a restriction on a charitable gift. When you give a gift to a charitable organization, you give up any interest in it,” said Justin Barnard, Middlebury College’s lawyer.
They add that documents from the time did not specifically say the name had to be kept in perpetuity.
“There’s no enforceable obligation for the college to maintain the name on the chapel forever,” Barnard said.
Middlebury’s lawyer says the broader cultural question about whether it was justified to remove the name from the chapel is an academic question, but what’s in court here is a more narrow legal argument.
The hearing Tuesday three years after it was filed was a hearing on Middlebury College’s motion for a summary judgment.
There’s no timeline yet on when the judge will hand down a decision.