Middlebury President Laurie Patton updates alumni on protest aftermath

Student protesters disrupt speaker Charles Murray on March 2 at McCullough Student Center. Middlebury College photos.

Vermont Business Magazine Middlebury President Laurie Patton emailed college alumni on March 21 to update them on steps the campus community is taking in the aftermath of the much-publicized March 2protestsagainst speaker Charles Murray. She once again condemned the violence, said both college and police investigations are ongoing and that "21st century education must embrace an uncompromising commitment both to free speech and to open dialogue."

President Patton’s note said:

"Dear Middlebury alumni community,

"I know many of you are interested in our progress in response to the Murray event, and I write with a brief update.

"The Middlebury community has joined together in condemning the violence that occurred. There are two investigations underway—the College’s independent investigation of the events of March 2 and, second, a police investigation of the incident outside. The student conduct process underway will be fair and just. Federal law requires that the process and individual outcomes remain confidential, except in the case of criminal violence. Our commitment to this process is absolute.

"In a number of statements to the community, I have reiterated the principle stated in my earlier public letters: a 21st century education must embrace an uncompromising commitment both to free speech and to open dialogue that creates a more inclusive public sphere. Free speech must be defended on all sides, and only through this principle will we achieve the work of making society more inclusive.

"Middlebury has continued with its vibrant hum of classes, sports and artistic events, and outside lectures. We are also hard at work on nourishing the sense of community on our campus that has been under strain these past few weeks. I know you appreciate the importance of that work.

"Yours cordially,
"Laurie Patton, President"

Allison Stanger speaks with Charles Murray in a video session after the initial protests disrupted Murray's speech and before Stanger was injured as they left the building. Middlebury photo.

The Murray protests generated a flood of national news coverage and messages from alumni. Much of the coverage and many of the messages framed the issue as one of free speech on college campuses, others questioned Middlebury’s judgment to invite a speaker whose writings they believe "delegitimize" members of the campus community.

Middlebury has created aninformation pagerelated to the Charles Murray event that includes links to President Patton’s statements, news coverage, statements by Charles Murray and Professor Allison Stanger, and a wide variety of opinion pieces submitted to the student newspaper.