Every
year on the Saturday before Mother’s Day, the Feminist Resource Center at
Chellis House celebrates all the nominees for the Feminist of the Year Award.
On May 11, 2019, a large group of Chellis House friends gathered in the
backyard to celebrate the strides we made during another successful school
year. Integral to making these strides are the many feminist activists and
knowledge producers who never tire of investing their intellectual and
emotional energy towards making this world a more equitable place. After
enjoying delicious treats and the poetry of GSFS major Sam Boudreau ’19, we
honored the award winners. Language in Motion Coordinator Kristen Mullins
garnered the prize in the staff category. Her nominator noted that “Kristen [had] devoted the past five years
to promoting and deepening cultural understanding on this campus, in the local
communities through her K-12 outreach, and in Japan through her Japan Summer
Service Learning program. For years now she has led community-focused anti-bias
response trainings. Students and staff alike have found them tremendously
helpful.”
This year, the committee decided to
distinguish two professors in the faculty category. Eliza Garrison, Associate
Professor of History of Art and Architecture, was lauded for “consistently
bringing a feminist lens to her classes in the Art History department. In
particular, her class ‘Medieval Bodies’ in fall 2018 analyzed how women and
other (literally) marginalized people were treated in medieval art and what the
social and political ramifications of these representations were.” In all of
her classes, Professor Garrison makes a point “both to assign feminist analyses
of works of art and to discuss misogyny and othering in art.” The other
professor who won the award was Lana Povitz, Visiting Assistant Professor of
History. Her nominator highlighted her ability “to craft socially conscious and relevant syllabi in
all of her classes, which require students to engage with the highly political world
around them, allowing no one to remain apathetic or ignorant of the issues that
dictate our lives. Her assignments allow students to self implicate, explore
their own narratives, and counter traditional modes of history that sustain
patriarchy.”
This year, the selection committee
decided to distinguish five students with the award although many more had been
nominated. Throughout their four-year career at Middlebury, Miranda de Beer ’19
and Mika Morton ’19 often engaged in activism in tandem. By conceiving the
“Middlebury 5K: Steps Towards Reproductive Justice” three years ago, they
created an event with staying power. The event now draws close to 100 people who learn about
reproductive justice through signs on the golf course while running or walking.
They expand their knowledge at t-shirt making activities after the event where the
event leaders are on site to talk about reproductive justice and hand-out
pamphlets. Mika and Miranda also created a template for other students to
continue their effort.
Mika and Miranda often collaborated
with Toria Isquith ’19, Grace Vedock ’20 and Rebecca Wishnie ’20. Toria raised
awareness about the reproductive dangers associated with the proliferation of crisis
pregnancy centers that pose as health care facilities to spread misinformation
about pregnancy and abortion. For her senior project with Professor Carly
Thomsen, Toria developed the “Bonefish” animation series, which brings to light
the realities of abortion access and lived experience for women seeking
reproductive healthcare.
In addition to being an activist against sexual violence and
helping establish a digital archive for feminist activism at Middlebury,
Rebecca Wishnie investigated the power dynamics of the Charles Murray visit
throughout the past school year. In the course, “Gender and the Making of
Space,” and at the student symposium, she examined how the architecture of
McCullough helped to lend an air of legitimacy to Murray’s visit. For the 2018
Student Summer Symposium, Rebecca, together with Professor Sujata Moorti,
investigated state-sanctioned violence and state-sanctioned mourning by comparing
the film series The Handmaid’s Tale
with the Charles Murray visit.
Over the past three years at
Middlebury. Grace Vedock has demonstrated a great passion for combating sexual
violence. Tirelessly collaborating with Taite Shomo ’20.5 in the “It Happens
Here” speak-out, she also testified before the Vermont State Committee on
Education in favor of a bill that supports victims of campus sexual assault in
Vermont. Grace also is a strong advocate on behalf of all queer students who
were affected by this voices contesting their humanity on this campus.
Please congratulate all the winners
when you see them.
Caption: 2019 Feminists of the Year Toria Isquith ’19, Miranda de Beer ’19, Professor Lana Povitz, Grace Vedock ’20, and Mika Morton ’19. Not pictured: Professor Eliza Garrison, Language in Motion Coordinator Kristen Mullins, and Rebecca Wishnie ’10.
