"The MAC is Now the CFA" student-led initiative
Description
In J-Term 2023, a small group of students spearheaded an initiative to make their peers aware of sexual assault cover-up allegations against The Mahaney Arts Center's namesake, Kevin P. Mahaney. They sought to preserve this institutional memory for younger students by referencing a college campaign in 2019 that encouraged students to adopt "the MAC" as the colloquialism for the building, instead of "the CFA." The organizers referenced the previous college-led initiative by using identical iconography and design for stickers and posters that were used in 2019.
Date
2019-2023
Collection Items
Middlebury College Notes Mahaney Arts Center Name Change
A note on the Middlebury College website explaining the Mahaney Arts Center 2019 name change.
Middlebury College Blog Post Noting Mahaney Arts Center Name Change
A Middlebury College blog post noting the Mahaney Arts Center 2019 name change.
The Campus: "CFA Becomes the MAC, and Students Ask Why"
A 2019 article in the Middlebury Campus reporting on the "CFA" to "MAC" name change and students responses to the change. The article also notes allegations that Mahaney helped to cover up a sexual assault.
The Campus: "Accuser Drops Charges Against Kevin Mahaney"
A Middlebury Campus article on the dropped status of allegations that Kevin Mahaney, whom the Mahaney Arts Center is name after, helped to cover up a sexual assault.
The Campus: “'The MAC is now the CFA': Students revive resistance to arts center name change"
A Middlebury Campus article on the student-led initiative protesting the a 2019 college-led initiative to encourage students to adopt the colloquialism "the MAC," for the Mahaney Arts Center in replacement of "the CFA."
The Campus: "Why we say 'CFA'"
An op-ed written by the organizers of the 2023 student-led initiative protesting the a 2019 college-led initiative to encourage students to adopt the colloquialism "the MAC," for the Mahaney Arts Center in replacement of "the CFA."