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Molly Walsh
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Elizabeth Dunn at Middlebury College
Middlebury College student Elizabeth Dunn has been sanctioned but will not be suspended or expelled for posting a list on Facebook that accused 36 current and former male students by name of sexual assault and harassment.
The elite private college disciplined Dunn with a permanent letter in the senior's academic file, according to a report in the student newspaper, the
Middlebury Campus.
The college's review found that Dunn obstructed a campus Title IX investigation into the allegations by refusing to share with college administrators the names of the students who accused the men. Dunn also violated the college's "respect for persons policy" by publishing the list of "men to avoid," according to the report in the
Campus.
Dunn did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday but a friend of hers, Tiff Chang, has confirmed the sanction to
Seven Days. College officials declined comment.
But other people are still talking about the list. After it was posted in mid-December, Facebook quickly removed it,
but an uproar ensued as screenshots circulated on campus.
Some students hailed Dunn as a brave leader in the #MeToo movement who was standing up for victims who have been wronged. Others said the list ruined the reputations of innocent people without evidence or due process.
This week, a website called the
College Fix published a column by an anonymous Middlebury student who wrote that he has become a pariah on campus after being falsely tagged as a rapist on the list. The site bills itself as "Original. Student reported. Your daily dose of
right-minded news and commentary from across the nation." Associate editor Greg Piper said he verified that the writer is a Midd student whose name appeared on the list.
The column says, "For the past two months, I've dealt with the social and psychological fallout of being anonymously branded a rapist on a small liberal arts campus." It adds, "Most of my close female friends have abandoned me, and other friends continually make excuses to avoid me. I even considered suicide."
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