Morgan Grady-Benson Interview Recording
Morgan Grady-Benson
This is the audio recording of an interview with Morgan Grady-Benson '18 (she/her/hers). Morgan was a Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies major. At Middlebury she was very involved with It Happens Here and founded the anti-sexual assault performance activist group, Stares and Stairs. Morgan was also a spin instructor with YouPower and involved with Middlebury College Radio.
Morgan Grady-Benson and Elissa Asch
May 4, 2020
Morgan Grady-Benson Interview Transcription
Morgan Grady-Benson
This is the transcription of an interview with Morgan Grady-Benson '18 (she/her/hers). Morgan was a Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies major. At Middlebury she was very involved with It Happens Here and founded the anti-sexual assault performance activist group, Stares and Stairs. Morgan was also a spin instructor with YouPower and involved with Middlebury College Radio.
Morgan Grady-Benson and Elissa Asch
May 4, 2020
Stares And Stairs Blog Post: "Rites of Spring//Complacency"
This blog post reflects on an attempted installation at Rites of Spring, an invite-only annual dance held by the "secret" fraternities at Middlebury. It speaks to the fact that the performers were kicked off of the property/alpaca farm by the owner because of the systematic nature of unsafe, white, and male dominated spaces as profitable. It also discusses people's complicity in these systems and the way that these systems connect directly to sexual violence. Stares and Stairs posted this to their website on May 25, 2017.
ed
May 25, 2017
Stares And Stairs Blog Post: "Reflections from the Mill"
Stares and Stairs Website Post
This blog post was written by an anonymous performer after an instillation at the Mill, a social house on campus. In this piece the author talks about their experience performing and critiques the Mill which, despite it's alternative reputation, continues to represent a problematic culture of violence and oppression on campus instead of challenge it. This post upset members of the Mill, who requested it be taken down. Stares and Stairs posted this to their website on February 25, 2017.
Anonymous Performer
February 25, 2017
Stares And Stairs Blog Post: "Post-Chromatic Mini-Responses"
Stares and Stairs Website Post
This blog post includes responses from different "performers" and "bodyguards" after an installation at Chromatic, a social house on campus. These responses detail student reactions to the instillation and observations on the party culture among other things. Stares and Stairs posted this to their website on May 12, 2016.
Anonymous Performers/Bodyguards
May 12, 2016
Stares And Stairs Blog Post: "Thoughts on BORNS and Beyond"
Stares and Stairs Website Post
This blog post reflects on how the Stares and Stairs installation outside of the BORNS Spring Concert was different than other locations and performances. It also addresses the group's attempts to avoid triggering survivors and other questions that they wrestle with. Stares and Stairs posted this to their website on April 22, 2016.
Chi Chi Chang
April 22, 2016
Stares And Stairs Blog Post: "So Many Stares: looking back at our first installation"
Stares and Stairs Website Post
This blog post reflects upon the experience of the first ever Stares and Stairs instillation as well as the various supportive, kind, defensive, and violent reactions of students . Stares and Stairs posted this to their website on April 20, 2016.
Stares and Stairs
April 20, 2016
Stares And Stairs Blog Post: "Photos from Past Performances"
Stares and Stairs Website Post
This blog post includes photos from multiple instillations, and depicts the way that performers were dressed, spread out on the stairs, and paired with "bodyguards." Stares and Stairs posted this to their website on April 11, 2016.
Stares and Stairs
April 11, 2016
Stares And Stairs Blog Post: "The Guy Who Raped Me Saw Me Half-Naked (and I liked it)*"
Stares and Stairs Website Post
This blog post lays out the experience and reflections of an anonymous performer who came face to face with her rapist while performing outside of the Spring Concert. Stares and Stairs posted this to their website on April 11, 2016.
Anonymous
April 11, 2016
Stares And Stairs Blog Post: "The Atwater Staircase: Performance Activism"
Stares and Stairs Website Post
This was the first blog post Stares and Stairs posted to their website on February 2, 2016. This post lays out the origin and goals of the group.
Stares and Stairs
February 2, 2016