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The Dartmouth
March 29, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Shawmut Bank symbol is offensive to some students

To the Editor:

In your article on the Shawmut Bank take over ("Shawmut Bank takes over," June 30, 1994) you included the opinion of one Native American student who does not mind the bank's Indian symbol.

Everyone has their own personal opinion about Indian symbols such as the Washington Redskins and the "Dartmouth Indian" and these opinions are not necessarily dictated by one's ethnic background.

However, there are many people on this campus who are bothered by the Shawmut logo.

When closing my account there, I explained to the bank manager that as long as stereotypes like these exist, more people will become desensitized to ignorance and racism, passed on to the next generation.

It is a matter of passive exposure: violence that does not affect us --on televison or in movies -- can desensitize us to violence.

Shawmut bank obviously sees their logo as a harmless caricature, but the targets of the discrimination perpetuated in this manner do not find this harmless.

The small amount of money I withdrew from Shawmut will not effect the bank at all. But it cannot be said that the Shawmut "Indian symbol" did not bother anyone or, more importantly, that the bank did not lose any business because of it.