To the Editor:
I was disheartened to see the column by Allison Krasnow (Oct. 27, 'Listen to be Heard') criticizing Dartmouth students who spoke at a forum on sexual harassment charges at the elementary school in Hanover. It was completely inappropriate for some residents to voice hostility towards "outsiders" attending and participating in a public forum.
When someone else tries to define whether you are a member of a community, it should make you feel angry, not chastised. You do have a responsibility to inform yourself about the issues and that is why people came to the forum.
The students who spoke did not attempt to talk about areas in which they were ignorant. They instead expressed frustration that there was no substantive discussion that would have clarified the case or its resolution.
Most of the parents there were as poorly informed as the Dartmouth students because the findings of the Office on Civil Rights are only accessible to those willing to go, in person, to the superintendent's office and give their names to his assistant -- an intimidating process for Hanover parents.
Students, who don't feel the same inhibitions, were able to speak openly and provided a jolt of reality. I welcomed their voices.