The Student Assembly has made the right decision by supporting the
motion to hire a full-time health care professional to serve the needs of Dartmouth's gay, lesbian and bisexual students.
The new position would create "a health professional at Dick's house with special training on gay, lesbian and bisexual psychology to provide counseling and guidance." The creation of this position would not give gay, lesbian and bisexual students any special privileges. Rather, it would help to give them a level of health service equal to that of other Dartmouth students.
The counseling and health services currently at the College are not equipped to address the needs of Dartmouth's gay, lesbian and bisexual community. The Student Assembly's resolution is a laudable step toward ending this inequality.
At the same time, the Assembly was prudent in its decision to not support the creation of an administrative position that would address the concerns of gay, lesbian and bisexual students.
The development of such a position would create a precedent for other student groups to claim they need an administrator to address their needs. Gay, lesbian and bisexual students constitute a relatively small percentage of the student body, and there is not enough need to warrant the creation of a full-time administrator.
The health and counseling needs of gay, lesbian and bisexual students at the College must be served. The administration would be wise to follow the Assembly's recommendation and hire a new health professional.
