A diverse group of about 20 male and female students met in the Women's Resource Center on Monday to begin organizing a response to Playboy Magazine's planned visit to the College in May.
Although the group still does not have any specific plans, it did agree to a tentative statement of purpose stating its plan to coordinate an "oppositional response" to the visit by holding an informational campaign.
Women's Resource Center Director Giavanna Munafo led the meeting and said she hoped the different parties who attended could coordinate their efforts and form an effective coalition.
Munafo said attempting to overcome the differences "was the main challenge of the meeting."
The meeting included a diverse coalition of students ranging from progressive feminists and writers from the Spare Rib, a women's issues publication, to writers from The Dartmouth Review, the off-campus conservative weekly.
Photographers from Playboy will come to the College on May 8 and 9 to interview women who would like to pose for the magazine's "Women of the Ivy League" pictorial in the October 1995 back-to-school issue.
During nearly two hours of discussion, the group attempted to formulate a common statement of purpose that would make room for the two camps involved in the debate over Playboy -- those who would like to concentrate on educating people about the issues surrounding pornography and others who would like to take a more radical stance against Playboy.
Sarah Johnston '97, who is helping to lead the effort, said the group decided it was necessary to make a preliminary statement of purpose quickly in order to begin the effort over the next month.
The group's tentative statement of purpose said, "Our coalition intends to coordinate an 'oppositional response' to Playboy Magazine's visit to Dartmouth on May 8 and 9, 1995.
"This will be done through a variety of activities including an 'effort to educate' the campus about the issues that arise regarding this visit and to disseminate 'information to potential consumers, models,' conscientious objectors, and others," the statement continued.
Johnston said some organizers were concerned the phrase "oppositional response" might alienate some students.
Playboy has already visited the campuses of the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and Princeton University. This month they will interview women at Yale, Harvard, Brown and Cornell Universities before coming to the College.
Student Assembly President Rukmini Sichitiu '95 said she believes it is important for the Dartmouth community to respond to Playboy's visit. She said individuals must address "the issue of Playboy and the crucial role that pornography has played in shaping women's images in this nation and the world."
Sichitiu added the Assembly does not plan to take a formal stand on the issue, unless a student involved in the protest asks it to do so.
In a previous interview with The Dartmouth, Johnston said the group recognizes a woman's right to freedom of expression and is not interested in taking away that right.
"We must make sure people realize that we do not intend to interfere with the choice of women on campus, but rather hope to persuade them not to pose," Johnston said.
Johnston said she will try to call a meeting within the week to plan possible strategies. At a meeting last term, some of the ideas presented included writing editorials to local newspapers and organizing a rally against the visit.
