To the Editor:
The organized, intentional disruption of Professor Tom Luxon's presentation of the Alpha Chi Alpha Fraternity "Hell Night" tape and the Alpha Delta Fraternity "Sex Room" tape was a violation of the most basic standards of decency and civility and an attack on Dartmouth's community of scholars.
Professor Luxon was invited to present his analysis of two documents and then lead a discussion about the issues they raised. Essentially there was no difference between his presentation and any other lecture given on campus. Of course Professor Luxon had an opinion on the material he was presenting -- otherwise no one would have been interested in hearing him speak. Few Dartmouth students would think of standing up in the middle of a lecture on "King Lear" and telling the professor to stop commenting on the text so that the students in the class could make up their own minds about the play. Yet because the two documents Professor Luxon was presenting were about fraternities, students felt they had the right to interrupt his presentation with rude, insulting comments. This kind of behavior is unacceptable, and it is ridiculous to blame Professor Luxon for what happened last Thursday.
For an intellectual community to exist, its members must be willing to allow each other to present their opinions and analyses and to discuss their differences calmly, rationally and respectfully. Professor Luxon had planned to facilitate a discussion after he was done giving his presentation -- he was willing to give those who disagreed with him a chance to express their views. The fraternity members who disrupted his presentation refused to grant him the same level of respect he was ready to grant them.
To some extent, this is not surprising. The actions depicted in the two tapes are frightening, disgusting, and morally repugnant. One would be hard pressed to present a coherent defense of the actions of the "brothers" of AXA and AD that could stand up to any level of intellectual scrutiny. So, rather than taking part in a discussion of the tapes, fraternity members chose to prevent anyone else from discussing them.
But even those who expect this kind of behavior shouldn't accept it. The freedom of speech and dissent is one of the core values that holds together the Dartmouth community. We must not allow those who choose to suppress the freedom of speech to triumph on this campus. It's time for the College to stand up for its principles and defend the integrity of our intellectual community.
