Dartmouth College is a diverse commnity of people: Different races, sexes, sexual preferences, religions, favorite ice cream flavors, etc. This is true of most colleges and universities, and I came here realizing this. Nevertheless, as if the challenge of leaving home wasn't enough to deal with during the first few days at Dartmouth, we as the class of 1999 were forced -- or "strongly encouraged" -- to attend various meetings that attempted to 'quell our fears of this diversity'.
This encouragement began with Community at Dartmouth, described in the Class of 1999 Orientation booklet as "a series of presentations ... On the subject of student life at Dartmouth" an aid for us to form "varied and substantive relationships, to consider what it means to live in a highly diversified social environment, and to approach periodic adversity by calling upon Dartmouth's many resources." I approached the program with two opinions. On the one hand, I know that many students here did not come from such an extensively diversified high school environment as I did. Perhaps this was a good way for them to see the different types of people at Dartmouth.
The topics of the skits or soliloquies ranged from excessive drinking to not fitting in and being "different" at Dartmouth. But really, is one little three minute skit on being gay at Dartmouth going to enlighten all the homophobes in my class on the meaning of "tolerance of each other's differences"? Instead, the skits reminded me that there are a lot of ignorant people here -- not an altogether pleasing thought. And while those with various prejudices watched the skits with skepticism and bored or resentful expressions upon their faces, the rest of us merely wondered why we had to be subjected to all of this again: No preaching to the converted!
And while each presentation ideally was supposed to show resources available to us in dealing with these issues, some were more serious than others. This, however, did not necessarily mean that the serious ones were taken seriously. I had mixed emotions on the rape skits. While they came across vividly and were frightening in their reality, I just don't think most men, especially after a few beers, are going to remember the skits right then and there and reconsider their actions. Also, while it would be great if the skits did scare men and women into accepting the severity of date rape, it isn't as if this is (for the most part) the first time anybody's been told that "no" means stop. In fact, most people have been beaten over the head with political and social correctness to the point where we are overly concerned about what we say or do.
Logically, it stands to reason that if one keeps pounding certain issues into somebody, then those issues will make an impression. Take AIDS for instance. Education on AIDS or HIV prevention has been persistent and lengthy -- being taught as early as elementary school -- ever since the disease was discovered. Yet it still remains a serious and rampant epidemic. Everyone knows about world hunger and malnutrition, but still, people starve. So perhaps it is good to be told over and over and over again that rape is a problem, that phobias are a problem, that even Math 3 can be a problem. Perhaps it is just one more concession that we, the educated, must make to ensure continued attention to all of these important issues.
Perhaps, but a class meeting discussing the importance of women at Dartmouth was going a little too far. Again, the purpose was respectable, but as we found when we got there, the majority of us, regardless of the too-loosely-used-and-intimidating-term feminism, agreed that men and women, deserve equal opportunity. Dividing into sides, tallying the number of men versus women per side on questions like "do you consider yourself a feminist?"or "who has been the greatest influence so far in your life: a man or woman?" seems pointless, irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, repetitious and tedious.
Now, a few weeks later, have we come away from these experiences any wiser? Again, perhaps some of us have. Could my time have been spent better? Yes.
