Last week, flyers were distributed to all students living on campus urging them to show their disapproval of hatred and prejudice by placing the flyer on their door. On Friday, an ad with the same message and a list of the 14 co-sponsoring organizations ran in The Dartmouth. Among these organizations were four sororities, the Asian Pacific American Issues Forum, Aquinas House and the Women's Resource Center. Several days later, many people have not placed the flyers on their doors. Why is this?
Is it possible that it could be just too much trouble? Maybe students don't have tape, or they can't find it, or they just can't be bothered to open their desk drawers. Are Dartmouth students really so lazy that they can't put a flyer up? How is it that students who manage, for the most part, to go to class, who go skiing in droves and who are involved in organizations, activities and social groups can't put some tape on a piece of paper and put it on their door? If the message is one that students really accepted, I refuse to believe that they could not manage the effort to do so.
But what aspect of this message do people not agree with? The flyer's meaning is simple and clear. It lists three attacks on Dartmouth students that have occurred during the past year and demands an end to occurrences of this type. It indicates that those who choose to put the flyer on their door "take responsibility to work towards creating an environment of respect."
I have enough faith in Dartmouth students to believe that the majority are against racism, sexism and homophobia. At the very least, I think Dartmouth students do not believe others should be attacked due to their race, gender or sexual orientation. Perhaps this is an idealistic assumption, but I don't think it is. So, what, then, is the problem?
Maybe some students may feel that the flyer is anti-Greek, because it mentions an incident that occurred at a fraternity over the summer. This was not the intention of the students involved in planning the response. Not only did several sororities co-sponsor the flyer and the ad, but the main organizer assured the fraternity to which both alluded that mentioning the poem was not an indictment of that particular house nor of the Greek system as a whole. The incident was mentioned merely as a prominent example of the ways racism and sexism are manifested on campus.
All I can think of is that students are afraid to say that they "will not be silent." Placing the flyer on your door entails responsibility. You actively indicate that you are against acts of prejudice and will not tolerate them. It may seem easier to remain silent and not assume that responsibility. I understand how easy and safe silence can be. After all, I am just as guilty as everyone else. I read the article about the racial epithets written on the door of two Asian-American students in The Dartmouth, and I was horrified, angry and saddened. But, besides alluding to the incident in a previous column, I did nothing. I did not know what I could do, so I stayed quiet.
The flyer provides a partial answer to that problem of caring and yet not knowing what to do. By putting it on your door you can visibly demonstrate that you are concerned. It won't change the world and probably will not end hate and intolerance here, but it would show that those types of actions will not be accepted by the community here.
Achieving a community characterized by respect and acceptance, however, will take more effort than simply putting a flyer up. We can begin by acknowledging our personal responsibility to work to achieve that end. We can take time to educate ourselves about cultures and experiences different than our own by reading books, taking classes and attending events. We can inform friends, family or people we know that we are personally offended and insulted by comments or jokes that are sexist, racist and/or homophobic. We can get involved with campus organizations, such as the Interracial Concerns Committee, that work to create both an acceptance and a celebration of diversity. There are innumerable ways we each can work to "create an environment of respect." But let's demonstrate that commitment to create change by putting a flyer on our doors and breaking the silence.
