I love Dartmouth, especially the people here. However, the infighting and recent suicides have left a cloud hanging over our campus. I am truly dismayed by this fact. The Dartmouth experience comes and goes very quickly. It is a travesty when this experience is obscured from within the Dartmouth community. My desire, and my goal, is to help rebuild the Dartmouth community with safeguards to prevent such problems from occurring again during our time at Dartmouth and, ideally, well into the future.
The Dartmouth College Student Assembly is vital in this rebuilding process, for it is the only organization which represents the entire Dartmouth community. The Assembly has made great strides over the past year in eliminating the circus-like atmosphere which had pervaded. The motif of change, which campaigns love so much to utter, is no longer valid. We will best serve ourselves now if we recognize the beneficial change which has occurred in the Assembly and dedicate ourselves to furthering this change so that the Dartmouth community will become more cohesive and students concerns will resonate more loudly. We as a school have reacted to the hate incidents of the past few months. However, while reaction is a vital first step in addressing and calling attention to a problem, reaction in and of itself is not enough; we must build upon our reaction. We must become proactive and take measures to preclude such incidents from occurring again.
The source of discrimination is socialization; people learn to act in improper ways. To unite our campus we must have greater exposure and interaction with one another. However, events to promote understanding must appeal to and involve the entire campus. Otherwise, such events fall victim to positive selection; the people who attend such events are less likely to be prejudiced in the first place, while those who have learned to hate do not attend. Toward this end, I offer the following proposals.
Allocate Funds in the Dartmouth Budget for Student Life: currently, the annual Dartmouth budget does not allocate funds to student life. Student activities and organizations are funded solely by the student activities fee which we pay each term. I advocate making student life part of the Dartmouth budget through a reallocation of existing funds. Increased funding will enhance the ability of the wide array of groups at Dartmouth to organize and publicize events, which are an important way in which different organizations take their backgrounds and aims to the student body.
More social spaces: in a similar vein, interaction and exposure at Dartmouth would be furthered by the creation of more social spaces on campus.
Coordinate student events in conjunction with other student organizations: I propose that the Assembly act as a medium for bringing the Programming Board and the College's various organizations, including Greek houses, together to organize events that truly involving the entire campus and promote the spirit of Dartmouth.
Student Assistance Program: currently, students who are having problems may seek help from the Deans of the College and psychiatrists at Dick's House. Both these options have a great deal to offer students. However, at the same time, such options ignore the fact that the College may be part of the student's problems. Hotlines like Headrest do not fall victim to this problem, but unfortunately an outside source of help will have difficulty understanding the concerns and pressures of being a Dartmouth student.
There is clearly a niche for a student support network. I advocate the Student Assistance Program, in which Dick's House or outside professionals would train students in providing anonymous guidance over the phone.
Later library hours and an all-night study lounge: these two concerns are understood well enough.
A lawyer to represent student concerns: I propose providing a lawyer who would work pro bono and give advice, though not counsel, to individual students and organizations. This service already exists at Brown University, and I believe that such a service is invaluable in protecting the rights of students at Dartmouth. For example, this might protect students from the sometimes questionable practices of Safety and Security. This would also give the Assembly and other organizations more credibility in dealing with the Administration.
Dartmouth is a great school. However, it does have some problems, as does every school. By focusing the attention of the Assembly on the most pertinent issues which effect the student body and following through on these issues, I believe the Assembly may provide tangible benefits to the College. Let's build upon the change which has occurred in the Assembly over the last year. Let's fix Dartmouth's problems. Let's forge ahead in creating an even better Dartmouth.
