The first issue I would like to talk about is race relations at Dartmouth. Because of the racial incidents of last summer and last term, there is a growing concern among the Dartmouth community about how we interact with one another as students who come from an incredibly diverse ethnic background. I think it is extremely important, first of all, to be realistic about exactly what a Student Assembly president can do to try to solve the problem. I think that it is both unrealistic and dishonest to say, "Elect me and I will improve race relations at Dartmouth."
Our interaction with each other depends on personal attitudes and opinions, and an Assembly president alone cannot change the attitudes of those on this campus who are intolerant and ignorant. What the Assembly can do, however, is to examine the causes of such negative attitudes. As president, I would immediately form an Assembly Ad Hoc Committee on Race Relations. The primary purpose of this committee would be to conduct a comprehensive survey of students at Dartmouth that would garner a wide range of personal information and opinions. In this way, we could avoid placing blame on any one group and instead concentrate on finding out why exactly it is that we seem to have such a problem interacting with one another.
This information could then be used by the College administrators and campus leaders who have more power than the Assembly to implement any solutions that would try to change student attitudes.
I think it's time to take another look at deferred rush. Why is it that students must wait till their sophomore year to join a CFSC-affiliated organization? The argument that students need the time to explore their different options rings hollow. Freshman are allowed to attend parties beginning winter term, and many do so illegally in the fall. Two terms seems more than enough time to get acquainted with particular houses and the Greek system in general. Try this: ask a '99 if he or she is planning on joining the Greek system. If they say that they are, ask which houses they are considering. I would guess that 90 percent of the time, the '99 already has it narrowed down to two or three houses. Remember that this is only the third week of spring term.
Why would freshman spring rush be beneficial? I think that the most compelling reason is that it would ease the fall housing crunch immediately. Yes, they say they're going to build 100 new beds, but when will that happen? Probably not by the time anyone reading this editorial is gone. If we had freshman spring rush, sophomores would be able to live in Greek houses in the fall, thus freeing up beds in the dorms. Additionally, many students tend to stay on their sophomore fall so that they can rush. If they were allowed to rush in the spring, there would be no such incentive.
Tim Young '96 recently wrote an editorial in The Dartmouth (April 4, 1996) in which he stated: "I'm still wondering why the Assembly president is the only job I can think of where experience is the single biggest negative one can have." I've been wondering the same thing myself. Despite the successes of this year's Assembly under "outsider" Jim Rich '96 (whose Executive Committee was composed entirely of "insiders" with previous Student Assembly experience), I still believe that it is extremely important to have a person in office who has been actively involved in the Assembly. I've been a member since my freshman fall, I've been treasurer, Summer vice president, and vice president for Communications. It's safe to say that I have more Assembly experience than any of the other candidates combined.
Why is this an advantage? First of all, the primary cause of the lousy reputation that Student Assembly has had in the past is political infighting. Students see the Assembly as a bunch of future politicians who are more interested in arguing with each other than in getting things accomplished. The fact of the matter is, there will always be those types of students on the Assembly. We need a president who has dealt with them in the past and knows how to keep them from disrupting the many positive things that the Assembly can accomplish. Secondly, the primary purpose of the Assembly is to provide a wide variety of student services to this campus. Would an "outsider" know how to organize a program that provides Student Advantage Cards or Dining Guides to every single Dartmouth student? I've done both.
We need a candidate with a realistic vision of what the Student Assembly can accomplish, and the experience to make that vision a reality. I am the only candidate with both, and I hope to have your support on election day.
