Junior spring. Here one minute, gone the next. In this whirlwind of a term that lacked a bit in the activism department from last term, but made up for it in the rain department, I had nearly forgotten that some of my best friends are leaving this place in only a few short weeks.
Therefore, I would like my last column of their Dartmouth careers to pay a small tribute to some of the people who have impacted our campus and for me, have made this place easier to survive.
Cassie Ehrenberg '96: A strong, dynamic and articulate woman, Cassie has been one of my main role models for the past two years. She is incredibly involved in sexual abuse issues on campus including peer education and her position as the intern of the Sexual Abuse and Awareness Program. She is a co-founder of the first feminist journal at Dartmouth, "Intersections," and as a leader she sits on Palaeopitus. Her influence on this campus does not stop here, and I cannot possibly list all of the people she has touched.
I will say, however, that Cassie has had an enormous impact on my life (probably more than she realizes), and as she graduates this June I am certain to miss her as a political collaborator, a dinner date, and someone to hug me at the Take Back the Night vigil: a true confidant and friend.
Shilyh Warren '96: Also known by me as "Smiley," she is the most likely person I know to wear a lime green shirt and funky black sneakers. Shilyh is the head intern at the Women's Resource Center and has contributed much of her time and energy to women's issues, whether it be SAFE (Students Against the Abuse of Food and Exercise), "Intersections," or Sexual Assault Awareness Week.
Tomorrow, Shilyh will speak as part of the panel, "Will the REAL Women of Dartmouth Please Stand Up." I would like to take this opportunity to thank this real woman for all her work on campus, for her smiley face and for her friendship.
John Peoples '96: As a co-founder of Amarna Undergraduate Society as a sophomore, he also juggles the crew team and pre-med classes, while still making time for breakfast with me (occasionally).
Before our different programs, John and I traveled in Italy this past fall. One of my favorite memories will always be the night in Florence, where a few of us dipped Italian biscotti in sweet Vin Santo, soaking in the Italian air.
But what I would like to thank him for is the previous night, when in a discotheque the women were harassed by a drugged up Italian man, who could not seem to keep his extremities to himself. Unfortunately, the man did not care for my response and proceeded to lunge at me. After that ordeal was settled, the man continued to circle us like a shark. John, recognizing my fear and understanding my harried past, reached out to me as only a good friend could. I am not sure I ever really told him how much that meant.
Dan Walker '96: Dan is one of the most genuinely good and honest people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. His thesis (written completely in Spanish) and his involvement with community service, peer mediation and Amarna have kept him busy, but he is always willing to donate time to other organizations such as Sexual Abuse Peer Advisors and Abaris, the new senior society.
Each time I make plans to have a meal with Dan, I know that I will walk away in a good mood, regardless of how I feel beforehand. For me, he restores faith that good guys do not always finish last.
John Strayer '96: By now, his name is known, if for nothing else but the columns he has been writing since his freshman year. The number of ways he has impacted this campus are countless, from an intense Amarna social chair, to Sexual Assault Awareness Week, to Casque and Gauntlet Senior Society and beyond.
I was first introduced to his defiant ways during my sophomore winter. Since then, intensity has come to respect intensity, and my admiration has grown for my friend most likely to speak his mind in a crowded room. I consider myself fortunate to have learned that John is just as intense in his friendships as he is in his political views.
In an earlier column I commented that friendship was one of the most important gifts to take away from this institution. We spend so much time worrying about grades, graduate schools and papers that we may seldom remember we do not live in a vacuum.
The above five people share two things in common. First, in their four years of contributions to Dartmouth they have demonstrated that they have not forgotten the community at large. Second, they will all be sorely missed, both by Dartmouth, on which they have left their mark, and especially by me.
