Members of Native Americans at Dartmouth involved with the planning of the 24th annual Pow-Wow, a celebration of Native American culture, are circulating a petition to allow this year's event to take place on the Green. The Pow-Wow is scheduled for next weekend.
Since the fall, the Pow-Wow committee, a subdivision of NAD, struggled to obtain the College's permission to hold the Pow-Wow on the Green, as they did last year. Committee member Ty P.K. Tengan '97 said they decided to try to hold it on the Green this year because event attendance has increased significantly.
Committee members met yesterday with College Vice President and Treasurer Lyn Hutton and Dean of the College Lee Pelton to discuss their proposal.
LaWanda Johnson '97, president of NAD and member of the Pow-Wow committee, said she hoped to present the petition to the administration sometime next week.
"The purpose of the petition is to let the administration know that we have the support of different people in the Dartmouth community ... and that they feel we ought to have the Pow-Wow on the Green," she said.
Johnson said they hoped to influence the decision about the location of the Pow-Wow, for both this year and future years, by showing the administration students think the Pow-Wow should be held on the Green.
The petition is currently circulating in hard copy and on e-mail, she said. Supporters will be asked to sign the petition or blitz NAD's e-mail account.
Pelton said the administration could not allow the Pow-Wow to take place on the Green because a College policy restricts use of the Green.
Pelton said last year was an exception to the College's policy due to the opening of the Native American House and that student leaders involved with the Pow-Wow understand this stipulation.
Johnson, Deanna Dick '96, co-chair of the Pow-Wow committee, and Uriel Barrera-Vasquez '98, president of La Alianza Latina, met with Hutton yesterday to discuss the issue.
Hutton told the students the final decision was in her hands, and that she had decided not to allow the Pow-Wow to be held on the Green, Barrera-Vasquez said.
"She said the decision was made based on policy and precedent the school had set regarding events held on the Green," he said. "She said that it was specified last year the Pow-Wow was to be held that one year at the Green, and that she regretted letting the Pow-Wow be at the Green."
Hutton could not be reached last night for comment.
A larger group of concerned students met with Pelton yesterday to discuss the issue.
"Dean Pelton was very ready to listen to us, but ... I don't think he will be taking any action right now," Barrera-Vasquez said. "He was supportive of the Pow-Wow being held on the Green, but he felt that it was too late for us to do anything at this point."
Pelton said, "I wish that we'd had this discussion earlier this year." He said an earlier discussion might have changed the current situation.
Last fall, the Native American Programs Office, working with the Pow-Wow committee, contacted Facilities, Operations and Management to determine if they could hold this year's Pow-Wow on the Green, Tengan said.
Tengan said at that point, Facilities, Operations and Management told them they could not use the Green.
Dick said she resumed discussions with Facilities, Operations and Management about the possibility of using the Green for this year's Pow-Wow and was again told it would not be possible.
In late April, members of the Pow-Wow Committee spoke to College President James Freedman, Dean of Upper-class Students Dan Nelson and Pelton, and each administrator said he did not have the authority to make the decision, Tengan said.
"They said the only thing they could do was urge Facilities, Operations and Management to hear our concerns," Dick said.
Linda Hathorn, Director of Conferences and Events, said Facilities, Operations and Management was following the College's policies.
"There are policies established by the administration that we're following," she said. "I'm sure that there is a process that students go through to appeal policy decisions, and I'm not sure what that process is."
Tengan said Facilities, Operations and Management told them the Pow-Wow would interfere with the College's preparations for Commencement, specifically the care of the grass on the Green.
"Commencement has been moved to the Green, so they're saying they're going to limit all activities on the Green, yet they're still having Green Key on the Green," he said.
Tengan said Facilities, Operations and Management justified the use of the Green for Green Key weekend festivities by citing the weekend's traditional activity there.
