To the Editor:
Garrett Gil De Rubio '96 and Kimberly Koontz '96 seem to think that if we all just stop arguing about institutional racism and institutional sexism Dartmouth will somehow become a real community. But a healthy community can't be built by ignoring the real problems that underlie the conflicts that threaten to divide it.
They suggest we look at the writing of the Beta "poem" and the Alpha Chi Alpha pledge script "as random acts carried out by individuals." This ignores the fact that these apparently "random acts" were part of a well established pattern of behavior by fraternities and their members that have created and continue to create a climate of terror for women, and especially women of color, on this campus. The real crisis existed long before the poem and the script were made public and, if nothing changes, will continue to exist long after the furor dies down. These particular incidents simply brought the crisis to the attention of those who have long ignored it.
De Rubio and Koontz also claim these incidents, and the racist graffiti scrawled on student's doors are merely "further examples of how the various factions on campus work to divide us all." I find this statement highly offensive. It suggests that the students who spoke up against these crimes are as much to blame for the current division on campus as the students who committed the crimes and the organizations that condoned them. These incidents are not examples of how factionalism divides our campus; they are examples of how people in privileged positions use the power their privilege confers on them to terrorize others.
Finally, De Rubio and Koontz ask us "How can there be progress if our community lives in the past?" They would have us forget the history of what has happened on this campus for the past eight months. Who would benefit from forgetting the past? The same people who benefit from the status quo. An ignorance of history leads us to believe that the present order has always existed and has always benefited everyone equally. We can't bring about real change if we fail to address the ways in which the present order has failed to meet the needs of large segments of our community.
De Rubio and Koontz would have us believe that our community is in a unique state of emergency, that conflicts threaten to tear Dartmouth apart, and that we all must abandon our respective struggles to change Dartmouth's institutions in the interest of preserving the community. But as Walter Benjamin wrote, "The tradition of the oppressed teaches us that 'the state of emergency' in which we live is not the exception but the rule. We must attain a conception of history that is in keeping with this insight. Then we shall clearly realize that it is our task to bring about a real state of emergency, and this will improve our position in this struggle." It is time for us to bring about the real emergency that will force Dartmouth to face its problems and begin the work of building a beloved community that will truly provide a home for all of its members.
