Last year's annual Pow-Wow, sponsored by Native Americans at Dartmouth successfully enriched the Dartmouth community as well as the Upper Valley community by increasing cultural diversity, heritage and education.
As opposed to past Pow-Wows, the Pow-Wow was particularly successful in achieving its two goals: sharing Native culture, and providing an accurate depiction of Native American life. One reason for the event's success was its increased visibility, and its increased accessibility to all students because the location was not the BEMA, as it was in the past, but the Green.
This year the event has not been given permission to be held on the Green.
The reason is not a scheduling conflict, but a College policy that is clearly antithetical to free expression and students' rights. If every member of the Dartmouth Community should have privilege to the Green, why should organizations not have this privilege as well? The decision to hold events such as the Pow-Wow in the BEMA, as opposed to the Green, is a classic example of why the College should reevaluate its "Green-policy" to allow for increased effectiveness of all College events.
This year the Vice-President and Treasurer of the College Lyn Hutton refused to allow the event to take place on the Green. Hutton cited the current restrictions of the Green to five Dartmouth events, excluding the Pow-Wow event at Dartmouth College. The five events are Dartmouth Night, Winter Carnival, Green Key, Summer Carnival, and a woodchopping demonstration sponsored by the DOC.
Tradition or not, it is impossible for any organization to have special privilege to the Green. All students and groups must be entitled to an equal opportunity to use the Green. The annual Pow-Wow not only helps to meet the goals of NAD, but also the cultural and intellectual goals of this institution.
While NAD was told at the time of last year's Pow-Wow that last year's "exception" to hold the event on the Green was a one time deal, we feel that the Pow-Wow should be allowed to take place on the Green. Starting immediately, the Green needs to be viewed as a programming/social space for events such as the Pow-Wow due to the lack of options that currently exist on this campus.
Other potential reasons not to hold such events as the Pow-Wow on the Green are minuscule. Green Key is being held the following weekend on the Green. Facilities, Operations and Management seems to think that the Pow-Wow would damage the grass on the Green.
After last year's Pow-wow, damage to the grass was minimal, if noticeable. In addition, nobody, after seeing the Green the day after the annual bonfire, can argue that any event could do more damage to our prized centerpiece. Lastly, if the grass is so important for Commencement and in preserving the beauty of the school, all events should be held in the BEMA or other inadequate locations as well.
NAD is a student organization on campus. Many organizations on campus have asked to use the Green as programming space for events that they would like to hold. We firmly believe that any student organization should have access to the Green, and expect to work with administrators to expand this privilege to not only NAD, but also other organizations for events they might hold.
The Student Assembly Executive Committee unanimously passed a motion demanding that this policy be changed to allow the Pow-Wow and other events to take place on the Green.
