This weekend, nearly 300 students, faculty and administrators from schools across the Northeast will gather at Dartmouth to discuss ways to counter racism and discrimination in higher education. These conversations will take place as part of a conference hosted by Dartmouth's Interracial Concerns Committee titled "The Challenges of Diversity: From Talkin' the Talk to Walkin' the Walk."
The members of Palaeopitus, an organization composed of senior leaders who represent a diverse array of groups and interests, endorse this conference's goals and purpose. We also wish to encourage members of the Dartmouth community to think seriously about ways they as individuals and as members of organizations can actively work to eliminate discrimination.
At this time, it has become far easier to remain complacent about the prejudice that continues to exist. People generally know how to "talk the talk." They know what they should and shouldn't say in order to remain non-offensive to others. Issues that seemed clear-cut twenty years ago are no longer that way in the '90s. Lines are blurred and problems are more complex.
But simply because discrimination is harder to identify now, certainly doesn't mean it no longer exists. When racial epithets were written on the doors of Asian-American students last winter, the shocking thing was not that racial antagonism existed, but that it was so blatant.
The incidents that happened indicated that many more were probably thinking along similar lines but would never have thought to verbalize their feelings. The current discussion about bringing back the Indian symbol is an additional example of visible racism. It is widely known that using a caricature Native American as a mascot for our athletic teams is deeply hurtful to members of our community, but there are individuals who think that is unimportant.
Many more instances of racism and discrimination are less clear-cut. One problem at Dartmouth frequently alluded to is racial segregation. Fingers are pointed at affinity houses and Greek organizations to explain why groups of black students and white students don't often eat together at Food Court. In this conflict, responsibilities become shifted, battle-lines drawn, and other ethnic and racial groups become forgotten.
It is time for us as students to rise above petty bickering and blaming and take responsibility for the part we each play in discrimination. When prejudices based on class, gender, and sexual orientation become included in the mix, it is clear that none of us remain completely innocent.
There are small steps each of us can take in our daily lives to decrease discrimination. We can ensure that it is clear our formals are open to same-sex couples, that our organizations offer scholarships to cover dues for those who cannot pay, that the agendas of our political organizations are broad enough to include concerns beyond those of our own racial-ethnic group.
But in order to know that these kinds of steps that are necessary and which ones to take, a certain amount of understanding is essential. The prerequisites for that understanding are interaction, thought and self-education.
Therefore, events like the conference this weekend are vitally important. The conference provides an opportunity for individuals who might normally never meet each other to learn from each other and to try to come to an understanding. It then goes one step further to focus on actions individuals and organizations can take to combat racism and discrimination. It is time for us to not only be able to "talk the talk" but to "walk to walk." The rhetoric of anti-racism will only be truly effective if it is further institutionalized.
At a time when race issues are a focus of national attention, in the current debates about immigration, welfare and affirmative action, the collaboration of schools across the Northeast is particularly significant. Issues of discrimination at Dartmouth are not unique to this campus: many other schools are facing similar or worse problems. We can learn a great deal from broadening the scope of our understanding from a local level to a national one. After all, once we leave here, many of us are expected to become leaders in various communities across the nation.
Even if you did not register for the conference this weekend, try to attend one of the keynote speeches, both of which are free and open to the public and should be very informative. Or at least try to have a conversation with someone you might not normally talk to or to think about a collaborative program you could develop with another organization.
Because we each bear some responsibility for the problems of discrimination, we each can be part of the solution.
