As a participant in many of this weekend's activities including the meeting on Saturday and the demonstration on Monday, I would like to provide some insight into the philosophy and goals of the activities and give some sense of the history which motivated Saturday's meeting. It goes back to long before the publicity around the "ghetto party." The issues are much deeper.
Thursday night, several separate groups of people in various locations throughout campus, expressed concern about the perpetual acts of ignorance, hatred or fear that have occurred on this campus throughout our Dartmouth careers. Regardless of the reason, all of those acts have had the common outcome of making people of different races, socioeconomic classes, sexual orientation, abilities and gender in the Dartmouth community feel alienated, hurt, unwelcome and ignored. Throughout my Dartmouth experience alone, I have learned of several physical and verbal attacks on homosexual, black, Native American, Jewish, Asian and Latino students, racial epithets written on doors, publicity caricaturizing people of different ethnic groups based on stereotypes and the romanticization and trivialization of lifestyles that are not considered mainstream. I have neither the time nor the desire to list specific events. The point is that this campus is obviously a community that does not address the root of the problem. We have not made concerted efforts to reduce these incidents and support the members of the community who feel attacked, excluded, and vulnerable. We must do more than offer and accept apologies. The solution does not lie in creating an "us" versus "them." The long term solution is change the ethos of this campus together to one that validates and affirms everyone.
The meeting on Saturday night was not to address the "ghetto party" or to have a discussion with members of Chi Gamma Epsilon or solely to plan a five-minute protest in Food Court. Instead, people who were concerned about the fundamental issues that are manifested in actions such as the most recent incidents met to discuss long term means of changing the culture of this campus, to make it more inclusive of all of the individuals who live, work and study here. I respect and appreciate the members of Chi Gamma Epsilon who accepted responsibility for their behavior and expressed their apologies. They were asked to leave because the meeting was not the intended forum for discussion, rather it was an action planning meeting focused on the larger issues. They were assured that there would be a forum for that discussion in the future (tentatively Thursday, Nov. 17). The people who attended this meeting were people who were affiliated with groups that expressed concerns on Thursday. Individuals decided to address those concerns in a central location. It was not intended to be exclusive. It was a forum to determine how students could address the broader issue that people are made people feel like minorities on this campus and to work toward action. It was limited by its organic nature. This group took the responsibility of getting the ball rolling, with the intention and explicit purpose of getting more people involved.
The meeting began with a listing of the incidents that the people in the room were aware of. The group then broke up into committees to determine what action would be taken to raise awareness of the broader issues and to create long term change. This action plan included education, institutional change and activism. The goal is to focus on the root of the problem and create change that will better support all people with "minority" status on this campus. It is not limited to people of any race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or socioeconomic class. At this meeting, the demonstration in Food Court was planned to raise awareness of the issue, and the silence that is forced upon "minorities" in an attempt to resume the status quo, which is considered equilibrium. It was also a way of letting the campus know that there are people who are concerned about this issue and to provide information about how more people can participate in taking action to address it. Again, this was and is not an anti-Greek sentiment, nor was it solely related to the party.
The Dartmouth's coverage of the demonstration on Monday was not complete. The cards read "Silence gets in the way and oppresses us all," and they publicized the walk-out that will occur on the Green on Wednesday from 12:15-12:30 and the discussion titled "What is Ghetto?" which will be an open forum for people to learn more about the various perspectives on campus. The final words on the cards said "Join us in our efforts to stop the silence." That is an open invitation to the entire Dartmouth community.
This group has no name, and no identity. That is intentional. The group is merely a collection of members of the Dartmouth community who wish to make change. The group who met on Saturday was different from the group who demonstrated in Food Court. The group who participates in the walk out on the Green will be different from either of those. There are people who were not present at any of those events and are supporting long term change in their own way. The participants are merely people who are committed to making change. They do not need to be identified or lumped together. This group is a collection of individuals who are part of the community and are challenging it to reach its potential.
I am concerned that the campus discourse is limited to isolated incidents, attempting to fix the problem only to watch it erupt again, as we have seen. Voices on this campus are silenced daily as issues are dismissed as irrational, over-sensitive, and not important. The Dartmouth community must not only acknowledge those voices, but actually hear them. They are sharing their experiences, their concerns and the truths about their reality. Let's listen to, affirm and validate those voices because they count. Hear people as they express their needs. Make it a priority to make this an institution that meets those needs. I challenge everyone on this campus, to look past yourself and into the experiences and lifestyles of others. We have a lot to learn from each other. Start by making room for all voices to be heard and all people to represent themselves as they see fit. Then, we must listen to them, believe them and support them.
