To the Editor:
The Trustee decision to change the nature of Greek life on campus has touched the emotions of students and alumni alike. Initial reactions have been predictably emotional in response. Our ability to discuss productively our social life on campus, however, depends on our ability to talk constructively with each other in a respectful manner. We need not bury our emotions, but we should not let them bury our character.
So far, student response has been generally civil and articulate. The vast majority of students has remained calm and constructive, albeit angry. Students at the Psi U forum on Saturday expressed their feelings, but did not attack President Wright or the Trustees personally. They supported speakers from different groups on campus, representing a wide variety of interests and commitments.
Let's stay on the high ground. Remind those who degrade the dialogue that they hurt everyone by their actions. Several signs or messages have appeared on campus that depict President Wright as the devil with horns, that compare him with Judas Iscariot or Benedict Arnold, and that use particularly offensive and scatological language. As an institution and as a community, we should stand firmly for our right to express our differences of opinion. At the same time, we should stand firmly for a level of civility and respect in our standards of dialogue. The First Amendment to our Constitution gives us the legal right to say many things. This does not mean that we are right to say them. Among the many other skills we learn at Dartmouth, we should learn to disagree without being disagreeable, to discuss without cussing.
Those who think strong language has a strong effect should think again. When the Dartmouth Review depicted President Freedman as a Nazi on the front page of its newspaper, it diminished itself in the eyes of even its most avid supporters, setting off a slide in support from which it has never recovered. Everyone has the right to express their views strongly, but not everyone will listen to those who do so in a disrespectful manner.
As we feel emotions driving us apart, remember that we are bound together by our common affection for Dartmouth College. President Wright and the Trustees acted as they did because they care about Dartmouth. Students, too, are acting as they are because they care about the College. Let's turn that which motivates all of us into a productive force rather than a personal attack. At the end of the day, we will all hold our heads higher.
The Committee on Civil Discourse
Scott Brown, Dean of the Tucker Foundation
Paul Gaffney, Professor of Drama
Inge Brown, Asst. Director, Language Resource Center
Margaret Kuecker '01
Sena Ku '01
Omar Rashid '00
Domingo Martinez '00
