Apathetic. Is that how you would describe yourself? Is that how you would describe your fellow Dartmouth students? Whether or not your would classify your community, your college as apathetic, it was certainly a key word floating around last week's Trustee meeting. The description, however, was coming from some of this campus's most well-respected leaders, not from the mighty guardians of the college pocketbook. Evidence of said apathy was a lack of attendance at recent Working Group meetings and Task Force discussion groups. It apparently is the prevailing mood on campus.
What, I ask you, happened to the very passionate Dartmouth we all caught a glimpse of just a short month ago? When the Trustee "bomb" was dropped and students started to feel threatened, people literally seemed to crawl out of the woodwork and run to the green singing the alma mater. Maybe it was anger that drove you. Perhaps it was "negative energy" as it was recently called. For me, it was inspirational to see so many people on this campus drop their books, skip a meeting or run late to practice and speak up about what makes Dartmouth so amazing. This campus was alive and passionate and excited about something.
We all come to this place with the expectation of getting a great education and the "college experience" in a neat four year package. And somehow, as those short years pass, we make this place our home and we find our own little niche. Does it really take the threatening of it for you to speak up about why it means something to you or, worse, about why it should even exist?
Sadly, it seems that even when Dartmouth students pull together, work hard, and produce something truly incredible, it receives little attention. Last weekend's Block Party, for example, drew from the resources of over 30 campus organizations to produce an afternoon full of Japanese food, finger-painting, street soccer, dance performances, and more. While many students, prospectives and administrators happily strolled Webster Avenue last Saturday with their strawberry ices, not a single word in the campus newspaper celebrated the event.
Let's make it a point to celebrate passion, dedication, participation and energy. Let's banish apathy. Don't sit back and leave it to your elected leaders to do the work alone -- that enables a vocal minority to speak for a plan which would affect 100 percent of the campus. This should very much be a group effort. We are in the midst of an exciting time at Dartmouth College. Don't let it pass you by.