I'm really worried about our College now. Not that I haven't been in the past, but the composition of the Trustee Steering Committee has me concerned more than usual. And no, I didn't apply to be on it, so please don't cast my opinion in that shadow.
First of all, only four undergraduates on a committee of 16 is an absurdly disproportionate "old person" representation. This is, after all, about the residential and social experience at the College. Not only do I contend that the undergraduates know the most about what happens here now, I am arguing that they are the ones most capable of being visionaries about what could happen here. So that's my first point-UNDERGRADUATE students comprising only one quarter of the committee is a travesty. It again begs the question of whether or not those in Parkhurst (or the Korean Embassy) really plan to incorporate the student perspective on issues that will ultimately affect students far more than any other member of the Dartmouth community.
My second point concerns representation. This sounds like an overplayed, trite issue, but give me a chance to tell you what I mean. Sure, the four students appear to truly bring a diversity of backgrounds and interests to the table, and I think it is obvious (and commendable) that a concerted effort was made to do so. We have two affiliated students and two unaffiliated students. We have a member of every class at the College. We have (unfortunately only) one student of color. We have two women and two men. I could go on, but I'll get to my point.
I'm worried because I don't know that bringing different things to the table is necessarily more valuable than coming to the table having already thought about, discussed, and processed all those different (and even more) things. Where have these four people been in discussions about the Five Principles that have been so accessible in recent months? To my knowledge, none of them have actively participated in the Working Group meetings, the Task Force forums, or any of the many other arenas for bringing together the diversity of perspectives into one place for a productive dialogue.
I have no doubt that these four students will be able to articulate many different opinions on social and residential life at Dartmouth. One of the members is someone I am fortunate enough to consider a great friend, and I have complete faith in him and most of the process that selected the other three. I have no doubt that the Student Assembly and the Committee considered nearly everything that needed to be considered when determining their selections. But they missed one very important quality. And missing it means that it is imperative that someone addresses it now.
It is so important that the members who serve on this monumental committee understand the complexities of the issues they will attempt to tackle. I do not see the Town Meetings that the Committee will organize, or the reading of proposals, or the secret discussions taking place among committee members as sufficient. The entire committee will completely miss the invaluable exchange of ideas that has been taking place. Even if they see the products of these discussions, they will be ignorant of the process behind the products.
Trustee Fahey, Trustee Dentzer, President Wright, I ask of you one favor as I depart this College to which I have been faithful for four years and which I intend to continue to serve as an alumnus. Get at least one more student. And please let that student be someone who has exhibited her/his care for these issues, for considering all the varied perspectives on social and residential life, for being proactive in recruiting people to engage in this important dialogue.
Let it be Jen Parkinson '99 or Marc Fenigstein '01, who have devoted a tremendous amount of time to doing these things as chairs of one of the Working Groups. Let it be Case Dorkey '99, who we all know has served this College unlike any other and has attempted to bring together so many disparate interests into the same room to talk and hear each other. What about the Assembly's other suggestion-Teresa Knoedler '00-that was turned down? She has been involved in these discussions, she moderated the Trustee panel, and she chairs the SA's Student Life Committee. Or Shauna Brown '99, an amazing woman who served on the Task Force, presides over the Aam, runs the East Wheelock cluster, etc etc.
Let it be Josh Green '00, who has tirelessly worked to get a productive student response to the Trustee Initiative. It could be a host of other people, or a combination thereof, but the bottom line is clear: we need more students on this Committee and we need those students to be people who have actively participated in the constructive discussions that have been occurring since the announcement. These people have heard the multitude of voices and can therefore synthesize them into a more complete one of their own.
I will leave you with a line with which many are familiar right now: "Help me Obi-wan, you're our only hope."
