The presence of the two Democratic presidential candidates and the extensive media blitz at Dartmouth radically altered Hanover's otherwise serene atmosphere yesterday, as the afternoon and evening bore witness to several protests by student interest groups on and around the Green.
Hundreds of College students -- as well as students from other schools -- voiced environmental and political concerns, despite the widely-held perception that Dartmouth students are apathetic.
Twenty-five College students and New Hampshire residents, joined by Geshe Tashi Gyaltsen, a member of the Tibetan Parliament, united on the Green to voice their cause for a free Tibet.
"This is an important issue for a lot of people," Katy Young '00 said. "We just want to be visible."
Nima Taylor '00 -- leader of the Students for a Free Tibet -- said his organization has given a questionnaire to all candidates, urging them to think about the current Chinese occupation of Tibet.
"We are hoping to send a message urging the US to negotiate with China so that Tibet can get justice," Gyaltsen said.
Fifty students also gathered outside the Hopkins Center -- wearing arm bands and waiving large banners -- to protest the imprisonment of Leonard Peltier, an Oglala Sioux Native American currently serving a prison term for the murder of two US law enforcement agents.
The protesters claim that Peltier's confinement is illegitimate because of a lack of substantial evidence.
"We are not only protesting for his release but also the abuse of power by the US government," Jean-Paul Dedam '02 said.
Protesting the destruction of a park to build an airport in Homestead Florida, approximately 50 Dartmouth students also gathered on the Green, vehemently shouting their slogan, "Parks not Planes."
Oliver Bernstein '03, the organizer of the airport protest, said it was important to protest outside the town meeting to garner the candidates' and media's attention.
"We need to make this known as a national issue," Bernstein said. "We want candidates to take a stand on the issue."
Bernstein said the construction of an airport could prove a dangerous precedent for all development near national parks.
The Democratic forum at Dartmouth also attracted students from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, who support the conservation of national forests.
Despite the protests, none of these issues were raised at last night's forum.
