Perhaps the '03s are the last chance Dartmouth has. Perhaps with the burden of being the smartest and most diverse class ever, they'll also have to be the class who cared enough to make a difference.
I look at my fellow upperclassmen and, almost across the board, I see people who have given up. They're tired. They're cynical. Maybe they're just being realistic and I'm the clueless idealist. But then again
Either way, almost everyone is just waiting around to see what happens when the Committee on the Student Life Initiative releases their recommendations. And they're not doing anything about it right now, while the initial process is still underway. "We'll fight them when the time comes." Why can't we try and convince now?
And I guess it comes down to trust. We don't trust them. We don't believe them. They think that they can fool us into thinking that this is an open process when it's obviously not. "What's your agenda?" we ask. They say they have none. Well, they're obviously lying to us, right? Right. But then again
What the committee asked for at Tuesday's Open Forum seemed simple enough: tell us what you want and why. What did students do instead? Defend. Criticize. Complain. They pointed fingers and said, "You can't do this "
I kept asking myself, "Where the hell are the ideas?" We've been complaining for years that we want more social options well? "Addition not Subtraction" some people have used as their solution to everything. All right, nice catch phrase, but when are we going to start talking about the specifics? What exactly are we adding? Think the ideas thrown out thus far stink? Well, why don't you think of something?
Look, everyone was pissed at how this initiative was announced. I personally felt like students had no say and were being pushed aside. Others felt like there was a hidden agenda to get rid of the Greek system. But that was almost a year ago. When are people going to get over it?
And in come the '03s. Why are they Dartmouth's last hope? Because I think they will be 10 times more willing to sit at their computer, type up a few words, and blitz it to CSLI@dartmouth.edu. Come on, we blitz all the time! What's one more blitz when it may mean the future of Social and Residential Life at Dartmouth?
"They're not really going to listen to us!" Some might argue. Well, like I said, that's possible. But are you really sacrificing so much by giving it the benefit of the doubt? It's the future of this college in exchange for five or ten minutes of your time and all that stands between these two are your assumptions. That's a whole lot to assume.
I wasn't so comfortable assuming so much. So two nights ago, I wrote an eight page proposal to the committee. And if it becomes one of the few proposals they get from students at-large, then more power to me, right? Well, I'd rather not be one of the few. I'd rather have my ideas bumping and competing with your ideas.
And when I say ideas, I mean ideas about anything. If you believe the Greek system belongs at Dartmouth, articulate that. But at the same time, don't ignore the fact that this initiative is about change. Don't write something that defends the status quo and offers nothing new. And don't say anything without going into why you believe it.
But maybe the '00s and '01s and '02s can't think radically like that. Maybe we've seen Dartmouth one way for so long that anything else seems like it's not Dartmouth. Or maybe we're so bitter that we'd rather sit on our asses and get back at the administration by being uninvolved and unconcerned. Yeah, sounds like a great plan.
No, if being cynical and "waiting around to see what happens" is the upperclassmen thing to do, then I'd rather stand with the '03s. They still have that passion and energy that we once had. Remember when we still felt like we could change Dartmouth?
Well, some of us still do. Some of us can still see this as a great opportunity rather than just an act to make us feel like we have a say. Some of us would rather be defined by our hope than by anything else.
And maybe a new line can finally be drawn. Instead of one between Greeks and unaffiliated, or upperclassmen and freshmen, or administration and students, maybe the new line can be between those who believe our voices will be heard and those who would rather wait and see. One of these two groups will be wrong. Are you positive you know which one? I'm not. So for the time being, I'll take the one that offers students a chance. I hope you do too at least for the few minutes it'll take to compose and send that blitz. Once it's sent you can retire back into your cynical lives.
