This article is partially in response to Dan Galemba '03's editorial in Friday's issue entitled "It's Human Nature." In this article Mr.Galemba refers to both NAD and Lambda Upsilon Lambda as exclusive spaces on campus. I hope to clarify a few misconceptions he and others may have concerning the above.
For starters, the Psi Chapter of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. has no physical location on this campus; we have no house, no apartment, no office, nothing. That could be the reason why Mr.Galemba feels so excluded from it, and surely not by any effort on my part or that of any other Hermano on this campus. What we do have is each other, and that is really all we need.
So could Mr.Galemba be referring to our membership as exclusive? I most certainly hope not. I do understand that as a freshman he has not been around long enough to know a few facts about Dartmouth College, this chapter of La Unidad Latina, or Lambda Upsilon Lambda as a national organization, so here are so facts to consider: I joined La Unidad Latina last Spring. Only half of us were Latino and 25 percent were white. It does not take a Latino to want to make a difference and that is what we are about. We make that difference with our programming as well as our community networking on campus as well as among schools and community service.
This past Saturday we had an Hermano from New Jersey give a workshop concerning HIV. Despite the fact that Mr.Galemba feels the NAD House is also an exclusive location on campus, our workshop took place there and was a big success thanks to NAD. Though a very diverse crowd was in attendance, Mr.Galemba himself was not there. Mr.Galemba writes that he had a great time at NAD's Halloween Party. I too was there as were several members of Sigma Phi Epsilon, Alpha Chi Alpha, and several other historically white fraternities and sororities as well as people living in the NAD House, both Native American and otherwise. With this in mind, NAD and Lambda Upsilon Lambda are clearly not exclusive. And certainly being Latino or Native American is not a tool of excluding people, nor is it some campus club we choose to join, nor is it criteria for joining or being involved with La Unidad Latina or NAD or the NAD House. So why do people feel excluded from these very inclusive parts of Dartmouth College? Could this be a problem much bigger than Lambda Upsilon Lambda and NAD (as an organization or its physical location)? Well, here is some advice either way.
Our four years here at Dartmouth are very precious and I encourage Mr.Galemba and anyone else I can reach today not to let your ignorance about some aspect of Dartmouth hinder that experience or rain on the best four year parade of your life. Mr.Galemba, take the initiative to go to places you had never considered visiting before. Attend events sponsored by La Unidad Latina (LUL), La Alianza Latina, Native Americans at Dartmouth (NAD), Dartmouth Asian Organization (DAO), Korean-American Students Association (KASA), or any other organization on campus that is focusing on issues people of color face. Better yet, try to move into the Shabazz next fall. You won't be the first or last white resident. The worst thing that can happen is that you might learn something and make new friends from cultures you were previously unfamiliar with. Your four years here will be what you make of them, so I suggest you try to keep an open mind and find out what a liberal arts education really is. You might be surprised where you will find it.
