To the Editor:
As a citizen of the Dartmouth community and a liberal, Noah Phillips has offended me to the very core. I am baffled that our campus has come to accept such institutional racism as a part of every day life.
"What really annoys me though is the grunting that passes for conversation on this campus," Phillips said. "Last I checked, the word 'sup' referred to eating dinner, not 'how are things going?' What are we, Simian?"
Actually, "sup" is a part of the language that has come into being largely due to the dialect called "Black English." It is a conflation of "what," "is" and "up."
Are we then to say that "Black English" is the language of "Simians"? Why doesn't Mr. Phillips say what he really means? Simply because not all of Dartmouth chooses to use the highfalutin language that makes us "intellectuals" doesn't mean that we're stupid or ignorant.
Further, to blame a dialect that is largely the product of popular culture on the Greek system shows a lack of sensitivity to human nature that makes one wonder just what lies behind the intellectual veneer of your language.
Next time you criticize the Greek system, try to do it with a less racist and insulting tone.
