Just two weeks after the release of the steering committee's recommendations on the Student Life Initiative, some students are expressing feelings of ambivalence or dismay towards the report's treatment of issues pertaining to members of diverse racial backgrounds and sexual orientations.
Although some students appear satisfied with the way the report addresses potential on campus issues such as homophobia and cultural ignorance, others believe the recommendations are ambiguous or inadequate.
Many students have been left wondering about specifics in the report.
"What will happen with affinity housing? What kind of cultural programming will the clusters provide?" Ryota Ogura '02 said, speaking of the recommendations.
Responses to the report from the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender community at Dartmouth appear mixed, although most people say the recommendations are inconclusive.
"I am disappointed that there was nothing that specifically addressed certain issues in the report such as racism or homophobia," Yuval Ortiz-Quiroga '02 said.
A similar statement from the governing board of the Dartmouth Rainbow Alliance said that, "while the [Initiative] addresses the fact that Dartmouth is not perceived as a friendly campus for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students, the recommendations themselves are silent regarding the GLBT community."
Citing homophobia as a problem on campus, Ortiz-Quiroga said, "There are people here, even some professors, who can be quite disrespectful of sexual diversity."
Ortiz-Quiroga also said that this type of environment does not encourage people who have not yet come to terms with their sexual identity feel to do so.
Other people have taken a slightly different stance.
Wendy Skelton '99 said she feels satisfied with the process so far, but added there are definitely ways to improve the situation of GLBT students at Dartmouth.
Some students believe that any negative situations could be improved by strengthening support systems already in place at Dartmouth, such as making the Coordinator for GLBT Programming and Advocacy a full time position and securing an expanded resource center.
Responses from students of color also covered a wide range of opinions.
Olivia Carpenter '00, speaking as president of the Afro-American Society, said that the Initiative has great potential to change the quality of lives for students of color at Dartmouth.
There are students who think that the report, "is a positive first step in bringing change on campus," Carpenter said.
However, Carpenter also said that she would have liked to see more specifics concerning the implementation of the proposed World Cultures Initiative.
According to the steering committee's recommendations, the World Cultures Initiative would, "represent a commitment by the college in the form of permanent staffing, funding and space to continuously provide enriching programming for the benefit of the entire community."
Programming would be directed toward understanding and appreciation of multiculturalism.
Carpenter also noted that some students of color feel that the steering committee didn't take enough time to work out the specifics of implementation of the World Culture Initiative.
"What this proves is that in one one-hour discussion you cannot have a complete picture of what it is like to be a student of color at Dartmouth ... conversations have to happen on a continuum," Carpenter said.
Carpenter did say she thought the committee did a good job for just one meeting.
Noting that she held great respect for the work of the committee, she added, "This certainly shows they are listening to students of color."
Speaking of the status quo, Carpenter and Ogura took different viewpoints on Dartmouth's tolerance of students from diverse backgrounds.
Carpenter said that overall the Dartmouth community is not especially intolerant, but she added that there are individuals at Dartmouth who have had bad experiences as a result of their skin color.
"These experiences happen more frequently than 'few and far-between' ... they can't be ignored and they can't be trivialized," Carpenter said.
Ogura on the other hand, said that, in general he has found the Dartmouth community to be accepting of pluralism.
"No matter where you come from or what background you have, everybody at Dartmouth has the chance to study hard and play hard," Ogura said.
But like Carpenter, Ogura believes that the recommendations in the report are too vague, especially when compared to specifics concerning changes in the CFS system.
Several other campus cultural organizations expressed similar responses to the report.
According to a spokesperson from the Pan Asian Council, the organization is very optimistic about the report in general, especially the World Culture Initiative. However, although the PAC sees great potential in this proposal, they feel it is too nebulous in its current form.
President of La Alianza Latina Omar Rashid '00 said his group is currently forming a committee to write an official response to the steering committee's report.
