To the Editor:
I read with sadness the description of the incident at Psi Upsilon fraternity and am writing to assure the community that the administration does indeed take incidents like these very seriously. We are not a community that tolerates such harmful and divisive behavior. It was helpful to see that the leadership of Psi U issued an apology to the Dartmouth community in which they acknowledged that the behavior of their peers was antithetical to what we want our community to be. However, I would also challenge the organization and the individuals involved to consider not just the 'quick fix' but a more systemic response to this incident. How can an apology alone prevent this from happening again?
It is ironic that this incident occurred while we are in the midst of some incredible community building efforts involving many constituencies such as the Greek Life steering committee, student-sponsored discussions like those hosted recently by MOSAIC and Tri Kap, the Committee on Civil Discourse, and the World Cultures Initiative Committee, to name a few. And yet what this incident highlights is how quickly these good efforts can be undermined by the behavior of a small group of people.
The reality is that our community is made up of many individuals. Therefore each of us has a responsibility not only to notice, name and interrupt these kinds of hurtful behaviors, but also to hold ourselves and each other accountable for the practice of bringing our community together rather than tearing it apart. In addition to the steps already being taken to respond to this particular incident, my colleagues and I continue to work with students to build a stronger, more inclusive community and to be mindful of all the individuals who are affected by incidents such as these.
