To the Editor:
To add to Liam Kuhn's editorial which ran on Feb. 26, "Deeds, Not Just Words," I would like to insert some of my own experiences as a Dartmouth senior one term away from graduation. Since I matriculated, some type of event, public or private, has occurred at least once every year that demonstrates the racist and sexist thought that apparently still exists on our campus. Students at Dartmouth are very quick to submit apologies and organize discussions as reactions to events such as these. But clearly, this is not enough, because events such as these continue to occur on our campus.
What I want to ask is that the type of discussion that occurs in response to events like these be continual, not simply reactions to unfortunate incidents. The attempt to understand is not an ongoing process at our school. From my experiences on campus, discussions on race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation have in attendance mostly those students who have personal ties to the issues presented, i.e. students of color, women, gays and lesbians, not those students who might benefit most from a widened perspective of the world. Dartmouth does a good job in giving students the space and freedom to practice their own cultures and lifestyles, but beyond that, a real understanding between communities on campus is lacking. Liam Kuhn blamed the Greek system for fostering racist and sexist beliefs, but before we point fingers, it's important to step back and look at the root of the problem. A desire to establish true understanding between the diversity of people on campus is missing. First we have to ask, how can we increase overall awareness, how can we force people to start looking beyond their small group of friends to the larger world around them?
