To the Editor:
I was one of the sponsors of the resolution on the Psi Upsilon incident that the Student Assembly passed Tuesday night. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify a few points:
- You reported that the resolution states that "the College does not have the right to forcibly adjudicate 'the Principle of Community'." This is incorrect, and is not the argument made in the resolution.
The resolution acknowledges that the College does, in fact, have this right. The Minimum Standards require houses to incorporate the spirit of the Principle of Community in their internal codes of regulations -- essentially codifying those principles at the house level. Item seven in the Standards of Conduct, however, allows the College to adjudicate any violation of any regulation at any level. So they quite clearly have that right; what the resolution says is that this is unfair and should not be the case.
-
You also reported that both Alex Wilson (a co-sponsor) and I "accused the deans of sanctioning the fraternity with the intent of not only punishing the offense at hand, but making an example of it in order to discourage undesirable behavior." This may be a picayune point, but I wanted to underline that Dean Redman has quite readily acknowledged these intentions and in this very publication. We did not accuse him of this, but we most certainly disagree with him. This is what the resolution says.
-
I would like to make one final word of clarification. Dean Redman is, without question, one of the best deans at this school. He truly cares about Dartmouth's students. He is also, thankfully, honest, and will answer a question directly without addressing it in obfuscating language. I hope that no one sees this resolution as an attack on Dean Redman; rather, it should be seen as a principled disagreement. I think I speak for the Student Assembly when I say that we have immense respect for him; but, nevertheless, with this resolution, we say that we strongly disagree with his decision on this matter, and that we hope he will reconsider.
