To the Editor:
I was at the "protest" on Friday outside Parkhurst Hall ... for all of 5 or 10 minutes. I must say it was the most unorganized, off-putting thing I've ever seen. For the brief moment I was there, I heard people calling for a Korean Language Program, a new Women's Resource Center, new and better Drama facilities, zero tolerance for sexual assault offenders, more emphasis on the education department and what seemed to be a call for more white people in Dartmouth advertising.
Can someone tell me how these issues relate? They claimed to be fighting apathy. Well, how am I supposed to be spurred into action if I am overwhelmed with causes I don't know anything about? Did the students really expect me to stop everything, plunk myself down outside Parkhurst and show my support for all of their individual desires?
They claimed to be trying to stop apathy, but they were supporting so many causes that I feel there would be relatively few students who could agree on what to do. Screaming at students as they are on their way to class is not a good way to stop indifference. I don't appreciate someone on a bullhorn screaming at me to "get over here" any more than I would appreciate someone yelling at me from, say, a fraternity porch.
And another thing, there were several offensive signs. The one which sticks out in my mind is "Put down your beer and stop being apathetic." So apparently these anti-racist, antisexist, diversity-lovers are now putting down all people who drink beer. Does it make sense to insult the majority of the population just to get them on your side? I dislike beer, I think it tastes gross, but I do consume alcohol and I am offended that people think it is okay to equate that with apathy.
I agree with many of their issues, some of which I don't know a darn thing about, and some I disagree with. But how could I justify throwing my hat into their ring and sitting down? By doing that, I would be showing my support for issues of which I am totally ignorant, and that is wrong, blind ignorance being an offense worse than apathy in my opinion.
A rally needs to be more focused, more organized and more informed. In the few minutes I was there, several "speakers" said things which I know for a fact are just plain wrong, and nearly everything they said consisted of subjective, unsubstantiated statements about their own feelings or opinions. I, for one, am not that easily convinced. I am not a sheep. I refuse to be led into drastic action by a group of angry students trying to stir things up and gain last-minute support for their pet causes.
