To the Editor:
Dartmouth has the gift of eternal youth -- every June the crusty seniors are shipped far and wide, and we welcome a budding troupe of impressionable young minds, the finest the world has to offer, to the College. What are we to do with these youngsters? Teach them, of course; prepare them for life; nurture their minds, bodies and souls (and a few livers) for release into the wide, wide world.
With this in mind, lately I've been questioning exactly what Dartmouth has been teaching its students. Honestly, I can't tell you how ridiculous and petty the social discourse on campus seems from the outside. It's laughable. A mighty Ivy League institution, readying the cream of our society by encouraging them to translate academia's hyperliberalism into societal practice. Please spread the word -- that's why we stick academics in academia and not the real world; it just wouldn't work out here. There is simply too much to be built, achieved, created and wondered out here to spend our days arguing if calling someone a "bitch" deserves pervasive condemnation, or should justify the destruction of a social organization. For god sakes, has Dartmouth degenerated into a $120,000 kindergarten? Jack called me a bad word -- let's tell the teacher.
Please don't misunderstand me -- I am not defending verbal abuse. It is a shame, however, if Dartmouth has indoctrinated its students with a notion of entitled protection from offensive speech, dislike, poor taste, offensiveness or even hatred. These are all real qualities of the world outside of Hanover, and part of your education should be to learn to tolerate them -- good, bad and ugly. If being called a bitch by a complete stranger is intolerably oppressive, you're a cream puff in the real world. Good luck.
I am not trying to belittle those who feel oppressed by offensive speech at Dartmouth (though the effect may be the same), but to you I present this challenge -- lighten up. If name calling keeps you up at night, maybe you need to take words a little less seriously. If you've made it your life mission to ensure that the utterances of every Dartmouth student conform to a politically correct, 100 percent nonoffensive code, you're setting yourself up for failure. Maybe you should set your sights a little smaller. Find a group of friends who don't insult you when they're drunk, and revel in what a wonderful, happy, sheltered little home Dartmouth is. My hunch is that you'll benefit more by accentuating the positive experiences, than by stamping out the negative.
Believe me, it doesn't get any easier from here out. Enjoy it while you can!
