Their frustration with Dartmouth's culture had been brewing for quite some time. So when some fraternity members screamed racist, sexist remarks at a female student from the porch of Psi Upsilon fraternity, their disappointment reached its peak. Dartmouth was too satisfied with the status quo, they decided, and somebody needed to do something.
That something turned out to be a highly-charged day-long rally marking the Trustee Spring term weekend.
Fourteen students organized it -- though that number dropped to 12 by the end because two were concerned about the anti-administrative approach the demonstration seemed to be taking -- and eventually attracted a crowd of about 350.
But come today, everything is back to normal. Or so it will seem to the mere outsider.
The organizers say one of their greatest strengths is that they have no organizational affiliation. In the words of their campus-wide email, they are "12 concerned students."
But that lack of institutional grounding may also be one of their greatest weaknesses when it comes to mobilizing for future change. For now, at least, the group has not decided what it will do next.
"Because we're not a group, we by nature don't have a group plan of action," said organizer Gary Weissman '02.
Still, the demonstration's planners say they are confident that they will continue to make their voices heard. Throughout the long day on Friday they connected with huge numbers of fellow students, they say, and began forming what they hope will be an activist network on campus.
"Individually, we do have plans of action," Weissman continued. "And part of what we do involves other people."
At one of the first meetings she attended on the planning of Friday's demonstration, organizer Christina Hoe '02 announced that what the assembled students were beginning was nothing short of a movement. But for the time being, it seems, the movement will take a behind-the-scenes seat.
Today, for instance, will see no colorful signs or loud rallies. But a group of the organizers plan to have lunch with College President James Wright during his office hours this afternoon, where they say they will continue to press the same demands they raised last week.
And what the organizers do have, they say, is a resolve to effectuate change.
"I'm personally excited to set up the change agent booth from time to time," said Weissman, referring to a table he put together outside Parkhurst Hall where he collected student thoughts. "My personal idea is that every time I set up the booth, I will have a little action. Like every time you're in a group and someone uses the word 'gay' incorrectly, you correct them."
Brooke Lierman '01, another one of the organizers, said she plans on working with the alumni council to press for change.
"This is just the beginning," she said. "We have a lot of lists of names of people, we have a lot of different ideas. Definitely by the time the alumni council comes in May, we'll have a lot of plans. Because they're really the big shots."
Weissman says he intends to help create an environment on campus that will continue to reinforce activism.
"Personally, I'm really interested in building a community and culture of activism at Dartmouth. One of the reasons I think it's difficult to build that community is because the issues are so varied. But if we can build a culture of activism, people will be able to work together for change."
And, Weissman added, the organizers already have a base from which they can build.
"We have allies on all sorts of committees and organizations -- social, cultural, and institutional."
