In an rare BlitzMail vote held last night, Student Assembly passed a resolution condemning last weekend's incident in which a swastika was discovered drawn on a student's door.
The departure of several voting members over the course of last night's weekly meeting -- which conflicted with many members' Greek rush activities -- denied the Assembly a quorum and necessitated an electronic vote afterwards.
The resolution condemned "any act of bigotry or hatred" and was passed following a lengthy session of debate in which members -- as well as a number of nonmember visitors -- discussed the proper response to the Jan. 12 incident.
Student Body President Molly Stutzman '02 applauded the resolution while emphasizing that it was only the start of a wider process.
"An incident like this does not just affect one community but all communities at Dartmouth," she said. "It's important to us that we stay relevant on campus and that we're responding at times when students are looking to us to respond."
Future plans, such as discussions with various campus organizations and other measures to fight hate, will follow up the passage of the resolution, according to Stutzman.
Stephanie Long '04, who sponsored the resolution, agreed. She said that it is "the responsibility of the Assembly to respond" to such incidents, but reiterated that the resolution was only "our first step" in the response process.
The resolution, in addition to condemning all acts of hatred, pledged unspecified "moral and material support" to fight prejudice, and called upon Assembly members to confront ignorance and hatred in their daily lives.
The debate -- which focused on the appropriateness and effectiveness of the resolution -- was extensive and saw a number of procedural votes and proposed amendments, though the final vote only occurred after the meeting's adjournment.
Supporters of the resolution, among them Joshua Marcuse '04 and Michael Sevi '02, argued that the resolution was essential as a rapid and firm response to the swastika incident.
Many detractors agreed with the substance of the proposal and joined others in condemning the incident, but felt that the resolution did not go far enough in addressing issues of hate and prejudice on campus.
Others felt that approving the resolution would set an unwelcome precedent by obliging the Assembly to respond to all future incidents in similar fashion.
A motion to postpone debate on the resolution indefinitely, put forth by Sean Oh '04, was voted down by the Assembly. A proposed amendment that would have mandated the creation of a committee to look into incidents of hate on campus was also denied.
Another amendment to pressure College administrators to punish perpetrators of hateful acts -- proposed by Karim Mohsen '03 -- was accepted and incorporated into the resolution.
"I was really impressed by the debate tonight," Stutzman said, noting the presence of several nonmembers who came to support the resolution. "Students really wanted to speak out and commit to action."
Marcuse, who cosponsored the resolution, agreed. "This meeting and this debate shows that this Assembly cares about leadership and advocacy on this campus," he said.
Also achieved at the meeting was the passage of a resolution providing funds for a Visions dinner to be held this Thursday evening at Collis Commonground.
The first Visions campaign, which occurred four years ago, solicited the opinions of hundreds of Dartmouth students on how best to improve the College. The finished product, which consists of hundreds of stories and suggestions, was presented to the then newly-appointed President Wright.
Stutzman said she hoped the new Visions campaign would prove as useful and as effective as the last, which led to a number of changes in campus life in areas as varied as dining services and sports tickets.
"We're really hoping to give undergraduates an opportunity to shape Dartmouth's future," she said.
