A series of events held this weekend, including an examination of traditionally black sororities, sought to take a unique approach to the issues of social, racial and gender identities by focusing on the links between the categories.
Organizers of the events, entitled "Race, Class, Gender: The Invisible Cross-Section," hoped that by dividing the discussion into multiple interactive events, as opposed to a single lecture or panel, they would be better able to draw out feelings and emotions.
"The different venues they had definitely made them more interesting and accessible to different people," event participant Nubia Solomon '04 said. Participants were "free, able to speak [their] mind. ... It was a very warm environment."
"We wanted to make it a very personal experience," said Andrea Salone '03, the president of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, which sponsored the three-day event.
Organizers said they believed the events were successful, and cited not only the turnout but the racial and gender diversity of those who attended. "That's something that's not the norm" on the Dartmouth campus, AKA Vice President Diamond Hicks '03 said.
In addition, Hicks said that the great variety of sponsors of the series -- which ranged from Greek houses to academic departments -- helped make the series a success.
The events concluded yesterday afternoon with a keynote speech by Kalyn Johnson, Tracey Lewis, Karla Lightfoot and Ginger Wilson, the authors of "The BAP Handbook." The speech included readings from the book in the Cutter-Shabbazz lounge.
The speech was followed by a reception and a question-and-answer session about the book and the experiences of the authors, who came at the request of Salone.
To start off the weekend's events, Benita Walton of the Women in Science Project, Jasmine Gipson '04 and Maaza Mehzun '04 spoke on Friday about minority women in science at a roundtable discussion.
On Friday night, The Tabard coed fraternity hosted an event by the Black Underground Theater and Arts Association which included performances and an interactive theater workshop. BUTA was founded in the early 1970s as a committee of the Afro-American Society.
Tabard Vice President Michael Sinha '03 said the event sought to bring up topics often avoided at Dartmouth.
"The issues of race, class and gender are issues that aren't well-discussed on this campus," he said.
A Saturday night discussion in Brace Commons touched on the division between mainstream and historically-black sororities.
This was the authors' first visit to a college campus since the book was published, though they have toured and conducted book signings in the past.
