The founders of the Southern Society -- Dartmouth's newest student organization -- hope their group will provide insight into a culturally distinct and historically important region which they say is poorly understood and given only scant scholarly attention.
Byron Fuller '02, who along with Alston Ramsay '04 helped found the organization, said its creation was partly motivated by a lack of Southern-related courses at Dartmouth, as well as the attitudes of many students towards southerners.
Upon coming to the College, Fuller said, "many Southern students feel displaced" in a culturally alien atmosphere among others who often hold "uninformed and prejudicial" views of those from the south.
Ramsay said he had noted "a general sense of disdain" toward southerners at Dartmouth, while hoping that the Society would provide "a means to discuss and dispel stereotypes."
Among the group's major goals are to spread a better understanding of the modern-day South and to facilitate discussions on Southern history and culture, in addition to providing "a sense of community" to Southern students on campus, according to the Society's constitution.
Though the organization now counts over 20 members -- despite being largely unable to draw on other Dartmouth classes during Summer term -- the group has faced some initial hurdles.Recently, the Society was denied official College recognition by the Council On Student Organizations on grounds that the group "was moving in too many directions at once," according to Fuller.
"Their points of view made a lot of sense," said Fuller, while emphasizing that the multiple goals of the Society -- which include promoting both cultural and academic issues -- are each important and closely linked.
"Given the importance accorded to other cultures, we feel this is valid as well," Fuller said. Ramsay said the group has continued to grow and develop in the meantime, and will likely try again for recognition during Fall term.
The lack of College funding has done little to slow the group, however. Already the Society has held several organizational meetings, with an upcoming discussion -- titled "Is Southerness an Ethnicity?" -- scheduled for Thursday evening in Collis.
Plans for the future include hosting a traditional Southern barbecue, a event which involves meat that has been smoked for a period of several hours, rather than a typical hot dog and hamburger cookout, according to member Harry Camp '04.
Such barbecues have more than culinary significance, however. "It's a really big deal in the South," Camp said. "It serves as a cultural meeting place."
The Society has already sponsored a trip to the annual New England Barbeque festival, as well as several informal croquet games on the Green.
As for scholarly issues, Ramsay said he hoped the group could provide "an academic examination of the American South."
"There's a lot of literature out there dealing with the South," he said. "We'd like to amass some sort of library and bring in people from the outside to lecture."
The organization's cultural focus has not deterred participation from those of non-Southern backgrounds, with approximately half of the Society's members coming from outside the South.
"We feel that the South has a distinct culture that's worthy of discussion for people of any geographic or cultural background," Camp said.
