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The Dartmouth
July 22, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Responsbile Government

When most people at Dartmouth think of Montreal, they picture a European-like city full of fashionable shops and bars where anything (and everyone over 18) goes. They also think of their friends at McGill University, the recently labeled "Harvard of Canada." However, there have been some of the most heated student demonstrations outside of Tehran of late in this city of hockey and hedonism. At Concordia University, the so-called "people's college" because of its working class image, pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups have repeatedly clashed over the situation in the Middle East.

Over the last three years, the rival student group chapters of Hillel and Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights have basically hijacked the campus, each inciting the other on a daily basis. The issue culminated this past Sept. 9 when Hillel organized a talk by the warmongering former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The event was sabotaged by protesting students who barricaded the entrance to Concordia's main downtown building, causing thousands of dollars in damage and leading to several arrests and expulsions. As the protesters grew more violent, riot police were called in and their tear gas forced classes inside the building to be cancelled. In the aftermath of this event, Concordia's administration imposed a controversial two-month ban on discussion about Middle East issues.

Why, you may be asking, should we here in isolated, boring Hanover care? While home in Montreal over Christmas, I conversed with my friends who go to Concordia (or Gaza U. as it is now called). They laughed condescendingly when I told them about the passion with which our student body rallied to save the swim teams and our continued plight with the administration over the precious Greek system. At their school, a pro-Palestinian student union was elected last year when only 5 percent of the student body voted. They reigned with a platform calling on students to burn Israeli flags. This same union gave charitable donations to groups including Hezbollah, considered a terrorist organization by both Canada and the U.S. At Dartmouth, we elect student representatives who will work for food delivery services or access to weekend parties. Though my urban friends rightfully mock this, I feel that it is commendable to be able to spend our formative intellectual years free of such ruckus and that we should never take our fairy tale campus for granted. That is why two recent incidents here have bothered me so much.

Two weeks ago, Sen. John Kerry spoke to a large crowd at Rocky. In many people's minds, this speech further enshrined Dartmouth as a top academic institution. However, unnoticed among all the talk of the talk was the fact that the Student Assembly cosponsored the event. Obviously, it was an honor to have such a dignified politician on campus, but the Assembly's implicit support of a Democratic presidential hopeful involves them in extra-Dartmouth politics. As representatives of Dartmouth students, they have a responsibility to steer clear of this. That's not to say that the John Kerrys of the world should not be invited to Hanover -- such speakers enrich our college experience -- but the Assembly, which I assume was involved for organizational purposes, should not cosponsor these happenings. Although comparing this to Concordia seems like apples and oranges, this is merely because of the practical interchangeability of American political parties and their members. The difference is of degree, not type. Whereas national politics aren't a hot topic, the pending war in Iraq definitely is.

At Concordia two years ago, the student union almost succeeded in pressuring their administration to push exams back one week to enable students to protest at the infamous Quebec City World Trade Organization meetings. Two of my friends, freshmen at the time, had vacation plans for the week after exams and were appalled by the suggestion. Concordia was ridiculed in the media all over Canada. This week, Dartmouth's antiwar protestors headed down to Washington to take part in large demonstrations not unlike the ones in Quebec City. The Dartmouth reported on Jan. 16 that their trip was "partly funded by grants from multiple College sources -- including the Spanish and sociology departments, the Committee on Student Organizations and possibly the Dean of the College office." Although I believe that activism is a wonderful college pastime, it troubles me that these intra-campus groups, whose agendas should be void of politics, consider it appropriate to fund such blatantly political events.

Don't get me wrong, college is a wonderful time to actively engage in political debate and Dartmouth is definitely lacking for world awareness. Living in a community of 4,000 young, hip, intelligent people surrounded by hundreds of professors of some of the highest esteem in the world, it is wasteful to ignore the opportunity to analyze global issues. We have a responsibility to be aware and hold opinions on foreign and domestic affairs. However, to make it possible to successfully analyze those issues surrounding us, the bureaucracies that run the college must stick to doing just that. The constant lamentations about the "Dartmouth bubble" are fair and accurate. But lest we wish to become a second Concordia, where free debate has been stifled for the safety of the students, let's remind our campus leaders to stick to their campus agendas.