Despite cutting and then temporarily reinstating Dartmouth's chapter of Amnesty International at the beginning of Summer term, College and Tucker Foundation officials failed to provide any explanation for the elimination and subsequent reestablishment of the group, whose future remains uncertain.
Amnesty, which according to members has been active at Dartmouth for decades, is funded by the Tucker Foundation. Last year, its budget was $500.
The group, which its members said had no inkling of the imminent cuts, was suddenly informed in late June that their funding had been cancelled.
Their advisor, Lynn White Cloud, who serves as the Assistant Dean for Community Service and Director of Special Programs, was also taken by surprise at the decision, according to the group's summer president, Alexandra Rogers '05.
The group appealed to White Cloud, and after discussions among the staff, Tucker Dean Stuart Lord decided to partially reinstate funding by contributing $300 from his own discretionary account.
This, however, is a temporary measure, as it only covers Amnesty's activities over the next year, and the group remains unsure about future sources of funding.
In an interview with The Dartmouth, Lord refused to explain the reasons for the initial cut and his subsequent decision to reinstate funding. He insisted that it was an internal matter, and that he did not wish to disclose any details.
When pressed, however, he said that he could not give any information without permission from his superiors.
On the other hand, College Provost Barry Scherr said that area budgets are completely handled by the different departments themselves, and that he had no knowledge of this particular decision.
Although Scherr's office sets budget-cut targets that all academic and administrative departments must meet, the departments themselves determine which specific cuts will be made.
But while administrators send out conflicting signals, nobody seems to know what awaits Amnesty.
According to Rogers, the group is thinking of applying for COSO recognition. Nevertheless, it would prefer to remain affiliated with the Tucker Foundation, since their "goals correspond," she added.
"Tucker is where we fit best," Amnesty member Kathryn Gilbert '05 concurred.
Although the group also considered asking for funding from the Rockefeller Center and the Dickey Center for International Understanding, both bodies usually provide funding for specific events and talks by guest speakers on campus, and not entire student organizations.
Rogers partly attributed the group's troubles to the organizational structure of Tucker, which has specific divisions for religious organizations, community service, and fellowships and internships.
The Foundation also sponsors the Social Justice lectureship, which invites speakers in the field to campus. However, no specific program at Dartmouth dedicated to social justice and human rights exists, she said.
Amnesty, although a relatively small student organization with about 20 regular members that some have described as impotent compared to chapters on other college campuses, describes itself as a dedicated and active organization.
"We pick one or two issues to focus on every term," Rogers said. In the past, these have included letter writing campaigns to free prisoners of conscience, human rights violations in Russia, AIDS activism and women's rights issues.
The group also organizes four to five events per term, according to Rogers.
It held a concert in conjunction with the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra on Mother's Day, and the proceeds were donated to women's rights groups.
Amnesty also invites notable speakers to campus, such as Harry Wu, described as China's "number one troublemaker" by the country's communist government. Wu's speech described the horrors of torture and killing in labor camps.
Sociology department chair Misagh Parsa, who has on occasion been involved with Amnesty's activities and is himself a victim of the Iranian government's political oppression, lauded Amnesty and said that Dartmouth's group was doing very important work.
"They are not only doing good service in terms of helping victims of violent political systems and oppressive regimes, but are also improving American society by working against racism, sexism and bigotry in all forms," Parsa said.
He said that it was sad if there was no place for social justice, and quoted Ginetta Sagan, a founder of Amnesty International USA: "Silence in the face of injustice is complicity with the oppressor."
