To the Editor:
The tradition of a liberal arts education being the foundation for lifelong learning is a long and proud one, and Dartmouth College has a long and proud history of advancing that tradition. Naturally, the content of a liberal arts education evolves with time. For instance, in recent years Dartmouth has had the distinction of leading the way in including skills for coping with an Orwellian environment as a central aspect of the modern liberal education. Since Dartmouth is such a fine academic institution with such fine students, it should come as no surprise that current undergrads have adapted quite well to the new requirements, as illustrated by events described in The Dartmouth's article "Sex Festival organizers nix Chi Gam booth" (Feb. 24).
Let's pretend for purposes of this column that spending college money on a "Kiss Me Here" booth during a time of library closings, faculty shortages and chronic over-enrollment is a wise use of funds. If a colloquium on erogenous zones furthers the academic mission of the College, it follows that the relative merits of being kissed on one's X versus one's Y are independent of who sponsors the discussion. Or rather, it would have followed, in the quaint times when the meaning of speech was judged by its content rather than the speaker. Clearly, Dartmouth has progressed.
While a "Kiss Me Here" booth is liberating and informative when sponsored by the Center for Women and Gender, it would be highly offensive and might feed into the negative perception of a bunch of man-whores like Chi Gam if sponsored by the latter. I must confess that I don't entirely understand such advanced reasoning, and therefore cannot be certain of how a "Kiss Me Here" booth might be perceived were it to be sponsored by a sorority with a comparably risqu reputation. I have an educated guess, but I must be wrong: surely in this age of equality, the Center for Women and Gender wouldn't discriminate based on gender.
At the time of Dartmouth's founding in 1769, the avant-garde position on intellectual discourse was "I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." How far we've come! How esteemed Dartmouth's role in this notable journey!
