To the Editor:
I write this letter on behalf of and with the approval of my co-captain, Jeremy Feldman '07, the captain of the Men's Lightweight Crew team, William Suto '07 and the captain of the Women's Crew team, Anne Kennedy '07. Over the past weekend, the Heavyweight, Lightweight and Women's Crew teams held a dance party in Collis with the costume theme "Cowboys and Indians."
At the dance, three rowers dressed up as "Indians." When confronted about this by a group of American Indian students and one young woman in particular, those costumes were removed. To the young woman particularly offended, an apology was offered at the dance.
Although we did not intend any disrespect toward American Indians or any other person on campus, we apologize for any offense caused by the event.
While this event could be a cause for the angry taking of sides, we hope to turn it into an educational experience.
We do not want to cause offense in the future, and to that end, we will be attending the dinner discussion on Saturday night regarding the history of the Indian mascot at Dartmouth and meeting with American Indian leaders on campus.
