Townies take over Dartmouth!
While this might be an exaggeration, it almost felt this way last Thursday, when I tried to get into Filene Auditorium to attend former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer's speech. I had looked forward to this event, and yet I was turned away because the auditorium was already packed. Usually, that would not be a cause for concern; I could have merely been late, and unable to find a seat. Yet I was not late; not only did I show up 40 minutes prior to the event, but it was not students who were taking the seats.
That's right. Once again, The Vermont and New Hampshire public saw fit to crash one of Dartmouth's events that was organized for students, and consequently took away our opportunity to learn from or even attend the event.
This is not the first time that something like this has happened. I have been to many events where students have had to compete with townies for seats. With our busy schedules, we are unable to show up hours in advance to reserve seating. Don't get me wrong -- Dartmouth needs the New Hampshire community. We need them to fill the ticketed seats for events that are less popular for students, and our athletic events would have few spectators if only students showed up. But I still believe that students should not be shut out of events. After all, what is the point of holding events at our College if not enough students are able to attend them?
Why is this important? With the primary season soon underway, every presidential contender will come to our College. As host of the presidential debates, Dartmouth will be in the center of the political storm. While I am excited by the opportunity to be up close to some political heavyweights, I fear that if the trend of townies taking over our events continues, some students might not benefit from these politicians' presence on campus.
We have an inherent entitlement as Dartmouth students to have greater access to these events. After all, our tuition does not only go towards academics, but also to help fund campus events featuring people like Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M. This exposure to nationally significant personalities is a big part of our so-called "Dartmouth experience." Our College should have students' backs, and facilitate student access to these events.
These problems should not have to persist. And once we have managed to ensure student seating, we must also make sure that students are aware of the events. Advertising is obviously important in this regard; well-publicized events, such as Richardson's town hall meeting last Wednesday, enjoy greater turnouts.
Blitzmail is a key factor, since students often ignore posters and bulletin boards. Creating a buzz beforehand would not hurt either, since some students might not know enough to want to show up to speeches by obscure poets, sustainability directors or politicians.
Event planners should also reserve more student-only seating. This has been done quite often, but it is frequently insufficient. The expansion of student-only seating is essential to maximizing student attendance.
Finally, time and location are major factors. Holding events in a venue that reflects the demand of students is a necessity. But it can be tricky, since it is difficult to accurately predict how many students will show up. Planning events later in the afternoon helps a lot, since most students are done with classes by then.
We need to have more control over how many townies can gate-crash our events. We need to emphasize the priority of students' presence. When Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., come to Dartmouth, we must be sure that we are prepared to adequately meet student demand. We do not want Dartmouth to be on the outside looking in on the 2008 race.
