"This year we want [the panel] to be more about inclusivity and exclusivity on the Dartmouth campus in general, and not just about the greek system," moderator Jon Hopper '08 said as he introduced panelists Tiger Rahman '09, Annie Greengard '08, Karima Hamamsy '08, Allie Williams '07, Casey Ley '07, Shin-En Wong '07 and Raymond Rodriguez '09. The panelists talked about positive and negative experiences, discussed the gravity of language and offered constructive criticism for Greek houses.
"I actually wasn't going to come to this," Casey Ley '07 said in his introduction. "I think it's an interesting event, but it's usually a preaching to the choir type of thing. But, this weekend I was yelled fag from the porch, and I thought to myself, where can I go to talk about this?"
Although his words elicited laughter, Ley shifted to a more serious note, warning attendees about the weight of words and vocabulary, as well as the need for dialogue about sexual identity on campus.
Wong expressed reservations about structuring a panel on the issue and the pressure to defend homosexuality.
"I'm very nervous about speaking for [all] gay people," Wong said. "There is a double standard, Heterosexuality never has to be defended."
Wong talked about the difference at Dartmouth between "being gay" and "doing gay." He discussed the ridiculousness of a culture on campus that allowed friendships with gays but disallowed behavior that "flaunted their sexuality." He cited instances where men were asked to leave a fraternity dance floor or the fear that fraternities have of being identified as gay.
Hamamsy, Greengard and Williams described their sexual identity experiences in sororities.
"I have never really experienced any homophobia, but people seem to find it more interesting who I am dating than who other sisters are dating," Hamamsy said.
Greengard recalled "unnecessary" sorority bonding games that involved sharing how many fraternity brothers the sisters had "hooked up" with, while Williams described a sorority culture in which the topic of homosexuality was almost always entirely avoided.
Panelists also offered suggestions to the audience on how better to build an environment of understanding on campus. They stressed the importance of acting normal around gay friends and treating them as individuals instead of as gays, of asking friends the extent to which they are out so as not to make them feel uncomfortable, and of countering random acts of homophobia whenever possible.
"The broader issue of discussing alternative sexual activity is taking it as a bigger thing than it actually is," Rahman said. "By talking about it more it becomes less of an issue. It's really not that big of a deal, at least I don't think so."
The student panelists also fielded questions about whether Dartmouth has become a more tolerant place in recent history, and if the campus is moving in the right direction.
"I've seen the dialogue grow, I've seen awareness grow, and I've seen people become more educated," Ley said. "But I don't think that it has become more accepting necessarily."
Wong added that because many more people are open about and proud of their sexuality, there are more opportunities for people to be punished for being out.
"There is a lot more solidarity," Wong said, "but also a lot more backlash."
