Asch proposed to certain members on the executive boards of the Afro-American Society and Native Americans at Dartmouth that the DEP editors be housed in Cutter-Shabazz Hall to serve as resources exclusively for black and Native American students. The idea emerged this past Winter term, but was most actively considered in late April in a series of discussions between Asch and representatives of the AAm and NAD, culminating in a heated April 24 meeting that resulted in the termination of the project.
Asch referenced a need to address what he contends are lower graduation rates amongst the targeted student groups as a motivating factor for the program's transformation, but AAm president Robert Cheeks '07 and vice president Zainep Mahmoud '08 said that they believe this motivation was both flawed and extremely peripheral to the alumnus' main goal of rescuing the DEP from extinction. Asch acknowledged that the proposed shift was predominantly a means of finding a home for his editors.
Cheeks explained that Asch's information on graduation rates relied on hearsay and that he had no hard proof.
"There was at one point, although I haven't been able to find it recently, a statistic on the Native American site that said that their graduation rate was only 70 percent," Asch said, adding that he based his knowledge on black graduation rates from conversations with black students. Dartmouth does not publish graduation rates specific to race or ethnicity.
The major points of discontent on the situation for Cheeks and Mahmoud lay with their perception that Asch's ideas did not reflect a concern for the needs and desires of the black and Native American communities. At the April 24 meeting, Mahmoud asked Asch why he had not considered "other more pressing needs in the minority community," according to a summary of the meeting written by Asch's wife, Elizabeth. Asch said that he was concerned with addressing the writing issue, and not to tackle areas where he did not think he had a "proven solution." Cheeks said he was also skeptical that Asch had no system in place to quantify the success of the program.
Both sides contend that the other has been misrepresenting the manner in which Cheeks and others represented the College's potential reaction to the establishment of the program.
"The College had made it clear to them that if they worked with me, their budgets would be cut. Sam Kohn ['09, a member of the NAD executive committee] said it. Robert Cheeks said it," Asch said.
Cheeks explicitly denied the assertion that he had suggested that AAm funding could be affected if it took on Asch's editors. Dean of the Faculty Carol Folt told The Dartmouth in an e-mail message that no such risk of funding cuts existed.
"He can deny it but that's clearly not true," Asch said, adding that his wife made note of the assertions in a memo written by his wife summarizing the meeting dated April 27, three days after its occurrence.
Both Cheeks and Mahmoud said they felt that Asch attempted to manipulate the situation by playing the sides off each other. They claim he told members of the NAD executive board that the AAm was in support of the program to promote NAD support, while telling the reverse to the AAm.
Asch rejected the charge, saying "I don't play those kinds of games."
"He didn't have any concern about minorities," Cheeks said. "He just thought that the administration would not turn down something signed by minorities."
Aside from disagreements in the nature of the program, Cheeks said that bringing the DEP to Cutter-Shabazz would not have been feasible. From a discussion with Folt, Cheeks said that he understood that she had the final say.
"I received private communications from a number of students who were concerned about what they called divisive behaviors designed to get their support to force the administration to house the DEP program," Folt said in an e-mail message to The Dartmouth. "The faculty determines the curriculum at Dartmouth, and their recommendations for supporting writing at Dartmouth did not include continuing the DEP."
The current DEP places editors in the art history, religion and mathematics departments to help students with their writing. In January of 2005, Asch said he would stop funding for the program at the conclusion of the Spring term of 2006, urging the College to take up financial backing. When Dartmouth decided against that course of action, Asch decided to re-up his monetary commitment for one more year. The DEP is slated to end at the conclusion of the present term.
Asch has continually stressed the beneficial nature of having an editor work exclusively within a specific academic department to become acclimated with the subject matter. One point on which both sides agree is that moving the program to a residential community takes away this advantageous nature. Asch described Cutter-Shabazz as "a second-best chioce."
When Mahmoud asked Asch about the issue at the April 24 meeting, she said he replied by saying, referencing notes she had taken during the meeting, "Certain communities have certain issues that they need to work on." Mahmoud said she interpreted the comment as racially pejorative.
"He's basically saying that the black community has certain issues that they need to work on in regards to writing," Mahmoud said. "That's a very close-minded, in my opinion, ridiculous statement."
At the April 24 meeting, where Elizabeth Asch, AAm Parliamentarian Rudy Chounoune and Kohn were also present, Cheeks informed Asch that the AAm would not endorse his proposal and Kohn said that NAD would not either. Moreover, a meeting with Asch and the full executive board of the AAm scheduled for April 26 was also canceled.
Asch said the idea to relocate the DEP to Cutter-Shabazz was the result of the fact that he had met some black students from auditing courses within the African and Afro-American Studies department. Asch first suggested the idea to Britni Stinson '09, the secretary of the AAm, and Renee Smith '08, a NAD member, over dinner at his house on January 14.
"I had a couple of African Americans over for dinner, and I floated the idea. It was with Britni Stinson and Renee Smith. Britni said that Cutter-Shabazz is not just a dorm, but also a learning center, and that there are offices," Asch explained. "I said hallelujah, this is a wonderful opportunity."
According to Asch, Stinson advanced the idea within the AAm while he attempted to speak with administrators. He was passed from administrator to administrator, including Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia and Associate Provost Stuart Lord, ultimately leading to a meeting scheduled for May 30 with Folt.
"It wound up as an accusatory thing towards Joe and it was heartbreaking because I came out of there feeling misunderstood," Elizabeth Asch said. "We were just trying to do something that we thought could help."
