In a demonstration of how damaging language and images can be, William Martin '08 presented sound clips of Def Jam Poetry and radio personality Don Imus, as well as images of the Indian head mascot of the University of North Dakota in a discussion in Kemeny Hall Wednesday night. The event, titled "Imagery and Word Usage," was held by Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity.
Martin, the president of LUL, criticized use of the "'n-word" in modern media and culture, claiming it is wrong to try to transform the meaning of a word by allowing only some groups to use it.
"You can't attempt to change the meaning of a word because you can't change its background and history," he said. "If we begin setting a double-standard, where does it end?"
Audience members heard the infamous clip in which radio host Don Imus referred to members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy headed hos" during a championship game. The clip elicited angry responses from many crowd members. Martin then raised the issue of whether such language should be allowed in the name of comedy.
Martin also spoke about political journalism, showing the audience clips of CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, who, according to Martin, unfairly referred to migrant workers as "illegal aliens."
"The language creates a juxtaposition of us versus them, and [Dobbs] even has a book out called 'War on the Middle Class,'" Martin said. "Is it okay as long as it's on a political spectrum?"
Another issue that was discussed at length was the Indian head mascot of UND's Fighting Sioux . Martin first introduced the leprechaun symbolizing Notre Dame's Fighting Irish, and said that the leprachaun represents a fictitious character while the Fighting Sioux imagery represents real people as "bloodthirsty, savage warriors." Participants commented on the frustrations they felt when people talk about how "proud" they are to be represented in this way.
"You're taking colonial misrepresentations and spreading them," Martin said.
Martin said the goal of the program was to raise awareness around the importance of dialogue.
"I hope people can gain a better understanding of the power of what they say and what they allow to be put out, and also what images they answer to," Martin said.
Eliza Yellow Bird '09, one of the audience members, said she found the discussion inspiring.
"It was good to see different clips and get different people's opinions," she said.
While participants commented on the usefulness of gathering perspectives from different parts of campus, Martin said that the discussion could have been enriched by a broader sample of the Dartmouth population. The audience of 12 was predominantly composed of female and minority students.
"This seems to happen a lot at Dartmouth, but some people who should have heard the talk, those who had the most to gain from hearing the message and hearing the rhetoric, aren't here," Martin said.
Jeffrey Coleman '08, vice-president of LUL, said he hoped the discussion would interest more of the "mainstream" student body, but was grateful for the audience that did attend.
"As long as it's enlightening for someone, we've done our job," Coleman said.
