VOX CLAMANTIS: Major Clarification
To the Editor:
In her response ("Major Delusion," Feb. 26) to my recent column ("Major Consolidation," Feb. 24) about moving the WGST and NAS programs into other departments, Lydia Chammas '09 writes: "Blair manages not only to offhandedly disregard equal treatment of women, but also implies that their very existence and contribution to society is irrelevant -- as he also suggests of Native Americans."
This is a misrepresentation of my views, and is not a position I was taking in my column.
I apologize if I gave the impression that I do not respect these groups or the courses offered about them, and I certainly did not mean in any way to imply that the contributions women and Native Americans have made to our society are insignificant or irrelevant.
However, I think that to read my column in this way ignores the larger point I was making. I was not advocating the removal of these very important classes from the Dartmouth curriculum, but only offering a different way to look at departmental structure.
Peter Blair '12
