Kristin '10 commented on what she said were the prevailing attitudes towards women in Dartmouth culture. Kristin struggled to feel comfortable in her identity as a woman while serving as a coxswain for the men's lightweight crew during her four years at the College, she said.
The sexual analogies made by a former coach and disrespectful stories told by former teammates were the source of the difficulties, she said.
Kristin added that her struggles with an eating disorder, which began at the age of 12, affected her adjustment to college and her development as a woman.
"Through this process, I have learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you," she said.
While recovering from her eating disorder, Kristin said she "[has] gained the confidence to actively try to shape the consciousness of [her] team, and they have been incredibly receptive and supportive."
"Now if I ever hear or see something that's disrespectful, I speak up, and my teammates listen," Kristin said.
Johanna '10 spoke of experiencing a pregnancy while still an active Dartmouth student, and of being raped soon after her arrival on campus.
Johanna said that female students who say they would also like to have a child bother her.
"It's as if they are saying they wish they could have a baby, but because they are planning to go to graduate school, or have an internship lined up, or are otherwise driven and hardworking, they can't have one now," she said.
These attitudes deny women's capabilities to handle both an active, ambitious life and motherhood at the same time, Johanna said.
"I have never been more happy to be a woman than when I was pregnant, and never more happy to be human than I am now as a mother," she said.
Emily '04, who will graduate this year, spoke about coping with sexual abuse at the College.
"I don't want to pick on the frats, but I think that it is important to recognize that there is a very real culture of intimidation that exists in the frat scene that implicitly condones misogyny, racism, homophobia [and] classism," Emily said.
Emily described being followed home after leaving a fraternity the Homecoming weekend of her sophomore year, when she said she was raped by three older men an experience that led her to take time off from Dartmouth.
Despite years of constant fear following the experience, Emily felt it was important for her to return to Dartmouth to prove that the men's actions could not dominate her, she said.
Emily also described her difficult upbringing as the daughter of a drug addict. She was forced to hunt to feed herself and her younger sister, which fueled her current interests in cooking and taxidermy, she said.
Chelsey '10 described her internal identity conflict that resulted from being raised in a primarily white community in North Dakota while, over time, becoming more engaged with her Native American heritage.
Chelsey said she was surprised to encounter the same racist Native American stereotypes from some Dartmouth students and parents that she had hoped to leave behind in North Dakota.
The continued use of the Indian head symbol on some Dartmouth merchandise, and the decision by some students to display it, mirrors the offensiveness of the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux mascot, which Chelsey battled in high school, she said.
The University of North Dakota will retire the nickname after the 2010-2011 season, Minnesota Public Radio News reported April 8.
Reducing Native Americans to a symbol is dehumanizing, Chelsey said. The popularity of dressing up as an "Indian" for costumed events is similarly insulting, she added, because it reduces ancient traditions into stereotypes and mockeries of their actual forms.
The two other students who spoke at the event asked that their words not be included in the article because of the personal nature of their stories.
