Oof. There's been so much heavy stuff on the pages of The Dartmouth lately, you'd think the entire campus was in the streets rioting and burning effigies. Rest assured, off-campus readers and alumni, the College is still intact and operational, and I am optimistic that we'll reach a happier discourse by the time Homecoming rolls around. Let me try to brighten the mood with a little fresh perspective on the issues we're becoming so wrapped up in.
Everyone here has the opportunity to enjoy a high standard of living. Our professors, dining services, facilities, student organizations and plain quality of life are all rated well above the national collegiate average. We should develop the perspective to see that things aren't nearly bad enough to be vilifying one another or making '14s afraid to go outside. Freshmen, it's actually quite nice here.
Let's start with the sexual assault debate. The Clery Act report stated that there have been 33 reported instances of sexual assault on campus over the last two years. That's 33 instances too many. Does this mean that our fraternities are filled with sleazy men who are just looking to get laid? Compare the Dartmouth statistics to claims from the Department of Justice that as many as one in five women become victims of sexual assault on campuses.
What of the humanities? Yes, College President Jim Yong Kim might be about as tactful in his speeches as Joe Biden, and his words lend an air of concern to students of the humanities. Does this mean, however, that he's on a mission to dismantle the liberal arts education at Dartmouth and build a "Harvard on the Connecticut?" Harvard isn't a bad school to be compared to, but if you want to see schools whose academics are in real crisis, look no further than Rice University, which is cutting classes in both the humanities and natural sciences. California state schools are cutting so many classes, it's hard for some students to graduate in four years! If anything, we're a model of perseverance through the financial crisis.
The reason we have become consumed by these arguments is because we have no point of reference. We have no sense of what statistics are healthy for our community because we so rarely interact with other communities the oft-cited "Dartmouth bubble." This is not an excuse to lose our vigilance, but rather encouragement to reduce the alarmism in our discourse.
For an easy and accessible example of this bubble, just look at Tuesday's edition of The D. Therein lies a playful article about how floods washed pumpkins down the Connecticut River into the eager arms of Dartmouth students ("Flood sweeps pumpkins into river," Oct. 5). Apparently, the pumpkins had been harvested from Gladstone Farm in Vermont before being washed away. The article was awash with students discussing the absurdity and good fortune of the situation, but the only mention of the impact on the farmers whose crop disappeared came from one of Gladstone's competitors, who expressed "sympathy." There's nothing that anyone could have done, but it's noteworthy that not a single student quoted considered the source of the pumpkins.
The bubble blinds us to comparative norms that, in all honesty, should give us reason to breathe a healthy sigh of relief. This does not make light of a any of the criminal, immoral or just plain stupid acts that take place on campus. Making panicked generalizations about individuals or groups based on healthy community statistics, however, is a surefire way to drive those statistics to unhealthier levels. We live a privileged lifestyle where we are protected or hidden from many of the world's evils. The homeless, neglected and malnourished live within the confines of the Upper Valley, and yet we rarely see their suffering without having to seek it out. If we are this flustered about signs that our community is faring well, how would we react if things actually got bad?
Freshmen, I promise that this is a nice place to live and study for a college degree. Sometimes, Dartmouth students get wrapped up in these big discussions that always start with the best intentions and eventually get out of hand. Just don't be afraid to try to experience everything that Dartmouth has to offer. Your four years here are too short to squander any of it.
