Over the past few weeks, I've been grappling with the question of whether or not I love Dartmouth. Yeah, I said it. I know that it's tantamount to treason on this campus, and I know that surely alumni are now cursing my name and writing angry e-mails or letters to me. Perhaps President Kim will shed a single tear upon reading this in the crushing gloom of Parkhurst.
But then an angel came to me in my darkest hour and rekindled my love for the College all over again. How, you ask? By reminding me that professors at other Ivies are major well, maybe it's best I not say what they are.
I work for a Model United Nations conference which takes place in New York City every March. Because of the conference's timing, many of my staff members (who hail from colleges scattered across three continents) have midterm or final exams during the week of the conference. One of my job responsibilities is to speak to their professors when necessary to help reschedule these examinations, which puts me in contact with a wide range of professors.
I started this process anew last week with a professor (whose name and university I shall withhold) who was hesitant to reschedule one staffer's exam. We had a very brief e-mail exchange before said professor mounted his pulpit and casually criticized my hiring policies. He said something about an alarming decline of academic standards in this country and how my organization, a Model UN conference, was responsible for it all.
By itself, this wasn't offensive to me. I know I ask a lot of faculty when I ask them to reschedule exams, and I can withstand a bit of aggressive frustration in return. The real issue emerged when the professor finally discovered that I am a college student.
It was astonishing how quickly his tone changed. The amenable, if misguided, professor I was speaking to before quickly became assured of his superiority over me in every respect. Our negotiations came to a quick and unceremonious stop, but not before he was nice enough to issue to me a "word of warning" that other faculty members might not look so kindly upon one student appealing for another student's exam to be rescheduled.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset that he was unwilling to hear out my suggestion. But if there's one thing in this world I can't abide, it's the belief that just because someone is older, they are necessarily more responsible or intelligent. This person treated me with less respect once he learned that I was a student and not a faculty member, as though his degree conferred upon him a higher station that a common student such as myself could not comprehend. I have unfortunately encountered this attitude in a number of the professors with whom I work. Their classrooms are their temple and I, a heretical interloper in their holy services.
When I finished perusing the offensive e-mail, I suddenly remembered part of the reason why I love Dartmouth. Sure, we have stupid disagreements about tired subjects all the time. However, only on rare occasions have I heard an open argument devolve into personal disrespect or condescension. We always seem comfortable assuming that our argumentative sparring partner has good intentions at heart.
This is an invaluable and frankly underrated aspect of our community. Even with all the controversy about the lack of minority representation among College administrators and faculty, consider for a moment how unique it is for an Ivy League president to take the time to meet with students after just three administrative resignations well below catastrophic levels.
Without a doubt, it's the faculty and administrators who are the backbone of this standard. Without their precedent, I find it plausible even probable that the student body would devolve into barbarism. One need only spend five minutes on Bored at Baker to remember just how savage students can be (get off your high horse, we all know that both you and I have frequented the site). The alumni aren't much better, if not quite so profane. Just look up virtually any column on The Dartmouth's website that even makes passing reference to Kim and you can enjoy a flurry of angry, bitter comments that make YouTube commenters look like intellectual savants.
Although the strength of our community certainly does not solely rest on the laurels of our faculty and staff, it is certainly an important pillar. Now, President Kim, do I have that single tear yet?
