To the Editor:
In his April 13 column, "Shared Sacrifice," John Lee '11 writes that I, speaking at last week's workers' rights rally, "criticized the Dartmouth community for giving aid to Haiti while ignoring the struggles of staff members in our own backyard." He also states that I disapprove of "charitable giving to one of the poorest and most disaster-stricken countries on earth."
This is a gross misrepresentation of my speech. In reality, I stated that our commitment to charitable giving and volunteer work abroad "represents some of the finest characteristics of Dartmouth students." That we expend so much energy on these causes indicates a deep level of concern and moral decency within the student body. Clearly, Lee wasn't listening to the speech.
By contrasting our work abroad with the plight of Dartmouth staff, my intent was to demonstrate our failure to act on our principles within our own community. Yes, we should work to uplift those thousands of miles away. Yet by ignoring the injustice happening on campus, we fall short of our principles and allow suffering to continue. And therein lies our fault.
By remaining passive, we offer our implicit approval of the undemocratic actions of College administrators. Either we publicly oppose the attack on workers or via our deference we reinforce the administration's prerogative to cut benefits, salaries and jobs at will.
This is not a matter of choosing Dartmouth staff over Haitians. Nor is it a matter of choosing staff over students. Rather, it is a matter of rejecting the administration's conviction that some people (read: staff) are expendable. We must assert that all of us students, faculty and staff members have a right to receive respect and have our voices heard.
