Despite the College's remote New Hampshire location, many international issues and events over the past year have sparked debate and intense interest on campus and student engagement in global affairs.
Following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, students at the College mobilized to raise awareness about the severity of the disaster and funds for relief efforts.
Student organizations such as the Dartmouth Japan Society and the Dartmouth Asian Organization led fundraising efforts on campus. Several students also created a new student group, Dartmouth for Japan, to lead campus fundraising efforts and coordinate a number of events on campus, The Dartmouth previously reported.
In addition to student efforts, the College was also active in its response to the tragedy in Japan.
On campus, the Dickey Center for International Understanding responds to major international events in several ways, according to Dickey Center associate director Christianne Wohlforth.
The first priority for the Dickey Center is ensuring students' safety that are in the region, Wohlforth said.
The Dickey Center, in conjunction with the Dean of the College's Office, the Office of Risk Assessment and other College offices were able to confirm the safety of approximately 60 students and faculty members that were in Japan at the time of the natural disaster, according to Wohlforth.
The Dickey Center also attempts to use international events as educational opportunities "if possible," Wohlforth said.
In response to the nuclear crisis in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami, the Dickey Center hosted an event marking the 25th anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear incident on April 26, Wohlforth said.
Many students interviewed by The Dartmouth also said they were interested in the ongoing developments in the Middle East and North Africa.
Charlie Dameron '11, a government and history major, said the Arab Spring the revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests in the Middle East and North Africa against dictatorial regimes encouraged the "advancement of an international dialogue about human rights and democracy."
Dameron said the Arab Spring interested him academcially and he incorporated its events into his senior thesis, which discussed international broadcasting.
"One chapter [of my thesis] was devoted to Al-Jazeera and how it created conditions that led to the Arab Spring," he said.
Ala Alrababa '14, an international student from Jordan, said the Arab Spring personally affected him.
"The Arab Spring will definitely influence my life," Alrababa said. "I celebrated when [the President of Egypt] Hosni Mubarak was overthrown because he has been president since my dad was 15. The events [in the region] have been unimaginable."
He added that while the international dialogue at Dartmouth is "better than [at] most" schools, there is also room for improvement.
"I think our professors here are very well informed, but looking at the government department, there aren't very many courses about Middle East politics," Alrababa said.
History major Adam Pastrich '13 said the College has made learning about issues such as the Arab Spring accessible.
According to Pastrich, programs on campus such as the Dickey Center's War and Peace Studies Fellows program that focused on Middle East topics this year and events like the symposium on Middle East politics held in honor of retiring history professor Gene Garthwaite contributed to bringing these issues into campus dialogue.
"It seems like Dartmouth is pretty well suited to discussing these international issues," he said. "The interest [on campus] was clearly there."
Another major international event that led to a campus-wide reaction was the capture and death of Osama Bin Laden.
Dameron said he was working on his thesis in the 1902 Room when the news broke.
"I was obviously amazed, shocked and surprised," he said. "It was a very rich community moment that was especially meaningful for people our age. My entire life of political consciousness was dominated by the War on Terror and the consequences of Sept. 11."
Bin Laden's death was marked by several celebrations on campus including festivities on Webster Avenue.
"I felt like we were celebrating not just this one man's death but justice," Pastrich said of the celebrations. "When you look at what happened at Frat Row and [the fact that] Baker Bell Tower was playing the Star-Spangled Banner the next morning, you can see how campus is reacting."
While this trend may just reflect a "societal change," student interest in international issues has grown significantly at the College, according to Wohlforth.
"I have been at Dickey for 10 years," she said. "The normative, ethical focus of students is stronger than [it was in] the past. Students are not only interested in international issues, but they want to be engaged and involved and be a positive force for change."
Wohlforth said the international studies minor, which is offered through the Dickey Center, has also become a "very popular" academic program.
Dameron, who will be working for Radio Free Europe in Prague next year on a history department fellowship to continue studying international news, said he credits the College for "radically changing" his views on global issues.
"I think a good Dartmouth education allows you to put major events in perspective," Dameron said. "I'm lucky to have had the professors that I've had and the experience that I've gained here."
