When Interim President Carol Folt sent out the email informing campus that classes would be canceled last Wednesday, I quietly remarked to my friend that due to midterms, labs and problem sets, I would not be able to attend the events planned that day. A student who overheard this confronted me proudly. "I'm tired of overhearing these conversations and doing nothing about it. This is the most important issue on this campus right now." Tiredly, I packed up my belongings and simply left the Hopkins Center without saying anything. Perhaps the student was surprised at the lack of response, or perhaps this individual thought the message was received. In either case, there was, thankfully, no further protest as I left. Standing up to discrimination is an important and respectable goal, and I understand the need to shame those who make a habit of using derogatory language. But approaching everyone, including potential allies, in a belligerent haze without bothering to understand the situation only alienates people and causes infighting.
The administration unilaterally decided to cancel classes during midterms week with less than 14 hours notice. Professors' schedules and lesson plans were torn apart, exams had to be rescheduled and, in some cases, when the exams could not be rescheduled, review sessions were canceled. Had the administration instead decided to hold these events on a weekend, or perhaps even several hours afterward once classes were over, many more students would have been able to attend. Now, anyone who could not drop everything on his or her schedule and dedicate the entire day to these events is branded a guilty bystander and labeled as no better than the perpetrators of sexual assault and other discriminatory practices.
This attitude is ludicrous. Everyone here is a freeloader or bystander in some aspect because nobody has the time or energy to contribute to every cause from which he derives benefits. Using open source software? Bet you didn't contribute to the source code or donate. Like that clean air and water? What was your last contribution to the Environmental Protection Agency? We all contribute and shape our community in the ways we can, and if someone prefers to not associate with the larger Dartmouth community and remain a hermit in his or her room, then that, too, is an example of individual prerogative. Our socioeconomic backgrounds and reasons for coming to Dartmouth are as diverse as our student body. I know many students who wish to have nothing to do with the fraternity system or much of the larger community and who chose Dartmouth for its excellent academics. Why should they be forced to participate? More importantly, why is it that the most important way to fight discrimination is to attend talks that were planned less than 24 hours in advance?
I am not a hermit. However, the computer science department has a disproportionately male, Asian influence, and we all know it. I am fully aware of the gender and race issues that plague my major and I will be attending the computer science department's own version of today's talks to brainstorm solutions. Personally, I am far more involved in the computer science subculture at Dartmouth than the larger community, and had the student at the Hop who verbally assaulted me calmly asked me why I was unable to attend, I would have easily been able to explain that I had a non-negotiable deadline. Not attending the campus-wide events is obviously not synonymous to doing nothing.
Honestly, I am not even upset with this person. This kind of passion and a willingness to stand up to one's peers is what drives progress. This past week has been a time of high tensions and passion for everyone around campus, and remarks like the ones I received have become commonplace. But perhaps next time, we can channel that desire and passion into something more productive than harassing people during a meal. To the administration's credit, many of my friends have told me the talks were actually quite good and productive, and I do wish I had been able to go. I hope that in the future, when something is not scheduled in a last minute fluster, the administration can put some more thought into the timing and logistics.
