In the wake of the Dimensions protests, opponents have gone to significant lengths to marginalize them. Many characterize them as radical extremists, embittered students on the periphery of the social life. Some say they were seeking attention, some say they simply hate Dartmouth, but most agree that they are at odds with the rest of the student body. By marginalizing the protesters, people invalidate their opinion and place them solidly outside of the "standard" Dartmouth experience.
In a misguided attempt to protect Dartmouth's reputation and school pride, members of the community have the knee-jerk reaction to completely deny the legitimacy of the protest itself without even considering its message. Many discussions have centered on the venue choice and the possible of consequences for the protesters. To focus on the manner in which the protesters attempted to convey their message is to miss their message entirely. Regardless of whether protesters chose an appropriate venue, they raised valuable concerns. The debates over whether the protesters were justified to disturb Dimensions and how they should be punished pale in comparison to the legitimate issues at hand.
However, many of those willing to discuss the issues raised are quick to dismiss the protesters' opinions altogether. People refer to the protesters as feminists or communists, or they point to their sexual orientation or race as reasons why their opinion "doesn't count." Not only is it highly problematic, and downright bigoted, to attempt to invalidate one's experience of our college based on gender expression, racial identity or political views, but it is also unproductive. Instead of accepting their complaints as legitimate, members of the Dartmouth community have been scrambling to characterize the protesters as far outside of the mainstream. Categorizing their complaints as exaggerated or distorted distracts from any legitimate discussion of the real issues raised by the protests, therefore impeding any actual progress.
The campus zeitgeist declares that in order to be a real Dartmouth student, one must be a happy student. If you notice problematic behaviors or dynamics and have the audacity to point them out, you just don't love the school enough. I had never realized how intense the pressure was to consistently love the school until the weeks leading up to the protest. I was sitting with a friend, one who had applied to transfer, to the open chagrin of our friends, and often complained about various aspects of Dartmouth, and I began to cry. The intensity of my dissatisfaction with Dartmouth was exacerbated by the fact that I felt genuinely uncomfortable expressing my unhappiness. I convinced myself that the school was not the problem after all, everyone else seemed to love it so much but that I was. This self-delusion is a direct result of the stigma against anyone who so much as points out a concern about the College.
I believe that Dartmouth has a problem. The problem is that when I express sympathy for the protesters in conversation, I get personally attacked. The problem is that when students try to voice their concerns, the rest of the community reacts with hatred. The problem is the extremely anti-intellectual backlash. Anyone unconvinced of the backlash should look at the protestors' blog. The hateful, ignorant posts on Bored at Baker, while dismissed by Interim President Carol Folt as the work of anonymous buffoons, still reveals of the extreme pressure to love this school. What people don't realize is that dissatisfaction does not necessarily imply hatred, but a desire to change Dartmouth for the better.
I don't consider myself an extremist. I am heterosexual, cisgender and white. I attended a private boarding school and grew up in the suburbs of Massachusetts. I didn't protest the Dimensions show, but I support the protesters. Dartmouth has a problem, and the problem is wider than the incidence of racism, homophobia and sexual assault. The problem is the utter reluctance to admit these issues, and the cavalier dismissal of those whose experiences of the college have been marred by discrimination, hate and sexual violence. The protesters are no different than the rest of us. They just had the courage to give voice to their concerns.
