To the Editor:
To quote the great Yogi Berra, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” On Monday, College President Phil Hanlon announced the membership and agenda of the Presidential Steering Committee for Moving Dartmouth Forward. According to the Office of Public Affairs, “The Steering Committee is tasked with making recommendations that will combat the root causes of extreme behavior in the critical areas of sexual assault and high-risk drinking, and will also seek to foster more inclusivity on campus.”
If this story sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Exactly two years ago, in response to the faculty uproar over the now infamous Rolling Stone article, then-College President Jim Yong Kim announced the membership and agenda of the Presidential Committee on Student Safety and Accountability. Kim said that the group would “reach out broadly” to different sectors of campus to gather input about hazing, sexual assault and binge drinking on campus.
In the two years since that disturbing magazine article, Dartmouth continues to experience sexual assault, fraternity hazing and other dangerous anti-social and discriminatory behaviors. Without referencing any of the findings of the now published COSSA report, Hanlon recently proclaimed, “Enough is enough,” and promptly formed yet another committee.
Is this constant obfuscation really “moving Dartmouth forward”? How many more presidential committees will have to meet before the College finally provides students with a campus environment free from the threat of sexual violence?
Peter Hackett ’75
Avalon Professor of the Humanities, Professor of Theater
