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(04/09/14 9:30pm)
In elucidating their decision to rush, students often cite their desire to meet new people and even find a sense of brotherhood or sisterhood at the College. While I admit that I too had these aspirations in mind when I chose to rush, what ultimately forced my hand was a question for which I never could find a sufficient answer: “What else was there to do?”
(04/01/14 11:23pm)
On March 27, Parker Gilbert was found not guilty of rape; specifically, he was found not guilty of vaginal penetration through force, vaginal penetration through concealment or by the element of surprise before the complainant had an adequate chance to flee or resist, vaginal penetration when the complainant was physically helpless to resist because she was sleeping, vaginal penetration without free consent, anal penetration without free consent and criminal trespass.
(03/25/14 9:08pm)
During Mentors Against Violence discussions at fraternities and sororities (and, beginning this term, other student organizations), facilitators run a brief circle exercise and ask students to, among other things, step forward if they have ever heard a peer tell a rape joke. In most cases, nearly all students present step forward. Facilitators then ask if they, after hearing said rape joke, voiced any objection to it. In most cases, no student steps forward. During the ensuing conversation about rape culture at Dartmouth, most students tend to agree that rape jokes are completely inappropriate. Why, then, do they fail to speak out when someone makes one?
(02/11/14 11:44pm)
In its most recent issue, The Dartmouth Review published history professor Russell Rickford’s speech at the 22nd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Candlelight Vigil in full. He explains the ways in which King’s legacy — the legacy that mainstream American culture has embraced — serves to blind us from the structural racism that still plagues our society. Our annual honoring of King — rather, his sanitized, commercialized counterpart who never actually existed — is a means of self-congratulation on our nation’s supposed achievement of racial harmony.
(02/03/14 11:49pm)
A couple weeks ago, Woody Allen received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes for his “outstanding” contributions to the world of entertainment. Yet a darker story has emerged. On Feb. 1, Dylan Farrow, Allen’s adopted daughter, published her first public account of the sexual assault that defined her childhood. In the piece, she asks her readers to imagine growing up in a world that celebrates her tormentor and “a lifetime stricken with nausea at the mention of his name.” She explains that she was finally able to write about her sexual assault after receiving support from other survivors who shared “their fears of coming forward, of being called a liar, of being told their memories aren’t their memories.” Indeed, writing this piece was incredibly brave.
(01/27/14 9:51pm)
Privilege is one of the most relevant but difficult concepts to talk about here at Dartmouth. The term provokes eye rolls, groans, defensive rants about “reverse racism” and the like. Yet indifference and hostility to discussions of sexism, racism, and classism on our campus and in society at large is precisely what defines privilege. Those who enjoy the luxury of ignoring and dismissing such social maladies fail to truly look beyond their immediate experiences of the world — a world whose ideology has largely served them — and cannot be bothered to consider their role in the oppressive structures that they perpetuate and even unwittingly suffer from. At Dartmouth, many of us seem to walk around with blinders that prevent us from empathizing with each other and challenging our beliefs and values. But it is time for many of us to not only recognize our privilege but also prevent it from numbing us to pressing issues our society still faces.
(01/14/14 12:57am)
My sophomore fall, I wrote a column (“Reforming an Imperfect Process,” Oct. 1, 2012) advocating the need to appreciate the limitations of rush and refrain from taking it too seriously. I portrayed rush as a sort of necessary evil — an unpleasant route to what I assumed would be a meaningful end. I was wrong. It was not until I experienced rush as a member of a sorority that I truly understood the process’s profoundly flawed nature. I always knew it was superficial, but it was during my sorority’s deliberations that I finally acknowledged how mean and degrading it really was.
(01/05/14 11:51pm)
One night last term I was hanging out with some friends, all of whom are members of the same fraternity. Somehow their pledge term came up — a tired topic, I know, but one that in this instance merits revisiting. I laughed it off as a bizarre regimen they force upon themselves to become hardened frat bros. They protested, of course, and said that it was much more than that. These activities were important and good for the brotherhood. Skeptical, I asked them, point blank, how many times they threw up during pledge term. They looked at each other and decided twice a week.
(11/10/13 9:47pm)
I’ve been freaking out recently because I have no idea what I’m going to do with my life. Maybe that’s no surprise to those who have given me pitying looks when I tell them that I’m an English major focusing in creative writing. Add on my prospective minors in African and African-American studies and government, and my future path is no clearer. I’ve been watching my peers go through corporate recruiting and heard about their internships that pay $15,000 a term, and while I’m not too envious of their burgeoning careers in finance, I’m realizing that someday I’ll have to find a job that actually makes money. It’s an obvious realization, but it’s threatening nevertheless.
(10/28/13 11:00am)
It is no secret that students have an unhealthy obsession with what we have aptly termed “facetime.” We say that the desire to be seen can influence where we sit in the library, where we eat in FoCo, where we go to socialize, whom we hang out with and, most interestingly, our activity on social media. The facetimey Facebook persona is one with which we are all too familiar. Those who embody this persona constantly “mupload” photos so we always know where they are and whom they are with. They post witty status upon witty status about their thoughts, accomplishments, random daily encounters and newfound sorority and fraternity affiliations. They change their profile picture, change it back to their old one, and change it back to the new one again so that the photo will reappear in their friends’ newsfeeds and garner more likes (pathetic but true — I’ve actually witnessed this). They are shameless. We have all, at least at one point, been that person and kind of hate ourselves for it. Sadly, we have become a generation that is totally dependent upon the validation of others via social media and our obsession with online facetime is not only consuming our valuable time, but also perverting the way in which we experience our lives.
(10/16/13 2:00am)
After six weeks of attending pregames confined to residence halls and dance parties hosted by Collis After Dark, members of the Class of 2017 are now allowed to enter Greek houses. They will finally be able to mix with upperclassmen and be socialized into mainstream Dartmouth culture they will have the opportunity to discover the wonder that is Keystone, meet and hang out with new and random people, play pong, learn to love smelly, sweaty basements and come to tolerate even the grime on their frat shoes. They will finally have access to what is, in my opinion, one of the best parts of our school: our predominantly chill and open, at least to freshmen, social scene.
(10/01/13 2:00am)
During his lecture last week, Duke University sociology professor Eduardo Bonilla-Silva asserted that racism against blacks, is very much alive, despite the widely held conviction that we now live in a color-blind, post-racial society. Yet significant objections to this sentiment have appeared in The Dartmouth as recently as the end of this summer, in the aftermath of the Bloods and Cripps-themed party hosted by Delta Delta Delta sorority and Alpha Delta fraternity. Many Dartmouth students were quick to champion minorities who claim not to feel marginalized and shove this evidence in the "left wing loonies'" faces (see comments on the Bonilla-Silva article), especially because it has been "validated" by members of Dartmouth's black community.
(09/17/13 2:00am)
A recent article in The New York Times provides some interesting insights regarding the quest to revamp campus cultures in the name of gender equality. The recent graduating class of Harvard Business School was subject to an unprecedented experiment that strived to combat troubling disparities in the experiences of male and female students as well as faculty members. Year after year, incoming female students with the same test scores and grades as their male peers fell markedly behind in their studies. It was also a challenge to retain female professors, who only made up a fifth of the tenured faculty. And upon graduation, more male students pursued higher salaried jobs like finance while female students typically ended up in lower-paying fields like marketing.
(08/06/13 2:00am)
In the past couple of days there has been much talk surrounding the stalled efforts of Dartmouth Change, a group of alumni and faculty promoting direct involvement in student life issues, to aid the College in implementing sexual assault prevention and education programs. Though Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson insists that the administration has been very proactive in considering and enacting a number of recommendations voiced by students, faculty and alumni ("Alumni seek proactive sexual assault policies," Aug. 2), members of Dartmouth Change are outraged at what they believe to be the administration's unreceptiveness, deliberate stagnation and lack of transparency.
(07/26/13 2:00am)
The recent controversy surrounding the Right Rev. James Tengatenga's appointment as the new dean of the Tucker Foundation raises an immensely important question regarding activism at Dartmouth. As Tucker dean, Tengatenga must promote community service, spirituality and social justice on campus. Though he and his diocese in Malawi are praised for providing small loans to female entrepreneurs, installing mosquito nets to prevent malaria, building water wells to reduce water-borne diseases and advocating HIV/AIDS education ("Rev. Tengatenga to lead Tucker Foundation," July 16), he is criticized primarily for his previous stance on homosexuality.
(07/09/13 2:00am)
Over spring term, we saw an increase in awareness and dialogue on campus concerning sexual assault. Many students made an effort to understand sexual assault and its pervasiveness on our campus and, more importantly, a significant number of students chose to come forward and share their own experiences, further informing the College of the severity of the issue. It is crucial that we analyze what spurred this increased interest in combatting sexual assault and understand the ways in which we can further this goal.
(05/27/13 2:00am)
We are entering a truly exciting time for Dartmouth for multiple reasons. The College's deeply entrenched faults have been unapologetically exposed and those who seek change are refusing to keep quiet. Philip Hanlon assumes his presidency this summer and brings with him a fresh perspective and a potential for innovation in tackling these issues. Members of the faculty, some of whom were previously ignorant of and fairly indifferent to Dartmouth's problematic culture, have flocked to monthly meetings and, in doing so, have demonstrated the desire to enact meaningful reform.
(05/14/13 2:00am)
Almost exactly a year ago, I found myself frantically preparing for my first pre-rush event. I was convinced that my hair, makeup and outfit all had to be perfect. I was worried that I would say something dumb or weird that would likely forever ruin my chances of getting into a sorority. When I got to the first event, I immediately gravitated toward the food and started gorging myself while trying to make conversation with one of the sisters. It was stressful to try to come off as super outgoing and cool while struggling to eat a cupcake somewhat elegantly. Afterwards, my friends and I talked tirelessly about our brief and ultimately distorted impressions of the house we visited and debated whether we would want to rush there. And come the next event, we did it all over again.
(05/02/13 2:00am)
When prospective students ask me why they should come to Dartmouth, I always find myself thinking that I am probably not the best person to ask. I have written column after column about my problems with this school and have repeatedly asked myself why I even bother continuing to go here. Yet I have come to realize that I demand so much from Dartmouth because the inevitable truth is that, despite its many flaws, I absolutely love this place and cannot imagine myself anywhere else.
(04/17/13 2:00am)
At Dartmouth, we are often told that we will be the leaders of our generation and that the world will soon be ours to change and better. Yet during our time as students, we find it surprisingly difficult to bring meaningful change to our school. We complain about rising tuition costs, outrageous meal plans and other issues that put us directly at odds with the administration a nebulous force for which we voice unrestrained contempt. While administrators may respond inadequately to such problems, a fairly open dialogue concerning institutional issues does indeed exist between students and faculty.