News
The founders of the Southern Society -- Dartmouth's newest student organization -- hope their group will provide insight into a culturally distinct and historically important region which they say is poorly understood and given only scant scholarly attention.
Byron Fuller '02, who along with Alston Ramsay '04 helped found the organization, said its creation was partly motivated by a lack of Southern-related courses at Dartmouth, as well as the attitudes of many students towards southerners.
Upon coming to the College, Fuller said, "many Southern students feel displaced" in a culturally alien atmosphere among others who often hold "uninformed and prejudicial" views of those from the south.
Ramsay said he had noted "a general sense of disdain" toward southerners at Dartmouth, while hoping that the Society would provide "a means to discuss and dispel stereotypes."
Among the group's major goals are to spread a better understanding of the modern-day South and to facilitate discussions on Southern history and culture, in addition to providing "a sense of community" to Southern students on campus, according to the Society's constitution.
Though the organization now counts over 20 members -- despite being largely unable to draw on other Dartmouth classes during Summer term -- the group has faced some initial hurdles.Recently, the Society was denied official College recognition by the Council On Student Organizations on grounds that the group "was moving in too many directions at once," according to Fuller.
"Their points of view made a lot of sense," said Fuller, while emphasizing that the multiple goals of the Society -- which include promoting both cultural and academic issues -- are each important and closely linked.
"Given the importance accorded to other cultures, we feel this is valid as well," Fuller said.
