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The Dartmouth
July 4, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth
Opinion
Opinion

Al-Nur Response

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To the Editor: This letter, on behalf of the Al-Nur executive board, is in a response to the op-ed titled "Preaching Hatred at Dartmouth" by Ilya Feoktistov '06 (The Dartmouth, June 29) and a letter to the editor titled "Stunned and Incredulous" by Ann Abramowitz and Alan Abramowitz (The Dartmouth, July 1). It is written with the hope of resolving the tensions that have surfaced and, more importantly, to apologize for the offensive material on the Al-Nur website.


Opinion

Wright Should Sanction

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To the Editor: Several years ago, when certain fraternity brothers said "Wah Hoo Wah, scalp them bitches," and other brothers published an in-house newspaper describing their sexual exploits, their Greek organizations were subjected to harsh sanctions by the Wright administration under what I described in a May 29, 2001 D column as Dartmouth's unwritten speech code. Now we learn that the Al-Nur Dartmouth Muslim Student Association website contains the passage, "O Muslim, there is a Jew behind me.


Opinion

Censuses, Cultures and Empires

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The persistence of terrorism in India and Pakistan, the Kashmir crisis and domestic issues like the caste system in India make it difficult to forget the extent to which religion is politicized in South Asia. India and Pakistan have gone to several wars since the British left the subcontinent in 1947, and although these wars have largely been wars over territory, the crux of the divide originated with the formation of the nation of Pakistan, whose raison d'etre was to provide a homeland for the Muslims of India.



Opinion

Same Old Mindless Cliches

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To the Editor: After reading Mr. Feoktistov's article from The Dartmouth ("Preaching Hatred at Dartmouth," June 29), it seems to me that a few Dartmouth students have forgotten that an article or a paper or any piece of writing is supposed to consist of at least a small amount of original thinking. Quoting out of context, repeating the same old mindless cliches (Muslims are required to kill Jews, for instance) and using banal inflammatory arguments (for instance, "...seems to have a fondness for militant violence"), Mr Feoktistov's article is a mere reproduction of any piece written by Daniel Pipes, Michel Houellebecq and other writers who seem to enjoy lambasting Muslims. I could very well have been reading a Middle East Forum article and not one written by a Dartmouth student. I am not even going to delve into the argument regarding the merits of the verses and explanations Mr. Feoktistov quotes out of context because I will then be committing the same offense that I am accusing Mr. Feoktistov of -- namely plagiarism. Muslim writers and scholars have clearly explained the circumstances behind the revelations of the verses and traditions that are supposedly "anti-Semitic" and are available on the internet for everyone to read. As a past president of Al-Nur and board member for several terms, I can, however, assure you that the presence of what Mr. Feoktistov claims to be "filth" is not meant to incite "anti-Semitic" violence or any type of violence for that matter and is meant for "informational purposes" only. Quite frankly, I was quite unable to find the infamous "tanks, guns, missiles, atom bombs" explanation.



Opinion

Preaching Hatred at Dartmouth

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"The Messenger of Allah said, 'The Last Hour will not come until the Muslims fight against the Jews, until a Jew will hide himself behind a stone or a tree, and the stone or the tree will say: 'O Muslim, there is a Jew behind me.


Opinion

America Bulks Up

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Remember Fat Bastard? Of course you do. Remember when the nude, grease-coated Austin Powers character offered fried chicken to Heather Graham?




Opinion

A Farewell to Rage

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Most of life's decisions are just Coke versus Pepsi," my professor once explained. There's a lot of pressure when you first set foot on a college campus having been told by everyone to expect the best four years of your life, especially when most of us chose Dartmouth on a whim.



Opinion

Five Years After the SLI . . .

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What a difference a year can make. The dialogue between students and administrators over the past academic year has helped to improve communication, clarify and correct misunderstandings, make adjustments to procedures for managing social events and build trust.




Opinion

Abraham Kerry

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John Kerry reminds me of Abraham Lincoln. Before you choke on your B-Feld, understand that I'm talking about Lincoln the person, not Lincoln the legend.


Opinion

Dorm Room Dice

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We can all breathe a sigh of relief after the end of those infamous few days of room draw. The majority of Dartmouth students have successfully interpreted dormitory blueprints, negotiated with overzealous ORL employees and jockeyed for prime Dartmouth real estate.


Opinion

Verbum Ultimum

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Compromise, an element often lacking in decisions made in all walks of life, has today created grins of satisfaction both in Parkhurst Hall and along Webster Avenue. The Dartmouth community receives welcome news that Greek leaders have finalized plans with College officials to move rush back to the fall.


Opinion

Nalgene Alcohol Statistics Are Not Fuzzy Math

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To The Editor: The article "Stats class questions social norms" (The Dartmouth, May 25) contained an assertion that "the statistic is inaccurate because of the possible sample bias of those who responded to the online survey." My office, the Office of Evaluation and Research, conducted that survey and presented the results to the Health Educators who then crafted the social norms messages. I have two points I'd like to make.


Opinion

Drinking Dialogue

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To the Editor: Researchers (including researchers at Princeton using Princeton students) have established that people tend to grossly overestimate the number of their peers who engage in high-risk alcohol consumption.