Forum promotes open debate of issues
By Alex Belser, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Friday, May 26, 2006
Students at a "free speech forum" in Alumni Hall Thursday night talk about campus and national issues in a moderated discussion.
A Free Speech Forum held Thursday night to talk about controversial minority issues drew 32 students to Alumni Hall, but those in attendance said they wished there had been a bigger and more ideologically diverse turnout.
Topics of discussion included "marginalized people" at Dartmouth, the immigration debate and two Facebook.com groups established by Dartmouth students to express support for the Duke lacrosse players accused of rape.
Students and a few administrators sat around tables talking over snacks about the issues on the meeting agenda, with students trained as moderators overseeing the discussion.
"The problem is it's pretty self-selected about who comes, but there were people who disagreed so it was legitimate and helpful," Owen Zidar '08.
Organizer Shamara Baidoobonso '06 said the goal was to get students to speak openly and really force them to think about their beliefs.
"I find that the campus is polarized and there are really some issues that need to be addressed," she said.
Baidoobonso, who is black, said the Facebook groups about the Duke Lacrosse players upset some black students. One of the groups, which is still online, suggests that the alleged victim in the case is "a stripper [who] claims she is raped, by rich, white men in a racially charged allegation so that she can receive compensation" upset some black students.
She said she sometimes stays up late talking about these things with friends, but thinks many students are not tuned into these issues.
Dean of the College James Larimore, who called for last night's meeting to encourage civil debate, acknowledged the problem of student apathy.
"One of the challenges is to figure out in the very busy lives that students have how to make these conversations a more important form of campus life," Larimore said.
But the students at the forum had some strong opinions.
"I was mostly disappointed that anyone would take such a large issue as rape so lightly," Liz Allen '06 said about the Facebook groups. "As a female on this campus, it's already tough and fairly unsafe, and I think when people vocalize opinions that take light of women's issues it makes it even harder to be a woman here."
But Matt McDonald '09, who is black and a member of the remaining Facebook group, thinks people taking the website too seriously.
"I didn't join the group with the intention to offend," he told The Dartmouth. "I really think that people are jumping to a conclusion with a Facebook group because all that is is some stupid little thing you put on the internet."
At the forum, the two posters criticizing illegal immigration that went up at the time of the pro-immigration rally this month also came up as a topic. One of the posters, advertising a College Republicans meeting on the illegal immigration issue, read "Remember when illegal was illegal?" The other poster circulated mainly via BlitzMail read, "Remember when blacks voting was illegal? Come to the College Republicans and make sure no laws ever get changed again!" The second poster was not put up by the College Republicans.
Baidoobonso said she wished groups like the College Republicans and Dartmouth Review that she e-mailed had come to the discussion.
"These are the same people who say there is liberalism on campus and at the [Office of Pluralism and Leadership] office and they don't show up to a free speech forum," she said.
College Republicans President Rahul Sangwan '07 told The Dartmouth his group held a similar forum with Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity two weeks ago.
"I actually agree we need a more open, more constructive debate on this campus," he said.
Sangwan also criticized the professor-moderated debate held the night of the immigration rally.
"We were yelled at. We came there to have that open discussion and that was how we were received," he said.
Thursday's event was organized by the Inter-Community Council, which is made up of minority students who are part of OPAL groups.
"The fact that we have these debates means there's enough diversity here that it would matter whether we're integrated or divided," OPAL director Tommy Lee Woon said. "I think it's important for lots of folks who are quiet on campus to communicate their opinions."