Would that I were an anthropologist. Or a sociologist. Or even a psychologist. What better way to understand the place our beloved College on the Hill has become of late? We find ourselves faced simultaneously with a momentous task and a staggering opportunity: the future of the College and a new direction for Residential and Social life rest in our hands.
The Trustees' Five Principles are like last winter's "Visions of Dartmouth" ... but for real. We students are being asked what we want the College to look like years down the road, and we are too paralyzed with fear to speak articulately.
I've heard from a couple of my friends now that I am anti-Greek and pro-Administration. I am an unaffiliated upperclasswoman with strong opinions, and apparently that makes me an activist too far removed from students to be a student leader. But the day that extra majority voices are silenced here is the day that I transfer. The campus is energized now in a way that I didn't think was possible; let's capitalize on our passions and turn them into credible ideas. We students have the potential to be the strongest coalition on campus. President Wright and the Trustees have said again and again that they want student input. We will forgo our opportunity to impact their decisions, though, if we battle each other and dig our heels in the ground.
OK, so everyone's talking about community these days. Let me ask you this, though: what does community mean to you? Is it your sports team? Your affinity organization? An academic department? Your house? Your residence hall? Your group of friends? Chances are that I hit on something with which you identify. Community at Dartmouth has come to be defined as a smallish group in which we feel safe and comfortable; a place where we can take risks and still be supported; where we learn and share and grow. What I wonder is how come Dartmouth itself isn't a community? How come in order to feel a sense of ownership and belonging, we have to join a group? When first year students are having trouble adjusting and finding their niche, the first thing UGAs are taught to do is to start suggesting organizations and activities in which they can participate. Is it so unrealistic to think that we can just be part of Dartmouth?
In some ways, yes, it is unrealistic. After all, think back to the introduction we get to the College during the First Class Meeting. The ceremony is all about individuals. We hear how smart we are, what we've accomplished, SAT scores, GPAs and athletic and social achievements. How come no one says "Hi, welcome to Dartmouth. Here's what we stand for as an institution. We trust you and expect you to help us achieve this. We want you to learn and grow and experiment. And we want you to respect others." Quite a different message.
I've wanted for some time now for someone to tell me what this institution values. I finally have that information, conveniently presented in five bullet points. Now I feel more empowered to work for real change and more of an opportunity to impact the direction of the College.
So, what's my vision? I want to see the D-Plan revolutionized. I think that ten-week terms are ridiculously unhealthy, counterproductive, and anything but academically beneficial. That's not to say that I want to go to a semester system. Let's imagine something new; let's create another model. As for Residential Life, how about first-year housing? We could re-imagine the UGA system, and create new mentoring programs to allow for the very important interaction between first year students and upperclassmen.
Let's move the Women's Resource Center out of it's 11-year "temporary" location and into a new, bigger, more accessible space. Build a Latino Resource Center. Move the pottery studio into New Hampshire. Put new pictures on walls in buildings. Have a study space that's open 24 hours a day and has a coffee/snack bar. Create more spaces for faculty housing so that more of our professors can interact with us outside of the classroom and feel more of a connection to the community. Have a derivation of Convocation every term to welcome back the students who were off the previous term and deliver a "state of the College" address.
See, it's easy. Dreaming is the fun part. You don't even have to go to a meeting to do it. Talk to your friends. Talk to your professors. Take advantage of Spring Break to get some distance and then reflect on your experience. How can it be better? This opportunity is perhaps an unprecedented one at the College: we students have been entrusted with building a future; let's build it! As Abraham Lincoln once said: "Towering genius disdains the beaten path." Now is our time to dream and fashion something new.
Dartmouth is not a place that we think about. We feel Dartmouth. The Five Principles hit us in our hearts, not our heads. Our reactions to change have been so visceral; we don't want to let anyone take away the experiences that we've had and are having. Real change is upon us. This is our chance to mold and shape community. I hope that we are not too immobilized by emotions and fear to take advantage of what has fallen into our collective lap. I'm not asking you to abandon what you so deeply cherish; rather I hope that you will share the best aspects of your experience in order to contribute to the process of making this a better place.
