Each of us in Dartmouth College Republicans, in our own favorite places on campus, picked up a copy of "The Dartmouth" this last Friday morning with joy and expectation. We couldn't wait to see the words the paper used to describe our "Dartmouth Loves America" barbeque, the cheerful quotes of all of those who joined with us, the pictures the paper used to visually evoke this scene of thankful celebration. We had all been at the event, and it had been a wonderful success. But for each of us, in our own favorite places, our hope turned into sadness as we progressed through the piece. By the time we were finished, each of us was deeply disappointed. The article published by Matt Lewis in the July 13 edition of "The Dartmouth" ("Dartmouth GOP Stages Collis Rally") covering our event was not only factually incorrect at points, but was written in a tone of negativity and cynicism surprising for a front page news piece. We want to use this opportunity to correct several errors, but also to address the larger implications that the publication of this article means to the entire Dartmouth community.
Lewis' article contained several factual mistakes in the reporting on the event. Over 200 participants came to celebrate America at the event, more than double the number reported. This is an understandable error: Lewis left halfway through the event and thus could not have known how many participants were truly in attendance. Lewis also wrote that we did not have any speakers willing to share their love for America besides James Baehr. On the contrary, a full slate of speakers was prepared to speak, but we decided during the barbeque that speeches did not fit the casual tone of the event since it was a barbeque, after all, not a rally.
More important, perhaps, than these factual errors is the tone permeating through Lewis' piece. Negative quotes overwhelmingly outnumbered positive ones, though any student present could have described the prevailing mood at the event as celebratory. Over a quarter of the article discusses what Clint Hendler, an editor at "The Dartmouth Free Press" thought of the event " though Hendler was nowhere near the event site.The effect of Lewis' article was to misrepresent our organization's pursuits on campus. We do far more than just host an annual "Ronald Reagan birthday bash" in FUEL, as Lewis reports. Last term alone, we brought two prominent speakers to campus: Christina Hoff-Sommers from the Independent Women's Forum, and Emmett Hogan from FIRE. We are currently planning for more speakers to come to Dartmouth. We are also planning a large-scale community service project with the help of the Tucker Foundation and faith groups on campus. We are certainly involved in a great deal which might not have been clear to those who read last Friday's article.
The type of reporting represented in this article affects far more than just our organization--it impacts the entire campus. When reporters try to slant articles to suit their own particular views, whether in "The Dartmouth," "The Dartmouth Review" or "The Dartmouth Free Press," the pursuit of truth and objectivity suffers. Even worse, this brand of reporting creates unnecessary political rancor and division in a small campus that should be united in a spirit of mutual respect. While disappointed with the article written by Lewis, we have been encouraged from an outpouring of support the campus over by individuals of all political bent who were also hurt by the piece. We do not wish to condemn "The Dartmouth" or Matt Lewis for this oversight; we just hope better judgment prevails in the future for the sake of our entire community.
Our "Dartmouth Loves America" barbeque was a service event to the entire campus. It was not a political event, but instead one in which we hoped all students could band together to celebrate the Fourth of July. And they did: Campus Greens, Republicans, Democrats and Independents all joined us for food and fun on a beautiful Thursday afternoon. We were honored to be able to host such a successful celebration of our great country. We just wish everyone who picked up the newspaper on Friday morning could have read about the same celebration we attended.
