Mentors Against Violence held a discussion in McLane Commons last night as part of Sexual Assault Awareness week, a series of events sponsored by Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity and Student Assembly.
The discussion, "Intersecting Identities: Conflict and Compromise," brought together five students from different racial backgrounds and sexual preferences to talk about how their identities shape their lives at Dartmouth and in general.
Steve Spiess, a graduate student at Dartmouth and a graduate of Brown University, talked about the difficulty of being a straight man, an athlete and a feminist.
"I didn't really fit in with the macho-masculine world, or my friends didn't want me to fit in," he said. "I completely kind of lost myself."
These conflicting identities, he said, made it difficult for him to confront his friends when they made remarks that offended him.
"There's still a risk of alienation," Spiess said of confronting his close friends. "It's not like I'm going to stand up in front of 20 guys when they're going in one direction."
Yet for Amber Kelsie '07, it is important to confront issues of race and class whenever they are raised.
Kelsie said she is often asked by others, "Why did you have to say the word racism? Why did you have to say the word rich?"
On those who are uncomfortable answering these questions, Kelsie said, "To not say these words whitewashes my experience, and the burden of proof is on me to reach them, not on them to change."
While the speakers stressed the importance of discussion and being open to different identities, they agreed that getting through to people is often difficult.
"It's the people that don't want to hear that need to," panelist Renee Smith '08 said.
While the organization has up until now mostly organized discussions with fraternities, sororities and sports teams, it is trying to organize more programs that will be open to the public, according to Rachel Isreeli '07, one of the discussion's moderators.
The organization's goal, however, will remain the same as before: not to indoctrinate students, but to facilitate discussion and an understanding of sexual violence on campus.
"If people come up with [ideas] themselves, they're more likely to internalize it," Isreeli said before the discussion began.
MAV was started two years ago by the Inter-Fraternity Council to help educate men -- particularly fraternity members -- about preventing sexual violence at Dartmouth. The organization is now under the auspices of the Center for Women and Gender Studies.
The discussion was sponsored by Chi Heorot fraternity, Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority, Delta Delta Delta sorority, Sigma Delta sorority, The Tabard and the Center for Women and Gender.
