This is another column about sexual assault, racism, classism, the Greek system, privilege, et cetera at Dartmouth. I am writing this because as a Dartmouth student, I have the responsibility of engaging critically with the problems affecting my school. I am writing this as a member of the Greek system, because being affiliated and critiquing the very system with which I am affiliated are not mutually exclusive. I am responding to the amount of times I saw the letter to the editor by Christian Kiely ’09 (“Vox Clamantis: Intolerant Radicals,” Feb. 19, 2014) shared and liked on my Facebook newsfeed.
Let me tell you what seeing that letter on my newsfeed made me feel. Dartmouth students, I am glad that you read the school newspaper. I am glad that you have read the multiple articles denouncing the culture of exclusion and violence at our school. Your apparent identification with the letter indicates that you have at least done this. Perhaps after reading enough articles about sexual assault and the system of inequalities at Dartmouth, you will begin to recognize that our school does, in fact, have a problem.
But I am disturbed that students are quick to share an article that critiques the activism that has emerged on this campus. Are you that defensive of the status quo that privileges an elite few at the expense of others? I saw no one share the article announcing that the Bored at Baker author was identified (“Author of online post identified as member of Class of 2017,” Feb. 12, 2014). This indicates to me that students are less concerned with defending their classmates’ safety than with defending the school’s existing culture.
Kiely equates free drinking in fraternities and local sororities with diversity and inclusion. How does this statement hold for those who do not feel safe in Greek houses? For those who have experienced sexual assaults or homophobic insults within a Greek basement?
Kiely then goes on to call Dartmouth’s culture “admirably progressive.” Before you agree with Kiely, let me remind you what the word progressive means. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a progressive group as “favoring or implementing social reform or new, liberal ideas.” With this definition in mind, Dartmouth’s culture cannot accurately be called progressive. In fact, our paralyzed social culture may be just the opposite. Kiely critiques the activists by calling them “intolerant,” but he and his supporters seem to reject any changes that these “radical” activists propose without adding any reforms of their own.
Maybe this is what frustrates me most. Loving Dartmouth means caring enough to be critical of it, to think long and hard about what reforms could better our school. It means caring less about “the school’s good name” than about the happiness of the student body. If your time at Dartmouth has been perfect, good for you. But you must have a very sheltered Dartmouth experience if you have not seen someone close to you harmed by the culture here, or at least heard of instances of disparity and inequality. Your perfect experience does not invalidate the bad experiences of many. Instead of lambasting activists trying to give voice to those harmed, why not work toward making the Dartmouth experience more accessible to everyone?
Doing this entails critical examination of Dartmouth’s existing systems. This engagement must be cooperative to accomplish any lasting change. I am calling for Dartmouth students to have conversation, not confrontation. I understand that conversation is difficult for those who feel like no one is listening to them. Yet if the attention The Dartmouth has gotten this past week indicates anything, students and alumni are listening. But merely listening is not enough if you outright reject any experience that differs from your own.
Use this opportunity to engage in challenging conversations about Dartmouth, even if you are content with your own place within our social hierarchy. I understand that it is difficult. I myself am happy to be a part of the Greek system, but I have a hard time reconciling this feeling with the system’s exclusionary nature and enforcement of antiquated gender roles. Dartmouth will not become the “admirably progressive” place Kiely calls it until changes and reform are actually enacted, and there is no way we will get there through silence or complacency.
