Over 200 students, faculty and staff crowded into Collis Common Ground last night to discuss the “Freedom Budget,” a student-authored list of demands that aims to “eradicate systems of oppression as they affect marginalized communities on this campus” by prompting administrative action.
The document, emailed to campus early Monday morning, outlines a plan for “transformative justice” at Dartmouth, comprising over 70 listed demands addressed to 13 administrators. Attendees spoke about the proposal’s merits, responses and future direction.
Attendees were turned their chairs into the center of the room, forming concentric circles. They spoke one at a time. Some raised concerns and others expressed support, often eliciting snaps from the crowd. Several students involved in the creation of the “Freedom Budget” answered questions and explained their motivations.
The document demands that the College increase enrollment of black, Latino and Latina and Native American students to at least 10 percent each and increase the number of faculty and staff of color across departments. Other proposals include banning the Indian mascot, providing pro-bono legal and financial assistance to undocumented students and expanding gender-neutral housing and bathrooms on campus. The document also demands that residential life spaces on campus be accessible to all students.
Attendees at Wednesday night’s meeting considered the budget’s tone, the expected timeline of action and its underlying ideology, among other topics, students interviewed after the event said.
Many students voiced uncertainties over how they could help create change and support the proposal. Several attendees suggested that students educate themselves about privilege, racial tensions, historical inequities and other cultures, using resources like the Internet and the College’s libraries.
Geovanni Cuevas ’14 said that everyone should strive to become as educated as possible about issues touched on in the “Freedom Budget,” adding that cultivating an informed diversity of opinions can diffuse existing tensions.
Alisa White ’17 said that while the conversation was valuable because it advocated inclusivity, the language used in the proposal did not seem to account for a wide variety of opinions.
“I don’t think you can fight exclusivity with exclusivity,” she said. She noted, however, that she appreciated the open structure of Wednesday night’s meeting.
Attendees were divided over whether or not the “Freedom Budget” fairly represented the student body’s opinion, and whether consensus is truly necessary for change.
“While consensus is impractical, I think that it is crucial that whatever changes are made have the support of the majority of students at Dartmouth,” Sandor Farkas ’17 said.
He noted that, based on his experience at the College, Dartmouth seems to be the Ivy League university with the most discussion and debate on campus.
Allison Puglisi ’15 said that despite the proposal’s mixed reception, she hopes that people now better understand the rationale behind the demands.
“Most of the people I’ve talked to have been sympathetic or have some criticisms but agree with it overall,” she said. “Hopefully if we have more conversations like this, we’ll get to hear from people who disapprove of the budget.”
Aditya Shah ’15, who attended a proposal-drafting meeting, said that the collective endeavor to change Dartmouth in an inclusive way “touched [his] heart.”
“It’s not about agreeing with every part of the budget,” he said. “It’s about coming together and discussing [issues] and arriving at a consensus about how we can shape Dartmouth.”
Farkas said that while he appreciated that people felt comfortable expressing different opinions, he did not see much dialogue between people with conflicting views.
“I felt like the room was inclined toward agreement with the points presented in the [‘Freedom Budget’],” he said. “But from my experience, a majority of Dartmouth students believe that the specific ways outlined in the Freedom Budget are not the way.”
Eliana Piper ’14 stressed the importance of pursuing dialogue with groups of people who have different perspectives.
She said that the “Freedom Budget” makes it easier for students to engage in conversation and challenge existing perceptions. The Greek system, she said, should question itself because of the power it holds.
“It’s easy to think of our social space as the norm and not to challenge it,” Piper said. “We’ve had a lot this term challenging our social norms and what we perceive as normal.”
Students began drafting the proposal after a protest at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day keynote speech on Jan. 20. Organizers stressed that the proposal was a collective effort.
The proposal set March 24 as the deadline for an administrative response.
