From student protests of the 1960s to the momentum of modern university protests, colleges have often been watersheds of student-driven activism. Dartmouth is no exception, with students from across campus pushing for change.
Most recently, February’s “Freedom Budget,” a student-authored document of more than 70 demands related to campus diversity and inclusivity, set off a firestorm of discussion.
Campus activism over the “Freedom Budget” continued to flare up in the following weeks, leading to a two-day occupation of College President Phil Hanlon’s Parkhurst Hall office in protest of what participants characterized as an inadequate administrative response. There, a group of about 35 students demanded a point-by-point response to the document.
In late March, the Dartmouth Coalition for Immigration Reform, Equality and DREAMers hosted an event seeking to eliminate the use of the word “illegal” to refer to undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
CoFIRED’s co-founder, Oscar Cornejo ’17, said that he hopes the new support network for undocumented students will keep the College community conscious of the uncertainty often faced by undocumented students.
In its six-month existence, CoFIRED has put on a campaign called “Do I Look Illegal?” in an effort to dispel stereotype of undocumented people. Cornejo said the group has started a discussion with the financial aid and admissions offices on how to communicate with undocumented students.
Also, the group helped post relevant information for undocumented students on the admissions website. He said he hoped that more students will get involved in the future.
Although contentious and highly visible displays of activism often dominate campus conversation, many forms of student engagement may not be as widely seen.
This past April, students marched across campus as part of the nationwide “Take Back the Night” rally in a protest against sexual assault. These rallies have occurred at Dartmouth since 1991.
While some students combat sexual assault and spread awareness through marches, others collaborate with organizations such as the Student and Presidential Committee on Sexual Assault, which drives initiatives to address sexual assault and holds symposiums on the issue.
This past year, Esteban Castano ’14 and Gillian O’Connell ’15 helped launch Improve Dartmouth, an online forum in which Dartmouth students can propose, vote on and discuss ideas that could benefit campus. Student moderators and administrators advocate for promising suggestions.
Some recently completed suggestions include modifying the College’s dining plans, as well as simpler ideas like adding a new printer location and introducing reusable silverware. One of the Improve Dartmouth’s campaigns contributed to the College’s decision to establish a zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault.
“I think the organizations like the Inter-Community Council, Student Assembly and Improve Dartmouth are very accessible, but the more voices that can be heard the better,” Noah Manning ’17, a member of Student Assembly and a moderator for Improve Dartmouth, said.
Environmental activism is a large part of campus activity, often supported by the Dartmouth Office of Sustainability.
Alisa White ’17, one of 10 freshmen EcoReps in her class, said she became involved in sustainability almost as soon as she arrived on campus.
White praised the Sustainability Office for its efforts to support student passions.
“It’s a group of people who aren’t afraid to carry a spork around sometimes,” she said. “We look at sustainability in a lot of different facets, as a way of life, not just a few habits like composting.”
Divest Dartmouth is another campus environmental activism movement, arguing that supporting companies that produce and profit from fossil fuels is not in the best interest of the College.
The ability to defend one’s views and arguments is key, White said, especially at a place like Dartmouth.
She established a Dartmouth chapter of Rootstrikers, a national nonprofit half-activist, half-think tank group which focuses on ways to reform campaign finance. A large part of the group’s work involves reading and researching briefs and court cases in order to support its proposals.
“Activism can be polarizing, but if you pick issues that you really care about, it’s a great thing to be involved with,” White said.
Ultimately, she said, being a student activist is about fighting for issues one cares about.
Campus centers such as the Office of Pluralism and Leadership are instrumental in supporting student activism, Hui Cheng ’16 said.
She said she found herself suddenly cognizant of the socioeconomic disparities between her and different classmates her freshman fall.
“There’s not really a community discussion about class going on, especially how it affects people’s lives at Dartmouth,” she said. “It’s certainly not something most people think about before going to college.”
Last winter, Cheng served on OPAL’s intercommunity council as socioeconomic chair and eventually pitched the idea of a council on socioeconomic awareness. Cheng was hired as a socioeconomic class intern at OPAL to turn her idea into a reality.
The council, which launched last winter, held a “Hidden Costs of Dartmouth” panel during Dimensions and a similar event for the summer 2014 Dartmouth Bound program. The panel highlighted students’ experiences with class at Dartmouth and covered various resources available to students.
“I feel like campus activism has only grown stronger as my time here progressed,” Cheng said.
She said she considers OPAL to be a safe space where student activists can find support.
Center for Gender and Student Engagement also provides a comfortable space where students passionate about social justice can connect, said Jessica King Fredel ’17.
During her freshman winter, King Fredel co-directed and performed in the student-run production “Voices” as part of V-February, which was sponsored in part by the CGSE. The show focuses on the different experiences of Dartmouth women.
“Voices,” which touched on topics including fraternity culture, sexual assault and body image, was performed to an audience of more than 600 people in Spaulding Auditorium.
The show seemed to expose people to ideas of inequality they had never before considered, King Fredel said, adding that she received numerous questions about feminism and intersectionality in the weeks following the show.
“I consistently feel like this kind of performance is a great way to open a dialogue in a community without making any specific group feel attacked,” she said. “It is simply a sharing of experiences.”
In the end, activism on campus is primarily by and for the students, Gavin Huang ’14 said. Huang joined dialogue groups and volunteer programs at the Tucker Foundation as a freshman, continuing through senior year with his work on the “Freedom Budget.”
“These are opportunities that you create,” he said. “A lot of the groups, organizations and services on campus were a result of student demand themselves.”
Although the aforementioned examples of activism are all important in their own ways, they only capture a slice of a constantly evolving campus, where visible change each year.
“I am sure that if a member of the Class of 2018 wants to make a difference, there is a way for them to do so,” Manning said.
Gavin Huang is a former member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
