To quote Charles B. Strauss ’34, an early student-activist and writer at the College: “The liberal college as the alumni knew it is slipping away. Its traditional sort of activity, whether at Dartmouth or at any other institution of its kind, is being repudiated more and more.”
That this sentiment rings true, almost exactly 90 years from when it was written, is a disturbing reality. In the midst of the Trump administration’s assault on higher education, it seems more and more that the values Dartmouth has purported to stand for throughout its centuries as an institution — those of an open-minded liberal arts education premised on the free exchange of ideas — are increasingly falling away.
Over the past few weeks, we here at Dartmouth have experienced firsthand just how bad things are getting. Already, just two weeks into the term, we watched two Dartmouth students have their visa status attempted to be revoked, to a campus already gripped by fear and uncertainty for the future and still recovering from the traumatic episode of May 1 nearly one year ago today. Today, two thirds of students feel like the College will not protect them for expressing controversial views — a tragic fact for a College whose motto is supposed to be Vox Clamantis in Deserto.
The administration, far from doing anything to alleviate these fears, has hired a major Trump ally as its chief legal strategist, and has refused any meaningful assurance of safety to the vulnerable students on this campus threatened by such a move. Far from it — Dartmouth has now become the only Ivy to not sign the open letter opposing Trump’s attacks on universities, and it seems that our administration may not actually be so opposed to Trump’s agenda. After all, to quote President Beilock’s recent email to campus, “higher-education institutions, especially the most elite among us, are not above reproach.”
I want to be cautious to not overdramatize or perpetuate fear mongering narratives. Yet, in light of the mass deportation campaigns facing international students, the experiences of student protestors over the last year and the ongoing attempts to defund and overhaul the departments of our peer institutions — all taking place with the College’s tacit acquiescence — I cannot help but consider the present moment as one of existential danger for the College, and all the values it has stood for throughout its 255 year-long history.
The last time the College faced such a moment was in 1816, when the state of New Hampshire tried to transform the College into a public institution: Dartmouth University, to be overseen by the state legislature. Then, as now, Dartmouth faced an existential threat to its academic independence from external political forces that sought to characterize higher education as a subversive force aiming to undermine government authority. Yet, despite these threats, the College did not give in — Daniel Webster, Class of 1801, famously took to the Supreme Court to declare his famous words about the small College which he so loved.
Could we today say the same of our administration? I argue not. In fact it seems to me that, now more than any other time in Dartmouth’s history, we are closer to becoming “Dartmouth University” once again — if not in official title, then in spirit. What is sorely missing from the administration’s response to Trump’s assault on higher education is, to quote the title of a famous essay on the Woodward case by College librarian Richard Morin’s ’24, the “Will to Resist.”
Instead of putting up a fight against Trump’s efforts to gut the values of liberal arts education — freedom of discourse, demonstration, and dissent — and replace them with his own, the Beilock administration has instead chosen to try to appease him through small acts of genuflection and quiet gestures of servility. In a moment where Dartmouth, with its historic legacy as a champion of the independence of institutions of higher education, could have stood up as a “voice crying out in the wilderness,”’ our College has instead chosen to bow its head and trudge back along the arc of its history to become Dartmouth University once again.
Given this context, one thing is clear: if there is to be a Dartmouth College any longer, it must fall to us, the students, to take it upon ourselves to resist. We cannot depend on our administrators to speak for us, or our values, any longer, or we will continue to watch the values of our institution wither away. If there is to be a “Dear Old Dartmouth” that exists outside of the tune to our Alma Mater, then it is time for students to give a rouse.
My thesis is this: protest. Be loud. Demand change, and act on conviction. Do whatever you can, no matter how small, to show that there is still a part of the College alive and well, and ready to fight; that there are still those who love her, and willing to testify to that love in front of the powers-that-be. The task of saving Dartmouth from its steady transformation into a trophy-school for Trump to mount on his wall is our job — the job of We, the Students, those of us who still give a damn about Dartmouth and the true mission of our institution: to educate leaders who will stand up for what is right, even in the face of great power and impossible odds.
In one word — resist!
Opinion articles represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
Ramsey Alsheikh is an opinion editor, staff columnist, and aspiring jack-of-all trades. He enjoys eating popcorn and thinks it would be cool to maybe write a novel someday. He is currently double majoring in Middle Eastern Studies modified with Jewish Studies and Computer Science.
