An open letter to the Class of 2017 (and response to the Dimensions protest)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
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<p>An open letter to the Class of 2017 written by one of my Dimensions host's friend. Get the truth out. Share share share. We love Dartmouth.</p>

<p>To anyone considering Dartmouth:</p>

<p>You do not know who I am, nor does it matter. What does matter is the truth. Nothing is more important than getting accurate information. You have been lied to. Your experience has been ruined. Dartmouth Supports Racism. Dartmouth Supports Homophobia. Dartmouth supports White Supremacy. If you believe that, then you are a victim of a fringe group of Dartmouth Community members whom no one takes seriously. </p>

<p>My first experience at Dartmouth was with trips. I was shocked and awed by how welcoming everyone was. No matter who you are, you are welcome with open arms. “Bring me me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses,” might as well be written on the steps to Dartmouth Hall (as they are on the Statue of Liberty). I have traveled around the world, and I can attest that I have not encountered a community more welcoming, more open, and more willing to accept anyone than the community that is Dartmouth College</p>

<p>Your Dimensions experience has been ruined. Many of my peers decided to come to Dartmouth because of the Dimensions show. You have been robbed of that pure, wholesome, healthy enjoyment, and for that I am truly sorry. Your experience was ruined by the aforementioned group of people who don’t know the true Dartmouth experience. Yes, not everyone belongs at Dartmouth, but the truth is that the people who decided to sabotage your enjoyment are those people. </p>

<p>I’m not debating those facts, but you’ll find racists, homophobes, and anti-feminists at any college campus. Some of the most intolerant people unfortunately are the most ignorant people, and yes, some of them are at Dartmouth. They, however, are the exception to the rule. The truth is that they are angry with themselves for having made the wrong choice. As I said, they do not belong at Dartmouth, and (as they apparently claimed) do not feel like they are welcome here. That is completely true. By sabotaging you experience, the community will reject them, but that is a novelty. Not because they are gay. Not because they are minorities. Not because they are women. No, members of the community will reject because they are juvenile. [As an appositive, this message is directed to those who have already made the choice to be a part of the Dartmouth community, be they ‘17s, students, faculty, or alums. Avoid your justifiable feelings of hate. You should embrace the protesters. They, as any other human beings, deserve to be loved. They deserved to be appreciated. Show them that they are wrong. We welcome anyone, be they gay, women, straight, Indonesian, white, transsexual, or not fitting into any social construct. They are wrong. They are wrong. They are wrong. Prove it to them.]</p>

<p>Up until now, the vast majority of the Dartmouth community has tried to make them feel welcome, to listen to their problems, and walk them through their necessities. They outright rejected our open arms, and decided to publicly state their outrage. They have a right to be mad. The United States Constitution grants them the right to express this anger. The Declaration of Independence, however, states that all people are entitled to “the pursuit of happiness”. All of our laws since then have been developed to try to support this fundamental human right that everyone deserves. These protestors have trampled on your right to be happy. You deserve to select a college based on the facts, and reap happiness from making the right choice as to where you plan on going to college.</p>

<p>I completely understand if some of you have changed your mind about Dartmouth. Homophobia, racism, and sexism do not belong anywhere in our society. They are cancers that deserve to be cut out and ostracized. As a gay Mexican, I would avoid any campus that fosters any community that would seek to oppress who I am. I abhor racism, homophobia and sexism. I hate hatred. I abhor hatred. Hate is the epitome of that which makes the human race the only species that is on its way to destroying itself. Hate has no place at Dartmouth. Hate has no place on this beautiful earth. Other than the protesters who so obviously hate Dartmouth, hate is absent at Dartmouth. Rather, welcomeness and love are abounding here, and that is something we wish to share with you.</p>

<p>I’ve known I was gay for most of my life, but I kept it hidden from everyone up until very recently. Dartmouth made me feel comfortable enough to know that I could finally come out of the closet, finally accept who I am, finally stop lying about myself, finally be who I was born as. Since I’ve come out, I have not felt rejected, ostracized, excluded, nor persecuted by any group nor individual on campus. Instead, the community has met me with welcoming arms. The community has helped me figure out who I was. The community helped me finally be me, and for that I am eternally grateful. </p>

<p>I will not even entertain any notion that Dartmouth is racist, as I have yet to be called any racist slur. I have yet to be excluded from anything for not being white. I have yet to encounter any hate directed at me or any other minority. I pledge to you that if I encounter such hatred against who I fundamentally am, I will join their protestations. I have enough faith in my fellow Dartmouth community members to realize that that moment will never come. I belong at Dartmouth. I will always belong at Dartmouth, and Dartmouth will always belong to me. </p>

<p>Dartmouth can belong to you too. We desperately want you to come here because you have proven yourselves to be amazing individuals academically, socially, and most importantly, ethically. So long as you do not bring hatred to campus, you will not encounter any. You will be free to be yourselves.</p>

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<p>And here’s another post by a current student at Dartmouth:</p>

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<p>Amazing post- I can’t wait for next year. Go Big Green!</p>

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<p>Great post OP!</p>

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<p>My D attended Dartmouth Dimensions. She was present when the “protest” occurred, extremely tame from what she says. To her, it was a non-event, irrelevant to her ultimate decision. She, and I suspect most of the prospective students that were present, got a first-hand view of the right to protest that has existed on college campuses for decades. They should come to expect such occasionally, although in this case the timing was unfortunate. But what protester doesn’t pick the time and place to be most disadvantageous to the rest of the community while getting the most attention? From what my D says, the protesters probably didn’t engender much support for their causes from future members of the Class of 2017 who were present, many of whom were there on travel funds provided by the college itself. And what is unfortunate is that some of the issues the protesters were trying to raise are important on all college campuses today. My D said the whole thing lasted about three minutes, ending abruptly when the prospective students started to chant “We love Dartmouth!” She also said that the student organizers of the Dimensions program and the security staff present handled the situation calmly and capably. More evidence that Dartmouth is a special place.</p>

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<p>Many thanks for that report.</p>

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<p>I think the timing was obviously designed to hit the school where it hurt the most. With the Admissions office concerned about declining yield and revamping Dimensions because of it, any action that actively seeks to dissuade prospies from choosing Dartmouth will be felt by the administration as a sharp blow.</p>

<p>Current students encouraging or discouraging prospies to enroll, and alumni donating money or not, are perhaps the two most powerful touch points where Dartmouth students can make their opinions felt to maximum effect.</p>

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<p>I forgot to mention that my D said there were roughly 12 protesters, not exactly an indication of strong discontent among the student body, and truly, from what she said, it didn’t seem to have much impact on the prospects she talked to. I think the prospects were more concerned about the attempt to embarrass the students who were running the show, rather than thinking “OMG, there’s no way I could go to Dartmouth because it’s got all these problems!” My D is fairly sharp (after all, she did get into Dartmouth) and she mentioned that the statistics of incidents over several years that the protesters were yelling at the crowd were probably equal to what happens in a week at our local university. She wasn’t being insensitive, but was rather trying to put it all into perspective of what happens in the real world. Again, she said she would not even consider that in her final decision – and I forgot to mention that she is a member of a racial minority!</p>

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<p>I didn’t attend the Dartmouth Dimensions program, but I recently heard about the protests that took place there and doing some research on the internet, I’ve seen that a lot of people have critisized the school for intolerance of minorities, prevalence of sexual assault etc
For example:
[url=&lt;a href=“http://thedartmouth.com/2012/01/26/opinion/oullette]TheDartmouth.com:”&gt;http://thedartmouth.com/2012/01/26/opinion/oullette]TheDartmouth.com:</a> Ouellette: Intolerance at Dartmouth<a href=“and%20the%20comments%20by%20Dartmouth%20students%20below%20agree%20with%20the%20author”>/url</a></p>

<p>I was pretty certain of committing to Dartmouth, but after seeing these things, I’m starting to have doubts. Are these isolated events or are they serious issues at Dartmouth?</p>

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<p>Sigh. All I can do is to repeat for the umpteenth time that my S’s fraternity–he’s a '12-- was at least 50% people of color. </p>

<p>I think that Dartmouth is a reflection of society. There are some ignorant fools who think they are being clever when they drive by a person and shout an insult. There are many more to whom it would never occur to do such a thing and who condemn it. (It is also true that every bunch of young men in a car in Hanover is not a group of D students
)</p>

<p>The difference is that at Dartmouth people expect a higher standard, and are vocal about it when elements in the community fail to live up to it.</p>

<p>I personally find the use of the N word in popular culture very disturbing, and I am very sorry that it is perpetuated by African American “recording artists” and comedians and the like. The same thing is true of slurs against women and gays, in particular. I think that the more extreme comedy out there has habituated some, especially adolescent males, to the idea that these insults are not damaging. I think they are very damaging to society as a whole.</p>

<p>I think that you need to look at the fact that at the same time that people under 30 overwhelming support gay marriage, that is also the population that coined using “gay” as an all-purpose insult. I find it hard to wrap my head around it.</p>

<p>There was a recent kerfluffle at D when a biracial student left her stuff in the library during exam period, and went off for a 2-hour dinner break. When she came back, she found that some people who wanted to use the space had moved her stuff. She went on FB and claimed that this was done because of “white privilege,” ignoring the fact that the people didn’t know who she was, and that undoubtedly at some point in the history of D a person of color has moved someone’s stuff without being motivated by “white privilege.” This same student belongs to a sorority that is also about 50% women of color, judging by her pictures. Who is the racist in that picture?</p>

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<p>D will be starting college at Dartmouth in the fall. S is a '10.</p>

<p>D didn’t attend Dimensions and so doesn’t have a first hand view of the events of last weekend. What happened is, of course, troubling. However, I am confident that the incident at Dimensions is not representative of Dartmouth students. S had an amazing college experience. He has friends who are women, friends who are minorities and friends who are gay. He belongs to a fraternity that focuses on being tolerant and respectful of others and working hard. We live in an area where many of his friends moved after graduation and so have had the opportunity to meet many of them. They all look back on their Dartmouth experience as an incredible time and are happy with their college decision. Knowing this and knowing the academic opportunities that are available to Dartmouth students, I am confident that D will have a similarly happy and successful college experience.</p>

<p>I think that this description of yesterday’s day-off is particularly helpful in understanding how the school is approaching what occurred. </p>

<p>[For</a> Dartmouth, a Day of Reflection and Understanding | Dartmouth Now](<a href=“http://now.dartmouth.edu/2013/04/for-dartmouth-a-day-of-reflection-and-understanding/?utm_source=Dartmouth+Now&utm_campaign=d06624368c-Dartmouth+Now+Weekly+Update&utm_medium=email]For”>http://now.dartmouth.edu/2013/04/for-dartmouth-a-day-of-reflection-and-understanding/?utm_source=Dartmouth+Now&utm_campaign=d06624368c-Dartmouth+Now+Weekly+Update&utm_medium=email)</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision.</p>

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<p>An eyewitness said approx 12 protesters. Read for another perspective</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/1495352-open-letter-class-2017-response-dimensions-protest.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/1495352-open-letter-class-2017-response-dimensions-protest.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Great story, Consolation: If the student had done that at Berkeley, I seriously doubt her belongings would have been anywhere to be seen when she got back. People sometimes don’t appreciate what they have.</p>

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<p>My S, who is Hispanic, attended Dartmouth. He never once experienced any racism there. Secondly, his freshman roommate (also Hispanic by the way) held coming out parties in their room. Dartmouth is not a homophobic place in S’s experience. To be honest, some students might contend the school has gone a bit too far to the other extreme, such as when student activities money was used to host a drag queen event.</p>

<p>Dartmouth isn’t perfect, but IMO, its problems are not related to intolerance.</p>

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<p>Savart, you should have merely stated that your own experience as a gay minority student at Dartmouth does not agree with what the protesters claim and left it at that. Instead, you vilify them and attempt to negate whatever they have to say. You imply they are being intentionally deceitful to prospective students and that they should be ostracized and their speech ignored. After all, you were not personally victimized while at Dartmouth, therefore anyone else who claims otherwise must be lying and hatred towards them is justifiable. The prospective students who had to endure a few minutes of protest (the horror!) are the real victims here.</p>

<p>Whatever embarrassment Dartmouth suffered as a result of the protests at Dimensions is negligible compared to the embarrassment it now faces as a result due to [students</a>’ reactions to the protest.](<a href=“https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.363075343799257.1073741825.100002903821176&type=3]students”>https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.363075343799257.1073741825.100002903821176&type=3) To the outside observer, the message from all this is clear. If you victimized as a student at Dartmouth, do not attempt to draw attention to it in a way that might embarrass the college, or else you risk being called a liar.</p>

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<p>cavilier, </p>

<p>The prospective students are not the only victims, as I see it. If a group had busted in and essentially shat upon a project that I had devoted umpteen hours to, I’d be royally p***ed off. I think the students who devoted time and energy to Dimensions were victims of the protest as well, and I could understand them not feeling kindly toward the protestors. (Not insinuating that I think any of them was responsible for any of the threats and other crap that were posted at <a href=“mailto:b@b”>b@b</a>.)</p>

<p>Nor do I agree with your interpretation of the “clear” message to outside observers. (Rule of thumb: Whenever anyone says something is clear, it is bound to be anything but.) It’s not embarrassing the college that is the problem (again, just my opinion), but the venue chosen. If you do not like what is going on, if you do not like the administration’s response, THAT is where you attack. Interrupt Folt’s speech. Barge into a meeting of the faculty. Hell, barge into a meeting of the Board of Trustees. Don’t f*** over your fellow students – present and future.</p>

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<p>@AboutTheSame
Amen!</p>

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<p>Savart was not writing about his experience at Dartmouth.</p>

<p>In the first sentence of the post Savart states:</p>

<p>An open letter to the Class of 2017 written by one of my Dimensions host’s friend.</p>

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<p>My daughter attended Dimensions and like most prospective students was surprised by the protest and, significantly, concerned about the critique of Dartmouth posed by the protesters. If the intent was to gain attention and provoke reflection, I’d say the protesters succeeded, at least for my D.</p>

<p>Interestingly, after talking to many students and reading several posts and blogs, including some by the protesters themselves, she has concluded that the problems at Dartmouth (and there are problems) are similar to those at many institutions in the country, including her own elite NYC high school. What is different at Dartmouth, however, unlike the other schools she visited in order to make her final choice, Dartmouth was the only one where students were motivated enough to address the problems directly, however inartfully, and arguably at some cost to themselves. The protesters helped her make her decision: its Dartmouth - Class of 2017.</p>

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<p>Welcome to Dartmouth. </p>

<p>Like.</p>