Dartmouth
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Anonymous
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PP, actually a tiny little blow up. About a dozen students and Dartmouth was excessively responsive. Canceling classes was really an overreaction. The protestors disrupted a show that many students spent quite a bit of time on. Hence the anger.
Even those who favor greater communication feel the protestors choice of events was unfortunate. |
Anonymous
The school simply is not what it used to be. Now, all of those grads will jump on this but even they know its the truth. |
Anonymous
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it doesn't matter. until D stops placing well into prestigious banking, consulting, government policy arenas, or grad schools there will be no fallout from it.
for all of the potential students who will be turned off by D's atmosphere, there are 3x the number of qualified students who are more than happy to take their place. D could fill their ranks 3-4x over and still maintain their academic and intellectual quality. |
Anonymous
I'm sure that's true (as it's true of a lot of schools) but if Dartmouth is going to continue to be essentially the frat school of the Ivies, then people should know what they are getting into. |
Anonymous
Maybe it would have been a tiny thing at another school, where people are able to tolerate dissent and exchange views somewhat civilly, but not, apparently, at Dartmouth. |
Anonymous
Even if you concede the point re poor choice of time and place for a protest, though, the vile nature of the comments posted on Bored@Baker is pretty horrifying -- e.g., allusions to raping and lynching the protestors. Dartmouth has a problem -- and cancelling classes for one day isn't going to fix it. |
Anonymous
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I went to Dartmouth in the 80's. I can tell you that Dartmouth is no place for an african american student and no place for LGBT and no place for students who do not want to be part of the whole frat scene. Hell, even being a jewish student was isolating at Dartmouth.
They say 60% of the students are in frats, but that is because freshman are not allowed in frats. So, the real number is around 80%!!! Don't belive all the glowing stories the alum tell you. All they care about is preserving the reputation of Dartmouth. The truth is, Dartmouth will be the backward member of the ivy league until they get rid of the frats. |
Anonymous
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My DC really liked Dartmouth when we toured. Hoping this event will scare some people away and improve DCs chances of admission. It reminds me of the Dartmouth Review dramas back in the mid 80s when I was there - a lot of attention was paid to a very vocal minority of students.
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Anonymous
It couldn't possibly be that some (many?) of us had a different experience than you? Or that 30 years have changed the make up of the student body? I went in the early 2000s. My 2 best friends are Jewish. They were also in the Greek system with me. My H was not in the Greek system. He also raves about his experience, which included writing a thesis, 2 quarters spent abroad, and numerous other non-Greek experiences. |
Anonymous
You are not alone. Many people waiting for a spot to open. |
Anonymous
I have several gay friends who went to D in the 80s, one of whom is also black. They all loved it and remain very loyal to the school. So not everyone has the same experience. |
Anonymous
With applications and yield declining, you might just get your wish. Here's an interesting article on the new admissions strategy at Dartmouth: http://thedartmouth.com/2013/02/28/news/dimensions |
Anonymous
I liked this quote from a student tour guide "Morally, can the Admissions Office really discount the prevalence of the pervasive Greek scene?" |
Anonymous
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If you've followed the comments of Donald Kagan at Yale, you'd see that a bit of diversity of thought in the Ivy League (and elsewhere) might be a good thing:
http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/04/26/web-yheadline-here-11/ Kagan suggests that schools now act to keep students from speaking freely about their views. |
Anonymous
As an alum, I am so glad that Dartmouth is not what it used to be. When my dad graduated in the 50's, it was all male, mostly white preppy New Englanders. So much has changed since then and all for the better. But there was a lot of ugliness to get there. For example, the Dartmouth Indian mascot supporters did not go down without a fight, but it is no longer the mascot (hello Washington Redskins.) I don't think this kind of incident is necessarily a bad thing. College SHOULD be a place where the kids stage over-the-top protests. It SHOULD be a place where there is discourse and argument and where passionate feelings run deep and ideas and opinions are expressed in all of their messy permutations. And yes, 18-22 year olds will often exercise poor judgment in how and when they make their voices heard, but this is a learning experience for them. I remember when "Womyn" of Dartmouth were throwing red painted tampons at frat boys, and when the students from the AM were protesting the Rodney King business and there were marches to divest, marches to "take back the night" and rallies against the first Gulf War and protests against visiting right wing politicians, and on and on. These were all good thing for me because these kinds of events forced me to really think about the issues that were being raised and helped me to develop and articulate my own opinions and beliefs through lots of debate and discussions in the dorms and dining halls. As a woman, a minority, and a non-Greek who only joined a coed house as a junior, I never felt marginalized and never felt that I did not have a place at Dartmouth. Yes, there were things that I did not like about the school, but I was free to forge my own path, make my own experience, and to speak my opinion about those things that I felt needed changing. All of that is part of the experience that a great liberal arts college should offer. Not just a job preparatory program, you know? My husband went to a top-notch state school during the same 4 years I went to college, and he remembers NO such controversies erupting. The thing is, all of the racism, homophobia, drinking, class-based distinctions (as played out in Greek life) and misogyny was present on that campus, but everyone was just well-behaved and did not make waves. I think he missed out on something and so does he. |