Breaking: Dartmouth Hates Minorities

Today’s Daily Dartmouth features a thought-provoking polemic by Bryan Joseph Lee ’07. In the piece, Lee discusses how the recent “Hip Hop in the Hood (Museum of Art)” debacle is part of a greater trend of hatred towards minorities at Dartmouth. A choice excerpt:

Minority students at Dartmouth have begun to see a pattern — false or true, they see it — of exclusion, condescension, othering and misrepresentation year after year. Some might claim the whole thing is a misunderstanding. They’re right. It seems as if Dartmouth doesn’t understand its diverse communities on the most basic level, and when it tries to learn, it is unable to see past its own hegemonic gaze.

It seems that Mr. Lee has not only decreed that his accusations are exempted from any sort of burden of proof, but has also appointed himself spokesman of the entire minority population at Dartmouth. Nevertheless, these ambitious claims to authority are backed by an impeccable resume: Lee is a fifth-year senior concentrating in Latino and Caribbean Studies and Theatre, so you would be hard-pressed to find someone who knows more about “hegemonic gazes.” So trust him, the gaze is indeed there.

P.S. We often dole out more ridicule than praise, so it’s important to point out good Op-Ed’s in the Daily D when they do come along. In that vein, go read Spenser Mestel ’11’s piece today. —A.S.