A questionnaire posed to Student Assembly candidates from the Inter-Community Council is making the rounds on Blitz. Elections are tomorrow.
Can you identify the under-represented communities at Dartmouth? Of those named, what are the issues facing two of these communities?
Elena Falloon: Many of the underrepresented communities are part of the ICC. In no particular order, these include the LGBTQ community, the women and gender studies community, the environmental sustainability community, the Hispanic Community, the Pan Asian Council, the NADs, the African American community, the socioeconomic community, the accessibility community, the international community and the multi-faith community.
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They [international students] also face issues concerning financial aid that much of the campus doesn’t know about. For example, the financial aid plan of all students includes a portion that you are supposed to pay off through working on your leave term. But in some countries, it is impossible to make that amount because of the difference in value of currency. This is an issue that is largely ignored by the financial aid office even though it is an ongoing concern in the international community.
I have never met a person describing himself as a member of the accessibility or socioeconomic communities, but I imagine they have lively dinner parties. Disabilities did seem to be a common thread amongst all responses. I won’t go into the currency argument as justification for favorable treatment toward international students; presumably most international students hail from Zimbabwe.
Brandon Aiono: There are so many underrepresented communities at Dartmouth that it would be hard to compile an exhaustive list, but these communities include: students of color from the Latino community to the black community, the Native American community, students from the Pacific Islands (fun fact: I’m Samoan!), students with disabilities, International students, students who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Curious, unaffiliated students, and so on…
3. What are acts of intolerance? Do you think SA has a responsibility to officially condemn said acts? What other policies or practices do you think SA can enact reactively and proactively in order to limit acts of intolerance?
Uthman Olagoke…Dartmouth needs to be an environment where everyone respects each other and their difference. So acts of intolerance are detrimental to my mission as SA President and I will not stand for it. I as SA President want to work with Parkhurst in creating a system that punishes and holds accountable organizations that willingly indulge in acts of intolerance.
Brandon Aiono: …I would also like to say that I do not think it is enough for us to simply tolerate each other, we must also value the differences in experience and ideas that we each bring to Dartmouth and, by doing so, enrich our community.
4. Compared to the number of minority students in the overall Dartmouth student body, only a small percent choose to affiliate with the Greek system. What are your thoughts?
Elena Falloon: I think few minority students choose to affiliate with the Greek system because it largely represents an antiquated, white, old boys club. Dartmouth’s student population is the most diverse it has ever been, but our Greek system has yet to adapt. Most houses are homogenous, and Greek organizations are known for celebrating their old traditions, even when they are offensive to other students. Greek organizations also tend to only interact with other Greek organizations in programming or social events. Some minority students might say to themselves, “These houses are not places where I feel invited to enter, so the idea of being a brother/sister is out of the question.”…
Falloon is herself a member of KDE sorority, of course.
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