Frosh Play With Fire

Monday, October 22, 2001

A freshmen class T-shirt, created for Homecoming, ignited controversy in the Native American community at Dartmouth. The t-shirt bears the image of an Indian god pow-wowwing around a roaring fire. The shirt design and theme, Students Together at Dartmouth (STD): A Burning Sensation, passed overwhelmingly when brought before freshmen class council.

Hours after sales of the shirt began, Native American students ordered sales and distribution to cease.

An e-mail to the freshmen class from class secretary, Sabrina Singh, told students to return their shirts. Out of 170 shirts sold, fifty were returned in Collis where students could exchange the offensive shirts for altered and 'cool' ones. On the altered shirts, the image of the Indian god was changed into an '05.
Singh, in her e-mail, wrote (caps hers), 'IF YOU DON'T RETURN YOUR SHIRT KNOW IF YOU WEAR IT ON CAMPUS YOU ARE SENDING OUT A VERY OFFENSIVE MESSAGE!!'

Students were not punished if they did not turn in their shirts, but 'we discouraged it as a class,' said Singh.

The designer of the shirt was unaware that the image used represented an Indian god. She says she found the image using an online search for 'bonfire.' A Student Council committee approved the shirt.

At an emergency meeting, the Council voted overwhelmingly to recall the shirt. Two students wanted to keep the shirts with around forty others voting against them.

Over a hundred 'offensive' shirts still hang in the closets of freshmen. With rarity comes value; if you want one, better get it quick.

Frosh Play With Fire

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