Dartmouth Review Booted from Media Fair

By Nathaniel Ward | Wednesday, October 8, 2003

There are times when a student-run newspaper is not a student newspaper.

One of those times was last Sunday, when Dartmouth College held an event billed as a "campus media fair" for freshman students during orientation. Naturally, three Dartmouth Review staffers set up a table in Collis Commonground—part of the student center—to distribute past issues, to sign up new writers, and to introduce new students to Dartmouth's only independent paper, and one of the most nationally-renowned conservative campus publications.

"I just figured our invitation had been lost in the mail," Review Editor in Chief Alston B. Ramsay said in bewilderment after being escorted out by a campus police officer.

Shortly after the event began, Linda Kennedy—Director of Student Activities—told the Review staffers they had not been invited to the event and were not welcome. When she explained that the Review was not a "student organization," Mr. Ramsay countered that the organization was entirely student-run. Ms. Kennedy then embarked on a lengthy tirade explaining that student groups must be "recognized" by the College to participate in College-sponsored events, even though, according to Mr. Ramsay, the advertisement had no qualifiers.

Kennedy likened The Dartmouth Review's association with the College to that of the Boston Globe, saying that as an "outside organization," the newspaper was not permitted in the student center. She refused to answer whether students as individuals?not representing an organization?would be permitted to voice support for a "non-recognized" group under Dartmouth's commitment to freedom of expression. Instead, Miss Kennedy told the three students that they had to vacate the premises within five minutes, or else she would have to "see what happens from there." The three staffers, unclear what this meant, stayed for another ten minutes until campus police arrived and called Mr. Ramsay aside.

In a brief discussion, Sergeant Rebel Roberts, the campus police officer who responded to the request for help, told Mr. Ramsay that if he and the other Review staffers did not pack up their materials and leave, she would have to "take it to the next level" and have them "forcibly" removed. When asked for further elaboration, she said the "[next level] should be pretty obvious."

"It was ridiculous," Mr. Ramsay said, "A Dartmouth administrator was willing to call the Hanover Police and have me—a Dartmouth student—arrested for attending an event in the Dartmouth student center. I mean, come on!"

Amanda Morris, one of the other Review staffers evicted,added, "No one should be threatened like that.It's worrisome that the College treats its students this way."
When asked the same question regarding an individual's right to express himself, Sgt. Roberts said only, "You'd have to talk to a dean about that." An e-mail from Dean of the College James Larimore asking just this question received the same response: an outside organization was not allowed, period.

Students representing the Dartmouth Free Press?-a college-funded liberal publication-?were not subjected to any harassment, since they are "recognized" by the College.

"Legal minutiae aside, this begs a larger question: Is Dartmouth College willing to defend individuals' rights to free speech?" pondered Mr. Ramsay. The answer, apparently, is a resounding "No."

Dartmouth Review Booted from Media Fair

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