I'm a Student...Sometimes Maybe

By Alston B. Ramsay | Wednesday, October 8, 2003

When is a door not a door?When it's ajar.When is a student not a student?When he's holding a copy of The Dartmouth Review. Or so recent events here would have us believe.

About a week ago I was removed from a campus "media fair" because I hadn't been invited (see page 8). At the same time, I received a few rather unpleasant e-mails from Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman because our Freshman issue arrived directly at students' doors. The Dartmouth Free Press—a college-funded "progressive" publication—had delivered a few days before, and to my knowledge, no one raised a fuss.

For people who are new on campus, or for those who haven't paid attention, Dean Redman recently decided—with no student input—that campus newspapers couldn't be delivered door to door like they've been for at least twenty years.Instead,our papers are to be distributed at small tables in the basements of some—not even all—dormitories.The reasons vacilate between the absurd (invasion of privacy) and the pointless (it's tough to vacuum hallways), and the punishment would be, at a minimum, to restrict my access to all dorms except my own. Dean Redman, however, keeps focusing on the same hair-splitting rationale that led to my dismissal from the media fair: as part of an organization with no official ties to the College (aside from our staff's being students), we've no contract and thus cannot distribute in dormitories.

See, when I'm walking through college dormitories, I'm a student.But when I'm walking through the same dorms with copies of my paper for distribution, I'm an "outside organization," an intruder in student dorms if you will. When I'm attending an event in Collis, I'm a student.But when I'm attending the same event and distributing The Dartmouth Review, I'm once again—you guessed it—part of an "outside organization."As Linda Kennedy, head of student activities, said, I'm just like a representative of the Boston Globe or the New York Times.Yup, just like them...aside from not receiving a salary, working for a non-profit corporation, and—oh, I don't know—being a student here.But, hey, those are minor details.

Ignoring the legalese and technicalities for a moment, this begs a much more important question: Why are Dartmouth's administrators willing to go through so much effort, and expend so much energy, just to prevent my staff and me from promoting our ideas on campus? Do they really believe students buy their line about "recognized" versus "not recognized," or that campus newspapers in hallways are an invasion of privacy?We all know it's as arbitrary as it is ridiculous, and while it may pacify those reciting the party line, it is, without a doubt, capricious. Relying on technical jargon and contrite excuses when dealing with freedom of expression is disingenuous. Especially when doing nothing would save a lot of people a lot of time, and have absolutely no adverse effects on Dartmouth.

So ask youself: Would the Review's presence at the media fair have harmed anyone?Will students be injured if our issues—and other campus publications'—are delivered door to door?If you think the answer is an emphatic "No," and if you'd like to continue receiving all student publications at your door, I urge you to send an e-mail to DeanRedman, Dean of the College James Larimore, and President James Wright expressing your opinion.And make sure to carbon-copy me, just so I know.

I'm a Student...Sometimes Maybe

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