Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/2005/10/07/dartmouth_experienced_yet_again.php
Friday, October 7, 2005
One expects Freshman Orientation to be a time to show Dartmouth College at its best. Cheery students, exciting activities, and free food by the heap should be the norm, and the week-long introduction for the Class of 2009 satisfied all of those requirements. Perhaps it was this intoxicating atmosphere (as one of the few to experience it in a purely figurative manner) that led me to be less than wary of the bare-bones stage in Spaulding Auditorium.
Yes, the pageantry of progressives was surprisingly underwhelming in the Hopkins Center during Orientation's "Experiences" program, with nary a rainbow flag to be seen. I reread its entry in my freshman compendium, hoping to find an indication that "Experiences" would redeem the otherwise mediocre programming. The event's purpose, according to my orientation guide, was for the audience to witness upperclassmen "share their life [sic] and Dartmouth experiences." My purpose, according to upperclassmen not involved with the program, was to ingest enough No-Doz to see every simplistic, mechanical presentation to its hilarious end.
I wondered from my seat in Spaulding Auditorium if the promised multitude of "experiences, faces, attitudes, opinions, and backgrounds" would appear. Rather, I wondered if they would display themselves in a manner appropriate to the occasion: a measured set of speeches on race relations or the impact religious groups had on campus would have been a welcome surprise.
Upon realizing that the Office of Pluralism and Leadership (OPAL) had organized the event, however, I suspected I would be given the college equivalent of the Breakfast Club—speakers neatly placed into appropriate race, class, religion, region, and gender-based roles. The blatant irony is that the subsequent hour-and-a-half was spent convincing freshmen that the program's cast had actually broken free from those same classifications.
Irony, in fact, seemed to hold as the night's theme, perhaps most prominently in a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." David Jiles '06 paused twice during his performance to insert blurbs of "O Canada" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing" (popularly known as "The Black National Anthem"). It seemed glaringly obvious that these songs were tangential to the U.S. national anthem. Any inability for those of different races, creeds, and social classes to relate should have been easily remedied by the striking final lines of the chorus. This left the night's first opportunity for real unity squandered. Instead, OPAL managed the difficult task of modifying Francis Scott Key's work so as to diminish all feelings of unity, pride, and fellowship among the student body.
The admonition of Associate Dean Tommy Lee Woon, director of OPAL, to "be gentle" to all speakers was originally more than managed, thanks to emcee Kristen Wong '06 and demure Thayer student John Turner. Wong presented herself maturely, explaining her attempts to find how the customs of her Asian ancestry fit into her wholly-American life. Despite her slightly jarring conclusion that they didn't, she clearly connected with the audience through her refreshing perspective and infectious enthusiasm. Turner, though considerably less skilled at public speaking, presented a poignant piano work of his own composition and had a refreshing sense of humor that encompassed the lack of audience reaction to some of his jokes.
Following, however, was the artistry of Hema Mohan '06. Ms. Mohan, quite poised on stage, rattled off lines about overcoming "her hyphen" as an Indian-American, admirably proceeding through most of her poetics before inserting obligatory accusatory lines about "the white man['s]" penchant for enslaving others. More than a few nervously shifted in their seats.
The slam poetry exhibition's quality was met by Nicholas Taranto '06, who assumedly preferred to keep his slamming to hard liquor. His monologue rivaled that of an under card comedian's. Taranto stumbled through his awkwardly-constructed sentences, pausing at references to alcohol use, sex, or poor grades with an expectant smirk, awaiting the now-banal exclamations of, "Woo!" and "Yeah!"
Echo Brown '06 followed, sharing her story of individuality, anger at Dartmouth students while a freshman, and overcoming of adversity in a sub-par high school. I suppose the easy joke would be that her name accurately reflected the content of the speeches that night. I'm content with the easy joke.
SHEBA made an appearance, fulfilling the irony requirement for another half-hour. Only minutes after hearing Ms. Brown endorse "strong women" who defy expectations, the audience was treated to the female members of Sheba gyrating submissively to Britney Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U," before one joined a male dancer in faux-copulation onstage. Somewhere, Gloria Steinem suffered a mild stroke.
Following Soralee Ayvar '07's denouncement of every person who ever called her "a crazy whore" and the Dartmouth College administration's failure to eliminate campus racism was Michael Mina '06. He was preparing himself as a Buddhist monk-to-be, he said, to reach true spirituality and to have a true connection with Earth. In his pursuits, though, he had uncovered the avarice of his teacher and fellow monks, leaving him disgusted. He found that these so-called "holy men" hoarded both food and money from the Tibetans, some of the poorest people in the world. Mina then secluded himself for months in the mountains of Tibet, dedicating himself to meditation and his religion. He returned to the U.S. re-energized and wiser than he had left, holding a truer perspective of the world. It was a fascinating story, to be sure. Yet, I present you with a challenge: in considering his story, try to find any relevance to the night's purpose.
Continuing on, Michael Guzman '06 and Adamah Cole '06 reached new magnitudes of redundancy, delivering at least ten imperatives of a basic "be yourself" motif. More disappointing, however, was their near-parodied portrayal of homosexuals. Guzman was stereotypical, flippant, and foppish, while Cole played the underdressed straight man of the duo. With minutes of commentary on cross-dressing, fashion sense, and hair products, they suggested that gay people be defined by how flamboyant or trendy they are. In the wake of this performance, laws allowing gay marriage were accidentally overturned in three states.
The Rockapellas concluded the ceremony with a performance of "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee." According to the Rockapellas' website, the song "is a strong reminder of crimes that continue to be committed against the indigenous peoples of North America." Fair enough. However, considering Dartmouth's historical purpose, the choice of song was suspect, at best. Entirely another matter is the song's defense of Leonard Peltier, the convicted murderer of two FBI agents and the American Indian community's variant of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
The issue that weakened this year's "Experiences" is the same that perpetually plagues it. Because a program of its scope cannot possibly encompass the multitude of students' viewpoints, it instead implies that each speaker's viewpoint should have inherent value simply because it is different from any other. Indeed, throughout the night we were told not only to live the way we see fit, but to discover the paths of others, thereby adding to the richness of our Dartmouth memories. Thus, in one fell swoop, the idea that one can be perfectly content with the choices one makes was undermined, and the value of the common experience and tradition ignored. If the stories of alumni hold any weight, devotion to Dartmouth derives from satisfaction in the classroom, dormitory camaraderie during the chilled winter months, and the frantic encircling of bonfires—all common, relatable memories.
Yet, in its current form, "Experiences" is only one of OPAL's parlor tricks on Dartmouth's administration. The dozen or so employees of the office have appropriated funds otherwise available to more essential offices for years, creating a string of diversions that squander both the time and tuition of the student body. Programs have ranged from viewings of "It's Elementary," an adorably nocuous film documenting the education of elementary students about homosexuality (my favorite exchange between third-graders: "Like, who cares if we were gay? Would you care?" "It's like, duh, you're gay!"), to a "Gender Alliance" workshop "that helps men and women to have honest discussions about gender issues and to build relationships." Funding the "Experiences" exhibition, however, does something far more harmful by giving a few students an opportunity to present an unfair and unjust portrayal of certain Dartmouth students as racist, sexist, and homophobic.
Even so, how effective was this showing in the pluralist agenda? I can tell you that, unlike the self-segregated affintiy housing, it was not an entirely misguided exercise. It didn't even come close to the Women's and Gender Studies department's damage to the intellectual fabric of the College. Ms. Wong would be disappointed to know that, judging from the limited dialogue both immediately and eventually afterward, it was exactly what it should not have been: a trifling matter.