Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/2006/12/06/the_cover_was_a_mistake.php
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Dear Dartmouth,
The recent Dartmouth Review cover depicting a warrior with a scalp was a mistake. It distracted attention from the serious journalism The Dartmouth Review has been publishing, not least in the articles that came after the cover. The result was that people are discussing the cover, the scalp, and the offense felt by descendants of the original Americans. In the discussions on the staff prior to publishing this issue, there were reservations about the cover. We certainly agree with the statement of President James Wright that all students at Dartmouth whatever their background, should feel welcome here.
At the same time we find there exists some paranoia, no little hysteria really, on the part of the official Dartmouth on the matter of the now abandoned “Indian symbol.” As an example we cite the recent gratuitous insult offered by athletic director Josie Harper to the University of North Dakota because its hockey team uses the university’s Indian logo. She was properly rebuked by the president of that university. There is such a thing as minding your own business. There is also such a thing as achieving a bit of perspective, even developing a sense of humor. There are no “racists” or people who “hate” at The Dartmouth Review. Such terms are the clichés of unearned, but desperately desired, moral superiority.
The best course for those of a conservative disposition is to employ evidence, learning, logic, and wit to combat what Orwell called “the smelly little orthodoxies now contending for our minds.” Because much about Dartmouth is liberal, this intellectual combat must necessarily seem conservative, though, occasionally, the orthodoxies will not be creatures of leftism, and the arguments we employ must be merely true. If persuasiveness is desirable, then boorishness must be rejected. Offense as such should not be sought out. We believe that offense and truth reside on two independent axes: the Review must measure its success on the axis of truth, not of offense.
In campus debates, there are bound to be topics that cause people to react viscerally, because they offend their particular suspensions of reason. The solution, however, is not usually a swift punch in the gut. Instead, the staff must produce a thought-provoking, funny, and persuasive newspaper. We have before and will continue to do so.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Desai, Managing Editor, and Emily Ghods-Esfahani, Associate Editor
Special thanks to Professor Jeffrey Hart for helping us to draft this letter.