On Discourse and Division

As the breeze cools and the leaves change, The Dartmouth Review is excited to welcome the newest Dartmouth class to Hanover. Congratulations, Class of 2029. These days mark the beginning of your undergraduate education, yes, but they also denote the beginning of a tremendous responsibility. As you will certainly learn in the weeks ahead, Dartmouth is as much a tradition as it is a school. It is up to each entering class to preserve it. We at The Review are here to pass along institutional knowledge of campus culture and custom, especially in this “Freshman Issue,” but in every one we deliver to your doorstep throughout the year. Ultimately, though, the responsibility to learn from the upperclassmen and preserve our traditions lies with you.

One particular tradition I wish to focus on here is our culture of debate, a topic relevant to Dartmouth but also to our country now more than ever. Open discourse at this College has not been without its trials, especially in recent years, but it is essential to our character. The Review believes that free speech is vital to a vibrant liberal arts education. If we can believe in the possibilities of truth, voices must not be silenced. That means that professors have the freedom to pursue topics of inquiry unobstructed, and to draw conclusions from those studies however uncomfortable they make the braintrust at Parkhurst. That means that students are able to speak in class and elsewhere without fear of retribution, from the College but most especially from their classmates. That means that campus speakers are free to introduce their ideologies into the marketplace of ideas. If good ideas are to profit and bad ones are to fail, we have to give them all a chance.

Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist and podcaster, was assassinated on a college campus for the crime of debating uncomfortable topics peacefully and honestly. He was scheduled to visit Dartmouth on September 25. I view this unspeakable tragedy as an assault on colleges around the country and on our very institutions here in Hanover. Violence of any sort has no place in havens of intellectual debate. If the killer’s goal was to silence students, he has woefully failed. We at Dartmouth will make sure that he has.

I read a troubling opinion piece in the pages of The Dartmouth by a member of the Class of 2029. This student suggested that “Kirk contributed to the hateful political moment that killed him.” He also wrote that “spreading extremist views will only pay in the short-term and eventually will lead to unspeakable tragedy.” Spreading so-called extremist views should never lead to one’s assassination. Assigning some blame to Kirk is an act of intimidation because it tells others like him to be careful what they say. It gives license to future assassins to be arbiters of hate speech and to take action. Words are powerful but they are not violence. Kirk was killed not by his own words but by a bullet. When one resorts to physical action, they’ve lost the debate and any moral ground they purported to stand on. I hope this idea of free speech, one that asks people to stop talking lest they meet a fate similar to Kirk’s, is not shared by the incoming class at large. That wouldn’t bode well for a healthy campus community rich with diverse perspectives.

Where do we go from here? At Dartmouth, the answer is right in front of us. At our best, we are a compassionate community where ideas are challenged but character is not. We are vigorous debaters who consider the great questions of our time with the ability to separate politics from people. We should be known for making friends with classmates with whom we disagree. Some of my closest friends share almost nothing in common with me politically, and that’s a good thing. If we are to have a healthy culture of debate, one where violence like that which occurred in Utah is never even dreamed of, we need to stop thinking of our political opponents as mortal enemies filled with hate.

The ’29s have a great opportunity to prove why Dartmouth can be a trendsetter. Please, take the time to step away from politics once in a while and seek out friendships from unfamiliar corners. Enjoy what we have in common by going to sports games together, walking around Occom Pond and Pine Park, and playing pong (once the fraternity doors open to you). Don’t let politics divide us. If we can’t be neighbors or friends, the ideas we so passionately debate will be meaningless. When we let contempt take over, we cultivate an environment where political violence is possible. A politics of compassion and community is the Dartmouth way, but you have to choose it. Four years down the road, you’ll regret spending your time hating the other side. Who knows, that might be where you find your best friends.