DEI Event Not a Maoist Struggle Session

Despite its atrociously punny and sanctimonious title, the Office of Greek Life’s “Acronyms to Action” DEI training event on April 16 was not completely insufferable. Previously Director of Sorority and Fraternity Life at Emory, Dr. Marlon Gibson delivered an engaging presentation to a room of about 40 members of Greek Life, three quarters of whom were from GDX—kidding, three quarters of whom were women. Men, do better! 

In the first exercise, everyone paired up and awkwardly described what immutable characteristics might be associated with a variety of professions. Apparently admitting that one associates gay men with fashion designers is not kosher. Even worse, one attendee admitted to not even considering the sexuality of the hypothetical fashion designer. God forbid we regard someone’s physical features and proclivities as utterly uninteresting! Dr. Gibson encouraged us to conduct this cultural-assumptions exercise with our fraternities… sounds like a spectacular event for Supers. 

Next, we watched a wholesome YouTube video that depicted the cruelty of negative labels and, conversely, the virtuous cycle engendered by random acts of kindness. The video was rather melodramatic, but its message was on point: don’t be a judgmental meanie; rather, lead with tolerance, kindness, and respect. Having graduated from grade school, I’m not sure what a group of college students were doing watching YouTube videos about such remedial moral concepts, but I suppose a refresher never hurts. Dr. Gibson’s favorite word, used throughout his presentation, was “grace.” Unlike other DEI professionals, he really did seem to mean it. Dr. Gibson had a whole slide encouraging grace and civility instead of intolerance and judgment towards those with whom we disagree. 

Shortly thereafter, Dr. Gibson lamented that, “today, people just talk at each other, and they don’t listen.” A video on “cultural humility” followed, recommending college students refrain from behaving like elitist know-it-alls when engaging with people who, while lacking a college education, have a wealth of lived experience—to borrow a phrase from the DEI profession—or, in (classical) liberal terms, local knowledge. A conversation ensued about how fortunate we are to attend an institution like Dartmouth when many of our own family members in the present and past were afforded no such opportunity, not for want of intellect, but by dint of circumstance. Again, rather elementary, but certainly correct. 

Next, the attendees collectively cringed through an abominably awkward role play in which two students who would never dream of misgendering one of their peers acted out resolving such an incident. Dr. Gibson then presented a pizza party as an insufficiently inclusive rush event because of the wanton disregard it displays for vegans. Sorry, Dr. Gibson, but good luck taking Dom’s from my warm, less-than-sober hands at 3am on an on-night. Dr. Gibson recovered from this silly statement and ended on a note with which everyone could agree: “Thank a dining hall worker or thank a custodian… [and] thank you for inviting me into your community.” And thank you to Dr. Gibson for not turning the DEI event into a Maoist struggle session. (And shout-out to his son who, like me, is a Spider-Man fanatic!)