Nicolas Duquette ’04 responds

>Date: 08 Jun 2003 18:36:23 EDT

>From: Nicolas J. Duquette

>Reply-To: SunkCostsSunk

>Subject: your blog

>To: Alexander D. Talcott

“the honesty to look closely at ourselves and what we do, the resolution to face those broader matters that seem to be simply wrong, the courage to confront them. “

And how is this inconsistent with free speech?

It’s called “moral clarity” to use a Republican term for the idea. Racists have a right to express their ideas, but the College doesn’t have to allow acts of racism on campus. That’s common sense. Racism is “simply wrong.”

The PROBLEM with the administration is that it views certain forms of speech as actions. Saying racially insensitive things (or supporting racially insensitive mascots) has been lumped, dangerously, with shouting fire in a theater as unprotected speech. And the College is not as bad about it as most — whatever FIRE has to say about the issue. Go to Smith sometime and then tell me Dartmouth is anti-speech.

If you (the Review, not you the person) want to fight against Dartmouth’s conflation of speech (wah-hoo-wah!) with actions, go ahead. But as long as you frame the debate in terms of that Indian mascot nobody but alumni a generation ahead of us care about anyway, don’t expect the student body to rally around you.

Also, watch out for Marty Redman. He’s a [expletives deleted] who will tell you to distribute to the dorms then instruct his staff to throw the Review away. You guys need to get some distribution boxes on public property.