Dear Dartmouth Students:
One of the most important lessons of the last week here at Dartmouth, and on college campuses across the country, is the importance of continuing dialogue, especially when opinions differ.
First, let me say that I am heartbroken by the pain, anger, and division on campus. What happened on the green last Wednesday night was difficult, upsetting and painful. Though thoughtful people may disagree on fundamental issues, we can all agree on how bad that night was.
No one, including me, wanted to see heavily armed police officers in the heart of our campus. They also didn’t want members of the community to be arrested. I was very concerned that the violence I had seen on many other campuses would happen at Dartmouth, either immediately or in the next few days. Encampments on other campuses have stoked violent anger, severely divided the student body, created exclusion zones, and drawn outside agitators. We have seen clearly over the past few weeks that too often encampments do not encourage dialogue. they prevent it.
After discussions with the student demonstrators, who had hoped to find a solution that avoided police intervention, proved unsuccessful, I decided to ask the Hannover police to help clear the camp. It’s for a reason. I support that decision. Part of a university president’s job is to put the safety and well-being of students first. Unfortunately, my attempts to keep everyone on campus safe have made some people feel unsafe. As I said earlier, actions have consequences. I take responsibility for that and am sorry for the harm this impossible decision has caused.
Like many people I spoke to last week, I share your concerns about those arrested on May 1st, and I would like to clarify a few things. First, the Dartmouth student reporters who were on the Green to cover the protests should not have been arrested for doing their jobs. We are working with local authorities to ensure this mistake is corrected. Similarly, I spoke with two of the teachers who were arrested, and both said they were only there to support their students. We have confirmed that we have already issued a ban from campus for one of the arrested faculty members due to errors in the bail process. He was immediately pulled up. More broadly, we will continue to work with the faculty and staff who were arrested that night to help students navigate the legal process and avoid charges. We are also working to ensure that those who are inadvertently involved in disruptions on the green, even though they do not violate Dartmouth policies, are not harmed.
I also want to assure you that members of my administration are supporting the students who were arrested last week as they planned to participate in year-end events such as powwows, luaus, and graduation ceremonies. Although Dartmouth does not have unilateral authority to lift access to green regulations imposed by local governments, we are working toward a resolution that would allow us to participate in these important events.
It may be too early to talk about healing, as wars continue to rage in the Middle East and passions are understandably high. Once again, we recognize that what happened last week has caused deep emotions that will remain with all of us for a long time. But I hope that we can support each other, create space for dialogue whenever we disagree, and focus on moving forward together.
Sian Leah Baylock
president
Guest columns represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
