etter From The Publisher

We realize that it is somewhat unconventional to publish so late in the term. But we have decided to distribute this final issue primarily because we believe there are things that need to be said now before those we hope to speak to have stopped listening. After several focusing events in February that brought the campus’s attention to issues we have struggled with for some time, a great number of conversations have begun in many quarters that we hope to continue. We are talking in part, of course, about the incident at Psi Upsilon fraternity on the night of February 16, when a woman walking by the house witnessed several brothers yelling "Wah-hoo-wah, scalp ‘em, scalp ‘em!" In her account of the incident that was widely circulated on campus by e-mail, she described how the chanting stopped for a moment as she approached the house and then continued, this time with "Wah-hoo-wah, scalp those bitches." She yelled back "Psi U is so cool!" and was allegedly met with further verbal insults. The discussions that ensue regarding issues raised by the incident are not about pointing fingers at whites, males, fraternity brothers or any group. They are not about pointing fingers at anyone. But they are about problematising a majority mentality – and yes, one sometimes held by white, male fraternity brothers, though certainly held elsewhere, too – that can be very hurtful. They are about trying to keep a conversation going about what we believe, why we believe it, and the implications of what we believe. The incident is important for not only the individual event, but for what it points to and what it reveals. And in this, it is not necessarily a solely negative thing. Under normal circumstances, we grapple with ghosts. Our beliefs underlie all our actions, but they are difficult to see. If we wish to challenge our own or another person’s beliefs, it is usually difficult to identify them and speak about them without some sort of concrete application. Sometimes, however, our attitudes manifest in a highly visible event or action – that we can see and scrutinize. These events help us better understand ourselves. As such, the Psi U incident – and all such incidents – can be more constructive than destructive. Of course their primary effects are hurtful, but their secondary effects are what we make of them. They can be constructive in that they chase out the monsters from under the bed and give our everyday complacency a kick in the pants so that we are forced to acknowledge, think about, and hopefully act on these issues. These energies are what The Dartmouth Free Press has attempted to harness in this issue. Our most sincere thanks to all our contributors: their dedication, passion and energy truly represent Dartmouth at its best. And thanks to all of you for taking the time to read and for having the courage to question. Sincerely, Michelle Chui