In 1788, when Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay published the document now known as “The Federalist Papers,” they used the pseudonym Publius to protect themselves from persecution. Theirs was a difficult and dangerous time when dissent was treason and free speech was a pipe dream.

Well, in the wee hours of the morning of February 23, 2010, Dartmouth’s own Publius was out and about putting up signs that accused several Greek houses on campus of racism and sexism and Parkhurst of tacit acceptance of these prejudicial behaviors. The signs proclaimed that our new Publius was holding the signs’ recipients accountable for their hurtful actions.

I have some unfortunate news for the authors of these signs: accountability is a two-way street. In his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King Jr. said the following:

“When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable Rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’”

I believe that Dartmouth signed the same kind of promissory note in the fall of 1972, when women first set foot on this campus as Dartmouth students. If we have defaulted on this debt, then we ought to be held accountable by all means necessary. The problem with anonymous signs is that we don’t know where to send the new check.

As the son of a member of the last all-male class at Dartmouth, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have come a long way in the last 37 years. My father witnessed Theta Delt sing at the infamous 1975 “Hums” (see “Early days of coeducation at the College were bitter ones” from the November 14, 1997 issue of The Dartmouth), and I have heard stories about a fraternity brother stealing every toilet seat out of the girls’ dormitory. I recognize that we still have a long way to go to reach true gender equality, but I would like to remind the members of our community who see these signs as a victory to look around them.

We do not live in the Dartmouth of the mid-1970’s. In today’s Dartmouth, anonymous signs are not brave or courageous. They are cowardly. They use mystique to sensationalize the issue and get media coverage.

I believe in free speech. And I believe that free speech is a necessary factor in the production of change, but not when there is no one to claim it. In these cases, free speech can harm as much as it can help. Perhaps it is a sign of the times when anonymous blogging has become a viable means of social critique, but such actions are, from a purely practical point of view, fundamentally flawed. We do not need secrecy. This campus has plenty of “secrets” already. What we need is open and frank dialogue. Part of activism is talking the talk, but the other part is walking the walk. Activists, just like the status quo against which they fight, are accountable on both of these fronts, and I would wager a pretty penny that most of the people responsible for these signs visited the basement of at least one of the accused fraternities over Winter Carnival.

So to the Dartmouth Publius,
If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. You’re part of it every time you set foot in a frat basement without saying something. You are just as guilty as Parkhurst. You perpetuate the cycle just as much as anyone else. But the ship has sailed on this incident. Coming forward now would not help your cause, a cause which I believe should be shared by each and every member of the Dartmouth community. I am not suggesting you “stand up and say that to our face.” That would be counterproductive at this point. It would only lead to unproductive finger-pointing.

But what I am saying is this: follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest activists in modern history, Mahatmas Gandhi, and “be the change you want to see in the world.” Do not stay silent, but do not be anonymous. There is a place for anonymous accusations and name-calling. It’s called Bored@Baker. You’re better than that.