Transparency with Student Experiences

Admitted Students Demonstrators

Congratulations on your acceptance to Davidson College! We are so proud of you all, especially those of you who have had to overcome extra hurdles to make it to this point. Your hard work has paid off, and we hope you are celebrating your achievements. We are so excited for you and glad that you are considering Davidson as you navigate the world of college decisions.

We want you to know that if you choose Davidson, we will welcome you with open arms and support you along your way. There is so much potential here, with strong academics, brilliant professors, and a wealth of opportunities. However, we also want you to know some of the things we wish we had been told before we began our first semesters. There are some experiences you probably have not encountered in the picture of Davidson that has been painted for you so far. Please note that everyone’s experience at Davidson is different, and the stories here are in no way everyone’s story.

Davidson’s need-based financial aid sets it apart from many similar institutions and has opened the doors to Davidson’s elite academics and vast opportunities to many students who otherwise would not have accessed such experiences. We want you to be prepared for the fact that Davidson’s promise may fall short of your full need, especially when it comes to housing, food, textbooks, healthcare, and other necessities. Many of us have found ourselves unsure of how to move forward when our need-based aid and student loans (because yes, many of us do still take out federal loans) do not stretch as far as they need to. If you choose Davidson, make sure to ask about resources like Lula Bell’s early on. Unfortunately, you will have to learn how to advocate for yourself, as guidance in many cases is difficult to find.

Another reason students are attracted to Davidson is the close-knit community formed by its nature as a residential college. Living on campus has been a positive experience for many, but it comes with numerous frustrations as well. Because Davidson continues to over-enroll, flexibility in housing has been decreasing over the past few years. You will find that many of the dorm buildings no longer have community lounges, as they have been converted into student dorm rooms. Additionally, you may find it hard to move away from roommates or hallmates who create a negative living situation. This lack of flexibility further compounds the already-existing lack of alternative housing options, such as having few single rooms, lack of accessible housing options for students with disabilities, or any gender-inclusive housing. The structure of our housing has left students feeling uncomfortable, isolated, or even unsafe at why they need opportunities to flex those muscles. Time and again, I have seen Davidson students rise to the occasion in uncomfortable situations instead of crumbling. times.

That does not mean I would have set up the event the “The DCI Threatens Diversity and Justice Efforts” author excoriates in precisely the way the DCI did. That does not mean that my way would have been better, just different. That’s how true diversity and inclusion work. We must provide a multitude of ways for students to engage on serious subjects inside and outside of classes – especially on subjects where there is deepseated disagreement. That is why I also had no problem with students protesting the event, and why we made it clear in the free expression statement that robust, loud and even messy protests are part of a healthy campus environment.

But I also must be clear about my disagreements with the protesters’ rationale, that a speaker they believe has said awful things about trans people should not have been allowed to visit Davidson. If that logic was applied to me, I would not be allowed to speak on campus. I certainly could not teach the way I have. It would not be hard to dig up a few quotes of mine and paint me as a radical whose words might harm students who do not look like me. No potential speaker could withstand such scrutiny. Davidson College has a responsibility to provide a safe environment for students to learn and live. A part of that responsibility is ensuring those who differ from us – politically, ideologically, faith-wise and beyond – have a chance to be heard in a way they think best. Sometimes that means bringing in speakers I disagree with, sometimes speakers I like. DCI’s mission is to deal with complex issues in a deliberative manner. That would not be possible if they only included speakers who agree with each other.

Doubling down on the principle of free expression and speech is becoming more necessary by the day as legislators in North Carolina and in a growing number of states use their powers to pass censorship, implement book bans, and make it harder for vulnerable groups to speak and be heard. Davidson should position itself as a bulwark against that trend. We won’t be able to do that if we don’t stand firm first.

This is an institution of higher learning. The goal is not to ensure that each of us is comfortable or agree with or even like the people around us or those invited to campus. The goal is to help us become our best selves. And sometimes that means discomfort. If you leave Davidson after four years without ever having been discomforted, the institution has failed you. That would be real harm, and a real tragedy.

Isaac Bailey ‘95 is the James K. Batten Professor of Public Policy and a decorated journalist. He currently serves as the Laventhol Visiting Professor at the Columbia Journalism School. He can be reached at ikbailey@davidson.edu.

You should also know that, as on any college campus, sexual violence does happen at Davidson. While the school has some resources in place to address it, such as the Title IX office and the Students Against Sexual Violence group, survivors frequently report feeling that the options are insufficient and do not meet their holistic needs. Additionally, a recent survey by SGA found a pattern of underreporting in cases of sexual violence on campus. For more information, please see the recent speech by Student Body President Ronan Towell in the previous issue of this paper.

We also want you to come to campus being aware of the history behind Davidson’s status as a predominantly white institution. The Commission on Race and Slavery did important work uncovering a basic timeline which can be found on Davidson’s website. To current students reading this, we also recommend the Davidson College Archives and Special Collections, which house invaluable information about the college’s history. The school has made important progress, and we celebrate steps such as the official apology from the institution and the inclusion of descendant communities in our planned new monument. However, there are many needs that have yet to be addressed, such as a descendant’s scholarship and the legacy box on admissions applications. The impacts of our unjust history are tangible for many students of color as they navigate life at a PWI. If you would like to learn more about the experiences of students from minoritized backgrounds, the Davidson Microaggressions Project collected stories from 2019 to 2021 to raise awareness about microaggressions on campus, and they are available on the project website. If you choose to attend, we hope you will find community with programs such as STRIDE and affinity organizations, including (but not limited to!) BSC, OLAS, or PASA. We also hope you will join us in advocating for a more equitable and just Davidson College. We say this not to scare you from Davidson but to make you aware that, like any other institution, Davidson is flawed. While many many students have an amazing time here, we want to be transparent in saying that life for some students, particularly students from minoritized backgrounds, can come with unexpected challenges. Should you choose to become a Wildcat, we welcome you to join us in working to challenge Davidson to live up to its promises of empathy, justice, and inclusivity.

If you have any questions about the challenges we have encountered, the changes we had personally like Davidson to make, or any improvements you would like to see, we invite you to email us at davidsonresources23@gmail.com.