THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
PAGE 4
TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST AVERY SAKLAD ’21
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST SABRINA LI SHEN ’21
In Support of Free Speech
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Dartmouth students risk silencing productive debate.
I do not believe in hurting others. It is important to me to live on a campus where the student body can feel safe and respected regardless of personal identifiers or beliefs, but I think there comes a point when political correctness begins to tread on people’s toes. When legitimate expression of political or otherwise controversial ideology becomes compromised or vilified on campus, students need to take a step back and understand the repercussions of responding with outrage. Equating disagreeableness with hatefulness intentionally smudges the line between exercising and abusing free speech, placing significant constraints on campus conversations. At the risk of reopening an old wound, Ryan Spector ’19’s guest column “You’re Not Tripping” can serve as an example. Like other feminists on campus, I found his piece to be an incredibly ignorant display of white privilege; unlike other feminists on campus, I am glad The Dartmouth published it. Spector’s outrage over the gender imbalance in the incoming First-Year Trips directorate was insensitive, but it was not hateful. His article contained no threats, slurs, harassment or otherwise unsafe language. He wrote a piece expressing an unpopular idea, and he was not overstepping his rights in doing so. I certainly do not support the content of his piece, but I do believe that calls to retract his article from The Dartmouth were unfounded. Choosing not to publish his article would have been an obvious obstruction of Spector’s right to free speech and equally as ignorant as writing the article. Dartmouth faced a similar conundrum on the subject of freedom of speech in the fall of last year when Dartmouth Students for Life and the College Republicans invited Kristan Hawkins to give a talk as part of her “Lies Feminists Tell” tour. As president of Students for Life in America, an anti-abortion student activist group, Hawkins attracted an audience consisting primarily of prochoice protesters. Following a heated questionand-answer session, some students argued that Hawkins should not have been invited to speak on campus at all, suggesting that her stance and language were too offensive to be given a platform on campus. Although Hawkins did lose her composure multiple times during her presentation and certainly did not behave in a professional way in response to well-founded oppositional inquiries, I maintain that it is important to welcome strong voices like hers on campus. Only inviting speakers whose viewpoints
are supported by the vast majority of the Dartmouth community creates a façade of accordance that can be suffocating to students with minority stances. Such a policy would inhibit dialogue by offering many members of this community no option other than to agree with the self-proclaimed majority. Excluding controversial public figures could be far more harmful than their potential to offend. Silencing voices who deviate from the current social justice narrative could force many students to hide their views and self-segregate. The Dartmouth community should lend a fair ear to those who are motivated to express their genuine opinions and initiate productive discourse over topics of disagreement rather than slandering them. Society has only progressed so far because many of its pioneers have tackled dissent head-on. By inviting unique and even controversial voices into campus conversation, students can benefit from the opportunity to grow and develop their own standpoints further by recognizing, considering and refuting counterviews. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a man called the “Pit Preacher” stands on a crate at the bottom of an outdoor auditorium in the central area of campus and spouts an endless stream of extremely right-wing Christian theory for hours on end, during any given day of the week. Students either ignore or heckle him, but UNC generally allows him to remain on campus. At a public university, his speech is protected. I am not saying that students need to invite a “Pit Preacher” to campus, but Dartmouth could take a page from UNC’s book and practice tolerance of unpopular opinions. Dartmouth is currently labeled a “red light” school by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, meaning the College implements some of the most restrictive policy on speech of any school in the country. Dartmouth’s “Acceptable Use Policy,” outlined on the College’s Information Technology website, bans publishing and distributing plagiarized, unsolicited, defamatory or discriminatory content. Its criteria are logical and generally irrefutable, but students risk applying them too broadly. Before they condemn speech as a violation of the campus’ “Acceptable Use Policy,” students should consider whether it is truly hateful or simply controversial. If it is the latter, supporters of free speech have the responsibility to prevent the silencing of distinct voices on campus.
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Mental health is not something to be ashamed of.
A few weeks into winter term, I called my her an ultimatum: Get antidepressants and parents crying for the first time in my life. They spend the summer at home or travel abroad were noticeably confused — I don’t cry often, but like she had planned without antidepressants. when I do, I never go to them This is a scenario that many until my tears are gone. students may “Mental health issues Dartmouth As it was, I could not fully find hard to believe, but explain why I was so upset. are more prevalent it is one that I have seen My dad, a psychiatrist, than ever on college far too many times. In my immediately asked me if senior year of high school, I had been feeling “blue.” campuses, but selfan Asian-American girl I responded that I had. I care is often the committed suicide. Later was tired, unenthusiastic that year, I had a brief bout last thing students and reluctant to spend time of seasonal depression. outside of my room. I had prioritize.” Had I not grown up in an trouble getting out of bed, environment where I felt not because I did not want safe and comfortable talking to leave the bliss of sleep but because I did not about my mental health, I’m not sure what state want to face the world. Everything felt “meh;” I would be in today. Though the general stigma I could hardly remember the last time I had felt around mental health issues in America has anything other than malaise. My dad told me to decreased significantly over the past few decades, get more sleep, see my friends more and exercise it hasn’t gotten much better for Asian-Americans. regularly. If I was still feeling this way in a week, he So what can we do? As always, it starts with suggested options such as therapy or medication. conversation. Taking conversation in a literal I called back a few days later, happy to report sense, the APA has found that most Asianthat I was feeling much better. He told me that Americans face a significant language barrier I had probably been going when seeking treatment. As through a slump brought “I could hardly such, the APA calls for more on by the winter weather or bilingual services and “more homesickness; whatever it remember the collaboration between was, he was glad for me that last time I had felt formal service systems and it had passed. He ended the community resources.” anything other than phone call with a reminder As students on a college that I could always talk to malaise. My dad told campus, talking about him about my mental state, me to get more sleep, mental health publically and and that was that. unashamedly is a definite A friend of mine recently see my friends more step toward alleviating the told me she was feeling and exercise regularly.” cultural stigma around suicidal. Three years ago, mental health issues. she had called 911 after V-February at Dartmouth almost committing suicide. Her parents pretended generates a significant conversation each year it had never happened. Like me, she comes from about gender-based violence and gender equity. an Asian immigrant family, and when she told Following that example, Dartmouth should me her story, I was reminded that my relationship organize more events to promote mental health with my dad is deeply unique. Psychiatry is awareness. a severely stigmatized field in China, where Mental health issues are more prevalent than my dad grew up, and the stigma surrounding ever on college campuses, but self-care is often the mental health in Asian cultures is enormous. last thing students prioritize. The frenetic pace Mental illness can be seen as a sign of personal of schoolwork, socializing and extracurricular weakness or family shame and considered a taboo activities keep students in a constant whirlwind topic. The American Psychological Association of action where they never pause to deal with reported that Asian-Americans have a 17.30 the toll it takes. Now that I am living away from percent overall lifetime rate of any psychiatric home, my dad’s habit of checking in with my disorder and a 9.19 percent mental health has carried 12-month rate. However, “Especially for the over into my daily life. I Asian-Americans are three ask myself the questions he Asian-American times less likely to seek used to ask me, taking the mental health services than community, it time to monitor my moods their white counterparts. is important to and behaviors for a better This may be why, ever since awareness of my mental I can remember, my dad remember that state. My dad did not ask has been fielding phone emotions are valid, those questions because calls from Asian-American he felt I was at risk for and there is always friends whose children depression — he asked them were experiencing mental strength in seeking because they are questions health issues. These phone help.” people should ask every day. calls were the closest to Regardless of what others professional help these kids may believe, people do a would get, since their parents would refuse to disservice to themselves when they neglect their make an official appointment. My dad did the mental health. Especially for the Asian-American best he could to offer advice. community, it is important to remember that Recently, my friend tried to get her parents’ emotions are valid, and there is always strength permission for antidepressants. They offered in seeking help.