To the Dartmouth community,


On February 2nd, an Op Ed was published in The Dartmouth regarding the 2018 DOC First Year Trips Directorate application process and subsequent composition. While we will not give the arguments present in the Op Ed the validity that a direct response to the article would bestow upon it, the community reaction has been overwhelming. Over the past four days, campus has spoken, and while "You're Not Tripping" does not merit a response from us, you all do.

First and foremost, we want to apologize on behalf of this Op Ed. While one could take the time to pick apart the arguments presented in this piece and discuss the degree to which they lacked substance, it is first important to acknowledge the hurt that it has caused. We are sorry for the incredibly problematic implications of the idea that a directorate composed of 15 women and four men could not have been formed by simply choosing the most qualified person for each position, because it is abundantly clear upon examining the qualifications and credentials of any of the incredible, inspiring 15 women on our Directorate that this idea is completely unfounded. We are also sorry for the imposition--within this article and within subsequent campus discussions--of a false dichotomy between identity and merit in the first place, that implies not only that individuals with marginalized identities couldn't be fully qualified in their own right to serve in any given position, but that one's identity and experience are somehow separable within a holistic application processes that acknowledges all of the passions, skills, qualifications, and perspectives that they bring to the table. Identity influences all of these things. That applies to all of us and--especially in the formation of a team aiming to ensure that more individuals with various identities feel comfortable and welcomed on a pre-orientation program that has historically underserved them--this is a good thing.

Perhaps most importantly, we are so sorry to everyone--on our Directorate, and within the Dartmouth community as a whole--whom this article has delivered the painfully false message that they are any less deserving of or qualified for the leadership positions they hold due to any facet of their identity. This is a notion that already drives so many women, people of color, and other individuals with marginalized identities to constantly question their positionality within this community, and the sheer number of statements that have been released in response to this article stand as evidence of just how many people have been deeply affected by it.

Furthermore, we want to emphasize that a problem that we did not have with this article was that it criticized the Trips program. As Directors and as a Directorate, we aim to be continuously thoughtful and critical in evaluating this program and its goals. One of those goals this year is transparency within the Dartmouth community and, while we once more don't see productivity in dissecting the arguments presented in the recent Op-Ed, a lot of assumptions have been made over the past few days about what Directorate is, how it operates, and how members were selected, so we wanted to share a little bit more about how it all works.

Aside from the Director and Assistant Director positions, Directorate is composed of 19 individuals, each of whom occupy different, specified roles within the team. Some operate individually, and some operate in pairs, with one group of three as the Trip Leader Trainers. The position descriptions for these 19 roles are attached to this email, if anyone would like to learn more. Due to the vast differences in these roles and the experience and qualifications needed to fulfill each of them, individuals apply for each role separately, to as many as three positions in total. Each position on Directorate therefore had its own application pool from which we, after an application and interview process, selected the one to three candidates whom we thought would best serve within their individual role, whom we thought would best work together within their pair or trio, and whom we thought would be the best addition to the Directorate team that operates as a whole to shape Trips 2018.

Regarding the role of the Directorate as a whole: Atarting in January, eight months before the start of Trips, the Directorate team begins to not only plan for the complex tasks outlined within each of their roles (included, once more, in the attached position descriptions), but to develop the central goals of the entire program, so that it betters every year. This work is largely logistical, centered around the bigger picture, and mostly takes place before Trippees arrive--most do not realize that Directorate exists. Applications for Crooling and Trip Leader positions, those that act as direct mentors to the first-year students, will be released at the end of this term.

As is necessary in a program as long-existing and widely-reaching as Trips, this involves the aforementioned thoughtfulness and constant criticism of the program itself as we continue to ask ourselves how we can provide a more inclusive, accessible, welcoming, and fun experience for each member of each incoming class. On Trips, specifically, an important part of this--and therefore one of our biggest goals this year--is acknowledging and addressing that, due to both the inherent exclusivity of outdoor spaces and problematic social dynamics that exist within the Dartmouth community and extend to the trips program, Trips has historically underserved women, people of color, people of lower socioeconomic status, queer folk, and many other marginalized identities, all of whom have been underrepresented on Directorate in the past. These perspectives, as well as many others, are therefore important to have on our team as we make and evaluate bigger decisions that impact the program and the way it affects everyone who participates.

We truly cannot emphasize enough that we picked the most qualified people for each of these roles and don't see the need to justify this any further. Rather, we emphasize how lucky we are to have the particular selection of voices and perspectives on Directorate this year, and explain that the role of Directorate members is largely logistical and behind-the-scenes, to explain why we did not actively correct for the number of men that ended up on Directorate by rejecting the qualified women we had chosen for each position for the sake of having more men around the table. We continue to stand by this, and are happy to discuss any facet of it with any of you if you email us at [log in to unmask] to arrange a time to talk.

Finally, it is crucial to acknowledge that the sexist, racist, and otherwise problematic ideas present in this Op Ed and widely discussed in the four days since are of course not independent to this one incident. They permeate campus and impact members of the Dartmouth community constantly. While the fact that Trips is such a large program and this statement was presented on such a public forum garnered a particularly enormous response, it is so important that Dartmouth continues to have these discussions and, in thinking about the many groups that have not voiced their support and/or stand in silent agreement with the points presented in the Op Ed, continue to fight this campus culture.

This email has been long, and we're almost done, but we first thank you deeply for reading what we have to say. Once more, we are available to talk to anyone who has thoughts about or has been affected by this issue, if you email us at [log in to unmask]

To all of the communities that have shown your solidarity and support, especially those who do the emotional labor of fighting discrimination and intolerance every day: We see you. We love you. Thank you.

To everyone who has engaged in thoughtful, meaningful dialogue over the past four days: Keep talking. Learn from one another. Channel your anger into asking yourselves what you can do to help.

To anyone who might continue to doubt the ability of 15 women and four men to create an incredible experience for the incoming class of 2022 and truly change this program for the better: Give it a few months. Watch and see just what this incredible team is capable of.

With love,
Lucía and Dalia
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DOC First-Year Trips Program
Dartmouth College
Robinson Hall 103
Hanover, NH  03755
(p) 603.646.3996
http://outdoors.dartmouth.edu/firstyear/
Blog: http://docfirstyeartrips.wordpress.com

Luc ía Pierson '18, Director
Dalia Rodriguez-Caspeta '18, Assistant Director