Dear Dartmouth Community Members,

Phoenix Senior Society stands in solidarity with the First-Year Trips Director, Assistant Director, and general Directorate in response to the recent Op-Ed published by The Dartmouth.

We foremostly believe that the Directorate consists of highly qualified and exceptional students, who have worked and will continue to work towards increasing the inclusivity and accessibility of Trips for the incoming class of ‘22s as outlined in the DOC Trips mission statement.

To suggest that the diversity within the 2018 Directorate is misrepresentative of the Dartmouth student body reveals an ignorant perspective on the systemic oppression of marginalized communities, the racialized and gendered power dynamics that persist at Dartmouth, and the privileges afforded to white men on this campus. We find this article to be blatantly based in patriarchal and white supremacist narratives and reject its attack on people of color, women, and other marginalized identities. The Dartmouth’s lack of regard for the safety and material well-being  of the students attacked within the Op-Ed is incredibly disappointing. Phoenix calls on The Dartmouth to apologize for providing such oppressive thought with a platform and to address its failure to uphold its own editorial policy of disregarding hate speech, especially considering the individual women who were harmed by the publication of this article.

Phoenix recognizes that the author of this article is not the first to share these opinions, in public or private spaces, and acknowledges that it will not be the last. We stand with the Directorate in their future selection process and categorically reject the assumption that diversity of identity stands at odds with merit.

In Solidarity,

Phoenix Has Risen