WINTER CARNIVAL IS COMING!!!

Winter Carnival is an exciting time for Dartmouth! We have the chance to play in the snow, plan the polar bear plunge, participate in human dog sled races, and create the annual ice sculpture. We understand that this year the planning committee has chosen to continue the Dartmouth tradition of celebrating Dr. Seuss, who has been the tribute of three Winter Carnivals, through the theme “The Cat in the Hat Comes to Winter Carnival."

Tomorrow (Monday) at 3:30pm in Collis 303, we will urge that the college’s programming hear the voices of People of Color by changing the theme of Winter Carnival from "The Cat in the Hat Comes to Winter Carnival" to “Snow Justice, Snow Peace” to exemplify and reflect the current sentiments and events occurring on campuses nation-wide.

Dr. Seuss is an integral part of Dartmouth tradition, but so are our students. In light of recent events, we believe the committee should reconsider their theme. "The Cat in the Hat Comes to Winter Carnival" does not recognize the urgency of student safety and our need to address community-wide issues surrounding race and social justice, pressing concerns both on this campus and in our country.

This is a unique and critical opportunity to center the discussion around People of Color on campus. Students at Dartmouth are thoughtful and engaged when given such a space. Why not, amongst the dog sledding and the Polar Bear Plunge, look at other traditions that make this campus great: traditions of speaking up and speaking out, traditions of change and progress, and traditions of coming together to celebrate the diversity and multitudes of voices among us?

We seek to establish a safe campus for People of Color through racial justice-centered programming during Winter Carnival weekend. When Dartmouth students of color do not feel safe on campus, it is time for the student body to unite and support our Dartmouth siblings. Through the use of Winter Carnival weekend, we hope to engage the Dartmouth community at large in discussions surrounding racial  justice, bringing to life Dartmouth’s core value to foster “lasting bonds among faculty, staff, and students, which encourage a culture of integrity, self-reliance, and collegiality and instill a sense of responsibility for each other and the broader world.”

We must have this discussion. We must continue having this discussion. Please join us, in the open forum offered by the Winter Carnival Council meeting.
Come to support, to discuss, and to center these issues tomorrow,Monday, at 3:30PM in Collis 303.

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Dartmouth Coalition For Immigration Reform, Equality and DREAMers (CoFIRED)
"...Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."
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