September 2005 Issue
Editorial
Amanda Morris '06As fall term begins and I watch freshman grow acclimated to Dartmouth, I can not help but recall my first year at college with a nostalgia bordering on longing. When I arrived on campus for orientation, I was overwhelmed by the opportunities before me; opportunities I had never dreamed of back in my home town. There were hundreds of fascinating courses, foreign study programs, clubs for every imaginable interest and hobby, and students from all over the country and the world. I had never been in a place with such racial, ethnic, religious and socioeconomic diversity. (With the regrettable exception, of course, of ideological diversity.) I was raised by a New York City police officer, so the newfound freedom afforded by dorm life was entirely new to me. The sky seemed the limit.
The only troubling aspect of freshman year (and the part I remember with the most chagrin) is the scramble to latch on to an identity—to take on a label rather than the more daunting prospect of being an individual. College certainly fosters a culture centered on identity politics. The process, of course, begins long before a freshman arrives on campus. He is besieged with letters, postcards, and emails from identity-based groups. The temptation to jump into an identity right away is understandable. Most Dartmouth students spent their high school days diligently studying, and getting involved in extracurricular activities and volunteer work. And there is the usual loneliness and trepidation that comes with being away from home for the first time. The idea of “re-modeling” oneself is highly attractive.
There is no denying that there is some value in students with similar backgrounds and interests coming together to support one other. The problem is that students arriving on campus leap into identity-based groups, entrench themselves in these comfort zones, and never leave them. In a place where a whole slew of stereotypes accompany which organizations we join—from Greek Houses to a cappella groups—it can be difficult to branch out once you have boxed yourself into a single identity. Let me make one thing clear: other people’s perceptions are not the important thing. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Who needs the stress of realizing sophomore spring that you have made yourself into something you do not really want to be?
Dartmouth is a place to be expanding your horizons, not limiting them. Try things out that you might not have previously considered. Befriend a couple of upperclassmen and learn from their mistakes. Trust me: we have made plenty. And take my hypocritical advice- try something outdoorsy.
I can not claim to have all the answers, but if I could offer one piece of advice to the class of 2009 entering colleges across the country, it would be to echo the advice my “big sister” in my sorority gave me: eschew the self-made traps, and resist the temptation to reduce yourself to a single label. Do you really want to be known as a “token” in your group of friends? Think about it: If you join a political group, and blindly defend every stance your party takes on any given issue, you end up no more than a machine. If you reduce yourself to nothing more than your race, you are buying into a system that tells us that your race, above all, is your defining characteristic. Trust me, when it comes to figuring out who you are, it doesn’t hurt to wait. There’s no need to do it in the fall of your freshman year.
In Sylvia Plath’s autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, she compares the possibilities before her (successful career, marriage, etc.) to ripe, juicy figs on a fig tree. Overwhelmed by so many options, she fears she will starve to death before she can decide which fig is best to pick. Do not let this be you. Do not feel like you have to choose just one fig here at Dartmouth. Pick as many as you want, and only keep the good ones!
Best of luck with the journey, and welcome to Dartmouth!