Dartmouth’s Greek Leadership Council (GLC) is going to start fining Greek houses for publicly displaying the Dartmouth Indian head because it’s cultural appropriation.
“This is [a rule] I would hope the entire community would want to be accountable for, especially because it helps foster inclusivity among houses and among people who are in these houses,” Gender Inclusive Greek Council (yes . . . that’s a thing) president Veri di Suervo told the Dartmouth.
The Dartmouth clarifies that, on the grounds of “free speech,” the students would still be allowed to display the symbol in their own rooms and/or wear shirts displaying it, as long as those shirts didn’t “encourage students to rush that house.”
The money collected from any fines would go, as the Dartmouth puts it, “to an organization or event agreed upon by the GBA and offended party or individual.”
The vote for the ban passed on Monday night. According to the Dartmouth, GLC had already had rules forbidding cultural appropriation, but apparently felt that an additional rule banning that specific symbol was necessary.
After all, it is about safety:
“Students should feel welcome and safe wherever they are on campus,” Native Americans at Dartmouth historian Bridget-Kate Sixkiller McNulty said.
The green Dartmouth Indian head has not been an “official” school symbol since 1972, however, the website for Dartmouth’s alumni magazine states that it is still a cherished by many alums.
The story was initially covered in an article on the College Fix.