The Dartmouth Radical
THE DARTMOUTH RADICAL
For we can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old
Welcome '28s! In your first term at Dartmouth, you’re going to learn all kinds of important information from both official and unofficial sources. Where to get mail (under FoCo), how to acquire a mini fridge (the Sustainability Sale), if frats smell as bad as everyone says they do (yes). On top of that, what should you do if you’re interested in student activism?
Knowing you will have all these pressing questions and more, I, and a handful of otherwise old 24s (and 23+1s), will bestow upon you some helpful gems of wisdom that will serve you well in your Dartmouth survival journey.
Some excerpts have been condensed to keep this piece short!
Deborah: Dartmouth Asian American Studies Collective
Kai: Dartmouth Asian American Studies Collective
Calvin: Palestine Solidarity Coalition, Dartmouth New Deal Coalition
SW: Revolutionary Marxist Students, Spare Rib Feminist Magazine
SK: Palestine Solidarity Coalition, Dartmouth Prison Justice Initiative
Ian: Student Worker Collective, The Dartmouth Radical
Everyone has something to contribute.
Deborah: Some of you might already be battle hardened youth activists and theory experts, but I suspect the majority of you aren’t. I certainly was not four years ago. You will do a lot of learning and growing at Dartmouth, and you absolutely have something worthwhile to contribute from day one without needing a ton of experience.
If you are already an experienced leftist or activist, you might be frustrated with your fellow freshmen. Most of us are not born radicalized! If people are willing to learn, try to meet them where they are and be aware that it’s very easy to get intimidated by jargon and people who don’t make an effort to welcome newbies.
Additionally, I at least initially had the misconception that the best activists are the outspoken, well-read “guys with megaphones”-- bold leaders and orators who often provide the face of their organizations. That’s not true! Besides courageous leaders and speakers, we need artists, event planners, social media managers, photographers and videographers, peacemakers, note takers, community builders, and so on and so forth. Regardless of your skill set, there is something you can do!
Value Community.
SK: Stay in community with one another! This is probably the biggest lesson I've learned in the past year, and honestly in my entire experience with activism.
Within the first week after October 7, 2023; I would spend hours on my phone and see countless horrifying videos coming out of Gaza of buildings bombed and dead children and families on display on my phone screen. I tried to process all of this on my own in my typical introverted fashion, but another factor that pushed me to consume and process all of this on my own was that I didn't know who could hold space for this with me; I didn't know if anyone else felt the sorrow, the anger, and the multitude of other emotions I was feeling.
It wasn't until a few days after October 7 when the PSC held a widely attended teach-in that I cried and broke down for the first time since October 7. This teach-in took place right after news broke of the bombing of Al-Nasser Hospital. As soon as I entered the event, another friend and activist came up to me and asked me how I was doing, and I broke down in their arms repeating "I can't believe they bombed the hospital." But that friend held me as I cried and kept saying, "it's ok, we'll get through this."
9 months out since that cry and I wouldn't say I'm in a completely better place, as I still view equally horrifying videos and images on my phone coming out of Palestine daily, but being in community has made all the difference and has given me hope. Because since that cry, I've made every effort I could to be in community with fellow friends and activists - among students, faculty, staff, community members, and really anyone else who wanted to hold space - by attending rallies, marches, artistic activities, and other solidarity events, but also especially through what some may consider "smaller" actions, such as long and passionate conversations with a few friends.
To anyone reading this, from the bottom of my heart, what I've realized is that my activism particularly over the last 9 months would never have been possible had it not been for my community, the community that held many overnight solidarity meetings, the community that drove around Vermont and New Hampshire to find and recollect every single one of our friends and mentors who were arrested on May 1, the community that has held me every time I've cried.
I've learned that as activists, we are only as strong as the community behind and with us. I think an often-portrayed image of peak activism is of the sole character who leads the fight on their own, and while it's true that there are those among us who hold that strength, it makes you equally as strong as them to be with each other, to hold space for each other, to hold each other through the myriad of emotions we feel, and overall to be in community with each other. Each of us are fragile simply because we're human. Don't take that for granted; take care of each other. Be in community with each other, you'll never regret it.
Deborah: Building and creating community is integral to any kind of activist work. Friendships and relationships are what keep you going, and a team can accomplish a lot more than scattered individuals. You cannot, and should not, attempt to do everything yourself! You won’t be able to get as much done, and you’ll inevitably burn out.
Even when you’re not talking about politics, it’s important to the work we do to genuinely support your circle and be there for them when it matters. If you want people to join and stay in your organization, you’re going to need to create a community. People need deep, meaningful relationships! Even if the mission of your organization appeals to them, they’ll be much less invested in it if it isn’t a space where they feel connected to the other people in it. Get meals together! Start a conversation with people you haven’t seen before or haven’t seen in a minute! Go to their concerts or dance shows or poster presentations! Hold casual hangouts to get to know your co organizers better and just recharge a bit! Laugh with them when they laugh and hug them when they cry! It’s not frivolous or a disservice to the “actual” political work you’re doing– on the contrary, this work is inherently relational.
Respect and Conflict Management is Key.
Kai: Be kind to each other: nothing can get done and nothing can last if you come to resent the people you work with and spend time with. Interpersonal conflicts can REALLY blow up once they become entangled with activist work, personal politics, emotions, etc. Everyone is human, so no one is perfect!
Ian: Be principled and empathetic in your approach to conflict. The worst thing our movement can suffer is avoidable splits. If we are not able to properly resolve and grow from disagreements and harm within our organizations, it can be exploited by our enemies.
Deborah: Never get into an important discussion after 10pm, or over text. Otherwise, it’s too tempting to say something hurtful that you’ll regret or rush headlong into a bad decision. This work is really emotional– you’ll need to learn when to sense when you’re losing your temper or getting overwhelmed, step out, and take a minute to cool down before things get out of hand. It’s rare that a decision needs to be made in less than 24 hours. If it’s a big deal, make sure that everyone is represented in the decision making process and that you’ve thought it through.
Be Open to Self-Reflection.
Kai: Did I mention yet that no one is perfect? In activist circles you might have to face parts of yourself that aren't easy to look at. You might discover it yourself, or someone else might bring it to your attention. Try not to get defensive. If you want to take criticism to heart, that's great! Flexibility in your worldview takes immense strength of character. Especially listen to those whose voices might often fall on deaf ears. A lot of student activists love to talk. Please do not ONLY talk.
SW: Try to have real political discussion and debate in your groups. Evaluate together why you are doing something and what the aims are and if that makes sense, and figure out what you are untied on accomplishing. From that, criticize yourself and criticize others when mistakes are made and try to figure out why that’s happening so that you can change it.
Deborah: Just because you’re a leftist group doesn’t mean you’re immune to unfortunate societal patterns. Here’s some things to watch out for: who’s taking up space in discussions, and who doesn’t feel comfortable speaking up? Who’s doing the public facing work, and who’s doing the equally important behind the scenes labor? Are different types of work respected equally? These are usually gendered and racialized patterns that marginalize women and femmes, especially those who are people of color.
Further, don’t assume that everyone is coming from the same place as you when it comes to the kinds of risks they’re willing to take. Not everyone will feel safe taking big, public risks and that’s okay!
Most of the time, these problems are unintentional– you should aim to make things right, but it doesn’t mean that you’re a bad person. You’re a part of this deeply unequal society we live in. That isn’t to say that there aren’t legitimately bad actors that don’t exist in these spaces. It’s up to everyone to keep an eye out for people who are harming others in your organizing circles, whether that’s through being predatory, controlling or manipulative behavior, or patterns of marginalizing others.
Watch Out for Burnout.
Kai: Be kind to yourself: being kind to others necessitates being kind to yourself. Have strength in your convictions and be proud of yourself for the work that you do. But like I said before, no one is perfect, including you. It's not easy but if you can be compassionate to yourself, the likelihood that you will be compassionate to others is so much higher.
Take every opportunity to relax and recuperate: the way the Dartmouth academic calendar, the Dartmouth culture, and your life in college works is not conducive to good mental health, reduction of anxiety/depression, or low stress. If you are a student activist that is probably even more of an understatement than it already is. You NEED a break, but I understand that often when you need a break the most, it's impossible to take one. Enjoy your time away from school, enjoy time away from work when you can.
Learn From the Past.
Calvin: Listen to those that have been around a long time-- experience is the most valuable form of knowledge when it comes to organizing.
SW: If you genuinely believe that our society is rotten and capitalism cannot be reformed, that isn't naive and shouldn’t be a nihilist position. There is a way forward, and that’s through revolution. What’s more, people have done it before, and we have the lessons of history and scientific socialism to help us apply Marxism today and chart a path forward.
Admin and the School Aren’t Your Friends (but can be dealt with).
Calvin: Administration is not a monolith, but at the end of the day the people with real decision making power at this college are not your friends. They do not have your best interest in mind. All they want is to make money off of you. If you want change, you need leverage, i.e. bad press, union strikes, etc. Admin will never help you out of the goodness of their hearts, you need to make capitulation to your demands the only option.
SW: (Depending on what you focus on) most of what you learn in classes will not be very politically robust because there are a thousand threads that tie academia and the university to capitalist imperialism and the ruling class. This is especially true when topics around revolutions, social change, social oppressions, and anything ‘radical’ is involved — there is a real limit to what you can learn in classes, because the leaders of this system cannot and will not instruct people in how to overturn and move past it intentionally.
Don’t Feel Pressured to Sell Out.
SW: If you’re feeling isolated by the lack of options presented at school by clubs, groups, classes, spaces, and/or career opportunities that only offer reformism, revisionism, electoralism, or co-opted version of what revolution is, don’t feel you have to be involved or settle for these paths — because there are other options. Additionally, after school, you don’t have to get a lucrative career or become a lawyer or other progressional or join an NGO or the government or go into academia just because you went to a school that’s made for lucrative career-getting.
Raw Responses.
Calvin:
1. Lots of people will come and go when it comes to activism. Listen to those that have been around a long time-- experience is the most valuable form of knowledge when it comes to organizing.
2. Administration is not a monolith, but at the end of the day the people with real decision making power at this college are not your friends. They do not have your best interest in mind. All they want is to make money off of you. If you want change, you need leverage, i.e. bad press, union strikes, etc. Admin will never help you out of the goodness of their hearts, you need to make capitulation to your demands the only option.
Kai:
Be kind to each other: nothing can get done and nothing can last if you come to resent the people you work with and spend time with. Interpersonal conflicts can REALLY blow up once they become entangled with activist work, personal politics, emotions, etc. Everyone is human, so no one is perfect!
Be kind to yourself: being kind to others necessitates being kind to yourself. Have strength in your convictions and be proud of yourself for the work that you do. But like I said before, no one is perfect, including you. It's not easy but if you can be compassionate to yourself, the likelihood that you will be compassionate to others is so much higher.
Be open to criticism: did I mention yet that no one is perfect? In activist circles you might have to face parts of yourself that aren't easy to look at. You might discover it yourself, or someone else might bring it to your attention. Try not to get defensive. If you want to take criticism to heart that's great! Flexibility in your worldview takes immense strength of character. Especially listen to those whose voices might often fall on deaf ears. A lot of student activists love to talk. Please do not ONLY talk.
Take every opportunity to relax and recuperate: the way the Dartmouth academic calendar, the Dartmouth culture, and your life in college works is not conducive to good mental health, reduction of anxiety/depression, or low stress. If you are a student activist that is probably even more of an understatement than it already is. You NEED a break, but I understand that often when you need a break the most, it's impossible to take one. Enjoy your time away from school, enjoy time away from work when you can.
Ian:
Be principled and empathetic in your approach to conflict. The worst thing our movement can suffer is avoidable splits. If we are not able to properly resolve and grow from disagreements and harm within our organisations, it can be exploited by our enemies.
SK:
Stay in community with one another! This is probably the biggest lesson I've learned in the past year, and honestly in my entire experience with activism. If you're somewhat of an introvert like me, you may share my experience of often consuming a lot of information and news on my own and analyzing it and processing it all in my head. This was the case for me within the first week after October 7, 2023; I would spend hours on my phone and saw countless horrifying videos coming out of Gaza of buildings bombed and dead children and families on display on my phone screen. I tried to process all of this on my own in my typical introverted fashion, but another factor that pushed me to consume and process all of this on my own was that I didn't know who could hold space for this with me; I didn't know if anyone else felt the sorrow, the anger, and the multitude of other emotions I was feeling. It wasn't until a few days after October 7 when the PSC held a widely attended teach-in that I cried and broke down for the first time since October 7. This teach-in took place right after news broke of the bombing of Al-Nasser Hospital. As soon as I entered the event, another friend and activist came up to me and asked me how I was doing, and I broke down in their arms repeating "I can't believe they bombed the hospital" over and over again because I couldn't hold it together anymore, because I couldn't process the horrors I was seeing and because I couldn't imagine how people in Palestine were processing the horrors they were actually experiencing all around them. But that friend held me as I cried and kept saying "it's ok, we'll get through this."
9 months out since that cry and I wouldn't say I'm in a completely better place, as I still view equally horrifying videos and images on my phone coming out of Palestine daily, but being in community has made all the difference and has given me hope. Because after that cry, I listened to the stories and experiences and emotions of different Palestinian students and other students and community members at that teach-in, and I realized that I shared at least some of the emotions that they were feeling. Because since that cry, I've reached out to campus faith leaders and faculty and community members and shared with them how I was honestly feeling when they asked, and I found out that many of them shared at least some of the emotions that I was feeling. Because since that cry, I've made every effort I could to be in community with fellow friends and activists - among students, faculty, staff, community members, and really anyone else who wanted to hold space - by attending rallies, marches, artistic activities, and other solidarity events, but also especially through what some may consider "smaller" actions, such as long and passionate conversations with a few friends.
I didn't mean to go on this perhaps long-winded, personal spiel, but to anyone reading this, from the bottom of my heart, what I've realized is that my activism particularly over the last 9 months would never have been possible had it not been for my community, the community that held many overnight solidarity meetings, the community that drove around Vermont and New Hampshire to find and recollect every single one of our friends and mentors who were arrested on May 1, the community that has held me every time I've cried. I've learned that as activists, we are only as strong as the community behind and with us. I think an often-portrayed image of peak activism is of the sole character who leads the fight on their own, and while it's true that there are those among us who hold that strength, it makes you equally as strong as them to be with each other, to hold space for each other, to hold each other through the myriad of emotions we feel, and overall to be in community with each other. Each of us are fragile simply because we're human. Don't take that for granted; take care of each other. Be in community with each other, you'll never regret it.
SW:
This is what I wish I learned earlier. If you genuinely believe that our society is rotten and capitalism cannot be reformed, that isn't naive and shouldn’t be a nihilist position. There is a way forward, and that’s through revolution. What’s more, people have done it before, and we have the lessons of history and scientific socialism to help us apply marxism today and chart a path forward. If you’re feeling isolated by the lack of options presented at school by clubs, groups, classes, spaces, and/or career opportunities that only offer reformism, revisionism, electoralism, or co-opted version of what revolution is, don’t feel you have to be involved or settle for these paths — because there are other options. Additionally, after school, you don’t have to get a lucrative career or become a lawyer or other profressional or join an NGO or the government or go into academia just because you went to a good school that's made for lucrative career-getting — you can make decisions around the question of proletarian revolution. You also don’t have to wait until graduation to reach out to other organizations. Being in school is a great time to study both on your own and collectively and try to develop theoretically. However, (depending on what you focus on) most of what you learn in classes will not be very politically robust because there are a thousand threads that tie academia and the university to capitalist imperialism and the ruling class. This is especially true when topics around revolutions, social change, social oppressions, and anything ‘radical’ is involved — there is a real limit to what you can learn in classes, because the leaders of this system cannot and will not instruct people in how to overturn and move past it intentionally.
Also, try to have real political discussion and debate in your groups. Evaluate together why you are doing something and what the aims are and if that makes sense, and figure out what you are untied on accomplishing,
From that, criticize yourself and criticize others when mistakes are made and try to figure out why that’s happening so that you can change it.
Finally, these don’t have to be your few “activist years” or something like that. You can continue to struggle your whole life if you see the basis to do so — and honestly we should to strive for a better world. If any of this interests you or you want to talk about any of this please reach out to the author and we can get in contact!
Reach out to deborahyjung20@gmail.com to follow-up.
The Dartmouth Radical