|
Posted 09/24/01
September 24, 2001
Welcome faculty, students, administrators and community members. An especial welcome to the '05s, the newest members of our community! We are so glad to have you here at Dartmouth.
I want to begin with a story. I think it's one that many of you '05s can relate to, since it's about my own college application process. All throughout high school my Dad spoke about College as a time for change and growth, for learning how to live on one's own and getting prepared for the "real world." For him, a part of this growing experience was living far away from your parents, to be at College and not be able to come home every weekend. He thought that by going to school far away, I would get the full "College learning experience." But then one day during my senior year of high school my Dad came up to my room and said, "Molly, have you thought about Northwestern?" I live about 5 minutes from Northwestern. My dad had always talked about me going to college far away but then once the reality hit him that I would no longer be close by it no longer seemed so easy. And it isn't easy: College is a big change.
But I don't think College should be easy. The time that's often referred to as "the best four years of your life" is usually filled with challenges and triumphs; with both highs and lows. It's a place where you won't like or agree with everyone you meet, where you may sometimes wonder if you're in the right place or if you're doing the right thing. Whether your home is fifteen minutes or fifteen hours from Hanover, Dartmouth will challenge you to think and question who you are, what you believe, and what matters to you.
But this challenging, this questioning, is a good thing. For how do you grow as an individual if there's nothing pushing you in new directions, if you aren't challenged in your beliefs or ideas? Dartmouth is a community of people with strong ideas and opinions, a place where you should not always feel comfortable, a place where you should sometimes feel overwhelmed.
Who are the people who will sometimes help you feel overwhelmed? They are most likely sitting here right now. They are your roommates, your trippees, your teammates, your professors, your Deans, your friends. We are fortunate here to have a community large enough so that you are always meeting new people but small enough so that you will always be able to find those who you care about and who care about you. The phrase "Dartmouth Community" is used often here, and it has a special meaning. But communities cannot stay static. How can we keep the Dartmouth community a constantly vibrant one? How can we as individuals challenge each other and positively shape this community?
For though we exist as a larger community, we usually interact in smaller circles. Don't be afraid to look past the sometimes seemingly impenetrable boundaries that exist around you. Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions," and you may find that the most rewarding experiences here are those shared with people very different from yourself, people who help you "stretch your mind." Make an effort throughout your Dartmouth career to get to know people who you might not ordinarily know, and let them get to know you.
Look around at all the people here. Each individual brings something special; each individual impacts this community in his or her own way. How can we come together to learn from one another? How can we challenge each other in ways that we still respect peoples' freedom to disagree or act differently? Your actions and decisions will influence the lives of those around you. It is your decision as to how you want to shape this environment. This is a tremendous opportunity, but with this opportunity also comes responsibility.
I remember when I first visited Dartmouth in October of my senior year. I came with my Mom, and as we walked around campus I remember saying to her, "It seems as though Dartmouth has a filter around it that screens out everything bad." I had picked up that feeling after spending less than 24 hours here. Sometimes it's easy to forget that there's an outside world, that there are people and ideas outside Hanover. Or even that Dartmouth isn't perfect.
Because it is not. Most of the problems of the outside world do exist here. There are problems with alcohol abuse, with sexual assault. We do not always know how to disagree respectfully with each other. While Dartmouth may sometimes seem perfect, the only way to move forward in improving it is to remember and recognize that it can be improved.
The events of the past two weeks are an especially painful reminder that we are not removed from the rest of the world. Every individual here is or knows someone who is directly affected by what has happened, and we must come together to support those in need. While it is hard to grasp the full impact of the horrific events on September 11, we must keep moving. We must affect change as we are affected by what goes on outside Hanover. We play a part in a larger community outside this one.
We share a privilege that few people in this world do, and that is this opportunity called Dartmouth.
What will you do with this opportunity called Dartmouth? What will you do to positively make a difference here? H. Jackson Brown, Jr. once said, "Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did." Be bold and courageous here at Dartmouth. You have the power to shape your Dartmouth experience. Start thinking now about how you want to shape your Dartmouth career--and how your Dartmouth career will shape Dartmouth.
Thank you.
|
