“NO COMMENT” The Neutral Zone

“NO COMMENT” The Neutral Zone

AROUND THE GREEN

Will more restraint minimize controversy?

The faculty, President Sian Beilock, and the trustees have decided that College officials and professors should exercise “restraint” when thinking about making public statements or airing opinions—especially if their comments do not directly relate to Dartmouth’s academic mission.

“Only when institutional neutrality and restraint are embedded throughout American higher education will it be possible for campuses to become true havens of constructive dialogue and free inquiry,” Beilock wrote in The Wall Street

Journal last December as the policy was announced. “Faculty must embrace institutional neutrality for their academic departments and institutes as well.”

The new policy declares that “to provide space for diverse viewpoints to be raised and fully considered, Dartmouth should exercise general restraint in issuing institutional statements.” It goes on to state that “endorsement for a specific position or belief may deter community members who do not share that belief from expressing their skepticism or opposition. An institution committed to inquiry and open discourse should, therefore, issue institutional statements sparingly—typically when external events have a direct impact upon the relationship of the institution to its members.”

Professors and administrators can make their personal opinions public, but they’re now required to clarify that their opinions are not representative of Dartmouth overall. It's unclear how that rule might be enforced.

As many as 20 other universities have adopted similar policies since protests and free speech controversies roiled the nation’s college campuses last spring. At Dartmouth, government professor John Carey led the committee that recommended the new policy. Its charge: to “consider how and when Dartmouth should speak.” The group, assembled in May 2024, voted 6-1 in favor of restraint last fall. The committee’s full report, including a dissenting opinion by professor Peter Golder, is available online.

—The Editors

FROM THE ARCHIVES

“The Dick’s House web site boasts, ‘We have a vending machine offering commonly used over-the-counter medications. Among our current selections are Tylenol, Advil, Robitussin, Rolaids, throat lozenges, nasal decongestants, condoms, etc., at super low prices. Your College ID works JUST as well as cash!’ ”

-DARTMOUTH ALUMNI MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 1999

DARTMOUTH DIALOGUES 13

Guest speakers who participated in the program’s first year

DARTMOUTH DIALOGUES 8,700

Total attendance at those events