An article titled “Should White Boys Still be Allowed to Talk?” by Leda Fisher ’19 has garnered criticism and praise from Dickinsonians and the broader public.

The column, in which Fisher critiqued “men, but especially white men,” for domineering class discussions, received a flood of comments from people outside of Dickinson College. The version of the column posted on The Dickinsonian’s website had received nearly 400 comments by print time and was shared by several conservative media outlets, including Breitbart and Fox News. 

Broadly, responses from Dickinsonians expressed support for Fisher, while outside correspondence was much more critical, sometimes hostile. Fisher’s column was picked up and shared with the general public mostly by right-wing media outlets, largely considered untrustworthy sources, as reported by Business Insider.

Emails sent to The Dickinsonian’s email like one from Jesse Henderson sent from an Indiana University email account were strongly opposed to the article. “It is articles such as these that reaffirm why so many people feel such disdain for the culture of academia and your indoctrination of today’s youth,” Henderson wrote. 

Opponents of Fisher’s article circulated a Change.org petition created by an outsider named “Ginger Jacoby” that called for Fisher’s expulsion. The petition was entitled “Expel Leda Fisher from Dickinson College” and had received 173 signatures, as of Feb. 12.

On campus, the story was different. Student reactions in general were supportive. The article “reinforced the things I know,” said Neah Straker ’20, who spoke at an open forum moderated by George Stroud, vice president for Student Life and dean of students. 

Stroud opened the event by addressing recent “troubling times” at Dickinson, specifically Ku Klux Klan recruitment flyers handed out in Carlisle last week, flyers referencing a “Hyena Pack” of sexual predators posted on cars near Dickinson last week, discriminatory posters attached to at least one minority student’s dorm room door and “strife internally with some articles that have come out.” 

The event was initially introduced and organized by Kenya Bullock ’19, but ultimately taken over by administration, according to a statement from Bullock read by Marina Butler ’19 at the forum. 

Students overwhelmingly expressed their discontent with administration’s reaction to Fisher’s article, and Dickinson’s environment in general. “It feels like you [addressing administrators] are so quick to support the people who have power,” said Janaiya Banks ’19. “It seems like we [students of color] don’t matter.” 

Neah Straker ’20 stated in an email after the event, “the article and Dickinson’s response to that article only affirmed what I knew. And that is that Dickinson has always been broken up into different communities. It’s never been just a “Dickinson community”.”

Straker said before choosing to come to Dickinson, she was looking for “spaces where I (black student) was represented. Those spaces or safe spaces are slowly doing dwindling at Dickinson.”

Several students questioned whether the financial donors were Dickinson administration’s primary concern over students. “Senior staff take time to reflect on how this school relies on full-tuition payers,” said Sara Nash ’19, and consider “facing that reality and not over-promising given what this business model is.”

“Is the institution going to do the right thing or the thing that brings in money?” asked Banks. 

President Margee Ensign opened the forum with a short statement. “We’re at a really challenging moment. I’m proud to lead an institution that says ‘we can be better,’” she said.

Almost every speaker, who were mostly students of color, said they felt the discussion was one they had heard before. 

John Adeniran ’19 said Dickinson needs to “organize and actually be change agents in our communities.” He said “don’t sit back and be cool about critiquing systems here [at this meeting] and then go back to your rooms and do nothing.”

 “These conversations need to be happening outside of this room,” said Ginnah Etah ’19. “Repeat the conversation.”

A student who spoke at the event raised concerns over their canceled Phonathon shifts. In an email to The Dickinsonian, Jessica Jones, vice president of college advancement, stated that Phonathon shifts on Sunday were canceled because of conversations surrounding Fisher’s op-ed. “Our main concern was for our student callers,” Jones said. 

Jones explained that the students are trained to answer a challenging call: “Students know that they do not need to engage in conversations that make them feel uncomfortable or that they are not equipped to handle.” 

Following Sunday’s event, Stroud sent an email to Dickinson students announcing an “Update on Campus Safety. 

According to the Feb. 12 email, security will be increased during the evening and nighttime hours. Stroud mentioned that “officers will be conducting patrols in campus buildings, especially in areas heavily used by students.” Stroud also mentioned the addition of another campus shuttle running every night. 

“We don’t want students harboring issues, we want to bring these forward,” said Neil Weissman, provost and dean of the college, who attended the Sunday forum. “It is useful for a good number of students to articulate pretty emphatically their thinking… The college certainly took what was said seriously.” 

“For us, for four years, this is our real world,” said Banks. “I’ve got to be an activist… a teacher… why can’t I just be a student?”