The Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Dartmouth College voted to censor College President Sian Leah Beilock during a meeting on May 20.
According to The Dartmouth, school faculty voted 183-163 to censor Beilock over her response to the pro-Hamas protest May 1, where she had called on police to dismantle students' pro-Hamas encampments on campus. The meeting was held in the Hanover Inn Grand Ballroom with 200-300 faculty members and 100 observers attending in person, and 80 faculty members attending via Zoom.
“After conversation with student protesters hoping to find a solution that avoided the need for police proved unsuccessful, I made the decision to ask the Hanover Police Department for help taking down the encampment,” Beilock wrote in a letter published by The Dartmouth.
During the anti-Israel protest, police arrested 89 students, two faculty members, and some community members. However, earlier in the day, officers from the school's Department of Safety and Security warned students who had set up tents on campus that they were violating college policy. By the end of the night, Safety and Security, Hanover Police, Lebanon Police, and New Hampshire state troopers flooded into the encampment to put an end to the students’ pro-Hamas demonstration.
Dartmouth's dean of faculty, Elizabeth Smith, opened up Monday's meeting by reflecting on her 14 years working at Dartmouth and the “escalating tension” on campus that had been allowed to balloon into the pro-Hamas encampment.
After Smith’s speech, Beilock briefly addressed the faculty.
“I stand here knowing many of you have turned against each other in this divided time,” Beilock said. “For that, I feel profound sadness.”
Beilock also said the disciplinary process for arrested students has ended. No student will face suspension or expulsion, and the administration is “working hard” to drop charges for individuals who were "inadvertently" arrested.
Christopher McEvitt, a religion professor, introduced the motion to censor Beilock. History professor Annelise Orleck seconded the motion. Both professors were arrested during the May 1 protest.
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During the meeting, each faculty member had the opportunity to give two-minute speeches either in favor or against the motion, or give commentary regarding the measure.
According to Jana Barnello, a college spokesperson, the remarks shared at the meeting demonstrated a divided faculty. Barnello wrote in an emailed statement to The Dartmouth that the faculty vote is a reflection of the world’s inexplicably divided feelings toward the war started by Hamas terrorists on October 7, and the school's concern about how to best keep Dartmouth’s community safe.
Classics professor Margaret Graver agreed with Barnello, stating the measure will only continue to divide the campus.
“Censuring the President will not bring anything good to Dartmouth,” Graver warned. “It will not bring closure.”
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