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Nicole Stent ’82

Nicole Stent, Class of 1982, applied early decision to Dartmouth. She had learned of the College at a recruiting event at her high school, the LaGuardia School of the Arts. Dartmouth was looking to diversify its student body, particularly in the arts division. Although many of her peers were going to conservatories after high school, Nicole felt that Dartmouth was the place for her. When she visited the campus, she was struck by Dartmouth’s beauty. As a sports and nature lover, Nicole felt at ease in Hanover. She believed that if the first weekend she spent visiting the College was any indication of what her time at Dartmouth could be like, she would love her four years.

When asked if she ever regretted her decision to attend Dartmouth, Nicole acknowledges that there were moments. At the end of her freshman year, her mother told her that she could transfer schools if she wanted. She was uncomfortable with the lack of diversity. As an artist from the Bronx, New York, Nicole felt out of place at times. The whites called her ethnic. The Blacks called her Bohemian. Her freshman year, there was a great deal of political activity on campus. She describes the activism that took place during the 1980s. While she is proud of the movement, she also expresses that she was disheartened when substantial change seemed impossible. As soon as student activists made progress, the term was over.

That was the first time that the Black students…we literally closed the school down. That was the Winter of Discontent. It was amazing. That was when people were fighting against apartheid. It started in the fall when they had the shanties, representing the apartheid and telling Dartmouth to divest. That was also the year that the Dartmouth Review started. That was also when the campus was beginning to recognize that the Indian symbol was inappropriate. The Native Americans were not happy. I believe we had a Black professor, Professor Cook, on the cover of the Alumni Magazine and I think alumni wrote in and they were like: why? So all of these things were culminating and fomenting.

The best thing that is wonderful about college and college students is that you can express your opinion. And we did. We had marches on solidarity. It really hit a point when they took down the shanties and people were angry and frustrated.* Blacks as well wanted to get more recognition. So I remember we met at the Afro- AAm. We were very, just upset, at all the things that were happening. I believe the Native American groups were there as well and some women at Dartmouth. We talked about what we could do to show the campus how important these issues were. The decision was to do something to the symbol of Dartmouth which was the ice sculpture. The ice sculpture was a panhandler. So we decided, and when I look back now I think about how brilliant it was…we decided to paint it. Not damage it. Paint it three colors: red, black, and white to show that we were equal parts of the campus. We did the next day. We marched out to the Green. Native Americans of Dartmouth came with their drums and women of Dartmouth also supported us. Frat boys were throwing snowballs at us and we painted the sculpture in a circle. It had one part black, one part red, and the other part was white. We read poetry. In fact, I read a poem. We had a drumming circle. It was all just to say, “We are equal parts”. We had a very active community. We had great spokespeople. We were doing plays. We were really involved. It became so intense that the school decided the next day to close the classes and have discussions about, you know, we didn’t call it diversity then…but to discuss the issues on campus. It was done at Webster Hall. They had discussions, lectures, and questions. It was great. It was really great in that sense. That continued through the winter. I was just a little disappointed I think at Dartmouth by my spring term. By the time you got really involved, the term was over. I think with that was striking me as odd. By the time you really got involved…The quarter semester system is great for calming down issues because you got finals.

As Nicole reflects on academics at Dartmouth, she thinks of the way in which she had to work hard and at a quick pace to do well. She realized just how hard she had been working when she began law school after she graduated. Nicole believes that professors made all the difference in her classroom experience. They could make her fall in love with a subject or hate it. When thinking about the support she received from administration, Nicole believes that Dartmouth failed her and her peers.

There wasn’t much contact between the administration…provost, deans…with the students. Many students knew how to interact with their teachers. I didn’t. That didn’t happen in my environment at school. We had a really supportive Black couple, the Nelsons. One was a dean and the other was a history teacher and the track coach. They were fantastic for us because they gave us a heads up. What to expect and what to plan. He didn’t get tenure so of course they left. And there was a gap. I didn’t know… I never really sat down with my major people. I knew what I had to do, but I didn’t sit down. No one reached out to me to do that. I think that was a failing of Dartmouth because a number of my friends didn’t experience that either. I had friends that had gotten thrown out of the school. They were top track in basketball and they were still top, but their grades fell. There was nobody there to say to them, “Okay, your grades are falling first semester. Look at it. Second semester…oh no this is not good. You can’t have two semesters because I think three or four, and you’re out.” No one did that. No one came in and talked to them.

Nicole’s daughter, Imani Graham, is a member of the Class of 2017. Imani’s father also attended Dartmouth. Initially, Nicole did not want Imani to go to Dartmouth because of her own experiences as an undergrad. She visited the College for the first time in 25 years when she brought Imani to Hanover for her freshman fall. After Imani’s first year, Nicole realized that her daughter’s world was bigger, broader, and better. Although her experiences were not all positive, Nicole believes that Dartmouth leaves its stamp on people.

You kind of don’t leave Dartmouth. You know, you get that… what is that song? Granite in your brain. And you fight.

 

*For more information about the destruction of pro-black displays and structural racism at Dartmouth visit:  Lest the Old Traditions Fail: A Critical Exploration of the History and Reality of Structural Racism at Dartmouth College