Dartmouth For Change
“Generally, Dartmouth has been open to change and willing to take on new challenges through the decades” - Jim Hutchinson '69
Wallace Event
The Wallace Event was a significant protest that Jim Hutchinson spoke about very passionately because it was a catalyst for change at Dartmouth College.
What exactly was the Wallace Event?
The Governor of Alabama was George Wallace, who was very much pro-segregation during this time. He was invited to Dartmouth to speak and answer questions from students. Black students at Dartmouth were well-aware of his views and decided to not allow Goverenor Wallace to feel comfortable on Dartmouth's campus because he was prejudiced. The Black students at Dartmouth including Jim Hutchinson, who was a prominent figure in the event, stood for what they believed in and disrupted the Governor's visit to campus.
“That was our goal was to raise the issues and to signal, to Americans, especially Black America that we just weren't happy to be a be students in the Ivy League and have that opportunity”
By standing up at the Wallace event, James and the other Black students wanted to show that they were not going to settle for just being at Dartmouth.