UPDATE: Dartmouth student groups that threatened 'physical action' claim $30 million diversity commitment not enough

A collection of liberal student groups at Dartmouth College who vowed to take “physical action” if its demands were not met has released a statement saying that the $30 million the school has pledged to increase diversity on campus is not enough.

Earlier this month, the groups released a “Freedom Budget,” a list of over 70 demands related to an alleged lack of diversity and “systems of oppression” of “marginalized communities on this campus.” The groups gave the school until March 24 to respond or else face “physical action.”

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On March 6, President Phil Hanlon and Interim Provost Martin Wybourne released a statement attempting to appease the students by reminding them of the tens of millions they had pledged toward diversity before the threats and promising to “do more.”

Yesterday, the authors of the budget said in a campus-wide email that these efforts were not enough.

“We realize your message is unrelated because after a careful reading of your message we were not able to find points relevant to the Freedom Budget proposal,” the email stated.

“You have merely recounted already in-place initiatives without addressing our primary concerns.”

The email also criticized the school for the timing of its response:

“We are sure that you would never intentionally use a back-handed tactic to diminish public dialogue or response (such as responding to the Freedom Budget the day before finals and on the day The Dartmouth stops production for the term).”

The students finished the email by saying that Hanlon and Wybourne’s statement did not count as the response the group demanded before March 24.

“We eagerly await your real response in The Dartmouth and hope you have a wonderful break,” it stated.

The Dartmouth is the school’s official student newspaper.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter @kctimpf