No Tokens invites community to engage in “deliberative dialogue”

In an era of “talk-backs” and panel discussions surrounding issues that have plagued the Davidson College community, No Tokens is a safe space for students to engage in invigorating intellectual discussion.  No Tokens is a blog that aims to promote and provide scholarly discussion around minority issues, including but not limited to class, gender, and sexuality and their intersections with various racial and ethnic identities. No Tokens is meant to serve as a platform for members of the Davidson community to participate in “deliberative dialogue” defined as “the establishment of a framework for mutual understanding and a common purpose that transcends mere ideas and opinions (Scott London, www.scottlondon.com).”

The writing program at Davidson College supports No Tokens, and its Director, Professor Hillard, is the blog’s primary faculty advisor.  Currently, there are twelve Davidson student editors for the blog who are responsible for writing insightful and provocative pieces for the student body to digest and respond to.  Student editors’ blog posts will be reflective “idea babies” birthed of Davidson College experiences that may seem atypical to the majority of students; furthermore, it is No Tokens’ mission to uncover and illuminate these experiences in order to re-imagine Davidson’s perceptively utopic environment.

While No Tokens occupies server space and yields a web address (www.notokens.org), this organization is made up of passionate individuals who plan to unapologetically embody the issues they discuss and be a visible presence on campus.  Using their bodies and words as an intellectual battleground, the student editors urge readers and contributors of the blog to maintain the intellectual integrity of No Tokens by taking a deep breath and thinking before posting irrational responses blinded by emotional uneasiness.

That being said, the vitality of No Tokens hinges on community participation. Once a blog post has been uploaded, any member of the community has the authority to provide commentary that propels the discourse around the issue at hand.  No Tokens reserves the right to reject or delete any comment that might distract others or hinder the pioneering direction of the intellectual discourse.

While the editorial board would love to think of No Tokens as the panacea for minority issues, the reality is that much work still needs to be done.  No Tokens is a step in the positive direction towards making Davidson College a more inclusive environment and actualize the ideological diversity that the college claims to appreciate and recognize.

Follow No Tokens on twitter @_NoTokens, and we look forward to engaging in dialogue around these critical issues  with students, professors, and the greater Davidson community.