ALUMNI COUNCIL MEETS IN BOSTON
The Alumni Council assembled for its fall meeting at the University Club in Boston at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, October 26. The following members were present:
New England States
Dr. Edward H. Trowbridge '81 Lafayette R. Chamberlin '05 Maurice S. Sherman '94
Middle and Southern States
Randolph McNutt '71 George M. Morris '11 D. Basil O'Connor '12
Central States
Guy H. Abbott '02 Warren C. Agry '11 Henry McK. Haserot '10
Western States
Henry D. Thrall '06
Rocky Mountain and Pacific States
David J. Main '06 James A. Townsend '94
For the Faculty Craven Laycock '96
Elected by Class Secretaries
Laurence M. Symmes '08 William D. Parkinson '78 Natt W. Emerson 'OO
Members by Virtue of Official Relation to theAlumni
Eugene F. Clark '01 Joseph T. Gilman '05 Philip S. Marden '94
Elected by the Council
Wesley G. Carr '84 Clarence G. McDavitt 'OO Clarence C. Hills '05
Messrs. E. K. Woodworth '97 and T. W. Streeter '04, former members of the Council, were present at some time during the meeting.
Mr. C.B. Little '81 Nominated as AlumniTrustee
The first term of Mr. C.B. Little '81 as alumni trustee having expired it devolved upon the Council to nominate his successor. A report was received from the Nominating Committee arid following the discussion a ballot was taken resulting in the nomination of Mr. Little to succeed himself.
A brief statement was made by the Secretary of the Council, relating the steps taken in conformity to the vote of the Alumni Association last June looking toward a study of the method of electing alumni trustees.
The Alumni Fund—Mr. McDavitt
Mr. McDavitt reported on the work of the Alumni Fund Committee during the past year. It was then moved and
Voted: That the Committee on the Alumni Fund be authorized to raise among the alumni for the year ending June 30, 1924, the sum of $80,000 for the purposes of the College.
Following this action there was considerable discussion of ways and means for raising the Fund and interesting an even larger proportion of the Dartmouth constituency.
Report on the Outing Club—Mr. Emerson
Mr. Emerson, representative of the Council on the Outing Club Council, then reported on the state of the Club. For the first year since its operation by the Club, Mooselauke Summit Camp has shown a profit. The undergraduate membership of the Club is larger than ever before, the only reduction being in alumni sustaining memberships. Mr. Emerson also reported the acquisition by the Club of a new tract of land in Warren, New Hampshire.
Committee on Alumni Projects
1. The Obligation of the College to its Alumni The question of the obligation of the College to its alumni and the opportunities of the alumni to draw inspiration from the College had been considered by this committee since the June meeting, the results of their study being presented by Mr. Parkinson. The action of the English Department of the College in sending out a book list to all the alumni was highly commended. The experience of other colleges, notably Amherst and Princeton, along similar lines was mentioned and full discussion developed. In consideration of the subject a letter from Charles H. Donahue '99 to President Hopkins bearing on this matter was read to the Council as follows:
"I recently received a book bulletin issued by the Department of English and wish to thank some one for it. First, I thank the compiler, although I am afraid I shall not read many of the books. I have a firm present intention to read them all but knowing myself as I do after so many years of rather intimate acquaintance, I have a suspicion that I shall keep on getting my culture from the Saturday Evening Post and the Boston Telegram and going to bed tired, as I have been accustomed to do. But it does me good just to have such a good intention even for a little while.
"Most of all I thank the man who conceived the thought of sending such a bulletin to the alumni. The old fashioned college limited its direct educational and cultural influence to four short years in the long lifetime of her sons, as if an education was comparable to a coat of everlasting paint instead of being a feeding process which is more or less wasted effort if the baby is allowed to die of starvation before he is even well weaned.
"The future college will, I think, seek more and more to continue to be a direct influence upon the inner growth of her progeny after graduation. Once in a great while I have even met a Dartmouth man who seemed a little to need such cultural impulse and quite often I run across one who I have felt would not be hurt by it.
"In the realm of sentiment the College is getting year by year to be a very real, salutary thing in the day by day lives of the alumni rather than a delightful but aged-growing memory. That this vivification of the College in the feelings of men shall grow even more intense is, I think, the task of the men themselves. But in the field of the intellect the initiative seems necessarily to rest upon the College.
"In my dreams I see a curriculum of Dartmouth operating beyond the confines of Hanover, necessarily involving correspondence but not a mere correspondence school. There will be, I see, definite courses of study in numerous subjects and conferences by mail or radio with perhaps short periods of intensive work at Hanover, and at any rate regular meetings of the teacher and the taught in various centers where the larger groups can gather. It will be the Dartmouth curriculum on wheels to be driven to the doors of that large majority of Dartmouth men who feel and say: 'lf I were going through college again I would study more.' My dreams are very practical. I realize that this would require money so I always take the precaution to dream that I am immensely rich and extraordinarily generous, and before waking up I always endow the project very liberally.
"So I welcome this step of the Department of English in the direction of the ideal and thank the man who took it."
The following resolution was passed:
Resolved: That the Alumni Council express its appreciation of the services rendered by the English Department of the College in preparing and distributing to the alumni the excellent suggestion list of reading. The Council commends this list to the attention of all alumni, and recognizes in it another forward step in promoting that closer co-operation between the College and its graduate body which has made such progress at Dartmouth. Be it further
Resolved: That we suggest to the administration of the College that a copy of this resolution, a copy also of the letter of Mr. Donahue '99 relating to' this matter, and an outline of such other similar services as the College is prepared to offer, be enclosed to every alumnus with the ballot for Alumni Trustee.
2. Proposal That a Statue be Erected toEleazar Wheelock
At the June meeting report was made of a proposal by Mr. John B. Lawrence '82 that a statue to Eleazar Wheelock be erected on the college grounds and a sub-committee of the Committee on Alumni Projects was appointed to confer with Mr. Lawrence. For this committee Mr. Marden reported interest in the idea and while deprecating an appeal to the alumni for funds at the present time expressed the hope that they would be forthcoming from some other source.
The Council was in general agreement with the report of the committee. It was moved and
Voted: That the report of the committee be accepted and placed on file.
3. Loan Funds
Discussion was then had on the general question of funds available for students operated either by alumni associations or other organization. It was moved and Voted: That the alumni associations be rerequested to report to the Council regarding loan funds which they may be operating or planning to inaugurate, with particular reference to the conditions and arrangements under which loans are made.
It was further moved and Voted: That a committee operating under the Committee on Alumni Projects be appointed by the president of the Council to investigate the situation with reference to loan funds designed to render assistance to undergraduates and report to' the Council at its June meeting.
Pursuant to the above vote the following committee was appointed.
C.G. McDavitt G.M. Morris L.R. Chamberlin
The Alumni Meeting in Chicago
Mr. Abbott in behalf of the Chicago representatives on the Council outlined the program and plans for the meeting in Chicago to be held on February 22 and 23. The resultant discussion evinced lively interest on the part of the members of the Council. It was moved and Voted: That the secretary of the Council write the various alumni associations and clubs urging attendance of at least one representative at the meeting.
Report From the Athletic Council
In behalf of the Athletic Council, Mr. Gilman presented a written report covering the athletic situation as it exists at present. Among the points discussed were the improvements in the Memorial Field, the necessity in the near future of an enclosed hockey rink and the improvement of the Trophy Room. The athletic history of the past year was also reviewed. The report concluded with a review of the present football situation, some of the financial problems encountered in the year's work, and the perennial questions raised by summer baseball.
The Undergraduate Point of View
Mr. W.H. Cowley '24 was then presented to the Council to report on the life of the College from the student viewpoint. His discussion covered the recent action of Palaeopitus, vigorously discouraging the use of liquor by undergraduates, the attitude toward scholarship, and the general morale of the College. An interesting feature of the report was the tabulation of motor cars owned by undergraduates, something over sixty having been listed, most of them second-hand Fords of a nominal value. The report was listened to with great interest and occasioned considerable discussion.
Report by Dean Laycock
As usual the report of the Hanover representative, Dean Laycock, was received with enthusiasm. The Dean devoted his time for the most part to some of the questions which had been raised by members of the Council on which more information was desired. He reported with reference to the liquor situation that, as had been evident from the report of the undergraduate, an excellent spirit prevailed in the College at large and that the desire was most evident on the part of the vast majority to preserve the good name of the College from any discredit that might come to it from an exceedingly small minority. He further reported the situation with regard to student ownership of automobiles as offering no present difficulties. An interesting tabulation of the distribution of the present freshman class was also presented. Discussion resulted on the Dean's report but no action was called for.
The Work of the Christian Association
The final subject for consideration of the afternoon session was a report on the work of the Christian Association by Paul G. Sanderson '21, graduate secretary of the Association. The variety of activities of this organization
Following a suggestion of the Alumni Fund Committee it was moved and Voted: That the Executive Secretary of the Alumni Fund Committee be invited to attend the meetings of the Council as well as all former members of the Council.
The meeting then adjourned until 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, October 27, 1923
The only subject reserved for the morning session was the address of President Hopkins and as usual this was an extremely stimulating and important feature of the meeting.
The subjects discussed were largely those on which members of the Council had expressed a desire for enlightenment. Unless some funds especially designated for the purpose were forthcoming the Council was told that a new bridge across the Connecticut River was not probably in the immediate future.
The attitude of the College towards the in the field of service and spiritual inspiration were ably presented to the members of the Council.
liquor question received considerable attention. The policy which the Administration has been following in the occasional case which arises of dealing severely with cases of individuals or organizations as they may be clearly proved but avoiding the use of special espionage and relying chiefly on public sentiment of the undergraduate body was fully outlined by the President. Following the discussion on this point it was moved and Voted: That the Council express its approval of the policy of the Administration with reference to the handling of the liquor situation in the College.
The President also dwelt at some length on the theory of the application of authority particularly as it concerned the opportunity to address undergraduates by advocates of theories or policies which might be considered by some to be undesirable or possibly subversive of good government. The President stated his belief that the best way to make even undesirable propaganda harmless was to give it a free hearing and the most certain way to make it dangerous was to try to obstruct such a presentation, and stated his unwillingness to decide arbitrarily what was desirable or undesirable.
The value of such an intimate discussion between the President and alumni representatives who have infrequent opportunities for contact with the College and knowledge of administrative policies cannot be overemphasized.
Following the address of President Hopkins it was moved and Voted: That the Council adjourn to meet in Hanover on Friday, June 14, 1924.
