President Reviews Social Changes
IN striking departure from his convocation addresses of previous years, President Hopkins spoke informally and extemporaneously to the undergraduates of the College at the exercises opening Dartmouth's 168 th academic year on September 17. His straightforward talk, punctuated occasionally with a laugh-provoking story, dealt entirely with problems involving the relationships between the administration and the undergraduates, and was received with appreciation and deep interest by the student audience.
The fraternity controversy, the new curriculum, student dining facilities, and the health service inaugurated this fall were the major topics of President Hopkins' talk. One by one, the President reviewed the steps taken last spring and during the summer to put into effect some of the proposals made by the recent committees for the survey of social life and health protection among the undergraduates.
For the work of the Committee for the Survey of Social Life in Dartmouth College, President Hopkins had the highest praise. "I haven't read all the reports and all the surveys that have been made since the beginning of time," he said, "but I can truthfully say that I never knew a job to be more comprehensively done or more conscientiously developed or to be more complete in its final detail."
TALKS ABOUT LIFE TOGETHER
After pointing out the element of "ceremonial hokum" in the custom of delivering a convocation address having to do wholly with affairs outside the College, he declared that "in the present year we have so many problems, we have so many changes, we have so many opportunities, that I have chosen to speak much more informally and without any large array of notes, talking about some of the details of our life together."
Aside from the surprise announcement that work will begin at once on an upperclass dining hall to be ready for use next fall, greatest interest was shown in President Hopkins' remarks on the proposed abolition of national fraternities at Dartmouth. In defining the administration's attitude toward national fraternities and in reassuring the undergraduates that no precipitate action would be taken one way or the other, the President read a prepared statement as a precaution against misrepresentation or misquotation on this highly controversial subject. His statement in full follows:
"Perhaps the matter of College policy in regard to which there is the most widespread interest at the present time is the fraternity problem. Specifically, the question has been raised whether in the undergraduate social life affiliation with national fraternities is an asset to the College or a liability. For purposes of record, I should like to call attention at this time to the fact that demand for investigation of this question arose first among thoughtful groups of the undergraduates and after long discussion was eventually given expression through a request from Palaeopitus, speaking for the undergraduate body, that such a study of conditions be made.
"Two years ago, a committee was appointed made up of representatives of the undergraduates, of the official corps of the College, and of the alumni, and to this committee was delegated the responsibility of making a thorough investigation in regard to realities in the situation and of reporting as well upon the committee's opinion of what measures, if any, should be taken for the advantage of the College. Months of intensive effort were spent upon interviewing undergraduates, investigating conditions at other colleges, and discussing affairs at Dartmouth. Finally, the report was made in which the majority argued for an eventual dissolving of the ties which bound undergraduate chapters at Dartmouth to national fraternities, while a minority report was submitted arguing ior a retention of the present system with certain safeguards designed to improve and strengthen it.
"it has never at any time been the understanding of the Administration of the College—and I do not think that it was ever at any time the assumption of members of the committee—that the recommendations of the report were to be adopted without review and consideration on the part of the College authorities of the arguments pro and con and without the duration of sufficient time for undergraduate and alumni sentiment to clarify itself, entirely apart from the emotional reactions aroused on first consideration of the report. I refer to the question at this time to reassure those who have been fearful that precipitate action would be taken without due attention to a host of intangibles both in support of the report and in opposition to it. I make reference to the matter, however, . even more definitely because theventual decision which the Administration of the College must make will be so largely influenced by the attitude of undergraduates themselves, that is to say, the undergraduate body enrolled in the college at the present time.
"Dartmouth has been no more willing, in consideration of the problems of its undergraduate life, to adopt a policy of laissez-faire than it has been willing to adopt such an attitude in regard to its educational policy. Moreover, it constantly studies and restudies its organization in terms of qualified personnel and in terms of plant and of material facilities in order that these may be constantly adapted, where essential, to the changing needs of the individual man within the student body. I doubt if any thoughtful member or friend of the College would argue that this same process should not be applied periodically to examination of the social life of the undergraduate body. This implies no commitment to preconceived opinions as to whether the forms of this life should be changed or should not be. It ought, however, to be categorically stated that the Administration is not willing to accept the law of averages by which standards that are common denominators of undergraduate life in hundreds of institutions of higher education shall be necessarily assumed to be satisfactory standards for Dartmouth itself. The fact that Dartmouth is a privately endowed institution and is entirely free to determine its own policies without the pressures to which tax-supported institutions necessarily have to conform; the fact that in its number of applications for admission to college far in excess of what the College can accept for enrollment, Dartmouth has a choice of selection of its undergraduate body available to but a few of its sister institutions; and the fact that Dartmouth is possessed of an alumni body of many thousands particularly solicitous in regard to the welfare of the College and eager to support any measures for its development, place the College in an exceptional position and under the principles of noblesse oblige require exceptional results from it.
FRATERNITIES TO GET EVERY CHANCE
"If the interest and cooperation of the national fraternities, which have been most graciously offered to enhance the value of representation of these fraternities in the College, and if the interest and sense of responsibility of the undergraduate chapters, can make the contribution of these chapters to the welfare of the College significant to it and calculated to support its own objectives, obviously a Board of Trustees and an Administration responsible for the eventual decision would prefer to retain a system of organization of the undergraduate life which had become firmly established, had years of tradition behind it, and had possibilities for development of new values ahead of it. If, on the other hand, it should prove so difficult for organizations of the national fraternities to consider Dartmouth as an individual institution with its own individual needs and its own individual opportunities, rather than just simply as another one of several hundreds of colleges and universities, and if the undergraduate chapters should show the pres- ence of the national fraternities within the College to be incapable of being helpful in the realization of Dartmouth ideals, then the decision would have to be that an incompatibility existed so great as to make a divorce preferable to a continuance of existing conditions.
"That in brief,gentlemen, is the situation in regard to this discussion now going on among the national fraternities in regard to the College, that they shall understand the individuality of Dartmouth, that they shall have some comprehension of what are its particular needs and its opportunities, and that they shall aid the College Administration and the College supporters in enlargement of its purposes and advance ment of its standards, rather than saying that conditions here are as good as at some other place and that therefore we ought to be satisfied with them.
"The Administration has never at any time expressed an opinion pro or con in regard to what its eventual decision would be. The Administration is in no position at the present time to take an attitude or to make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees as to what its eventual decision should be. The attitude of the Administration is simply here, as at all other points, an attitude of solicitude for the best interests of the College and of willingness to wait to see what contribution to these best interests may be possible through the existing social organization of the undergraduate body."
In earlier reference to the curriculum changes which became effective with this year's entering class, President Hopkins spoke of the greater articulation of the College to the complex world outside. "We offer to the freshman class this year, and we shall offer to succeeding classes," he said, "not only the opportunity but the obligation to learn something about the background of the social problems which men must meet as they go into the complicated life of the present day. In this course which will be required of all men entering Dartmouth henceforth, the background will be pictured as definitely as it can be pictured, the circumstances which have created conditions of the present time will be described, and some analysis will be made of what our problems are and some diagnosis of them will be made, I think, on the basis of known facts connected with past history. Henceforth, it will not be possible for a man to go out holding the Dartmouth degree and knowing nothing whatever about the government of his country or the background which led perhaps even to the settlement of the country and certainly contributed to the development of its problems."
PRAISES NEW HEALTH PROGRAM
Turning to the problem of protecting undergraduate health, President Hopkins reviewed what had seemed to be ample provision in the past, but declared that consideration had to be given to the fact that the system did not work. "There has been devised and put into operation this year what I think is the most complete health service existent in any institution in the country," he s.tated. After touching briefly upon the free medical, surgical and hospital service available to every student enrolled in the College, he added that "the only weak point in the whole situation is the question whether or not, when a man begins to feel that he is out of condition, he will get at once into touch with those who can diagnose whether there is any thing serious involved or whether there is any attempt being made to conserve his health."
Coming to the Social Survey Committee's drastic criticism of eating conditions in Hanover, the President humorously referred to the "peculiar fact not only at Dartmouth but at other institutions of higher learning in the country of which I know that the minute a college or a university establishes a dining hall, it is assumed by the undergraduate body that that dining hall necessarily must be inferior to anything else in town."
Taking up the question seriously, he declared that it was one which had bothered the College for a considerable time as to what should be done. The complete renovation of Freshman Commons this summer and the installation of a new organization skilled in serving undergraduates were given as indications of the College's desire that palatability and attractiveness of environment should be added to healthful and economical food for the first-year class. "We have every reason to believe," President Hopkins said, "that the service to be offered to the freshmen from now on will be superior to anything that has been offered in the College before."
ANNOUNCES UPPERCLASS COMMONS
And the same thing will be done for the upperclassmen, President Hopkins disclosed. "The Trustees have authorized a building," he explained, "and we shall start directly upon this, to be ready a year from now, on the lot south of Massachusetts Row on Sanborn Lane. We are not going to attempt in this building to provide for the whole undergraduate body, because we know before we start that the whole undergraduate body would not want to utilize facilities of this sort if they were furnished. We are not going to try to enter into competition with the best eating places in the town, but we are going to provide in this structure two great dining halls, one on the cafeteria principle and one on the basis of table service, and two small dining halls, where the man who wants something quiet in the way of surroundings, who wants something attractive in the way of provisions, shall be able to come in and get an orderly and palatable meal. We understand perfectly that there will be complaint that we are entering into competition with the places in town and depriving them of necessary patronage, but under the normal laws of supply and demand, the clubs which will be affected will be the poorer clubs, and I am entirely frank in saying that it will be no loss to the community if some of them are deleted from our organization."
In the remainder of his talk President Hopkins discussed the tremendous growth during the past thirty years in the number of persons going to American colleges, against this background declared that the selection of students possible to Dartmouth is a reasonable basis for expecting somewhat superior results than can be obtained in an institution which has no such choice of selection, and finally addressed a few words to each of the four classes assembled in Webster Hall.
Of the freshmen President Hopkins asked that they try not to misunderstand or to misuse the new freedom which has come to them. "The College offers as large a freedom as a man will ever find in any relationships in life, and for most men a larger freedom," he said. "To the freshmen, therefore, I want to say—do not misunderstand this and do not misinterpret this in the beginning, and do not lose your chance before you come to any understanding of what it is all about."
The President then told the story of the young curate from the provinces who was invited to fill Spurgeon's London pulpit upon an important occasion. Resisting all advice, he mounted the rostrum, shoulders thrown back, confidence exuding from every pore. Gradually, it came over him what a great opportunity and responsibility faced him. Under the impact of this subconscious impression, his mind became disorganized, and he finally broke down completely and left the pulpit in shame and humiliation. Whereupon Mr. Spurgeon put his hand upon the boy's shoulder, and said, "My boy, if you had gone up as you came down, you would have come down as you went up."
URGES SOPHOMORES TO WORK
To the sophomores President Hopkins directed an exhortation that they defy all the laws of probability and be a good second-year class, while to the juniors, entering upon a particularly promising period of college life, he urged the seizing with avidity of the enlarged opportunities which have come to them.
"And to the seniors, always beloved, always dependable, and always responsible to a degree that makes the College administration and the College faculty always optimistic in regard to the future of the College, I would simply say—live up to the tradition and precedent which have been set by classes before you year after -year. There is no describing the accelerative qualities of the senior year, so far as the speed in passing goes."
In conclusion, President Hopkins quoted the short verse from Grantland Rice's poem, At the Season's End:
The dusk comes soon, whatever the game,The day is brief on the trail of fame.But we loaf along and we look ahead,Till the race is run and the dream is dead;Until far short of the winning score,We find that we come to bat no more.We curse our luck and we call it fate,The season ends—but the records wait.
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