The Undergraduate Chair
Confusion and Uncertainties in the Hanover Scene Will Soon Be Resolved by Demands of Total War
WITH THIS ISSUE the editorship ofthe Undergraduate Chair istaken over by a capable and prominent senior, William C. S. Remsen ofGarden City, N. Y. His is a familiarDartmouth name—his father is Richard Remsen '12, and his uncle, Martin Remsen '14. Bill Remsen is aSenior Fellow and a member of Palaeopitus. He is enlisted in the NavyV-7 program and will go on activeduty upon graduation in December.ED.
WHEN WE HEARD President Hopkins' address to the College on opening day, some of us were fired with the tenseness and the seriousness of the import of his words. That we have a tremendous responsibility and a deep obligation to make these last months of college something that will contribute to make us "men of stature" and will enlarge our minds, there is no possible doubt.
Looking around the College today on its fourth semester opening since the outbreak of the war in September, 1939, there is some confusion. On the one hand, the College has done a great deal to speed up its curriculum and to bring in many new courses that can better prepare us for the military life that will soon be ours. Great strides have been made in this direction. It is a tribute to the sincerity and the adaptability of the liberal arts college.
However, there is another side to the issue which President Hopkins also mentioned in his convocation address and which has not received sufficient attention. Aside from the material things that the College has set up better to train the undergraduate, there is the question of the spirit and the morale involved. It is not enough to make available new channels by which we can become good soldiers and fighters, but a more underlying problem is the one of awareness to the significance and the far-reaching impact of the present titanic struggle. Only by showing this and by gaining full appreciation of it can we do our utmost to win this war. It has surely been brought home to us that unless we forget our own petty differences, we can never unite to win this, the most devastating war in history. This question has a very definite application to the College today. There are still those of us who seem to be asleep, who on the surface are making contributions but who can still enjoy the pleasures of self-indulgence and temporary escapes from the terrible reality of the situation that confronts us at this moment. It applies to a small percentage of the students as it does to some of the faculty who are teaching in the old, outmoded terms of "normalcy." Only a fundamental reawakening can alter the inevitable outcome of disaster should this paralyzing condition of mind persist.
174 TH YEAR GETS STARTED
But to get back to the picture of the College as it opens for the 174 th year, a new ..class of freshmen with the customary hats and usual greenness has arrived in town, and the first class of Navy men who were in training during the summer has departed. They left looking a great deal more military-like than they appeared on their arrival in early July. Bowing out with the fanfare of a full military parade which was viewed with approval by students, townspeople, and Navy wives, they leave a large gap to be filled. It doesn't seem to be right to us who were here this summer not to hear their marching orders and to see them lining up for marches to and from classes. But we understand replacements a second class of 1,000 are due in the immediate future. Our only regret in seeing the first group leave is that the intense training they underwent prevented them from mingling with the student body as much as all of us would have wished.
Some of the younger alumni may be interested to know that the Nugget which was closed for matinee performances all summer has resumed afternoon operations. The feature attractions in the way of entertainment in the last part of the summer were undoubtedly the jam sessions under the personal guidance of "Doc" Fielding '43 which were held every Friday evening in front of Robinson Hall and the Sunday night band concerts under the able leadership of Professor Longhurst.
It seemed to many of us that studying in Hanover during the summer was almost ideal, for the weather was excellent for the most part, and the prospect of fraternity baseball games every day with a swim at Storr's Pond on occasions was very attractive. Although the gasoline rationing held the student body within the confines of the town itself, it had its beneficial effects too because taking the College as a whole we were able to get a spirit of congenialty that is perhaps lacking under the normal condition of full enrollment. One houseparty on August 7 and many week-end dates nearly obliterated the memory of drives to Northampton and Boston, and the ten-day recess between semesters should have been ample relaxation after the examination period.
FRATERNITIES TO THE FORE AGAIN
That scourge that strikes most of the stu- dent body at this time every year, frater- nity rushing, has arrived again. We are for- tunate indeed that it lasts only three days this fall, but every one of us is prepared for the worst knowing full well that no matter how we come out of it we'll be relieved and grateful that it is finally qver.
Somehow, all this palls into insignifi- cance when we read about the events that are occurring elsewhere. Stalingrad, Dieppe, the Solomons are constantly on our minds and lips. The Indian question involving one o£ the fundamental principles for which we are fighting the war confuses us, and our own difficulties on the home front of production bottlenecks and Washing- ton red tape leave us wondering and puz- zled about the future. Glee Club singing, football games, and the serene peace of Hanover come into the picture, and many, but still too few, realize the opportunity that we most certainly do have to enjoy something so fine that one could not dare to put it into words. The companionship with true friends, the groping for ideas that comes with sincere curiosity, the ideal- ism of youth combine to give us what it most certainly must have given all of you alumni—a deep and abiding love for Dart- mouth.
The time for direct action and the end of the days of groping and delay has come. We at Dartmouth are resolved that when our time to serve does arrive we will be as fully prepared as possible. In the mean- time we can only work hard and hope that by gaining understanding and tolerance of others, by looking at the world about us with an open, unprejudiced mind, by show- ing a complete willingness to serve the na- tion now and after the war, we can arrive at a point where we can take our places in the fight to make this war a people's war in the full sense of the word. These are not empty platitudes but are the very corner- stones of our faith.
"DEAR LITTLE BUTTERCUP, SWEET LITTLE BUTTERCUP" The Navy show produced in Webster Hall August 29-30 was a highlight of the first eight weeks'session of the Naval Training School. The book and lyrics were written by student officers whoalso directed the show and capably filled all cast and chorus roles. Student Officer Bilder ofNew York City wrote the hit song "Take Me Down to the Sea" which may receive nationalacclaim when distributed in sheet music and record form. Above, Student Officer Coyle ofWashington brought down the house with a jazzed-up rendering of "Dear Little Buttercup," inwhich Buttercup impersonates a Navy dormitory chambermaid who performs with the Navyglee club in a crowded location—which was very crowded every morning in every Navy dorm.(Note Ens. Ray Wattles '42, second from right in the show's glee club chorus above.)
