The Undergraduate Chair
Reviving Publications Lead the Way in Restoring College To Something Like Its Old Prewar Self; Green Key Elects
THE LAST THIRTY DAYS have seen the campus pull out of the doldrums and start back to its pre-war liveliness. We have been pessimistic for four months, worrying along like many others about the fate of the "old College we knew" and harboring thoughts of that type. Every day people commented on the fact that things would never be the same again; then bang, this month the lid blew off.
First, the Dartmouth Pictorial took over the front page of The Dartmouth to tell the collegiate world that once again it was to be graced by the presence of "Dartmouth's artistic publication." Starting out early in the semester they issued a call for all men interested in working on the editorial and business boards; nicely coloring the ad with the promise of glory and possible pecuniary compensation, and never bothering to add the slight afterthought that many a man has bitten the dust with extra-curricular activities. Somehow the zest was less when the meeting was held. The fifty eager heelers never materialized, but the small group that did show up is determined to get out the first postwar issue for Green Key weekend.
Not to be outdone by Pictorial, one week later Dartmouth's humor magazine, Jack-o-Lantern, also called out a competition. Apparently unaware of the difficulty Pictorial encountered in seeking heelers, the Jacko blissfully announced to the world, also via headlines in The Dartmouth,, that two issues would be forthcoming by commencement time. Four men who had worked on the publication before the war showed up, thereby giving them the advantage of one more experienced man than Pic could muster. They too have settled down to the serious business of selling enough advertising in Hanover, White River, Lebanon, at al, to make the magazine pay for itself. Within 48 hours after the first man approached a Hanover merchant for advertising, however, the Jack-o spokesman meekly announced that "due to conditions beyond control there will probably be only one issue of the 'best humor publication east of the Rockies.' " It appears that the town merchants are no longer as receptive to the appeals of the budding businessmen as before;
Still another organization important in college before the war has started work to get back to where it left off. The Dartmouth Broadcasting System, "with studios in 51 Robinson Hall," has planned a month-long period of testing with regular programs during May. At present they do not plan on resuming the full seven hours a day they were on the air before the war, but, starting with two hours a day, they plan to be back on full schedule by fall. During the one month of testing the directorate wants to find out what the favorite types of programs are among the undergraduates, when men will want to listen, and exactly how many listeners they can count on having at any given time. By conducting a series of surveys they hope to gain enough information to start agitating for national advertising. Most of the men who were in college in 1942 or so will probably remember the start of DBS and the many hours of pre-broadcasting work that Bill Mitchel put in. The present group of students have enthusiastic plans for the future. The new Hopkins War Memorial building will contain several large and modern studios for their use, and also the present plans are to be revised so that space will be provided for future installation of television. At present DBS is operating with one studio and one office on the third floor of Robinson. With Green Key Prom but a few days away they are trying to get all equipment ready so that they can present the opening program during the spring dance weekend.
A RECORD FOR EARLY OUTDOOR PRACTICE was established by the Green tennis squad when it took to the varsity courts on March 29, a date when the College is normally wondering when the snow will disappear.
