The Undergraduate Chair
Undergraduate Editor, Reviewing "Unusual Year," Sees Gain Toward Student Unity Despite Postwar Confusion
As THIS ISSUE of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE goes to press, the undergraduate JL body has just completed its traditional welcome to the balmy breezes and welcoming warmth of spring—Green Key Weekend. But, as customary throughout the year, the weatherman had everybody guessing right up until Friday by refuting all predictions of pleasant picnics at Storrs Pond, swimming on the Pompanoosuc, and suitable climatic conditions for the appearance of the famed Lebanon Carnival, which so far has failed to show up. Except when the influx of girls from the White River station began to take place, the campus was still bare of its usual abundance of green leaves and robins, and presented instead a decidedly chilly atmosphere, with heavy flight jackets and alpaca coats flapping in the rainy northeaster which had been blowing down from Mt. Washington lor the previous two weeks.
The students refused, however, to let their spirits be dampened. Possibly knowing that good weather was coming, or simply not caring, they went all out in their preparations. Tanzis, Inc., with a renewed supply of beer barrels, was doing a volume business. The white buckskin shoes were back in the windows of the Co-op, Campion's and Serry's. And the "shaftograms" flooded into Western Union.
But by the time the first arrivals had parked their suitcases in the various fraternities, it was obvious that they had brought good weather along with their smiling faces and things got started right away.
In what was described as a "good weekend" by Dean Neidlinger, the 1100-odd females who invaded the village, augmented by the already present 300 G.I. wives, gave Hanover a coeducational appearance which had never been seen before. Social and athletic events were scheduled in profusion enough to swamp the most ambitious. From reports on all sides, the weekend end was an overwhelming success from the point of view of everybody's having a good time. And, after all. that is why Green Key Weekend is held. Green Key, Winter Carnival and Fall House Parties. Among student activities, these three events have been outstanding in the success which they have enjoyed in accomplishing what they set out to do have a good time.
But elsewhere the results have not been the same. Perhaps there is setting in some sort of postwar reaction comparable to that which took place after World War I. It certainly looks that way when we review the results of almost total student apathy toward class elections and the new student constitution, the general mediocrity of Dartmouth's athletic teams, with the exception of its outstanding hockey and swimming teams, and the almost completlack of undergraduate interest in extracurricular activities. This has not been Dartmouth's first big postwar year. Not by any means; although considerable progress has certainly been made in that direction. Last October, when College opened under the old two-semester program, optimism ran high about "getting back to normal," about having a big year, reviving the old traditions and spirit, and getting Dartmouth back to the pre-war days of the late 30's. But the results, in retrospect, haven't been what they might have.
In the first place, it was well nigh impossible. The overwhelming majority of veterans, older and more experienced, have a decidedly different attitude toward things. They are worried about the future, are in a terrible hurry to get through college and out into the world of jobs. They are skeptics, naturally, about everything they are told in the classroom and about the future in general. This in itself creates an atmosphere which, is difficult to analyze. Over half of the incoming class of 1950 were war veterans, indicating that this spirit may well last at Hanover for a few more years to come.
FOOTBALL SEASON A FACTOR
Perhaps the first noticeable thing which gave the student body a set-back, principally because it was so much in the limelight, was the disastrous football season. After getting off to such a beautiful start against Holy Cross and Syracuse, the team plunged to the bottom of the heap and was known among sports writers as "The Ivy League Doormat." The don't-care attitude of some of the players, obvious to many men on the campus, set the pattern for some ex-G.l.'s in their general attitude toward the College outside the classroom. Here the paradox is complete. The average marks are much higher than in prewar years and unprecedented among the married men.
Repeated calls went out to the undergraduates from The Dartmouth, Jacko, DBS, The Players, and most of the other student organizations; but, to a large extent, these calls went unheeded, despite the fact that it was the biggest student body ever assembled on Hanover Plain. The lack of interest had many people guessing until it was realized that the various restaurants, garages, book stores and clothingshops were swamped with applications from students who were looking for work which would in some way, either through meals or cash, augment their monthly G.I. pay checks. The focal point on things outside the classroom was material gain—something which would help in saving money,, or ease the leaning on family assistance. Extra-curricular activities did not help much in this way.
Then again, in the matter of class elections, there are now enrolled in College representatives from the classes of 1936 through 1950. Fourteen years of Dartmouth men enrolled and a definite amount of confusion going with it. Classmates have been forgotten during the three- and fouryear lapses, and many students have been and still are too intent on getting used to studying again, back into old grooves or out of college altogether, to care very much who is going to be president or secretary of the class.
But there have also been noteworthy attempts to improve the life and influence of the undergraduates. The revised student-government constitution has been im- proved and the first council session is to be held on May 19, following election of representatives. This represents five months of cross-campus bandying, and the new document, which had been approved by the student body last fall, will not be subjected to another student poll. As stated by Allen I. Bildner '47, chairman of the advisory committee appointed by President Dickey, "At present no channel exists through which students can air complaints or make constructive suggestions effectively, nor can we make decisions to meet our own particular problems. The Undergraduate Council will provide the necessary organization to meet these needs. The Administration has long expressed a desire for an undergraduate organization through which they could reach the student body as a whole and with whom they could confer. At the outset, this government must be based on the mutual faith and understanding existing between all 'Men of Dartmouth': students, the faculty and the Administration alike. But eventually we can envision an efficient, effective and powerful student government at Dartmouth College."
The student poll conducted by TheDartmouth on instructors and courses was the first major attempt at Dartmouth to have the undergraduate body voice an opinion on the merits and drawbacks o£ their subjects and instructors. The survey has been concluded, and although it hasn't met with approval, officially, from the administration, there was a better turnout for the poll itself than for other things during the year an expression of what the students are after in the way of improvement in their education.
It has been a rather unusual year. Perhaps it would be safe to say that the present student at Dartmouth is influenced by external affairs, what goes on at Lake Suecess, what goes on within the Halls of Congress, and that these events reflect his mood as much as what he is getting out of college. For certainly, as nationwide conditions have been improving slowly throughout the year, there seems also to be a better, more optimistic feeling here at Hanover. The student body is slowly becoming more conscious of itself as an entity, a whole union, regardless of the number of classes present.
UNDERGRADUATE EDITOR: Charles Clucas '44 of Stockbridge, Mass., who was first-string tackle last fall, ends his occupancy of the "Chair" this month.
