Mississippi Missing
The number of states represented in the Dartmouth student body this fall is just one short of a perfect 48. According to the geographical breakdown printed annually in the College Directory, only Mississippi is missing from the list. This record of national distribution is something Dartmouth can justifiably be proud of, but the same breakdown shows that a dozen states are just barely included, by virtue of having one, two or three men in the student body. The geographical realities make it futile to talk about perfect balance (New York and Massachusetts, with 1053 men be- tween them, outnumber the last 42 states in the Dartmouth list) but it is obvious that efforts to strengthen the national spread of the student body are not going to be im- peded by any lack of areas in which to work. Far from being self-creating or self- perpetuating, a national cross-section of American youth in any college is the result of constant work- on the part of both alumni and the official college. Outstand- ing as Dartmouth's record is with respect to students enrolled from all parts of the country, the directory breakdown can be used as evidence of weakness as well as of strength.
The matter of national balance in college admissions was made the subject of a special study and report by The HarvardCrimson last June. Comparative figures for the Class of 1954 at Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton and Yale were presented, and it is interesting to note that the Crimson survey placed Dartmouth first in gross number of applicants, in number of personal interviews conducted, and in the proportion of men drawn from the public schools. Dartmouth's percentage of scholarship men 23% compared with Princeton's 30%, Yale's 28% and Harvard's 24%—was lowest. The Crimson findings with regard to geographical distribution of the Classes of 1954 were of special interest and were as follows:
New England—Harvard 44.4%, Dartmouth 33.2%, Yale 28.4%, Princeton 7.1%. Middle Atlantic—Princeton 57.1%, Dartmouth 39.8%, Yale 35.9%, Harvard 26.3%. Middle West—Princeton 22.5%, Yale 18.9%, Dartmouth 16.0%, Harvard 14.0%. Far West—Yale 6.8%, Harvard 6.0%, Dartmouth 5.9%, Princeton 4.8%. South—Yale 8.1%, Princeton 6.4%, Harvard 6.0%, Dartmouth 2.9%. Foreign and Others—Harvard 3.3%, Dartmouth 2.2%, Princeton 2.1%, Yale 1-9%-
The Dartmouth freshmen who figured in the foregoing survey came from 37 different states, and exactly the same number of states are represented in this year's entering class, according to the November report of the Committee on Admission and the Freshman Year. The division between public and private school men is also exactly the same, 60% for the former and 40% for the latter. On this score, the report states that statistics continue to show almost identical academic performance at Dartmouth by these two groups.
Other facts about this year's recordbreaking freshman class of 760 men: the 436 schools represented are a new record; the average age at matriculation was 18 years 3 months; 575 members of the class are enrolled in the three Dartmouth ROTC units; in preparatory school, 92 men were class presidents, 55 student council presidents, 140 team captains, and 84 editors of student publications.
The Committee apparently doesn't take its statistical report too seriously. Sandwiched in between the sections on nonathletic and athletic honors is a paragraph on musical talent that deserves to be passed along in full: "Instrumentalists range from 29 clarinetists and 17 trumpeters down to one piccoloist and one oboist. Having been alerted by the Department of Music some time ago to be on the watch for bassoon players, we have triumphantly produced three of them in the Class of 1955 (only to learn that as a result the Council on Student Organizations is now being importuned to buy a new bassoon), along with two tuba players, one of whom is 'all- state.' "
THE FULL MEMBERSHIP OF THE DARTMOUTH BOARD OF TRUSTEES photographed at the annual fall meeting of the Board. Left to right, seated: Dr. John F. Gile '16 of Hanover, retired surgeon; John R. McLane '07, Manchester, N. H., attorney, who is senior member and clerk of the Board; President Dickey; Edward S French '06 of Boston, president of the Boston and Maine Railroad; and Sherman Adams '20, Governor of New Hampshire Standing: Dudley W. Orr '29 Concord N. H., attorney; Nelson A. Rockefeller '30 of New York, president of the International Basic Economy Corporation; Beardsley Ruml 15 of New York, economist and corporation executive; Sigurd S. Larmon '14 of New York, president of Young and Rubicam; Thomas B. Curtis '32, St. Louis attorney and U. S. Congressman from the 12th Missouri district; Harvey P. Hood '18 of Boston, president of H. P. Hood and Sons; and Lloyd D. Brace 25, president of First National Bank of Boston.
