Southern California

The enrollment committee of the Southern California Alumni Association went into high gear on March 8, when they hosted the applicants for the Class of 1956. The meeting was held at the Huntington Hotel under the watchful eye of Wes Hadden '41, assistant manager of the institution. Ordinarily, CapPalmer '23 would be on hand to give a well worded report of the event, but he has taken his agile pen and fertile mind back East to gather material for a new story. Therefore, I have again fallen heir to the reporting assignment.

Fortunately fate has come to my assistance in the personality of Phil Benjamin '26. Phil, a professor of English and head librarian of Allegheny College is spending his sabbatical in Southern California. He was asked to attend our meeting, because of his keen interest in enrollment activities. Phil was evidentally quite pleased with the affair and covered the event with a letter to Sid Hayward '26 and Al Dickerson '30. His report is so complete and enthusiastic that I have taken the liberty of quoting the letter, even at the risk of slight embarrassment:

"I've just returned from the luncheon of the Dartmouth Alumni Association of Southern California at the Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, and I'd like to tell you guys what a swell job they did. Thirty applicants for the Class of 56 were present, and 30 alumni. The buffet was great and the weather Hanoverian—it hailed!

"What makes a Dartmouth get-together just right always is its complete informality, its genuine friendliness, and the complete absence of any calculated effects. Obviously a lot of work had gone into getting this crowd together, but the whole affair moved along with real spontaneity. BobWilliams got the show on the road by alternating alumni and guests, and made a few remarks to open the informal part of the meeting. (He put in a good plug for '26, Sid; what with Gamble, Greeley and us two there, we could stem the tide of boos— spelled correctly.) Bill Adams introduced each prospective freshman; Hiestand gave a good, short talk; George Purvis really sold them on the advantages of going 3,000 miles east to college; and Murray Hawkins assured them that all the form #6s had been forwarded, and was ready to answer any further questions. Then we adjourned to a projection room where we saw "The First Week," and that is the best salesman of the lot! Gad, that does as much for an alumnus as a prospective freshman! "The alumni here can certainly generate a lot of Dartmouth spirit, and you can't be around LeonRothschild long without knowing how they do it! "It was a fine occasion, fellows; it sure wiped out the 3,000 miles for a couple of hours this afternoon."

Much credit for the success of the meeting goes to Bill Adams '34, who has worked hard and diligently on the organization of the enrollment committee. As evidence of the fact that his work is beginning to bear fruit, Al Dickerson's office reports that the number of applicants from Southern California has increased 68%.

Secretary, 218 No. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills, Calif.