THE COLLEGE
Everhthing that happened at Dartmouth this past month was blanketed by the big news that President Eisenhower would be present at the College's 184 th Commencement, June 14, to receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. The official White House confirmation on April 29 of what had been a local rumor for some time touched off a jubilant reaction in Hanover and stimulated The Dartmouth into putting out an extra. Since then, as preparations have gone forward for the big event, everyone seems to have been considerably sobered by the hundred and one details that must be worked out and by the general enormity of staging a Commencement that is guaranteed to hold the national spotlight.
One of the very first decisions was that the Bema, close to inadequate for a normal graduation program, would not be able to accommodate the thousands of persons who would want to attend this year. The exercises have therefore been shifted to the lawn in front of Baker Library, with plans calling for a canopied platform just in front of the main entrance and seats for approximately 10,000 persons covering the lawn and stretching back across Wentworth Street on to the campus.
President Eisenhower will not make an address at Dartmouth but is expected to speak informally to the graduating class after he has received his degree. The principal address at the exercises beginning Sunday morning at 11 will be given by Lester B. Pearson, Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs and President of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Other speakers will be President Dickey and John H. Sigler '53 of Indianapolis who will deliver the valedictory on behalf of the graduating class.
President Eisenhower will be in South Dakota just before Commencement and will fly to Hanover, arriving Saturday evening to be the house guest of President and Mrs. Dickey. The President's special plane, the Columbine, has already made three practice landings at the West Lebanon airport to be sure that it can land and take off safely. The President and his party, which will include Sherman Adams '20, his special assistant, will leave early Sunday afternoon for another engagement at Oyster Bay, N. Y.
A planeload of newspaper men will accompany President Eisenhower. This group of about forty will be housed in South Mass, fed in Thayer Hall and provided with a special press room in the Little Theatre in Robinson Hall. A special section at the Commencement exercises will be set aside for the press, which will no doubt be augmented by an influx of reporters, photographers and movie men.
Dartmouth has learned that the Secret Service has a lot to say about any public event involving the President. These efficient protectors of the nation's leader have already "cased the joint" and a half-dozen Secret Service men will be in Hanover throughout the week before Commencement, going over the plans in great detail and tackling the problem of security clearance ance in the cases of all those who will be in closest touch with the President during his visit. The New Hampshire State Police are cooperating and to help in handling the large crowd expected in town on June 14, Hanover's Chief Andy Ferguson will have a squad of some 75 uniformed men recruited from the police forces of several New Hampshire cities and towns.
If it rains on the morning of June 14, there will be great disappointment and a decided shift in plans. The exercises will then be held in Alumni Gymnasium; only 2200 seats will be available for seniors, faculty and some senior guests; and all others will gather in Webster Hall and Rollins Chapel to hear the program by means of amplifying systems.
