THE COLLEGE

WHEN the monthly review of College affairs was introduced in this form a few years back, we were writing about Dartmouth's 181st academic year. October opening sections, in all-too-rapid sequence, have begun with remarks on the 182nd, 183rd, 184th and 185th academic years; and although a fresh approach is a welcome thing, there still is no escaping the fact that the top news at this point is that Dartmouth has just made a successful running start on its 186th year.

Before the usual packed house in Webster Hall, President Dickey on the morning of September 22 conducted the opening exercises and addressed the undergraduates on the subject of "The Liberating Arts." Maybe the numerical strength of an especially full enrollment, with a freshman class of near-record size, had something to do with the air of optimism and well-being with which the College launched its 186th year, but it is another important and inescapable fact that the College this fall is taking up its work with something more than the lift that always comes from new blood, new ventures, new challenges, and a fresh beginning.