LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

In Defense of "Well-Rounded"

TO THE EDITOR: Al Dickerson’s letter in the most recent issue of the Alumni Magazine disturbs me a great deal. The term “well-rounded” is the subject of scorn and the concept of the well-rounded man is rejected as meaningless.

I quite appreciate the fact that Al, during his tenure as Director of Admissions, must have been bombarded with pleas for special consideration of candidates on the ground of their being “well-rounded,” when doubtless their only claim to such distinction was excellent physical conformation (as well as fast and skillful muscular reflexes).

While any sound idea can degenerate into a cliche if a once descriptive term is used unthinkingly, I’d hate to see the idea of well-roundedness discarded summarily. Many of us use this term as a convenient bit of shorthand to denote real merit. I picture a “well-rounded youngster” as an emotionally stable, intellectually alert person who is a keen participator in the world around him. A normal kid, with the normal amount of steam, can and should participate in sports, in publications, in musical or dramatic ac- tivities, in student and church organizations and their government. He surely should not be denigrated if he shows outstanding abili- ties in such matters. If he doesn’t dig himself so deep into extracurricular activities as to make his absorption of intellectual skills im- possible, he can be, and probably is a valu- able member of his school community.

The vehemence of Al’s discourse suggests that Al’s thesis is: Since schools exist pri- marily for the acquisition of knowledge and the acquisition of tools of thought and com- munication, the only candidates who should be considered are those whose SAT’s, report cards, etc. reflect the highest order of ability to pass examinations. I believe we would shortchange Dartmouth and Dartmouth would shortchange the nation if that view- point were adopted. All too frequently, as we all know, the shark on exams can be a pretty poor citizen if he is so in love with the books that he scorns association with his fellows in other activities. Books of course reflect human experience and give the student the opportunity of enlarging his own experience (by proxy so to speak); but that sort of experience is, after all, a shadow of the substance of living in the world of affairs.

I hope that A 1 would not recommend or that Dartmouth policy would encourage turning our backs upon the well-rounded boy as I conceive him, that is: the youngster who has exhibited the capacity to participate effectively in the social cosmos in which he lives and who is sufficiently well balanced to appreciate the fact that the discipline of formal education can make him an even more effective member of that world whatever its dimensions are or may become.

Providence, R. I.

The New Emphasis on "Mater"

TO THE EDITOR; Before the flood of comment reaches you about the coming co-ed feature of Dart- mouth’s far-reaching program (which I heartily endorse for what that may be worth) I wish to send you my revamped version of the Dartmouth Alma Mater. We can now emphasize the “Mater,” of course.

I have always suspected that those long beautiful moonlight nights in the summer time were wasted in addition to precious study time, though how those two elements will be reconciled is not my middle-age problem.

Anyhow, the temptation was too strong to parody the song and so you have it for use or mis-use.

Best wishes for the noble launching.

Marblehead, Mass.

(See Gordon Smith’s letter to the editor just above his cartoon.)