Modern-Day Ledyard

ANYONE who doubts that the Dartmouth character and traditions of old cannot stand up under pressure of the 3-3 calendar had better meet Peter Knight '62 of Cleveland.

We met him at ten o'clock on a Monday morning in April. He was a bit late and honestly apologetic. It seems that he and his canoemate of long standing, Jon Fairbanks '62 of Cleveland, had been canoeing on the river since dawn. Somehow - and this is a somehow readily understood - they got carried away with the flora and fauna of the Connecticut River spring morning and paddled too far. Their purpose on the river was not the enjoyment of the morning, although this was an extra dividend. They were getting into condition for the annual Ledyard Canoe Club race down the White River.

If one takes a quick look at the curriculum vitae of Peter Knight, it would seem that canoeing is a strange way for him to spend his valuable time. Pete is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, a Rufus Choate Scholar, a member of the Government Department's special honors program, and has a good-sized list of other academic distinctions. This record indicates that he might rush to the stacks of Baker Library in his spare hours instead of heading down to the river.

Pete Knight is of course not unique at Dartmouth. Yet he does represent the character of Dartmouth exceedingly well. And this is a thing, this character, that might well disappear in time. But today, as in the past, it is present in the person of Knight and many others like him.

Pete came to Dartmouth for the normal reasons. His father, Charles L. Knight, graduated with the Class of '32. Pete liked skiing and canoeing; his father liked Dartmouth. In the pre-college years, there developed, in Pete's mind, a character of Dartmouth. He matriculated and recently his younger brother, Christopher '65, joined him.

In order to partake of the Dartmouth traditions, Pete has been an avid canoeist. Recently he served as president of the Ledyard Canoe Club, as his father did before him. He has followed the river as Ledyard did, to the sea at Old Saybrook Point, Conn. As a matter of fact, Pete and his partner, Jon, now hold the record for the seven-portage, 218-mile trip - 34 hours.

But traditions broaden, change and expand. Dartmouth no longer is a microcosm, an island contained in itself. Pete's interest in international affairs, broadened on the Hanover campus, is now blossoming. During the summer and fall, he served abroad under an experimental Overseas Fellowship Program inaugurated by the College. He was assigned to the Cairo office of the American Friends of the Middle East and was able to visit Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and the Gaza Strip. He prepared reports on demographic problems and the student movement of the U.A.R. He was present in Damascus during the Syrian coup and for five days following it, as a representative of the United States National Student Association at a congress of Palestinian students.

Before his tour abroad and since his return to the campus, he has actively campaigned for more student interest and participation in politics and international affairs. He has become quite deeply involved in the work of the NSA, attending numerous conferences of that organization. And as a result of his efforts and those of his cohorts, these interests are building here at Dartmouth.

This is a well-rounded fellow. Pete Knight has taken of the best that Dartmouth has to offer and has given his best in return. His reward: next year he will go to Oxford on a Reynolds Scholarship. A mentally and physically rugged individual, he will be a splendid representative of Dartmouth both in England and later.

Pete Knight '62