Letters to the Editor

"All for Spectatorship"

TO THE EDITOR:

In his letter in the July issue W. H. Ferry '32 invites comment on what he considers the "apathy and non-engagement" of Dartmouth students in the issues of the day.

This crotchety alumnus, for one, is delighted to hear that Dartmouth students aren't picketing the Administration Building, going limp on Main Street, or making protest marches in Mississippi and Alabama. If they show more poise and emotional balance than their contemporaries at some other colleges and universities, it's a real tribute to the selective process, College policy and the Hanover atmosphere.

At the same time, I doubt very much that Dartmouth students are indifferent to what is going on in the world. The first order of business, I'm sure, is what it's always been: to pass Math 3, to make the cut on the basketball squad, to latch onto that honey-haired girl at Northampton before somebody else gets her. These were important matters during the thirties, too, when Ferry was in college and the world was in even sadder straits than today.

But in the quiet of a library study hour, the aftermath of a stimulating lecture, or a casually started bull session, the issues do arise. Students think, evaluate, observe, question, form judgments that will guide them for a lifetime. This isn't a very dramatic process; it doesn't make headlines. Yet I suspect it comes closer to the meaning of a liberal education than being carried off in a paddy wagon.

I'm all for spectatorship in college years. I applaud the two Florida-bound students who watched the Alabama demonstration but didn't take part, just as I applaud the sophomore quarterback who puts in his years on the bench before he tells Bob Blackman how to run the team. Their time will come soon enough.

Cannondale, Conn.

One Vote for Law and Order

TO THE EDITOR:

In W. H. Ferry's well-written letter in your July issue I received the impression that he is complaining because we do not seem to be having rioting, picketing, obscenity shouting and the like at Dartmouth.

Isn't that too bad! How backward can you get? As Mr. Ferry says, "Even Cornell has had demonstrations."

Since Mr. Ferry concludes his letter by expressing a wish to know "how Dartmouth stands," here is one emphatic vote on the side of law and order!

I am all in favor of the idealism and exuberance of youth, but certainly do not believe this includes destruction of property, obscene signs, lack of respect for law and order, and everyone a one-man State Department. I further think those Berkeley rioters should have been sent home with a letter to their parents saying it was done because they could not behave themselves.

I do not believe Dartmouth's lack of such activity indicates in any way any less concern in a troubled world, but merely that Dartmouth students seem better able to conduct themselves as mature, respectful and civilized people. For this I extend congratulations!

Pensacola, Fla.

Doing Its Job

TO THE EDITOR:

In order to answer properly W. H. Ferry '32 I find it necessary to go back to "Joe Miller's" first edition for my introduction.

"Little Willie came home from school with a note from his teacher to his mother which read, 'Little Willie needs a bath - I smell him.'

"Little Willie returned to school with a note from his mother to his teacher which read, 'Little Willie aint no rose - learn him - don't smell him!'"

I repeat this now with a different view of the story, because in retrospect Little Willie's mother hit the nail squarely on the head. The basic function of our educational institutions is to "learn him."

Almost equally important - a college should keep its M. O. up to date in all its phases. I claim that the fact that there has been no rhubarb in the shadows of Old Dartmouth is prima-facie evidence that our College has done just that!

Boston, Mass.

A Rockefeller Repercussion

TO THE EDITOR:

The enclosed* is sent just in case you sometimes feci that your published articles fall on fallow ground.

Rodman Rockefeller's lecture to the Great Issues course brought into focus the real reasons why a dropout type of corporate citizenship is not defensible on the lines of "policy."

My letter is yours for the printing if you like - for the alumni are involved in many "Syracuses."

In any event I thank you for the printing of Rodman Rockefeller. The result of this act just might extend beyond your subscription list.

Syracuse, N. Y.

A Rugger Remembered

TO THE EDITOR:

Your April issue carried an outstanding article on the Dartmouth rugby "ambassadors." In this reader's eyes, a hearty well done has been earned by author Pringle, "Coach" Corey Ford, and all the present Club members. Their recent efforts have added another fine chapter to the tradition of rugby at Dartmouth.

In the listing of ruggers who were also All-Ivy football players, one important omission was noted. Dave Bathrick '58, who tuned up for his Dartmouth rugby days with a year of rugby in Germany, left Hanover with rugby credentials that equalled the following 1958 gridiron laurels: All-Ivy, Associated Press; Honorable Mention, AllEast, Associated Press; 2nd Team, All-New England, U.P.I.; All-Scholastic Ivy League Team.

Worthy of note, and sure to make an old rugger proud, is the recent election of Dave's brother, Dick Bathrick '66, as the Captain of the 1966 Club.

South Norwalk, Conn.

* Mr. Hosmer's enclosure was a copy ofhis letter to a large corporation urging itsfinancial support of a new museum to bebuilt in Syracuse.