LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Pluralism at Dartmouth

TO THE EDITOR:

Once I wrote the Dean of the Tucker Foundation to encourage him in his, what was then, new task. And though I have been frequently tempted to write you before, as to most other magazine editors whose products cross my path, the December issue is too good to pass up. Or sad, depending where you sit.

I thought your juxtaposing "Vanishing Absolutes" and "Our Battle to Reform Teacher Education" was excellent. Neither author nor you as editor may like my word juxtaposed, but this is what I feel they are. For the first article tells us that all of us Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, Agnostics, Atheists, and Oriental or Eastern Religionists should write off our absolutes, and here are the principles of how to act in this newly created world: "It's a pluralistic world, and a pluralistic college ... so cut of respect for life's complexity, so great now, and out of respect for the other fellow's absolute ... let us live with this 'only viable and fruitful alternative 'We hereby declare God ... without ever saying it ... to be unuseful, both yours and mine, and let us all go on from this point. Mutual respect, democratic equality, national trends have made absolutes unpopular. So let us proceed by ignoring them. I am a protectant, but see, I don't bring in my absolutes either. Go thou and do likewise."

This is what Dean Unsworth seems to say.

Then we turn the page and come to Mr. Braden's Reform Battle. He indicts some elements of American Education by alluding to de Tocqueville's worry, namely, that we Americans would confuse liberty with equality. Mr. Braden feels that the spirit of "I'm as good as Nancy" is evidence of this confusion, both in pupil and educationist.

I claim that Dean Unsworth's article is clear evidence of a similar confusion deep seated in Dartmouth College. Pluralism supposedly allows or encourages expression of all opinion ... but what it boils down to is that ultimates or absolutes are judged irrelevant by the large majority of administration and faculty. And hence, soon enough, by most students... .

I believe that Dartmouth likes pluralism of a certain type ... protestants who can leave their ultimates behind them when they lecture on ethics, catholics who are non-argumentative, not out trying to convert people. To me, this is not pluralism. It is, and was, anti-absolutism.

When the Reverend Mr. Wheelock came out into the wilderness all those years ago he came out to cry there, "Prepare the way of the Lord." But, when the Lord, His creation, law, redemption, and eternity are deemed irrelevant to ethical instruction and inspiration, let alone the unifying and dignifying principle for all understanding ... then it is no wonder that Dartmouth is taking a fond look at the mysticism or philosophy of the Orient. Just at the time that most Orientals have firmly concluded most of their inherited beliefs to be shackles and fruitless. Truly, what should be a garden of the Lord has become the wilderness again.

But, Mr. Braden took on the educationists of California. I surely hope that he, President Dickey, and the rest of the members of the Board can see some reform is further needed at Dartmouth, that some clear Chris- tian voices are needed to be heard once more. Let Dartmouth's pluralism be one of fact instead of one of name.

Hoping the best for Dartmouth and its many sons, I continue, Granite minded,

TEAM Mission, Korea

The Middle Ground

TO THE EDITOR :

When Professor Unsworth's talk on "Vanishing Absolutes" first appeared, I was impelled to comment. Now, a recent editorial in "Christianity Today" reminds me that some things should be said which have been left unsaid by those who have taken strong attitudes on both sides of the issue.

Those who would apply moral precepts with absolute authority, admitting of no exceptions, fall either into an area of spiritual smugness or else are constantly being embarrassed by the classical example of the thief who stole bread to find nourishment for his dying mother. Those who would deny all moral absolutes, as no longer suitable, are prone to fall into a relativism which can, and often does, lead to moral chaos. Is there a middle ground? I think there is.

The position taken by extremists on both sides of the issue is unrealistic. The absolutist who equates the fault of the thief in the classic example with the mugger who assaults and beats his victim, violates our sense of logic and outrages our concept of common decency. The relativists need only visit our traffic courts on any given morning to find that so lowly an offense as speeding must be pleaded to as either guilty or not guilty with no in between. The motorist who was speeding to get his pregnant wife to a hospital is just as guilty as the teenager who was speeding for "kicks." Frequently, however, the judge will, in mitigation of punishment but not of guilt, accept a plea of guilty with an explanation. On this simple point rests the answer to the entire problem.

Charity, tolerance, understanding, call it what you will, is still the key. Most of us try to live by the "rules." None of us seems quite able to make it, at least not all of the time and we tend to stumble and fall. When we do we hope for some understanding. When we get it, it helps both us and those who are able to offer it. But when, as Professor Unsworth's thesis seems to suggest, we are to be given a moral blank check in advance, we can hardly be blamed for becoming spendthrifts nor can we take much joy in stocking up our spiritual reserves.

To conclude with a homely illustration, I would rather align myself with those who make it an absolute practice always to buy their tickets before they board the bus, rather than hope with some others that they can pay their fare on board. Those who always wait until they are already on their journey may some day find themselves bumped off in a place where they would rather not be.

Orford, N.H.

"Delicious!"

TO THE EDITOR:

Congratulations to whoever wrote the masterful parody signed "Tom Marx '60" in the February letters column. In an issue heavy with Pedaguese and the New Jargon, what with the letters (and article) of those stung by Tom Braden's piece on "educa- tionists," the Marx letter accomplishes delightfully what satire is meant to do. Descanting upon Professor Unsworth's Vanishing Absolutes, it mixes the cliches of F. R. Leavis-type irony ("If I read Professor Unsworth correctly") with those of Newspeak ("At the same time it subsumes the negative and somewhat legalistic moral axioms of the Old Testament with the implied concept of the outer-directed man") and demonstrates better than a 5,000-word essay the smothering of thought by opaque, impermeable, 100%-synthetic Wrinkl-Shed language. I plan to reproduce on coated stock, suitable for framing, the magnificent paragraph that begins: "I suppose utilization of the service principle in this circumstance would involve vectoring the flow of consequences in some way to yield an optimum benefit-detriment quantum."

As long as the College turns out such witty and sensitive guardians of the delicate relation between thought and language she merits all our support. An optimum benefit-detriment quantum indeed! Delicious!

irvington-on-Hudson, N. Y.

A Passing Grade

TO THE EDITOR :

The writer was a drop-out (by request) at Princeton '13, Union '14, and at Dartmouth '15. Now 74, he is a happy nobody in a crossroads town seven miles from Disneyland.

In the retail toy field (ubi adsum) December is frantic, so thanks to M. Dan Smith for his critique of T. W. Braden's article which he brands as "illogical."

Mr. Braden is my neighbor (five minutes as the jet flies), but to an inert Rafferty-ite his image has been that of a part-time politician who stumbled into education as one of the better appointees of our weak-kneed Governor. (For the unknowing in the hinterlands — Max Rafferty is California's top elected school authority with whom Mr. Braden is at loggerheads, and by whom he is frequently sandbagged. To Mr. Braden's credit, he battles back and occasionally scores.)

A re-reading of Mr. Braden's four thousand words rates him —in my league — a passing grade on the subject of educationists (id est: a four-letter mind using six-syllable words to hide eight-cylinder vacuities). His grade would be higher were it not for the snorts at the tool subjects.

Is it all bad that a college student be able to read and enjoy so doing: be able to write legibly and communicate the gist of what he reads: be able to gauge the content of both what he reads and what he writes? If he must turn out a "publish or perish" intellectual (the world's prevalent liability), it may not preclude that his schooling has been, or that his citizenship is, or that his interest in politics will be something more than just a social experience.

Echoes from Rafferty suggest that in every field, all mentalities perform better with proper tools to work with. In the field of education, might the proper tools be writing (communication) — reading (information) — mathematics (evaluation)? To supplement these facile princeps spelling IS an expedient utility. Additional ground- work is emphasis on responsibilities and deprecate rights. Quality is a goal, equality is a starting point. Happiness is achievement accorded recognition. Adjustment is the recognition that accomplishment wins applause. Amen to Rafferty.

One truth learned from dealing with youth in the toy field stands firm and in- violate: To earn respect — you give respect. Eliminate the word "kids." If you speak of any age as "kids," you think of them as such. Think of them as such, you treat them as such. Treat them as such, they will evaluate as such. When do you start to give respect? Seven years before you expect it in return.

Gilbert & Sullivan stated Mr. Braden's conclusion much better than he did: "When everyone is somebody, then no one is anybody."

Brea, Calif.

"One of Our Finest Poets"

TO THE EDITOR:

In a magazine which affords prompt and prominent review space to the works of Mr. Corey Ford and Doctors Seuss and Elderkin one should probably not expect to find any very alert response to poetry unless it has been pretty heavily advertised in some form or another. I was disappointed but not surprised, therefore, to discover that William Bronk's second book, The World, TheWorld I ess (New Directions-San Francisco Review, 1964), had been ignored in your columns, just as his first book, Light andDark, had been when it appeared in 1956. I am writing this letter as a test. Though the DARTMOUTH ALUMNI MAGAZINE seems de- termined to protect its readers from poetry as much as it can, yet perhaps your letter columns are still open to those on the lunatic fringe who are interested in poetry and especially in the work of good Dartmouth poets.

Mr. Bronk is a very good poet. He catches beautifully those moments when a thoughtful mind concentrating its full powers understands. His poems are those moments; for instance, "A Bright Day In December":

So much, light in what we call the dark of the year, a flashing and glittering of light — it quivers, it flaps in our face like slaps of wind.

Should it surprise us, having known the holes of darkness in the longest days?

I have done

with promises (or say I have) of things to come: the all-light; the all-dark; something slow emerging; the slow (or fast) and final decay.

The thing we have to live with, the last thing, is it is all here, and was, and will be, is all there is. Nothing is coming but what is already here as this light, now, in the darkest time (and nothing here that ever needed to come) at once, too much for us and not enough.

Mr. Bronk is a true metaphysical poet. He has found the language and rhythm proper to a mind not afraid of the consequences of its own fully exercised authority. He makes thought beautiful. I hope this letter will persuade some of your readers to make themselves familiar with the work of one of our finest living Dartmouth poets.

Professor of English

Hanover, N. H.

Editor's Note: A belated review of Mr.Bronk's book will appear soon. An essentialfirst step for reviewing any book isknowledge of its existence, and in this caseword about The World, lie Worldless hadnot come to us from the author or publisher,or from any other source, for that matter.As for the attention the ALUMNI MAGAZINE gives to poetry, we refer to the many pagesdevoted to "Poetry at Dartmouth" in theMarch 1963 issue and to the fact that 12issues since the fall of 1962 have carriedreviews of poetry or of books about poetry.

Recruiting Plan Questioned

TO THE EDITOR:

The February issue contains an article by the sports editor, Ernie Roberts, requesting alumni support in recruiting potential ath- letes in order to bolster the sagging fortunes of the winter sports teams at Dartmouth.

The desirability of intercollegiate sports has been the subject of frequent and emotional discussions for the past several years at many universities. At Dartmouth, the continuance of an intercollegiate athletic program is supported by four reasons: (1) Sport provides disciplined, well-managed physical training for those students involved. (2) Success in competition with other schools generates an increase of school spirit among the student body. (3) Alumni financial support is felt to be related in some fashion to the number of victories achieved. (4) Victorious and hence well-known teams bring the Dartmouth name to people who would otherwise have no knowledge of it.

Mr. Roberts is interested in producing these victorious teams by, to use the words of Red Rolfe, "the seeking out of the top scholar-athlete for Dartmouth." It is my belief that the recruitment of these scholarathletes with alumni help is not only without value to the College but perhaps harmful as well. None of the reasons given for continuing intercollegiate sports is supported by Mr. Roberts' proposal. Obviously physical conditioning will continue without respect to a team's won-lost record. The apparent manifestations of school spirit are just that - manifestations of a spirit which is compounded in many different ways for each individual. I am certain that most alumni would agree that Dartmouth is so rich in opportunities, diversification and uniqueness that to base the Dartmouth spirit on the success of her teams is indeed a meager appraisal. By the same reasoning I find it hard to relate alumni financial support with the teams' record. If indeed there is some relation, it would appear to indicate a shallow appreciation of what Dartmouth stands for. The effect of winning teams on the general public cannot be denied. Many fine scholar-athletes have applied and been accepted at Dartmouth with the nucleus of their interest, at least initially, centering on the fact of Dartmouth's preeminence in a particular sport at that time.

Mr. Roberts indicates that he would like to entice more of these boys to submit their applications through an alumni recruiting system. I question the wisdom of un- balancing the types of applicant Dartmouth now has. Such an active recruitment system as he envisions would lessen the diversification of the types of students applying for admission. Even if the Admissions Office attempts to evaluate an applicant's extraacademic record without prejudice, the sheer number of scholar-athletes applying would seem to preclude a balanced mix of students being accepted. There is an indication, however, that the Admissions Office does in fact act prejudicially in respect to the scholarathlete. If that were not the case, Mr. Roberts' advocacy of recruitment would seem quite futile since only about one in six or seven of his candidates would gain admittance.

I am in agreement with the idea of active recruitment. But I don't feel an attempt should be made to go after scholar-athletes alone. We should go after and encourage every qualified student regardless of his extra-academic interests.

San Francisco, Calif.

"Friends of Track" Proposed

TO THE EDITOR:

I agree with the article by Ernie Roberts in the February issue. Why not ask the captains of the track teams of their era to form an organization with the members of their squads to act as "Friends of Dartmouth Track"? Similar to Eddie Jeremiah's set-up. Probably Ellie Noyes has not had the time to follow up qualified prospects, but I hope Seaver Peters can make use of this suggestion.

Pittsfield, Mass.

A Salute to Wrestling

TO THE EDITOR:

I recently read the article "Winter Sports Need Transfusion" by Sports Editor Ernie Roberts. It is true that winter sports have left much to be desired when one reviews the won-lost records and I concur with his observations. However, when he reviewed the records for the time period that the Class of '64 spent at Dartmouth, I noted with disappointment the omission of to wrestling team's record. It was during this precise time period that the wrestlers be gan establishing themselves as a winning team. „ ,

As a former wrestler, and a member of the Class of '64, I point with pride to the record established by the wrestlers of the last four years, especially the last three years when the Class of '64 was eligible for varsity competition. Reviewing this record I find:

Season Won Lost Tied 1961 2 6 0 1962 4 3 0 1963 5 1 2 1964 6 2 0 Totals 17 12 2

To paraphrase a song well known to all Dartmouth men: "We wear the Dartmouth green and that's enough." This, I feel, is reason enough to establish the wrestlers as a recognized team and representative of Dartmouth College.

The present record is a credit to the Dartmouth men who have competed in the sport and to a very hard-working coach, Whitey Burnham, who deserves recognition for the successes his teams have had in this winter sport (to say nothing of his success as a soccer and lacrosse coach).

This letter is written as a reminder that wrestling at Dartmouth has become a winning sport and that those who have been associated with it take pride in this fact.

Norwich, Vt.

Mr. Roberts' article did include mentionof wrestling's winning record but this wasone of the parts that had to be cut in orderto get the article into the space available.The editor is to blame, and is happy to havethe record filled in.

Graduates in Business

TO THE EDITOR

Addison Winship's rebuttal "Business Still Draws Its Share of Graduates" engaged my lively interest. Although students' decisions are for "teaching, foreign service or scientific research" — for which, let us rejoice — they do frequently turn nevertheless in the direction of business.

"It is unquestionably true," says Winship, "that many students have a deeper sense of purpose than students a generation ago." Praise be! But he is right, for in a renewed study of the Class of 1940, not far removed from his own class of '42, almost 60% of the graduates are prospering handsomely in the world of business.

However, when S. T. King wrote Dartmouth College 1880, Chronicles 50 YearsLater (1930) he found that the 64 graduates were classified as follows: 17 lawyers, 14 teachers, 11 businessmen, 7 physicians, 7 ministers, 4 engineers, 1 journalist, and 1 chemist. Two had died soon after graduation.

The present trend toward graduate study with an intensified interest in scientific research, the professions and the life intellec- tual proves how well the College is succeeding in its high purpose. Insofar as business attracts the intellectually gifted, willing candidates will continue to serve Mammon. Thanks to technological innovations, research and development, industry will continue to challenge the talent and training of graduates.

Professor of Psychology, Emeritus

Hanover, N. H.

Faculty Streak Broken

TO THE EDITOR:

Your mention of the Teacher-Scholar uniforms of our faculty basketball team was appreciated, but it should be reported that our winless streak, which was also cited, did not continue. We finished with four wins in thirteen games, and even achieved a certain statistical eminence:- art historian Robert McGrath led the league in shots taken.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Hanover, N. H.

"We Were There"

TO THE EDITOR

I have read with interest your review in the February 1965 ALUMNI MAGAZINE of A Dartmouth Chronicle. I would like to clear up one point that I am familiar with and that is the statement that you did not see the thousands of V-5 aviation cadets on campus during World War 11. We were there, however, but most people were not aware of our status. When we joined the Navy as aviation cadets (right out of high or prep school) we were transferred from our original status of V-5 cadets to V-12a and assigned to V-12 units in the various colleges for two semesters before going on to flight training.

During 1943 and 1944 at least half of the V-12 students at Dartmouth were actually V-12a (V-5 cadets) on campus for two semesters versus the regular V-12s who were assigned for four semesters before commissioning. To further complicate this situation, the V-12a (V-5) program was closed out in the summer of 1944 when the U. S. Navy found that the Japanese Air Force was ceasing to exist and the Japanese Naval Air Force and Navy were running out of carriers and pilots.

Those of us in the V-12a (V-5) program were then transferred to V-12 with our term in college extended from two semesters to four semesters before commissioning is deck officers.

I thought I would just amplify history a bit.

Lexington, Mass.

Snowshoes Again

TO THE EDITOR

John Thayer's "A New Breed of Chubber" in the February issue brought back fond memories to me when he wrote of the renaissance in snowshoeing.

How many of today's students ever witnessed a cross-country race on snowshoes, let alone participated in one? This was one of the events when the Winter Carnival first was born. To say the least, it taxed ones endurance and determination never to give up. My knee joints today attest to the rugged nature of the ordeal. The Class of 191 - can still point with pride to one who placed second the year I also ran, namely, Alvah S. Holway, now living in Chicago.

For tramping to woods in winter, nothing compares with snowshoes, but for racing — ugh!

West Hartford, Conn.