Cutter Triumph: A Thinking Man's Cabaret
THE aroma of rich-roasted coffee drifted through the crowded room, among the closely packed tables illuminated only by the light of thirty red candles thrust casually into empty wine bottles and the glow of an open fireplace. Laughter and the clatter of conversation suddenly ebbed as a pin-point spotlight flicked on, revealing a sincere, shaggy-haired guy perched on a four-legged stool caressing a guitar. He began to strum and he began to sing - "Walkin wit my baby down beside da San Francisco bay-ay."
It could have been a Greenwich Village coffee house or, perhaps, a Boston bistro, but the sophisticated "modern" entertainment took place in the Cutter Cabaret, a new experiment in student entertainment. At 3 a.m. on the Sunday of Carnival, after the spots had been turned-off, the second show performers had drifted to bed and the candles waxed low, scores of students and their dates remained, sipping the now tepid coffee, and wondering where they could go now on a campus that closes every night.
The Cabaret, one of many recent innovations at Cutter Hall, was held in the Cutter lounge, scene of countless political, philosophical, and civil rights discussions in the past, whose weathered, simulated red-leather couches and extensive book shelves, choked with protest magazines and art literature, had previously been almost the exclusive domain of the 66 Cutter residents and their invited guests.
"We felt the Cabaret would attract many people to Cutter who, under other circumstances, would shun our programs," explained William Jacoby '66, the dormitory's chairman. Judging from the more than 150 paid admissions, which enabled Cutter to realize a $5O profit, the lure of the coffee house was stronger than expected.
But the principal reason for the Cabaret was not to expose Cutter, but rather, as Jacoby puts it, "to perform an important social function. Having a coffee house," he says, "is a symptomatic outgrowth of the fact that the College, perhaps against its will and even unconsciously, is becoming more cosmopolitan. We should strive for a diversity of viewpoint not only in academic areas but in tastes and preferences of all kinds. The coffee house provides this diversity, but still doesn't go as far as we could."
Cabarets of various varieties have existed in the Hanover area on a commercial basis in the past, but all met with financial collapse within a relatively short period of time. The Cutter Cabaret, privileged with the use of a dormitory lounge without rent obligations, could capitalize on the spreading popularity of folk and blues singing to make expenses.
The Carnival Cabaret was better attended than the first experimental evening held in late January, and plans call for similar shows in early March and on three weekends in the spring term.
Jacoby's Cabaret constitutes just one small phase of the total Cutter program. The emphasis of the dormitory, in which members are selected on a competitive basis according to their potential ability to contribute constructively to the "experiment in living," changes annually with each new chairman.
This year, according to Jacoby, Cutter aspires to be each of four things: (1) an international community of students (20 per cent are foreign born), (2) a meeting ground for faculty and students on an informal basis, (3) a stimulator of controversy and discussion on campus on any issue, something Jacoby believes is all too frequently absent, and (4) an extracurricular activity to which its members can contribute as much as they choose.
A major innovation this year has been the Cutter Conferences. A fall meeting, sponsored in conjunction with the College Lecture Series and the Tucker Council, dealt with "Self vs. Society," with noted authorities considering how the individual reconciles his desire for personal fulfillment with social responsibility. This spring a discussion of "The Meaning of a Liberal Arts Education" is scheduled by Cutter.
One of the chief points to which the Cutter program addresses itself is the formality and rigidity existing between faculty and students. In an attempt to make professors feel comfortably at home and always welcome at Cutter, weekly dinners, including potluck suppers at which each of ten faculty couples brings enough food for six, have proved popular. At least two speakers a week visit Cutter, often sojourning in its guest suite, breakfasting with its residents, and lecturing or debating in its lounge. U.S. Senator Thomas J. McIntyre '37 was one such guest recently.
To inform and invite students from all parts of campus to dorm activities, the Cutter Courant, a bi-monthly newsletter, has been instituted, which lists upcoming Cutter events and is distributed to undergraduates and faculty.
Jacoby, whose interests center on politics and social responsibility, is student chairman of the forthcoming Intercollegiate Conference on Community Development and the University, scheduled for Hopkins Center on April 1 and 2. When he is not stuffing candles into wine bottles and hiding back issues of The Nation in preparation for the Cabaret, Jacoby has been out rounding up an impressive list of speakers for the conference, including Saul Alinsky, James Forman, president of SNCC, and the Assistant Director of the Peace Corps.
"We hope to focus on community development as a crucial method of promoting peaceful social change in the world," Jacoby says, "and more particularly hoping to define some kind of action alternatives for students and the University in this field."
But the Cabaret has proved to be the most popular of Cutter's new activities. Praise came from many quarters, but the most heartening comment came in the form of a letter to The Dartmouth from a Carnival coed. "Standing out among the dim memories of beer, milk punch, warm brandy punch, and champagne is one particular event - the 'coffee house' at Cutter Hall on Saturday night. Rumors that Dartmouth men preferred to impress their dates with the routine beer brawls disappeared upon entering the 'Little Cabaret.' Entertainment, coffee, and conversation were excellent. Congratulations to the genius behind this idea. May such novel ideas continue to be the Dartmouth tradition!"
Jacoby took time out from politics and controversy to blush.
The slogan "Think Snow" worked wonders in January, but not so for Carnival.
