The Undergraduate Chair

Stock in Dartmouth College rose markedly over the last three quarters in heavy trading—ideas, wit, viewpoints, dreams. Tradition lost several points, but this decline was balanced by a rise in Nostalgia. The Hanover Exchange also showed a substantial rise in Innovation, Experimentation, and Self-Evaluation. Profits were up, and the President promised further gains in the coming year with a quarterfold increase in new stockholders. At the same time, he called for renewed dedication and support from long-term investors.

Looking back over the academic year about to end, these were some of the happenings that helped produce a bullish market:

At the end of September the upperclassmen returned to Hanover to see the football team crash UMass, the Woodrow Wilson Fellowships suspended, and the Aegis threatened with extinction. Two underclassmen organized a group of undergraduates to publish the yearbook. Surprisingly, none of the 815 freshmen wore beanies; for the first time none was sold. In its first edition, The Dartmouth ran a prophetic lead story: "The Class of 1975, perhaps the College's last as all-male, arrives this week with 150 women exchange students."

A week later the Committee on Year-Round Operation (CYRO) released its final report to the Dartmouth community. It called for a student body of 3000 men and 1000 women, matriculation of women in September 1972, and year-round operation of the College. The faculty later endorsed the CYRO report by a 3:1 margin, on the same day that the United Nations expelled Taiwan and admitted Communist China. President Kemeny called the CYRO plan "the most imaginative and flexible plan of operation for a college that I have seen." On November 17 a student poll revealed strong approval for coeducation and a split over year-round operation. Although pro-CYRO and anti-CYRO factions claimed victory, Dartmouth was probably the real winner because over 87 per cent of the student body cared enough to vote—a huge percentage compared with interest shown in other campus affairs. Eventually the Trustees approved the plan, and Ruth Adams, retiring president of Wellesley College, was named the new vice president for women's affairs.

On October 26, the bonfire for the Penn football game stood only 26 tiers high, without much help from the freshmen. Only ten of the 22 fraternities had met their goals of membership after rush. Pledge classes ranged down to a single "sinkee" in some cases. As the College Ombudsman began his second year in office, Hanover raised the real estate tax 6 per cent adding $30,000 to the College tax bill, and the American Association of University Professors reported that Dartmouth full professors receive the lowest salaries in the Ivy League. Although the Green beat Harvard in the last two seconds on a 46-yard field goal by Ted Perry, the Yale bonfire rose only a little higher than the one for Penn. The timber of a donated barn made the difference in height; however, it turned out that the eager bonfire-builders had torn down the wrong farmer's barn to use for the fire. In any case, Dartmouth beat the Elis in the final 53 seconds with another 40-yard field goal by Perry.

During October Senator George McGovern arrived in Hanover as the first in a parade of presidential hopefuls. In November, Congressman Paul McCloskey spoke to a large crowd at Spaulding Auditorium. Candidate Pat Paulsen campaigned in Hanover in January and was followed by Senator Vance Hartke and Congressman Allard K. Lowenstein, who spoke on behalf of his "Dump Nixon" movement. Both McGovern and McCloskey reappeared in February and ate dinner in Thayer Dining Hall with students. Hartke also turned up again as well as Mayor Sam Yorty of Los Angeles.

Dartmouth upset Cornell 24-14 to earn a tie for the Ivy League title on November 15. Not to be outdone, the basketball team defeated a Harvard team ranked in the top twenty in the nation in pre-season polls—sending the overflowing crowd in Alumni Gym into a frenzy. The students returned home for Christmas while Dartmouth received the best present of all. An anonymous donor gave $3,000,000 which will provide the bulk of the funds for a Physical Sciences Center to connect with remodeled Wilder and Steele Halls.

As the new year began, the Civil Liberties Union prepared to bring suit against the town of Hanover for refusing to allow Dartmouth students to register to vote. After the 26th amendment passed, giving 18-year-olds the right to vote, the federal court in Concord set a precedent for the rest of the nation by ruling that students would be allowed to register and vote in the towns where they attend school. By New Hampshire primary day, about ten per cent of the student body had registered in Hanover.

WDCR completed its "Let's Help" campaign at the start of winter quarter. Over $7500 was collected for the Grafton County Home for the Aged. The President announced that tuition would rise to $lO2O per term next year. Tuition per year has climbed from $2200 in 1968-69, to $2350 in 1969-70, to $2550 in 1970-71, to $2820 in 1971-72, to $3060 next year. On January 25, the Interfraternity Play Contest was cancelled due to lack of interest. Only Phi Tau entered the competition, and it eventually found it could not fulfill the commitment. The President announced higher board and room charges. Room 105 Dartmouth Hall also yielded to the push for economy. The balcony and ancient seating were renovated to provide more offices. The historic, multi-purpose room now holds 205 of its previous 784 seats.

From January through March TheDartmouth served as a forum for pro and anti-ROTC letters, anticipating the Trustees meeting in April. The Board was scheduled to vote on an Alumni Council resolution requesting the Trustees to "direct President Kemeny to appoint a committee to investigate the desirability of reinstating ROTC at Dartmouth." The debate over ROTC centralized on the question whether the program directly, or even symbolically, supported the war in Vietnam. Activity against the war had begun in October with a series of anti-war vigils in front of Hopkins Center. The weekly gatherings continued through the fall with a handful of people. On April 7 a group of 75 students held an orderly sit-in at Thayer Dining Hall to protest the presence of Marine recruiters on campus. Within a week a full-page petition, signed by 129 faculty members and students, appeared in The Dartmouth asking the Trustees not to reopen the ROTC question. On April 14 nearly 300 students and faculty listened to speeches and folk songs on the steps of Parkhurst Hall to protest against ROTC. Then 100 students and faculty entered the building and sat on the steps inside—keeping passageways clear for normal operations in Parkhurst. President Kemeny entered on his way to the Trustee meeting and was given a petition bearing 600 names. The group then left quietly. On April 15 the Trustees voted to defer study of the ROTC question until a "more appropriate time." Dartmouth students have since traveled to several state-wide, anti-war demonstrations during the spring term.

The crowds at the Winter Olympic Games saw three Dartmouth students compete in the Alpine and Nordic ski events: Dave Currier '74 and Steve Murphy '74 for the U. S. and Tom Reaper '74 for Canada. Even without their help, the Dartmouth ski team won the overall title at Winter Carnival. An Emerald City Castle snow-sculpture portrayed the "Wizard of Oz" theme. Meanwhile, another tradition passed away. The Dartmouth House—the system by which the College helps to find places for student dates—has almost faded into oblivion through lack of business.

In February the Native Americans at Dartmouth (NAD) sponsored a Native American Rights Conference to "help students keep abreast of what is going on nationally with respect to Native American Rights." The conference stemmed from the debate over Dartmouth's identity as an Indian school. In mid-November the NAD presented a list of grievances to the administration concerning the Indian symbol and Dartmouth's commitment to Native Americans. The Dartmouth supported their argument in an editorial: "The Indian symbol is, as the Native American statement said, 'a mythical creation of non-Indian culture that in no manner reflects the basic Indian philosophies'... We cannot expect Indian students to feel welcome in a community that degrades their race through mascots, caricatures, and symbols." The NAD requested an Indian Studies Center, abolition of the Indian mascot including cheers and symbols, and elimination of Indian references in College publications as well as products sold by area merchants. On January 4 a College committee formed to establish an Indian Studies Program. White Roots of Peace, a group of Native Americans, appeared in Hanover in April and gave a symposium on Indian culture and heritage.

While President Nixon visited Peking, Jonathan Mirsky, Associate Professor of History, prepared to leave for China with 19 other oriental scholars—at the request of the Chinese. At the same time, the athletic teams closed their season with a pile of victories. The wrestling team finished its dual-meet season with a 10-3 record, better than any previous squad in its history. The gymnasts took second place in the Ivy League championships at Princeton. Over the weekend of March 6, the basketball team beat Cornell and Columbia to finish 14-12; the hockey team outlasted Princeton in overtime to end at 13-10-1; the swimming team upset defending league-champion Pennsylvania, 58-55, and defeated Yale for the first time.

Early in the winter term, a small group of students and faculty formed the Dartmouth Committee for Intellectual Alternatives because "outside speakers brought to the campus tend to represent a spectrum of opinion all the way from Sen. George McGovern to Rep. Paul McCloskey." In late February they sponsored a debate between liberal Congressman Michael Harrington (D. Mass.) and William A. Rusher, publisher of the National Review. On April 5 students filled Webster Hall to hear William F. Buckley Jr. describe the state of the Conservative Right.

Two weeks later, the 20 fraternities held a formal spring rush for freshmen for the first time since the 1920's. Most houses had great success as 440 students joined, compared with 349 in the fall. Pi Lambda Phi and Phi Sigma Psi face the possibility of closing down next year. Green Key conducted elections for class officers and the College Committee on Standing and Conduct. Only 35 per cent of eligible students voted.

On May 4, the College cancelled regular classes to hold a symposium entitled "The Greening of Dartmouth." The day was devoted to a consideration of the values and meanings of the educational process at Dartmouth. The symposium included an address by President Kemeny in the morning, twenty different seminars dealing with specific aspects of a Dartmouth education, and a general panel discussion in the evening.

Are the new dreams better than, or even different from, the old? Is the present more productive than the past?

Perhaps one may smile with just a hint of smugness to think that applications to Dartmouth rose by 27 per cent over last year—highest in the Ivies.

Dartmouth teamwork in the 25th annual Woodsmen's Weekend held in Hanoverthe weekend of May 12-13. William Smith College finished first, Dartmouth fifth.