Hello, Hello
Back in April, the people downstairs in the Alumni Fund staged Dartmouth's first Student Telethon, so we decided to stay late at work one night to see how things were going.
Billed as having the dual purposes of raising money and creating greater communication between students and alumni, the Telethon was based in part on similar efforts at Princeton and several other small colleges. In the first Princeton telethon in 1975, 2,000 alumni were reached for total donations of $13,200. Projected totals for this first Dartmouth Student Telethon indicated that 250 alumni would be donating close to $8,000. Nearly 2,000 calls were made before the WATS lines were given rest, but many alumni were not home or were unsure as to how much they were going to pledge.
On the other hand, there were alumni who felt unable to donate to the College this year. Many cited graduate school loan repayments, new houses, newborn babies and other financial burdens as reasons to wait a few years before giving. Some were, quite simply, out of work and unable to Justify giving money to the College.
Others were more pointed in their refusals to pledge contributions: Dartmouth's stance on ROTC and coeducation drew criticism. One young alumnus professed lingering resentment over the way College administrators handled the Vietnam protests. An older alumnus merely reported that he didn't like the management.
Henry Eberhardt '61, of the Alumni Fund, was pleased with the operation. Calling it the "breath of fresh air" needed for the Alumni Fund program, he also applauded student-alumni conversations as having a soothing effect on those who were worried about the College. The Student Telethon, according to Eberhardt, was also beneficial because it was economical. The students called out on WATS lines already leased by the College, and $40 was plenty to lay up a good supply of refreshments.
Incentive for student participation was the offer of one free phone call per hour and a half of Telethon duty - a free phone call anywhere in the United States. One freshman woman was calling her family in London as we entered the offices.
Since it -looked like fun, we decided to give it the old college try. Most of the people on our list apparently were away for the evening, but a few did answer their phones. We seemed to hit a pocket of alumni still in graduate school, but most of them indicated that they wanted to help in the future.
After about 25 calls, we realized that we were better off sticking to observing - our score: one pledge for a total of $5. However, we talked with a bunch of interesting
people, and everyone seemed to enjoy the Telethon.
As we left Crosby Hall, we stopped at one of the phones to ask O'Neal Turner '77 why he was helping with the Telethon. His answer: "I'm going into the priesthood after graduation, and I think this is a good opportunity to contribute something to the Alumni Fund. I like the College, but one can't give a lot on the $250 a month I'll earn as a priest...."
Opposite: a sunny afternoon, an appealingcampus vista, and a student's thoughts turnor away from the Carpenter art library.
The June issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE will be addressed by a new computer labeling system. We anticipate no problems with the change-over, but if readers' copies are addressed incorrectly or fail to arrive, please notify us at 201 Crosby Hall, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755. Routine changes of address should be sent directly to the Alumni Records Office, Crosby Hall.
