Letters to the Editor

Beware the Butler

TO THE EDITOR:

As the sole survivor of that delightful dinner party at the Ramsons', described in such acerbic detail by Bravig Imbs in your March issue, I feel constrained to add a personal note. The Ramsons were most hospitable people. It was an honor and a pleasure to be included in their invitations. They brought to the Hanover scene a colorful, cosmopolitan ambience. All my recollections of those "occasions" are pleasant.

The same cannot be said of Bravig Imbs, a clever but insensitive writer. At the time we encountered him we were living in a historic Hanover house lately adapted for two families Across the hall lived Nadia Schultz Rosenkranz, her distinguished mathematician husband, three lively children, and their German maid. We shared the one bathroom with them. Nadia's spirited piano playing gave us delight, and we were happy at times to serve as a coatroom when they entertained guests for a musical soiree, followed by Russian tea in their authentic samovar.

I assume that there was a real kitchen in their half-house. Ours consisted of a small cold room containing a sink with one tap - cold. On our three-burner oil stove (with detached oven) we had to heat all the water for dishes, the baby's bath, and laundry. The water had to be kept running on cold winter nights so as not to freeze. There were no doors between kitchen, study, and living room. Other odd features of this college-owned house (now renovated as a guest house after two moves) were no lock on the front door, no lock on our premises.

So, while my husband and I might be washing up the supper dishes preparatory to his evening short story class, Bravig would sneak into the living room without knocking and proceed to read our books or eavesdrop.

Ever since reading his "tour de force" I've made it a point not to become too friendly wish butlers.

TO THE EDITOR:

The excerpt from The Professor's Wife took me back to Memorial Day 1954, at an American military cemetery in France.

Located in the hills, high above St. Raphael and the beach on the Mediterranean, the town of Draguignan was host that day to represstatives of the American and French military an others, come to do honors to the some one thousand Americans buried there. Between the ceremonies and the vin d'honneur. more speeches and the luncheon to follow, I walked between the rows of markers. Somewhere along, toward the middle of the cemetery as I recall I came upon the grave of Bravig Imbs, O.W.I.I took a picture of the marker, but, unfortunately, no details of the text came out in the printing

Again, I was taken back to 1929 and Hanover. My brother, Gordon Kempton '29, was running Jeff Tesreau's filling station out on Lebanon Street, and I was working for him Both being local boys and knowing well all the principals in The Professor's Wife, we read that purple-covered book with great glee. Without researching the author, we concluded that the name simply had to be a pseudonym. That erroneous assumption was dispelled in Draguigan.

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

The Sexes

TO THE EDITOR:

The comments of Dwight Kingsbury Jr. on coeducation [February issue] make clear that "the only reason for opposing coeducation" is not "sheer reactionary sexism" - it is sheer reactionary sexism that dare not speak its name. Even if his simplistic notions about group identity happened to be true, I wonder what he would think of institutions that fostered such identity by excluding blacks or Jews or Native Americans (not to mention Wasps, or people who were named after their fathers). I trust he would consider them racist, although I wouldn't bet on it. Similarly, to exclude women for whatever high-toned reason is sexist, period.

The goal of any-institution ought to be to foster individual identity without prejudice, either to the society at large or to the individuals within the institution. (Generations of Dartmouth men, my generation among them, were crippled in their relationships with women by a weekender mentality in which the need for love vacillated wildly between lust and the pedestal.) At Oberlin, America's first coeducational college, the presence of women on campus has never led to an "obsession with contest sports"; the same has been true at U.C. Berkeley in recent years. The reason is simple - the identity of those colleges is forged in opposition to prevailing social injustice. And what happens when this injustice disappears is not something we have to worry about yet - certainly not while women are subjected to a quota system at Dartmouth.

New York, N.Y.

TO THE EDITOR:

I am writing concerning the article "Women and Admissions" in the March issue. The majority of the class of 1938, all classes preceding it, and a few later ones totally opposed admission of women to Dartmouth. Although I was not greatly in favor of the idea, I did not oppose it. (Perhaps because three sisters, wife, and daughter all went to college?)

However, it never occurred to me that there would ever be a decrease in the number of men being allowed admission to the College year. Living in Ann Arbor and closely following Michigan football, one becomes conversant with odds. I would have given twenty to one that the actual number of men entering Dartmouth wouldn't be decreased. I assumed there would be a gradual increase in the size of the College to gradually admit more women, if admissions were ever allowed. I find myself in complyagreement with the Alumni Council that there be a guaranteed minimum of men and a willingness to increase the size of the College to keep them.

I write this letter to point out two economic facts of life about the now adopted "All Deliberate Speed Ahead" policy of women admissions. I took no economics at College, but am of Scotch extraction on both sides. The Scots are just natural born economists. Economic fact number one you are probably already beginning to see; a majority of alumni prior to 1941 that are so disenchanted with admissions of women that they are reducing their giving. This new policy can turn this little brook into quite a river, a river of dollars not being given to Dartmouth.

Economic fact number two is the loss of future alumni giving to the College. It is a known fact of life that women alums do not (cannot?) give as generously as men do. The Ivy League men have always donated more generously than Ivy League women. Several allwomen colleges in recent years have closed, in a higher proportion, I believe, than in all the colleges that had to close in the same period.

Dartmouth is a very strong college financially. Perhaps you feel you don't really need the optimum gifts of the majority of the classes of 1941-42 and before. Perhaps we won't need the extra giving of the men you keep out in future years. But this letter is to warn you that there are a very large number of living alumni that are going to feel that an unwritten trust has been broken. In fact, they are going to feel betrayed.

I repeat, I never dreamed that admitting women to the College would ever be allowed to reduce the absolute number of men entering the College. For the two reasons given above, I think the College is going to gradually feel it in the form of decreased alumni giving; first on a relatively short-term basis, and then on a long-term basis. Maybe the College is financially strong enough so that it doesn't care. Very well; so be it, but please let us be forewarned. As Miss Goodwin, my Latin teacher at Newton High used to say, quoting Caesar, "To be forewarned is to be forearmed."

Ann Arbor, Mich.

(The Trustees have decided to admit 25 morewomen next year and up to 15 more insucceeding years, "depending on the quality ofthe applicant pool." Male enrollment will bereduced accordingly unless more students areadded through "balanced use" of the four terms. Ed.)

TO THE EDITOR:

Upon first reading Raymond J. McMahon's letter [March issue], I was outraged and incredulous. Being an alumni daughter, I have certainly been exposed to the conservative, anti-women-at-Dartmouth viewpoint, but never in such blatant terms as Mr. McMahon's. I am still angry and disgusted, but am also a little embarrassed.

That Mr. McMahon should care about Dartmouth's students only in the light of their athletic abilities is degrading, to both the women and the men. I hope he didn't develop his set of priorities during his years at Dartmouth. I should hate to think our school turned out alumni who believe that having a winning men's basketball team is so important that it should rule the admissions office, and thus the student body. Surely, Mr. McMahon, there are more important considerations to make first.

Houston, Texas

TO THE EDITOR:

Professor Carole Berger, in demanding immediate parity in admissions for men and women [March issue], feels she is "the victim of somebody else's nostalgia." Whether that is true or not, she is certainly the beneficiary of it.

Although it can be said that "nostalgia is not what it used to be," without it and the giving to the College over a span of 40 to 50 years which it inspires, there would be no Dartmouth College as we know it.

Ms. Berger rightly notes that it is the conservative alumnus who looks back on the Dartmouth experience with enough pleasure to stay active in "such vital areas as recruiting and fund raising." A moment's thought would show her that this backward look of approbation, respect for what we have, and appreciation of the past is what makes a person conservative.

Her more "progressive alumnus" (loaded words), impatient in an imperfect world, shrilly eager for instant change in response to every passing fad, unhappy with himself (loaded word), will never be the solid supporter so necessary to the College.

She hopes "Old Dartmouth" to pass and pass it will. Let us hope new Dartmouth is as loyal, as nostalgic, and as generous.

Kansas City, Mo.

Murphy vs. Rockefeller

TO THE EDITOR:

I am writing my first letter to take exception to your printing of Mr. Murphy's in the February issue. Mr. .Murphy is entitled to his opinion - which is diametrically opposed to mine - but these columns should be used only for expressions and comments concerning theCollege. What Mr. Murphy thinks of Nelson Rockefeller hardly falls into that category.

Incidentally, the revered Daniel Webster also pulled a few boners and managed to displease a lot of people!

As long as I am writing, may I suggest you select a date after which [letters about] the Indian symbol, cheers, songs, etc. will no longer be printed. While I deplore the decisions, they've been made after careful consideration.

Southbury, Conn.

Bridge Program

TO THE EDITOR:

In your column on "The College" [March issue] during your discussion of the Bridge Program, you state that "the faculty Black Caucus recommended that it (Summer Bridge) be dropped because "the per capita cost of the Bridge Program is considered exorbitant." The Black Caucus did not consider the cost of the program exorbitant; it was conscious of a general perception in the college community that 'that was a lot of money to spend on so few students.'

Earlier, the Committee on the Freshman Year had recommended the elimination of Summer Bridge essentially because it was felt not to be cost-effective. (Indeed, I understand that it had already been determined that las.) summer's Bridge Program was to be the last Seeing the writing on the wall, the Black Caucus felt it more important to salvage an academic support system for students who needed it, than to see it lost in an argument about Summer Bridge - the outcome of which seemed foregone.

The Caucus, having reached this conclusion, also opposed the revised version of the summer. program which the CFY proposed as part of their Intensive Academic Support Program It did this because the financial and other arrangements seemed to guarantee the program's failure. Further, it confused the issue - implying that Summer Bridge was still an option when the new proposal lacked almost all the attractive features of the first program, resembling it in name only.

If the Black Caucus had felt we could have retained the old Summer Bridge, we would have opted for it. As a matter of fact that option not even under consideration.

Hanover, N.H.

(Warner Traynham is dean of the Tucker Foundation and a member of the Black Caucus. Ed)

Provincial Bias

TO THE EDITOR:

"Down-East Argonaut" [March issue] presents a fascinating account of an interesting alumnus - with a provincial bias.

As a "pre-chic" ecologist, C. Eliot Winslow '31 surely must power his marine fleet with rubber bands, thus he may quite properly consign the "smoke and pollution" of petroleum production and refining to the "rest of us," wherever he isn't.

Should Mr. Winslow wish to add some facts to his store of banter, I would be pleased to guide him over the miles of clean, sandy Texas Gulf beaches, marred only by "paper cups, etc. - thoughtlessly thrown" (by tourists, of course, eh, C. Eliot?), pointing out refineries and producing oil and gas wells, both on land and offshore. He would need neither a gas mask nor special optical equipment, just an open mind.

Houston, Texas

Slez

TO THE EDITOR:

Re: your article on William Ellis Slesnick [March issue]. "The Slez" was more intimidating, more brilliant, and more lovable than virtually any other teacher on the campus. I feared making an error in his presence not because of possible retribution, but rather for fear he would think that I didn't care enough to learn. I never worked harder for a C-minus in my life than I did for Bill Slesnick. I only wish I could have known him, or that I might know him still, as well as I imagined that he knew me the first day of class when I walked in five minutes late and his voice boomed, calmly, "Mr. Talmadge, the lecture starts at eight; that's eight in the morning, not in the evening!"

Houston, Texas

TO THE EDITOR:

If it isn't true that Professor Slesnick knows the name of every student at Dartmouth, please explain why he stopped my brother Andy (Princeton '80) in front of Baker Library and referred to him by name - when Andy was only a high school senior visiting Dartmouth as a prospective freshman.

Cambridge, Mass.

Warm Compliment

TO THE EDITOR:

"Gray Is Beautiful" by Elizabeth Cronin '77 is outstanding among a number of fine recent contributions to the Undergraduate Chair.

The clinic where I work serves a large number of low-income old people. Daily I am made aware of the cruelties that are inflicted upon old people, not only by circumstance but also by the lack of understanding and caring by younger people. Also daily I am reminded how the elderly can blossom in response to a little concern and support. It is one of the continuing rewards of my practice.

I warmly compliment Ms. Cronin on her sensitivity and empathy and, as she faces her own old age, her courage. The content of her article speaks well for the quality of today's undergraduate body. I am gratified that my son (Class of '80) is being exposed to a perceptivity that often seemed to be lacking when I was an undergraduate.

Santa Fe, N.M.

The Cover

TO THE EDITOR:

During the past year Dartmouth alumni have been subjected to various hues on the ALUMNI MAGAZINE cover, ranging from brown to purple to blue to black with an occasional green thrown in. Since, from time immemorial and by tradition, green has been Dartmouth's accepted and symbolic color, is there any reason why there has to be this deviation in the color of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE covers? If your reason is for change, change just for the sake of change is not valid. You have now, unfortunately, added to the relegation to the scrap heap the discarding of the Indian Symbol and the outlawing, by the Glee Club, of one of Dartmouth's traditional songs, Eleazar Wheelock. Is this planned obsolescence?

As a Vermonter by heritage, and proud of the colorful beauty of that independent-minded and thinking state, I believe the ALUMNI MAGAZINE had an opportunity, if it so wished, to have an aesthetically beautiful picture in green, on the cover of the March issue. I have many times seen the view from the end of the covered bridge in Tunbridge, Vermont, and despite the fact that it is March, with its symbolism, the cover would have been far more pleasing and stimulating were it in green rather than black and white. Here was the missed opportunity to Go Green.

Dartmouth is for green.

Longmeadow, Mass.

TO THE EDITOR:

The photograph on the cover of the March issue is superb.

Washington, D.C.

TO THE EDITOR:

The lovely photograph of Tunbridge, Vermont, on the cover of the March issue was impressive. It filled me with longing for that blessed land where life is less frenetic and the sound of rushing streams is more important than the closing price of General Motors. Dartmouth freshmen - the Tunbridge World's Fair - ah! how sweet it was!

But wait! All is not right. A discordant feeling assails me. I look again and read that "... this is the way late March looks to the denizens of the North Country." That's it, of course. There is the guilty phrase, and I suspect that some caption writer there is who doesn't love or know the truth.

I look at the photo once more and see luxuriant grasses and hedgerows growing alongside the dirt road. Buildings are framed by huge trees resplendent with masses of leaves. Not a bare bough in sight. This is late March in the North Country? North Georgia, perhaps, but Vermont? - never!

I await your red-faced explanation.

Branford, Conn.

Red and secretly green all over. Ed.)

Watch It, Mr. Furman

TO THE EDITOR:

Regarding the statement made by Walter F. Furman, Secretary, Class of 1908, in the March issue: Mr. Furman closed the first paragraph of his class notes with the statement: "It confirmed my opinion that hockey is a much more interesting and exciting game than basketball." He was referring to the Dartmouth-Yale hockey game which ended in a 5-5 tie. I would like to respond to Mr. Furman. First, before Mr. Furman goes around making statements like that, I suggest that he review the Dartmouth-Yale basketball game at Thompson Arena this year. We were trailing 56-49 with 90 seconds left when Larry Cubas lit up the team and led us to a 59-58 victory, with the last basket swishing through with no seconds left on the clock. As Jack DeGange remarked in this same issue, "... as dramatic as any you'll see anywhere."

Second, as a native of North Carolina, I must suggest that you observe a few basketball games in the Tar Heel country, and inform you that North Carolina is probably the only state ever to have three teams make the quarter-finals in the NCAA and come very close to placing the same three teams in the semi-finals (I guess it's a slow year, we only got two in). Even though I now hail from California, I will not mention UCLA, since this is an off year for them. Finally, regarding the Yale-Dartmouth hockey game and the home basketball game, I find the one that we won, not tied, to be more interesting.

Hanover, N.H.

(Van Venable is a basketball cheerleader. Ed.)

The Symbol (cont.)

TO THE EDITOR:

In explaining in part the abandonment of the Indian insignia you refer to the "tasteless misuse" of the symbol as observed by the Alumni Council [January issue]. This seems a not particularly cogent reason for the action. The Christian cross, the American flag, and quite possibly the Star of David have been debased and abused. But they still persist as great and effective symbols. When will the College educate the Indians about the meaning and purpose of the symbol? It still is the symbol until it is replaced. You will not be able to replace it with any comparably effective and useful one.

Meanwhile, we have robbed the College of a measure of its uniqueness. The Indian symbol carries a record of history, local and multinational. It has great and stirring associations. For the time being it is lost, maligned, hidden, apologized for, resented by the few but alive and respected by most. When will we show the cool objectivity of our beloved and respected president, John Kemeny? Give us a detached opinion, Prexy, one independent of campus attitude and bias!

Concord, Mass.

("Nell Moorhead" is the name given to acharacter in The Professor's Wife by the lateBravig Imbs '27. Mrs. Moorhead lives by another name north of Hanover and describeherself as the "corresponding secretary of theSouth Landaff Philosophical Society, a highlyintellectual body." Ed.)