Fully Developed

Perhaps in deference to Dartmouth's intellectual temper, the Nugget recently presented the movie Pumping Iron. The distributor of the film did it up big, bringing in not only a bodybuilder to pose after the movie, but the star of the film, Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well. Arnold did no posing, but he did talk with the audience. A crew from CBS's "60 Minutes" was there to film Arnold for a segment, and the authors of the book Pumping Iron also were on hand. After the movie and the posing, there was a champagne-and-strawberries reception in Alumni Hall.

Assistant English Professor Sam Pickering, a friend of the authors, was there, and he and several others later dined with Arnold. Pickering claims that Arnold was quick-witted and articulate, and not at all what he had expected of a bodybuilder. Indeed, Arnold convinced Pickering that bodybuilding is indeed an art. Pickering likes to draw an analogy: "Just as the English professor develops his bibliography, the bodybuilder spends long hours developing his biceps. A well-developed deltoid is the equivalent of three scholarly articles, while a fully developed thigh must be worth a small book. The analogy could be continued, but why don't we stop this conversation before it becomes embarrassing."