Still Looking

The results of this year's fourth survey of student choices for a College symbol were released last month and to no one's great surprise the Indian won the popularity contest. Actually, the Indian was a hypothetical winner because of the way the questions were phrased.

The first question asked, "If you ALONE had the power to choose the College symbol, what would you choose?" Vox, the student polling organization, collected 1,683 ballots, which amounted to a response from 54 per cent of the students on campus, and counted 51 per cent of the votes as cast for the Indian.

The second question, "If you HAD to choose from the following what would you choose?" offered a list of alternatives culled from the results of previous polls. The choice not to choose — "I would rather keep the situation as it is rather than adopt one of the above symbols" — garnered the most votes; 21 per cent. Mad Dogs and Timberwolves — two distinct choices, not a song title — tied for second place with 19 per cent of the votes each. The Woodsmen only trapped 17 per cent of the votes; Big Green, 12 per cent; Northern Knights, eight and one half per cent; and Animals, two per cent.

The popularity of the Indian symbol has caused some problems for Vox chairman Steven Renick '78 and his. colleagues, for the Interclass Council Committee on the Symbol, and for the Student Advisory Committee's subcommittee on the symbol. Vox had all along been insisting that an alternative to the Indian symbol was being sought and had told the Native Americans at Dartmouth that the Indian would not be included as a choice on the survey. There were objections from other quarters, however, that the survey would not accurately sample student opinion if the Indian was excluded. Vox was apparently convinced and the Indian included because, according to Renick, "we felt at this point we should get a clearer view of how the student body feels about the whole issue." On the other hand a dean said that the Native Americans "don't need a poll to tell them that there are 2,000 people who use the Indian cheer."

As it stands now, Vox has the answer to a question it really didn't want to ask, student supporters of the Indian have a winner in a vote that really doesn't count, alumni supporters of the Indian have more ammunition, no choice is apparently more attractive to students than any one of the choices provided, Native Americans and friends opposed to the Indian caricature have more convincing to do, and the College has yet to find a symbol.