Letters to the Editor

Professor Epperson

This week Professor James Epperson died. He was riding his bicycle and had a heart attack. Years back I was a student of his.

I started a foundation a year or two ago. It is undercapitalized and understaffed. In fact, if I lose my pen or my mind, the foundation folds. The foundation exists to commend those few who have contributed to the goodness, strength, and spirit of the world. Earlier this year Professor Epperson received the foundation's commendation.

It is always refreshing to see a professor enjoy hockey, to hear a hockey fan talk of Edmund Spenser and the Renaissance, and to know a good-humored professor and hockey fan who does what he thinks is right despite fraternal hoots. Professor Epperson was a wholesome man, with mind, body, spirit, and moral fiber in healthy measure.

Dear Professor Epperson, say hello to the Red Crosse Knight and Ben Jonson for me. I have not forgotten Spenser's poem's last line: "for short time an endlesse moniment." Farewell.

St. Paul, Minn.

[This letter was received shortly after ProfessorEpperson died on May 23. A full obituaryappeared in the June issue. Ed.]

Trustees

In the announcement of the candidates for alumni trustee, the man who eventually lost listed credentials including, among other things, service on the Dartmouth faculty and service in the U.S. Bureau of the Budget.

The man who eventually won was listed as a specialist in urology and a former U.S. Naval aviator. The statement also pointed out that he is a member of several tennis associations and the sponsor and manager of the Youth League Baseball Team, winner of championships in 1977, 1978, and 1979.

The loser listed as his first concern finding a way to make ends meet in the face of inflation.

In the statement prepared for the winner, the financial problems facing the College were not mentioned. The statement seemed to indicate that the winner was more concerned about Indian cheers.

Right now, I am ashamed to be a Dartmouth alumnus.

Hanover, N.H.

I was disappointed to see via U.P.I, dispatch that there may have been irregularities in presenting John Steel's candidacy for trustee of the College. I voted for Steel, not because of the names associated with him (I don't recall recognizing any, including his) but as a protest against the change in character of an institution which I had always loved.

I was frankly amazed that Steel had "won." It was not till after I had mailed my ballot and burned the information that I began to burn a little myself. There was something cavalier about it, as though it were a bit pushy to present an alternate candidate in the first place.

I have been proud of my association with Dartmouth and of the accomplishments associated with Dartmouth. I have become troubled by what appears to be the College's pursuit of progress, approval, and contemporary values and its seeming indifference to tradition, past values that mean a great deal to some. The trustees, faced with difficult decisions, seem to have favored tenets over values.

It may be that we're trying to tell the trustees something, something less easy to articulate than the desire to enroll women, the offense of the Indian symbol and the need for physical plant, yet something that gave character to Dartmouth, something we fear may be lost.

Cohasset, Mass.

The alumni balloting in the spring for the position on the Board of Trustees does not in any way represent a slap at the Alumni Council candidate, Raymond J. Rasenberger '49. Rather it is strong and conclusive evidence that a considerable percentage of the alumni (indeed, a majority) has been and continues to be greatly disturbed with the "administration" meaning the president, the Board of Trustees, and the Alumni Council. The fact that almost 60 per cent of those voting endorsed Steel's platform of more alumni participation in the affairs of the College and the return of their Indian symbol is incontrovertible evidence of this state of facts. The Board of Trustees' action in "investigating" the election rather than abiding by the decisive verdict perpetrates the callous disregard for the feelings of the alumni, which has become S.O.P.

Why doesn't the board swallow its pride, recognize Mr. Steel's election, restore the Indian to its proud place on the campus, and get on with more important business?

Query: Did the board purposely postpone its announcement of this "investigation" in the hope that the issue would "simmer down" in the summer months when the ALUMNI MAGAZINE is not printed?

Worcester, Mass.

[On August 16, following an investigation ofstatements accompanying the ballots, thetrustees elected John Steel to the board. Seepage 25. Ed.]

The actions of the trustees seem picayune to me. They appear like reprimanded brats.

Bradford, Vt.

Changes

Now that Dr. Kemeny's resignation is an announced fact, it is appropriate to comment on the qualities we could hope for in his successor. While Dr. Kemeny can be respected as an able technician and teacher of mathematics, I think he did the right thing to resign from the presidency.

I am not alone in my belief that we have experimented enough with overly permissive management, and I wholeheartedly agree with Ralph Sanborn '17 as expressed in the March issue that our new president should be a Dartmouth graduate with proved administrative skills and a point of view consistent with the traditions of Dartmouth, and be of a type as nearly as can be found of Ernest Martin Hopkins.

Most alumni are very happy that our efforts to get alumni support for the election of John F. Steel '54 to the Board of Trustees met with overwhelming success in the recent balloting. The fact that Mr. Steel was able to prevail over the nominee of the Alumni Council is prima facie evidence that the alumni want to see a change in policy in line with Mr. Steel's beliefs expressed as follows: 1) change in the administrative priorities; 2) respect for, and reinstatement of, what is valid in the traditions of Dartmouth; 3) much greater emphasis on leadership and character at both the administrative and undergraduate levels; 4) reestablishment of a strong alumni-undergraduate relationship so that the students may know of vital concern about them and the College as a whole; 5) periodic, professional objective survey of alumni, student, and faculty and administrative opinion on significant issues affecting the present and future welfare of the College; 6) a unified alumni body, e.g., no separate Native American Dartmouth Alumni Association with officers, dues, agenda, etc., which only serves to divide the renowned Dartmouth togetherness.

Let us hope that Mr. Steel's presence on the board will help bring these things about so that those of us who have been forced to watch the repeated indignities of the past few years can once more be able to hold up our heads and not have to hold our breaths each day to read about the latest outrage from Hanover.

I would also hope that the ALUMNI MAGAZINE might decide it appropriate to return to the traditional custom of using cover photography which would remind alumni happily of their College rather than some of the "far out" material we have been forced to suffer from time to time during the past several years.

Delray Beach, Fla.

The Last Word

Any institution that turns out humorists like Stephen Geller '62 [letters, May 1980] can't be all bad.

ROBERT O. BAUMRUCKER '31 San Francisco, Calif.

[Robert Baumrucker's letter is in response toStephen Geller's letter in response to RobertBaumrucker's letter in the January/Februaryissue, the last written in response to a letter byStephen Wheeler '79 that appeared lastSeptember. Ed.]

Readability

The day after receiving the June issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE, I read President Kemeny's Ten-Year Report. When I started it, I expected to skim it in an hour or less but instead I read it all for John Kemeny does turn out most readable reports.

On the last page he comments about its length frightening all readers away. It didn't.

Pittsburgh, Penn.

Pros & Cons

I would like to register a word of approval regarding the May 1980 issue of the magazine. I felt that the articles on Hoyt Alverson and alumni in Israel contained information refreshingly transcending their necessarily parochial function of maintaining a community of interest among the graduates of the College.

One can also approve of George Engel's insistence on patients as whole beings instead of whirring little machines with isolatable problems. There seems to be a very substantial surge of interest in this side of medicine right now, and the necessity for it is confirmed by recent experiences of my own. Still, I wonder if we're not committing the same error on a larger scale by associating a general ailment with a particular group (doctors, Congress, unions, or what-have-you). It's easier to say, "Physician, heal my aching soul," than to return the compliment in daily contacts. I expect that almost everyone could profitably see life more in terms of whole individuals and less in terms of annoying gremlins in the machinery.

That's my vote for irony and tolerance as well as my vote for your efforts in producing a good magazine despite rather limited boundaries.

Columbus, Ohio

If I want to read about Africa, or find pictures of Keokilwe, I will look for them in the National Geographic or the Smithsonian, to both of which I subscribe. I expect to find news of Hanover, Dartmouth, and items on a college in my ALUMNI MAGAZINE.

I realize I am a captive audience, but I certainly do not support your editorial policy of recent times.

Stonington, Conn.

I enjoyed reading the article by Dan Nelson, "In Two Worlds." This quote particularly interested me: "The experience of inequality and domination is not the same as the institutional structure of inequality and domination."

To me that would imply a kind of materialistic nihilism which would absolve us from any kind of responsibility as to how we treat each other and as to the kinds of social structures and cultures we create. If it's all in the subject and in subjective meaning, then what does the objective world matter at all?

It has been my experience that it does matter. Professor Alverson appeared objectively to the Tswana in a way he knew would be more acceptable to them, which rather proves my point.

Each object contains its own truth and validity as that unique thing and no other, as well as being vulnerable to many interpretations as to meaning by others. The appearance and the structure of that object, to some extent, determines the kinds of experiences it will have. A bowling ball will not have the same kinds of experiences as a dollar bill. A female person will not have the same kinds of experiences that a male person will have in our society.

An ant would say, "My God, the world is coming to an end!" as the picnic basket descended onto its little kingdom, while the carefree banqueters above would exclaim, "It's a lovely day for a picnic." Both would be right, though one would be expressing antness and the other would be expressing humanness.

Wilton, Conn.

Professor Alverson replies: That one's experience of the world is not the same thing as, or is not reducible to, some "given" material world does not imply that the material world is non-existent or that it has no effect on experience. The contrary is the case and is implied in the article: The material world exists, but it does not determine experience. It is precisely because of this lack of determination, or determinism, that we can be (morally) responsible for the world. Because we are not simple functions of the world that is, not discharges of its natural processes and forces we are free, and therefore accountable for what we do or don't do in or concerning "the world." Phenomenology is not a doctrine of nihilism; it is a doctrine which states that how phenomena are posed or given to consciousness is the fundament of reality. Thus, reality is to be found within experience, whether of the theoretical physicist or of the mystic. There are, of course, metaphysical and empirical standards for adjudicating among conflicting claims of what is "real." These standards do not involve, however, any appeal to some absolute, given material world, in-and-of itself.

Being "along in years," as they say, I realize that my generation and I are soon to become as extinct as the proverbial dodo. Whether that is the reason or not I don't know, but I simply have to let out a squawk, loud and abrasive.

I think the cover of the May issue stinks. In case you don't remember, I describe it as follows: a splotchy winish/maroonish/reddish background with a large picture of a three- person, sad-faced African family taken in front of a nondescript building; to the left above the picture, in fairly large white lettering, is the word "DARTMOUTH" with "Alumni Magazine May 1980" in very small black letters; below the picture on the right side, in medium-size black letters, is the wording "Inside: FOOTBALL APPLICATIONS." What in the name of creation does the picture of these people have to do with Dartmouth in May and football applications?

On page 3, it is notated that the picture is of Keokilwe, wearing a chefs hat of the South African railway, posing with his wife and child in the village of Kgaphamadi, Botswana. We are further informed that the picture was taken by Professor Hoyt Alverson who lived in Botswana on several occasions, studying how the people coped with the century of colonial domination. Let's all "Give a Rouse" for Professor Alverson!

I have no quarrel with good photography, scholarly pursuits, or social consciousness, but I do consider this cover to be in extremely poor taste. You don't have to show Dartmouth Row, Baker Library, or the old covered bridge in green on the cover of every issue, but I should think that a bit of common sense and imagination might be used to have the cover provide a turn-on for the Dartmouth family rather than a turn-off. I have given you failing grades on your covers for several years past, but this one really does it for irrelevancy.

Boca Raton, Fla.

Regarding the cover picture on your May issue, all I can say is "ugh."

What has happened to the ALUMNI MAGAZINE? Whoever is responsible for printing that picture on the cover should be required to stand in the center of the Dartmouth Green and look around for one hour. That's Dartmouth to alumni.

Phoenix, Ariz.

Positive Thinking

It always seems to me that letters written to the ALUMNI MAGAZINE are in the negative. I would just like to write, for a change, on the positive side. Over the weekend. of June 6 through June 8, I took my father to Hanover for his 60th reunion. Being in the class of '57 myself, it was 23 years since I had graduated from the College. My last visit to Hanover had been ten years ago in 1970, when I also attended my father's 50th reunion.

As I walked around the campus, I saw a distinct improvement in the student body. The students, both men and women, were pleasant, neatly dressed, polite, and helpful, particularly to the older graduates who had come back for their 50th, 55th, and 60th reunions. As I walked about the campus, I realized how very lucky I was to have had the privilege to attend Dartmouth, not only the College but the Medical School. I urge the administration to continue the good work that they are doing in selecting students, not only for their intelligence but for the personal magnetism that has always separated Dartmouth, in my mind, from other institutions of learning.

I trust that this letter will act as some encouragement to the administration that the alumni do care and are very willing to lend our help whenever necessary.

New York, N.Y.

The March ALUMNI MAGAZINE contains a letter from J. E. Weidenhamer noting his disenchantment over the presence of women undergraduates.

In general, as one who cares deeply for the College, I have concluded after some initial reservations that the advent of young women has resulted in a more civilized and humane campus.

Specifically, I would make two observations in respect of Mr. Weidenhamer's letter.

First, he is troubled by the fact that increased female enrollment will be obtained "at the ultimate cost of denying admission to some 80- 100 male students who would have normally matriculated." I have a healthy skepticism addressed to affirmative-action programs and quotas, however benign. However, if we are to have them, let them be for blacks, American Indians, and other groups traditionally outside the mainstream of American life, rather than for the "80-100 male students" who could not compete on their own merits with successful female candidates.

Second, Mr. Weidenhamsr seems doubtful that the women can "contribute the success stories, the nationally known personages, and the captains of industry and science in favorable proportion to the contributions of their male counterparts." I suggest to Mr. Weidenhamer that, quite possibly, one significant reason why women have not made the quoted contributions in significant numbers is because they have been denied until recently an educational experience such as that offered by Dartmouth. It is quite likely that the courses at Wellesley, say, are taught quite as well as those at Dartmouth. It is unlikely that the learning and living experience at Wellesley would be as successful as Dartmouth in generating the material successes to which Mr. Weidenhamer refers.

In conclusion, I think it unlikely that the support of female graduates for Dartmouth will be quite as strident as Mr. Weidenhamer's or mine, but I expect their devotion to be equally strong.

Fairfield, Conn.

Fill the Bowl Up

Irresponsible indecision and ludicrous controversy seem to be the norm in Hanover (June 1980 issue).

The Indian (read Native American) symbol, quotas on feminine (acceptable term?) students, the gender of the College, Orozco murals, fraternities, the Hovey Grill, "Eleazar Wheelock," and now irregularities in trustee elections!

And you come up with refutable logic such as Occom turned out to be a drunk.

Think I'll mix a Russian er, black or white?

Marblehead, Mass.

Ars Publics

Anne Slade Frey's tribute to Orozco in the June issue was a pleasant reminder of one of the College's treasures. But her suggestion that, as a special homage on the artist's centenary, the wall should be permanently isolated from routine library activity and preserved "with appropriate lighting and comfortable arrangements for the leisurely study of these extraordinary murals," would certainly shock Senor Orozco: He was happy to work around the busy "reserve desk," the most hectic spot in the library. In his modest way, he would arrange his ladders and buckets and supplies so they would block traffic as little as possible. He also took his architectural surroundings as he found them. He refused to have the ventilation grates removed from the walls. Gallery lighting was already an advanced technique if he wanted it he could have had it but his colors were adjusted to the natural window light.

In an old muralist tradition, he painted to persuade and instruct. If his tone was strident and his message simplistic, perhaps it was because he felt that only a shock could attract the attention of busy and preoccupied students working against their deadlines. That was his challenge. If you don't see the artist shouting frantically for the attention of an unheeding audience, you don't see the picture. This is not a picture to put in a quiet room with tourists and their Instamatic cameras; it is a statement made to a specific audience. The audience, thank goodness, renews itself every year. If you see it without the audience, you see the drama without the chorus.

Washington, D.C,

The ALUMNI MAGAZINE welcomes comment from its readers. For publication, letters should be signed and addressed specifically to the Magazine (not copies of communications to other organizations or individuals). Letters ex- ceeding 400 words in length will be condensed by the editors.