Letters to the Editor

A Comeback Elsewhere

In a recent issue of Time magazine, I read with interest that R.O.T.C. is making a comeback on many coliege campuses. Not, however, according to the magazine, at Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, or Brown. Only Princeton is mentioned as the Ivy representative wherein R.O.T.C.'s fortunes have improved. Congratulations to them for coming to grips with a past dilemma.

If 70 per cent of the Army's 98,000 officers and about 30 per cent of the Air Force's 359 generals have come up the military ladder through R.O.T.C. training, how do we justify our position as a responsible institution by not participating? Perhaps our faculty members who saw fit to vote the program out during the Vietnam era should reconsider their decision. 1 hope they do because of the following: With economic help from the government, R.O.T.C. makes sense for many students who could not afford a private college education otherwise; secondly, strong leadership in the military is urgently needed right now, and, besides that, the program provides an atmosphere of practical purpose for the individual that is based on a strength of character.

Redondo Beach, Calif.

[As we reported five, years ago when the planwas approved, Dartmouth students may enrollin an off-campus Army R.O.T.C. program andtake the necessary military science courses atNorwich University in Vermont. Four studentsare doing so this term. This, to be sure, is notthe same as the R.O.T.C. program atPrinceton, where, according to the officer incharge, Army R.O.T.C. is "thriving" with 96students enrolled. Ed.]

A Flea in His Honor

Your October article on Stoiberite implied that naming minerals and fossils after people is a rare event. Though I have no desire to diminish the honor to my favorite mineralogy professor, the practice is not that uncommon. Sometimes we are not even certain if the naming is an honor, such as Brabbinthes churkini, an old worm; Brabbia pustulomarginata, a relative of the horseshoe crab; or Beyrichiabrabbi, a close cousin of the flea. Sometimes our colleagues may be poking fun at our physical appearance, such as Semicyclus brabbi, which looks like a decorated ice-cream cone. Regardless, we are happy to be noticed and relieved that we do not have to die, which is the prerequisite for naming a geographic feature after a person.

Palo Alto, Calif.

[With four fossils named in his honor, EarlBrabb should be and is a prominentgeologist. Ed.]

The Hovey Murals

I hate to prolong a squabble over something as trivial as the Hovey Grill murals, but Alex Fanelli's letter [November issue] just emphasizes the only thing I was objecting to: Hanover's odd determination to rationalize rather than call a spade a spade.

Alex notes that most of the College's art collection is always stored out of sight, but "no one would describe that situation as censorship of art."

He's right, but we're talking about covering over murals only after (and only because) some people objected to those murals. Which isn't the same as buying a picture of George Washington and sticking it in the closet because you've run out of wall space.

We even have the College reclassifying them (they are now "art" rather than saloon decor) so that "storing" them will seem more natural.

There's nothing wrong with censoring something if it causes offense to people. I enjoyed Amos 'n' Andy but I can survive without them. But just admit what you're doing and why.

Or wax comical. How about saying an educational institution was weary of being associated in the public's mind with tomahawkwaving illiterates?

That explanation might draw a lively response.

Weston, Conn.

No one who has had the benefit of a Dartmouth education could believe the claim made by President Kemeny and Executive Assistant Fanelli that the Hovey murals are not being censored but are merely being stored "in place" by being covered over with panels.

Are the Orozcos being similarly stored "in place"?

Fanelli's statement insults his readership. We hear much of danger to our self-liberties, but the danger becomes clear and present when the censors are not extremists but are rather bureaucrats in power.

Kenilworth, N.J.

Arab-Israeli Debate

I write in reply to a letter in the December 1980 issue written by Edmund R. Hanauer '60. In it he makes a large number of allegations about the state of Israel which are false, malicious, and in need of refutation.

He says there are three million Arab refugees as a result of the creation of and the policies of Israel. Refugees there are, but the number is considerably lower. The exaggeration can be traced to mistakes in counting in early reports of the United Nations Relief and Works agencies. Probably the number is less than 20 per cent of the figure he cites, certainly less than one-third. It is worth, noting that there would not have been a single Arab refugee if the Arabs had accepted the 1947 U.N. partition of Palestine, which called for both independent Jewish and Palestinian states. Since then, Arab refusal to make peace with Israel has resulted in the prolonged Palestinian displacement.

He says that Israel is to blame for the misery of Arabs in occupied territories. U.N. accusations to that effect have been made by representatives of countries that refuse relations with Israel, representatives who never visited Israel before writing their report. The World Health Organization has explicitly ignored information on Israeli health treatment of West Bank Arabs for political reasons.

Mr. Hanauer says Zionism is racist, but there are Jews of all three races and from 100 nations in Israel. Besides those, Israel includes Arab, Druze, Bahai, Christian, and other Moslem citizens.

Mr. Hanauer says Israel is driving indigenous people from their land. But Jews are indigenous to Palestine as well there have always been some Jews in Israel, even after the Babylonian and Roman exiles. Indeed, Jerusalem has had a plurality of Jews since 1844 according to non-Jewish sources, and recent Israeli court decisions have rebuffed government efforts to appropriate Arab-owned land.

Mr. Hanauer says Israel has destroyed scores of Palestinian villages since, 1948. Israeli settlements outside pre-1967 Israel have, as a matter of government policy, not been allowed to displace exi'sting Arab towns. Nearly all have been in the Jordan Valley along the "green line." Under the formula for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank with minor border modification, many would remain in Israel. Several of the communities, by the way, existed before the 1948 war, but were overrun by Arabs: Kfar Etzion, Massu ot Yitzhak, Ein Zurim, and Revadim. Hebron had a centuriesold Jewish population until it was slaughtered in the 19305.

Political issues regarding Israel are complicated. Many uninterested people have little knowledge of the facts. One would expect more of a Dartmouth graduate, the more so if he went to Dartmouth in the days when the Great Issues course was mandatory, and even more so if he decided to write his alumni magazine on the subject of Israel.

Philadelphia, Pa.

[Commenting on an ALUMNI MAGAZINE articleon Dartmouth alumni who have emigrated toIsrael, Edmund Hanauer's letter took issuewith the policies of Israel and Zionism. Ed.]

The ALUMNI MAGAZINE may not be the proper forum for an Arab-Israeli debate, but Edmund R. Hanauer's emotional letter really calls for the introduction of some facts. Mr. Hanauer sharply criticized Israel's occupation of the West Bank: "... Israeli policies which drive another indigenous people from its land . . . confiscating Palestinian lands both inside Israel and in the occupied lands . . . barring over one million Palestinian refugees from their homeland. ..."

During 12 visits to Israel, many quite extensive, Mrs. Rubin and I saw much evidence that the Arabs in the occupied West Bank "never had it so good." The roofs of Nablus sprout a thicket of TV antennas. Some Arab workers were driving new Mercedes autos. Nablus, the largest city in the West Bank, showed many evidences of prosperity. Many Arabs may feel harmed psychologically, but they have no cause to complain of their physical condition.

Our observations are confirmed by the 1979 U.S. State Department Human Rights Report, which stated: "Unemployment has nearly disappeared and real per capita income has more than doubled under the Israeli occupation. . . . The gap between income levels in Israel and the territories has narrowed steadily since 1967."

Boca Raton, Fla.

Civilizing Quality

Professor James A. Epperson was an English teacher with a vision of life on the Dartmouth campus that knit together all members of the College in a community of learning. He died tragically of a heart attack last May. Many of us remember with affection and a sense of obligation his wise and often ingenious contributions to what he called "civilization." A tangible memorial to the civilizing quality of Jim's life seems to us an apt remembrance and continuation of his presence on campus.

Jim thought that improving the quality of life at Dartmouth included making it easier for us to sit down together in amiable, thoughtful discussion. With that in mind he urged and helped plan the hospitable courtyard with its comfortable wooden benches at the front entrance of Sanborn House. We propose to dedicate that area to him with an enscribed stone.

Continuing'the creation of such places is the second part of our proposed memorial. In spots conducive to meeting and conversing in the middle of the campus or at points of vantage on its edge, with views of College buildings and the Green we hope to set up additional benches. Each bench will bear a small memorial marker in Jim's name, reminding us and those who follow of his care for our conviviality.

To achieve these memorials for Jim, a group of associates and friends are serving on a committee which is seeking to raise $20,000. As chairman of this committee I have just signed letters that have been sent to all members of the faculty and administration at the College, to alumni who attended Alumni College during the years Jim participated in that special program, and to all those who majored in English during the years Jim taught so effectively in that department. Any others who are interested in obtaining further information on this memorial project should contact Clifford Jordan '45 or Thomas Campion, 106 Blunt Alumni Center, Hanover, N.H. 03755.

Hanover, N.H.

[Frank Smallwood is Orvil Dryfoos Professorof Public Affairs. Ed.]

A Place in History Two Views

For 52 years I have refrained from imposing my personal opinions on fellow alumni through the medium of our magazine, but when the blunders, mistakes, wrong decisions, and highhanded mistreatment of those who dare oppose him are audited and weighed against the beneficial accomplishments of President Kemeny, his place in the history of Dartmouth College will, I am convinced, leave much to be desired!

Mine is not a lone voice crying out in the wilderness when I say that the decade of his stewardship has been a series of bitter disappointments to a large percentage of our alumni body. Nor have the Board of Trustees distinguished themselves during the same time span. What a disgusting group of rubber stamps they are! Dancing like puppets to every tune played by "Maestro" Kemeny! Let us never forget who is responsible for determining the policies of Dartmouth College. We can only hope that our members of the Board of Trustees will do some thorough soulsearching regarding their responsibilities and that their selection of our next president will mark the start of an era of which the alumni body can honestly be proud! Wah-hoo-wah!

Rolling Hills, Calif.

It is with a sense of loss that I await the resignation of Dr. Kemeny.

His distinguished service to the College cannot go on forever; indeed, he himself had stipulated its limits. What will his forthcoming service to Dartmouth comprise? Will he, like his illustrious administrative forebear, Dr. William Jewett Tucker, become as described by L. B. Richardson "a recluse in the Hanover of which he had been the central figure so long?" Such seems unlikely. Or will he, like Ernest Fox Nichols, move into successively higher seats of power, as a director of corporate research or the presidency of Massachusetts Institute of Technology? The man who directed the Three Mile Island study cannot easily hide his light under a bushel. Shall we lose him?

As a thinking man, Dr. Kemeny has been able to lead his administration toward sympathetic understanding of the human yearning for identity and its right to opportunity. For a college criticized, fairly or unfairly, in the World War II years for its "Jewish quota," our clearer sense of humanity now relieves us of some prior embarrassment.

Thank you, John Kemeny.

Eaton, N.H.

The Cover

For a long time I have missed the DARTMOUTH ALUMNI MAGAZINE arriving in its familiar green and white cover. I could always spot it among my mail. Now, it melds in with all the others. In fact, I don't see much point in the December cover in spite of your explanation. Incidentally, it arrived 1/13/81!

Berryville, Va.

May I congratulate you on the perfectly delightful cover of your December 1980 issue? Who ever thought it up, and carried it to such brilliant completion, deserves the thanks and praise of all your readers. I keep it beside me all the day long I am bedridden and it gives me continuous pleasure. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Hanover, N.H.

[Benfield Pressey is professor emeritus ofEnglish. Ed.]

Something's Happened

May I congratulate you on your issue of December 1980. I'm not sure what has happened, but with this issue the magazine became readable and enjoyable. This, of course, may be a flip, subjective observation due to the onset of mellowing age, but on checking the magazine again I do objectively find the articles "Once Upon a Time" and "All the Way With J.B.A." a pleasure to read. Even the "Undergraduate Chair" by Patricia Berry is refreshingly straightforward.

Perhaps it's a lightening in the midriff of the magazine that helps to buoy up the ponderous worries of the letters at one end and the obits at the other. Keep it up.

Bolinas, Calif.

Erratic Behavior

I thoroughly enjoyed Everett Wood's review [December issue] of Cecil Heacox's TheGallant Grouse.

As for grouse flying "blindly into buildings and windows," similar erratic behavior may be witnessed at both undergraduate and alumni gatherings. You see, in late October and early November grouse are known to fill up on berries berries which have fermented but not fallen.

You guessed it a grouse is a souse!

Montpelier, Vt.

Helping to Forget

In response to Whitey Fuller '37 concerning the collapse of the Hanover athletic program [letter, December issue], Whitey appears to be all bent out of shape the Big Green eleven lost to someone called William and Mary. The Yukica club didn't do too badly, coming down to the wire with a possibility of sharing the Ivy League championship on the final game of the season. Whitey, I had forgotten but fortunately you reminded me that the baseball team lost to good old Old Dominion on the spring swing, a few days after the players put away their skates, skis, and sneakers.

Whitey, head north to your home away from home and enjoy the performance of the championship hockey team and you'll forget the Old Dominion defeat.

Med ford, Mass.

The Real Thing

At the suggestion of a Dartmouth faculty member who has taught on "Dartmouth Alumni Colleges Abroad," I write to clear up the confusion between these College-sponsored programs and the other kinds of trips advertized in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE.

Normally announced by direct mail, Dartmouth Alumni Colleges Abroad feature: 1) direct Dartmouth College sponsorship; 2) contingents of fellow travelers made up primarily of Dartmouth graduates, their spouses, and parents or friends except as we offer programs jointly with, for example, Yale; 3) truly fine teachers on the Dartmouth faculty; and 4) integrated itineraries and academic programs designed by the Dartmouth Alumni College Office for the Dartmouth family.

Dartmouth graduates can find less expensive trips. They might even find a few other Dartmouth graduates on them. We only hope that, before they choose a trip, they will keep in mind the differences between those other trips and the real Dartmouth Alumni Colleges Abroad!

Hanover, N.H.

[Steven Calvert directs the Dartmouth AlumniCollege programs. Ed.]

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 exceeding 400 words in length will be condensed by the editors.