Great Issues, Etc.
Without even thinking about the extent to which news reported in the student press does or does not reflect the concerns of students, we gathered together about a month's worth of the daily Dartmouth on the assumption that a culling of the highlights exclusive of "Doonesbury," national news, and sports - might provide a contemporary, localized version of the "Great Issues." Some of these news stories evaporated in the night, some endure.
March 30: The front page of the first issue of the spring term announced the election of Richard D. Hill '41 as chairman of the Board of Trustees and the decision by the College Entrance Examination Board to make copies of Scholastic Aptitude Tests and answers available to students. Back on page 6 there was an article about the preliminary report of a Dartmouth research team which found that the village of Lyme Center is free from excessive amounts of woodsmoke smog.
March 31: A story about renovations to fraternity houses catalogued repairs ranging from a $43,000 interior face-lift for Harold Parmington to a "new fuel tank" for Phi Tau.
April 1: The lead stories concerned the number of applicants for the class of '85 (8,152, including 2,900 women) and a luncheon interview with Montgomery Fellow Carlos Fuentes, a Mexican author and diplomat who was quoted as saying, "I write better about Mexico in the Baker Library Tower than if I were there." That day's editorial called for the trustees to anticipate some of the consequences of President Reagan's economic plan and to reaffirm a commitment to providing financial aid to all who need it, perhaps finding the money by "cutting out some of the fat from the administration and athletic budgets."
April 2: Articles about alleged violations of the alumni trustee election guidelines and about the Green Key Society's attempt to create a more "active" image. Letters advocating States' rights in gun control matters and more rock music on the College FM radio station. A Phi Tau member ran a classified ad offering his 1970 Cadillac Coupe de Ville for $500.
April 3: Results of a student-opinion poll were reported: 73 per cent of those responding opposed reinstatement of the Indian symbol, 36 per cent favored adopting the new verse of "Men of Dartmouth," and 53 per cent favored Big Green as the College symbol. A letter to the editor called for a boycott of the Dartmouth Savings Bank because of a new regulation raising the minimum checking account balance from $300 to $500. Another letter pointed out that "the obligatory freshman meal contract is asinine." And Thayer advertised the menu for the coming week, including the following main courses for dinner: meatloaf or fried fish on Monday, pork chops or roast lamb on Tuesday, turkey or ravioli on Wednesday, roast pork or short ribs on Thursday, roast beef or clam strips on Friday, fried chicken or lasagna on Saturday, and chopped steak or spare ribs on Sunday.
April 6: A senior symposium on the topic of morality and religion in social policy was announced, along with the results of fraternity rush: Fraternities garnered 472 pledges, up from 457 last year and 415 the year before. Only ten students were transported to the emergency room Saturday. The Cadillac was still for sale.
April 7: A self-proclaimed conservative Republican wrote a column complaining about the "conservative extremists" trying to take over the party.
April 8: Front-page story about a new pizza joint - Everything But Anchovies-located on Allen Street where Tony's used to be several years and several successors ago. The editorial criticized the "confusion, inefficiency, and inadequacy of the current room assignment system."
April 9: Front-page articles about 1) a speech by a representative of the Moral Majority, 2) the appearance of John Denver at a student conference on world hunger, 3) the student telethon for the Alumni Fund, 4) a symposium about the Spanish Civil War.
April 10: The Freshmen Parents Weekend issue, a real biggie for local real estate ads. Some sample prices: $250,000, $155,000, $150,000, $108,900, $200,000, $115,000, $110,000....
April 11: A report on the possibility that the 23 residents of Cameron-Burleigh Hall (formerly the Phi Gam house) might be evicted at the end of the term to make room for a homeless sorority or fraternity; an article about the resignation of Edward Scheu '46 as secretary protem of the Alumni Association because of his opposition to holding the alumni trustee election in spite of the alleged violations of the guidelines; an editorial calling for the Undergraduate Council to quit wasting its time; a letter from a senior complaining about the "resurrection" of Christianity on campus; the announcement of a Tucker Foundation debate over whether or not elective abortion should be illegal.
April 14: Police are investigating drug sales on campus, the lead story said, and arrests of students may be imminent. The Undergraduate Council's first open meeting of the term was stymied by lack of a quorum. The Interfraternity Council passed a set of guidelines allowing and regulating pledge raids. A letter announced the formation of a new student group the "Straight Students Association" and the intention to apply for College funding. Students were reported to be working hard to conserve energy.
April 15: In response to an Undergraduate Council resolution, a number of College offices agreed to remain open during the lunch hour. The Buildings and Grounds department, according to an observant reporter, has a tough time trying to protect freshly seeded lawns from students. There was a five-car collision in the parking lot of Tri-Kap. A bomb threat interrupted a Math 6 exam in Steele Hall. The first of many letters challenging the anti-Christian stance of a previous letter.
April 16: The big news was a Fraternity Board of Overseers meeting to discuss housing for homeless fraternities and sororities; the big question was who would be bumped out of existing housing. Another article reported that housing 40 women in previously all-male Gile Hall didn't "mellow out the dorm," which has a reputation for rowdiness and self-inflicted vandalism.
April 17: Dartmouth admitted 1,750 of the 8,152 applicants for the class of '85, an acceptance rate of 21 per cent, and 40 percent of those admitted are women. The editors as well as the fraternity overseers recommended providing fraternity and sorority housing without taking any away. A special supplement to the paper reported on drug use at Dartmouth. Marijuana reputedly is most popular, but cocaine, acid, hash, and mushrooms are also available.
April 20: The Dartmouth Progressive Network was circulating a petition calling* on the trustees to make a commitment to "dollar-blind admissions." The editorial, complaining about Undergraduate Council inactivity, advised, "If you want something done . . . don't expect seniors to do it." A letter challenged students to become more informed about world affairs, and a classified ad placed by the Financial Aid Office thanked an anonymous senior for a carrot cake.
April 21: The lead story about the alumni trustee election rehashed the charges and counter charges about the violations of the guidelines. A columnist, pointing out that the Rev. Leon Sullivan has renounced his Sullivan Principles that were to have justified investments in South Africa, called on the College to divest. An article reported that the film society at New York's State University at Albany is cashing in on x-rated movies.
April 22: An interview with Trustee Chairman Hill was featured, along with an article about student efforts to persuade the trustees to restore Saturday mail delivery. Another article concerned the Foley House campaign to keep from being bumped off Webster Avenue in order to make room for a more traditionally fraternal organization. An irate student wrote a letter complaining about the D. J. Cab Company's failure to show up at 4:00 a.m. as promised - to get him to the train station.
April 23: Lots of articles about the agenda of the trustee meeting, a column about the importance of the social alternative provided by Foley House, and a senior's poem about Governor Hugh Carey's love life.
April 25: More articles about the trustee agenda and the fraternity housing issue, an editorial calling on the trustees to leave Foley House alone, a column calling for divestment of College holdings in corporations having investments in South Africa, and an article about the arrest of two students (nabbed in their fraternities) charged with selling LSD, cocaine, and a potent form of marijuana. Also a special supplement on the College budget. April 27: The most topical item was a letter from the dean of students urging students to become acquainted with New Hampshire's drug laws as quoted in the student handbook.
April 28: The trustees offer the building at 42 College Street to Alpha Phi Alpha and offer Cameron-Burleigh to Sigma Kappa. Foley House is safe, temporarily. Saturday mail is reinstituted and a $103-million budget is approved. The editors call on the administration and trustees to make reports of advisory groups, such as the fraternity overseers, more readily and promptly available to students. In the classified section a notice reads, "Vivacious Christian lady wishes to meet Christian gentleman who enjoys nature, sports, music, dancing, etc."
"IF you want something done . . . don't expect seniors to do it." Editorial in The Dartmouth
