Letters

All's Well . . .

In contrast to my recent letter expressing concern at the unpleasantness surrounding the trustee elections in May (which now seems to have been resolved), I.am now happy to report that, based on . a weekend's observation at my 50th reunion, my faith in the basic soundness of Dartmouth has been reinforced, and I continue in the belief that, all the alarmist reports we have been hearing from within as well as outside the College family notwithstanding, Dartmouth can still hold her head high as she continues to maintain a position in the forefront of institutions of higher learning everywhere. At its annual meeting, the members of the 50th reunion class of 1931 passed a near-unanimous resolution for transmission to President Kemeny, thanking him and Jean Kemeny for outstanding service to Dartmouth through difficult times and wishing them the best for productive good years to come.

The highlight of the commencement weekend came with the graduation ceremonies in which the members of the class of 1931 participated for the first time since they themselves graduated 50 years ago. It was most heart warming to witness the friendly, manifestly sincere, interchange between the nearly 1,000 seniors and President Kemeny from the initial enthusiastic and extended ovation they gave him to his final gesture when he tossed his cap in with theirs which they had sailed into the air. The relatively brief, but nonetheless meaningful, remarks of valedictorian Patricia Walton and those of President Kemeny summarized to me the spirit and essence of Dartmouth today, which taken together with the words of President-elect Dave McLaughlin spoken earlier at our class luncheon and then to the Alumni Association meeting, gave welcome reassurance that our alma mater remains in good hands and that the prospects for continued forward progress are indeed bright.

Venice, Fla.

The Critics

From a reading of the June fssue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE it would appear that there are those who cannot wait to criticize President David McLaughlin and this even before he has assumed his responsibilities.

I write as one who applauds the choice of the selection committee and for the very good reason that I have known and admired Dave McLaughlin for a great many years.

During his residence in the Twin Cities, David contributed significantly to a wide range of community activities. His work with a large number of cultural, business, and political organizations showed him to be a man of breadth and understanding. On any number of occasions he exhibited strong leadership and a rare talent for the motivation and management of people.

Mark my word Dartmouth College will prosper mightily under David McLaughlin's leadership.

Minneapolis, Minn.

I would like to propose that this summer the Alumni College consider offering two courses: The first course would be for educated and civilized alumni and would deal with a topic like natural right and history and the second course would be a remedial one for churlish alumni and would deal with basic things like good manners. Having read their letters to the editor concerning Dartmouth's new president, David McLaughlin, in the June issue of this magazine, I would strongly urge Franklin Laskin and Jeffrey Brodrick to enroll in the second course and if money is at all a problem, the College should try to provide them, with financial aid.

That Mr. McLaughlin was the chairman and chief executive officer of a many million dollar business that sold, among other things, lawnmowers hardly justified Franklin Laskin snidely calling Mr. McLaughlin "a lawnmower salesman," but Mr. Laskin's bad manners do justify me calling Mr. Laskin an ass.

A complete response to Mr. Brodrick's letter would be too long for the letters-to-the-editor section. Being more reductive than I should be, I will say Mr. Brodrick's letter displayed a child's grasp of his quotation of Mr. McLaughlin, required mental telepathy of the reader for it to be understood, and, as with Mr. Laskins' letter, made no attempt to maintain the social fabric important to Dartmouth's or any community's health.

st Paul, Minn.

Poor David McLaughlin, only just installed as president of the College and already under attack in the letters column of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE

by Jeffrey Brodrick '76 for his "child's grasp of grammar." "Strange, convoluted sentences infiltrate McLaughlin's every utterance," Brodrick declares innocently revealing his own childlike grasp of English syntax. I was unaware, until now, that Dartmouth's committee on presidential selection was looking for a grammarian to succeed the mathematician, else I might have proposed the names of several friends all less qualified than McLaughlin, save for their adult's grasp of grammar. I would not have proposed Brodrick's name, however; and I will not until he enrolls himself in English 5 where, presumably, someone will teach him, among other things, that quote is a verb and quotation its proper noun form.

New York, N.Y.

I was distressed to read that David McLaughlin's visions of Dartmouth's future are locked into the past, as quoted in the Boston Sunday Globe, April 5, 1981:

"There have been some who have maintained that the College should have the same minority representation on campus as that which exists in the country.

"I would tend to reject that because Dartmouth, as an institution, is trying to train and educate people who are going to make a contribution to society. If you said you should have the same proportion of minorities as exist among the leadership element of society that would make more sense to me."

Is Mr. McLaughlin referring to the 18 black members of Congress, out of 435 members (only four per cent compared to the 12 per cent black population in the U.S.)? Or perhaps the 18 women members of Congress (fewer than in 1948)? Or zero blacks and only two women in the U.S. Senate? I wonder how many non-white or female chief executives Mr. McLaughlin knows?

At least now I have one role model, Sandra O'Connor. Not surprisingly, Ms. O'Connor graduated with honors from Stanford, a school remarkably proficient at "educating, people who are going to make a contribution to society.''

Haven't I heard that slogan before? Wake up, Dartmouth, you are missing out on over half of America's brain power!

Washington, D.C.

Orozco

The printed and spoken, words "Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States of America" stand out from all the Spanish words near the entrance of the Museo Jose Clemente Orozco in Guadalajara, Mexico. This modern building, the home in which Orozco lived and worked, is now a part of the Instituto de Bellas Artes Direccion Promocion National and houses a large number of Orozco's original paintings and studies, his paints, his overalls, even his bifocal glasses. It is a monument to this modern man whom Guadalajara acclaims as its native son, and all Mexico claims as its greatest artist ever.

One immense square picture, the largest in the whole museum, is a black-and-white photograph of a detail of Dartmouth's great mural. Colored post-cards showing other parts of our mural are on sale, mentioning Dartmouth. These paintings in Baker Library are considered some of his greatest works.

A knowledgeable curator who spoke good English was interested to know that I had watched Orozco painting the murals while I was a student at Dartmouth in the 19305, and she inquired about their "condition." She also lamented that Orozco's great murals in Mexico City were in "poor condition" due to the fact that they are outdoors, exposed, although under a balcony roof. She is right. They need restoration and preservation.

His best murals in Guadalajara enliven a large chapel of what was until early this year a government orphanage, which is presently being refurbished and converted into an art center. Every high wall, niche, and ceiling are covered with massive, vibrant scenes these his last works done in 1936 to 1939. There is a story that the orphan kids so besplattered the murals that, ten years before his death in 1949, Orozco had to repaint the bottom two feet of each one.

Guadalajara also possesses this one-handed painter's violent scenes in the mid-1600s Governor's Palace, showing the 1810 revolutionist priest Father Miguel Hidalgo bearing a flaming sword over a host of dying men, beside a sinister, murky world of Nazis and swastikas. Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, even Roosevelt are depicted in this political foray.

When a young boy, playing with fireworks, Orozco lost a hand. It seems incredible that he could have painted such massive works in such high and difficult-to-reach areas! Whether or not one likes or understands Orozco's work, it is unforgettable. And "Dartmouth College, Han- over, New Hampshire" is on the lips of every good guide in Guadalajara, for Dartmouth has one of his greatest productions!

Wilmington, Del.

Promise Fulfilled

Your recent article on Native American Studies at Dartmouth pleased me immensely. As a student of almost exclusively WASP background, I really benefited from the opportunity to work with and become friends with both Native American students and Professors Michael Dorris and Michael Green, and Mrs. Minsk, who keeps the office ticking along. I learned a lot from them all and did much of my best academic work for those professors. More importantly, starting out in the world of work, I find that I see many current social issues and situations differently because of the things learned and understandings gained. It's sad that it took so long for "The Long-Deferred Promise" to be fulfilled, but the College today is definitely benefiting from the fulfillment.

Boston, Mass.

Twins

I was much impressed by George Engel's article in the June ALUMNI MAGAZINE. George is obviously a perceptive and articulate writer, in addition to his many other talents. Presumably from lack of space, he did not mention a twin achievement at Dartmouth. Although the Engels entered as rather frail freshmen, by devoted exercise and training, both became gymnasts of intercollegiate caliber and both earned varsity "D"s.

They were not completely identical in those days. We were all chemistry majors, so I saw quite a bit of them. Early in the junior year I found the key to telling them apart. George's hair-line ran straight across his forehead; Frank's had a slight "widow's peak." This can be seen in the two photographs on page 40 of the June ALUMNI MAGAZINE. However, from the photos on page 42 and 43, it is obvious that this distinction disappeared long ago!

Meadowbrook, Pa.

I was interested in, yet cannot say I enjoyed, Dr. George L. Engel's "Death and Reunion: the loss of a twin" in the June issue. In the opening paragraph Engel writes, "... little of a scientific nature has come from twins themselves," as if to suggest that his article contributes in any scientific way to understanding twin behavior.

Apparently what Engel considers and what I consider scientific differ. I question Engel's heavy reliance on his own (or anyone else's) memory over such a long time span. I think Engel reads too much into salient coincidences while overlooking the lack of coincidence in countless situations. Also, Engel arranges events after-the-fact to fit a nebulously defined "twinning behavior" hypothesis; he doesn't put his ideas to a true scientific test predicting future events under an experimentally controlled format.

The article might (I emphasize might) provide a look inside Dr. Engel's mind and how he interprets human behavior. However, it's not a very useful interpretation.

I'm a twin, too. (Is there any hidden meaning in my use of "too" in the previous sentence, Dr. Engel?)

Eugene, Ore.

The Worm and the Grant

As a longtime visitor to the College Grant, as one who was alarmed by the condition of the spruce and fir in his last visit to the Grant in March 1981, and as one whose interest in the spruce budworm is more than passing, I was pleased to see the June article on the spruce budworm infestation.

The College has made the right decision in salvaging the budworm killed timber. Cutting operations are not pretty, but as Ted Winterer and Russ Hughes point out, these cuts are necessary to maintain a healthy forest, with all the recreational opportunities that confers. My inspection of a few cuts in March showed them to be exemplary salvage harvests, leaving a wellstocked stand of spruce and hardwoods behind.

I would like to correct several inaccurate statements Winterer makes about the option of spraying. First, he quotes Professor Jack Schultz as saying that spraying does nothing. This is simply untrue. While spraying will not eradicate the budworm, no one expects it to. Spraying is used to keep trees alive when the infested area is too large to be salvaged promptly. In Maine, where about five million acres are severely infested, it is both physically and economically impossible to harvest all the dying timber; spraying is the only alternative to losing millions of cords of wood. Second, spraying prevents the outbreak from collapsing only by keeping the trees the budworm's food supply alive. Though spraying is an unpleasant option, it is sometimes the only choice. Third, Winterer states that spraying has maintained the budworm outbreak for ten years rather than allowing it to collapse in the usual four. There is no evidence in Maine or Canada that a four-year epidemic is usual; seven to ten years is closer to the normal duration. Fortunately, the Grant is small enough that the College is able to salvage all the infested stands. I am glad the College is aware of the magnitude of the budworm problem and that the Grant is'in capable hands. Finally, I offer congratulations to Winterer for a timely and generally accurate picture of the budworm infestation.

Augusta, Maine

The Review

Several recent events have caused me to question the "nobility" of journalism, my chosen field, and my own motives for wishing to be a journalist. A Pulitzer Prize-winning writer with the Washington Post admitted that her awardwinning article had been fictitious. Several weeks later, a New York Daily News columnist resigned after being unable to substantiate one of his columns with factual evidence.

A third event strikes much closer to home. One year ago, members of The Dartmouth withdrew from the newspaper to form their own paper 1— the Dartmouth Review. My first instinct was to support this move; I favor allowing all voices to be heard, and I much preferred the idea of an. ideological conflict between two newspapers to a conflict within one (as was the case). Like most Dartmouth students, I soon became disenchanted with the Review's narrow and stubborn viewpoint, but I nonetheless continued to support the right of the paper to exist. Now I question even this right.

Recently, a member of the DartmouthReview entered the Women's Resource Center in the Collis Center and removed a journal which had been kept in that room for the use of all Dartmouth women. Excerpts from the journal were printed in the May 11, 1981, issue of the Review under the heading: "What Feminists Think and Write." An editor's note falsely claimed that all of the excerpts were taken from "graffiti sheets" posted in the women's bathroom and left on public view. The theft of this document is a serious offense and the publication of the excerpts is a violation of every journalistic ethic, and for the women who have recognized their private journal entries in the pages of the Dartmouth Review, there is no recourse. The following week, the Review ran an article entitled "Profiles on Homosexuality at Dartmouth." Material for this article was obtained from the Gay Student Association's confidential files. For no conceivable purpose, names of members of the organization who would have preferred to remain anonymous were included in the piece.

In the past months, we have seen many, many misquotes and misrepresentations in the Review and obnoxious responses to all who object to them. We have seen the paper turn its vindictive energies on undergraduates, faculty, and administrators whom it dislikes. We have seen an attempt on the part of the paper to undermine an alumni election. We have seen the founder and "Senior Advisor" of the Review misappropriate (or so the College Committee on Standing and Conduct ruled) a premature press release for publication in another newspaper.

The purpose of this letter has not been to chastize the Review; I hope that I know better than to waste my energy on an organization which probably holds me in even lower esteem that I hold it. Rather, I have hoped to inform alumni of the College (who form the vast majority of Review supporters) of the methods and ethics of the Dartmouth Review. The former are an affront to honesty; the latter are nonexistent. In supporting the Review, alumni are supporting these trends in journalism as well as in thought.

Hanover, N.H.

The recent Newsweek article, "God and Man at Dartmouth" (June 1, 1981), is vivid evidence of just how low the conservative ethic can sink when put in the hands of a bunch of seemingly pre-pubescent brats who would undoubtedly be better off in the long run if they spent their college days writing for the Jack-O-Lantern, rather than inflicting their half-baked political philosophy on an unsuspecting, and, one suspects, yawning public. As a moderateconservative (if you will), I am nonetheless baffled as to why anybody would contribute one red cent to The Dartmouth Review, which, under the direction of Messrs. Hart, Jones, Fossedal, D'Souza at al., appears to be an utterly tasteless and ultimately reckless publication.

The emergence of such a group at Dartmouth is hardly surprising, however, given not only the current direction of the national political mood but also the evident ideological imprint of "faculty guru" Jeffrey Hart. While Hart is certainly one of the best pure teachers and among the most entertaining faculty members at the College, he invariably appears to be out of his depth when he strays into the political arena. Hart quite rightly reveres the clear iexpression of "conservative" ideals in the writings of Dryden, Pope, Addison and Steele, and other vintage Augustan Age authors, and once told me proudly, "I am an Augustan." However, Hart's attempts to translate these ideals to late 20thcentury America are largely wide of the mark. As a case in point, the "lobster and champagne lunch," described in detail in the Newsweek piece, which at best was a grossly callous response to the majority (I assume) of students' concern about world hunger, seems to bear all the markings of the Jeffrey Hart mind-set. Reading of the lunch, I couldn't help but recall one of Hart's early 1973 syndicated columns (ironically, also published in The Dartmouth) in which he said, during a rambling treatise of the foreign assistance program, that young people who undertake work in the Peace Corps in such places as Africa would be served right if they were eaten by crocodiles. While perhaps invoking the inspiration of Jonathan Swift (another of his favorites), this point of view reveals a raw edge which seems to have rubbed off onto his young charges.

If a legitimate conservative movement is to flourish, or even to survive, at Dartmouth, one can only hope that its leaders dispense with the arrogance they currently display which makes a mockery of any concern they may claim to have for their fellow man, the College, or the political process of which they are a part.

Washington, D.C.

As a survivor of the "Kemeny years," I have been consistently discouraged by both the "progress" and the future of my alma mater. Dartmouth has for years been at the cruel mercy of small numbers of very vocal special-interest groups and an overzealous, out-of-touch, outdated, liberal administration. In my eyes Dartmouth's only hope resided in its loyal, clearthinking, intelligent alumni. This hope was dashed by the news that my peers had overwhelmingly voted Robert Field and Ron Schram to College trust.ee positions.

My initial thought was that the administration had rigged the election (one last fling for the Orwellian Kemeny administration?). Then, an even more frightening realization came over me. My supposedly bright and clear-thinking fellow alumni had accepted, hook, line, and sinker, the purulent propaganda campaign waged by the administration and this magazine against the two petition candidates and their supporter: The Dartmouth Review (a fine newspaper run by conservative 'students who grew tired of the rampant liberal drivel that had filled all College printed material for years).

The administration's behavior in the elections was disgraceful but not out of character. We alumni must not tolerate such behavior. We must not take as gospel all the flowery reports of well-being offered by this magazine and administration publications. As a recent graduate, I must report that the College and all its institutions that we hold dear have gone through hell, and the alumni have never heard an unbiased account of the carnage.

I implore all my fellow alumni who care enough to realize that they have been deceived to fight the administration's improprieties and their own ignorance of campus events. I suggest starting, firstly, by demanding a new trustee election unscathed by administration manipulation. Secondly, I strongly recommend subscribing to the Dartmouth Review. Contrary to reports by this magazine, the Review offers a totally different (and more truthful) account of campus events as well as many excellent pieces on world events.

Mendham, N.J.

As an enthusiastic subscriber to the Dartmouth Review, I was offended by the meanness of your diatribe, in the May issue, against the newspaper and its eminent founders and board members.

Upon reading the major articles in that issue, your liberal slant becomes apparent: A congratulatory item on a recent Hanover gathering in remembrance of a 1927 graduate, a communist who died fighting for the communist cause in the Spanish civil war (this gathering was serenaded by Pete Seeger who else?).

You feature a five-page article on the founder of the A.D.A., who is of course appalled by the conservative Reagan Administration.

Another feature article is about a translator who translated articles about the "awful truth about United Fruit," a book by an author who is still on the State Department blacklist, and another book by one of the founders of the Socialist party in Ecuador.

In the spirit of "op-ed" I await, in a future issue:

An item on a Hanover gathering in honor of a Dartmouth-graduate veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.

A five-page feature on a well-known Dartmouth graduate who has had a long-term involvement in conservative causes. An article about a translator of samizdat or Aleksander Solzhenitsen.

Phoenix, Ariz.

To the words of various '26, '32, '51, '64 and '78ers in the May issue about the DartmouthReview a hearty "hear, hear." It is A Bombinable! I trust that backlash to its excesses will in fact aid the cause of Dartmouth.

On another front, I am pleased to read that serious consideration will be given by the trustees to the trustee nomination procedure. In the light of a number of happenings in the last few years, it is time to climb down off the ramparts of defense and seek a long-term procedure that is equable and is acceptable not only to the taste of the majority of alumni but also to the rational minority.

Maplewood, N.J.

As a Senior Fellow in 1953-54, I had the rare privilege of spending a coffee break each morning in the wood-paneled conference room with adjoining six faculty offices upstairs in Baker Library. Professor George Wood was there most every day. One day a classmate came in wearing a white pin with a green feather on it, the Robin Hood symbol of anti-McCarthyism. Professor Wood listened intently to the justification for wearing the pin and then allowed as how the contemporary Robin Hood band was dangerously close to using the same tactics as McCarthy.

The following day my classmate returned without the pin, and the old professor asked where it was. The student, very respectfully, said, "I took it off because you disapproved." "Oh my," Wood replies, "I disapprove even more of your taking it off just because of my opinion."

This incident symbolizes to me what I learned at Dartmouth, and I was reminded of it by the recent articles about the alumni representatives' election to the Board of Trustees in your magazine, the article about the DartmouthReview in Newsweek, and local newspaper columns of Jeffrey Hart that frequently refer to Dartmouth. It concerns me that a Dartmouth professor uses a syndicated column to project his biases about my alma mater, that his son uses the Dartmouth Review in a similar way, and that their partisan network tries to influence our trustee election.

The controversy has focused on the use of the Indian as a representative of the Dartmouth tradition. How that pales in significance when compared with the profound intellectual liberalism of persons like George Wood. This is the Dartmouth tradition that I would like to see preserved.

FRANK VAN AALST '54

Charleston, S.C.

Mania, etc.

I've a few things to say. Alumni Fund participation of classes graduating with women of Dartmouth seem more committed to the College than those of the previous decade or so; and I for one more do not need an Indian mascot to feel love of Dartmouth past, present, and future.

John G. Kemeny was a fine president. Our teams don't have to win to have my support though I pay more attention when I hear more about them.

The ALUMNI MAGAZINE is informative, handsome, amusing, slick, reflective of the current College, and less of a forum for reports of my class doings than our newsletter, but it just depends on people writing in or meeting up with a writer anyway so that's neither here nor there. The trustee election mania is a complicated issue. I appreciate efforts of those trying to keep our collective nose out of the muck. I've always voted for men who, I thought, would have the broadest long-range interests of the College at heart along with the current courage necessary to help the president carry through in the shortrange.

Canaan, N.H.

Cavils

Who wrote this year's Honorary Degree citations? Specifically, Meryl Streep's, in which the phrase "more importantly" appears. Oh dear, oh dear.

New York, N. Y.

In the article entitled "Campaigning" on page 20 of the May issue, the statement is made that, "It was one of a flurry of mailings about that time, at the expense of the writers to groups of selected alumni," etc. One of those mentioned as having written was William L. Randall, I received one of Bill's letters and it was interesting to note that .the envelope was addressed with one of the College's computer-generated labels and that it had been run through one of the College's postage meters (#688016)!

Franklin Lakes, N.J.

[According to the secretary of the College, Randall reimbursed Dartmouth for the mailing. Ed.]

Biases

It was-interesting to read in the 1935 class notes that my classmate Bob Boehm writes of a recent trip to Nicaragua as a member of a group seeing government officials and people of importance. I am curious to know with what group he was traveling. It seems that he reached the conclusion that Nicaragua is not a communist country; instead, he glorifies it by calling attention to the fact that it is one of a few Latin American countries that has overthrown a police-state dictatorship, that private property has not been abolished, and so forth and so on,

It is true that private property has not been abolished. On the other hand, it seems that the most important ministries in the government are controlled by known communists. It is also noted that most of the television in Nicaragua is Cuban, and that Cuba has sent hundreds of school teachers to Nicaragua.

While all property has not been confiscated, none of Nicaragua's exports can be exported except through quasi-governmental organizations, and all farmers, whether they be cotton farmers, coffee farmers, or cattle farmers, must take what the government decides will be given to them.

When Bob speaks of the Somoza regime being a police state, there are many more in the armed forces and national guard in Nicaragua today then there ever were during the time of Somoza. As a matter of fact, so many were so employed that this year's cotton crop fell off in grade because of lack of cotton pickers. The situation became so grave that school children were let out of school to pick the crop. While all countries which have good relations with Cuba or East Germany or other communist-dominated countries are not necessarily communist Mexico, for instance Nicaragua allows only Cuban programs on television and imports Cubans to teach in the schools and has communist ministers of education, of justice, and of the armed forces, and is run by a junta from which the only two non-communists resigned. It is incredible that Bob could find Nicaragua is not a communist country, unless he relies on a narrow definition that any country that permits the ownership of private property is not com- munist.

I am afraid that all too many people go to foreign lands for very short trips and are unable to make in-depth studies. They are influenced beforehand to believe something to be true that is not true and come back with messages that may have been idealistically conceived but which are most definitely misleading. In the case of Nicaragua, it is my opinion that this appears to have happened to Bob. Nicaragua is trying to export communism to other Central American countries where polarization has resulted in the murder of thousands, many of whom are in the middle, by radicals of the right and of the left.

Montgomery, Ala.

Symbols

How fine to hear "Men of Dartmouth" sung at commencement without doubt or reservation. These young men and women seem to have made it through the semantic swamp and reached a high ground: They , trusted the old words for the glad spirit that spoke in them. I hope the same process is taking place with the so-called Indian symbol.

Richard Hovey needed no Indian symbol to write his songs. Neither did Franklin McDuffee. True, Hovey wrote a wonderfully irreverent take-off on Eleazar and and his crazy college in the sticks, but that was because there was a wide reverence to take off from.

In due time we shall get beyond our fretful introspection and take pride in Dartmouth again. Has any college in the distant or recent past done more for Americans red, white, black, male, female? I am not aware of any.

Besides, there is work to be done. We shall need each other. If the symbol wants to transform itself again and come along, so much the better.

Hanover, N.H.

Time out! All this fuss about an Indian symbol can end right here and now. In a momentary albeit rare flash of brilliance the answer came to me while listening to a band over Memorial Day weekend.

Let's have an Indian cymbal! Who can possibly take offense from a concave brass plate which sports a feather or two. I have never seen an undignified cymbal, Indian or otherwise, and will be totally dumbfounded if my suggestion is not met with instant and universal acceptance. Furthermore, the College probably already owns several cymbals over in Hopkins Center somewhere, so, except for a few feathers, this is a no-cost suggestion as well. Got any other problems?

Montpelier, Vt.

I have, like so many alumni, become convinced that choosing a College symbol is the most important issue now confronting civilization. While like the Dartmouth Review (perhaps it might have been more aptly named the Yale Revenge) I feel nostalgia for the symbol of my era, I recognize that there is little chance of restoring it. I, therefore, offer four modest proposals, behind any of which I can easily imagine a consensus forming:

The Dartmouth Long Green. Any alumnus or alumna who has been a Dartmouth graduate for more than an hour learns that he or she has suddenly been transformed in the eyes of the College administration from a source of trouble to a source of cash. This symbol could serve to remind all of us during the annual two-week period not covered by an Alumni Fund campaign of our duty and the College's expectations of us, as well as giving all undergraduates a glimpse of the continuing Dartmouth experience that awaits them.

The Dartmouth Toros. Familiar to all investors as a profound financial metaphor and carrying that aura of powerful masculinity Dartmouth graduates treasure, the bull makes a particularly appropriate academic and athletic symbol. Dartmouth's green and white make ideal backgrounds for this symbol, backgrounds which could even be varied with the seasons. For winter sports one can picture the Dartmouth Toro breasting aside the snow in billows, and similarly, for turf sports, grazing a wide swath through the grass.

The Dartmouth White Folks. As we all agree that there is no offense in a dignified Indian symbol, we can as easily agree that white people can be presented in a flattering and positive manner. After all, white people have been associated with the College since its founding and have made many important contributions to it, in addition to helping advance Western civilization. I, for one, am astonished that recognition of this important segment of our society has been so long in coming. Making it the College symbol could serve (if only in a small way) to help overcome this continuing neglect.

The Dartmouth Black Hole. Since choosing a symbol is an extraordinarily grave matter, why not select one with gravity approaching the infinite? Like the debate over symbols, the Dartmouth Black Hole would inexorably draw everything into it and emit no matter, no light.

I trust that we can rally behind one of these suggestions. I am certain that this letter settles the issue to everyone's satisfaction and no more need be said about it.

Norwich, Vt.

The ALUMNI MAGAZINE welcomes comment from itsreaders. For publication, letters should be signed andaddressed specifically to the Magazine (not copies ofcommunications to other organizations or individuals)Letters exceeding 400 words in length will be condensed by the editors.