Letters

Look No Further

Henry N. Blansfield M.D. '45 asks why drugs and alcohol are such a problem today {June issue, Letters], Look no further than the cover of the June issue. Glass-in-hand is standard fare for Dartmouth illustration. Surprisingly, the class-notes section contains no shots of tipplers. It usually does.

Over the years my respect for the Dartmouth product has steadily eroded. The display of conspicuous consumption on the June cover has accelerated the process. For all its pretense, Dartmouth is hardly in the business of producing contributors to the future of the earth. Blansfield's narcissists are encouraged. Go to Dartmouth; get a degree; make a bundle as corporate lawyer, ad exec, stockbroker, dermatologist, G. F. product manager, actuary, C.I.A. agent. The environmental lawyers, reform politicians (municipal), and social workers are few and far between.

In times of 10 per cent unemployment, tax cuts for the rich, increased Medicare deductibles, catsup as school lunch vegetable du jour, I find it repellent to feature Lily Pulitzer-garbed, Excalibur repro-driving, swizzling alumni on the cover.

The Wasserman photography is excellent and perhaps not unintended to stimulate such a point of view.

Contribute to Dartmouth? And subsidize another real-estate developer?

The ad on page 6 addressed to "Tailgaters and Loyal Alumni!" is very appropriate. What's the word . . . hypocrisy?

Osterville, Mass.

It seems to me that the cover of the June 1982 ALUMNI MAGAZINE is in particularly bad taste, especially since the March issue had such a fine article on alcoholism. I take exception to one alumnus with a can of beer to his lips and the other with what is probably a mixed drink. It seems as though consistency is lacking.

Chicago, Ill.

Perennial Problem

The recent preoccupation by the administration and students of the College with the perplexing paradox of alcohol abuse has venerable reverberations.

Witness the following, published in TheDartmouth for July 1843:

"We have two or three anecdotes which will throw some light, not only on the manners of the first President, but also on those of some of the people he had about him.

"The first of these we received from the late Rev. Noah Miles, of Temple, N.H., a graduate of 1780. He had a chum, probably his classmate, and his name might have been Joseph Steward. 'My chum,' said Mr. M., 'had a spree at the tavern, in company with several others. He came home dead drunk and sick. He was soon sent for, by the President. I went in his stead; tapped at the door; "Come in," responded a loud voice. So in I went. There sat the old gentleman, at his writing-table; a great white wig on his head. He did not turn his face to look at me. "Sit down," so down I sat and waited. By and by, he laid down his pen, and looked toward me. "Ah, is it you, Miles. How do you do? But is not Steward your chum?" "He is, sir." "I sent for him; why does he not come to me?" "Sir, he is not able to come." "But he can walk, can he not?" "Sir, he cannot stand upon his feet and legs." "Indeed, then he is badly done up. This is a miserable affair. That tavern is a nuisance. But can you tell me, Miles, whether my sons Eleazer and James were there with Steward?" "Sir, he told me that they were." "Ah, I suspected it. Bad boys of mine. I have some hope of James, yet; but as to Eleazer, he will be damned, I believe." ' It hence appears that alcohol was then doing much mischief, notwithstanding the newness of the country and the sacredness of the College."

Eleazar Wheelock Jr. emigrated with his family to Boat Run, Ohio, in 1811, where, under mysterious circumstances, he died.

Sandy Courter M.D. '41 and his wife Mary searched diligently but could never find his grave. Perhaps his father's gloomy utterances were prophetic.

Denver, Colo.

The April issue of the Alumni Magazine causes me to comment on three articles therein:

"Saturday Night Conscious," by Lisa Compny '82. An excellent analysis of a perennial problem {alcohol abuse}. However, the statement of The New York Times Selective Guide toColleges, 1982—83 exaggerated and glamorized the problem.

"Just One Spill." A prime example of the perennial problem referred to above. Funny, but sad.

"Hotsy-Totsy," by Lomax Littlejohn '43. An interesting and well-told story. More than a few people, longing to get out of our national dollar-hunt, would like to do what Lomax Littlejohn has done. Of course, not all marriages exhaust themselves; but it's heartening to be reminded that some of us still prize values not based on cash flow.

Westwood, Mass.

Dartmouth's Friend

A tribute to a very dear lady: Lura Kenyon is not only the widow of Bob Kenyon, class of'07, but she has been a friend of Dartmouth College and the catalyst of her husband's class for many years. Her notes have appeared in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE after there was no one able to submit them but a widow. She has chaired the Fund drive, watched over the widows and kept in touch with their families as memorial fund chairman and as a friend. The Dartmouth Club of Florida will remember her. and her husband as active members for more years than I am aware. She has been all things to all class members. My husband Bib ('37) and I looked forward to our visits with her at Class Officers meeting each year. Her friendly smile, quick humor, and eagerness to participate in everything that went on from the serious meetings to the social hours are just a few of the memories we have, and we, like many others, miss her now that she no longer gets to Hanover in the spring.

Her very touching salute to the 75 th anniversary this year of 1907's graduation, which appeared in your March issue, is so like the special person she is.

May God bless you, Lura. We are better people because you have touched our lives, and you are thought of lovingly.

Wellesley, Mass

Silence Is Impotence

This letter is prompted by 1) President McLaughlin's March 3 message to the "Dartmouth Family," in which he mentions the College's increasingly serious financial situation, and 2) recent articles in this magazine, relating to the impacts this crunch is having on financial support for undergraduates.

The Reagan Administration is directly threatening broad-based higher education in this country. The College may try to be scrupulously apolitical in describing the situation, but, unless things change dramatically, Dartmouth and institutions like it will be lucky to continue functioning at current levels. What's more, it will become increasingly difficult, and probably impossible, for many nonwealth.y students to attend, as financial-aid monies are reallocated to heating bills, salaries, and other more essential expenses.

This is not an issue to divide Democrats from Republicans, nor conservatives from liberals, for Americans of all political persuasions have recognized for years that widely available higher education was one of the cornerstones of the Republic. However, President Reagan and his associates are attacking these essential ideals.

The three most obvious causes for this crisis are: 1) new tax laws, which require middleclass people to shoulder a far greater share of the burden, and which make large donations far less attractive to others; 2) a reeling national economy, accelerated by "voodoo economics" (George Bush's words) causing widespread unemployment and high interest rates; and 3) greatly reduced federal support for peopleoriented programs among them, higher education and research programs (many at universities).

Is President Reagan solely responsible for all this? Obviously not; a majority of the Congress is going along. But the White House has initiated these programs and others. Of what good is a bigger defense budget if many can't afford top-quality education? What good is a "retooled economy" if more people are out of work? (I offer these as a believer in national defense and as a founder of a corporation which hcprovides my income.)

We as individuals must recognize the seriousness of these threats as the College already does and their political roots. We as individuals, and the College as an institution, must speak out and act in the political arena if they are to be reversed. If a majority of Americans indeed favor equal education, economic and social opportunity regardless of income, race, or sex, then they are attainable but only if we each speak out to all elected officials (and elect new ones if incumbents don't respond).

Hopefully, Dartmouth College produces enlightened citizens. However, silent citizens are impotent, regardless of their background. If we all do not act in defense of democratic ideals, we have no complaint if they and perhaps Others are taken away.

Speak up, friends it's later than we think

Anchorage, Alaska

Are There More?

In response to Walter Knoepfel's assertion [March issue] that there are no Korean alumni, may I call attention to Chang Hwan Kim, who graduated from Dartmouth in the late sixties and went on to Harvard, where he earned his Ph.D.

He became a 'good friend as professor of chemistry at Suffolk University in Boston where I was director of libraries.

He left Suffolk in '73 or 74 to return to Korea where he had received an appointment at a university as a professor of chemistry engaged in teaching and research.

Aiken, S.C

Three Kinds of Schools

May I quote from Wayne A. Worcester's, "The Professor Who Struck a Nerve," published in Yankee magazine, August 1882, in which the author quotes Jacob Neusner, professor of religious studies at Brown University:

" 'There are three kinds of schools,' he said. 'One, those schools at which the faculty is smarter than the student body. This seems to be generally true of the large state universities, at least a majority of them outside New England. . . .'

" 'Two, those schools at which the students are smarter than the faculty, like Dartmouth, Williams, and Amherst, where the faculty tend to be nice-guy, camp-counselor types, a lot of never-wases pretending to be has-beens.'

" 'And three, those schools at which the faculty and students are equally bright. I think that's best, and it seems true of the larger Ivy League schools. Sometimes it is true of Brown. . . .' "

Perhaps Professor Neusner would prefer to change pur Dartmouth from Vox Clamantis inDeserto (the Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness) to Vox Clamantis in Corifusione (the Voice of One Shouting in Confusion).

Kudos to Dartmouth students!

Bloomsburg, Penn

{Before he joined the Brown faculty, Jacob Neusnerwas professor of religion at Dartmouth. Ed.}

Chubbers

In May I attended the ceremony dedicating the new D.O.C. shelter near Mt. Moosilauke to the memory of John Baldwin '81 and Laurie Van Buskirk '80. Amid red pines and black flies, Sally McCoy, the '82's C&T [Cabin and Trial] chairman, led off by saying, "I'm not too good at public speaking, but I have an excuse I'm a chubber." Anecdotes were exchanged about Laurie or John, often illustrating the loyalty of the two to the D.O.C. fellowship by saying that he or she "was always willing to cut classes." I noticed on some faces in the gathering a dismay over the frequency of such comments; some evidently weren't in on the secret and actually believed that the neglect of academics is of the essence of C&T.

The "secret," which C&Ters won't even admit to themselves, is that they do just as well academically as any Dartmouth group. Chubbers often learn through the grapevine that some member they've never seen cracking a book is graduating with highest distinction, much to his embarrassment.

So why the facade? Why, when most students in America quail with anxiety lest someone not realize how fervently they crave success, do D.O.C. members eschew any hint of being thought "geeks"?

The answer, I think, reveals an aspect of the "Dartmouth Spirit" which those seeking to "improve student life" should take care not to discourage. For this attitude, often mistakenly branded "anti-intellectual," is actually an affirmation, a celebration of the spirit that inspired these students to share their love of the outdoors by building a public .shelter and dedicating it to two friends who loved that same fellowship. It's a spirit within which the individual's identity expands to encompass the group, all of the natural world, and humanity's place in it. Chubbers don't ridicule academic achievement, merely the idea that it is the prime measure of personal worth. They have nothing to prove to each other; being a chubber is good enough. With the sense of self-worth rooted in something larger, the ambitious are free to pursue excellence for its own sake. And the perpetuation of institutions which entice others to anchor a few shoots of their identities outside themselves may be one of the most excellent things one can pursue.

Because of her belief in the excellence of one such institution, the Dartmouth Outing Club, Sally McCoy's shelter dedication speech was masterful. Of course, it didn't have to be after all she's a chubber.

Lyme, N.H

Sense of Place

There is a matter of more significance for Dartmouth in general than the financial arrangements that have now been concluded with the Hitchcock Clinic. This is the proposal for a new out-patient facility to relieve a shortage of office space in the Medical Center. No one denies the need for a new building; the question is location.

There are two choices: within the Medical Center on the campus or on a large block of land owned by the Clinic at the edge of Hanover on Route 120 between Hanover and Lebanon. If it were not for the special character of the Dartmouth campus and Hanover itself, there would be little reason to consider a remote site. Already, however, there is evidence that urbanization of the campus is seriously eroding its atmosphere. The problem is the automobile. For example, a year or so ago the Committee on the Quality of Student Life recommended that steps be taken to reduce the adverse impact of the car on the campus, and increasingly one hears the disquieting remark that such urban campuses as Brown and Penn are quieter and less beset by the automobile than Dartmouth.

This out-patient facility will be a large project. It will be more than three times the size of the new Hood Museum; and projections indicate that it will be adequate for the Medical Center's needs only until 1990—92, when an addition will be necessary. No matter how parking is handled, the traffic generated will have a serious deleterious impact on contiguous areas. Traffic and parking, of course, are not the only factors that must be taken into account in site location. Cost, patient and physician convenience, flexibility, and expansibility are also important; and the options are now being evaluated with these in mind by Medical Center organizations.

Why bring the Dartmouth alumni into an issue which seems so parochial? Simply because it is important to make certain that the Dartmouth administration places sufficient emphasis on the need to protect the campus in the deliberations that will lead to a final choice. If the Dartmouth we know today is to survive, we must look for imaginative solutions to contemporary problems rather than relying on the old nostrums.

Dartmouth is unique in the Ivy League in large measure because of "the Place." Surely, its preservation is important enough to inspire involvement by thoughtful alumni. Perhaps I speak with special feeling on this matter; I spent four years in New Haven.

Etna, N.H,

Calvert's People

An ancient adage from Korea: "When you stop learning it's time to die."

Thanks to the Dartmouth Alumni College and its mentor Steve Calvert, learning is rampant among the graduates of this college and their friends. This summer Steve and four brilliant stars from the faculty David Kastan, Joy Kenseth, David Lagomarsino, and Nancy Vickers outdid themselves, leading alumni in a stunning analysis of the Renaissance. Those of us lucky enough to attend wish to crown our leader with laurels.

Hooray for Steve and his long-living learners!

Hanover, N.H

R.O.T.C.

I wish Dartmouth alumni would expend some effort considering the role of R.O.T.C. on the Dartmouth campus. I was enrolled in the R.O.T.C. program when the student referendum supporting the removal of R.O.T.C. from the Dartmouth campus occurred. I believed at the time, and I still believe, that the student referendum expressed a disenchantment with the American military because of America's involvement in an unpopular and undeclared war. However, I believed at the time, and I still believe, that: 1) the United States needs conventional forces, 2) the United States benefits from the involvement of civilian-types (nonmilitary school graduates) in its conventional forces, and 3) students who want to participate in R.0.T.C., for whatever reason, have the right to do so.

I know that Dartmouth College can do more than it is doing to facilitate a student's ability to participate in R.O.T.C. I believe there are many valid reasons to encourage a young person to become involved in R.O.T.C. namely, scholarship money, supplementary stipends, a decent-paying job upon graduation, and an interlude between college and a career or graduate school during which time a person can develop skills useful in society.

Upon graduation, I taught United States history to American servicemen stationed in Bad Kreuznach, West Germany. I developed an admiration and respect for many of the officers with whom I came into contact, most of whom had been involved in an R.O.T.C. program. at non-military institutions. Two older brothers and one younger brother have participated in R.O.T.C. programs. The oldest brother became a general's aide and is now a partner in a well-established mid-town Man hattan law firm. The second brother was in the judge advocate general's branch, received an LL.M. in constitutional criminal law at Harvard, and is associated with a Philadelphia law firm. My youngest brother just graduated from college and is going to Fort Sills, Oklahoma, for basic training in field artillery.

From what I can discern, my brothers and my country benefited from the establishment of the R.O.T.C. program. I am not a military recruiter and I do not subscribe to the belief that R.O.T.C. should be mandatory at Dartmouth. However, I do believe on-campus R.O.T.C. programs serve a useful purpose for many young people and for our country. Furthermore, I believe it is time for Dartmouth College to work out a way to bring R.O.T.C. back to campus.

Montpelier, Vt.

Fifty Years of Change

I have finally ."made it" to the June issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE and the interesting article on Main Street. This, I think, needs some slight changes, just in case anyone is trying to keep a record of what went on where. I came to Hanover in the fall of 1928 and have seen the changes of the last 50 years.

I had a lot of fun with the article, which I gather was not meant to be actually all-inclusive. However, it was Mac's restaurant, not Max's. That was where Lou Bressett got his start for Lou's further down the street. At Mac's, the kitchen was just below the narrow restaurant, and orders were yelled down some sort of tube or phone or loud speaker. I remember that if you wanted toasted English muffins, it turned into "Burnt British."

The Green Lantern was much older than indicated. It was there when I arrived, run by Miss Florence Lindsay. It was an eating club where students, staff, or faculty paid a weekly sum for three meals a day. After Miss Lindsay married and finally left town, it was then that Al Lauziere took over and made it more of an inn and less of an eating club (the eating clubs went out with the war, when acquiring the food was almost impossible, even with coupons).

In the Tavern Block, the top and second floor had rooms for a strange assortment of downand-outs (I think). I had to check it during the war, when I, as an air raid warden, had to list the occupants. It was considered advisable for me not to go alone. On the street level was Scotty's second-hand shop and eventually, on the southern-most corner, a restaurant where I used to eat after the Green Lantern had folded. I think it was called the Snack Bar and was run by a Mr. Henry from Windsor. A cheerful, accommodating man with good, fastish food.

Before the Nugget took over its whole block (which included the hat shop), there were two residences there and both rented rooms. Bill Brock, the barber (he was next to the bank before it expanded north) owned the house, and I lived on its top floor for about 22 years, or until the house was sold to the Nugget when they had their new theater planned for that location. Over the hat shop was the renowned Rood Club, another eating club, serving mostly faculty and staff and a few students.

Hanover, N.H,

Good Medicine

At the 63rd annual session of the American College of Physicians at Philadelphia, it was a great pleasure to attend the special panel on "Clinical Vignettes." An extremely interesting case was presented by a most attractive house officer, Karin van Hoek M.D., A.C.P. Associate, from the Dartmouth Medical School.

She must be congratulated for being chosen to present one of the 16 papers selected from an overwhelming number of topics submitted from 50 Eastern medical shcools.

Her excellent and very involved presentation indicated training in a residency program of the highest caliber. As a second year resident, she has been well supervised by Donald Mackay M.D., chief of infectious disease at the Hitchcock Clinic and the incoming governor for the American College of Physicians from the state of New Hampshire.

Both Dr. van Hoek and Dr. Mackay should be applauded for representing Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School in such an exemplary fashion.

Once again, Dartmouth and its graduate schools demonstrate the fine caliber of the student being produced. Both of these institutions merit the support of all alumni for the continuation of their educational endeavors. I was certainly proud to be able to say that she came from my medical school. Congratulations!

Concord, N.H

Dean's Lament

Saw your ad for dean, which prompted this bit of doggerel: Alas, Poor haycock,Time's out of joint,When they have to run adsFor a new dean to anoint!Too bad old Spud BrayHas gone from the scene.He mighta madeA hell of a dean!

San Diego, Calif.