Days of Contrast

"Green Key is probably the favorite weekend of all for most Dartmouth students," The Dartmouth editorialized in a special edition the Friday before that traditional College rite of spring. "What is more important about Green Key than any of the individual components of it is the spirit of the weekend. ..."

"The so-called 'lvory Tower' syndrome is trite," the paper added, "but it is nevertheless a real danger, particularly in Hanover, where there is so little of the outside world to intrude on one's studies."

And spring had finally come, and the days were sunny and the air was soft and warm, and there were picnics and Softball and a lot of cold beer. And the outside world did intrude, bringing with it the kind of violence we like to think happens elsewhere, to combine in volatile mix with an indigenous brand of mindless raging.

By Tuesday, The Dartmouth's lyric had turned to lament. "Hanover was a dangerous ous place this weekend, with at Least two reported sexual assaults, a vicious beat and a great deal of random destruction of property. . . . Dartmouth is not an enclave against violence but it ought to be When students who . . . were accepted as the 'cream of the crop' of high school as dents in America are becoming increasingly violent with one another, something t going very wrong. ... The Dartmouth spirit should serve to bind us together not to put us at each others' throats."

President McLaughlin felt it necessary to write a letter-to-the-editor of The Dartmouth, deploring "this last weekend's acts of destruction and physical violence" and calling for "this community to face up to these challenges and to undertake cooperatively the necessary corrections."

In the most sordid of the weekend's events, a Dartmouth sophomore and two other men who were visiting the campus (one a former student under indefinite suspension and the other a cousin of the latter were arraigned on charges of aggravated felonious sexual assault, an alleged gang rape. The attack was reported by the victim after she was driven back to Boston by her assailants.

A probable cause hearing was waived by the trio, and the cases were referred to the Grafton County grand jury. Indicted in late May, the three men face up to 15 years in the state penitentiary, if they are found guilty.

In the other assault, a woman student was the victim of what is known technically as "forcible touching" about 2:3u a.m. Sunday as she walked home across the Green.

A non-student male was severely beater early Saturday morning in front of Collect Hall. His three assailants, according to an unidentified eyewitness, left him lying on the ground and fled in the direction of Webster Hall. Town police called an ambulance for the victim, who apparently knew his attackers.

In addition to the violence inflicted upon persons, there were numerous incidents of vandalism and theft.

The Harbinger, a student journal started this year, called for new and better crime awareness programs at the College. Pointing to Dartmouth's "open door pointing and the "sense of false security" that comes from the rural ambience of Hanover, the editors warned that "if we don't want to live in a fortress at Dartmouth, locked to the outside world as are Columbia and Har ird, then we must all accept our

reVL nsibilities. E- th Campus Police and the dean's office emphasize the need for awareness that c< nes only with full disclosure and vigorous follow-up of incidents of campus vious Proctor Robert McEwen stressed the importance of students' reporting suchincidents promptly and cooperating fully with police in order that perpetrators be apprehended quickly.

Associate Dean of the College Marilyn Baldwin pointed to a new Crisis Alert System to be put into operation when and onK when a serious assault has been

committed and the suspect or suspects are still at large to constitute a threat to the community. Within half an hour of a reported incident, she said, the campus will be blanketed with notices of the event, w ere and when it happened, descriptions of the perpetrator and any vehicle involved, and advice on precautions to be taken.