Letters

The President's Risk

I wonder if it has occurred to other alumni who have been in executive positions that the toughest decisions are often those where there is a clear danger that one may appear to be a "bad guy." Without any inside knowledge of David McLaughlin vs. Dennis Dinan, I suggest that the president of the College called a tough one as he saw it, fully aware that he might appear to be less than a stalwart supporter of freedom of the press. He may even have been in one of those situations where it is necessary to rise above principle and do the right thing.

We need a strong president at Dartmouth and we've got one.

Seattle, Wash.

{O'Connell was executive assistant to PresidentDickey from 1955 to 1957. As president of Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, Mass., hereceived the Alexander Meiklejohn Award for Academic Freedom from the AAUP. Ed.]

Balance Questioned

I have just completed reading the letters to the editor printed in the January/February 1983 issue. As with the Indian symbol, I suppose that the departure of Dennis Dinan will be a subject of debate for a rather significant period of time.

I note that all the letters on the subject are opposed to the action of President McLaughlin. Inasmuch as the Magazine represents that it attempts to give a "balanced" presentation of various issues, I am curious as to whether there simply were not any letters sent to the Magazine supporting the action of the president. I find this difficult to believe somehow.

I have enjoyed the Magazine under the aegis of Dennis Dinan and for the most part believe that it has been a definite improvement over an alumni magazine which was already a very fine effort. On the other hand, the president of the College obviously has to deal with alumni of all different leanings and ideas. And if the president concludes that good as the Magazine is, it, consciously or unconsciously, does not reflect the general intent and purpose of the administration, it is a little hard to see why the president is not well within his rights to make a change in the stewardship of the Magazine, in view of the fact' that it is, after all, the official organ of the College.

One wonders whether this amount of heated rhetoric would come from these correspondents if the editor dismissed was a person who espoused the general philosophies of The Dartmouth Review, with which I do not always agree, but I am convinced is the only serious effort being made on the campus to bring forth another point of view.

Thus, I am not making any judgment on Dennis Dinan or his performance as editor, because it did not occur to me that his ideas had "taken over" the Magazine. So we are left with whether President McLaughlin was within his rights, and indeed privileged, to take the action he did. I don't see any particular degree of unfairness, in his decision and at bottom it would seem that he is going to be an effective president only if he develops his own ideas as to the management of the school, and has an official organ which is generally, but not uncritically, supportive. Certainly President Kemeny and certain members of the Board of Trustees over the years took numerous actions with which many of us violently disagreed, but I don't see that we have any right to say that they were not privileged to do so as a matter of administration policy. It's just that people were privileged to differ with that policy.

In closing, I would hope that letters to the editor on a significant issue would, at least in general, reflect the general breakdown between those who wrote in favor of the action and those who wrote against the action.

Seattle, Wash.

{The letters printed in the January-February issuewere not a selection but were the total received. Theirone-sidedness can perhaps be attributed to the factthat they were based on early newspaper accounts thatdid not go much beyond the issue of editorialindependence. Ed.]

Worth Noting

Recent letter writers who are concerned that the ALUMNI MAGAZINE is about to be converted into a house organ impervious to criticism should note carefully that their own criticisms were published in loving detail in its last issue.

Hanover, N.H

The Dinan Aftermath

I am writing as an alumnus who is disturbed by recent events involving the governance ot the DARTMOUTH ALUMNI MAGAZINE and the removal of Dennis Dinan as its editor. Reports in the national media have detracted from the reputation of the College.

I am also writing as an alumnus who views the significant changes wrought in the College by the Kemeny administration as progressive and worthy of the great institution we all fee' the College to be. The implementation of to- education, the creation of the Dartmouth Plan the encouragement of enrollment by minority students, the improvement of the quality of the faculty, and even the abandonment of the traditional Indian symbol, which frequently had become a degrading and unwholesome caricature, were all actions which moved Dartmouth into the forefront of American higher education. Consistent with those changes, the ALUMNI MAGAZINE has improved significantly in quality during the last decade. This magazine has met its responsibility to report to the alumni the achievements and the ferment caused by changes in the policies and programs of the College.

Now its editorial independence and integrity are at peril. Will the ALUMNI MAGAZINE become a mere "house organ"? Will the alumni permit its demotion to mediocrity? I hope not.

The integrity and quality of our alumni magazine must be preserved, and in order to achieve that objective, a new structure is necessary. As a minimal solution, the DAM should be insulated from the administration of the College by placing it under the editorial and financial supervision of an independent board of governors. Better yet, a separate corporate entity should be created, following the model used by other colleges and universities (e.g., Yale). The objective of a new structure should be to safeguard the editorial independence of the DAM, to assure its budgetary autonomy, and to enhance its ability to attract and retain skilled editorial personnel.

San Francisco, Calif.

The heavy barrage of "editorial freedom" missiles and missives in the case of the owner vs. the editor of your publication, Dartmouth College CEO David McLaughlin vs. Editor Dennis Dinan, causes me both amazement and concern.

There are certainly many who have had a closer association with Dennis through the years than have I, but I have known him since he returned to Dartmouth and served as secretary of the Newsletter Editors Association. Since he assumed the editorship of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE we have met on numerous occasions, discussing specific points or general practices of the Magazine. I, too, have generally admired and favored his imaginative and interesting development of the Magazine's format over the years. But I have also questioned some of the particulars in this generally commendable evolution. And the particulars that I questioned were ones that I felt were not in the best interests of Dartmouth College.

I can only assume that President McLaughlin also questioned certain particulars, perhaps set certain guidelines. As long as Dartmouth College is the legal owner of its alumni magazine and Dave McLaughlin is president of Dartmouth College, I am unable to determine an; basis under which the College's CEO should not have the power to exercise reasonable control over the editor of a publication owned by; the College and intended to benefit that College.

Syndicated columnist James J. Kilpatrick, for 17 years the editor of a major newspaper and writing on the First Amendment rights of student editors, recently commented that, in his view, "the rights of an editor end where the power of his publisher begins." I am indeed sorry that Dennis has chosen not to agree to the terms proposed by the president. I am sorry that certain qualified and highly respected alumni and editorial professionals have chosen to wave the flag on behalf of editorial freedom while totally disregarding the responsibility of a publication and the welfare of its intended beneficiary.

I am very concerned that any members of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE'S staff or its Advisory Board, of the Alumni Council or of any special committee, might support the editorial freedom of an individual over the responsibilities of an owner and publisher to continue to benefit Dartmouth College the job for which the publication was designed and which it has done successfully for over 75 years. I only hope that this temporary divisiveness within the Dartmouth family will result in an early return to an even greater cohesiveness - as it has on previous occasions and will need to in the future.

I can only hope that these humble thoughts may entwine with those of others to contribute to the continuing glory of Dartmouth.

Hempstead, N. Y.

To every action there is a reaction. This is so well exemplified by history. Perhaps it is best, for it is a stabilizing influence. The corporate board in Parkhurst Hall very likely realizes this and maybe they are right. But the dismissal of Editor Dennis Dinan is puzzling. It is also disappointing.

Dartmouth College is an institution dedicated to higher learning. Dismissing editors is in the corporate mold, not the academic. It could be somewhat likened to "book burning."

Our immediate prior president was an academic genius with impeccable credentials. Our president before him eloquently delivered his own philosophy with the phrase, "Gentlemen, your business here is learning and we're with you all the way." It was, after all, President Dwight Eisenhower who delivered on our campus his famous warning against "book burners."

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of corresponding with Dennis Dinan. I had just read an article about the Cornell University Press, which described its book selection process and justifiably acknowledged its prestigious position in the field of learned publications. My curiosity was awakened concerning Dartmouth College Press, which is rather nondescript and not a very major undertaking. In fact, I wondered whether it actually did exist and, therefore, wrote to Dennis Dinan for information. It was quickly forthcoming in informative, erudite, and friendly style, so consistent with the Dartmouth family that I realized immediately why it is that I read and so enjoy the ALUMNI MAGAZINE.

I have more than a passing acquaintance with editors, because I have written and had published four books in my field of endeavor and contributed many articles to surgical and medical journals. Some editors are arrogant, haughty, stubborn, vicious, and even downright stupid. Most are considerate, understanding, appreciative, intellectually oriented without being snobbish, and even helpful. It is in that group I felt Dennis Dinan belonged. Good editors are hard to replace. Too bad!

San Francisco, Calif.

What a treat that was to look at the JanuaryFebruary issue and see Dartmouth in action. Once again the cover and contents were Dartmouth.

It is good to note that steps are being taken at Dartmouth to improve administration, the tone of the athletic program, and our alumni magazine.

Improvement of management is a rough job as I learned from twenty years as a management specialist. But periodically action must be taken to correct deficiencies, even though some affected may resist any change in the status quo. President McLaughlin has initiated a firm but sound remedial approach. He deserves the support of the solid but silent alumni majority out there.

Alexandria, Va.

For a college with a long tradition of independent thinking on the part of its administration, its undergraduates, and its alumni, Dartmouth, at the moment, stands in a sorry light.

The method followed in securing the resignation of Dennis Dinan from his post as editor of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE is one which must stir an alumnus who cares for the reputation of the College to a feeling beyond distaste. To offer Mr. Dinan, in lieu of dismissal, the option of a six-months probationary period was no great compliment to Mr., Dinan's integrityAccepting would have gained him the collar of intellectual serfdom. To his honor, he resigned instead.

But this method of procedure was also a shock to the alumni. Whether so intended or not, it implied a willingness on the part of the administration to make the ALUMNI MAGAZINE a kind of official "house organ," an approach to a "trade journal" supporting the views of the board of directors. The alumni of no college stand in closer relationship to their Alma Mate* than do the alumni of Dartmouth, and to fin themselves thus discounted, even by one 0f their own, is not reassuring.

The ALUMNI MAGAZINE must continue as avenue of communication between the alumni and the administration. In moments of disagreement it must be equally open to both sides and it wll do no harm if the editor is ranted more freedom than either side would really like to allow him. He cannot always be walking either a tight-rope or a picket fence. No matter whether the College or the alumni assume most of the support of the Magazine, the question of its editor's tenure should not rest arbitrarily with one voice only. The alumni body and the Alumni Council form an equal partner in its efficacy. If this is not acknowledged on both sides, the ALUMNI MAGAZINE may as well be discontinued.

York, Maine

It was gratifying to see the outburst occasioned by President McLaughlin's high-handed firing of your editor. Dennis Dinan not only did a fine job of editing, but he apparently earned the friendship and respect of the people who worked with him.

When I read the article in The New YorkTimes describing the incident, I immediately wrote a letter. I should have sent it to you, the staff of the Magazine, but stupidly I sent it to the College. In the letter I said that on the basis of President McLaughlin's action I would no longer contribute any funds to the College during his incumbency. This action, I feel, is more effective than a letter, however fine and impassioned the rhetoric.

Edgartown, Mass.

I should like to be brief about a subject that has had much attention. It goes, now, without saying that President McLaughlin and his aide made a foolish, but serious, mistake when they faced Dennis Dinan with an intolerable situation. It does not follow that the results are irrevocable. We have all made mistakes. Isn't it possible to have a meeting, to admit the error, and ask Dennis to return to the post where he belongs? Dennis may be somewhat inhibited at first, so might the president, but the publication and the College will survive. If we can rethink and re-do the 1940 Cornell-Dartmouth (sth down) game, we can reinstate Dennis Dinan. I think it is up to Dave McLaughlin to call the meeting.

New London, N.H.

The most lamentable aspect of the whole sorry Dinan case was President McLaughlin's decision to put editor Dinan on a six-month probationary period, when in fact it was McLaughlin himself who was in a sense still on probation with the entire Dartmouth family and will remain so even longer as a result of this maladroit handling of the affair.

Mission Viejo, Calif.

I wish to add my voice to the many others who feel a professional and personal indigtion with President McLaughlin's decision to force the resignation of Dennis Dinan.

Dinan's contribution to the College, its alumni, and its friends is known and highly valued. President McLaughlin's contributions have yet to be measured. Dartmouth has always been a special institution that has blended and respected an array of talents and viewpoints. I am troubled that President McLaughlin believes the College just isn't big enough for both him and Mr. Dinan.

Minneapolis, Minn.

I receive four prestigious alumni magazines. In recent years only the one from Dartmouth was read beyond the class notes, thanks to Editor Dinan. No successful editor would work under "probation." I thought our ALUMNI MAGAZINE was ours. It was fun to get a "feel" for the College. I am not interested in getting President McLaughlin's message. I receive it through many other channels.

Burlington, Vt.

What in the name of poison ivy is happening in Hanover?

I live close enough to Hanover to be privy to information that neither Dennis Dinan nor Seaver Peters voluntarily retired from their respective positions as was widely reported. Why were they forced out and why are we not being told the truth?

Both men served Dartmouth proudly and effectively For many years, and both are greatly respected by all members of the Dartmouth community, past and present.

There is definitely something afoul when two such loyal sons of Dartmouth are exiled in such a short period of time without full explanation or apparent justification. These men of quality and integrity have been tossed aside in the same way many top executives are forced out in any corporate takeover and reorganization.

Cornish, N.H

I was indeed sorry to learn of the departure of Dennis Dinan. I.have delayed writing until we had more information as to the administration side of the problems involved.

I think I have excellent credentials as a devoted reader of the Magazine over many years. I have a copy of Volume XXI, December 1928

Editor Eric P. Kelly '06, Associate Sid Hayward '26. I have also kept copies covering the Eisenhower visit in July 1953 and the Hopkins birthday dinner, March 1958.

For years I had the habit of clipping '26 Class Notes, and these were my primary source of information in writing the 50-year history of our class. I have also saved many of the North of Boston" columns by the late Parker '25, which I particularly enjoyed. Also pictures and stories of "Prexy" Hopkins, Jim Ober- lander "Red" Rolfe, and many other of our era.

I may be slightly prejudiced because Dinan saw fit to Print severa' letters which I wrote, some of his covers I didn't like, but there were many fine articles. The one on the movies was, as they say in that industry, "colossal." With all my considerable reading, I can't say that I ever found anything which I thought was "negative" in character, as the news media have reported. In the years since I have retired I have had time to read the Magazine more completely, but it has always been number one on my list of periodicals.

1 am encouraged by the fact that the JanuaryFebruary issue published several strongly proDinan letters. This seems to indicate that for the present at least there is no curtailment of freedom of editorial content, as some of the writers have feared.

I am hoping that in future issues we will have more information on the administration side of this controversy and more facts on the basic reasons for Dinan's departure.

Sarastoa, Fla

Now that the DARTMOUTH ALUMNI MAGAZINE reflects the administration's concerns, namely fund-raising, the ALUMNI COUNCIL, the Tuck School, and trivial news items, it is not worth reading. It has been reduced to a Dartmouth information and advertising sheet. Surely there are more interesting and worthwhile things to talk about; the Magazine does not have to be totally devoid of intellectual content or social issues, does it? I want Dennis Dinan back as editor, or else you can cancel my subscription. I get enough unsolicited advertisements already, thank you.

St. Cloud, Minn

Jerry Pierce

It was with great pleasure and a feeling of thankfulness that I read the Alumni Album story in the January-February issue. To read that Jerry Pierce '8l was able to attend Dartmouth and have his commitment to Jesus Christ nurtured and developed is the best news to come out of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE in a long, long time. After all the years that Dartmouth has drifted to humanism and away from its origins, we can joyfully say, "Praise the Lord for today's Christian witness in Hanover."

I also want to express my appreciation to the MAGAZINE for focusing on Jerry and our Lord and Savior —Jesus Christ.

Winnetka, Ill.

The Alumni Album article entitled "Looklng to His Creator" about Jerry Pierce '81 was a surprise to me. During my time in Hanover, I never met someone who believed in God . . . that is a person who really believed, lived it and made a difference.

about JerrY Pierce started me finking that Eleazar Wheelock (Yale 1733) would be pleased about Jerry's decision for Guatemala, for the Reverend Wheelock founded the College with the same evangelical commitment as captured by Jerry's witness and by Dartmouth's own motto: Vox Clamantis in Deserto. When I was at Dartmouth, I thought this saying on my class ring was somehow the source of the "Wah Hoo Wah" Indian tradition; only years later, when I made a decision for Christ in 1979, did I eventually learn that our college was founded on a prophecy of Isahiah 40:3, fulfilled by John in 30 A.D.: "A voice of onecalling in the desert," prepare the Way for the Lord; Make straight in the wilderness a Highway for our God ..."

When I now reflect on the humanistic, fundraising philosophies I receive in the mail "On the Purpose of Dartmouth," it is not surprising that there are so few Jerry Pierces coming out of Hanover, or going there for that matter. It was my experience that the people of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Isaiah, John, Jesus the Messiah in the order of Melchizedek, Peter, Paul, James, etc. if at Dartmouth still, are very still indeed. Perhaps things have changed since the mid-1960's, and possibly Eleazar's mission is being rekindled. In any event, "Wah Hoo Wah" for Jerry Pierce.

Weston, Mass.

Study Abroad

This is a belated reaction to Art Lull's letter in the November issue.

I was the one who probably coached Art and Dick Porter to join up with the University of Delaware, having been a member of that group two years ahead of them. And, I, in turn, was preceded by at least one earlier Dartmouth man

Roy Myers, I believe, was his name, and he came from somewhere around Jersey City. I don't find his name in the most recent directory-

In addition to all the standard experience we received from a year in France in those days, I had the added experience of being held up at pistol point (a very small pistol) on my way back to 244 Blvd. Raspail (a block or so above the Dome) around 3 a.m. Two unemployed bakers, they said. We discussed matters and eventually divided my total of 25 francs three ways; ten went to each of them and five plus my cigarette lighter back to me. Then the gendarmes to whom I happened to mention the event nearly jailed me, not for being drunk and disorderly, but for never having obtained a proper carte d'identite. Those days were even better than Jeff Hart's decade of fifties.

Oley, Pa.

Just As Smart

My husband, Red Kerlin '21, Tuck School '22, Kappa Sigma, could barely cover up his belief in the superiority of education from Ivy League and eastern womens' colleges over my couple of degrees from boondock U. of Nevada and U. of California. My great loyalty and effort for my Kappa Alpha Theta sorority caused much hilarity.

He wasn't a real male chauvinist, but I can imagine how he and his peers would resist knuckling down to the present coed system at Dartmouth. How I wish he had lived these past 24 years to witness what I consider progress, and secretly, since he was a wonderful guy, to admit that we women are about as smart, no matter the locale.

Kentfield, Calif.

Cover Comment

Your January-February cover picture of Dartmouth is ludicrously contrived. If you don't understand why, you've no right to the title of "editor." If you do, you've gracelessly abused that right.

Ridgefield, Conn.

{Photographer Nancy Wasserman '77 replies: "inten years of shooting Dartmouth photographs, I havenever contrived what appears to be an informal photograph. Mr. Wieting endows me with an undueamount of skill if he believes that only through myphotographs is it possible for black and white studentsto interact. Not so. "}

WDCR's 25 th

March 4, 1983 marked .25 years since WDCR became a commercial AM station (see 10th anniversary write-up in DARTMOUTH ALUMNI MAGAZINE for March 1968.)

The station plans big festivities for the weekend of May 13-14, 1983, and has invited its 700-plus alumni back to help celebrate. The entire 1959 directorate whose term of office began with the first broadcast on March 4, 1958, thanks to the magnificent efforts of 1958's who set it up plans to attend. Our first budget of under $1O,OOO is now dwarfed by ¼ million-plus income!

Fairfield, Conn.

How Come?

Here we go again. How come Dartmouth sees fit to give up its football nickname, The Indians," when Washington's Super Bowl winners can live so comfortably with their ' Redskins"? On a scale of 1 to 10, it seems to me that Indians is less offensive than Redskins, because no special connotation is given to the color of one's skin.

Now hold on up there in Hanover! Let s not get excited (some of you administrators, ulty, and students) there's no sensing bowl, and, if there were, we wouldn't get a bid anyway.

Redondo Beach, Calif.

Non-Alcoholic Verse

The December issue, on the back, Carries an ad for cognac. The Magazine should bring us news, I don't think it should peddle booze!

Such ads won't start a drinking bout, But surely we can do without Adding to what so many think: That Dartmouth men and women drink.

That Dartmouth men and women drink.Such publicity is gratuitous, I hate to think what it can do to us. We ought to be mature enough To down play all this drinking stuff.

We help the drinking theme along With almost every Dartmouth song. When Dartmouth folks together come,

They sing of Wheelock and his rum. A favorite on the Glee Club trip Is Hovey's "Cup is at the lip." The first thing that the freshmen hear Is "Students take their whiskey clear." Then there's the fellow "who's true blue And a drunkard through and through." These ditties celebrate libation But they don't help our reputation.

Why stay sober and civilized When toping is romanticized? No wonder students think it right To get at least a little tight. Teetotalism we'll never realize, But meanwhile let's not publicize Photos of each reunion class Where happy members hold a glass. The smart thing is to "chug-a-lug." (The Magazine gives this a plug!) When actually there's nothing sicker Than someone who can't hold his liquor.

Dartmouth has seminars and such To help all those who drink too much. On one hand everyone deplores it, Traditionally we just ignore it. Dartmouth will always drink, don't doubt it, But must we always brag about it? Let's keep our customs so symbolic, But must they be so alcoholic? Too bad we can't somehow diminish Dartmouth's heavy drinking image. Not by reviving prohibition, But building up a new tradition.

Freeport, Me.