Letters

NROTC at Dartmouth

Should the Navy ROTC be back on the Dartmouth campus? Professor Fred Berthold is quoted in the March issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE as saying, "The program was terminated in 1968—69 ... in a basic opposition to the military (especially with regard to the conduct of the Viet Nam war)."

May I suggest that if Dartmouth is unwilling to provide officers to the military with the benefit of a Dartmouth liberal arts education, it reneges on its responsibility to the common good and welfare of this nation? For members of Dartmouth's staff to insist that graduates of Dartmouth will be members of a war-oriented military structure is to suggest that they, the professors, have failed. For the professorial staff to accept that the Navy would be better off without Dartmouth graduates in a position of determining the nuclear posture of this nation, is to say that they, as teachers, have been ineffective.

Dartmouth should accept ROTC back on its campus, if for no other reason than its graduates will have some say in what we do with our lives.

Bristol, N.H.

I noticed in the March issue the account of the debate over the possible return of NROTC to Dartmouth. And while it appears; that the Berthold Committee may already have reported before this letter can be published, I cannot resist adding a comment or two.

If the issue is to be decided on the basis of the political and moral views of the faculty, or some subset of the faculty, there is not much else to be said. But if the possibilities for future students are to count, the following points should not be ignored:

(1) Regular NROTC amounts to a way of working your way through college. Instead of washing dishes or working the reserve desk you take courses, absorb some mickey mouse at drills, and spend about half of each summer on a job/cruise that gives you more mickey mouse but often with the significant compensation of seeing some exotic part of the world. The opportunity to do this made a big difference to me, but I suspect it made a far greater difference to some of my friends and classmates.

(2) The courses are neither wholly indigestible nor wholly different from liberal arts courses. The course we had in naval history was very much in the mold of one or two of the more popular college history courses of those years. Celestial navigation and piloting is rather like a foreign language actually used by only a small per cent of those who take it (even on active duty) but sometimes useful later in life. Admittedly, some procedural and gunnery courses are highly specialized, but even missile ballistics might be seen as something that at least some liberally educated people ought to understand.

(3) On active duty one learns a great deal in a short time about responsibility and (for lack of a less corny word) leadership. Many pre-profes-sional and pre-academic students, like myself, would never learn these things anywhere else, and even those who go into business can probably learn faster on a small ship than in a large corporation.

(4) Finally, despite politics and the larger issues of the place of armed forces in society, there remains a core of romance about the sea and hence about the Navy. If one seeks out that romance, by avoiding the spit arid polish Navy of the go-go Academy officers, one can find it. Dawn watches, storms at sea, marlin spike seamanship ... all those things really do still exist outside of literature. The Navy, for many of us, has been life's great chance to "mess around with boats."

Washington, D.C

One of Dartmouth's strengths seems to be it's adherence to tradition. It is gratifying to note that ROTC commissioning ceremonies have improved only very slightly in 28 years. Specifically I am referring to my own commissioning along with one other 2d. Lt. (Dave Thomas, I believe) on 6 June '54. There were three of us present, the PMS + T and two 2d. Lts. This was the 2nd or 3rd year of Army ROTC commissioning at Dartmouth. Granted there were unusual circumstances, but not much interest was shown in the whole affair by anyone except the two of us as we took the oath. I wish to assure Mrs. Bullion that the procedure has not deteriorated, but slightly improved.

Akron, Ohio

Your recent report on re-establishing ROTC is distressing. In this era of reassessment and a reawakening of traditional values, the case for ROTC should be self-evident. But political" rhetoric as. well as administrative problems seem to be obscuring the real issue: Should the College deny her students the opportunity to prepare for national service and deny the nation's military some of its most gifted junior leaders? This issue has moral, intellectual and practical dimensions of grave importance to the military and to generations of students.

If Dartmouth declines to reinstate ROTC, she ignores a principle on which our nation was founded: that responsibility for national defense rests foremost with its citizen-soldiers, not regular officers trained at the service academies. Some of the critics perhaps have not understood that the very purpose of ROTC is to infuse the profession of arms with part-time, non-career leaders their skills, to be sure, but also their goals, breadth of knowledge, and personal values.

For Dartmouth to reject ROTC is inconsistent with her commitment to develop enlightened citizens for many leadership roles, and with the citizens' obligation to shoulder the burden of national defense. If enough comparable institutions took the same view, the regular officer corps would be isolated from the mainstream of social and political thought and quickly become a military elite. As modern European history suggests, this is a far more serious risk to peace than training of militia rooted in its society.

ROTC office candidates benefit from the College's liberal arts curriculum. "American Military History," taught so vividly by Lew Stilwell, was one of the most thoughtful and compelling ROTC courses in the 1960's. The social psychology of small groups was also wellregarded. Critics should recognize that the values of ROTC graduates shaped by the liberal arts provide essential breadth and perspective for military decisions. Philosophers of war and eminent generals, from Thucydides to Liddell Hart and Mac Arthur, have drawn heavily on history and letters as well as applied sciences in formulating the theory and strategies of war. So, in the modern military, the qualities of liberal thought are still prized though the technicalities of war have changed. It is instructive that Oxford University has supported officer training programs for many years.

The practical aspect is that ROTC provides greater opportunities for the 22-year-old to learn the responsibilities and skills of leadership than most comparable experiences available to the college graduate at that age. That is why employers in business, government and the professions regard officer training and service as an important measure of managerial aptitude. And today, ROTC financial aid would be for some an important new source of tuition funds. Dartmouth does her sons and daughters a disservice when she deprives them of this career step or makes it unnecessarily difficult to take.

In sum, sir, ROTC deserves a place at Dartmouth with other course and extracurricular offerings. Students deserve the freedom to choose this option with ease and to participate in it with pride and dignity. If there are administrative conflicts, such as the appointment officers to the faculty, they can be resolved through negotiation with the three services. If some on campus do not like ROTC, they are welcome to ignore it as members of a free civilized community. But it is presumptuous to claim that it should not exist or to deny it to those who believe they have a responsibility to serve as citizen-soldiers and an opportunity to lead.

Washington, D.C

Back-Up Loans

I see by The New York Times that the Dartmouth Board has announced "to guarantee assistance to students who lose Federal aid because they have not registered [for the draft]."

I can do no better than to quote John R. Silber, president of Boston University, in connection with the same situation. "No one who refuses to obey the law of the society that nurtures and protects him should expect to receive all privileges extended to law-abiding citizens."

It is said that you used to get "A" for Adultery, now you get "C-". We are now a school where dressing up in an Indian suit is a serious offense and breaking a federal law is subsidized.

Kansas City, Mo.

{The extent to which the College will provide loans toneedy students already enrolled is detailed in President McLaughlin's statement printed in "The College" section of the April issue, Ed.]

The March "Chair"

The author of the March "Undergraduate Chair" is entitled to her opinions about TheDartmouth Review, inaccurate and even absurd as most of them seem to me. The staff of the Review includes individuals of several races, including black, as well as of both sexes and its targets of criticism are not races but specific policies, such as reverse discrimination.

What the author is not entitled to is her entirely fictitious supposition that I might for mysterious reasons avoid a black student on the steps of Parkhurst Hall, her fictitious musings intended, I suppose, to give the impression that I dislike black students.

I have had numerous black students at the College, and no problems have arisen. The most prominent black graduate of the past ten years described me in a published interview as having been an especially valuable influence on him while he was an undergraduate. I reviewed very favorably The Chaneysville Incident, a prizewinning novel by David Bradley, a black author, whom I subsequently came to regard as a friend and for whom I have written fellowship recommendations. The black economist Walter Williams is a good friend of mine.

I do not know the author of that particular "Undergraduate Chair." She made no effort to check any of her facts with me, or to ascertain what my own attitudes might be. She chose instead to deal in unsupported and unsupportable vicious innuendo. I suppose she believes that because her heart is pure she can say absolutely anything.

Hanover, N.H

{The incident involving Professor Hart and an anonymous black student was, as was clearly stated, thespeculation of the students I contacted. I merely reported the surprising frequency with which that speculation occurred and wondered aloud about its implications. Since Professor Hart agrees that the incidentwas "entirely fictitious," he cannot wonder that I didnot contact him to "check any of {my} facts. " Jean Hanff Korelitz '83.]

In her Undergraduate Chair column, Jean Korelitz '83 makes an eloquent plea for alumni help in dealing with the problem of racism on campus.

For starters, I suggest that the College hold a conference similar to the one that it held on drinking and alcoholism. Such a conference would at least demonstrate to the outside world that Dartmouth intends to treat the problem up front and not hide it. But it would be utterly naive to assume that we can cleanse ourselves ot our racism by one magic stroke. There is no such thing as a "quick-fix" in this area of human relations. A more complex review of reality dictates otherwise. The mindset of a community about race determines, at least to a considerable degree, the parameters of potential policy to alleviate racial injustice.

For racism is anything but simple. On the contrary, it is entangled with man's deepest psychic, cultural, and economic motivations. Avarice, wealth, greed, class, and fear of economic competition are but a few of the major sources of racism. Given the depth of psychological racism, there is no doubt that much racist behavior is perpetrated unknown even to the doer. The perpetrator may be largely unconscious of the discriminatory implications of his acts or failure to act. Unconscious racism appears in the actions of those not hostile to "other" races as well as the conscious antagonist.

The guilt that results from race tension or dominance patterns also has serious implications because it influences the way people react to racial matters. Another important consideration is that race commonly becomes one of the stabilizing elements of the life of the dominant race, providing opportunities to dominate others and give vent to aggression, and allowing the satisfaction of feeling superior to others Interestingly enough, this behavior is evidenced in the- sympathetic person who patron izes the victimized race with condescension even while attempting to help.

Suffice to say that holding one conferencewhile constructive, may not be enoughneed to examine in much greater depth not only the sources of racism on campus, but also the basic values and beliefs that collectively comprise the mindset of the college community.

Marblehead, Mass.

Just read the article by Jean Korelitz (Undergraduate Chair) in your March issue. She really gave it to The Review, didn't she? Her last sentence asked the alumni for help. Perhaps I can.

(1) Write an honest article first. Don't hide behind such phrases as, "For most alumni, I think—." Relax, we alumni can think for ourselves and usually do. Also, "a large portion of them (black students), indeed, project the racist attitudes of the Review editors onto the rest of the white students because of their failure to react, etc. etc." What do you want to threaten, although indirectly, the white students for? Haven't they the right to do or not do as they wish? Don't bully them.

(2) Try to understand, please, that there wouldn't be a Dartmouth Review, or any other similar college paper, if the climate had not demanded it. Kemeny and his group did the sowing now the harvest is bitter to many.

A general comment. Some undergraduates and, unfortunately, too many alumni seem to have lost the ability to say something short and simple. Some of the letters to the ALUMNI MAGAZINE certainly seem to have suffered from the attempt to showcase intellectuality. Too bad.

Finally, will the ALUMNI MAGAZINE (subject to the new limitations to present only the brighter side of the news) offer to the Dartmouth students at The Review equal space at an early date to answer the article. Can liberals be impartial? Let's wait and see.

Chatham, Mass.

{The acting editor, who will have gone back to retirement by the time this issue appears, finds extremelytiresome, and without any foundation whatever,statements such as "the new limitations to present onlythe brighter side of the news." This canard seems tofeed on itself. If the alleged policy.does exist, someonehas failed to get word to the Magazine. C.E.W.]

I had thought with the departure of Dennis Dinan that we alumni might be spared any further mealy-mouthed, lily-livered and permissive outpourings from minority left-leaning zealots whose lifetime objective seems to be to tear apart established social patterns and force their views on the majority.

But, here we go again, in the March issue with an effusion from Jean Hanff Korelitz all about the alleged persecution of black students by The Dartmouth Review. If these minority students would remove the chips from their shoulders, take criticism humorous or otherwise less seriously, and even profit by it then the Review would be left with nothing to write about.

Let's face it, affirmative action, so-called, is nothing but reverse discrimination and should not exist. It does no one any good, and the discriminees lots of harm.

I Fail to see how such excretions as that of Ms Korelitz furthers the purposes of the ALUMN MAGAZINE as stated in its masthead. Please, let the alumni have their magazine without any more such rantings.

Delray Beach, Fla.

The nature of many letters deploring TheDartmouth Review leads one to imagine that their authors were born already elderly, failed to enjoy wholehearted pursuit of some cause while at Dartmouth, or both.

Now comes (in your March issue) one Conklin who writes of the College as "unbiased and tolerant," yet sternly urges legal action against the Review, and a Cavanaugh who cannot stand the dirty thing entering his home, though he pompously admits that "undergraduates need to rebel."

Joining the fray, you give a full page to one Korelitz who credits the Review with creating racial tensions (scarcely unique to Dartmouth) while she ignores the failure of affirmative action and the disgraceful conduct of two Review targets who happen to be black, and in her hysterical "outrage" calls in effect for an alumni boycott of her enemy.

Cannot both alumni and the college community realize that these self-righteous attacks on The Dartmouth Review accomplish nothing but a display of stuffy and sometimes petulant refusal to acknowledge that in this world there arcmore viewpoints than one's own?

San Francisco, Calif.

Racial tensions currently run high on campus and many of the College's best black students and faculty members are leaving, being unable to continue in such a bigoted environment. I attribute this, in large part, to TheDartmouth Review and a small, vocal minority of intolerant and malicious individuals.

The campaign for civil rights has been too slow and costly to allow its alleged accomplishments on campus to be reversed. We cannot allow racism, bigotry, and hate to continue in our community under the pretext of either conservatism or freedom of speech. The college community must clearly express its will that such behavior is never tolerated.

Durham, N.C

The Dartmouth Review continues to insult an abuse blacks at. the College. While the College cannot and should not censor the Review, it does have the power to deny it use of the name "Dartmouth." The College refuses to do this. Dartmouth, either by interest or indifference, sending a message to the world that the racismexpressed here is not mean, not dangerous a not very important. It is all of these and worse.

I am angry and ashamed of Dartmouth. I urge all alumni who also feel this way to write President McLaughlin and tell him so. The matter is serious, as readers of Jean Korelitz' column in the March ALUMNI MAGAZINE will understand. Dartmouth is coming to be perceived as an intolerant, bigoted community. I fear it may be true.

Northampton, Mass

The Alumni Magazine (Cont.)

The bleatings of liberals that are heard droning on in Congress and the media, alas, are now heard in the first seven letters to the editor in the Jan./ Feb. issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE. Why, may I ask, is it sinful if I read Bernard Nossiter's letter correctly to have any nostalgic cover on the MAGAZINE?

I enjoyed the MAGAZINE for decades before Dennis Dinan. I have enjoyed it the past ten years. I am still enjoying it. I believe that it serves the purposes of the alumni. David McLaughlin was appointed president of the College to administer the College. He is doing that. If liberals disapprove, they can remove him, not write fatuous letters.

Gettysburg, Pa.

I would like to add my voice to the many alumni concerned about the resignation of Dennis Dinan as editor of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE and about the future of the College's primary link with its graduates.

One of the great myths is that every student unquestioningly loves Dartmouth. I am sure I am not the only alumnus who gladly put his years on the Hanover Plain behind him. Yet, through the ALUMNI MAGAZINE I have followed the many changes mostly for the better that have occurred at Dartmouth. As my only contact with Dartmouth, that publication made me feel better about the College. Featuring well-written, often provocative articles, and handsomely produced, I got the impression that Dartmouth was maturing, becoming an exciting place and one deservedly worthy of alumni support.

Under Dennis Dinan's stewardship the DARTMOUTH ALUMNI MAGAZINE became an eloquent voice for the best of what Dartmouth could and should be. His departure is to be much regretted.

Louisville, Ky.

President McLaughlin's preference for an alumni magazine that devotes "greater attention to the administration's concerns" makes me shudder. I have spent most of the past decade working in dictatorships where editors got purged if they weren't optimistic enough about the leadership's party line.

I never met Dennis Dinan but his superb editorship assured me that Dartmouth was still a first-rate college, lively and confident enough to hide no secrets from its alumni. By sacking Mr. Dinan and hiring himself a director of communications, does President McLaughlin know something that the rest of us don't?

A conscientious search committee would have to consider seriously that Mr. Dinan be rehired as one alternative. I have no illusions that this will happen, given the kind of corporate shenanigans that have been manifested on the Hanover plain.

But at the least, we are owed a much fuller explanation of why Mr. Dinan's excellent performance was found wanting. The reference to "a disagreement . . . about the way in which the magazine should fulfill its roles as the chief line of communication between the College and the alumni" is condescending gibberish that should insult anyone with the intelligence to get through Dartmouth. An alumni magazine's paramount responsibility is to the alumni. It must not exist, like a piano player in a bordello, merely to make jolly tunes for the gentry upstairs.

London, England

It would be easy to write of the past issue of Dennis Dinan's departure from the ranks of distinguished editors of the DARTMOUTH ALUMNI MAGAZINE and the tone of President McLaughlin's administration in contexts such as: Corporate vs. Academic, Conservative vs. Liberal, Control Personality vs. Creative Personality, and an endless list of contrapuntal themes. Perhaps someone, fully qualified to do so, should.

I would like to confine my thoughts to what I consider objective data. The January/February issue of the MAGAZINE VS. the December issue. First, let me state that over the past 35 years I have been responsible for the publications of many non-profit organizations including schools, colleges, universities, museums, to mention a few. Fortunately I was not the editor, nor responsible for most of the preparation of these offerings. As a highly paid (in comparison to those with the responsibilities) consultant, I was concerned that they be effective. Format, content, style judged by professional taste and by the response of those receiving the publications.

The College's presumed caveat that Charles Widmayer is only acting editor begs the question. The new format is the president's and the new communications V.P.'s, as is the content. It is bad taste, poorly constructed, poorly designed, bad organization, layout and graphics. In the attempt to "show what they can do" they have failed.

I would be proud of any institution which turned out the December issue. It was also what I had come to expect from Dennis Dinan. He a superb professional. His long first met him when he was with the Alumni College deserved better than a six-months probation. A careful assessment of his work by peer professionals would have suggested that if the College did not like his work, then fire him an honest statement of authority. The end would have been the same but the chauvinism missing.

It would only have indicated what we now know, that high standards of taste have departed for a time on Hanover Plain.

Sarasota, Fla.

Oh but it is good that great President McLaughlin saw the light and fired evil, sentimental Dennis Dinan!

It was a business-like act, ridding the College of foolish emotionalism should I say, sentimentality?

It is truly a silly thing for grownup men to harbor a foolish attachment to their immature days!

Out with such nonsense! Business-like rationalism must and will prevail!

And let's have those business-like, alumni contributions and tax avoidance donations promptly, boys! I

Be reasonable my way!

know best!

Everybody well, almost everybody, certainly every business-like alumnus knows that god hates an independent, irreverent, carping, critical voice. He is a jealous god!

Won't firing Dinan make the big bucks flow?

What elSe iS important?

Soul?

RidiculouS!

Friday Harbor, Wash.

NRA Naivete

After reading the article on Warren Cassidy in your March "Alumni Album," I was struck by the naivete of the NRA philosophy and of Cassidy himself.

However admirable the ideas of freedom, personal liberty, and the rights "of self-defense and private property" may be, one may ask what happened to all these rights and freedoms when machine guns and hand grenades were banned, and fire crackers (in Massachusetts) were banned? Evidently, it seemed rational to enact laws that provided for the greatest good for the greatest number of people, and clearly even though some criminals still obtain these weapons there are fewer of them around and the general public has benefited greatly from their prohibition.

Cassidy displays the same one-sided thinking when he asserts that "no government has the right to say a man or woman cannot continue life and continue breathing." Considering the 23,000 handgun deaths per year and the handgun-assisted robberies, rapes, and assaults against the very few instances that handguns are successfully used in ones selfdefense, one may ask how the selling of handguns for self-protection can possibly be justifled. fled. It is unfortunate we are not able to hear the testimony of those killed by handguns on the right to "continue life and continue breathing."

Another argument that Mr. Cassidy supports erroneously is that the availability of guns has nothing to do with the crime rate. He seems to ignore the fact that the United States is the most violent country in the developed world with a handgun murder rate over 100 times as high as other countries which do not sell handguns to the general public. He would maintain that the outlaws will always get the guns. But how do they get them? Mostly from housebreaks. Since 92 per cent of all burglaries take place when no one is home (and half of the remainder are slept through), handguns afford little protection to the owner but are more often stolen by burglars. Therefore, it is no surprise that up to 80 per cent of all criminally involved hanguns are obtained in housebreaks. The NRA, by opposing all handgun control legislation, makes the cliche the outlaws will always get the guns a self-fulfilling prophecy. Surely, as long as handguns are sold to the general public, the recycling of handguns from law-abiding citizens' homes into the underworld will go on; and the outlaws will always have a continuous and ready supply.

Mr. Cassidy states that handgun control advocates are "... a group of elitists, sitting in television board rooms and behind editorial desks." Perhaps he does not realize that the black community supports handgun control as do a great number of ordinary and rational people.

Mr. Cassidy believes his "cause is just" and his heart is "pure." I find it hard to believe a cause can be just which results in so much death and suffering in this country. NRA advocates may think their hearts are pure, but they are in fact selfish. Even though 72 per cent of all handguns confiscated in crimes last year in Massachusetts were snub-nosed handguns (with barrels of three inches or less), a man who belonged to a gun club testified at the hearing in the Massachusetts State House last week thai he was in opposition to the snub-nosed hancgun ban because his club had a snubbie target shoot! It appears that handgun enthusiasts value leisure-time activity over human life and the devastating toll that fear of crime takes on our populace. Some purity of heart.

Parent of Dartmouth student, '86

Reading, Mass.

I'm writing about recent features in the Alumni Album column. In the January-February issue, the Album profiled an apologist for the Guatemalan version of Genghis Khan. In March, under the headline "A Just Cause and a Pure Heart," the Album looked at the chief lobbyist for the National Rifle Association. No doubt in the near future we can expect articles on an alumnus who supports apartheid in South Africa because it keeps the blacks so happy, an alumnus who is spearheading Dow Chemical's "Dioxin Is Good for You" campaign, and an alumnus who feels the American Nazi Party is misunderstood.

Los Angeles, Calif.

Saluting Paul Ford

I find it hard to believe that no mention is made of Paul Ford in the fine article about Dartmouth alumni who are and were in the theatre arts. I have procrastinated for three months now, but in all fairness to Mr. Ford, who portrayed the harassed American male on the stage, screen, and TV in his own inimitable style, I must pay tribute to him.

Certainly as the always outwitted colonel in "Sgt. Bilko," the unwilling elderly father in It's Never Too Late," and in numerous roles over the years when he was always at the mercy of outrageous fortune and indecision, he gave hope to all of us who are not destined to be the chairman of the board, and deserves some special badge of credit.

He gave us a thousand laughs with a mere snort of his prodigious nose or a wiggle of his memorable face. And they were kind and decent laughs, promulgated by a master of his craft. He was not just a Paul Newman or a Robert Redford, who could get along by being cute. He worked at his trade and never gave a bad performance and could give even the most unworthy dramatic vehicle a couple of wheels to roll on.

I am not sure if he won any awards. He should have won many. But the roles he played always seemed suited to him, and perhaps the critics took him for granted, not realizing that the roles suited him because he made them so after long years of apprenticeship in his profession.

So, to Paul Ford, wherever he is, thanks for many years of pleasure and laughter. I hope that in the Great Theater in the Sky he doesn't, in a fit of pique for being forgotten, tell the people there that he went to Harvard or Yale. With that great Indian nose of his, I am sure that none of the other angelic players would believe him for a moment.

Sarasota, Fla.

Human Rights in Guatemala

As a former classmate of Jerry Pierce, I was particularly disturbed to read the recent article published in the DARTMOUTH ALUMNI MAGAZINE (Jan./ Feb. 1983), in which he lauded the human rights situation in Guatemala. Knowing Jerry to be a good-intentioned, kind and loving person, I can only think that he has been sadly misled by the Guatemalan government's carefully orchestrated program of self-promotion. Though there are observers who have argued that human rights violations have decreased somewhat in Guatemala City, there is an overwhelming consensus that the government of Efrain Rios Montt has unleashed a reign of terror upon the rural indigenous people, to restore "peace and quiet."

Several highly regarded international organizations have unequivocally condemned the barbaric policy of the Rios Montt government. Among these organizations are The America's Watch Committee, Amnesty International, The National Council of Churches of Christ, the Organization of American States, and the United Nations Security Council. The U.N. Resolution (12/3/82), in particular, expressed "profound preoccupation with regard to the grave violations of human rights in Guatemala, particularly in reference to the frequent acts of repression, killings and massive displacements of rural and indigenous peoples."

In addition to the condemnations made by the aforementioned organizations, my particular occupation, living and working with refugees in Central America, has given me the opportunity to speak to many Guatemalans. All, without exception, testified to the brutality of the Rios Montt regime.

It is the same profound preoccupation, expressed by the U.N. Security Council, which behooves me to write in hope that we will not be so easily misled by the false rhetoric of Mr. Rios Montt disguised behind a facade of religious fervor.

Hanover, N.H

"Absolutely Unforgettable"

All alumni and V-12 trainees who were fortunate enough to have known and inevitably loved Professor Richard Halsey Goddard were no doubt heavily saddened to hear of his death in February. No obituary conceivably could do justice in recognizing his remarkable abilities as a teacher, the clear stamp of New England on his character and humor, his warmth and directness as a friend, the incredible wrath he could muster in the face of injustice, his enormous understanding of and love for the sea and the weather and stars that were so important to survival there, and the wonderful manner in which all those things blended together to make him absolutely unforgettable. It is little wonder he and Al Foley were good friends.

Those who studied with Dick early and had little subsequent contact will be pleased to learn his talents only improved with age. I graduated as he retired in 1963, and I am happy to report those of us studying astronomy, meteorology, and navigation greatly enjoyed his lectures and learned and retained more of lasting practical value from his homespun Vermont tales and sea stories than we did from just about anything else the College had to offer. And we had one heck of a lot of fun doing it; who could ever forget the electrified rain gauges, for example? Dick could take you right onto a heaving deck in the midst of a storm at sea, or into the blinding arctic blizzards, in a way that had you right there with him and made you think about what was crucial to know. I didn't find it odd when he told me his grandmother had been born on the whaling ship Chelsea while she was rounding the Horn in heavy weather.

After retirement, Dick had nine wonderful years at his beloved Hidden Acres ranch before Maddy left him, and even after that he kept his love of life, his spirit and character intact, in spite of the many health problems that eventually constrained him to wheelchair and nursing home. When I last visited him a year ago, he wanted to hitch a ride to Hanover and Norwich to see Hidden Acres again in the worst way. For those of us who knew him well, the trek up to the Pine has other memories that shock of white hair, the ever-present corncob, the fiercely knitted brow, the salty language, manicured weather yard, and that merrily crinkling smile. When he left us, an awful lot went with him; but a greater heritage that became one of the finest parts of the Dartmouth experience for so many stayed behind.

McLean, Va.

A Noble Indian

My first week at Dartmouth the late John Newcomb '30 and I were walking across campus when we met Phil Sherman '28. John introduced me as an incoming freshman. Phil said excitedly, "There's another freshman who's a Sioux Indian!" Neither John nor I ever told Phil I was the Sioux. I was the only Indian at Dartmouth in 1927—28. Because I'm a mix-blood, like most Sioux, I didn't fit the stereotype in appearance; but I always boasted of my Sioux blood.

Next year Roland Sundown '32 matriculated. From the first we agreed two Indians couldn't take over the College. Perhaps three could! That decided, we channeled our "savagery" in song and instrumental music. Sunny's" beautiful tenor qualified him as a Glee Club soloist, as well as the Indian vocalist-mascot of the Band. I was the leader-drum major. I never let "Sunny" forget that he, a Seneca, was wearing Sioux regalia.

November 1, 1930, before the Dartmouth-Yale game a headline appeared: TWO REAL INDIANS HERE WITH DARTMOUTH BAND. The story stated that "these two Red Men are the only two Indians attending Dartmouth College at present, and under conditions of the charter they pay no tuition for their col lege education for Dartmouth was originally an Indian School when George III ruled in England."

"Sunny" and I were roommates on Band trips. We howled at the stereotypical perceptions of what we were supposed to be. Humor a strong characteristic of Indians. This trait predominates today despite frustration as government wards on reservations and over unemployment which the media ignore.

"Sunny" and I lost touch after graduation. However, one night in 1943 just after I signed off my newscast at KOB, Albuquerque, "Sunny's" inimitable voice greeted me by phone. We immediately carried on our usual banter: but because he was passing through Albuquerque we didn't meet.

It wasn't until the '32 Class notes reported "Sunny" was hospitalized in Santa Fe with a broken hip from an auto accident that I'd had news of him.

It would have been uncharacteristic for either of us to offer sympathy. Instead, I wrote that he was prevaricating as usual because the true facts were that he'd fallen off a ladder at the Taos Pueblo attempting to elope with an Indian maiden. Corny? Yes, but this communicated my deep feelings.

There was only ONE "Sunny," whose blithe spirit epitomized Dartmouth. Requiescat in pace.

(Tunkanwastena-Sioux name)

St. Paul, Minn.

Homophobia

Twice this past year the president and the board of trustees have eliminated reference to sexual orientation from the list of grounds on which the College may not discriminate.

In a letter dated Sept. 28, 1982, to Ronald Green, chair of the Affirmative Action Review Board, President McLaughlin said, "The Affirmative Action Plan is the wrong place to make this statement [of non-discrimination on account of sexual orientation}. Since the problem appears to concern [only?] employees, it is more appropriate that such a statement [be] included in the various faculty and personnel handbooks." This comment, the only comment I have been able to find by either the president or the board of trustees as to why they have eliminated the proposed protection for lesbians and gay men, grants that homophobia seems to exist among the employees and probably among the faculty, but quixotically exempts the student body from such prejudice. Even if homophobia exists only among employees and faculty, there is ipso facto ample reason for including sexual orientation in the College's nondiscrimination clause.

But We all know that fear and loathing of gay people exists among the student body as surely as homophobia exists in every sizable group of Americans. . . . The first steps toward crushing that tradition have already been taken. The fact that the Dartmouth Gay Student Association exists indicates that things have changed dramatically since I was in Hanover.

The next step is for the College community to recognize that homophobia exists in all its parts, that harassment and violence are the inevitable consequences of homophobia, and that only illusions are served by keeping people in the closet. Once those recognitions are made, it is obvious that gay people should be included in the College community's non-discrimination policy.

The last step is to include that policy in the literature for prospective students, faculty, administrators, and other employees. Those who cannot stand to be around gay people will then know that Dartmouth is not for them.

In the eight years since my coming-out letter appeared in these pages, I've received a number of visits from gay alums. Few of these people were out at Dartmouth. All of us experienced homophobia while we were in Hanover I remember vividly one psychology professor who did his best to root out and expose to the class any queers he could find among us. We are forming a gay and lesbian alum group to act in support of Dartmouth's gay and lesbian students, to disabuse the president and the board of trustees of the illusions they have as to the experience of gay people at Dartmouth, and to serve our own needs and desires (honi soit qui maly pense!). Our address is: Dartmouth Lambda, c/o Giovanni's Room, 345 South 12th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19107.

Philadelphia, Pa.

What Became of the DOC?

I can't remember when the ALUMNI MAGAZINE carried any news of the Dartmouth Outing Club. Does it still exist? Is there a reason why the Magazine never carries any such news?

Lewis ton, Idaho.

{Weagree that news of the D.O,C. is overdue. Withthe Club's 75th anniversary approaching, the storyof past and present doings will soon be told in a bigway. Ed.]

75th Anniversary Coming

Friends of Dartmouth Out-of-Doors:

Next year, as many of you may already know, is the 75th anniversary of the D.O.C. The board of directors of the club has made all of the next school year and through to December 1984 the official period of celebration, and we will begin this spring an exhaustive organizational period.

The 75th anniversary, we hope, will be celebrated with a great amount of participation from all the Dartmouth family. It is an ideal opportunity to join alumni, students, and the community together for banquets, expeditions, and special events to commemorate the club that has meant so much to the College, New Hampshire, and the entire world.

We would like to encourage all of you to send ideas, comments, and relevant information which would enable us to provide the kind of events you would like to have honor our club at this important time. Many alumni have already offered to participate directly by providing ideas for events and special projects. hope the celebration will involve all of you an all of Dartmouth College.

The D.O.C. won't center on next year; next year will center on the D.O.C.!

Please direct questions or information to: Anniversary Committee, Dartmouth Outing Club, P.O. Box 9, Hanover, N.H. 03755.

Peter Forbes '83

Hanover, N.H.