Assaults mar Dartmouth Night Weekend

October's Dartmouth Night Weekend was marred by a series of incidents that culminated with the arrest of two freshman during the halftime show of the Dartmouth-Harvard game. The incident occurred after the class of '90 rushed the Harvard stands within the area designated by the class council and Green Key Society.

Rushing the visitors stands during halftime is a five-year-old Dartmouth tradition that consists of freshmen storming the bleachers, regrouping, then singing "Men of Dartmouth." This year the administration tried to break that tradition, citing the very real fear that a fan might be injured during the freshman stampede. The freshmen, however, felt very strongly that this was a tradition worth fighting for and continued to rush the stands, risking College disciplinary action. A compromise was eventually reached, which allowed the freshmen to rush designated areas of the bleachers, sing "Men of Dartmouth, "and then return to their seats. During the Harvard game the freshmen complied with the new procedure, but after the song was over several hundred freshmen didn't return to their seats. They ran to the center of the field and encircled the Harvard band, an action that was specifically prohibited by the Committee on Standards in September.

When the Dartmouth band took the field, six male cheerleaders from Harvard retaliated by running around the Dartmouth band. At that point about 100 Dartmouth freshmen began to chase the cheerleaders. According to The Dartmouth, one freshman, Robert Uhrig, knocked down three cheerleaders. He was charged with assault and resisting arrest. Another freshman, Lisa Broglio, was arrested for trying to tackle the cheerleaders. Also during halftime, a group of about 12 students unfurled a banner depicting the Indian symbol. The banner was confiscated by campus police in accordance with a handbook regulation prohibiting banners.

On Tuesday following the football game, President McLaughlin sent an open letter to the community that read in part: "The behavior of a number of our students during halftime at the football game was shameful. The spectacle of visitors being ill-treated by their Dartmouth hosts is an institutional embarrassment such behavior is also a violation of Ivy League conduct rules. Dean Shanahan and I have apologized to President Bok and Dean Jewett of Harvard for this discourtesy and misconduct."

McLaughlin also used the open letter to speak out on the Indian symbol issue. "To those misguided students who feel compelled to flaunt the 'Indian symbol, I must say unequivocally that such conduct will not return the symbol to the athletic field of Dartmouth College. Such action will not bring about a reversal of the decision made over 10 years ago, and reaffirmed repeatedly by the Board, the faculty, and the students of the College. Those who persist in offending this community by using the Indian as a symbol are guilty of an insensitivity antithetical to the purposes of Dartmouth."

Dean of Freshmen Margaret Bonz does not believe that the class of 1990 is more rambunctious than earlier classes. The difference this year is that the administration has tried to control the halftime antics of the freshman since the beginning of the term. Bonz hopes that fines, suspensions, and arrests may have "sobered somewhat this crowd's behavior."

Student assembly president Wendy Becker '87 has a different perspective than Bonz. She believes this year's freshmen are more rambunctious than freshmen in the immediate past. Referring to the administration's attempts at outlawing bleacher-rushing, Becker said, "Right now Dartmouth is going through a period of change; a lot of traditions are being examined and a lot of people are grabbing on to anything they have." Becker said the freshman are caught in a bind. On one hand they are the first class facing new rules and at the same time they are pressured by upperclassmen to break those rules. Becker also observed that the enthusiasm displayed by the freshmen building the Dartmouth Night bonfire was lackluster when compared to the zeal they displayed storming the Harvard bleachers. She feels the illicit nature of bleacher- rushing made it the more desirable activity.

In retrospect, perhaps the incidents during Dartmouth Night Weekend did have a sobering effect on the freshmen class. The home game a week later against Cornell marked the first time this season that no freshman were disciplined for their halftime behavior. Only about 150 students rushed the bleachers, and after singing "Men of Dartmouth" they were escorted back to their side of the field by cheerleaders and members of the '90 class council. However, not everyone got the message; a group of students carried an Indian banner down the track for a short distance before it was confiscated by Hanover police.