Letters

Free Expression

Charles Moore IV, in the summer Undergraduate Chair—an adaptation of his Class Day address—states: "Here at Dartmouth our education went beyond a celebration of First Amendment protections; we learned that a critical and spiritual respect for others matters more than a legalistic whining for the right to behave irresponsibly."

My education at Dartmouth was different from my classmate's. While I too was exposed to the idea that preventing hurt feelings is more important than the freedom of expression guaranteed by the First Amendment, I rejected it as untrue.

Placing sensitivity ahead of the First Amendment, as Mr. Moore would like us to do, has been the College's interpretation of the "spirit of community" in recent years. Punishing students for expressing ideas that hurt other students' feelings has become commonplace at Dartmouth. The College's actions, having stifled creativity and debate, taught me that the right to express all ideas is necessary (sometimes even a necessary evil) on a college campus.

Mr. Moore correctly points out that Dartmouth and other liberal arts colleges' purpose is to promote critical thinking. The prerequisite to critical thinking is a free interchange of ideas. It is only by comparing what we believe with other ideas that we learn. If there are restrictions on the expression of ideas in a community, that community is intellectually sterile. If other Dartmouth students have "learned" what Mr. Moore has, then Dartmouth is in great danger.

While I deplore insensitivity, the proper manner with which to handle it is hot by legislating official sanctions. Yet that has been the College's policy. It is troubling to see this at Dartmouth at the same time we are celebrating the two hundredth birthday of the U.S. Constitution. Let's hope President Ereedman, a legal scholar, will once again restore the First Amendment to its rightful place on the Dartmouth College campus—as the guarantor of intellectual and creative freedom.

Lexington, Kentucky

Dignified Example

I am writing to applaud the letter by David S. Clarke '5B in the October issue, calling for a restoration of dignity at the College. I want in particular to congratulate Mr. Clarke for the dignified example he himself set in expressing his concerns—a welcome relief from the tantrums of the "misfits" and "weirdos" whom he so eloquently condemns: "bleeding heart liberals," "insipid drivel . . . penned by bird brains," "Neo-Socialist, narrow-minded, leftist pinko liberals," "pea-brained liberals."

Ah, dignity! So important, especially for "a Dartmouth recruiter out in the trenches

. . . where people get their first impression of the College." Wah-hoo-wah, Mr. Clarke: way to show 'em how it's done.

Chicago, Illinois

Shock Therapy

Dartmouth College can redirect the school and help rebuild its strong character and excellent quality.

Among the issues which have been publicized and are of concern to alumni are:

• The College's strange confusion and preoccupation with "diversity" of student interests rather than the College's interests.

• Dissension over the status of traditional songs and symbols.

• The conduct and status of fraternities.

• Social-political-racial conflict among student and faculty groups.

• Official recognition of homosexual students' activities.

• Many years of poor athletic team performance, especially football.

• Dilution of the liberal arts curriculum with special interest studies of dubious value.

• Recruiting various minority group students who are given preferential treatment.

• Immature interference and demands by students concerning the College's investment policy.

• The College administration's concern for and support of various contentious student special interest groups at the expense of harmonious teaching and learning.

An especially sensitive and major source of administrative friction and social discord has been caused by the demands and interests of the various "minorities": Indians, blacks, homosexuals, Hispanics, female activists, and other diverse groups. Dartmouth is not bound by affirmative action policies as are state-supported universities or colleges with government research contracts.

Dartmouth is a private college and like a private club the members should determine the standards and desirable qualities of its membership. The alumni body, who provide a large portion of the school's financial support, should influence, to a substantial degree, the character, purpose and overall tone of the College. There should be an effort to preserve traditional Ivy League educational and social standards which have historically made them different from most other schools. An Ivy school should not have to bow to every passing social trend. The duty of the College's leaders is to preserve its unique and high standards.

These problems have been allowed to grow and fester for over 15 years. Major shock therapy and surgery are needed to halt and treat this social malaise. A basic cure could be financial pressure.

If there are enough courageous and determined alumni sufficiently concerned about the welfare and future of Dartmouth College, they can get the attention of the Board of Trustees, the president and the College administration by reducing financial support and Alumni Fund giving.

Dartmouth alumni can turn the College's situation around if they really want to.

Atlanta, Georgia

Obscure Memorial

During a recent visit to Hanover, while wandering around the campus, I came upon a stone plaque that I didn't even know existed. Its inscription listed the Dartmouth alumni who gave their lives in World War II and the Korean War. Many names were meaningless to me except for what their owners had done. Others I recognized. And a few were very close friends. Looking at the plaque certainly stirred my emotional juices.

But there was something wrong: the plaque's placement and setting. That modest tribute certainly deserves something better than a small and very obscure courtyard between the Hood Museum and the Hopkins Center facing away from the campus. I discovered that some residents didn't even know it was there.

Darien, Connecticut

Excluding Women

"Men of Dartmouth," as written, should cease being the alma mater. Contrary to the Alumni Council's Ad Hoc Committee advertisement in the Alumni Magazine, alumni should not "feel free to bellow its verses at will." While it represents a great "symbol of spirit and love for the College," as an editorial in The Dartmouth put it, it also represents a Dartmouth of men, not a Dartmouth of men and women. In the past, the College has asked alumni to refrain in their enthusiasm for the College by not singing certain songs that Native Americans find offensive. It is in light of this approach, an approach that puts feelings for humans above feelings for the institution, that I wholeheartedly support.

The song, of course, does not have to go into the dustbins of history. The alternative, sensible enough, is merely to change a few words in order to make the song inclusive of the whole Dartmouth community.

There are some who suggest that the current song uses "men" in the all-inclusive sense. This is not true. When the song was written, the College was all male and the song refers to a male student body.

Some would respond that the song has changed with the times and now "men" means "men and women." Once must not forget that when "Men" appears on a locker room door in the new Berry Sports Center, women are not "universally" included. It is this everyday meaning of "men" that guarantees some women, myself included, will always feel excluded when "Men of Dartmouth" is sung.

The gender gap in the Student Assembly Committee poll, where only 28 percent of the male students indicated a need for a change, demonstrates how this song is perceived differently by the sexes.

Cambridge, England