Letters

Hopkins Bulletin

We have this day received volume 1, no. 1 of a publication called the Hopkins Bulletin. As Ernest Martin Hopkins is one of our most revered Dartmouth presidents, I was intrigued at once to see what was being published in his name.

Aside from a letter from a very green Dartmouth freshman, the majority of the writing appears under the name of Professor Jeffrey Hart.

Yes, we should be anxious and willing to hear all points of view, even those expressed by the extreme left or extreme right—which I presume this to be. But why take the name of President Hopkins?

Is this a widespread representation, approved by Dartmouth College, or the single-minded essay of a few extremists? Where is the judicious balance to be expected from a Dartmouth faculty member?

Woodbridge, Connecticut

The mailing of the "Hopkins Bulletin" was a private effort not sanctioned by the College.- Ed.

The Hopkins Bulletin contains a surprising lack of diversity and depth and I'm always fascinated by grown men who issue such stuff in the name of an Ernest Martin Hopkins who can't answer back. The people behind the Hopkins Institute also tend to forget the less pleasant aspects of those bygone days: the preferential admission policies given us sons of alumni, the blatantly antisemitic fraternities, the special tutoring given needy athletes, the all-white Naval units on campus, followed by our induction into a Jim Crow military.

Having received such special treatment all their lives, these characters dare to object when Dartmouth gives a helping hand to the minorities who didn't receive the education we received because they couldn't live where we lived. This lack of simple generosity toward others is disgraceful.

And, as a final point, if this institute, with an annual budget of $300,000, can only support their arguments with the writing of Jeffrey Hart, a letter from a freshman, and a clipping from the New York Post, even those aging alumni must realize how foolish they sound. As Robert Benchley once wrote in a different context, the mountain which labored and brought forth a mouse did a good day's work by comparison.

Weston, Connecticut

Never in my days at Dartmouth did I believe, shudder, that liberal thinking would overtake the campus. Not even centrist thought. How could Biff and Buffy get led astray?

I recently received the Hopkins Bulletin. I was OUTRAGED: does the College give out its mailing list to just anyone? Or did people laboriously recreate the list from an alumni directory? If the latter, could a simple message be put on the inside cover (or outer cover, if necessary) to dissuade such use?

I would like to see the College do something for the sanctity of its alumni list. I do not want to be on the mailing list for a new, improved children's storytelling book edition of Mein Kampf.

Officials from the Hopkins Institute have told reporters that they obtained the mailing list from the Alumni Directory as well as other sources. A disclaimer in the directory forbids its reproduction "in any form or by any means." Ed.

In Jeffrey Hart's National Review article of February 13 printed in the Hopkins Bulletin, I discover that, as an active advocate of certain positions, I belong to a "cohesive and self-conscious minority." I also believe in a "greatly expanded government"; am a "virtual pacifist" possibly complicitous in "cruelty, degradation, and death"; I "bend to the every whim" of "iconic" minorities; I approve of "sexual norms previously considered deviant"; and find that "Third World advances toward Communism are exciting."

Am I listening to Archie Bunker's lectures to the Meathead run through a thesaurus? I cannot penetrate the mental state of a middleaged professor who sees a concerted plot by the soldiers of "liberal fascism" in the stances of those who fail to agree with his antediluvian views. The wanton generalizations in Hart's prose, and the total lack of what he elsewhere dubs "mesure," leave me agape.

The Dartmouth Review has done incalculable harm to Dartmouth's image in recent years. I have had many awkward moments in alumni interviews because of its words and actions, and I have often longed for the College to force its demise, though I knew this was not a realistic option. It is a gargantuan irony, however, that the Review's advisor, over whom the College has much more leverage, continues to be allowed to spew his hysterics about the sinister intolerance of his institution.

As an alumnus, an educator and a Dartmouth parent, I have applauded the changes in the College tending to free it from the monolithic, male-bond, mindlessly reactionary "love it or leave it" loyalty which had been both its strength and its weakness. I have deplored the ugly publicity which factional clashes engendered. I dare not expect Jeffrey Hart will change his spots, but I can hope evolved undergraduates and alumni will gently lay aside the spirit which he espouses and to which he panders, and move on.

Dedham, Massachusetts

Admirers of President Hopkins will find it difficult to accept this ghoulish masquerade under the name of a man no longer able to defend himself, especially by a group whose faculties are so far removed from any possible association with the late president.

Tucson, Arizona

Do the founders of this organization have the permission of the Ernest Martin Hopkins family? President Hopkins was a venerated leader of Dartmouth and one wonders if his name should be linked to a one-issue group such as this. (I think Hopkins would have been more inclined to trust the College to protect student freedom

One also wonders about the name "institute" for what is apparently just a vigilante organization. And why do they need $300,000 to finance the first year's operations? Competing for such funds from the Dartmouth family could detract from bona fide College fun draising.

In any case, contrary to this "institute," I don't believe that either the left or the right is really trying to tear our nation apart, but people who send diatribes like that would apparently tear our College apart just when a time of healing is needed.

Weston, Massachusetts

President Hopkins' daughter has granted the institute permission to tse her father's name.- Ed.

Alas, while there is nothing unusual about being exposed to such invective these days, one does blanch to see it perpetrated under the claimed sponsorship of an honored past president of Dartmouth College.

Since the Hopkins Bulletin spokesman is a Dartmouth professor (and a classmate!) I must assume that Mr. Hopkins was indeed of a conservative bent. So I can only urge that the next issue of the Bulletin provide us with a picture of what these people believe in rather than what they're against. Lacking the assurance of a responsible, moderate philosophy, one might be tempted to associate their group with good ole brotherhood advocates of the past like John Birch, Joe McCarthy and Adolph What's-His-Name.

Hoppy isn't here to defend himself, but I choose to believe he'd be no more enamored with the label "Old Right" than with"New Left."

Camden, Maine

S. Avery Raube '30, secretary of the Ernest Martin Hopkins Institute, New York, replies:

President Hopkins was thoroughly imbued with the principles of free societies as opposed to any form of centralized autocratic authority. He was a firm believer in and proponent of free, private, profit-and-loss societies as opposed to socialism and communism. He was dedicated to the fundamentals of a liberal arts education which encourages expression of all points of view as well as the dispassionate examination and evaluation of each in a collegial atmosphere.

His permission to Orozco to paint the murals in Baker Library is one proof of that dedication. Even more significant was Hopkins' refusal of Orozco's offer to "soften" his murals (so as "not to embarrass the College") as his work proceeded over a two-year span. Of special significance was Hopkins' refusal under pressure in subsequent years to remove or even cover up any part of the murals.

What does this have to do with the Institute?

The Ernest Martin Hopkins Institute is thoroughly imbued with the principles of free societies as opposed to any form of centralized autocratic authority. It firmly believes in and is a proponent of free, private, profit-and-loss societies as opposed to socialism and communism. And the Institute is also dedicated to the fundamentals of a liberal arts education which encourages the expression of all points of view as well as the dispassionate examination and evaluation of each in a collegial atmosphere.

The writers of the letters above probably do not realize that the nature and character of Dartmouth have changed and—almost as seriously—that this change has emerged without study, without design and without official approval. In other words, Dartmouth is no longer the full-fledged liberal arts educational institution that President Hopkins so zealously nurtured and that the Hopkins Institute has dedicated itself to renew.

For example, the penetrating and dispassionate examination of every viewpoint has for the past 20 years or so been jettisoned and is forbidden at Dartmouth. Now, a fundamental viewpoint of President Hopkins even in some classrooms is not allowed even to be expressed let alone examined. And this banishment includes practically all of the extracurricular education at Dartmouth in the form of visiting speakers, Fellows, etc. Indeed, the College s current administration has actually covered up not the Orozco murals but the Richard Hovey Grill murals!

Fundamental principles do not change with time. The principles that President Hopkins believed in are just as sound today as they were long before he was born. It is those principles that President Hopkins would want renewed at his beloved Dartmouth. We of the Institute want that, too. And my strong guess is that the writers above do, also.

Sex Kits

The recent activities of the Dartmouth College Health Service in response to the developing AIDS epidemic should be applauded. The dissemination of explicit information to Dartmouth students and availability of "safer sex kits" is exactly the type of activity that will modify the impact of this fatal disease.

That the Health Service should be criticized for this action on moral grounds is appalling. What Doctor Turco and his associates are doing is not only in the best tradition of public health but is following the guidelines of the Report of the Surgeon General of the United States. As for the morality issue, this program is designed to save the lives of Dartmouth students. When did that goal become immoral?

I hope that the Dartmouth Health Service's program is imitated on a wide scale. Alumni and friends of the College should take pride in the knowledge that it started at Dartmouth.

CHIEF OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Bully for Dartmouth College for facing up to the threat posed by ignorance about AIDS. The Safer Sex kits can be expected to save lives—without, I dare say, the loss of a single soul.

Corpus Christi, Texas

I respectfully propose a plan that binds the generations and bears unique witness to those who matriculated in quainter times.

Simply change the name of Dick's House to "Fletcher's House." Then Dartmouth undergraduates, as in times past, could again shop Fletcher's for their personal sexual paraphernalia. Only this time it's on the house.

New York, New York

If the College has begun to distribute luridly detailed, explicit sexual material to incoming freshmen, we'd like to know how one can get a piece of that literature.

What sparked this request was the Hop- kins Institute's reprint of the New York Post's story with the screaming headline "Dartmouth Sex Kit Shocker." We confess a sneaking fondness for the Post ever since Rupert Murdoch turned it from an ordinary newspaper into a feisty purveyor of scandal, smut and UFOs. The Post didn't fail us. We could tell that from the moment we saw the opening caveat: "To convey how distasteful the material is, we must regrettably quote from the material itself." Attaboy, Rupert!

Citing no less an authority than the Dartmouth Review, the Post article enthusiastically describes the College's "safer sex kit." According to the Post, the kit portrays in do-it-yourself detail the wondrous ways one can attain satisfaction without concomitant diseases, liberally sprinkled with the sort of words we used to look up surreptitiously in the dictionary way back in the eighth grade.

Some of the practices endorsed by the kit sounded familiar and we'd heard vague rumors of others, but several were far beyond our ken. And guess what? Along with the kit, the Post reported breathlessly, come two free condoms plus a gadget "recommended for love acts between two men," all courtesy of the College.

We protest! When we registered at Dartmouth way back in 1939, we were given nothing remotely resembling this material: class assignments, room keys, dormitory rules, maybe a few hints on hygiene along with compulsory gym, but certainly nothing as rich and varied as the items contained in the sex kit. In all fairness, we want to suggest that the College make up for its lapse by sending copies of that kit to all those alumni who didn't get them when they were undergraduates. You could even skip the free condoms, although elderly alumni who, like us, grew up in the preliberation era might be academically curious to know what in the world that gadget "for love acts between two men" looks like. How about it, Dartmouth?

EDWARD C. INGRAHAM '43 Bethesda, Maryland

The "gadget" appears to be a small container of antiseptic lubricant called "Probe." The Dartmouth Health Service says that the lubricant minimizes tissue damage of the kind that invites spread of the AIDS virus in both homosexuals and heterosexuals. See our special report on the sex kit in the April issue.—Ed.

Dartmouth Pride

Three cheers for Barbara Wiese McKinney '79 for her thoughtful letter in the March issue. She has provided a perceptive analysis of the mood of many older alumni, and agrees with many others in saying that though she is not happy with all that has occurred in Hanover in the past ten years she feels lucky to have had a Dartmouth education, and is still proud of Dartmouth.

Though perhaps Ms. McKinney and I would disagree on many of the controversial issues we have become accustomed to reading about, I endorse completely what she advocates: support of the College. The Indian symbol, the Hovey Murals, an allmale student body—all memories, and they are ours to keep. The football coach, the shacks, though less than admirable, are things that occur in the life of a college, and by which it grows.

And memory sometimes tricks us. Don't think Spud Bray thought 40 years ago that every undergraduate was a model of impeccable behavior. Yet, since the Renaissance, youth has been the precursor of social change.

For those who are fearful of the future of Dartmouth and the influence of certain professors, I submit that there is an avenue available to reassure alumni of the soundness of Dartmouth today: Dartmouth Alumni College, held annually in August. Two weeks in Hanover, living in dorms, eating at Thayer, attending lectures by Dartmouth professors and participating in classroom discussions are rejuvenating experiences. Two weeks to be at Dartmouth once again, to discover that it is as would be expected—much the same, and yet changed. And wouldn't it be a disappointment to find it had not changed?

In the words of one local alumnus, "The College is in good health, and will endure." Thanks, Ms. McKinney, for reminding us that our strength, not our disunity, is what we should emphasize.

Wilmette, Illinois

Hopefully some of the alumni who persist in crying out in the wilderness over issues at Dartmouth which do not please them read the letter from Barbara Wiese McKinney.

Such a well-phrased endorsement and expression of appreciation for her Dartmouth education should make them proud that the College's alumni include such loyal women.

Sanibel, Florida

Cheers and cheers again for Barbara Wiese McKinney. It was a perfect finale to so much petty controversy, and well expressed the feelings of those who know and love Dartmouth.

Lacey, Washington

Creative Arson

Your October article on bonfires brought back long-lost memories of one which I guess was (happily) never chronicled.

A year or two before the '49 fire you pictured, several upperclassmen, who had been celebrating the completion of a dreaded hour exam, headed across the campus Green on the Thursday before Dartmouth Night. Unable to resist the spectacular structure in the center, they managed in short order to set it afire. Hoping to slink away unnoticed, they saw a young boy who had apparently witnessed the entire event.

Some words seemed required and one said to the boy: "What is your name?"

"Johnny Dickey," came the reply. Unless 40 years plays tricks with my memory, the band, cheerleaders and all other participants got the call, and Dartmouth Night took place 24 hours early that year. In any event it's a matter of record that both "arsonists" graduated, and, in due course, JSD Jr. as well.

Pasadena, California

Song Cues

A simple, clean, and readily available solution to the Alma Mater controversy, one which would be acceptable to a great many alumnae as well as alumni, would be to declare "Dartmouth Undying" as it. Beautiful music, beautiful words, and unisex. I have always preferred it. So did my father, and so do many others. Furthermore, I have

never enjoyed being thought of as graniteheaded. Buffalo, New York

My suggestion for the alma mater: change the first line to "Pride of Dartmouth...." Pride has at least two favorable connotations, the first of which is the common meaning, and the second of which refers to the offspring of the lion. The term carries no gender significance, but does convey the same meaning of offspring as "sons" or "daughters."

For the rest of the song, change "sons" and "men" to either "pride" or (as Deans Prince and Navarro suggest) "ones," depending on the context. For example: And the loyal ones who love her... For the pride of old Dartmouth, The sturdy pride of Dartmouth...

This could also be a solution to the lack of a symbol for the school. We could be the Dartmouth Lions. In many respects, the lion represents the same qualities many alumni see in the Indian symbol, but without engendering the anger and harmful divisiveness the Indian symbol will continue to engender.

Washington, D.C.

Including proposed new verses for our alma mater song in your April cover story is a superb contribution to our understanding of the issues and feelings.

If you are seeking "votes," mine are for Josiah Hill's as by far the best; as an added fourth verse, Cobra's with Hill's; Ronald Green's excerpt for the last line.

Gainesville, Florida

Latin was never my best class. Please translate for me "alma mater."

Bangor, Maine

Those female chauvinists and their supporters seeking to de-sexualize the Dartmouth alma mater are guilty of, at best, half-hearted measures. More likely, it appears, they want it all their way.

How can they justify their opposition to the male references which can now be looked upon in the generic sense as in "mankind"—while failing to acknowledge the second edge of the sword, to wit: "alma mater"—a feminine reference! And "the lone pine above her" must become "the lone pine above it."

I suggest the best solution is for them to transfer their registration, educational interest and support to Wheaton College.

Let's leave a few things unchanged, "lest the old traditions fail." At the present time there isn't much left, not even many traditions, that rouses in this aging alumnus the wholehearted support of the College he once revered.

Wayland, Massachusetts

If a significant fraction of Dartmouth's students feel uncomfortable and left out with the existing lyrics, by all means let's change them. It is impossible to please everyone, and idle to attempt it, but the alma mater should enjoy the solid support of most of the Dartmouth constituency.

I hope that the job can be done with judicious editing of the existing lyrics. Although "Dartmouth Undying" is perhaps the loveliest college song extant, it is not as "rousing" as "Men of Dartmouth." If the lyrics of "-" of Dartmouth were

amended to included both sexes or be gender neutral, I think few would not join in wholeheartedly.

Fairfield, Connecticut

While waiting for the College to send me my Alumni Safe Sex Kit, I plan to busy myself writing acceptable alternative lyrics to "Men of Dartmouth," "The Star Spangled Banner" and the "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

I do not feel up to tampering with the Declaration of Independence or the Lord's Prayer just yet.

Claremont, California

Since I graduated, I have learned that I am no longer a Dartmouth Indian, although that is what I was when I graduated. Now I am no longer to consider myself one of the "Men of Dartmouth"? I am confused. Please tell me what I am. Until I hear further, I am going to refer to myself as a Dartmouth Good Ole Boy. This is acceptable hereabouts in the coalfield boondocks of rural southern Indiana.

How about waiting until the Dartmouth Community (all of it) gets to parity which is sure and certain in about 50 years. That would provide enough time to come up with a new, good, and neutral alma mater when all the Dartmouth Good Ole Boys would be dead and gone.

Petersburg, Indiana

In my view, changing or replacing the alma mater would represent yet another in a series of self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the foot. It would continue the cavalier and systematic razing of the traditions and collective history of the College. Such proposals are instituted by those who have nothing to lose, at the expense of and disregard for those who place great importance on maintaining these traditions. It constitutes the worst kind of pandering to those who have no appreciation for the role these traditions play in enriching the Dartmouth experience, during and after one's college years.

How something like this, with such great potential for inflaming more divisiveness, could even be given serious consideration is beyond me. No matter what the outcome, it can only serve to subvert Dartmouth's spirit and cohesiveness, which aren't exactly ascendant to begin with.

Why must we keep doing this to ourselves?

Brookline, Massachusetts

As one who follows the current affairs of the College but infrequently, I was shocked to discover, on paging through the May issue, that "Men of Dartmouth" is still being used, unchanged, as the Alma Mater.

The words of "Men of Dartmouth" are exclusionary. Asking women of the College to pledge their loyalty by singing phrases such as "loyal sons and sturdy sons without balancing references to "loyal daughters" and "sturdy daughters" is rather peculiar, to say the least. "Men of Dartmouth" would be an appropriate rallying song for a men's club, perhaps. But it is inconceivable that a school that has been coeducational for well over a decade would continue to use it. One wonders how deep the College's commitment to women really is.

Those alumni who object to changing the words of the Alma Mater on the grounds that its text is sacrosanct must have been out roadtripping during history class. In Western civilization there is a long-standing tradition of adjusting the texts of "sacred" melodies in order to bring them into line with changing circumstances. Technically, this process is called contrafactum. For instance, as distinguished an individual (albeit not an alumnus of the College) as Martin Luther retexted many a Catholic tune to make it appropriate for use in the newly formed Protestant church.

Philosophy and tradition aside, there is also the question of artistic merit. "Men of Dartmouth" is of relatively recent, turn-of-the-xentury vintage, and it is a strictly local concoction. Viewed in terms of art, the melody is humdrum. And the words! Anyone who has passed English 1 should suspect that there is something poetically amiss in the phrase "with the granite of New Hampshire in their muscles and their brains."

The fact is, "Men of Dartmouth" is hoke. It may be sentimental hoke, but hoke it is. It was judged a winner in the Boston Lunch Club Song Competition of 1894, but its aesthetic credentials go no further than that.

New York, New York

Has it ever been pointed out that the current tune to "Men of Dartmouth" seems to be an almost note-for-note quotation of the theme in the coda to the finale of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony? It seems so to me. (First the bassoon has it, then the horn, flute and strings.)

I do hope the Alumni Council's ad hoc committee has the same good taste in music as Mr. Wellman '07 did when they choose their new tune. It gives me the greatest pleasure knowing that, whatever havoc upon tradition and sentimentality the committee brings, "Men of Dartmouth" will live on forever in the Beethoven.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Singing Ambassadors

A thousand thanks to everyone in Hanover who planned the spring trip of the Dartmouth Glee Club throughout Florida It was a SMASH HIT.

Those young people are the best ambassadors and ambassadresses whom we could send out into the unenlightened world. They were inspiring on the stage and in pur homes.

After hearing the Glee Club and meeting these young people, even the few remaining curmudgeons among us should feel better about Dartmouth.

Vero Beach, Florida

Dartmouth u.

I have long been aware that every Ivy League college's name ends with UNIVERSITY except Dartmouth College! For Dartmouth to continue to rank among the elite of this group—with Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Brown—l feel that it must be recognized as, and actually functioning as, a full-fledged UNIVERSITY.

And though I may not be here to see it accomplished—l am now 75—this transition I envision can be achieved by the year 2000!

Dartmouth University could then take its rightful leadership role among the greatest universities in not only America but in all the World!

Miami, Florida

Letters Lax

Congratulations! There were only three letters from alumni printed in March. It is possible that you do not recall, so let me remind you that I wrote several months ago suggesting that the letters column be eliminated altogether. I view this most recent effort as a substantial step in the right direction. Keep up the good work.

Indeed, why not print this letter next month and have it be the last letter ever...

Portland, Oregon

Many years ago, when my colleagues and I were relaxing, in traditional Dartmouth fashion, from the rigors of a morning's interviewing of applicants for admission to our revered College, I was informing the group why I was so well-disposed toward a young man whose academic record seemed rather lopsided. "He explained to me," I said, "that he was devoting most of his waking time to writing a novel." "What kind of novel?" someone asked. "The young man said," I replied, "that it was going to be something like War and Peace but better!"

There was a moment of awed silence. Then the late Clarence Opper '18 spoke up "Sounds to me like a good candidate," Oppy drawled. "Any real Dartmouth man has a touch of the screwball in him!"

How right Oppy was! And from that time on I scanned the letters to the editor in each successive issue of the Alumni Magazine to see—in the light of what I called "Oppy's Determinant"—how the College was farings.

I must report to you that until the March issue—the College has always been in healthy shape. The screwball content of each group of letters varied from one-half to two-thirds per issue. There seemed to have been some sort of seasonal variation in that component, rising (as perhaps do the vital juices in man) in the spring, and declining in the winter.

And the outpouring of those missives, the sheer quantity, evidenced, I thought, a passionate continuing interest in the College; the remembrance of things past, or the unshakable devotion to the dreams of youth.

Now comes the March issue of the magazine, with only three (yes, three!) letters. A pitiful handful! None touches the perennial issues: The Native American Symbol, The College Anthem, The Desecration of the Green.

Just three (count them, three!) sober, wellwritten letters with not a threat in the lot of them—not an objurgation, not a temper tantrum. Not one single two-year-old in an adult body saying "bad Mommy" to our beloved Alma M.!

Sir, what is happening? Not to the College, which I know will continue to flourish, as it has, these past centuries, but to our once vociferous alumni body?

Chevy Chase, Maryland

Marital Degree

Is it any wonder that dear old Dartmouth is the target of so much criticism as a bastion of male chauvinism? With alumni like Elmer B. Fulton '34 devaluing our Dartmouth degrees it is a wonder we are still tolerated among truly educated people.

I am referring to his "Majestic Joe" letter in the April issue, in which Fulton asserts: "Every good Dartmouth man knows that probably the most valuable asset an A.B. in the Ivy League can bestow is the ability to choose a beautiful woman as wife."

If this is the best he got out of Dartmouth, one wonders how he got in.

Norwich, Vermont

Good Issue

All of us who have reached my age receive many publications, most of them not very interesting. Your magazine had three most interesting articles in the May issue: "Looking for Mr. Goodjob," "The Uncompetitive Society," and "A Spanish Galleon's Real Treasure." I have been a most enthusiastic follower of Richard D. Lamm for many years and that article will be photocopied and go to my three hard-driving sonin-laws.

There is a time to be critical and a time to pay a compliment. I surely feel that you have made our magazine into a very interesting publication.

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Frost Memories

Regarding Philip Booth's "One Question for Mr. Frost," in the March issue: for some 40 years now I have been telling people that my love of "Lear" is the result of a lecture by Professor Booth, Philip's father. Professor Booth, who seemed always a somewhat mild, contained speaker became a seasoned actor when he gave his Lear lecture; the evil daughters walked that classroom "stage." When Lear, blind and old, wretched in his misery, faltered on the heath, we heard his voice—his tragic voice—in Booth's.

Son Philip's article fired other remembrances. I was one of those in that seminar Frost taught. I was the one he made fun of, whose attempts at poetry brought only a haffumph, obvious disdain. I so resented those select few who could put a couplet, phrase, iambs together to suit this hoaryheaded legend. There was a Marine in that group who always had something Frost liked.

I was present in Webster Hall, some time before the Kennedy inaugural, when Frost gave his last reading. President John Dickey was there, wide tie splashed across his lounging torso. Warner Bentley and Hal Roach stood in the rear of the auditorium. I went back to join them and to listen away from the throng. There were tears in Bentley's and Roach's eyes. Looking back, I was too shallow, too much still remembering that I had not been able to give voice, to find approval, to weep. I was simply, again as nearly 20 years before, in awe.

Port Charlotte, Florida

I found Philip Booth's article interesting. It brought back good memories of sitting on the floor in Baker Library listening to Robert Frost tell his stories or just chat with his captivated audience.

Elkridge, Maryland

Kaiser Kudos

As a longtime professional colleague of Bob Kaiser, I was delighted to read the well deserved accolade to him in the April issue.

For the record, it should be noted that without the leadership of Dartmouth's John Meek and Bob Kaiser in the 1969 tax legislative crisis, the nonprofit community might have been deprived of the tax incentives to charitable giving which have helped make the multimillion-dollar capital campaigns of so many institutions a success. I was there!

The College is richer by far because of Bob's work on its behalf not only in terms of dollar wealth but also because he educated and encouraged untold numbers of alumni and friends of Dartmouth to realize the princely joys and satisfactions of philanthropy in their increasing financial support of the work of the College.

With personal commitment, enduring enthusiasm and solid professionalism, Bob Kaiser is one of the finest development officers I have known. He has, in his quiet way, by example, set standards for all those who labor in the arcane business of fundraising.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY New York, New York

Hennessey Hurrah

I am writing in regard to your announcement that Professor John Hennessey is leaving Dartmouth to become provost at the University of Vermont.

I was one of many lucky undergraduates who took Professor Hennessey's Organizational Behavior course, which encouraged students to think about ethical decisions facing business managers today. His teaching methods, his personal integrity and his openness made him one of the best professors I was exposed to at Dartmouth. Professor Hennessey shared his knowledge and wisdom with the class and gave each individual the opportunity to benefit from his talents.

I think his departure will be a heartfelt loss to the College, but I wish him the best at UVM.

Washington, D.C.

Wheelock Rejoinder

On what basis does Bruce Thorsen claim to speak "on behalf of Eleazar Wheelock and American Blacks" (May Letters)? Mr. Wheelock, God bless and reform his prejudiced soul, is dead; he can give no such power of attorney as Mr. Thorsen claims.

As for all "American Blacks," my wife, my son, and I were not approached by Mr. Thorsen. On the evidence at hand, we being black and American, it is clear that Mr. Thorsen's reach has exceeded his grasp.

In my judgement, this is true also of the balance of his letter. Perhaps Mr. Thorsen should enroll in one of Professor Hall's classes.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Predatory Effrontery

I find it difficult to believe that a literate, educated person wrote the caption for the May cover. Be advised that a predator is "a predatory person, a plunderer," and a predatory person is "characterized by plunder, pillage, robbery or exploitation; addicted to or living by plunder, pillage, robbery or exploitation." Shall I go on?

On the other hand, that may be what you really think of the corporate and other representatives who visit the campus. If this is the case then you have insulted me and hundreds of other alumni as well as many corporations who have directly or through matching gifts rendered substantial financial assistance to the College. Hasn't enough happened these recent years to alienate thousands of alumni without your adding an additional completely gratuitous effrontery?

I suggest a public apology.

Lyme Center, New Hampshire

Mr. Croninger's definition is equally offensive to predators. In the wild, a predator is an animal that uses strength, skill and grace to compete for limited resources. In an age when other nations are beginning to challenge our industrial hegemony, American businessmen would do well to employ predatory methods (in the ecological sense, of course).

Jock McDonald '87 did. Jock is the "predator" on the right (as well as the student on the left) in the trick photo taken by photographer Nancy Wasserman '77. Shortly after he wrote the May cover story, Jock used his hunting skills to land a job with United States Surgical Corporation in Connecticut.—Ed.