the magazine has received a great many calls from alumni asking for an interpretation of the Cole affair.

the magazine has received a great manycalls from alumni asking for an interpretation of the Cole affair. Below, Editor JayHeinrichs responds with some analysis.

Q: Who started the altercation?

A: No one was physically harmed in the incident. In fact, the only act of physical "violence," if it can be called that, is Professor Cole's breaking a flash attachment after sophomore John Quilhot took pictures. Cole said he was merely trying to block the camera's lens and that the damage was an accident.

Nonetheless, Review Editor Chris Baldwin said he was prepared for something physical. He told me that he took his glasses off before entering the recital hall. "We know Cole is a violent man," Baldwin said. "I took along a photographer because I suspected Professor Cole would be violent."

If Baldwin feared a physical confrontation, why did he enter the hall in the first place? He maintains that out of a sense of fairness (and on the advice of an attorney) he went to Cole's room to deliver a memo explaining the paper's editorial policy and to invite a reply. But Cole had made it clear that he did not want to have anything to do with the Review. It seems plain that Baldwin was counting on Cole's temper to provide material for the paper.

Q: Is the Cole incident a legitimate freedom-of-speech issue?

A: Dean of the College Edward Shanahan denies this. "The Review is not on trial," he told a meeting of administrators. "It is four students, not journalists, who as undergraduates are held to a code of conduct. Indeed, the College had done nothing when a similar article about Cole was published in 1983. No charges were brought against the four students until they confronted the professor personally.

On the other hand, some observers think the disciplinary process may serve to suppress speech on campus. Morton Halperin, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, D.C., told the Valley News that his organization was studying the incident. As far as I can tell, the charges against the students basically have to do with speech," he told the newspaper. At this writing, the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union had indicated that it was considering looking into the matter.

Q: Why is the Cole affair considered a racial incident?

A: That is a difficult question. Cole is black, and the students charged are white. Review Editor Chris Baldwin points out that, in the same issue as the Cole article, the paper also ran a critique of a white professor who had been denied tenure. Cole is tenured.

Allegations have been made about racism on both sides of the incident. The Review has published alleged racist remarks made by Cole in the past, and one witness charged that John Sutter made a racist comment in the Faulkner Recital Hall. Next month, this magazine will report on underlying tensions that helped cause the affair to blossom into public protest.

Q: Did campus opinion affect the disciplinary process?

A: If the trial were a legal one, the defense might have made a legitimate request for a change of venue. Feelings on campus were high. During the first rally in support of Professor Cole, one of the key witnesses to the incident, Afro-American Society President Luzmila Johnson '88, read a statement on behalf of her organization, calling for eventual expulsion of the four students. The Review students also claimed that President Freedman had biased the hearings by addressing the same rally.

Q: Why were Baldwin and Sutter punished so severely?

A: Witnesses agree that everyone but Sutter and Cole acted in a calm and civil manner. Although Dean Shanahan will not comment on the reasons behind the sentences, it is likely that Baldwin received stern punishment because, in the College's eyes at least, he is a repeat offender. One of the shanty bashers in 1986, Baldwin was required to perform community service.

Sutter's punishment probably stems from allegations that he was the only one of the three students to raise his voice.

Q: What will happen to the Dartmouth Review?

A: President Freedman has made it clear that he will not oppose the paper's existence. But College officials hint that the Trustees may once again consider suing the publication for its use of the Dartmouth name.

Shortly before the Cole affair, the Review chose a new roster of editors. None of the paper's incoming top staff were charged in the incident.

Q: What will happen to Professor Cole?

A: Complaints against Cole by the four Review students have been brought to Dean of the Faculty Dwight Lahr. Lahr is obliged to consider the charges with Cole in private. Unlike disciplinary affairs involving students, complaints against faculty members are given what Shanahan calls "dean's justice." Lahr will go over the charges with Cole in private and interview the Review students and witnesses before deciding whether any action should be taken against the professor.

Speaking out: Reporters watch as Rob Jones '89 speaks at a rally held outside Parkhurst.