Two Poems Diverged in a Mellow Mood

Paul B. Gould '89 and Kris H. Moller '89 wrote a welcoming poem to Freedman last July. Some excerpts:

Our frats all want to guzzle beer Our old alums want Indian heads Our women remind you they are near And safe sex kits are by our beds.

Remember not to vacillate Or risk the faculty's eternal wrath Be firm but liberal contemplate Your footsteps on this PR path.

The poem concludes:

May your days at Dartmouth e'er bloom

With mem'ries Green and true As we drink illegally in our rooms, We raise a toast to you!

Freedman replies:

Had I but world enough and time, I'd love to answer you in rhyme, To tell you in iambic lilt That I was pleased up to the hilt With your inaugural greeting.

But since my talents are so sparse I fear my lines would never parse. However long I may rehearse, The rhymes would go from bad to verse, And hardly bear repeating.

And so I thank you from my heart, In doggerel that is far from art. I'll try to follow your advice. Before I act I shall think twice. Can we arrange a meeting?

Freedman addresses an anti-Review rally in April. He came down squarely on the side of racialdiversity at Dartmouth.