LETTERS

Boredom Most Excellent

This is a fan letter I have intended to write for some time. What got me going is reading "Boredom's Uses," the commencement address byjoseph Brodsky [October]. It was a major, and excellent, exercise in editorial judgment to realize that this is an exceptional essay. And it was also excellent judgment to add the marvelous illustrations, from the Hood Museum of Art no less.

As a former member of the editorial board of The D, I was also pleased to read the various reflections in that piece.

But let me not dwell only on two examples. I think that you are producing an excellent publication which tells us about the College and opens windows here and there on the wider world. The handling of various departments is crisp, which I think befits the growing size of the alumni body— more publications, more news from classes as we each live a little longer.

Amherst, Massachusetts

Beach Buff

The article "Henderson the Beach" [September] so caught my fancy I had to write. This article gave me a much better feel for life in the camps than anything else I have read. I hope Rob Eshman will be asked to do more stories.

Oakton, Virginia

Tears for the Great One

Reading again Daniel Webster's words in the summer issue, my lips quavered; my cheeks quivered with emotion; my eyes filled with tears; my voice choked, and I struggled to the utmost to gain that mastery over myself which might save me from an unmanly burst of feeling. Thank you and The Devil and Daniel Webster Society for this moving and enlightening review of our lore.

On a quibbling note, is there not a typo in the fourth sentence of Webster's oration? Surely, Webster challenged the Supreme Court with"But if you do so, you must carry through with your [not 'our'] work!"

Nashville, Tennessee

You're right. It was a typo. Now we're crying.Ed.

Early Justice

Shortly after he was confirmed as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, William Rehnquist accepted an invitation from Dartmouth's Daniel Webster Legal Society and addressed a meeting of that group on campus. I believe this was in the winter of 1975-76.

The memory of that event came back to me as I read in the summer issue, "Rehnquist's connection to the College is his friendship with James O. Freedman..." Probably I should have written you about this apparently earlier Dartmouth connection had I not read in that same issue a letter from the Reverend W. Scott Axford '78; Scott was an active member of that legal society.

Signal Mountain, Tennessee

Bottled Discipline

Your "Dartmouth Undying" thumbnail history of the relationship between students and strong waters across the years [September] brings to mind a conversation with Dean Craven Laycockin the 1931-32 year. The immediate subject was a piece I had sent to press for the upcoming Jacko issue that Ed Boyle or someone at the Musgrove Press had relayed to the dean, with an opinion suggesting it was not suitable for print. (The dean concurred. Puzzled by the opinion but myself not confident that the piece was all that funny, I offered—perhaps cravenly by today's more militant standards—only a mild brief for editorial independence.)

The issue settled, the conversation veered to the broad subject of college discipline. The dean reflected on the penalties he meted out to students in whose rooms empty whiskey bottles were found. Such artifacts were considered prima facie evidence of guilty conduct in those days. The dean shook his head, an expression of annoyed wonder. "Why," he asked, "don't they throw the bottles out the window?"

Westport, Connecticut

Miller's Tale

I read Chris Miller's "Son of Animal House" in the September issue with both interest and considerable nostalgia; many of my fondest memories of my undergraduate years stem from my fraternity, and a number (perhaps a distressingly large number) of specifics in both the movie and the article have a truly familiar feel.

I feel compelled to note, however, that Chris's obituary for Pi Lambda Phi, while substantially accurate, is slightly off in date; the lodge was still functioning normally when I graduated—though perhaps it had already been cut off at the roots.

Additionally, I don't recall having seen mentioned in the Alumni Magazine the fact that the institution of rush as a sophomore-year phenomenon is only a return to the situation extant when I approached the process in the fall term of 1968. My memory tells me that freshman rush was a (reluctantly adopted) necessity of the switch to year-round operation.

Anchorage, Alaska

As I read the article on fraternities by Chris Miller '63, I found myself experiencing a broad range of emotions. On the one end I laughed at my remembrances of the antics of my Dartmouth days. But on the other, more realistic, end, I cried.

I cried at the realization that by spending so much of my time in the Dartmouth fraternity system "feeding and caring for the animal" in me, recovering from hangovers, and denigrating coeds and minority groups, I had totally reneged on the golden opportunity to develop meaningful, not drunken, relationships with brilliant faculty members, other students from a colorful mosaic of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and female students from whom I could have learned so much about relationships and communication in preparation for my "life after Dartmouth."

When I entered Dartmouth in 1970 I was a clean-cut, naive, all-Canadian teenage jock. Exposure to and involvement in the free-flowing beer and mob mentality of the fraternity system brought out in me a disregard for other people's property and a disrespect for the dignity of other people who did not agree with our debaucherous lifestyle. I had come to Dartmouth, an institution that prided itself on being an open-minded intellectual think tank, as a tolerant, sensitive, respectful human being and emerged four years later as a disillusioned, narrow-minded, egocentric bigot who didn't have any idea how to have a good time without being three sheets to the wind!

This letter originates from a humbled heart. I readily admit to writing it from a Christian perspective and conviction. However, I've "been there"my fraternity exploits are no secret. My life has involved much cleansing and "deprogramming" over the past several years. And as I've moved through the healing process I've come to realize that what I lived back there in the basements of the fraternities between 1970 and '74 was an egoistical, existentialist lie. A philosophy of life and a superficial brother/ sisterhood that evolves out of debauchery and hedonism can never substitute for a philosophy of life based upon fellowship with, and understanding and acceptance of all people through, love, caring, and the desire to grow in wisdom.

Newmarket, Ontario

I cannot resist taking the opportunity to salute Chris Miller for his refreshing article on the status of fraternities at Dartmouth. He took the words right out of my mouth (with the exceptions of "multifarious," "metaphorical regurgitation," "malodorous, " and "dadaist"). I am one of the group who perceive that the fun of fraternity life has been completely replaced by a succession of wars for survival. I am pleased to hear that all is well on the party front. It was fun, and it should be fun.

As we grow older, we tend to take ourselves too seriously and evolve into the "great judges" of personal and group behavior. I hope that Dartmouth administrators are never successful in their ongoing pursuit to eliminate fraternity social life in Hanover. One of the noteworthy aspects of my "Dartmouth Experience" was learning the old work hard-play hard doctrine.

Chris stated that within a few days he felt closer to the 20-year-old "mud monsters" than he did to most of the people he sees in everyday "real" life. Too bad—but probably very true. Most of my friends and acquaintances from all walks of life feel the same. For some reason, the sharing of taking ourselves too seriously does not form lasting bonds. Long live Dartmouth fraternities and camaraderie.

Santa Clara, California

Chris Miller's article was troublesome. Well written and provocative, but troublesome. The piece fondly recalls our years at Dartmouth as a glorious time of fraternal drunkenness and "sweet" regurgitation. I search my memory for the described pleasures, either as spectator or participant, and come up empty. Was there something wrong with me? If everyone else was having such a good time, throwing up in fraternity basements and on each other, where was I for the fan? What's wrong with my memory bank? Chris Miller and I were at Dartmouth at about the same time, but the ecstasy of the sublime "boot" passed me and a lot of others by.

Thinking that I had been missing something terrific—and from the article possibly the essence of a Dartmouth education—l checked with other contemporaries. Lo and behold, they can't recall fraternal regurgitations in quite the same way that Miller does! (They question the account both with regard to vomiting frequency and quality.)

Several things should be said, I feel. The article is something of a nostalgia trip. Like all nostalgia trips it probably doesn't enjoy perfect recollection. Secondly, Dartmouth College wasn't really like "Animal House" for most of us. The outrageous behavior described by Miller existed, no doubt. It just wasn't typical of college life in general.

And lastly, one cannot help but reflect about the tragic chemical-related death of the star of "Animal House" John Belushi. Or the numerous fatal alcohol poisonings that deplete college ranks nationally each year. Are these reflections important? You bet they are!

Salem, Massachusetts

Chris Miller's article in your September issue represents the most enlightened viewpoint on fraternities that has come from Hanover in a long time.

President Freedman and Dean Shanahan could do themselves a favor by adopting this attitude and committing their efforts to strengthening the system instead of tearing it down. Such a move would unify the alumni and quell the controversy that has unfortunately become the hallmark of the current administration.

Overland Park, Kansas

Wrong Guy

The picture on page 23 of the October issue appears to be of former Managing Editor J. Moreau Brown '39 rather than former Editor O'Brien Boldt '39.

Chatham, New York

Good catch. Our apologies to both gentlemen for the jnixup. Ed.

Radio Waves

In his October letter, Joshua Nossiter '79 ("Radio Static" ) obviously judges the very complex organization that is Dartmouth broadcasting by merely one yardstick.

Perhaps it is unfortunate that Dartmouth undergraduates today may have less interest in classical music. However, it would be far from "mature" for the management of WDCR/WFRD- FM to decide, in some Orwellian manner, what music is most culturally "correct" and force the staff members to work within those guidelines.

Mr. Nossiter, having implied that he himself has worked in radio since his departure from Hanover, should realize more than anyone that the face of commercial radio has changed quite dramatically in the last ten years. Through the late seventies, FM radio was somewhat of a novelty, and there was room for experimentation and more lax programming. In 1979, there was one other FM radio station that served the Upper Valley. Now, more than six FM stations' signals reach to reposition themselves in the marketplace.

We (actually, my predecessors) found the ideal solution: our FM station could be operated more "professionally," and our AM could be the place for students to be more creative. This served the dual goals of providing an educational experience in radio (I said radio, not a particular type of music), and serving the marketplace and keeping the business running without handing from the College.

Dartmouth broadcasting has established a dominant position in the marketplace: WFRD is ranked second overall of every radio station in the area, and WDCR and WFRD-FM compose two of the top three stations listened to by college students...not bad for a market with a dozen stations. This marketing has enabled us to open opportunites hardly seen by Mr. Nossiter ten years ago; there are far more positions in sales, business, production, marketing, and promotions. These expanded areas provide a truly educational (yet nonetheless fun) experience for the Dartmouth student. This is why I feel I was more than justified to claim that "an organization like this is one which sets this college apart from all others."

New York, New York

I agree 100 percent with the letter of Joshua Nossiter '79 in your October issue. Dartmouth radio has become an acute embarrassment to the College and to those of us who helped bring it into the world. The student operators of the last few years have turned it into a noisy, unimaginative jukebox. I turn the damn thing off when I'm in Hanover.

Students don't like to be told what to do—God knows my peers didn't. You quote the present station manager as claiming, "We couldn't staff eight hours a day of classical music with volunteers today" Nonsense! What efforts have they made to attract students with better taste and broader interests? Surely they're there in Hanover, but one can hardly expect them to sign up for the existing dumb format.

But let's not just blame today's, students. The College administration has abdicated its own responsibility. The FCC licensee and owner of these stations is Dartmouth College. These are commercial operations earning annual revenues well up into six figures and their advertising salesmen are commissioned missioned professionals, not students. The College has a cash cow, and seems content to do no more than milk it.

Concord, Massachusetts

Is Nossiter for real?

As the program manager for WDCR in 1969-70, I remember Professor Robinson with genuine fondness. I also remember wishing I had someplace to put him other than WDCR, which was the only Dartmouth frequency.

We worked hard to earn the money that made WFRD possible (although why they chose such a stupid set of call letters I will never understand). We did that so there could be a place for special-interest formats as well as an entire station that most people could listen to.

Nossiter has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. No "diverse audience" got a daily helping of good music. Nobody listens to music they don't like; they didn't then and they won't now.

WDCR/WFRD does not exist to educate announcers. It has a commercial license from the FCC to serve the general public. The public today expects any radio station to have a consistent format. In a major market, where there are many rock stations, pure classical is a perfectly legitimate choice.

With only a few stations, the Dartmouth Upper Valley audience deserves to have a good rock/album-oriented rock/classical rock station, not some useless hodgepodge.

I'm writing this letter only against the possibility that some typical adminstration/faculty type will read Nossiter's stupid letter and think that it's time to screw around with WDCR/ WFRD. Don't.

New York, New York

Boycott the Trip

I just received an issue of the Bulletin advertising the Alumni College Abroad. To my shock, they're going to China. This is just what the Chinese leadership wants. Business as usual.

Wasn't there a massacre in Tienanmen Square in Beijing last spring? Isn't there a campaign of repression and persecution going on at this moment in China?

According to the Chinese leaders, the answer is no. Nothing happened. Well, there is a term for this position. It's called the Big Lie. It was used expertly by Hitler, and the Chinese are proving that they can get away with it.

Don't let them. Cancel the trip. The Alumni College will survive if it skips China this year. I can't believe that Dartmouth College can sponsor a trip that effectively says it doesn't matter! The College has always stood for the rights of Native Americans, women, and other minorities. And rightfully so.

I say to the College: cancel the trip! To my fellow alumni: boycott it! Let's show the Chinese leaders that we won't swallow the Big Lie.

Tampa, Florida

MarthaS. Cornish, director of AlumniContinuing Education, replies:

We are beginning to see the net effect of all American education and tourist programs in the U.S.S.R. To close off our contacts with the Chinese people would more likely strengthen the Chinese government's coercive dominion. Hua-yuan Li Mowry, associate professor of Asian Studies, says that the alumni trips are indeed business as usual—educational business, which is different from the Chinese government's definition.

Loads of Opportunity

Why is it that the faculty, in its latest planning report, refers to a "teaching load" and a "research opportunity?"

Kansas City, Missouri

Boredom has its uses, as Nobel Laureate Joseph Brodsky maintained in his October essay. But people had to look elsewhere to find it.