1952

Among the April 22 Earth Day activities in Manhattan was a 17 block stretch of displays on Sixth Avenue. Edythe and I were startled to see a lot of Dartmouth insignia at one point in the stretch which had been closed down in street-fair fashion. On display there was the Sunvox, the small three-wheel solar racing car which was designed and constructed with Thayer School student participation and Thayer and corporate funding over several years. It didn't do much racing on people-crowded Sixth Avenue, but it was expected to hit the road by late May.

The following weekend found me in Hanover for Class Officers Weekend. Most of the locals turned out either for the C.O.W. activities or Saturday night's gathering at the Breeds the Frank Logans,McDonoughs, Russells, Norths, Grocotts, and Bill Montgomery. John North's mom joined us Saturday night and, while John was at a distant table, filled us in on what a rascal he was in his youth.

One of the more memorable addresses during C.O.W. was from Provost John Strohbehn, who has been heading up a Planning Steering Committee charged with examining all aspects of the College's operations. While the 18-month study is just oyer half complete, he did report that the PSC has reached a conclusion that there should be no change in the size of the College and that it should not strive to be a research university. Just a few weeks later, I read several newspaper reports of the engagement of the new dean of the "Amos Tuck School of Dartmouth University." May have been just a slip in words but it was curious that every article mentioned Dartmouth University. Reverberations from the budget cuts were heard throughout the weekend the Alumni Magazine, academic programs, athletics, etc. I still think that a sledge hammer approach to the budget egg has had a wide impact on morale in Hanover. Add in the ridiculously long searches for key positions at the College, the hockey coach affair, which has drawn a few snickers from rival Ivy acquaintances of mine, and there is some reason to wonder about current management direction.

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