The Absent Conservatives
Wanted: Sununu Lovers
THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE ASKED 50 students and "not one would admit to liking either [John] Sununu's views or his personality." ("Spot Poll," April). This is diversity? Seriously. Either his views or his personality? Is the Admissions Office now planning affirmative action for conservatives?
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS
Community Principle
THE LETTER IN YOUR MAY ISSUE from Jay Lott '89 objects that Dartmouth's Principle of Community "requires" and "dictates that students must be 'sensitive' and 'respectful.'" Mr. Lott proposes that the statement of principle be eliminated.
Here is what the Student Handbook actually says about the Principle of Community: "In June of 1980, the Board of Trustees endorsed the following Principle of Community for Dartmouth College: The life and work of a Dartmouth student should be based on integrity, responsibility, and consideration. In all activities each student is expected to be sensitive to and respectful of the rights and interests of others and to be personally honest. He or she should be appreciative of the diversity of the community as providing an opportunity for learning and moral growth."
This statement provides a basis for interaction between and among all members of the College, and each of us is expected to be mindful of it in pursuing our own interest as members of this community.(The Committee on Standards has ruled that the Principle of Community cannot be the basis of a disciplinary hearing before the COS.)
Because this principle is not adjudicable, it does not require or dictate anything. I do think, however, that it is a good expression of some reasonable expectations that inform our life in the Dartmouth community.I haven't seen anything to suggest that it inhibits freedom of speech, which is alive and well at Dartmouth.
Associate Dean OF Students
ALTHOUGH I AM SENSITIVE TO and respectful of Mr. Jay Lott's desire to eliminate the Principle of Community from Dartmouth's student guiding rules, I do not agree with the proposed elimination. The three other rules govern the Honor Code, freedom of expression, and equal opportunity on campus, but they are obviously not "more than adequate to protect the rights and ensure the integrity of students." Some students still cheat on exams, some plagiarize; some intentionally threaten others' physical safety; some remain prejudiced against people of different nationalities, religions, even opinions. This indicates a severe lack of an appreciation for the diversity of a community, and appreciation addressed by the Principle of Community and of which we need to be reminded.
College is the last place where a student can err "safely" (and, hopefully, learn from and correct the error) before taking his or her abilities into the postgraduate world. Any student who behaves insensitively or irresponsibly must learn somehow that honor and an Honor Code such as Dartmouth's is a community endeavor, and that freedoms in speech and opportunity are community agreements intended to serve a collective need for communication, resources, and safety.Two people can disagree with remarkable civility if they also remain sensitive to and respectful of the other's opinion. This mutual appreciation is vital not only on college campuses but among town ships, states, nations, and any place of potential violence, rape, and war. This is why the Principle of Community is such an appropriate member of Dartmouth's rules; at Dartmouth people ought to be learning how communities not just sports competitions, fellowships, elections, or jobs—can be won. The Principle of Community should be supported because it is the very medium through which other principles can be strengthened.
New York, New York
I WEEP FOR JAY LOTT '89 AND others who lament the presence of Dartmouth's Principle of Community. It goes beyond my comprehension how one can complain about a principle which calls for "an appreciation of the diversity of the community" and which calls for a "sensitivity" and "respectfulness" of the views of others.
The argument (if you can call it that) that the Principle of Community explicitly contradicts the Principle of Freedom of Expression and Dissent would be laughable if it were not proposed with such seeming seriousness. Sensitivity and respect for truth do not overwhelm those items contained within the Principle of Freedom of Expression and Dissent, but rather are a part of the whole fabric of the community called Dartmouth. The specious contention that the former overrules the latter is like saying that one of the Bill of Rights overrules another because it has a lower number attached to it.
This world of ours has enough trouble without one more attempt to assert that all individualism is good and that attempts to develop community are bad.
Coral Gables, Florida
Teaching Real Religion
Hans Penner ["Syllabus," May] should be congratulated for developing coursework that has led students back to Dartmouth's roots Religion. Almost 225 years ago, Eleazar Wheelock developed the first coursework for the original version of Religion 1, which was popular with students at that time as well. After two centuries, however, the contrast in teaching is astounding. Hans Penner asks,"Why do people persist in believing what is false?" The Bible is myth, Moses handed down a mythical god's "Ten Suggestions," and Jesus was a man who became deified because early believers needed a mythological savior. Eleazar Wheelock also asked, "Why do people persist in believing what is false?" But for him, the Bible is historic and accurate, Moses handed down God's "Ten Commandments," and Jesus is Emmanuel (a Hebraic term meaning "God with us"),the Savior of mankind.
The motto of the College remains Vox Clamantis in Deserto..."A voice crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a path for our god" (Isaiah 40:3 in the Hebraic Bible and John 1:23 in the Christian Bible). Does anyone hold to this motto anymore? Is any teacher "making straight the path" at Dartmouth today?
New Canaan, Connecticut
Belittling Diversity
Ted Adams ["Letters," March] brings up two important issues: the meaning and value of diversity, and the image of Dartmouth our alumni body helps promulgate.
Our experiences as former Dartmouth admissions officers have taught us the College has improved even since we graduated in the 1980s. It is better because it more appropriately prepares us for the world of today and the future, not the world of the past. It is better because of the wider variety of opportunity and of people.That is the value of diversity. More than color, diversity means a different perspective in the classroom. It means different ideas and life experiences. It means different majors and chances to travel abroad. And, yes,diversity includes all of the people Mr. Adams mentioned. The College's aim, our aim, has been to expand the pool even more, especially to people who have been denied opportunity yet have demonstrated excellence relative to their circumstances. Having been two of what Mr. Adams belittles as "those ill authority," we are quite comfortable with the idea of diversity because we understand this: Difference means accepting not just people who are not like you, but people whom you may not even like.
Mr.Adams' sentiments seem to be shared by a fair portion of our alumni. These attitudes do real harm to Dartmouth by scaring away students we all agree Dartmouth should recruit: the "future leaders and the best qualified students" in the country. Many of those who are frightened are white students. Some are the "politically incorrect," and possibly even the type of student Mr. Adams wishes to see at Dartmouth. In order to counter the negative and undeserved public image which plagues Dartmouth, we ask our fellow alumni to consider promoting Dartmouth on its longstanding, traditional merits, such as a quality education and the opportunity to learn from others in a spirit of fellowship. This is how you attract and create the future leaders of tomorrow.
Suzanne Dunseath Bohn '86
Dogs of One Crying
I Found THE Editor'S Note In the May 1992 issue, titled "In Keeping With This Month's Cover Story, The Review Barks Up Dartmouth's Tree," to be, at best, mildly amusing and, at worst, below the caliber of the Alumni Magazine. It seems to me that responses to The Dartmouth Review by the Alumni Magazine only serve to legitimize the Review's efforts. Further, such responses seem to validate the Review's claim that the Alumni Magazine is merely a mouthpiece of the College Administration.
New York, New York
Your May Issue Contains Two errors which can only be described as egregious. May I suggest that when your authors, including the President, display their erudition by playing around with Latin, you would be well advised to consult the Classics Department, if we still have one.
Take "Dogs Clamantis in Deserto" on the cover and as title of a prominent article. What this title may be thought to mean I cannot imagine. The suspicion will not down, however, that the author of this gem has not the faintest idea what "Vox clamantis in deserto" means.
The dogs of one crying in the wilderness? Or does the author, possibly, think that clamantis modifies vox in the College motto and therefore modifies dogs in this version? Take my word for it; it doesn't.
That, however, is trivial beside pluribi in President Freedman's essay on the First Amendment.Alexander Pope warned us that "A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or else taste not the Pierian spring."
The president, in law school or elsewhere, doubtless learned that "de minimis non curat lex." No doubt he would regard his transformation of a third declension comparative adjective in the ablative case into a second declension noun as a trivial error. Perhaps he even regards it as a clever coinage.
Perhaps, that is, he thinks that a pluribus is a multicultural vehicle carrying a diverse load towards a politically correct destination.
But maybe, sir, Professor Menge's "Just One Question" gave the real game away, "....if we are to continue to be in the top ten U.S. universities...."
Freudian slip? Or did the cat slip out of the bag?
Edenton, North Carolina
Classic Mistake
BINDING TOGETHER THE PLURIBI that form our unum" (President's column, May issue): the pluribi? Ogden Nash might have written that, but Catullus? The plures, no doubt.E pluribus unum puts the word in the ablative plural, not the nominative singular. As for the pluribi, ain't no such animal.
Shaftsbury, Vermont
Shop Keepers
Close The Hopkins Center metal workshop? This unfortunate decision should be reversed. Dartmouth is losing one of its most important places of instruction.
"Instrumental": From instruere,to instuct; from struere, to build. Here, construction is instruction. Instruction is what a school is all about. Constructive change, creativafter ity. The Metal Shop has gone much further than we realize to the "building up" of Dartmouth students. In the Hopkins Center Shops are some of the best in-structors I ever encountered at Dartmouth. Have "budgetary restrictions" gone so far that the College must work against such sorely needed basic instruction?
Leuven, Belgium
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO SEARCH FOR alternative solutions for the continuation for the metal workshop and to allow time for supporters to seek out sources of funding.
Denver, Colorado
THOUGH THE LOSS OF THE metal shop is a true loss, the bigger problem is the concept of cutting this "non-academic" program in favor of academic improvement. I am shocked that we are abandoning our coveted well-rounded educational experience in favor of "academic" programs only! What is next? Freshman Trips, the Outing Club, or The Hopkins Center ? Certainly we can do without these non-academic pleasantries as well.
I am a lieutenant in the United States Navy and drive and operate nuclear powered submarines. Only at Dartmouth could I receive the preparation to succeed as a nuclear engineer and submariner and still have the balance these appellations indicate. The Design Workshops embody that balance!
Virginia Beach, Virginia
I USED THE WOODWORKING SHOP during my time at Dartmouth, and strongly believe that the technical skills that can be learned from work in the Design Workshops are an asset for students. Students should graduate knowing how to do something.
EXETER, RHODE ISLAND I FOUND THAT MY EXPERIENCES IN the metal workshop were very helpful in grounding and balancing the academic aspects of my four years at Dartmouth, and imagine that such experiences may be of equal or greater value to many current students.
Columbia, Maryland
THIS WAS A VALUABLE ADDITION to academics as a creative mode for expressing thoughts, as well as adding to the uniqueness of Dartmouth.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
STUDENTS LEARN DESIGN AND craftsmanship, and they build technical skills and self-confidence. I will look forward to supporting a workshop endowment sponsored by the Student Design Workshops Committee, and I would encourage my fellow alumni to do the same.
La Jolla, California
