A Malaise of Lawyers

Law and Ordure

I FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO RECONCILE your statement on the cover of the Summer 1994 issue that the class of '94 "[was] good for what society thought ailed it" with your later statement on pages 16 and 17 that in this class lawyers dominate. By most reckoning a predominance of lawyers is exactly what ails our society, or is at the very least a symptom of our malaise. Perhaps you were figuring they had been supplanted from this position by the doctors.

LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA

Memory Jog

YOU PRESENTED A TERRIFIC ARTICLE in the Summer issue about Bob Kempainen '88, the great young marathoner whose gently competitive and winning runs have impressed many who have roamed this girdled earth.

The first sentence nonetheless contains an error. Last year's New York City Marathon day of unusual heat (75 degrees and 70 percent humidity) was not in October but smack-damn in the middle of an otherwise and usually cold November. Indeed, one concern during the race's planning stages was that the the later date of the 1993 Marathon might have snow. As it turned out, the warm conditions on November 14 the hottest in the race's history caused heat exhaustion in several runners.

Yet there went Bob Kempainen to pull off that brilliant second place. My heart pretty much burst with pride because I work for the New York Road Runners Club (we put on the New York City Marathon) and had been on Dartmouth's women's cross country team when Mr. Kempainen was running on the men's.

Well, he inspired me, and many, many others. I couldn't help feeling that he must have had the hill winds in this breath; his time bespoke the granite in his muscles and his brain.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

WHATEVER HE WAS DOING "ON a hot, humid day last October," he was certainly NOT finishing second in the New York City Marathon. That race was ran on November 14 last year.

Whatever happened to factcheckers?

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

We were out running, apparently.While it certainly felt like October, wewere wrong about the month. Ms. Bayly,however, is also in error. The hottestmarathon 91 degrees in the shadetook place in 1976.

Evolutionary Baseline

THE LAST SENTENCE IN THE letter from John Barchilon '60, "I wonder how much more of this crap you expect white male alumni to put up with" ["Letters," Summer] is a rare gem.

It does not have the brevity of the terse "Nuts," given in response to the Nazi demand for surrender during the Battle of the Bulge. (Some believe this was a turning point against one of the "tyrannies" Barchilon mentioned.) It does not have the ringing prayer to hope expressed in "I have a dream." (Some believe this was a turning point against another tyranny.)

However, for those alumni who have agonized in varying degrees over the admission of women, the initiation of black studies, the passing of the Indian symbol, and introduction to gay activism, it is an invaluable touchstone a point of reference—against which one can measure oneself.

To measure oneself against the accomplishments listed in "Give a Rouse" or those so wonderfully portrayed in "Dartmouth's Gifts to the World" could be daunting.

But to be able to measure oneself against this statement of unmitigated bigotry is exhilarating. For those who sometimes find the continuing growth of the College intimidating, they can take comfort now that a basepoint has been established from which growth can be measured.

Of course, it is disconcerting that this rhetorical vox clamantis in deserto ends on the word "with," thereby distracting those bent on purity of language from recognizing the significance of this clarion call to Aryan purity of race.

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

SOME 35 OR 40 YEARS AGO, WE were all taught to be perceptive and discerning and to have inquiring minds and highly developed analytical abilities. Great Issues and several comparative-literature courses come to mind, including one in which we were given newspapers from around the country and taught to discern their various editorial slants and techniques.

It is hard to find any newspaper, magazine, radio, or TV station in the U.S.A. today which has not become a tool of the Lunatic Left. Sadly, the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, the faculty, and the entire administration appear to have fallen victim to an adherence to ultra-liberal leftist ideas which they believe to be "Politically Correct."

No one has ever summed it up better than John Barchilon '60 in his letter entitled "White Lies." If you taught us as well as you claim to have, how could you think that we could be stupid enough to be unaware of the slant which pervades the entire Hanover scene? I stopped volunteering to be an alumni interviewer and donating to the Alumni Fund years ago for exactly that reason.

SATELLITE BEACH, FLORIDA

Dartmouth's Orbit

WERE THE COMPUTERS IN Kiewit drafted by NASA to help with calculations for the emergency return of Apollo 13 to Earth in 1970? When, as a Dartmouth applicant in August 1974, I took the standard tour of the College (commencing, of course, at the kiosk on the Green), our student guide said Dartmouth and NASA used the same type of computer and that there were relatively few of them around. I believe they would have been Honey- well/GE 23s at that time.

Next spring marks the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission. Hollywood is at work on a big-name feature film. I'd be interested in knowing if there are official College records on this or whether anyone has first- hand knowledge of this story.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Look It Up

I READ WITH SOME INTEREST THE comments of James Wheaton '53 regarding Philip Gove and Webster'sThird New International. While I disagree that a change from a prescriptive to a descriptive lexicon lessens its worth, the only real judge of the true value is the purchaser.

SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

Ms. Recke is assistant sales director atMerriam-Webster, Inc.

Champs

OUR DARTMOUTH ALUMNI Magazine has been voted the top college magazine for the fifth year in a row. What an achievement! The crowning moment at our annual Class Secretaries meeting in May was learning that CASE, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, had again singled out DAM as number one in the country, giving it top awards for best articles and best general quality.

We Secretaries received this news with pride in our own contribution and with awe at what the DAM editorial staff has accomplished.

We recognize after all how difficult it is to consistently maintain such status before a demanding jury of peers from CASE whose members are communicators and development officers from thousands of universities and private schools. Equally challenging is satisfying the hard-nosed publishing professionals from outside of CASE who comprise a significant part of the juries.

Winning CASE is the magazine equivalent of winning the national, not just the Ivy, championship five years in a row.

We are grateful to the magazine staff for their excellence and for providing an excellent background for us Secretaries to display our latent skill as columnists.

CLASS SECRETARIES ASSOCIATION

Poor Shooting

WE DON'T READ MUCH ABOUT men's basketball in these pages. Little wonder. It's now been 35 years, more than a generation, since Rudy LaRusso led Dartmouth to its last Ivy League title and a berth in the NCAA tournament. Among the Ivies, only Harvard has endured more futility.

What we've been subjected to since 1959 has been a nightmare for anyone who believes the College should strive for excellence in all endeavors, academic or athletic. During a period that spans ten coaches, the basketball program has produced a pathetic total of eight winning seasons and a win-loss record of 324-570. The last winning season was 1989.

The current coaching staff is 31-47 after three years and recently completed a 10-16 campaign. In January, I drove my family to Princeton for our annual drubbing. A good but not outstanding Tiger squad rolled over the freshmenladen Big Green, 68-3 9. The game was never close, which prompted my eight- year-old to remark, "Dad, you mean we came here for that?" I was embarrassed.

Only in the late 1980s did the program come alive. Paul Cormier coached the team to three consecutive winning seasons and for part of that time had what was arguably the league's best talent. He managed a pair of second-place finishes but failed to capture the tide and eventually departed for Fairfield.

Each winter many concede the Ivy crown to Perm or Princeton, and there are compelling reasons for their sustained dominance. Since 1986, however, both Brown and Cornell have won the league tide, in each case with minority players denied admission by Dartmouth.

You'd think our administration would tire of this ineptitude and improve the situation. After all, basketball is enormously popular, and a good team benefits the College. Just ask any alumnus who follows football.

Unfortunately, Dartmouth appears to possess neither the capability nor the commitment to change. Our president seems uninterested in athletics. College officials have convenient excuses to explain basketball's problems. So the woes are likely to continue, and another generation of students may never experience the excitement of a successful team. It's sad.

President Freedman, are you listening? Are we trying to win the Ivy championship, or are we simply going through the motions?

TOWSON, MARYLAND

Spin Doctor

I AM RESEARCHING A NEW BOOK ON the history of Frisbee playing. I hope to determine the true birthplace of what has become a worldwide phenomenon in recreation and organized

sports. The popular game of Frisbee probably started in the northeastern United States. We are aware that students (and employees of the Frisbie Pie Bakery) were tossing Frisbie pie pans, bar trays, and potato-chip and cookie-can lids on campus. This type of activity probably started in the 1930s or 19405.

I need to rediscover early Frisbee games, artifacts, competitions, and published results. Did any Frisbee clubs or associations exist? Does anyone have any old newspaper clippings or photographs? I especially need samples of Frisbie pie pans and pie cases, Wham-O Pluto Platters with packaging, and any early examples of flying discs. A mailing address for any knowledgeable person will also be accepted. Basically, I need anything with the word "Frisbie," Frisbee," or "Frisby."

Please forward all correspondence and materials to me at P.O. Box 4020- 002, Alameda, California 94501. (In most cases I can reimburse costs.)

ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA

Mr. Malafronte was the original worldFrisbee champion in 1974.

Out With It

A QUICK READ OF "ON THE HLLL" (May) made me think that "booting... mooning [and] eating your underwear" were the "activities [that] became illegal in New Hampshire" last July. Dropping trou and munching on Fruit of the Loom may well be covered under some public decency and health laws. In my day (I have always dreaded the prospect of starting a sentence that way), however, "booting" meant "vomiting." Live Free or Die, But Don't Boot?

In the "Profs Note" on the very next page, it was not made clear whether Professor Richard (Don't- Bother-I've-Heard-Them-All) Barff fled his native England to escape even more repressive laws against saying a word synonymous with "boot" every time you introduce yourself. I think the Earl of Dartmouth is behind this whole thing.

If you find this letter hard to swallow, don't throw up your hands. You just might get into a real mess.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Godless Creation

I WAS ASTOUNDED TO FIND THAT the department of religion was not repre lectures for the Alumni College "Riddles of Creation."

From the viewpoint of our nation's dominant religion, Christianity, there is only one true explanation for creation: The origins of the cosmos, earth, plants, animals, and man are described in the Holy Bible, Book of Genesis Chapters 1 and 2, and God is clearly defined as Creator. Many passages in the Old and New Testaments attest to God's creative power and the fallacy of idolatry (see, for example, Isaiah 40:12-26, Romans 1:18- 33, Romans 11:33-36). If one accepts, like orthodox Christians, that God is truth (Deut. 32:4) and scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16), then all other explanations of creation must be myth. The only "riddles" of creation exist because man is finite and God is infinite, and "my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8).

If the Alumni College "Riddles of Creation" is to be truly a multi-disciplinary experience, then I suggest the Christian religion's viewpoint of creationism be represented by a faculty member or guest lecturer.

SALMON, IDAHO

The Trouble With Women

REGINA BARRECA'S ARTICLE "Tau lota Tau" in the February issue perfectly illustrates to me the problem of male-female relationships at Dartmouth—but not in the way she intended, I'm sure.

For starters, it seems that the "problem" exists only on the female side, and it is—THE MALE STUDENTS DON'T ACT THE WAY THE FEMALE STUDENTS WANT THEM TO! They don't pay enough attention to the women! Furthermore, they are different from the men Ms. Barreca has observed at her two other institutions.

So, because guys don't cooperate in the female conception of the way things ought to be, Ms. Barreca feels obligated to deride them, using such emotive terms as "power boot" and "wimp."

And this in spite of Ms. Barreca's admission that, aside from the attention she expected from her male colleagues, she got everything one could reasonably expect to get from a Dartmouth education.

Well, surprise, surprise, Ms. Barreca. The men who attend Dartmouth are different from the men who choose to go elsewhere, (especially someplace like U-Conn). That's why they go to Dartmouth. They have diverse, often very special interests, and many of those interests don't necessarily include women. Nothing against women. It's just that at this particular time in a man's life there are a lot of other things that are more important.

If women want to call this "male bonding," and attack it petulandy because it doesn't include them, then Ms. Barreca is right—their presence on campus will be unwelcome. I guess if the women of Dartmouth want more attention they should go to U-Conn!

ALBUFEIRA, PORTUGAL

MY FIRST REACTION TO REGINA Barreca's article was that if all the stupid, adolescent behavior of Dartmouth men had produced such a witty, insightful and truly entertaining writer, maybe all women should be subjected to such abuse. On farther reflection I realized that the picture she painted of Dartmouth circa 1979 is very much the same picture my daughter, class of '96, paints of Dartmouth today.

Even assuming that only a substantial minority of Dartmouth male students fit this drunken, crude, and offensive image which Ms. Barreca and my daughter picture, surely the number is too large. It is appalling that Dartmouth apparently tolerates such conduct and has not, in 15 years, done much to stop it. I have a few suggestions for action.

1. Any student found drunk on campus more than once in a term would be admitted to Dick's House for 24 hours to determine if he or she is an alcoholic. Parents would be advised of the Dick's House admittance and the results of the tests.

2. Students found drunk on campus more than once in a term would have that recorded on their College transcripts.

3. All students who abuse any other student would be required to make a five-minute public statement regarding the nature of their behavior and their justification for engaging in it. A student hearing board would allow each complainant and respondent five minutes to present a case. A public apology by the accused student to those filing the complaint would eliminate all further proceedings, including the public forum. Since I suspect that much of the behavior of which Ms. Barreca and my daughter complain is the result of a conspiracy of silence among persons with more sense and more power, my proposals seek to elevate these disgusting habits into the public eye where persons of good sense and power will be unable to ignore them.

WASHINGTON, D.C

NOW I AM REALLY CONFUSED. I hear over and over from the powers that be at Dartmouth that the optimum reason for accepting women and minorities is diversity.

Now I read that Ms. Barreca objected to a professor asking her opinion "as a woman." How did these diverse groups miss the message of diversity? Did she not realize that her presence in Hanover resulted from her being a woman?

RYE, NEW YORK

Calm Guy

I'M WRITING THIS LETTER TO let you know that the recent issues of Dartmouth Alumni Magazine have not shocked or appalled me, ticked me off, incensed me driven me into blind rage, encouraged me to withhold contributions to the College, personally insulted me, stimulated rot in my family tree, caused me to howl at the moon and other celestial objects, nor generally pissed me off.

ENFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE