1991

An important lesson taught at Dartmouth College is to give of yourself to the community, whether the immediate college community or the extended community known as the Upper Valley. Given the experience of juggling all the activities in which a typical student is involved, it seemed quite natural for many '91s to continue the tradition espoused by the Tucker Foundation, and other such programs and organizations, upon leaving Dartmouth. A number of contributions to the world by our classmates have been noted in this column over the past few years. There are those, however, who quietly work to better society through volunteer work, and other activities which are supplemental to the jobs which consume most of their time.

Ben Schwartz deserves recognition for his work in starting Student BACKED, in Washington, D.C., an incorporated organization which raises money for children's charity. The acronym stands for Benefit and Aid Committee for Kids. It's a non-profit corporation started by graduate students and young professionals in the Capitol District. Following Ben's lead, Josie Sandler and Dianna Goldberg, along with '90s Adam Lichstein, Rob Grossberg, and Greg Goldberg, started New York BACKED. Their inaugural benefit was held at the end of February at the Country Club in New York City. The proceeds for this event were designated for the Ronald McDonald House of New York. It has also been rumored that there is soon to be a Seattle BACKED, which is being organised by Heidi Turer.

The class of '91 may also have given the gift of the next Garry Trudeau, although Jake Tapper's interest and talent in political cartoons began long before he arrived at Dartmouth. You may remember that Jake is currently employed as the press secretary to U.S. Representative Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky from Pennsylvania. However, he is acquiring experience and material that he hopes to use towards an artistic career, something more along the lines of "Static Cling." In addition to drawing caricatures for the American Spectator, Jake is keeping himself busy volunteering for Food and Friends, which provides meals to AIDS shut-ins, and Horton's Kids, through which he tutors inner-city youth. Jake's future ambition, according to an interview by a local paper, is to "keep drawing."

A gift provided for the class of '91 which we all enjoy, but generally don't show our appreciation for, is our class newsletter. Many of you may recall that Karin Markey is doing work with Lamar Alexander, former Secretary of Education, in his grass-roots organization which serves to promote Republican political action. Now that Carrie Heinonen is back and will once again be compiling the newsletter, I'd like to thank Karin for her creative endeavors over the past year!

While we're on the "gift" theme, you may not realize that this magazine, and our newsletter, are not gifts from the College. Who pays for them? We do, through our class dues, a small amount of money which hopefully you have already sent to our class treasurer, Rick Gomez. You may now wonder what you can give to the community. You can start by sending Rick a check for your class dues, and sending me the gift of a note, postcard, letter or any other form of news. Thank you!

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