Table of Contents

October 1999 Vol. 92 No. 2

DEPARTMENTS

5 Letters

12On the Hill

A life saved, a dancing hiker, top-notch riders and art.

18Curmudgeon

A critic rates the campus's sculptures.

20 Presidential Range

The connection between sports and community.

22Syllabus

Jewish fiction moves in from the fringes.

38Class Notes

42Beyond the Hill

Trekking for AIDS, women and power, Media Watch.

74Obituaries

80 Dartmouth Undying

The freshman underclass.

30 Moosilauke's MadHistorian

On the eve of the Ravine Lodge's 60th anniversary, a tribute to Robert Averill '72's mountain obsession. By Viva Hardigg '84

COVER STORY

24 The ResearchQuestion

At the heart of Dartmouth: Can one institution be both a great university and a great college? By Charles Wheelan '88

34 A Poet (Visiting)

Reflections on the writing life, the importance of fellowship, and whether one—if forced to choose—would rather be sticky or itchy. By Sarah Messer

On the Cover:Dartmouth's Rorschach test,by J. T. Morrow