1933

The year 2000 is proving a full one for Dartmouth. First we're handed the WrightKing student life initiative (SLI) report in January and now in February comes a bazooka shot with word that the trustees are raising tuition, room and board to $33,210, a double-inflation boost of 3.8 percent. This figure rules out our 10 grandsons as potential Hanoverians and Bob McDonald feels similarly about his great-grandsons. "It'll be state universities for them," he says. He was glad to see that Congress was showing concern about tuition boosts generally and felt that there should be some restraint over rising costs. It is sobering to note that the proposed figure is more than 100 times the tuition '33 paid when we matriculated in 1929 (not that this now is any criterion, we suppose).

Continuing our check on '33 opinion on the SLI report, we quizzed Bob on his reaction. He was shocked to find the physical conditions which the report revealed and felt this called for attention. He also agreed that liquor consumption and initiation excesses had to be brought under control. The "cluster" proposal would be extremely expensive to construct and financing would be a problem. Some fraternities and sororities would go, he believed, and some would stay.

Sam Cunningham was less complimentary. He couldn't understand the report, he said, and thought it "a lot of double talk." He acknowledged that he was "sympathetic to fraternities," had contributed substantially to his own and thought they should continue if they could get "drinking and roughhousing" under control.

John Rockwell had read the report thoroughly, he told us, and thought that the committee had done a complete job and agreed with most of its conclusions.

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