Letters

QUOTE/UNQUOTE "I have never been as nostalgic as when I read the four-year collection of weekly letters mailed home by Larry Leavitt '25." DAN ANZEL '55

Caroline M. Pott '02

Leavitts Legacy I just finished reading larry Leavitts letters ["Coming of Age in Hanover," Nov/Dec], and I have to say that I am a bit touched for two reasons: Being a typical hyper-ironic 20-something with a taste for South Park/Seinfeld/Farrelly-type shock, I found the sweet, naive tone of the letters surprising and refreshing. I cannot believe Americans were once so innocent. Some say that recent events will make America an earnest, sincere nation again. But after reading Leavitt's accounts of Dartmouth in the '20s, I think those old days are gone forever.

At the same time, I am grateful for the freedom of todays world. I respect those first brave souls who broke from the handcuffs of innocence. As Leavitt was getting paddled at Phi Psi, Hemingway was staring at Picassos on the Left Bank with Gertrude Stein and her girlfriend and running with the bulls in Pamplona. Such bohemian fantasies still seem fantastic today; juxtaposing them with these letters, we can truly appreciate the creativity and free spirit of those folks and their beatnik apprentices a generation later.

The only thing sweeter than innocence is losing it. After that it's all downhill. I think I was born in the wrong era. Great stuff.

San Francisco, Californiamkossar3@yahoo.com

I have never been as nostalgic as when I read the four-year collection of weekly letters mailed home by Larry Leavitt '25. In one letter Mr. Leavitt wrote his parents of a new prof, Lew Stilwell, who "makes his classes extremely interesting." How well I recollect Stilwell's "Battle a Day" classes given 30 years later. Interestingly, Mr. Leavitt relates a meeting with Mr. E.K. Hall, then V.P. of AT&T, who was on campus to retrieve belongings of his son Dick, who died suddenly on campus. What the "Postscript" to this unforgettable collection of letters omitted was that the death of Dick Hall led to the establishment of the College infirmary and student health center known by generations of Dartmouth students as Dicks House.

Los Angeles, Californiadanzel34@yahoo.com

"Coming of Age in Hanover" was the best article I've read in the AlumniMagazine. Please do more like it.

Newtown, Connecticutbeachlang@aol.com

Digging In

THE ARTICLE "HOW DOES OUR Garden Grow?" [Nov/Dec] neglected to ask the question, "In what soil?" Does our College share in the profits of Shell Oil Cos., internationally recognized for its exploitation of the Nigerian ecosystem? Is our affluence the result of the hard work of Unocal, noted for its partnership with the violent military regime in Burma? The answer is a resounding, "I don't know, and neither do you." Non-disclosure has been the Big Green policy, even though hundreds of other schools around the country offer full disclosure.

In June I will become an alumnus of Dartmouth College. Until our alma mater chooses transparency and accountability, the Dartmouth garden will see none of my green.

Hanover, New Hampshiregary.weissman@dartmouth.edu

Ground Zero On September 11 I WAS ONE OF THE first doctors to arrive at the World Trade Center ["September 11," Nov/Dec]. Like the other doctors and nurses at the scene, I was a volunteer. We had minimal equipment—only what we could carry, what was handy. We lacked catheters, a crash cart and most basic medical supplies. If any victims came in critical condition, we could only watch them die. One doctor cried in frustration.

Just as the new Homeland Security Council will coordinate our internal security, we need a system to coordinate our medical security. Currently, there are only 20 National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) centers. Every state needs its own NDMS center, with command posts in each major city. Such local NDMS teams would have on-call doctors, nurses and EMTs whose job it is to go to disaster sites, establish triage and coordinate medical services. That way, when the question is next asked, someone can say, "I'm the doctor in charge!"

New York has "been blessed with the bravest and finest fire and police departments in the world. To leave its professional and civilian heroes under the care of medical volunteers in times of emergency is to both court future disaster and dishonor the memories of all who have perished by not learning from their deaths.

New York, New Yorkdrchynn@yahoo.com

More on Civil Unions

STEVE HORVATH '65, Tu'66 ("LETTERS," Nov/Dec] criticizes your publication of "A Civil Action" [July/August] because he believes it represented a "flagrant disregard" for the feelings of those opposed to gay civil unions. From my perspective, secular laws, unencumbered by the particular values of one or another religious faith, are what a democracy is all about. Many secular laws, enacted by our democratically elected representatives for the preservation of a free and open society, necessarily will seem offensive to some.

To have it otherwise would transform our society into a replica of those repressive and fundamentalist cultures, both past and present, which coercively bind their citizens into behaving according to some autocratically imposed norm. Diversity is the grist of adaptive evolution and should be supported as long as it is only our feelings that get hurt.

Adamstown, Marylandcwd2@frederickmd.com

Agree or disagree with beth Robinsons fight to legalize gay marriages in Vermont, the DAM staff deserves kudos from all alumni for having a commitment to actual journalism and the courage to run controversial articles that provoke intelligent discussion instead of 25 pages of fluff leading up to Class Notes. For those who were so mortally wounded by this article, I'm sure the Harvard magazine probably ran a scintillating article on fly-fishing that month.

Los Angeles, Californiasbreselor@officedepot.com

Jesus taught that we should love one another. He did not say that men should love only women and women should love only men. Whenever any two people love each other this is good and should be recognized.

Chicago, Illinois

Mad at Madeleine

When I read that at this year's Commencement exercises Madeleine Albright was the speaker ["Pomp and Circumstance," Sept/Oct], my eyebrows raised and I thought to myself, "What's going on here?" Albright was the architect of the "warn them, threaten them, then bomb them" policy. This is hardly a creditable philosophy for a great nation. To express it in a Shakespearean tone, understanding, patience and compassion become a great nation better than arrogance.

Englewood, Colorado

Rewards of Age

As a member of the class of 1933, now in my 89th year, I read Jay Parini's article "The Meaning of Emeritus" [July/August] with great interest. I retired from business at 74 and in the ensuing years I have devoted a great deal of time to the affairs of the small community where I live. The contacts and participation have been very rewarding to me. Our lives are getting longer in this new world and retirement comes too soon for many of us. We would like to feel that these extra years could be of value to society. As the article suggests, many retired professors have much still to contribute. It would behoove us all to make it easyand possible. I hope Dartmouth makes full use of the retired professor, a most valued asset. Let us not waste the years we are being granted.

Madison, Connecticutmjlmcd@aol.com

Trash Science In attempting to rebut conventional wisdom regarding the environmental friendliness of plastic products versus paper ["The Great Debate," July/August], engineering professor Benoit Cushman-Roisin seems to have overlooked a few considerations that might lead to a different conclusion. For instance, it may be true that decomposition of paper typically "releases harmful methane into the environment," but the methane generated by paper wastes concentrated in landfills can be captured and recycled for use as an eco-friendly fuel. It may also be true that paper making consumes more energy than the production of some plastics, but most paper makers derive a significant portion of their energy needs through efficient combustion of their own biomass waste products. In contrast, who can say what becomes of the toxic chemical waste products of plastic manufacture or what their eventual consequences may be?

East Winthrop, Maineronkley@juno.com

THE ARTICLE ABOUT THE VIRTUES OF paper and plastic bags lacked the viable option of reusing bags. My family keeps canvas bags in the car for shopping trips. Most grocery stores give discounts for reusing bags, and canvas is stronger than plastic or paper. Reuse those paper and plastic ones too!

Hanover, New Hampshirecaroline.m.pott@dartmouth.edu

Clone of Contention

It seems to me that Professor Green ignored the really tough questions at the root of human cloning and only toyed with peripheral issues ["Double Trouble?" May/June]. The most profound arguments against human cloning are not based upon the status or psychological difficulties of the cloned individual, but on the fundamental inviolability and integrity of each human life in every developmental stage. It is the procedures of the science itself, not only its results, which contain ethical landmines.

Cloning, in vitro and other reproductive technologies require the laboratory fertilization of numerous ova. This results in many more living human embryos than are desired. Unwanted ones are frozen or destroyed. As the practice of fertility science stands today, "the strictest standards of human-subjects research" that Green calls for have already been violated in the most extreme way—by the conscious destruction of human subjects.

Yes, cloning research presents hope for cures to many diseases; but because these cures would be bought at the price of countless nascent lives, their pursuit demands serious questioning. Must we really accept that "Like it or not, the cloning of humans is in our future?" Is that the best that ethics studies can muster?

Campton, New Hampshire

We've Come a Long Way

I was the head coach for my 6-year-old sons basketball team last winter I got the job because no one else volunteered and one mom informed the other parents that I had played varsity basketball at Dartmouth ["The Sporting Life," May/June]. I had no choice after that.

I faced many challenges with this team of kindergarten boys, including coping with the rancor between the four kids who always shot and the six who didn't know how. My greatest challenge, however, was gaining the confidence of the parents, especially the ex-athlete dads. Whenever I was introduced to a dad as the coach, I could see the relief in his face when he learned I had played college ball. Surprisingly, many knew of Dartmouth's success and shook my hand as if to congratulate me on the teams' many fine seasons. I knew my association with Big Green had gained their respect and therefore I wouldn't be questioned about my practices, coaching methods or game decisions.

When one parent asked if my Dartmouth team had a winning season, I had to answer, "No." I played during the teams second season: 1976-77. Of the many challenges my team faced, the greatest was gaining the respect of the athletic department. We struggled for access to practice facilities, transportation to away games and clean uniforms. We formed committees, we surveyed resources at other colleges, we negotiated and, in between, we played.

Thankfully, things have changed in women's athletics. I like to think that we've helped each other, the early teams and the later ones. I hope the early teams helped establish respect for the teams that followed. I am grateful to the players and coaches who created Dartmouth's fine reputation that made my job so much easier last winter.

And my team of kindergarten boys? After a tough start, we had a fine season. I knew it was a success when the rancor disappeared because the shooters learned to pass and the passers learned to shoot. I might even volunteer to coach again.

San Francisco, Californiastewartdiane@yahoo.com

Dartmouth in Uniform

In a long-overdue response, I want to thank the Alumni Magazine for the story on the Dartmouth men of the 10th Mountain Division ["Mountain Men," Jan/Feb 2001] who served so valiantly in World War 11. The article also sparked my interest in putting together a list of Dartmouth alums and students who have served or are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces and in militaries around the world. If you are so inclined, please send me your name, rank, branch of service, dates of service, country served, where stationed, unit, functional area (e.g. infantryman, mechanic, medic, etc.), conflict(s)/theater(s) of operation served, decorations, current address and any other information that you would like recorded. If you know the names of deceased alums who served (that includes the Revolutionary War, Civil War, etc.), please send that information as well.

Captain, U.S.Army2100 Walnut St., Apt. 7EPhiladelphia, PA 19103cristina.ekueckmann.97@alum.dartmouth.org

A World of Good

Dustin Rubenstein's story about his Reynolds fellowship ["The Places You Can Go," May/June] made me want to express my gratitude for the year of study at the Sorbonne which Reynolds's generosity made possible for me between July 1956 and July 1957.

My year of study in Paris happened during the peak of the Cold War. I was suddenly tossed into the lives and snuggles of Hungarian students fleeing Soviet tanks, Egyptian activists fighting to get British and French troops out of the Suez, Algerian immigrants aiming to free their country from French rule, etc. So very real and vital were these people and these events that my career was soon firmly set in international relations: Radio Free Europe, Le Monde, UNESCO. That positive outcome would no doubt have pleased Mr. Reynolds and President Dickey.

Vincennes, France

Write to Us We welcome letters. The editor reserves the right to determine the suitability of letters for publication and to edit them for accuracy and length. We regret that they cannot be returned. Letters should refer to material published in the magazine and include the writer's full name, address and telephone number. Write: Letters, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, 80 South Main St., Hanover, NH 03755 E-mail: DAMletters@dartmouth.edu Fax: (603) 646-1209