Letters

QUOTE/UNQUOTE "There were and are undeniable and invaluable bonding and friendship glories in Dartmouth's fraternity and social life, but for too many people alcoholism can be one of them.' —STEPHEN W. BELL '76

Battling Addiction

I READ THE MARCH/APRIL ISSUE OF DAM cover to cover and was moved more than once. I don't know what is more impressive, the courage of Peter Jaquith '58 in recounting his hellish descent and redemption [" 'D' is for Denial"] or the magazines courage to feature it. Not to mention the same-sex couple and their toddler who appear proudly on page 47. The College on the Hill has come a long way. Congratulations to the DAM staff.

Los Angeles, California

PERHAPS IF ALCOHOL HADN'T Finally killed my father, Stanley P. Bell '53, in 2001, ablunt assessment of his own life as an alcoholic, similar to Peter Jaquith's, would have saved him. Open airing of this disease's insidious attacks is the only way to defeat it. If you know someone or are someone who drinks too much, if you are someone who recognized yourself or a loved one even partially described in Peter's account, if you have children in college, make them read that story.

There were and are undeniable and invaluable bonding and friendship glories in Dartmouth's fraternity and social life, but for too many people alcoholism can be one of them. There have to be thousands of Dartmouth graduates like Peter and like my father. If you know one, or are one, take Peter's lifeline before it's too late.

Buffalo, New York

THANK YOU FOR OFFERING A FORUM to the real deal, Peter Jaquith '58. I was just about to cash in on Dartmouth after numerous letters or e-mails to class of '66 editors seemingly unwilling to write about my fall from grace as a "wounded healer" thanks to pot, alcohol and a bipolar disorder.

Jaquith, without adulteration, has bared his underbelly to other Dartmouth alumni, perhaps with the result that some may realize that one of us could fall so far to gain so much. I did. I too underwent a painful divorce, then lost my medical license for two years, filed for bankruptcy, lost two homes and was suddenly penniless.

It has to be difficult for my classmates in their so-called golden years to comprehend what it could be like, at 62 and in recovery, to handle the shame of waiting tables, mowing lawns and shoveling snow; to have my van repossessed while I slept; to be unable to pay even subsidized rent—or having to say I could not pay my $50 class dues.

Thank you, Peter. Your picaresque tale is a brave one without guarantees because, as the Indians teach us, we must live in the here and now and not in the past or future. We are also who we are rather than what we do.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

JAQUITH WAS A CLASSMATE OF MINE whom, unfortunately, I never knew. His story about his battle with booze and cocaine was gripping. In the 48 years of receiving DAM, I've never read it cover to cover as I did because of Jaquith's article.

Alcohol abuse was rampant through my family: daughter, brother and parentsin-law. I never drank alcohol before coming to Dartmouth. When I was having a rough time of it my freshman year, one of the Dick's House psychiatrists encouraged me to "have a drink," which I did and still do. In those days it was a better answer than Xanax, I suppose.

A good friend from North Carolina was molested, beaten and set on fire with pine straw due to crack cocaine abuse three years ago. She nearly died 10 times and has had 28 surgeries. Now I take her to schools and churches to tell her story, hoping that she can save one child from her own fate.

I think Peter and my friend were meant to survive to help others.

Pinehurst, North Carolina

CONGRATULATIONS FOR GIVING Attention to a major medical problem: alcoholism and substance abuse. The College suggests tuition pays only half the real costs of a students education. If we separate a student any time through his college career, the College loses its investment in the student and the student loses even more.

I can recall through my four years at Dartmouth students who were separated from the College as a result of alcohol-related behavior—some even in their senior years. A terrible waste.

A lot of students might overindulge on one occasion and become very aware of the consequences. Yet there are always the very few who overindulge on every occasion and continue nonetheless.

Some colleges provide a "safe house" or "sober house." A student identified as an abuser is directed to this facility as his residence, and is now away from the social pressures of dormitory and fraternity life. They find a safe harbor in which to live, work and—with help—confront their problem. This works on other campuses very well, and the colleges often save a major investment—the student. Such a facility might well have worked for Jaquith.

For an institution founded with "500 gallons of New England rum," alcohol is not likely to leave the campus, and a few students may need a more structured environment in which to succeed. After all, we're dealing here with a disease—not a character defect.

My compliments to the Collegeand also to Dr. McGovern on his article. I hope this is not "more said than done."

Cleveland, Ohio

IN MY ROLE AS A FORENSIC AND Correctional psychiatrist, I see every day the devastation of mental illnesses of all kinds, including addictions, in my patients. Jaquith is absolutely correct that addiction blocks the individual's ability to see oneself objectively; the same is often true for severe mental illnesses, in which the absence of insight is often a hallmark. Years ago I learned from recovering addicts the meaning of the defense of DENIAL: Don't Even Know I Am Lying.

It is stories such as Jaquith's that belie our desire to see this as a disease of the other—the poor, the minorities, the uneducated. I have seen many individuals who would have been successful, or who, like Jaquith, would have remained successful, but for this disease. What a waste of an education. What more would someone of Jaquith's innate ability and drive have produced had he not developed this disease?

At least 70 percent of the 26,000 prisoners in Maryland are in prison because of a clearly labeled drug crime (e.g., possession) or because of a crime perpetrated to support an addiction (e.g., armed robbery in which the goods stolen were sold to support a habit) or because of a crime perpetrated while intoxicated. Once incarcerated, these individuals immediately become that other that frightens us. Hence, they are often unable to find adequate work or a place to live or a support network. Why is it a surprise when, released without treatment in most cases, they quickly return to their addiction?

Addiction is many things in our society, but at its foundation it is a behavioral problem with a medical basis. Our country must move beyond its insane desire to incarcerate people with addiction and toward a place where we see addiction for the illness of the mind and soul that it is.

One final point: Jaquith is mistaken when he says that his story is his "only asset." Surely, were he to complete the searching inventory called for by Alcoholics Anonymous, he would have to add his two children to the asset column on the balance sheet of his life.

Baltimore, Maryland

I HAVE BEEN RECEIVING DAM SINCE 1934 and never have I read a more wonderful issue than Mar/Apr. It said "Dartmouth cares," and it spoke directly to me, who experienced a personal tragedy 12 years ago. I read almost the entire issue and learned so much. Thank you.

Fort Plain, New York

The Brainiacs

I WOULD LIKE TO COMMEND WRITER Irene Wielawski for grasping and explaining a complex topic ["Mind Matters," Mar/Apr]. I am a neuroradiologist practicing in Maine, and know it is rare to read such a lucid explanation of what fMRI is good for in the research arena.

The design of the fMRI "experiment" is tricky, and it takes great insight and skill to get to a point where the experimenter is measuring what is intended. Your writer apparently sees that distinction and, more importantly, is able to communicate it.

I should note that fMRI is also used in day-to-day clinical practice in certain parts of the country, and the associated software package is available to most hospitals of any size. But the amazing power of fMRI is best utilized in basic science.

Congratulations to Dr. Baird and to Dartmouth for tackling this research.

South Portland, Maine

Porter Legacy

ON PAGE 19 OF THE MARCH/APRIL issue, you noted the Web site, www.thechristinafund.com, set up by the family of Christina Porter '06, whose tragic death was from a head injury suffered in a ski class.

After having visited the Web site, my question is this: What is the position of the College about a requirement that all users at its ski facilities wear a helmet?

Miami, Florida

Editor's Note: The College now requires allstudents in PE ski and snowboard classes towear helmets. As for others taking lessons at theSkiway, helmets are required and supplied free-of-charge for children under 12. Parental approvalis required for any student age 13 to 18 toski without a helmet. Adults are not required towear helmets.

Resisting Change

THE ARTICLE "MYTHS OF Innovation" [Mar/Apr] reminded me of two experiences I had at Raytheon. When the company bought Amber, a high-end California infrared camera manufacturer, the deal was that Amber would continue to operate independently with its successful management team. But soon enoughjust as the article notes—the demands of the Raytheon bureaucracy for information reporting, etc., began to mount. Soon members of Amber's management were so overwhelmed they were spending 100 percent of their time not running their company but answering the Raytheon demands for data. They issued a cry of help. The result: Acompany-wide memo (Lord, I wish I had saved a copy) in which everyone was ordered not to contact Amber for any reason without the express written permission of the division VP! I had never heard of such a thing in a large corporation, but at least they were trying.

That was the upside. Another anti-innovation scenario demonstrated that developing a product outside the usual line-up proved too large a leap for a corporation wedded to its past. Thus was canceled an innovative instrument-display program that seemed certain of profitability, all because the last thing a big company wants is some upstart group to exhibit unorthodox, wild success. That was just not the Raytheon way—one reason I left to found Velocity Associates.

Boston, Massachusetts

Honoring Whitey

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE COLLEGE and to Coach Whitey Burnham on the announcement of a proposed new soccer stadium ["Three Times a Coach, Mar/Apr], Kudos also to Stanley Smoyer '34, who has made this possible through his generous gift. I was a classmate of his late son, Bill Smoyer '67, who was as fine a student athlete and person as Dartmouth has known. I know that somewhere he is smiling down on his alma mater and he will be there in spirit the first time a soccer ball is kicked in the beautiful new facility!

Atlanta, Georgia

Advice to Council

THE ALUMNI COUNCIL COLUMN BY Rick Routhier '73 [Mar/Apr] is a succinct summary of all that is wrong with alumni governance.

The problem is not with the constitutional structure of the Association of Alumni and the council. Rather, our difficulties lie with alumni leaders who are unable to think independently of the College administration and who are therefore incapable of giving voice to the alumni discontent that found expression in the election of three petition trustee candidates.

Sadly, Dartmouth is decidedly not "thriving" right now, as Routhier maintains. Alums should read The Dartmouth online (www.thedartmouth.com) for a more accurate view of the College than our current alumni representatives and the Wright administration are willing to give to us. After a few weeks perusing The D's editorial columns, you won't find the reasons for widespread alumni worry about the College as "puzzling" as Routhier does.

Hanover

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 all letters cannot be published, nor can they be returned. Letters should run no more than 200 words in length, refer to material published in the magazine and include the writer's full name, address and telephone number. Write: Letters, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, 7 Allen Street, Suite 201, Hanover, NH 03755 E-mail: DAMletters@dartmouth.edu Fax: (603) 646-1209

QUOTE/UNQUOTE "Our country mist move beyond its insane desire to incarcerate people with addiction and toward a place where we see addiction for the illness of the mind and soul that it is." ERIK ROSKES '86