Fighting With A Full Deck

REMEMBER THOSE "MOST Wanted" playing cards from the early days of the war in Iraq? Dartmouth classics professor Roger Ulrich has spent the last year working with the Department of Defense (DoD) to create a kinder, gentler deck of cards.

In contrast to the pocketsized mug shots of SaddamHussein and his cronies, Ulrichs cards feature information about Iraqi and Afghaniarcheological sites and cultural artifacts that soldiersshould try to preserve ratherthan capture or kill. The content of the new cards is arguably less exciting than thatof the old, but the picturesare certainly prettier.

"I wanted to raise the awareness of soldiers in the field that they're operating in an area with a history that goes back thousands of years," Ulrich says. "They could avoid destroying things by being attentive and following certain rules."

Fifty-two rules, to be exact. Each suit represents a different set of suggestions: Diamonds help soldiers identify artifacts, spades address digging and ground disturbance, hearts suggest ways to appeal to locals and clubs deal with preservation. "We've had to assume the soldiers have virtually no background in archeology," Ulrich says. "We want to raise awareness about cultural issues and explain why they should care, but we're not trying to be distant academics."

About 300 copies of first-draft decks are circulating through the Army. The DoD team is waiting to hear if it managed to communicate in a non-distant, nonacademic manner before ordering thousands more.

Members of the academic community haven't fully supported Ulrichs involvement with the DoD. "Many people are really quite cynical about the military's effort to preserve archeological sites in Iraq," he says. As a volunteer consultant recruited to the project by a civilian archeologist he ran into at his 30th high school reunion, Ulrich believes he can stay neutral, regardless of his political beliefs.

"I see it as an educational project that can help, in small ways, to prevent inadvertent damage," he says.

DID YOU KNOW?

Foxy Cleopatra is one of 16 "school horses" listed on the Dartmouth equestrian team's home page. The others: Percy, Red, Thaddy, Sam, Bundy, Isaac, Miles, Maize, Chevy, Brickie, Dutchess, Victor, Maestro, Lyric and Barney.