Letters

QUOTE/UNQUOTE "I doubt the forces of darkness will ever succeed in taking over the College, but it is appalling what damage they do when they try." —CHRISTINA THOMPSON '80

Divided, We Write

MATTHEW MOSK '92's CLEAR AND objective essay ["Divided We Stand," July/Aug] cuts through 27 years of ob- fuscations—"freedom of speech" being perhaps the most exasperating—and for the first time I have some understanding of what the fuss is all about.

My reaction: (1) Why would alumni with right-wing political connections launch an assault on an elite institution that, among its talented graduates, spawns so many leaders of industry? (2) Do these folk realize that, for all their good intentions, they are doing great harm to Dartmouth College—or at least to its reputation?

New York City

THERE IS NO CONSPIRACY TO CAPTURE the board of trustees. There is, however, a spontaneous upsurge of anger and dissatisfaction with the actions of the current administration, specifically: (1) the decline and fall of the men's athletic programs, which cannot be blamed on the coaches but is reflected in the hostile attitudes of Karl Furstenberg and the admissions office; (2) fractionalizing the alumni into affiliated subgroups; (3) oversensitivity shown the Native Americans carping at Indian canes and the Fighting Sioux.

The trampling of Dartmouth tradition and the mindless embracing of multiculturalism and diversity account for the success of petition candidates as trustees who value Dartmouth's enduring qualities, not fads of the moment.

Providence, Rhode Island

I HAVE NO TROUBLE WHATSOEVER believing in the "hostile takeover" theory. I vividly remember the effect of outside influences (William F. Buckley, anyone?) in the birth of The Dartmouth Review. Like Mosk, I, too, had years of living down the reputation for crackpot conservatism attached to the College thanks to the "public antics" of those associated with the Review, and believe Mosk is entirely right when he says that, in the end, it is the College's reputation that suffers most in these affairs.

I doubt the forces of darkness will ever succeed in taking over the College, but it is appalling what damage they do— at least once a generation it seems—when they try.

Lincoln, Massachusetts

"DIVIDED WE STAND," WAS CONSPIRACY -obsessed and one-sided while providing little or no evidence of a conservative plot. Given such an article is it any wonder that the administration seems baffled by legitimate alumni concerns?

New York City

WHETHER OR NOT A CONSPIRACY exists, there are fundamental flaws in our current system. This has resulted in negative publicity, conflict among alumni and a "turn-off" for those who are not involved— none of which is healthy for Dartmouth. The thousands of dollars spent on elections and campaigning is money that could benefit students.

As an active volunteer and former acting president of the Association of Alumni who worked collaboratively to change the system, I found myself "on trial," with very little constructive assistance or compromise from those who claim to support positive change at Dartmouth.

The board of trustees needs to take an active role in creating a system that will result in healthier interaction among alumni and between alumni and the trustees—and a renewed focus on Dartmouth and its students.

North Chelmsford, Massachusetts

MOSK'S ARTICLE WAS WELCOME, IF only as an antidote to the Colleges bland statements that the trustees look forward to working with one newly elected insurgent colleague after another. But the piece's fuzzy insinuations of conspiracy and takeover attempts lacked facts and showed little apparent effort to get any.

If President Wright is convinced that "there are forces at play here that you just can't minimize," and that the petition drives are being financed and orchestrated but he doesn't know by whom, both he and the trustees are negligent if they don't seek better answers.

New York City

T.J. RODGERS '70's VISION FOR THE preservation of Dartmouth College as the best undergraduate college in the world is laudable. His program for getting there, however, is flawed. He presumes a lot when he says what "the alumni care about is making sure that the Dartmouth they loved is the Dartmouth they will continue to love." This is not a formula for success in higher education. Dartmouth has survived vived because it has evolved.

The involvement of alumni as trustees should not be to provide a forum for alumni who can't leave their Dartmouth (whatever it was) behind as Dartmouth strives to better itself.

My son ('02) has two Dartmouth grandfathers and a Dartmouth father, and he received the most "well-rounded" education of all of us—one that wasn't afraid to be intellectual. He has the courage and vision of President Freedman to thank for that as well as the words of President Wright, who matriculated the class of 2002 by telling them to experience everything that their Dartmouth had to offer.

Trustee Rodgers does not speak for me. The Dartmouth I love is what it has become and can be, not what it was.

Littleton, Colorado

THERE IS NO PLOT, NO CONSPIRACY, no ulterior design to take over the College. I have never been contacted personally by any of the petition candidates for whom I've voted—or by anyone supporting them. To seek the "conspiracy" refuge to explain the myriad shortcomings of those running the College is just shy of siege mentality. I simply do not believe that '85 percent of us are satisfied with the direction of the College.

Traverse City, Michigan

THANKS FOR BRINGING US A STORY front and center about an issue that's been tiptoed around. Is there a cabal with a political agenda trying to gain control of the College in a trustee election? Frankly, I don't know. But I do know if there is and it succeeds, it will be because the vast majority of alumni wasn't paying attention. Thanks for the wake-up call.

Monroe, New York

THE WORLD IS NOT THE SAME AS IT was 10, 20 or 30 years ago, and neither should Dartmouth be. I did not vote for [new trustee] Stephen Smith '88 because, like his legal mentor, Clarence Thomas, he wants the past to control the present and future. I hope that as a trustee he receives a second Dartmouth education, this one teaching him the proper uses of tradition.

Lenox, Massachusetts

WHEN DARTMOUTH HALL BURNED in 1904, the call went out to alumni to come to the aid of the College, saying, "This is not an invitation; it is a summons!" That powerful phrase is once again in order. The "summons" now, though, is not for our dollars, but rather for our attention, and it is every bit as important in 2007 as rebuilding Dartmouth Hall was in 1904. The College needs more than the passing interest alumni gave the last three alumni trustee elections.

Mosk's excellent, objective article should set off alarm bells for what it doesn't say, because the four successful petition candidates, now trustees, have refused to publicly state a real agenda. We may know what they have in mind only if and when they achieve a critical mass on the board of trustees. And it may not be what the majority of alumni think is in the best interests of the College.

Dartmouth has evolved without abandoning its core values. Look to the present student body for the relevance and success of the institution. Eighty percent of the class of 2007 thought enough of the College to break the participation record for the senior class gift to the Alumni Fund.

When the next alumni trustee election comes along in 2009, I ask my fellow alums to pay attention to the rhetoric from all sides, check the facts being presented and communicate with their designated Alumni Council representatives. A small group of alumni with an undeclared agenda should not be determining the future direction of Dartmouth College.

Hanover

FOR A LONG TIME I HAD THE SENSE that in Hanover various struggles concerning the trustees were going on under a green woolly blanket, but I had only hints. Now we have some facts.

I get the feeling that the petition candidates want to preserve a Dartmouth that is the homeland of the famous "well- rounded fellow" even as we see, almost every day, individuals who do not fit such a description pushing back the frontiers of science and economics—even sport. You would have to look hard to find a nerdier, shaggier collection of men and women than those who founded Microsoft, but they—to their credit- developed one of the great high-tech companies.

Lakeville, Connecticut

BOTH SIDES MISS THE POINT. Dartmouth is unabashedly a "place," with all the tangible elements that go into any "place." It's an amalgam of creative genius passed on to each class of students; it's a silent 1 a.m. walk across the Green in air so cold ice crystals glint in the moonlight; it's friendships with people who become family—some, more than family.

We all live Dartmouth for four years—or five or six—and, if we're smart and paying attention, we suck from it every last drop of intellectual, social and academic juice it offers. But then—amid exultation, hugs and tears—we exit. And other classes enter, just as we did. Presidents and deans come and go. Coaches, professors, teams and organizations evolve. That is how a college should work. We had our time in the sun. Let it warm someone else.

I didn't want to go to my fathers Dartmouth, and my brother didn't want to go to mine. Why should we, who are 10, 25 or 40 years out, be so arrogant as to dictate to those who are there now what is best for them? Dartmouth is too lovely and priceless a place to define it only by board votes and who's president. What Dartmouth gave me is mine forever and helps me every day.

Buffalo, New York

MOSK'S REPORTING ON HIS VISIT TO athletic director Josie Harper and the mail she has collected from alumni outraged by her statements is not surprising I agreed with the president of the University of North Dakota, who found her remarks "patronizing and insulting" and thought UND deserved an apology from Dartmouth.

Some ultra-conservative alumni have unfortunately used this incident to bolster their claim that President Wright is leading Dartmouth in the wrong direction, primarily because he is allegedly supporting graduate programs to the detriment of undergraduate education.

As shown by a memo sent las: spring to alumni, the actual facts prove that this charge is without merit. President Wrights policies have been extremely beneficial to Dartmouth.

There is no reason to assume that graduate studies will detract from undergraduate courses—the latter will instead be improved. Graduate scholarship is essential in this era of globalization and requied to keep Dartmouth listed among the elite institutions in the United States.

Despite my disagreement with him on the Indian and the UND matter, I consider President Wright to be moderate and well-balanced on other issues such as athletics, the Greek system, liberal vs. conservative professors, etc.

I would suggest that dissatisfied alumni moderate their criticism of the president and show more appreciation of his many accomplishments. I hope he will help his own cause by improving his communication with alumni.

New York City

"DIVIDED WE STAND" BROUGHT TO mind former religion professor Jacob Neusner's comment from the early 1970s (after he left Dartmouth for Brown), that "There are two types of colleges and universities. In one the faculty and administration are smarter than the-students; in the other, the students are smarter than the faculty and administration." It certainly seems the alumni who are nominating supporting and voting for the petition candidates are in the second category and running circles around the administration.

Recently Neusner offered another comment: "The salvation of higher education in this country will come from alumni, who bring uncommon good sense to the campus." I like to think we who support the petition candidates will be the salvation of what's best about Dartmouth.

Virginia Beach, Virginia

DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT the overwhelming 85 percent of alumni that is satisfied with Dartmouth's course can't figure out how to counter the mere 15 percent that isn't?

Why can't the boosters of Alumni Council nominees simply adopt the voting tactics successfully implemented by petitioners' supporters? Duh.

So much for the virtues of a liberal arts education! Stop bellyaching. Organize. Get out the vote. Or has the vast, right-wing, Phrygian conspiracy knocked you down for the count?

Safat, Kuwait

ANY ADMINISTRATION WOULD LOVE to be able to select trustees from its buddies. Dartmouth's had until John Steel '52's breakthrough. But Dartmouth is unique. Its alumni bailed it out in the 19th century and at that time were accorded the right of participation in its governance. The ownership feeling spilled out to make Dartmouth the envy of the collegiate world for its alumni support.

The administration was once well- stocked with alumni. When the faculty ran off the last alumni president many of us had our doubts. When Jim Freedmam lobbied for Harvard Jr. on the Connecticut River and the abolition of fraternities, it really got our attention. Jim Wright has advocated the College becoming a research university. Karl Furstenberg's obvios bias against football rubbed salt in the wounds. Our response has been to cut contributions, but that message didn't get through. The last resort was to use our almost-forgotten ability to nominate alumni trustees.

The Dartmouth fellowship is strong enough for us to be able to disagree without threatening anything more than the comfort of those in power.

La Jolla, California

ALUMNI DISCONTENT IS REFLECTED in elections, not caused by them. The problem is not, as trustee chairman Bill Neukom '64 and President Wright would have it, "...that we have not done as good a job as we could have describing what is happening on campus" but that they have not understood what a majority of the voting alumni have been saying.

While not all alums who voted against the constitution or for petition candidates agree on all issues, I suspect that most are concerned about the lack of transparency, the arrogance and the hypocrisy in the College establishment. Perhaps it is due to no response to a question or a form letter from President Wright that fails to address concerns expressed or even the attitude that disagreement is disloyalty.

The solution lies in actively listening to alumni expressions of concern—not necessarily agreeing but clearly demonstrating that actual thought has been given to the issues raised.

Blanchard, Oklahoma

FORTUNATELY DAM'S ARTICLE WAS not as biased as the cover blurb, "The polarizing effect of trustee elections," Any election has a polarizing effect. Would anyone deny that corporations are better off because they have free and open elections by stockholders? Elections are at the heart of the democratic process.

Alumni who have contributed to the College endowment fund deserve to have their voices heard by electing eight of 18 trustees. If that right is taken away I fore- see severe curtailment of alumni contribution and a depressing effect on the College. To avoid this, the president and Unelected trustees should sit down with the recently elected "write-in" trustees to find out what their substantive differences are so they can be resolved in a civilized and amicable way.

DAM's use of such language as "polarizing" can serve only to exacerbate the antagonism.

Greenwich, Connecticut

THE POLARIZING EFFECT OF TRUSTEE elections is, indeed, deplorable. The only sensible way to depolarize trustee elections is to have all the trustees elected by alumni vote.

Who cares more about Dartmouth than its alumni? And where is there to be found a better-educated and more-intel-ligent constituency?

Iowa City, Iowa

WHAT'S WRONG WITH HAVING DIFFERING philosophies represented on the board of trustees? Doesn't the administration advocate diversity as a worthy objective? When it's made a reality at the core of the institution, there appears to be panic among those who perceive a threat from the implementation of the very idea they espouse. Tolerance, good people, tolerance! Draw upon the strengths of all viewpoints to provide an excellent undergraduate education.

Whitehall, Pennsylvania

FOR THE FIRST 50 YEARS AFTER I graduated I felt little fealty or loyalty to the College. Then I attended my 50th reunion and heard President Freedman speak eloquently about what his administration had done and aimed to do to make Dartmouth a very special paradigm of academic excellence. I was so moved by what he said I decided I wanted to contribute to this grand pursuit, and changed my will accordingly. I've also contributed to my class fund ever since.

Freedman's address made me understand that Dartmouth, under his aegis, was establishing itself as a force for excellence in the global arena. It had grown up and reached adulthood as a place where fraternities and athletic prowess were secondary to contributing intellectually to society.

The election of the petition trustees is a regressive step. Dartmouth should never be a place that aspires only to turn out "well-rounded individuals." That should be the role of places that could never offer the superb academic world of an Ivy League institution.

Stephen Smith in his campaign was proud to say that he had clerked for a Supreme Court Justice but neglected to say that Clarence Thomas is the most reactionary and regressive judge the court has harbored in almost 100 years. He also failed to cite his total lack of involvement as an alumnus and neglected to bring to our attention the article he authored for the Catholic World Report(www.catholic.net/RCC/Periodicals/ Igpress/CWR/CWR1296/essay.html) in which he sounds more than a little skeptical about the Vaidity of Darwin's theory of evolution.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

THE STRUGGLES AMONG ALUMNI for control of the board of trustees can be generalized further. Todays wealthy benefactors are no longer interested in just donating money to causes they support. They want to have a specific say as to how their "generosity" is to be used and displayed. All institutions face these same pressures.

In this context, the desire of some alumni to control the destiny of Dartmouth to suit their political preferences (whether they admit it or not) is just more of the same. Philanthropy has developed strings that are choking those very institutions they purport to help.

Toronto, Canada

I, LIKE MOSK, AM NOT THE MOST involved of alums. However, I did read the various articles, mailings, etc., concerning the proposed constitution and candidates, came to my own conclusions and voted accordingly. I'm happy to say that, after this "bruising battle," I feel neither possessive of nor polarized from my alma mater for the simple reason that she's not really mine any more, nor is she any trustees.

Enrolled students are the lifeblood of the College and shape her for good or ill- of course with the guidance of the faculty, who would, without the students, constitute merely a research center. Perhaps a sinister conservative cabal and a hidebound liberal echelon are struggling to permanently mold the College in their respective images, but some group of thoughtful, passionate students will always provide a vibrant counterbalance to any such efforts either way.

Hamilton, Massachusetts

"DIVIDED WE STAND," WAS, ON ITS face, a neutral report concerning two sides of a supposed controversy. But the "controversy" is a manufactured one. How does the "rumored, radical cabal" proceed? It locates petition trustee candidates who run in elections in which all alumni are free to participate. Do "cabals" typically proceed through fair and open elections? Could it be that what those who are "suspicious" of the successful petition candidates actually fear is democracy? Could four of 18 trustees conceivably pose the threat of a "takeover"?

Many institutions are run by an in- group, with others having little say. If "suspicious" alumni understood what's really going on, they'd realize that many of their fellow alumni see the College as just such an institution at present—controlled by a long-time in-group of administrators who are influenced by their faculty brethren and selected alumni who don't rock the boat. The suspicious would realize that political correctness, campus- style, is viewed as a large and objectionable part of the in-group's modus operandi.

The recent elections simply reflect these facts, but the presence of even four trustees with certain views—focused not only on preservation of top-notch undergraduate education but also on athletics, the Greek system, political correctness and free speech issues—is enough to prompt a call to man the barricades.

Diversity is a core value of the College as to race, ethnic background and a host of other factors, but evidently not when it's diversity of opinion.

Washington, D.C.

DARTMOUTH IS A SECOND-RATE school in a highly competitive environment. To become first rate would require some convolute of the Freedman path. To institutionalize the myopic nostalgia of the petition candidates would make it third rate. To remain second rate, however, it will need better administration.

Holzminden, Germany

I APPRECIATE THE ATTEMPT BY Mosk to put four petition alumni trustees and a defeated alumni constitution in perspective. I respectfully disagree with the paranoia of President Wright, my esteemed classmate Jim Adler '60 and others who have concluded that the problem lies merely in deficient communication. Mosk unquestioningly accepts David Spalding's assertion of "85 percent satisfaction" within the overall alumni body. Perhaps the source and the methodology that produced this figure are bogus, and perhaps recent alumni voting does indeed reflect "mainstream" feelings.

My own take is that alumni are not abandoning what Trustee Neukom calls "a lot of very good stuff." Their objections are against a misdirected focus, stemming most significantly from President Freedman's preference for the "lonely scholar," which is inimical to "the pledge of fellowship" that underlies Dartmouth College's historical essence. The pervasive Freedman agenda is not the only reason for my "dissident" votes. I am also disturbed by the over-proliferation of personnel on the administrative side.

As for the defeated constitution, it reminded me "a camel is a horse designed by a committee." A constitution should consist only of a philosophy and a set of principles, leaving methodology to subsequent by-laws rather than giving everyone something to dislike.

I object to my individual considerations being deemed by College insiders "political" and "orchestrated." I see my votes as one way to send a message. Please don't take my "dissidence" as negativism. Perhaps the newly adopted mission statement is a start toward that needed refocusing.

Newton, New Jersey

THE DARTMOUTH I KNEW supported difference of opinion and inclusions. That Dartmouth understood and valued its community. Certain folks in alumni leadership and the administration don't see these positive traits forming around the election and constitution issues.

Martha Beattie '76 says, "All this distrust has developed....We have to fix it." But somehow steps to fix it look like hiring more administrators, a new V.P. of public relations and launching a "truth" site. These are the exact campaigns that make alums wary against a backdrop of suspicious trustees, council members and administrators bad-mouthing a "cabal" to a level that seems like whining.

In the last 10 years actions taken by College leadership have been contradictory, causing alums to lose faith. It will take a lot of time or new leadership to regain their trust. The College announced the SLI, a massive social engineering effort ranging from a big building program to ending Greek life as we know it. Now, the door is open to new Greek houses. The College killed the very popular speech program but hired a diversity dean. The College threatened to kill the swim team because of a $400,000 shortfall in the athletic budget while going on what is likely the biggest building spree in its history. The College de-recognized Zeta Psi based on "code of conduct" violations rather than accepting the written word (as vulgar as it may be, and particularly behind closed doors) as a simple matter of free speech. A policy of allowing free speech, except when you disagree with it is hardly an honest policy at all.

Providence, Rhode Island

DARTMOUTH HAS BECOME AN ULTRA-LIBERAL, politically correct mess. All of the changes of the past 30 years or so have not been for the better, and any criticism of same is now some sort of right-wing conspiracy. Quoting a few disaffected Indians ["Native Voices," May/June] does not make Dartmouth's 200-year honorable legacy a disingenuous sham, and to accuse alums of organizing against the extremely well- organized status quo is really a laugh.

Washington, D.C.

Dean's Farewell

I FOUND [DEAN OF ADMISSIONS AND Financial Aid] Karl Furstenberg's views ["lnterview," July/Aug] regarding football to be narrow generalizations based on geography and counterproductive to the recruiting of quality students and Dartmouth football players of any race, ethnicity or color.

A classmate recently told me that football in New England is generally not a pursuit of Dartmouth legacies, who tend to play soccer and row.

Former Olympic swimmer Diana Nyad told NPR audiences recently that perhaps college football should be exempt from Title IX because of the unique business and emotional aspects of the sport. Policymakers should examine the implications of such a policy.

Boerne, Texas

Cleaning Up Hollywood

CONGRATULATIONS FOR PRINTING the interview with Ted Baehr '69 about promoting Christian values in Hollywood ["Continuing Education," July/Aug]. It is good to know that people such as Ted, from an Ivy League tradition, are attempting to engage the culture in positive ways. Having worked in the Hollywood area after Dartmouth, I know this kind of healthy dialogue is needed.

Winter Springs, Florida

Happy Endings

I COMMEND MY CLASSMATE DAN Becker '84 on his excellent essay ["The Pursuit of Happiness," May/June]. His recollection rings true to many like him who struggled while in college with the difficult issues of family illness—particularly mental illness.

Today there are more resources available to college students, particularly the student-led organization Active Minds (activemindsoncampus.org), a chapter of which has been established at Dartmouth, making it one of the leaders in raising student and faculty awareness.

Thanks, Dan, for sharing your story. Your ability to convert your youthful unhappiness into a role as a high school teacher and mentor is inspirational to fellow alumni who have shared a similar experience or been close to those who have.

New York City

Man in the Middle

THE "BIG PICTURE" [MAY/JUNE] OF President Bush flanked by Dartmouth graduates and top Bush financial advisors Henry Paulson'68 and Rob Portman '78 raises a question: Why are these men laughing? This president will almost certainly go down in history as one of our worst. Wouldn't it be wiser to let Yale take all the credit?

Salem, New York

The War at Home

IT WAS INEVITABLE THAT THE occupation of Parkhurst Hall, would be memorialized in DAM ["Hostile Take- over," May/June]. The choice of the former dean's daughter as a co-author and the inclusion of a subheadline about "12 of Dartmouth's Darkest Hours" are solid clues to a jaundiced view of the matter.

It's particularly precious to see that "darkest hours" tag in an issue that also describes ongoing acts of bigotry, insensitivity and destruction aimed at the Collages Native Americans right here in 2007, including the latest examples in a long history of boorish and vile behavior by The Dartmouth Review. Those are pretty "dark hours" right here in the 21st century.

I long ago resolved not to read or watch any journalistic or fictionalized account of the late 1960s and early 1970s period, of which the Parkhurst incident was a part, because no one gets it right (one positive exception to that is oral historian Jeff Kisseloff in his book GenerationOn Fire). Maybe these constant historical and artistic misfires are no surprise, since what activists of the period were doing was not for media consumption anyway —at least not on a northern New England campus. No one much cared what the media thought, nor did they expect to be understood.

Although I have long since moved on and am, at least circumstantially, nowhere near being the person I was in 1969, I also don't apologize for anything I did and believed in during that period—and neither should the occupants of Parkhurst. Theirs was an essential act to make crucial points at that juncture in history. Even though the punishment, 30 days in the country jail, was just about the most severe at any college, the takeover was a far milder act than Occured on many other campuses.

The occupation was not "12 of Dartmouth Darkest Hours." It was an admirable endeavor, which may be difficult to understand from a 2007 vantage point. The nicest thing about "Hostile Takeover" was that the "cast of characters" showed me that an old friend has lived within 10 miles of me for decades. Guess I'll give him a call.

New York City

I WAS REMINDED OF CONCURRENT events during the Parkhurst takeover. Directly across the Green was the annual Interfraternity "Hums" competition on the steps of Dartmouth Hall. Two more disparate events are hard to imagine.

"Native Voices" in the same issue reminded me of another personal transgression. As head cheerleader I served as "Dartmouth Indian" at football games- covered in red body paint, donning a "Mohawk" wig and beating a drum. The only adverse publicity at the time came from Sports Illustrated, which reported in a critical essay on college athletics, "Even the Dartmouth Indian has a paunch." They were right, but I was wrong.

Okemos, Michigan

Native Voices Revisited

THE NATIVE AMERICANS ON CAMPUS ["Native Voices," May/June] need to recognize that the time of tribal cultures has passed. Tribal culture is essentially collective and static; it maintains the status quo. In Western civilization the individual is autonomous and free to create. That is not to say that a global high-tech world is the endpoint of cultural evolution. But insofar as technology is a marker of evolutionary advance, Euro- American or Western culture is clearly superior to all other cultures thus far.

Has Western civilization got flaws? Absolutely! Is there room for improvement? Yes indeed! We humans are still evolving. Clearly, there will be greater successors to what I'm defining as the leading edge for our time.

My advice? Honor the past but don't live in it; welcome the future but don't wait for it. Cherish yesterday dream tomorrow, but live today. This applies to all races.

Cheshire, Connecticut

Another Kind of Conspiracy

D'SOUZA GOT IT ALL WRONG ABOUT 9/11 ["Radical Islam," Mar/Apr] because 9/11 was an inside job. In their 2006 book Without Precedent: Inside the 9/11 Commission, commission chairman Thomas Kean and vice chairman Lee Hamilton write that public testimony by FAA and NORAD officials advanced an account of 9/11 that was untrue. The commission became "exceedingly frustrated" by what they thought could be deception by the Pentagon.

Hamilton said in an interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corp., "Politicians don't like somebody looking back to see if they made a mistake. We had a lot of people strongly opposed to what we did. We had a lot of trouble getting access to documents and to people. So there were all kinds of reasons we thought we were set up to fail." (See www.cbc.ca/sunday/911hamilton.html)

The terrorists are in Washington.

Davis, California

I AGREE WITH D'SOUZA THAT IT IS wise for the United States to support democratically elected governments in some cases and monarchies in others. We should side with regimes that are committed to ensuring freedom for their citizens and living peacefully with their neighbors. Our allies should be countries that acknowledge and respect the rights of religious and ethnic minorities; countries that treat all citizens equally regardless of race, gender or economic status; countries that will contribute in addressing poverty, disease and other worldwide problems.

The United States needs to apply these criteria domestically as well. We can't expect our allies to treat their citizens better than we treat our own.

Atlanta, Georgia

Continuing Ed

Less than a month before "The Slaves of Dartmouth" appeared in DAM [Jan/Feb.], I was surprised to learn that the Underground Railroad extended well north of the Mason-Dixon line. I had assumed that upon arriving in the north, black people would be considered free, not realizing slaves were held there. I thank James Zug '91 and DAM for continuing the education of Dartmouth alumni like myself beyond Commencement Day.

Portland, Oregon

Quote/Unquote "To seek the 'conspiracy' refuge to explain the myriad shortcomings of the College is just shy of siege mentality." —E. THOMAS MAGUIRE '57

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 not all letters can 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