Letters

quote/unquote “I am pained to read that the College has spent more than $1 million to defend itself against frivolous lawsuits.” —jonathan brown ’60

Thanks, Harvey

IN READING THE COVER STORY about classmate Lisa Mendelson Friel ’79 [“Justice for All,” July/Aug] I was surprised she hadn’t mentioned it when I saw her at our 30th reunion, days before the magazine arrived in the mail. We went to school together from kindergarten through college, but in all those years I never knew I had played a role in her decision to apply to Dartmouth, as the story recounts.

My final decision to attend Dartmouth was made in part because of a conversation I had with yet another Haworth, New Jersey, resident, Harvey Weinberg ’78. He was a year ahead of us in school. When I bumped into him in the spring of 1975 he convinced me that Dartmouth—a school I had applied to but had never visited—was the place for me.

Upper Montclair, New Jersey

Bleeding Green

John MacGovern ’80 [“Who Is John MacGovern,” July/Aug] represents many alumni who have long had trouble understanding the College’s direction on many levels. We may not agree with all that MacGovern espouses, but we recognize the importance of contrary thought and respect his diligence in presenting ideas unpopular to those currently controlling the institution.

Some alumni feel that the College has been in decline and may no longer produce an optimal product. Defining issues continue to be avoided, or at least few will breach them for fear of being called politically incorrect or worse.

Simply observe the self-perpetuating cabal controlling the board, the academics who have determined policy for much too long and value intellectualism over the creation of graduates with common sense, and the vast construction of costly buildings that do little to improve the true quality of the institution. When will the dilapidated and socially antiquated fraternities and sororities be eliminated and replaced with facilities that encourage inclusion and interaction rather than exclusion and separation? When will the board of trustees establish a financially viable 21st-century vision that proactively prepares graduates for a non-U.S.-centric world?

We need to hear more from individuals like MacGovern, whether we agree with them or not. There are diverse viewpoints throughout the alumni body and they need to be heard, rather than diminished by board-packing maneuvers.

Chicago

PROPER RESPONSE TO THE ARTFUL hatchet job on John MacGovern would far exceed your 200-word limit, but one salient contention demands correction: The thesis that MacGovern was behind the lawsuit is false.

The Association of Alumni (AoA) executive committee, in a majority vote, sued to protect the 1891 agreement (nothing “so called” about it) establishing parity between charter and alumnielected trustees. We did so reluctantly, after the board of trustees repeatedly rebuffed or ignored our requests, first for a conference and then for mediation, insisting that no contract existed.

Because the College, through AoA secretary and the College’s vice president of alumni relations David Spalding ’76, refused us access to the addresses of our own membership so that we might inform alumni of our position and solicit funds necessary for litigation, we were forced to rely on the Hanover Institute (HI). Whether the HI would raise funds in its own name and directly accept responsibility for legal expenses or a separate entity would be established for that purpose was decided at the last mo- ment, based on convenience.

From the outset, the executive committee majority made certain that conduct of the suit would lie solely with it. Neither MacGovern nor the HI ever exercised or sought any control of the suit.

White River Junction, Vermont

IN WRITING ABOUT MACGOVERN Dirk Olin ’81 raised the bar on bias in the first paragraph and continued raising it throughout the article. Up front he calls those who brought the legal action “conservative reformers” and the College the “establishment.”

First, he uses the word “conservative” as a pejorative. Second, he calls them “reformers” when they are not wanting to reform or change anything, just maintain the status quo—that is, “to regain a higher percentage of alumni-nominated seats on [the] board.” It is the “College establishment” that made the change.

From that point on, Olin continually attacks MacGovern personally.

Allowing such blatant bias in DAM makes it look as if its editors share the bias, which I’m sure they don’t.

Dallas

I AM AMONG THE LEAST LOYAL alumni of the College, having developed stronger ties to Princeton, where I earned my Ph.D. and taught from 1965 to 1973 before accepting a professorship at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. (Both my children attended Princeton as well.)

The late 1950s were not a happy time at Dartmouth for a student planning to be a professor of art history—not because of faculty or facilities but because of the anti-intellectual atmosphere that pervaded undergraduate life. Fortunately I had the privilege of studying with Professor Robert H. Russell, who personified the rewards of teaching and scholarship and supported my career choice.

Last November, during a reunion of his former students, I had the opportunity to tour the campus informally. The changes I noticed are positive and profound.

I am pained to read in your story about John MacGovern that the College, a beneficial institution, has spent more than $1 million to defend itself against frivolous lawsuits, using money that could be available for scholarships. It is pointless to speculate on the motives of this misguided individual. Any rational, sentient human being can think of hundreds of educational and humanitarian charities that urgently need the money being squandered by the HI to support its counterproductive activities.

I am enclosing a $500 contribution to the Dartmouth defense fund—a trifling sum perhaps, but a measurable percentage of an academic salary.

Princeton, New Jersey

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