Monday, February 12, 2007

Reemerging from the Rabbit Hole

By Claire Murray, Contributing Columnist

When I was little, “Alice in Wonderland” was a little too scary for me. Not scary in the traditional, monster-under-the-bed sort of way, but rather in a way that most people would describe as “psychedelic.” Even a six year-old can pick up on the fact that Disney’s customarily watered-down version of a classic tale is not just a funny dream that Alice has. For this year’s Winter Carnival, the theme of “Dartmouth Down the Rabbit Hole” invited students to plunge into a wonderland of fun winter traditions. However, this invitation has other connotations, best expressed by Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire Cat to Alice: “You’re mad … you must be, or you wouldn’t have come here.” Is Winter Carnival Dartmouth’s annual descent into madness? More »

The Value of Unreasonable Ideas

By Jon Wisniewski, Staff Columnist

Last week, Zak Moore ‘09 eloquently supported trustee candidate Stephen Smith ‘88 on this page (“Diversity of Vision Matters,” Feb. 7). An issue he raised in support of his main argument — namely, the importance of freedom of speech — is something that struck me as particularly worthy of elaboration. It is worthier, certainly, than whatever I might have had to say about water pong. More »

Criticism demands debate

By Geoff Bronner

To the Editor: A number of recent letters in The Dartmouth (“Diversity of Vision Matters,” Feb. 7)have suggested that there is an unwritten speech code on campus because outspoken individuals and organizations on campus have been criticized for their views, implying that criticism is an attempt to force their silence. More »