Innocent Until Proven Guilty
If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then its gate is built from bad assumptions. It has become impossible to express an opinion without inciting outrage, and uncommon to react to one with reason. More »
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Evaluating College Tradition
A recent CNN.com article discussing Dartmouth’s recent trustee election ended with this quote by College President James Wright: “For those people who don’t like goals that include diversity, that don’t include faculty doing scholarship, I’m sorry, but I think those are the best traditions of Dartmouth.” What strikes me about this statement is Wright’s invocation of tradition. The concept of tradition is a curious one. As Joe Kardon ‘09 brought to light in his recent student film “On Flux,” traditions are more fluid entities than we normally perceive them; they are practices that have become termed “traditions” largely due to the passage of time. This mixture of Kardon’s film, Wright’s quote and my impending graduation has got me thinking about the traditions of my Dartmouth, what are perhaps new traditions. More »
More Freedom, More Responsibility
As the search for the next Dean of the College nears completion, there is hope that the successor to Acting Dean Dan Nelson ‘79 will act on a series of administrative issues that for the past year have been the focus of forums, panels and student think tanks. With recent coverage of Committee on Standards reform and the need to revisit the College’s alcohol policy during the trustee election, it is apparent that the new Dean will address one of the two early on in his or her tenure. I predict that the alcohol policy reform, regardless of how necessary it is, will be the most troublesome to resolve and will undoubtedly involve a few sacrifices on the parts of students and Greek organizations. More »
Boloco is unhealthy for you
I take pride in the fact that I try to eat a healthy, balanced diet. I’m stereotypically one of the regulars at Home Plate and Collis (even though my close friends know I have a weakness for Pavilion cookies and Food Court cupcakes). On the rare occasions when I leave the confines of our secluded campus and venture into the glittering, cosmopolitan world of Main Street, I enjoy the fact that I can introduce a little (very little) variety into my otherwise monotonous diet. Although I, on occasion, daringly order a Canoe Club crème brulee with my girlfriends, I generally attempt to maintain my healthy eating habits during my off-campus adventures. Or at least I thought I did. More »
Petty fights unnecessary in campaigns
To the Editor: In response to Beau Trudel ‘10’s misleading letter to the editor (“The true scope of the Obama canvass,” May 29), I would like to definitively clear the record. More »
