When members of the Class of 1997 gathered in Leede Arena for their first class meeting Saturday night, the men and women of Dartmouth were greeted by Dean of Students Lee Pelton. The freshmen heard an invocation by Tucker Foundation Dean James Breeden and remarks from Dean of Freshmen Peter Goldsmith, Dean of Faculty James Wright and College President James Freedman.
Dean Pelton elegantly told the freshmen about themselves: 1,088 students, representing 812 high schools in 46 states and 33 foreign countries, 53 percent men, 47 percent women.
Indeed on paper, the '97s make up the strongest class ever accepted to Dartmouth and the statistics are encouraging. But the all-male stage cast was not.
Several women serve in high-level administrative and academic posts ' some were in the audience. At least one of them should have been on stage to greet the '97s and to reinforce statements by Pelton and Goldsmith that the academic environment welcomes everyone and that all '97s should feel like they belong.
The speakers, all distinguished men in the administration, were quite eloquent. Repeatedly, the freshmen were urged to seek out the Dean's Office for guidance and support. The lack of a female speaker made it seem as if there are only male shoulders to lean on in Parkhurst.
While the racial mix of the speakers must have been comforting to a diverse group of students, the absence of a woman on stage gave the impression that the old boy network still dominates Dartmouth's administrative chambers.
