I am not a syndicated columnist. I am really not all that opinionated. But I felt that after four years of lying back and complaining about everybody else complaining, I would do some complaining of my own.
As my fellow countryman Mr. John Cleese so eloquently expressed, I am sick and tired of everybody complaining how sick and tired they are about being sick and tired
Dartmouth is an isolated community. Prospective applicants know that when they apply. And let's not kid ourselves here: we were all prospective applicants. We all knew what we were getting into when we enthusiastically accepted our invitation to matriculate.
We all knew that Dartmouth is halfway to the North Pole. We were all told horror stories about the ugly winters that swept the Hanover Plain. We all knew that winter stretches from October until April at the earliest in these parts. So why does everybody complain?
We all knew - and our parents feared - that Dartmouth and fraternities are always muttered in the same breath. When we all came to visit the campus, the glamourization of Alpha Delta fraternity et al. through Hollywood eyes was in everybody's mind. Fraternities and Dartmouth are synonymous with one another. The Greek system has been around here for one hell of a long time. It is not just a recent addition to the College social scene. It is the College social scene. We all knew that. We all knew what we were letting ourselves in for. So why does everybody complain?
We all knew that Dartmouth does not pay enough attention to real social issues. That is a result not just of our being on the 5th parallel, but of academia in general. When people refer to universities and colleges as being out of touch with the 'real world,' they refer to all universities and colleges, not just to Dartmouth. People here don't pay enough attention to real social issues because they are too busy spending their time complaining.
Forget influenza. Forget the common cold. The epidemic here is grievance. Exhibit A: Campus food is too expensive. So we gripe. We even get the Student Assembly to officially gripe on our behalf (nice try guys). If you have ever eaten at another university's dining hall, you would realise that our food - granted, we have to eat it seven days a week, two or three times a day - is unsurpassed. If Dartmouth Dining Services did not enjoy its present budget, the standard of service would fall. I daren't even think about the amount of complaining that would then ensue.
We all knew what Dartmouth was all about when we applied and accepted the offer of admittance. So come on guys - kwitcherbelliachin'. You have too much free time on your hands. Suck it up.
