As one of the country's top schools, Dartmouth consistently hosts notable speeches and discussions that offer great opportunities to learn about and discuss important issues.
But except for the rare speech like the one given by former senior national security adviser and Montgomery Fellow Jessica Tuchman Matthews that drew more than 200 people, most events are sparsely attended, especially by students.
Most of the 20 to 30 events held a term are attended by fewer than 50 students, even though there are more than 3,500 students are on campus most terms.
For example, last term only about 50 people -- many of them professors -- attended a speech by welfare activist Frances Fox Piven and only about 30 students went to a debate on the controversial book "The Bell Curve."
While many administrators and students said they are relatively satisfied with the attendance at speeches and lectures, they still said they would like to see more people attend.
Professors and students said the busy life of most College students could play a role in the low attendance figures.
"I think students mean to attend, but end up genuinely having too much work, or simply feeling overtaxed intellectually," Cody Taylor '97 said.
Religion Professor Susan Ackerman also said the speaker's name recognition, or lack thereof, could play a big role in determining how many students attend a speech. Ackerman is co-convenor of the Coalition for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Concerns, a faculty group that brings up several speakers last term.
"Name recognition matters a lot, and the students don't know a lot of names," she said.
"In general, we would all like to see larger audiences at every speaker we bring here," Ackerman said.
Martin Sherwin, director of the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, also said students are much more likely to go to a speech given by a "name."
"Dartmouth students don't take full advantage of visiting speakers, but there's an exception to that and that's when speakers have high name recognition," he said.
One example of a speaker with high name recognition is Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel, who drew 1,100 spectators to his speech on the Holocaust last Fall term.
The Dickey Center brings up several speakers last term, and some of their events are very well-attended. Sherwin said he thinks attending speeches is an integral part of learning outside of "the most formal site, the classroom."
He said he submitted a plan to the Committee on the First-Year Experience that would require all students to attend three speeches or performances each term of their freshman year.
Roxanne Waldner, acting director of the Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences, said she agrees that students tend to be drawn to bigger names and that they often do not attend because of time conflicts.
But she hoped that often the speakers communicate with students in other ways.
"Even persons of lesser names are interacting with students. Behind the scenes, in classrooms and in group meetings, students are reaping benefits," she said.
A third major problem noted by both students and administration is the tendency of speeches to cluster at the end of the term.
Jim Brennan '96, the administrative intern at the Rockefeller Center said, "I do think people attend speeches here on campus, but more at the beginning of the term when there's less pressure."
