Every once in a while, the Trustees of Dartmouth gather here in Hanover and discuss matters related to Dartmouth. These aging individuals, most of whom graduated from Dartmouth before the days of co-education, rule and guide Dartmouth while they live thousands of miles away, pretty much ignorant of students' needs.
Most of us students agree that the Trustees would rather discuss how many millions of dollars they managed to raise rather than pay attention to the needs of the students. In order to gain the respect and attention of these Trustees and Dartmouth administration, I propose a radical if not improbable measure.
For those of you who saw Hanover's StreetFest, one would realize how small the town of Hanover is. The population of Hanover is no greater than 7,000 while more than 5,000 students attend Dartmouth. Of the 7,000 residents, a large percentage is composed of minors and adolescents, ineligible to vote and who hardly care about the affairs of Hanover. The Hanover town meetings are attended by even a smaller fraction of the Hanover population.
Imagine, if you will, about a quarter of Dartmouth students attending these town meetings. We can change the agenda and face of the leadership of Hanover itself by numerical superiority. We can easily install a student as the mayor of Hanover, granted that students are willing to change their residency to Hanover for four years. Not only can we push through proposals and resolutions that will favor and help the students, we can put pressure on Dartmouth to change and become more responsive.
If Dartmouth will not listen to its students, it will have to listen to the mayor of Hanover and its council members. Even if Dartmouth refuses to agree, there are many punitive measures that we can take. The power of the local government, especially in New Hampshire, is nothing to be looked down upon. Not only does Hanover collect local taxes, it controls the development of Hanover. If Dartmouth wants to expand or build a new building, the mayor of Hanover can stop or at least hinder Dartmouth's actions. Even in the worst case scenario, we can use funds raised by local taxes to help the students.
Of course there are major implications that need to be dealt with. Because of students' apathy towards anything political, it is improbable that we can round up so many students. Secondly, I do not know how much land Dartmouth owns in Hanover or how much hold it has on Hanover. Thirdly, many of the students may have problems with unscrupulous ways and may protest the redirecting of funds to help the students, not the residents of Hanover.
I heard somewhere that students, long time ago, stormed a Hanover town meeting and directed Hanover for awhile. Although there are no proof or documents supporting this urban legend (or rather a rural, very rural legend), it provided an inspiration for this column. I can't help but wonder if those students resorted to such measures because they were so desperate to control their lives at Dartmouth. But in all likelihood, they were probably drunk and stoned, looking for some fun.
