I am writing in response to the article “College purchases $66 million in oil and gas fund” by Ruben Gallardo. I have not written to The Dartmouth since the fall of 1963, when the paper published a number of my letters concerning coeducation. In 1963, coeducation was far out of the comfort zone of the majority of undergraduates. Today, it appears that the challenges posed by climate disruption are far out of the comfort zone of many at the College. I would be very interested to learn what the current undergraduate feelings are with respect to the threat climate disruption poses to their futures. What does the Class of 2018 think Hanover will be like in 50 years?
The classes of the mid-60s lived in a period of great change: the Vietnam War, assassinations, Woodstock, civil rights and a good deal more. The classes of the early 21st century are now facing even more serious challenges. How will they respond? Is there any interest on campus in “thrivability” as an approach that goes beyond “sustainability?” Is there any interest in Holo and Holochain, as replacements for the current internet and block chain? Coeducation arrived in 1972, nine years after my letters –– not that they were more than a few straws on the camel’s back. Where will Dartmouth be in nine years regarding climate disruption? Change can happen very fast. Let’s hope it does.
— Jock Gill
Gill is a member of the Class of 1967.
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