Since it was founded more than 200 years ago, the very name Dartmouth has conjured up strong images of a while, male, conservative, anti-intellectual and alcoholic place.
Indeed, Dartmouth's history has never been complete without the lore, fairy tales, images and legacies that continuously swirl around this Ivy League institution.
The worst and most damaging perceptions of the College have been detailed in Rolling Stone magazine, explored by television shows like "20/20" and and bashed on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal.
But while the media and college guides play up the perceived negatives and some people hold the view that Dartmouth is intolerant, College officials say the image is light years behind reality.
College News Service Director Alex Hupp e said the white, male, conservative, anti-intellectual mold no longer rings true at Dartmouth.
"We fight the continuing perception that we're the opposite of what people say." he said. "People are always looking for incidents to illustrate preconceived notions."
"You say the word 'Dartmouth' to the average, educated American and you'll tend to get a strong reaction one way or another," Hupp e added. "People have very long-held views about Dartmouth that come from over 200 years of history of this place."
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl Furstenberg, who often tours the country and answers high school students' questions about the College, said he has to deal with "lingering misperceptions" on a day-to-day basis.
"There's a lingering image out in the general public that Dartmouth is more male than female," Furstenberg said. "That's just not the case."
In the past few years, Dartmouth has taken steps to better the condition of women at the College and inform the campus of women's issues, such as sexual assault.
And as a result of these measures and increased recruitment efforts, 1998 is the first time in College history more women were accepted than men.
Anti-intellectualism and intolerance have in the past few years been slowly replaced with a view that Dartmouth values"the life of the mind" Hupp e said quoting College President James Freedman.
When Freedman took over in 1987, Dartmouth ranked as the least intellectual of all the Ivy League schools and the mere mention of the school's name invoked thoughts of sexism, racial intolerance and wild fraternity parties.
Under mandate from the College's Board of Trustees, Freedman has shed these stereotypes, inducing intellectualism and attempting to make the College a more comfortable place for women, minorities and students as individuals rather than conformists.
Furstenberg that people still have an image of the College as the place it was seven to 10 years ago.
He said even the college guides, though they are getting better, still have misperceptions and old images of the College.
He said many of the images that people have are erased when they come up to campus and take a tour.
Furstenberg blamed The Dartmouth Review, a rigidly conservative weekly that is not associated with Dartmouth, for the impression that the College is conservative and intolerant.
In 1990, on the eve of the Jewish holy day Yom Kippur, The Review printed a quote from Adolph Hitler's Mein Kampf in its masthead.
Freedman immediately criticized The Review and more then 2,500 students rallied to support "Dartmouth Against Hate."
Furstenberg said outsiders are finally learning that not all of Dartmouth is conservative and intolerant.
"That's been diminishing over the past few years." he said. "It's diminishing because there's been less visible notoriety of the conservative movement."
Hupp e said Dartmouth does have some conservative elements.
"The thing about Dartmouth is that it's a great political mix. Dartmouth has a great appreciation of what freedom of speech means," Hupp e said. "Dartmouth is a place where real debate is possible."
Furstenberg said actions by the College administration have "overtaken those old, false images."
"For a while the spot light was on Dartmouth, and it's not now," he said with a smile. "And that's to our advantage."
