To the Editor
I have many reservations about holding Commencement at Memorial Field. It is my feeling that commencement should be held at Baker's Grand Lawn.
First and foremost, I believe that holding Commencement at Memorial Field detracts from the ceremony. The academic procession belongs near the library and not the football field. As a sports fan, I would like to see more people at Memorial Field for football games, but I don't think this is the best way to go about doing so. Commencement, the culmination of four years of intellectual & personal growth, should be held at the intellectual heart of campus, not at the football field.
Second, Commencement is for the graduates, not the honorary degree recipients. The students, who have spent thousands of hours striving to educate themselves and others, should be the focus of the event. This will not be the case in 1995. President Clinton, as everyone knows, is not here to pay homage to Dartmouth's intellectualism. He is not going to speak as a favor to his friend James Freedman. As was stated in the movie "Clear and Present Danger," he is here to get "what every first-term president wants: a second term." President Clinton's pre-campaigning devalues the academic ceremony. It is painfully obvious that he is using Dartmouth College's Commencement ceremony as one of many "feelers" for his 1996 run, a fact that diminishes any sense of speciality from his speech.
Although I do realize that the location of Commencement has never been and never will be set in stone, I think that Baker is a natural location. Baker may not provide the best acoustics for the President. It may not provide the best security for the President. It may not be the best place to collect "tickets" for an outdoor ceremony. It may not be the best place to walk through metal detectors. But, it is the most beautified yet intellectual space on campus.
Along with many others in the Class of 1995, I have been looking forward to the annual rite of spring when Facilities, Operations & Management begins to construct the platform in front of Baker. It, like the week-long orientation of the entering students, like the week-long building of the bonfire, like the week-long building of the snow sculpture, is a sign of an important event in the lives of the students. A platform at Memorial Field is a sign of an event not aimed at the students.
