Each nigh this week, nearly 50 students have convened around a large table at the Top of the Hop to call former Dartmouth students to raise money for the nine-day annual Alumni Telethon, today in its eighth day.
Senior Intern of the telethon Charlie French '96 said money from the Alumni Fund, which the telethon benefits, goes towards professors' salaries, financial aid, the athletic endowment, the Dartmouth Outing Club, Foreign Study Programs and other campus organizations.
According to Assistant Director of the Alumni Fund Joe Whitworth, the full Dartmouth tuition covers only about half the actual annual cost per student.
Whitworth said, "Almost everything that goes on here is Alumni Fund supported."
French said callers had raised more money in the first five days of the telethon than in any other year.
"The '94 Alumni Telethon set the record for all nine days; we are on the course to beat them," French said.
After seven days, 413 callers, raising $436,786.08, had volunteered, said Adam Medros, member of the Greencorps. Greencorps, is a group of student callers employed by Blunt Alumni Center to aid in the telethon.
In the 20 years of the Alumni Telethon, callers have raised $4.3 million. This year's goal is to raise $450,000 and to have 400 callers and 4,000 pledges, Whitworth said.
Whitworth said the telethon is an opportunity for students to see "when you get the numerals after your name, you are part of Dartmouth for life."
"Since students are doing much of the spade work themselves. They understand philanthropy and how it relates to Dartmouth," he said.
"Not a lot of campuses in the country can say that they have student-run telethons," Whitworth added.
Volunteers can stop by during calling hours on any of the nine telethon days to help call. They receive a stack of cards with information about alumni printed on them, including the amount they have contributed in recent years.
Sarah McAlister '96, another telethon intern, said they sort the information cards so they can be sure to contact alumni who have given large donations in the past.
McAlister said Green Corps callers often call alumni who have not recently donated money to Dartmouth.
French said they award six prizes every night to the callers who get the largest number of pledges. Prizes range from Dartmouth Skiway and movie tickets to $200 hiking boots from the Dartmouth Co-op. All callers who solicit 10 pledges get a free t-shirt.
Volunteers ring a bell every time they get a pledge "to show spirit," McAlister said.
The interns also order pizza for the volunteers and provide snacks and drinks for them.
Many organizations, such as sports teams, fraternities, sororities and undergraduate advisor groups come to call for the Alumni Telethon.
Russell Stidolph '97, a first-time caller, volunteered on Monday night with Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. "I might as well give it a shot and raise some money for the College," he said.
The UGA group from the second floor of Russell Sage residence hall volunteered to call on Monday night, said Nate White '99.
Adam Weigold '98 said he was a volunteer for the telethon with the football team last year and was calling with his fraternity this year.
"It was fun talking to old people from Dartmouth," he said.
Dean of the College Lee Pelton volunteered at the Alumni Telethon on Monday night. He said when he came to Dartmouth, the Class of 1958 "adopted" him, and so he was calling members of that class.
Pelton's first pledge of the evening came from a minister.
Many callers said they encountered interesting alumni as they tried to acquire pledges.
Debbie Bender '99 said she spoke with David Birney '61 from the television show "St. Elsewhere", husband of actress Meredith Baxter-Birney.
Anna Miller '99, who worked on Sunday afternoon and Monday night, said a few people asked her about the weather in Hanover. She said one woman hung up on her, and one man asked her about his old fraternity, Alpha Delta.
"Sometimes they won't let you off the phone, they want to tell you what Dartmouth was like when they were here," Miller said.
She said she spoke with a man from the Class of 1928 who had donated to the Alumni Fund for the last 67 years.
Most people donated the same amount they gave last year, Miller said.
Many student callers said alumni were friendly on the phone.
Bender, who works for Green Corps, said one woman she called decided to increase her pledge by $60 after hearing that Bender had a friend living in her town.
"You feel really good when you get a big pledge," Bender said.
Nina Wessel '96, who has participated in the telethon for the past two years, said she spoke with a man who attended Dartmouth for only two years before transferring to another school and is now on disability and social security, but he still gives every year.
When volunteers first arrive, they get a brief training session from one of the interns. McAlister told callers that if alumni choose not to contribute to the telethon, they should ask why.
Michele Lamberti '97 said she has encountered alumni who would not donate money to Dartmouth because they disliked the administration or because of the ROTC program.
Weigold said he spoke with someone who refused to contribute to the Alumni Fund because he disliked President Freeman.
Volunteer caller Kihara Kiarie '96, who has volunteered for several years and was calling on Monday with Beta Theta Pi fraternity, said he once spoke with an alumnus who said, "why are you bothering me?"
