To the Editor:
It seems vaguely ironic that here, amongst the evergreens of College Park and the firs of New Hampshire, the administration cannot see the forest for the trees. Specifically, the administration can't see the College for the students. After inventing "Superclusters" and scrounging ideas to facilitate the interaction of faculty and students, Dartmouth proceeds to deny tenure to one of its most popular and accessible professors. Not to make an example of either the future of the East Wheelock cluster or of the Spanish Professor Jorge Hernandez Martin, but let's have a little less "Supercluster" and a little more Hernandez Martin. That is, if this College is truly as dedicated to undergraduate education as it claims, I think this is a plausible request from a student. Let's have less in the way of fancy pyrotechnic programs and a little more substance-filled interaction and education.
As a tour guide for the Admissions Office, I meet many prospective Dartmouth students. Without fail, the one question I have been asked on EVERY SINGLE tour that I have given in the past year pertains to the accessibility of the faculty and the degree to which students here can work in conjunction with them as well as the degree to which students interact with their professors. The fact is that Dartmouth College is supposed to have the best faculty of any school ranked in US News & World Report. I don't doubt that for a second, but it truly does not interest me. What does get my attention is the fact that my professors are asked to set aside a couple of hours a week to meet with myself and other members of the Dartmouth family. I am impressed by the number of "open door" professors that fill the offices of this school. These are the professors who will drop what they are doing at a moment's notice to lend you a hand. I do notice the number of professors that live in and around Hanover. Most importantly, we are all part of the same Dartmouth family and we all learn and work together.
I have already admitted that I do not know Hernandez Martin personally. I have never taken a class with him. However, I am aware of the feelings of betrayal that are being felt by those who benefited from his presence on this campus. From all accounts, he appears to be the type of professor I have described above.
Most importantly, he is a professor about whom a number of students seem to feel strongly, a fact either misjudged by the administration of this school, or perhaps a fact ignored by that very same administration.
Those who know me, or who have taken one of my tours prior to coming here, know how strongly I feel about this college on a hill. I have come to feel like Dartmouth is my home and that the students, alumni, and faculty of this venerable old school are my family. The day that we as students are ignored by the administration of this College is the day I leave "home." I would truly like to see the justification behind denying tenure to a faculty member who is obviously loved and respected by his students and colleagues. If it is a matter of salary, I know a certain "Supercluster" which could probably spare a dime or so: after all aren't we supposed to be championing the cause of education and interaction. For that we don't need the "forest" of East Wheelock, we need the trees of Professor Hernandez Martin and those like him.
