To the Editor:
I want to thank David Hemmer '96 for his article on "The Segregationist Practices of Prospective Week." [April 11]
He pointed out the way in which Dartmouth lures minorities into an institution which is oftentimes inconducive to their social and academic growth. It would be nice if the Admissions Office could recognize this fact and at least give an honest portrayal of the student body during Prospective week. The minorities end up with a distasteful memory of their alma mater, the legacies resent it, and the two groups never meet each other in their time here. Affirmative action is necessary and good, but instilling a false image of Dartmouth in order to get them here is not.
Hemmer also pointed out that the school covers travel expenses for minorities and those living in the Northeast area only. This method of recruitment, in effect, invites two groups of students, those who have heard of Dartmouth all of their lives and the minorities from afar. Is there any wonder that the student body is as polarized as it is? To decrease racial segregation on campus, the Admissions Office should look into actively recruiting talented white trash. They could invite them to the minority's "Perspectives on Dartmouth" program, redub it the "You are Non-Traditional!"program, and effectively promote relations between the races. They could use the rationale that Dartmouth needs these individuals to act as buffers between the African-Americans, Latinos, and Native-Americans, ("recall that Asians are not considered minorities") and the mid-upper class traditional Caucasian.
