To the Editor:
On behalf of the 1998 Alumni Fund interns, I wanted to comment on your article on this year's Student Phonathon ["Donations down for Alumni Fund drive," January 16]. Although it was great to have The Dartmouth cover what is an important annual event for Dartmouth and the Alumni Fund, it was disappointing to see that you seemed to paint the program and its results in a bad light.
The headline was completely wrong. Alumni support of Dartmouth is at record-breaking levels. While it is true that fewer students have come out to call during the first week of the Phonathon this year (due mostly to timing), it is still remarkable that student volunteers have already managed to raise over $288,883 in only five nights. All of this money raised from alumni goes to benefit students in ways too numerous to mention in this space. This highly-organized and creative program, designed and managed essentially by four members of the senior class, is the envy of colleges all over the country. Its success speaks volumes for both the high caliber of Dartmouth students and the generosity of Dartmouth alumni. In fact, many alumni even donated over $10,000 worth of prizes for Phonathon callers this year.
Contrary to how it appeared in your article, the great majority of alumni donors love to speak with students and frequently engage them in conversation. Some student callers have even used the opportunity for networking, and more than one have received advice, interviews or both. A very small fraction of the alumni donors contacted by students voice dissent about Dartmouth.
It is fully expected that the Student Phonathon will once again raise over $500,000 for the Alumni Fund before it is over on January 22. This has only been done three other times in the 22-year history of the program. The '98 Alumni Fund interns, their '98 steering committee and all of the students who have come out to call have every reason to be proud of this great effort.
