The College's decision to provide cable television access in residence hall rooms this winter is a pleasant surprise and a step in the right direction.
In addition to significantly improving the quality of life for Dartmouth students, the decision demonstrates the administration's willingness and ability to respond to student concerns.
After stalling on the matter last year, the administration has obviously realized the importance of this issue to students.
The argument that cable will detract from Dartmouth's intellectual atmosphere or deter students from more "academic" pursuits was justifiably disregarded.
In a culture dominated by CNN and MTV, Americans have come to rely on television for instantaneous worldwide information. For seniors going through corporate recruiting and for first-year students keeping up with news from home, cable provides a vital link to the outside world on an isolated campus.
By the time they arrive on the Hanover plain, Dartmouth students have spent 18 years in the "real world." It is both condescending and unjustified to assume that these students, admitted to the College for their academic prowess, are not capable of distilling the quality from the nonsense on the airwaves.
It is therefore wise of the administration to provide Dartmouth students with this resource.
But while the College's choice is noteworthy, its execution leaves much to be desired.
For example, CNN is indispensable for living in a society of information addicts and constantly breaking news. And in an era when the big three networks no longer dominate, failing to offer channels such as Fox, UPN and the WB is hopelessly outdated. Furthermore, one cannot deny the social significance and cultural value of networks like ESPN, Lifetime, MTV and the Discovery Channel.
The College should therefore continue on its current path by improving cable access as soon as it is feasible. Dartmouth must fully enter the twentieth century before the twenty-first begins.
