To the Editor:
My son is planning to apply early decision to Dartmouth next month. We visited in the spring and were very impressed. Recently I have begun reading The Dartmouth on-line regularly. I am getting worried.
One principal attraction of Dartmouth is its friendly, outgoing ambiance. I do not know whether this has much to do with fraternities and sororities, but whatever you have seems to be working. The Student Life Initiative comes across as an attempt by a bunch of grinches to turn college students into something they are not. It introduces a big uncertainty for the prospective applicant.
Another attraction is the apparent balance of ideological viewpoints (at least that's how it looks from a distance) and the open expression of diverse opinions. The recent enforcement of the implicit PC code in the case of the luau party, an event that seems entirely harmless, is not a good sign.Today's article that suggests punishing people for trying to hold luau parties looks very much like the opening of a campaign for control by people with little use for free speech.
My son is not a wild partier and he attends a very diverse high school (35 percent Hispanic, 30 percent white, 20 percent Asian, 10 percent black, 5 percent other). He is working on the campaign of a black Dartmouth grad (a Republican) for the Virginia House of Delegates. He gets along with everyone and he doesn't know I'm sending this letter. But I do wonder about the wisdom of committing to a school that has such limited understanding of its attractions.
