To the Editor:
As a parent of a current dartmouth student and as a member of a family which has long held Dartmouth in affection and esteem, I have been following the discussions of the Student Life Initiative with interest. However, I think that there is an underlying issue which should be at the center of debate and which is scarcely alluded to.
Right now, Dartmouth as a small teaching college is being replaced by a large research institution. President Freedman said, a number of years ago, that this is what he intended to accomplish. This has an impact on the quality of teaching at dartmouth. Our student chose Dartmouth for its rural setting and its size as well as for the high school counsellor's advice that the best undergraduate professors and teaching were at Dartmouth. Is this great attribute being compromised?
Teaching Assistants are now instructing and the latest issue of Dartmouth Life, under the heading "Vital Signs" touts the vastly increased sum of research funding from the NIH, the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Department of Defense, the State of New Hampshire and "other government sources." Is this a boon? One needs only to look closely at other research based institutions to note the seductive power, the siren-lure of government funding upon and administration and professors who must concern themselves with the need to publish and attract funding. Rather than a vital sign, this is a death knell for Dartmouth's traditional style of teaching.
As a small teaching college, dartmouth is one of the brightest jewels in the crown of the American educational system. The wisdom of dismantling this system which has developed over the past two hundred and thirty-one years is questionable at least. Is this what the Dartmouth community wants? In the glare of mega wattage from the new buildings, will the community perceive that this has been a mistake and that something of great value has been lost?
Daniel Webster's statement, hitherto so representative of dartmouth's culture, "It is a small college, Sir, but there are those who love it" should inspire those who love it still to greater examination and debate. That small college is about to be history.
