As a columnist, I have it pretty easy. I don't ever have to go to meetings, I don't ever have to interview people, and I don't even have to worry too much about being "factually accurate." Every two weeks, I just rehash the same pro-Greek anti-administration column I've used for the past year now and then e-mail it into my editor. I'm a pretty lucky guy; I haven't had to come up with a new idea or original thought since last January but I still get my picture in the paper every now and then.
That's what makes this particular column all the more embarrassing. I just don't have it in me anymore. The well has run dry and I've nothing to say. Maybe it's because I had a really bad week and then a really busy weekend. But for whatever reason, I just can't find anything interesting to write about for a full column. So instead of picking one arm of the administration to rail against for 800 words, this column will be substantially more inclusive, touching upon a number of subjects.
The education department is awaiting a new committee to decide its fate at Dartmouth. Some people think that department is out of place in a liberal arts school because it is too vocational. Admittedly, the education department, if successful, is inherently vocational--it produces educators. But what's wrong with that, even if this is a liberal arts college? The beauty of a liberal arts education is that it "trains students how to think." But the beauty of spending $136,000 over four years is that there'll be a job waiting for you when you graduate. If Dartmouth's really worried about attracting "high ability" students and competing with the Harvards and Princetons of the world, we have to start adding things, not taking them away. I think teaching is among the most worthy callings in the world and find it absurd that an institution supposedly devoted to education would turn its back on this department.
Dartmouth is an isolated school. There is a lot of homogeneity here already, without the administration limiting our options. And for those of us who don't fit the Dartmouth mold or aren't sure how they fit in , the administration has come up with an ad-campaign of "social norms" that are plastered on dorm bulletin boards and printed in The Dartmouth. In theory, the social norms plan seems like a good one. Using statistics from student polls, they show that the average Dartmouth student doesn't abuse alcohol. The intent is honorable here; make students feel like they can have a good time and be "socially normal" without needing to drink heavily. But if the "normal" Dartmouth student isn't a binge drinker, then what college were the Trustees talking about in the SLI? It's incredibly hypocritical for the administration to place enough weight in student opinion when it shows the majority of students do not abuse alcohol, but then turn around in the SLI and claim that the Dartmouth culture "as we know it" promotes binge drinking and all kinds of other horrific things.
My final little quip is in response to Dan Galemba's column in Friday's edition of The Dartmouth. Galemba mentions the incident involving the lighting of a menorah in a dorm room and the resulting fire safety violation. Galemba writes, "Okay, okay, fire safety, regulations, whatever, but I find it offensive that anyone would believe a Jew incapable of safely lighting a menorah." Let's be serious, here, Dan. This was not a case of racism or religious persecution. This had nothing to do with anything but a rule being broken. I find it offensive that anyone would believe me incapable of safely operating a halogen lamp, but you have to let some things go.
