To the Editor:
In his letter to the editor on Friday, August 10 ("Not Everyone Has Privilege"), Jason Spitalnick contends that my suggestion to let one's dollars speak to the Administration is "narrow-minded, petty and largely misinformed".
Mr. Spitalnick has drawn an innacurate impression of my suggestion. In no way do I believe that Dartmouth students and alums are all incredibly wealthy people who shower bribes on College administrators. I certainly know this is not the case with me (would that it were). Mr. Spitalnick never contends the very simple fact that Dartmouth students and alums have no say in how this College is run. Why, then, should we fund decisions we don't like? It doesn't matter how large the individual gift is; but imagine if, say, all the Greek alums of Dartmouth withheld their yearly contributions, however modest. The College would change its tune very quickly. This is not elitism, it's pragmatism.
Furthermore, Mr. Spitalnick's alternative - that we send President Wright a letter saying we support his efforts to champion intellectualism - is certainly an alternative, but most definitely not to the same end. It is, in fact, the alternative that's open to someone whose opinion is the exact opposite of mine. For me, it amounts to licking the hand of the master.
