To the Editor:
I am writing to praise Randy Lynn '05 for the incisive analysis of Dartmouth's social life that he offered the community in a Letter to the Editor in Monday's issue of The Dartmouth.
In his editorial he accomplishes the impressive feat of summing up the entire Student Life Initiative without being hampered by its complexity.
He single-handedly uncovers the grand conspiracy of the evil college administration without having to confirm any of the evidence he has yet to gather. He dismisses with unrivaled audacity the reasoning ability and sincerity of not just one, but both (yes both!) sides of the debate on the Greek system.
The most startling thing about this achievement is that he performed this dazzling feat of perspicacity after having been here only a week! Few people dare to write with such authority after accumulating years of experience.
In the history of Dartmouth I don't think a single student has been so brilliant as to ascertain the entire situation instantaneously, or bold enough to display his comprehensive analysis in print. Clearly, Mr. Lynn's stunning revelations show what happens when one refuses to be constrained by reason, courtesy or humility.
Since the '04s, '03s, and '02s on campus who have been contemplating these issues for years are incapable of working the miracles that this first-year produced, we should leave all decision making to those with the least experience.
Within minutes of setting foot on this campus I too believed, quite pompously, that I could deftly and swiftly resolve everything with the dazzling light of my fresh perspective. Please! I desperately needed a reply as callous as this one. I learned too late just how vital to my education a little humiliation can be.
We should all remember that Dartmouth is caught in a struggle of profound complexity. Brash generalizations and pat explanations should not be accepted from those who have been here for 40 years or four days.
