To the Editor:
I am writing to respond to Brian Nick's Nov. 19 column "At All Costs." I want to take issue with an assertion Mr. Nick made. He claimed that we Dartmouth students are not "citizens" (or more correctly, "residents") of New Hampshire. I could not disagree more. Mr. Nick admitted that Dartmouth students "live in New Hampshire most of the year." I think this is a very good indication that we do reside here, looking at the plain meaning of the word "reside." He went on to argue that "our driver's licenses come from other states," and "our parents pay income taxes in other states." It is irrelevant to the question of residency where our driver's licenses come from. The State of New Hampshire does not require a New Hampshire driver's license in order to be considered a resident; this is evident because many Dartmouth students without New Hampshire licenses were able to vote. Mr. Nick does not consider that New Hampshire legally made Dartmouth students into residents when it wrote its election requirements.
We are residents here. We live here most of the year; we pay taxes here. We drive on New Hampshire roads while obeying New Hampshire traffic laws. We work in New Hampshire. What goes on in Concord and Washington affects us as much as it does any other New Hampshire citizen. We have the right to influence the composition of the government that regulates our behavior.
Finally, I find Mr. Nick's attitude that students voting in New Hampshire are correcting an error that the citizens of New Hampshire may have made to be infuriating. He makes it sound as if New Hampshire is a monolithic decision-making body that students are sabotaging. The state was evenly divided between Gov. Shaheen and Rep. Sununu. To say with such certainty that New Hampshire overwhelmingly "wanted Sununu" is misleading. Furthermore, Dartmouth students are not saboteurs. We are part of the people of New Hampshire. Be proud that you voted.
