Dartmouth lore says that the green "money light" goes on in Baker Tower when nostalgia-struck alumni come back to campus for big weekends -- the same time when major donations begin to pour in. Another version of the story says that the currency-colored light is turned on when Trustees meet to make major financial decisions about the College.
The official explanation, though, is significantly less cynical and has more to do with Dartmouth school spirit than the College's finances. The light, which comes from eight 500-watt floodlights covered with green shades that shine on the glass in the bell tower, get turned on for a number traditional College events, including Homecoming, Winter Carnival, Green Key, class reunions, Commencement, Freshmen Parents' Weekend and meetings conducted by the Board of Trustees.
Facilities Operation and Management personnel used to turn the light on and off manually, but since the Baker/Berry Library construction project, the lights have been controlled by an "energy management computer" programmed by FO&M's electronics shop, according to FO&M representative John Gratiot.
The official occasions for the light were stipulated in a 1975 memo written by Dartmouth's then-Director of Business Affairs Jack Skewes. Skewes later said the decision was not made by him but by former President John Kemeny and his staff.
For several years prior to 1975, the College refrained from using the green lights or the flood lights that illuminate Baker Tower at night, in a symbolic gesture to the 1970s energy crisis, Skewes said. Technological innovations that used less energy made relighting the tower more feasible, and Dartmouth News Office releases from the period extol the psychological benefits of having the campus lit up again at night and the green light shine for festive occasions.
In the past, though, students have climbed onto the Baker Tower Balcony -- sometimes to the aggravation of College deans and Safety and Security officers. In 1986, a group of 13 students occupied the tower to protest Dartmouth's continuing investment in South African companies. The students, among them current Director of Institutional Diversity and Equity Ozzie Harris '81, only agreed to leave nine hours later after they had been allowed to meet with the Trustees and discuss the possibility of divestment from the apartheid state.
Current Dartmouth students tell stories about climbing out onto the roof between Baker and Berry libraries but won't reveal the details of their exploits for fear that the windows will be boarded up and future expeditions sabotaged.
The general public is not usually allowed in the bell tower, but for some time the library has held tours on Winter Carnival weekend to show the inner workings of what has proved an intriguing piece of Dartmouth history. From the ninth level of Baker, there are 86 metal steps to the bell tower balcony, and the brochure advertising the tours warns that participants should be in good physical condition, since reaching the top involves balancing on some potentially tricky ladder rungs.
This year, tours run from noon to 4 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
