To the Editor:
I agree with Richard Wright's response to John Appleton's concern over the recent rankings put out by the Times Higher Educational Supplement, which placed Dartmouth 138th out of 200 universities ("Reading the Rankings," The Dartmouth, November 11).
I would never argue that Dartmouth is a perfect institution or that we shouldn't strive for further academic improvement. Yet I would urge you to consider the cost of striving to meet the standards set forth by this type of ranking system: perhaps our professors will receive more mentions from their peers across the world, but in turn may give less of their time and energy to us, the undergraduates. Here at Dartmouth, we have the resources of a major research university, yet our brilliant faculty gives us the personal attention otherwise only available from a small liberal arts college. This is the special beauty of Dartmouth; the alumni certainly don't want this to ever change, and I doubt many of you do, either.
