This week's "The Real Dartmouth" series addressed how well the College's portrayal of itself matches up with the reality students find during their four years here. In spite of frequent gripes regarding the D-Plan, off-campus programs, the academic experience and the Greek system, Dartmouth remains the unique experience it is purported to be -- especially in comparison to its peer institutions.
While the D-Plan -- one object of perennial complaint -- certainly gives rise to frustrating quarterly arrivals and departures, a flexible attendence pattern affords students opportunities that are either impossible or impractical at other schools. Dartmouth students can procure internships during the traditional schoolyear that are often closer to a real office experience than ordinary summer internships. Sophomore summer really does unite each class at a time of year when people aren't constantly hurrying inside to escape the cold. And scheduling leeway allows for year-round study abroad in a manner that the semester system simply prohibits.
Of course, off-campus programs elicit their fair share of grievances as well -- the amenities of college aren't readily available and living conditions are not always up to Hanover standards. But the point of the Language Study Abroad and Foreign Study Programs should not be to create Dartmouth somewhere else. Overseas study should primarily serve to immerse participants in a foreign culture -- not simply offer different courses. The incredible diversity of readily available study-abroad programs is a testament to their worth and a singular virtue of Dartmouth.
Another facet of Dartmouth that might not always live up to its billing is the "small college" academic experience. Classes may not always feel as intimate as brochures would have you believe, and not every Dartmouth student has met a professor for coffee. But unique academic opportunities are out there for students who seek them because, on the whole, Dartmouth professors are incredibly accessible -- their primary interest is in teaching. That's why, when compared to most peer institutions, Dartmouth's classes are indeed small in both number and feel.
The prevalence of the College's Greek system often takes incoming freshmen by surprise -- not every student may pledge a house, but campus social life does indeed revolve around fraternities and sororities. Some have continued to criticize the system as a whole, but Dartmouth's CFS organizations have remained healthy and robust because they are receptive to unaffiliated students as well as other Greeks. On a weekend night, any Dartmouth student can walk into a house's basement without so much as a sidelong glance. The Greek system's openness maintains it as a source of fun to anyone who seeks it.
Dartmouth isn't perfect, but keep it all in perspective. To focus on what's wrong with Dartmouth is to miss out on everything that's right about it.
