To the Editor:
I am writing in response to a letter by Mr. Stephen Horvath '65 ("Unanswered Questions," Feb. 1). I recognize that all persons have a right to voice their opinion in a free society. However, I wonder how Mr. Horvath's comments are able to teach a young person to value other individuals regardless of sex, race, or class. As a member of and leader within the Dartmouth community, I find his comments to be in stark contrast to the fundamental tenets of our community as a whole.
Athletic Director Josie Harper serves as a model Dartmouth citizen. Ms. Harper is a dedicated, committed leader who strives to advance the goals of Dartmouth athletics and who continuously advocates on behalf of her student athletes -- past, current, and future. Dartmouth College values its relationship with Josie and so do I. Most recently, I enjoyed serving on the football coach search committee with Josie and others. Josie's countless hours spent on the process of hiring Coach Teevens represent her undying devotion to Dartmouth and to excellence. As a testament to Josie's success, during the 2003-2004 academic year, Dartmouth had two Ivy League Championship teams, 26 First Team All-Ivy Athletes, 12 First Team All-Ivy Americans, three District Academic All-America Athletes, and one National Academic All-America Athlete. During the same period, 12 Dartmouth teams were nationally ranked and two of these teams achieved a national ranking of number one. Nine Dartmouth teams made National Championship appearances.
Furthermore, Mr. Horvath's statement suggesting that there are no female Athletic Directors with successful football programs is uninformed. For example, Sandy Barbour is currently the Athletic Director of the University of California at Berkeley ("Cal"). Cal has a very successful football program in the Pac-10. Ms. Barbour has also served as Deputy Director of Athletics at Notre Dame and as Director of Athletics at Tulane. During her directorship at Tulane, in 1997 the football team had its first winning season in 16 years and followed that performance with a 12-0 undefeated conference championship season in 1998. Ms. Barbour is not the only example. I will also point to Debbie Yow, currently serving in her 11th year as the Athletic Director of the University of Maryland. Under Ms. Yow, the University of Maryland football team won the ACC Championship in 2002, won the Peach Bowl in 2003 and won the Gator Bowl in 2004. Maryland is one of only five NCAA Division I football teams to have won 10 or more games in the each of the past three seasons. Finally, the success of Ms. Barbour's and Ms. Yow's football programs only represent a small portion of their program achievements.
I implore the Dartmouth community to learn from Mr. Horvath's letter. Let us not become a sexist, racist, or class-based society and let us never value philosophies of segregation in any realm. Martin Luther King dreamed of a world where all persons would not be judged by the color of their skin or their gender. We will continue to strive to be such a community.
