As the dust from an unusually contentious trustee election settles, the campus must look beyond campaign rhetoric to examine the real issues. Though we offer our sincere congratulations to the two victorious candidates, Peter Robinson '79 and Todd Zywicki '88, the tenor of debate in the election greatly concerns us.
In particular, the alarmist discourse during the election on the issue of free speech at Dartmouth is troubling. The claim by several candidates and alumni that the College suffers from a repressive speech code is little more than gross exaggeration and factual distortion. These alumni are less aware of the College's pulse than current Dartmouth students, are misinformed by relying too heavily on ideologically-motivated weblogs and place high value on the advancement of their own political agenda.
Though nothing is ever perfect, relations between students and the College are generally good. Parkhurst's recent responsiveness to student desires, by extending library hours, revising the SEMP regulations, considering revisions to the "Good Samaritan" policy and discussing a seventh sorority, for example, are indicative of a rapprochement with the student body.
In short, the College is not falling apart. There is no speech code at Dartmouth. The Greek system has not ended as we know it. While there are still issues worthy of great concern -- oversubscription, for example -- the general state of the College is strong. Each incoming class is stronger than the last, and current students and recent alumni are still among the nation's greatest achievers.
While a segment of the alumni body has so demonized the administration that it has become a shibboleth for all the "evils of liberal academia," they are ignorant of the situation on the ground. Those who pine for the bygone days of "Dear Old Dartmouth" should recognize that the current student body does not want a return to those days. We want to shape the College in our own way. Older alumni should be wary of subordinating the strides forward made by the College, current students and recent alumni to their nostalgia.
If students stay concerned and vocal about conditions here, if Parkhurst remains sensitive to student input and if certain alumni become more informed, the College will continue to move forward, striking the right balance between progress and tradition.
