In a letter to the community on Wednesday that touched on a wide range of issues, College President James Wright pledged to "correct the record" trustee election campaign rhetoric impedes efforts to recruit faculty and students.
Though Wright denies that the pledge was a specific reference to any one candidate, claims made on the campaign website of Stephen Smith '88 seem to directly contrast those made by Wright.
"I have full regards for [Smith's] integrity," Wright said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "I'm quite willing to have people debate what the College does, but I don't think it's necessary to distort the facts about the state of Dartmouth today. I look forward to a full and vigorous debate on the part of the trustee candidates."
In the letter, Wright cites the trend toward smaller classes, faculty commitment, free speech and a devotion to the Greek system and athletics, among other factors, as evidence of Dartmouth's good stead.
"Dartmouth is enriched by vigorous, informed debate and strengthened by critical engagement," Wright said. "It does not, however, advance the College to make allegations or to misstate the facts."
The website Smith, a petition candidate for the trustee elections this coming Spring, lists the exact same range of issues, yet characterizes them in the opposite way.
On the website, Smith asserts that "undergraduate class sizes have grown larger" and that faculty are over-burdened.
"Departments denied adequate funding to hire new full-time professors have had to rely on part-time instructors to meet basic curricular needs, and undergraduates have found it harder and harder to get the courses they want," Smith's website says. "This needs to change."
Smith's website also alleges that the history of the Student Life Initiative is evidence of an administrative goal to end the Greek system and criticizes the administration's take on athletics and free speech.
"In a letter to the student body last semester addressing the latest controversy surrounding the Indian symbol -- whether Dartmouth should host or compete against athletic teams that have retained Indian symbols -- President Wright has made it clear that the right to free speech doesn't apply to 'offensive' speech," the website says. "This position is the very antithesis of freedom of speech."
Despite the possible connections between Wright's letter and Smith's website, Wright affirmed the generality of his statement.
"I was just trying to say in this letter that I think its important that we all start with the same factual information," he said.
Smith could not be reached by press time.
Senior Staff member Jennifer Garfinkel contributed to this report.
