"Live Free or Die" New Hampshire's state motto is proudly inscribed on its license plates, echoing the state's libertarian history. These were the words of a man who valued freedom more than his personal longevity Gen. John Stark, a New Hampshire native who fought in the American Revolution.
Dartmouth students arriving from other parts of the country may find the state's unique culture surprising. In New Hampshire, broad-based sales and state income taxes are foreign concepts, seat belts are optional for those over 18 and the personal decision to wear a helmet while operating a motorcycle is not subject to legislation. New Hampshire's rate of violent crime is the third lowest in the nation, according to a study conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program in 2007. And, where other states have stringent legislation on the purchase and possession of firearms, New Hampshire has placed minimal restrictions on the right to bear arms. Finally, incoming students from California may be stunned to find that while their native state has made same-sex marriage illegal, New Hampshire became one of the first states to legalize same-sex marriage.
Unsurprisingly, therefore, New Hampshire cannot be accurately represented as a red or blue state according to George Mason University's United States Elections Project, the majority of the local populace is registered as Independent. As a result, Dartmouth students are submerged in a political climate that strays from the typically one-dimensional left and right.
While the rest of the country seems to be ideologically divided along DemocraticRepublican lines, the people of New Hampshire have a stronger loyalty to the Constitution of the United States than its government, fly the historical Gadsden flag with the words "Don't Tread on Me" and openly carry firearms to remind their elected officials of their right to do so. Not all students at Dartmouth share these values, but exposure to this political counterculture is invaluable as it encourages students to break away from an unhealthy tradition of linear thought.
While it would be wrong to label the Dartmouth administration as libertarian, the administration does reflect a tradition of disputing flawed legislation. In recent years, administrators have worked to fight well meaning policies that effectively do more harm than good to the student population. College President Jim Yong Kim's open opposition to New Hampshire's "possession by consumption" liquor laws serves as an example while the intent of the laws may have been to protect the health of underage young people, they have resulted in preventing the underage from seeking medical services for fear of prosecution ("Kim finds fault with state's liquor policy," Oct. 2). As a signatory of the Amethyst Initiative, former College President James Wright opposed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, arguing that the law has made drinking the primary focus of social gatherings rather than one component ("College presidents urge debate over drinking age," Sept 17, 2008).
Such candid objections to faulty laws serve as a model for Dartmouth students. Regardless of political affiliation, we can all become better citizens by questioning authority. After all, political parties act in what they believe to be the best interests of the nation. Libertarian philosophy supports aggressively examining whether or not policies produce their intended results, and whether or not the costs are worth it.
Students may deny being affected by New Hampshire's libertarianism. Co-President of the Dartmouth College Libertarians Victoria Stockman '10 believes that for many students, the liberty of this state may not always be directly perceived, but is enjoyed on another level.
"I think the students here subconsciously experience and enjoy the freedom of New Hampshire. They have learned to love the state despite the fact that they are unaware of the political understructure of liberty."
Perhaps this is why so many alumni eventually make their way back to New Hampshire.
Regardless whether they came here a Democrat, Republican, apolitical or with other affiliations, students of Dartmouth leave if they ever do New Hampshire remembering the famous toast made by Stark. This much cannot be denied by any alumnus: the granite of New Hampshire is made a part of them 'til death.
