Raza Rasheed '12 seemed very distressed in his recent column about the egregious fraud that is perpetrated on students during sophomore Summer ("Sophomore Summer Swindle," June 29). While I share his concern about the dining options this term which, anyway, are not intrinsic to sophomore Summer, but are a temporary imposition on our class this term I think he really overstates his case.
For one thing, if sophomores are really as badly swindled as he suggests, Dartmouth students, both past and present, should have noticed it by now. But sophomore Summer is commonly held to be a beloved Dartmouth tradition, and with good reason. Most older students whom I have talked to about sophomore Summer consider it their favorite on-campus term. That Rasheed fulminating over the lack of academic "innovation and excitement" and the "dishonest robbery" that he feels characterizes this term is unable to see the benefits of it should not really concern the rest of us. It should certainly not stop us from enjoying this term to the fullest.
So what exactly are the benefits of sophomore Summer? One benefit is well-known and obvious sophomore Summer contributes to class bonding. It is also a good break in the middle of college for those, such as myself, who feel burned out from regular terms. Furthermore, the term allows students to spend a lot of time outdoors in a really beautiful place. The only legitimate reason for viewing these benefits as insignificant or secondary is if one puts more value on ambition and academic success than friendship and happiness. That is a legitimate value judgment, but it just happens to be one with which most Dartmouth students disagree. Rasheed states that "no amount of psychic benefits" can make sophomore Summer worthwhile. Can he really blame the rest of us if we do not agree?
The academic situation Rasheed laments is not even nearly as bad as he would have us believe. In his column, Rasheed derides the common "distrib-killing" view of sophomore Summer academics but I would count this as one of the positive benefits of the term. For people like myself, who aren't talented in every academic discipline, the opportunity provided by sophomore Summer to take easier classes that fulfill difficult distributions is very welcome. The sheer size of classes like Astronomy 3 and Classics 4 are a testament to that. Furthermore, many professors are around during the summer who are not teaching classes, which opens up a lot of opportunities for summer research with professors from different academic departments. Finally, sophomore Summer allows us to branch out from our usual academic pursuits and take classes we might not have taken during a usual term. These academic benefits thus have the excellent result of furthering true liberal arts studies, instead of a merely utilitarian professional or pre-professional program.
Sophomore Summer is also a term when departments will test out classes for the first time. The Religion department, for example, is doing that this term with Religion 19 Religion In The Modern World. Likewise, because there is not as much going on as there is during the year, students, should they so choose, actually have more time to study for their classes. As somebody who often cannot find enough time in the day to work on my homework, I am enjoying the extra free time sophomore Summer has already given me to actually do all my reading for classes.
The term has many other extracurricular advantages as well. Rising juniors receive the opportunity to take over and run campus organizations and clubs like The Dartmouth thereby gaining important leadership skills earlier then they might be able to otherwise. And, of course, being on this term allows us to be more flexible while applying for internships and jobs during our off-terms.
The real value of sophomore Summer, though, lies in the following: As a culture, Dartmouth students have forgotten what it means to be an amateur and we have lost the capacity for true leisure. G.K. Chesterton once said, "Anything that's worth doing is worth doing badly." Aristotle once remarked, "We work in order to have leisure." Sophomore Summer can help many of us discover the meaning behind these famous quotes and it can yield us more than all Rasheed's "innovative and exciting" academic opportunities ever would.
