Stewardship or Stagnation?
As we enter into a new decade, it is crucial that we consider what should be cared for at Dartmouth, and what should be phased out. In this year’s Winter Carnival Special Issue, we’ve chosen to examine stories with deep roots and long lives in the consciousness of the College. What traditions and ideas deserve our mindful preservation for future generations, and what vestiges are stunting our growth?
Stewardship takes both the humility to keep what works and the confidence to change what doesn’t for the better. Stagnation happens when bad practices become tradition and remain unexamined by their inheritors. At an institution with as long a history of achievements as failures, understanding the difference is more important than ever.
Growth is a slow process that can’t be measured in four-year college careers, but the stewardship of the College deserves an occasional thought to the long view. We hope the articles in this issue achieve that end.
Sincerely,
Chantal and Savannah
