Re: Dartmouth only Ivy to abstain from signing letter against Trump administration funding cuts
Dear President Beilock,
I am disappointed by your decision to not sign the “open letter” referenced in your email to the Dartmouth community Wednesday.
As you remind us that you “will always stand up for higher education, academic freedom and Dartmouth’s specific dedication to values like ‘responsibility for each other and for the broader world’ and ‘vigorous and open debate of ideas within a community marked by mutual respect,’” I would remind you that the topping the list of Dartmouth’s six core values is, “Dartmouth expects academic excellence and encourages independence of thought within a culture of collaboration.” As is so starkly clear today, the current assault on universities by the Trump administration demands collaboration within the Dartmouth culture and among the higher education community itself.
How shameful for Dartmouth to absent itself from that collaboration of 534 of your colleagues.
True, this is not a “fight or flight” binary response moment; self-reflection is critical for each of us individually and for Dartmouth and other universities. However, reflecting and acting are not exclusive to each other. We can do both at the same time. You can lead the Dartmouth community in productive self-reflection while still joining your peers in collaboratively opposing the actions of the Trump administration. A Flemish proverb often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, “We must all hang together or we shall all hang separately,” is especially germaine today –– for law firms, media companies, state attorneys general and universities.
I note that Dartmouth’s institutional restraint policy recognizes you as a spokesperson for the College. I urge you to reconsider your decision, and join your colleagues in signing that letter. The letter closes with “We continue to accept signatures from current leaders of colleges, universities, and scholarly societies.”
Thank you.
Rick Detwiler ’69
Rick Detwiler is a member of the Class of 1969. Letters to the Editor represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
