Re: Dartmouth only Ivy to abstain from signing letter against Trump administration funding cuts
Along with The Dartmouth Editorial Board, I am embarrassed that President Sian Leah Beilock did not sign the American Association of Colleges and Universities letter “A Call for Constructive Engagement.” It is inconceivable that Dartmouth is not taking a stand against this unprecedented assault on higher education. I was truly surprised that President Beilock lied about never signing an “open form letter” given that she did so while president at Barnard.
What message does that send to Dartmouth students? Is it permissible to lie if it’s expedient?
Dartmouth has taken this shameful position just as the country celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Concord and Lexington when average people, per historian Heather Cox Richardson, “took time out of their daily lives to resist the new policies of the British government. They recognized that giving that sort of power to any man would open the way for a tyrant.” I am sorry that President Beilock did not have the opportunity to join me in one of Dartmouth Professor Mary Kelley’s excellent classes on American Intellectual History.
I have long been a supporter of the Dartmouth College Fund. I have been a class agent, head agent, and 25th reunion co-chair. I believe very strongly in supporting the excellence of the student experience just as alumni supported mine. However, had I not given a DCF gift in December, I would not be giving a gift this year for the first time, despite many issues that troubled me over the years..
Elizabeth Leggat ’82
Elizabeth Leggat is a member of the Class of 1982. Letters to the Editor represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
