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The Dartmouth
December 22, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth
Opinion
Opinion

An Enduring Institution: Part II

By Timothy Dreisbach | February 24, 2006

Some people feel it inappropriate for the College actually to be run by its alumni. A senior official in the Alumni Relations Office once told me "the alumni are not like shareholders of a company, with rights to govern." A member of the current Alumni Governance Task Force (AGTF) expressed to me his frustration with the outsider activists who keep arguing over, in his words, these "so-called rights." All who deny the right of alumni to participate in the governance of the College are wrong; such a right does exist. Thanks to Daniel Webster, Dartmouth College is a legal entity with contractual rights.

Opinion

An Enduring Institution: Part I

By Timothy Dreisbach | February 23, 2006

There has been much debate, at times productive and at times not so, on how the body of alumni can be better organized for improved "governance." As background, readers are encouraged to review the considerable discussions that have occurred on the Alumni Governance Task Force and the Association of Alumni web log sites. In striving to achieve better representation, the well-intended efforts of the AGTF may indeed increase and perpetuate the politicization of alumni clubs and organizations, thus undermining their primary missions to serve their alumni members and the College.

Opinion

The Proper Way

By Zak Moore | February 23, 2006

Last week I tackled some minor political issues that have been in the news lately. But after finding a solution to global warming, solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and creating a universal healthcare plan that would cover twice the population and allow for a 30 percent tax cut, I turned to some deep philosophical problems of our time: shower time, food consumption order and word choice. When I came to Dartmouth in the fall I thought sharing a bathroom was going to be bad.

Opinion

The Myth of the Free Press

By Jon Wisniewski | February 22, 2006

I have come to understand something important: the news media is nothing more than a tool. All too often in this country -- and in the world -- we confuse it in this with some grand ideal of a Free Press.

Opinion

Dirty Dancing

By Deborah Wassel | February 21, 2006

Step into any dance party on campus, and you're almost guaranteed to see the same thing: girls in skimpy tops, pushing their backsides into whoever happens to be behind them, and guys moving just enough to get the girls to grind with them.

Opinion

Lack of democracy

By Frank Gado | February 21, 2006

To the Editor: Please accept my thanks for your Verbum Ultimum regarding the outrageous conduct of presiding officer Al Collins '53 and his Executive Committee ("Alumni and democracy," Feb.

Opinion

Our Herculean Task

By Zachary Hyatt | February 20, 2006

How do we solve terrorism? Some opt for brute force -- they call themselves "pragmatists." Others see empathy and understanding as the solution.

Opinion

When it comes to learning, it takes two to tango

By Prof. Steven Weinstein | February 20, 2006

To the Editor: In his latest op-ed ("Professors' Mortal Sins," Feb. 15), Michael Kreicher '08 complains about the difficulty of his Spanish class and the failure of some of his professors to entertain him sufficiently to capture his attention for 10 hours per week. Kreicher notably admits to doing virtually no work outside of class, except when it comes time to prepare for exams or to write papers. Having taught for three years at Dartmouth, I now teach at the University of Waterloo, a public university in Ontario where students take five courses per term, and where not a few of them do so while holding down full-time jobs, and I find it hard to generate much sympathy for Kreicher. While I do not doubt that some of his professors are less than outstanding, I would point out that it takes two to tango, and that the prospect of teaching a class full of Kreichers, a class full of students who not only can't be bothered to prepare for class but who nevertheless expect to be entertained, is not a prospect which is likely to bring out the best in the professor.

Opinion

DBA Reforms Make No Progress

By Caleb Powers | February 17, 2006

We all like food. That's the way we evolved. There used to be cavemen who would sit around and look at their friends eating mammoth meat who would just sigh, thinking to themselves how boring food was.

Opinion

Starving To What End?

By Habiba Musah | February 16, 2006

Most people who go on hunger strikes seem to be, by nature, proponents of non-violence. When Mahatma Gandhi, the poster child for non-violence, wanted to protest the British rule of India, he went on a hunger strike.

Opinion

Life: Version 2.0

By Daniel Belkin | February 16, 2006

Why does fate necessitate that the Computing Help Desk becomes inundated with broken computers during midterms and finals?

Opinion

Professors' Mortal Sins

February 15, 2006

This term, I have been having an increasingly difficult time paying attention in some of my classes.

Opinion

Pragmatism Over Collective Action

By Megan Rast | February 15, 2006

It was a quiet Monday night at the Montgomery House. The intimate dinner catered by the Hanover Inn was as ordinary as a posting on the free food bulletin -- until the conversation took on a life of its own. Topics of discussion were no less ambitious than climate change, the environment, global health, free speech -- all the great issues currently facing our generation.

Opinion

Super Best Friends

By Peter Gray | February 15, 2006

The Djemaa el-Fna, the great square of Marrakesh, is home to some of the strangest sights, sounds and smells in the world.

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