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The Dartmouth
August 31, 2026
The Dartmouth
Opinion
Opinion

A Major Dilemma

By Marc Yasuda | May 14, 1996

One of the springtime rites of passage of every Dartmouth sophomore is picking a major. In spite of the mercurial nature of our recent selections, a major question has since festered in my mind: What says more about a person -- their major, or the reasons they choose that major? In order to alleviate your "anticipating columnist cliche" pains, I will get my hackneyed but applicable dose of cliches out of the way early and rephrase my question at the same time: Do your means justify your ends, or do your ends justify your means (perhaps more idealistically, can your ends ever truly justify your means?). An overdue explanation will now follow. As far as my sophomore eyes see it, the major scenario plays out to three general schools of thought. First, there is the anal-retentive career-oriented bunch who choose their major for the sole purpose of inflating their grade point average (the most over-heard, over-emphasized words on any Ivy League campus) to the brink of its 4.0 boundary. Second, there are the premeditated pre-professionals whose tunnel-visioned folks have scoped out the most accommodating job market.

Opinion

The Future of Food

By Sam Bonderoff | May 13, 1996

After a long weekend of mediocre revelry and occasional insanity, a friend and I sat down outside the Hop on a fine rainy Sunday morning.

Opinion

'The Histories'

By Abiola Lapite | May 10, 1996

What good is history? Since Herodotus first earned himself the title "father of lies," it has been the penchant of a few men to note down accounts of the words and deeds of the ages preceding theirs. Perhaps, as Henry Ford suggested, these men have been wasting their time; perhaps, like the alchemists and astrologers, they were chasing after nonsense; perhaps what we really need in this age is to do away with history entirely and concentrate on subjects which will fit men to deal with the problems and occupations of our day. At this point Santayana's famous quip on the matter comes to mind, but this is not a good defense, for even if history has lessons to teach us, we must not forget that history never repeats itself -- perhaps it is sometimes better that we do not pay too close attention to what learned accounts tell us. There is a better defense of the study of history.

Opinion

Leveling the Playing Field

By Miranda Johnson | May 10, 1996

In "Confronting Reverse Racism" [The Dartmouth, May 6], Adam Siegel '98 points to Ward Connerly, the man spearheading the drive to abolish affirmative action programs in California, as an example of why these programs are no longer necessary.

Opinion

College must commit to education

Abolishing the education department flies in the face of the College's aim to provide students with a well-rounded education and to equip them with an appreciation for the value of education. With the privilege of attending Dartmouth comes a responsibility to make a positive contribution to society.

Opinion

The Purpose of Education

By Theresa Ellis | May 9, 1996

One of the fundamental purposes of Dartmouth College is to educate men and women who have a high potential for making a significant positive impact on society -- so states the first sentence of the Dartmouth College Student Handbook.

Opinion

College must support community

The College has failed to live up to its commitment to fostering community at Dartmouth and to the College's Native American community by not allowing this year's annual pow-wow to take place on the Green. With an expected increase in attendance, it was necessary for this year's community celebration to be relocated from its usual site at the Bema.

Opinion

A Woman's Right to Choose has been Stigmatized by the Pro-Life Movement

By Amy L. Mclean | May 8, 1996

To the Editor: As a representative of the newly re-established Dartmouth Students for Choice group, I feel compelled to respond to Ellen Wight '97's column "Being Pro-choice and Anti-Abortion" [The Dartmouth, May 3]. I find it very unfortunate that somehow the term pro-choice has come to mean pro-death or pro-abortion in the minds of some of the "lost middle of Americans" that Wight refers to in her column, as the assumed antithesis of the term "pro-life." This has never been the case; the pro-choice movement has never advocated making abortion more widespread or less ethically serious.

Opinion

Questioning the Status Quo

By Debbie Carbonaro | May 8, 1996

What is tradition? Webster's dictionary defines tradition in part as "a long-established custom or practice that has the effect of an unwritten law." Apparently, Dartmouth defines the same term as "an aversion to change." This unfortunate reluctance to disrupt the accepted order of the world has recently manifested itself in the decision not to allow the Pow-Wow to be held on the Green.

Opinion

Honoring Out Obligations

By Andrew Garrod | May 7, 1996

"...Teachers superintend our intellectual and moral development and extend our capacity to lead humane and fruitful lives. Because the function of teachers is so fundamentally important, one of the great unfinished items on the agenda of this nation is the strengthening of the quality of teaching at all levels of education, and most especially in elementary and secondary schools.

Opinion

The Green is Common Social Space

By Kel | May 7, 1996

Last year's annual Pow-Wow, sponsored by Native Americans at Dartmouth successfully enriched the Dartmouth community as well as the Upper Valley community by increasing cultural diversity, heritage and education. As opposed to past Pow-Wows, the Pow-Wow was particularly successful in achieving its two goals: sharing Native culture, and providing an accurate depiction of Native American life.

Opinion

Being Pro-Life and Pro-Woman

By Jonathan R. Hurst | May 6, 1996

I am writing in response to Ellen Wight '97's column in The Dartmouth "Being Pro-Choice and Anti-Abortion" (May 3 ). She brings up a number of insightful observations, and it is only necessary to clarify a few of her underlying assumptions to better unravel the quandary of abortion. The first problem centers on the condition of viability.

Opinion

To Sleep or Not to Sleep

By Sam Bonderoff | May 6, 1996

Friends, there is nothing quite like the experience of staying up all night, is there? We all have our reasons for the all-nighters, and sure, sometimes it's all about homework and sometimes it's all about midterms.

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