Dartblog

I am asked this question all the time and, frankly, I am mystified by it. Parents all over America work on their kids’ school PTA, and they coach in local sports associations, serve on zoning boards, send in letters to the editor about municipal matters, give money to their college, and volunteer endlessly in other areas — yet when I choose to spend some time highlighting in print the ways in which Dartmouth could/should be improved, people are at a loss to understand my motivation. Exactly how are my actions different from these other activities? Perhaps there are no other alums doing this kind of thing at the College, but that is all the more reason to fill a void.

I have audited undergraduate classes and discussion groups for fifteen years, and in doing so I have gotten to know a large number of students and faculty members. Over the years, I’ve acquired a fair bit of experience in the running of businesses large and small. Nothing unusual or special there, but I came to realize that this background gives me a perspective that is different from that of most other observers of the College. And so it seemed natural to share my perceptions about Dartmouth: first with about 30 columns in the D between 2001-2009, and now on Dartblog.

I don’t find that conduct strange. Wouldn’t you do the same if you perceived that an institution that you cared about was losing its way?

Clearly Dartmouth is at a crossroads. Whether you agree with the people who ran as petition candidates or not, they touched a nerve for the many thousands of alumni who supported them. If crowds possess any wisdom at all, at least some of these candidates’ critical observations about the College are correct.

Strange for me are the boosters on the Alumni Council and the various losing candidates in alumni trustee races, all of who can’t seem to allow themselves to say anything critical about the College — anything at all. They don’t help Dartmouth with their slavish praise, yet they are certainly too smart to believe that all is perfect in Hanover. The more interesting question for me is why these people act as they do.