What Dartmouth Knows— And What It Doesn't

Wednesday, May 15, 1996

Editor's Note: Over the past two weeks, Review staffers have solicited student reponses to the examination which appears below. To ensure that student response was not biased by knowledge of the exam's sponsor, staffers were instructed not to divulge their connection to The Dartmouth Review, nor did the quiz itself give any indication of a connection to this paper. At right is a chart indicating participation in the exam by class. At far right is the examination sheet used. Below are the questions which appeared on the examination, along with the correct answers and the percentage of students who answered each question correctly. Included in the exam were some pop culture questions. In the bar graphs at below-right, students' score on these questions are contrasted with their score on corresponding questions about the Western Canon. Also below are sample incorrect answers and a chart of students' score on three Western Canon questions broken down by class.

Survey Questions

1. What famous brothers founded Rome?

Romulus and Remus (61.4%)

2. Name one lawyer from the 'Scopes Monkey Trial.'

Clarence Darrow or William Jennings Bryan (29.9%)

3. What woman was the cause of the Trojan War?

Helen (82.5%)

4. Name one lawyer from the O.J. Simmpson trial.

Johnny Cochran, Robert Shapiro, Marcia Clark, Christopher Darden,
F. Lee Bailey, Alan Dershowitz (88.8%)

5. What woman was the original star of MTV's 'House of Style?'

Cindy Crawford (71.2%)

6. Name three of the four members of the Beatles.

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr (85.8%)

7. Who composed the symphony with a movement known as 'Ode to Joy?'

Beethoven (54.2%)

8. What famous brothers were just convicted of parricide (killing their parents)?

Lyle and Erik Menendez (87.1%)

9. Name three of the twelve apostles.

Judas, James, Peter, John, Matthew, James, Simon (called Peter), Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Thaddius (35.3%)

10. What trio sings 'Waterfalls?'

TLC or T-Boz, Left-Eye, and Chili (74.5%)

11. Name the three authors of The Federalist Papers.

John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison (12.9%)

12. In the Iliad, who leads the Argives?

Agamemnon (9.3%)

13. What English King signed the Magna Carta?

King John (27.7%)

14. Who was the villain in Oliver Twist?

Fagan (11.5%)

15. Who painted the 'Birth of Venus' ca. 1482?

Botticelli (30.4%)

16. Who composed Don Giovanni?

Mozart (32.3%)

17. What Shakesperean character demanded a 'pound of flesh' in repayment for a debt?

Shylock (25.2%)

18. Who wrote Faust?

Goethe (25.5%)

19. What are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (The Torah)?

Genesis, Exodus, Liviticus, Deuteronomy, Numbers (30.4%)

20. What amendment to the Constitution reads: 'The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.'

VIII (12.6%)

Survey Statistics

Number of Respondents: 361
out of a possible 3,598
students on campus this term.

Class of 96: 48
Class of 97: 64
Class of 98: 66
Class of 99: 139
No Class noted: 44

Sample Incorrect Answers

#1: Castor and Pollux; Julius and Augustus Caesar

#2: Darwin; Daniel Webster

#11: John Locke; Aaron Burr; Thomas Jefferson; 'They had pseudonyms'

#12: Jason; Homer

#18: Dante; Hitler

What Dartmouth Knows— And What It Doesn't

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