Week in Review

Wednesday, October 23, 1996

Rush the Field

During halftime at the annual Homecoming game, Dartmouth freshmen have traditionally run down from the home stands, rushed across the football field, and stormed the opposing side's bleachers — in a frenzy of excitement commonly known as 'rushing the field.'

How times have changed. Now when students gather at the bottom of the freshmen bleachers, they are met by a phalanx of Hanover policemen. A College mole aims a videocamera at the crowd, zeroing in on masked freshmen so that field-rushers can be later identified and punished.

In past years, students who rush have been charged with trespassing on school property and fined $100. A Hanover policeman could not describe exactly what the charges would be this year, except to say that things 'would not go well [for the field-rusher].'

So, in an effort to counter the disciplinary juggernaut which stands poised to crush the school spirit from our pea-green freshmen, and to spur on would-be field rushers, The Dartmouth Review is offering this deal to the freshman class: For any '00 who rushes the field and is subsequently arrested, the bottomless coffers of this paper will pay the fine.

Anti-Papist

Last Friday night, Dartmouth Students for Choice sponsored a talk by Frances Kissling of Catholics for a Free Choice, entitled, 'Lost in the Pelvic Zone: Roman Catholic Opposition to Reproductive Rights.' In addition to announcing such devastating revelations as 'the Roman Catholic Church is a religion,' Ms. Kissling also informed the audience that the Church 'has zero sympathy for women's lives.' 'The Church,' quoth she, 'is run by people with two qualifications —?you have to be male, and you've got to promise not to have sex.'

One of Ms. Kissling's main targets was the Pope, who she said has fought consistently to curtail the basic human entitlements of 'family planning, sterilization, abortion, and gay rights.' Ms. Kissling likened the Pope to a president of a vast, impersonal corporation, whereas she views the 'Church as a family; not a corporation.'

Just another example of your College tuition money going to good use.

Rush Numbers

Rush numbers for both fraternities and sororities went up compared to last fall, though fewer women actually pledged this year compared to last.

Over 260 women rushed, versus 220 last year. But only around 160 accepted their bids. Kappa Kappa Gamma took 35 new sisters. Delta Delta Delta and Epsilon Kappa Theta each took 32. Sigma Delta has 30 new sisters, and Kappa Delta Epsilon has 28. Only three women sank their bids at Delta Gamma, though over 30 bids at DG are outstanding.

Fraternity rush numbers were unavailable, but 229 men accepted bids this year, up 29 from last year. Chi Heorot and Alpha Delta had 31 sinks. Sigma Phi Epsilon took 30 new members. Chi Gamma Epsilon and Theta Delta Chi each added 23 pledges. Sigma Alpha Epsilon took 18. Alpha Chi Alpha accepted 16, Zeta Psi, 15, and Psi Upsilon, 14. Sigma Nu added 8 pledges, while Gamma Delta Chi added 6. Bones Gate and Phi Delta Alpha each gained 5 pledges. Kappa Kappa Kappa took 4.

Beta Theta Pi is currently suspended and was prohibited from holding rush this fall.

Mascot Murmurs: A Common Trademark?

In light of the recent buzz to replace the College's 'Big Green' symbol, a discussion Tuesday night sponsored by the African-American Society quickly turned to the Indian symbol. One junior, an American Indian himself, said that the Indian mascot symbolized the 'dehumanization that allowed for the destruction and theft of the Indians' land' by Europeans and noted that 'it trivialized being Native American.'

The moderator used the Indian as an example to make her point, saying, 'the mascot is one example of the subtle and pervasive racism' on campus. Another speaker likened Dartmouth's former Indian symbol to 'common trademarks' like 'Aunt Jemima.'

As the discussion turned to alternatives to a human symbol for the College, the aforementioned junior declared his opposition to an animal mascot, saying, 'Yeah, I think that it is offensive to [have a bear mascot], but I got to pick my battles.'

Bollinger to Leave?

Dartmouth College Provost Lee Bollinger was reported by the Detroit Free Press to be on the 'short list' of five nominees for the presidency of the University of Michigan, though a restraining order issued by the Michigan Supreme Court has prevented the University from officially releasing the list.

The Court found the University's search for a president in violation of the state's Open Meetings Act. The short list was to have been released on Monday, along with a list of the University's original 300 nominees. Bollinger left his job as the president of the University of Michigan Law School when he came to Dartmouth in 1994.

Bequests

The College received the largest bequest in its history last week from the estate of a widow whose husband attended Dartmouth for but one semester in 1937. The donation amounted to $18.1 million, with the stipulation that it be spent to improve the College's undergraduate education.

The gift was donated from the estate of Florence Moore, of Centerport, N.Y., in honor of her husband Lansing Moore '37 who died in 1990. Mrs. Moore died three years later. The money will be used in part to finance construction of a new Psychology building, which will be called Moore Hall in the late Mr. Moore's honor.

The remainder of the Moore estate, valued at roughly $180 million, was donated to The Dartmouth Review.

Excelling

In other financial news, the College's five-year Will to Excel capital campaign drew to a close on October 7. The summary of the fund drive, released Tuesday, indicated that Will to Excel was the most successful fundraising effort in the College's history.

The campaign raised just under $570 million from over 59,000 donors. The money will be used to finance scholarships, hire more professors, and expand and improve the College's graduate schools.

The campaign's success boosted the College's athletic endowment to over $7.5 million. $50 million was donated by the Berry family to pay for construction of the new Berry Library addition to Baker. Donations earmarked for undergraduate financial aid totaled over $50 million, while the arts and sciences received a $200 million boost.

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