A Tangled Web: John McWilliams Works His Way through the Bureaucracy

By John McWilliams | Wednesday, April 23, 1997

Last week, my Review superiors gave me an assignment concerning student fines. All I had to do was contact each individual dean and ask them all about student fines. We suspected that Dartmouth levied fines that were substantially higher than those at other Ivy League institutions. I had to get to the bottom of this, and I wasted no time picking up the phone and talking to every administrator.

However, my investigation quickly took a bizarre twist. Every administrator that I called referred me to another administrator, and those administrators referred me to other administrators in their department. Sooner or later, these adminstrators would transfer me full circle to the adminstrators whom I initially called. Reponses like 'I don't think I'm in the position to answer that. I'll refer you to someone else' or 'I'm the wrong person for that question, but I'll gladly transfer you to the person who can help you out' were commonplace. Only once did someone cut to the chase and refuse to talk to me or answer my questions.

We wondered how often administrators constantly passed the buck among themselves, so I was handed the phone number and name of the lowest administrator in every department. Calling every administrator, I would ask them a variation on one simple question, 'Why are the fines at Dartmouth so much higher than at other schools?' If they couldn't answer me, I asked for the names of their superiors. Then, I called these administators, asking them for their superiors. This process would continue until I got the highest adminisrator at the department. I felt like Sherlock Holmes — I would expose the Dartmouth bureacracy and reveal it as a source of inefficiency.

The first person I called was Leslie Boucher, an adminstrative assistant in the Dash office.

Over the phone, I began, 'Hi, my name is John McWilliams, and I'm with The Dartmouth Review. I'm doing a story on student fines, and I was wondering if you could answer a few questions?'

'Ahh, okay,' Boucher replied.
'Why are the parking fines at Dartmouth higher than the parking fines at other Ivy League institutions?'

'Uh, I don't think I'm in the position to answer that question.'

'Is there someone else whom I could talk to, perhaps your superior?'

'Oh, yes. William Barr.'

'Is he your superior?'

'Yes.'

'What's his position?'

' He is the Associate Director of Administrative Services.'

'Okay, is there anyone who he is responsible to?'

'Yes. His boss is Marcia Colligan ...'

'And what's her position?'

'Director of Administrative Services and Risk Management. Would you like me to connect you to her office?'

'That'll be fine, ma'am. You have a nice day.'

'Okay, bye.'

After some research, I found out that Marcia Colligan answers to Lyn Hutton, Vice President and Treasurer of the College.

The next person I spoke with was Janette Montgomery, the administrator in the DA$H office. I asked the same questions, and Miss Montgomery mentioned the same pattern of people to whom she is responsible.

My next target was the Office of Residential Life. The first person I called was Betsy Eaton, the Director of Commencement and Reunion Housing.

'Hello, Mrs. Eaton. My name is John McWilliams, and I'm from The Dartmouth Review. I'm doing a story on student fines, and I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me,' I said over the telephone.

'Student Fines?,' Mrs. Eaton replied.

'Student Fines. Yes, student fines.'

'F-I-N-E-S.'

'Yes.'

'I don't think you have the right office... You maybe want to ask Lyn Rosenbloom and the Office of Residential Life.'

'Okay. What's your position, by the way?

'This office is open four months out of the year, and I'm in charge of housing for parents during Commencement and alumni during reunions.'

'Who's your superior?'

'Lyn Rosenbloom.'

'Okay, I'll try to contact her then. Thank you.'

'Bye bye.'

I called Lyn Rosenbloom's office, but I got her secretary. After much waiting, she told me that Lyn Rosenbloom was busy.

'Well, what's Lyn Rosenbloom's position at ORL?,' I asked.

'She is the the Director of Housing Services,' the secretary replied.

'Who is she responsible to?'

'Bud Beatty.'

'And what's his title?'

'He's the Associate Dean of Residential Life.'

'Who's Bud Beatty's superior?'

'Dean Mary Turco.'

'And her position?'

'Dean of Residential Life.'

I called Dean Turco's office, and she was on vacation. Through research, I was able to determine that Dean Turco is responsible to M. Lee Pelton, the Dean of the College.

The next employee I called at ORL was Emily Farnham, ORL's Fiscal Officer. However, Ann Betters, her Administrative Assistant, picked up the phone. Mrs. Betters told me that Ms. Farnham was on vacation and Farnham's superior was Dean Mary Turco.

Next, I tried to reach Bernard Haskell, Assistant Director of Residential Operation at ORL. I later found out that Bernard Haskell has a co-worker by the name of Catherine Henault, another Assistant Director of Residential Operations. When I called Mr. Haskell's number, Ann Betters picked up the phone again, and told me that Bernard Haskell was out of the office. Haskell reports to David Eckels, Director of Residential Operations at ORL. Mr. Eckels was on vacation and couldn't be reached. David Eckels is responsible to Dean Bud Betty.

Unbelievable, ain't it?

My next target was Dick's House. I called an employee by the name of Bart Bingenheimer. Is this Mr. Bart Bingenheimer?,' I said.

'Yes, it is,' Mr. Bingenheimer replied.

'Hello, my name is John McWilliams, and I'm calling from The Dartmouth Review. I'm doing a story on student fines, and I was wondering if I can ask you some questions.'

'Well, I would like to, but I have two students in my office right now I'm meeting with.'

'Okay, ummm, who do you report to? Maybe, I can contact him or her.'

'I have two supervisors — they are Gabrielle Lucke and Linda Kennedy.'

'And what are their positions?'

'Gabrielle is the Director of Health Resources, and Linda is the Director of Student Activities.'

'What's your position?'

'I'm the co-ordinator of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Programming and the co-ordinator of the Peer Education programming.'

'Okay, thank you.'

'Bye.'

I decided to contact Gabrielle Lucke because Linda Kennedy was listed in another department of the College. Miss Lucke wasn't available, but through her secretary, I found out that Miss Lucke is responsibe to Dr. John Turco, the Director of Health Services at Dartmouth College.

This practically ended my Monday afternoon adventure into bureacratic land at Dartmouth — since most of these departmnets close at 4:30 P.M. I could include the names and positions of countless other administrators to whom I talked, but I have a limited amount of space.

After hanging up the phone for the last time, I laughed to myself, wondering how many employees it takes to run a department. Does a segment of my tuition fund the bureacracy that I encountered?

But although I was amused, I was also exhausted. It's tough work getting the run-around all day long.

A Tangled Web: John McWilliams Works His Way through the Bureaucracy

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