Letters to the Editor

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Readers Blast Redman

Sirs,

I read some of your articles online about the new 'no newspaper delivery in the dorms' policy, and about the new ID-swipe entry into the dorms, and I'm more than a little alarmed. These are brazen, undisguised, unrepentant attacks on free speech and privacy. I felt compelled to write to Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman expressing my dissent. Thank you for standing up for fundamental principles.

Sincerely,

Bryan Bergert '97

Dear Mr. Redman,

I'm an alumnus, a '97, and I've been a little out of touch with what's been going on at Dartmouth since I left, but I came across a bit of news today—I guess it's old news to you—that really troubles me.

It seems that ORL, or whoever designs the policies regarding the openness of the dorms, has failed to give open dorms as an end in itself the proper weight in mulling over the decision. I'm referring specifically to the policy which now (or soon) prohibits the delivery of newspapers to dorm rooms, and the even more troubling policy which keeps dorms locked and accessible only by swiping an ID.

These policies share a fundamental lack of respect for openness on campus and for the extremely important free exchange of ideas which is the foundation of any academy. The ban on the delivery of newspapers is the most obviously appalling of the two, since it is a direct attack on the exchange of ideas and serves no other purpose than to directly limit such an exchange. There can be no justification for it: the idea, which I've come across, that students need or desire privacy in the hallways of their dorms, is a smokescreen. If a student can rightfully claim to be 'offended', in a legal way, by the delivery of a paper, it would seem that such offense could be taken at the utterance of any remark he or she does not agree with in the course of the day. The bottom line is that the College must not cater to such thin-skinned people's demands by silencing possibly offensive views. If it does, the free exchange of ideas will suffer, with all the problems outlined by John Stuart Mill in his classic 'On Liberty.'

If the ban on newspaper delivery is more obvious, the cyber-policing of dorm comings and goings by ID swiping is the more insidious of the two policies. If 'privacy in the hallways of dormitories' is the goal of the ban on newspaper deliveries, that objective seems to have been forgotten by the time we get to the new ID swiping policy. If I were at Dartmouth today, I would surely object to having to carry an ID around to get into buildings. I'm leery of having to swipe my ID at the gym here at Indiana University. Having to swipe it at every step of the way through my day would make me feel extremely uncomfortable. I do not like there being a database somewhere with all my movements from the last two years being probed and prodded. Talk about an invasion of privacy. It doesn't get much worse than monitoring all one's physical movements. Those are tactics usually reserved for suspects of crimes or parolees, not law-abiding Dartmouth students.

Even before the frenzy and panic surrounding September 11th and the passage of the USA-PATRIOT bill, surveillance was gradually seeping into use across the country. It's already well-established in Great Britain. See this article from the New York Times Magazine for a rundown: http://www.lib.duke.edu/egr/watchfulstate.html.

Obviously, our desire for security has increased, and this increase has not been matched by an increased desire for civil liberties. We are more eager than ever to trade a little freedom for a little security. Our national parks service has already installed closed-circuit TV surveillance systems in our national parks and monuments, searching for suspicious briefcases or bearded men. A city in Florida (that I hopefully will never visit) already has full video surveillance of its downtown in place. In my opinion, such a strategy is short-sighted and knee-jerky. It addresses problems in a reactionary way, instead of looking at underlying problems and trying to fix them instead. It also fundamentally lacks any respect for civil liberties (privacy being among them) and the principle of 'innocent until proven guilty' and thus has no place in a democracy.

I do not want this country to go down this dark road toward a police state, so obviously when Dartmouth seems to be leading the way, it gives me pause. The USA PATRIOT Act has already taken us, de facto, back to McCarthyism and a Communist (now terrorist) scare, in which we look suspiciously at our neighbors and question people's 'patriotism.' Dartmouth should look at the bigger picture and lead by example, upholding important principles instead of giving in to the climate of fear currently rampant.

Please think of some other solution than ID card swiping to secure the dorms, if added security is needed. And for heaven's sake, don't limit the distribution of newspapers in the dorms.

Thank you for your time. I'd welcome the opportunity to discuss this further, if you care for me to elaborate on anything.

Sincerely,

Bryan Bergert '97

P.S. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), based in Washington, D.C., has an excellent on-line repository of information about all kinds of electronic privacy issues. I would recommend consulting their website for "the other side of the story" when formulating ORL policy at Dartmouth. EPIC can be found online at http://www.epic.org.

Sirs,

Alarmed though I was, I enjoyed Mr. Scholer's article on the suppression of free speech at Dartmouth. As he mentions, the College's policy of banning dormitory delivery of free newspapers adversely affects not only The Dartmouth Review, but also the Free Press and the Jack-O-Lantern. It also negatively impacts students' ability to access information and formulate their own informed opinions. It is, in short, censorship. So much for freedom of the press.

Signed,

A Concerned Alum

Freshman Wants To Join Staff

Sirs,

Hey you dirty bastards, how can I get a column in your newspaper? I think I could enjoy taking some jabs at those delusional pinko pseudo communist liberals that [sic] dominate this school. What's my experience? I got an perfect verbal score on the SAT. That's good enough.

Kenyon T. Blomquist '06

Sirs,

Ah, perhaps you will remember me. I would think that you should; it seems that my previous letter generated quite the discussion in your circle. I meant no disrespect in my address of you as a 'bastard,' it just seems to me a reflection of the fine quality of your newspaper and the policy it has adopted of not censoring any of the language.

Be that as it may, I am quite disappointed that I have not yet received my Indian T-Shirt, or the information I requested on writing for the Review. In case you have forgotten, I wear a Large and my Hinman Box number is 196, so you can just put it in there.

As for my interest in contributing to the Review, I can only assure you that I bring the highest qualifications possible for an'06. I have only standardized test scores to provide you evidence of my writing capabilities, in such forms as AP and SAT.

I got an 800 on the Verbal section of the SAT and an 800 on the Writing section of the SAT II. This is better than your score, by quite a margin. I have also scored a 5 on both the English Composition and Literature tests, if there was any remaining doubt.

To assuage the feelings of inferiority I'm sure you are experiencing at this point, I will remind you that *you* are in the position to provide me with an assignment, not the other way around. Thus, you hold some insignificant amount of power over me. I suppose that you could be sadistic, and deny me the position that I seek, but that's okay, because I am a masochist.

Which reminds me of a funny joke:

'What did the sadist say when the masochist said,'Beat me! Beat me!'?'

'No.'

I'm sure you found that as funny as I did.

In fact, if you ever feel the desire to resign your position as Editor, feel free to leave it to me. Otherwise I will have to take it by sheer will and determination (not to mention good looks and charm.) As I mentioned to one of my peers, I will own the newspaper if I so choose, so your decision cannot stop me, only delay the inevitable.

Well, my fellow conservative, I think that it nears the time to draw to a close. Remember, that's a Large in HB 196. If you don't respond, I will assume it is because you don't want to shame yourself with your meek writing ability; don't fret, I won't tell anyone.

Lovingly,

Kenyon T. Blomquist

The Editor Responds: Thanks for your enthusiasm. Your zany voice is what this publication has been lacking. Where have you been all my life? I suppose I should invite you to our weekly meetings: The staff meets Fridays at 3 A.M. behind Stinson's. Bring a change of clothes.

Praise for Prof. Bradley

Sirs,

During a bout with procrastination in the office, I happened to find my way to your website. It was with much interest that I read your annual article on the Best and Worst of Dartmouth professors. Though I disagree with some of your choices (despite the fact that I consider my politcal/fiscal views somewhat middle of the road, and certainly far to the right of Leo Spitzer's, I did find him to be an engaging and knowlegable professor in the three classes—History of South Africa, Comparative Third World History, and Representing the Holocaust—that I took with him), I couldn't help but write in to enthusiastically second your choice of Edward Bradley of the Classics Department as one of Dartmouth's best.

As a History major at the College, I had my share of terrific teachers—Ken Shewmaker and Annelise Orleck spring to mind—but I do believe that the single best professor I had the privilege to learn from in Hanover was Professor Bradley, with whom I took the History and Politics of the Classical World and Epics of Greece and Rome. It is rare for a professor to be as engaging with his introductory classes as he is with his advanced students, but I found that Professor Bradley gave equally to all of us of his wisdom and wit. Never was I more challenged, and never was the challenge more worth it.

In the last few years, I have found myself returning to the same 'good friends' that Professor Bradley introduced me to—Herodotus, Virgil, and Thucydides, among others—in much the way that Professor Bradley probably suspected that I would. In my humble opinion, Professor Bradley was, and remains, the epitome of what a professor at the College ought to be. To pass through Dartmouth without the benefit of his instruction is to waste a marvelous and unique opportunity.

Bravo, you made a terrific choice.

With best wishes,

Dhruv A. Prasad, '99

Mea Culpa

Sirs,

Your Profs review would be much more useful if you reviewed profs who are still at Dartmouth. While thick skulls may never see the light, they do become irrelevant.

Richard K. Harvell

The Editor Responds: We apologize for our oversights and will work to ensure that our future lists feature professors who teach at Dartmouth and are not dead.

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