Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/2003/10/23/the_college_pules.php
Thursday, October 23, 2003
April 28, 2003
Thor L. Halvorssen
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
210 West Washington Square, Suite 303
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Dear Mr. Halvorssen:
Thank you for your letter of April 23 to President James Wright, which has been forwarded to me. We appreciate your bringing your concerns about the distribution of publications at Dartmouth to our attention.
Freedom of expression, whether through the distribution of publications or other channels, is an important value at Dartmouth. As stated in the College's policy on Freedom of Expression and Dissent, "Dartmouth College prizes and defends the right of free speech . . . . The College ... both fosters and protects the rights of individuals to express dissent." As an academic community, we are dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge and the robust exchange of ideas.
Contrary to your assertions, there is no "policy restricting freedom of the press at Dartmouth College," and the Dartmouth Review is not being treated selectively or unfairly. The installation of an electronic door-locking system and the desire to reduce litter in College residence halls recently led the College to review its procedures concerning distribution of solicited and unsolicited printed material. Under a procedure scheduled to go into effect this summer, all solicited material—e.g., newspapers or journals to which a student subscribes—may be delivered directly to a student's door by a delivery person who will have key-card access to the residence hall. Thus, like the New York Times, The Dartmouth Review will be able to deliver to any student subscriber's door. For unsolicited materials, the College will designate distribution areas at appropriate locations (e.g., lobbies) within residence halls. The College will be installing tables where such publications may be placed for student pick-up. These distribution areas will be available to both "on-campus" publications (such as journals published by recognized student organizations) and "off-campus" publications (such as the Dartmouth Review). Thus, under the procedure to be instituted this summer, The Dartmouth Review will be free to distribute to both subscribers and non-subscribers on the same basis as any other publication.
Until the new procedure takes effect, The Dartmouth Review will be permitted to continue door-to-door distribution to non-subscribers.
Please note that the new procedure described above makes no distinction between "on-campus" and "off-campus" publications. Should the volume of unsolicited material become more than the College can accommodate at the residence hall distribution areas, we may need to consider reserving those areas for publications of recognized student organizations. At the present time, however, we do not anticipate having to impose such a limitation, and we have no plans to do so.
I hope this information addresses your concerns. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
cc:James Wright
James Larimore
Martin Redman
Holly Sateia
Michael Gazzaniga
Cheryl Reynolds
Yours very truly,
[Signed]
Robert B. Donin
[Chief Council, Dartmouth College]