Dartmouth Class of 1966

Sometimes the administration can't get out of the way of itself

Latest DAM has some good news - no '66ers listed as deceased recently. Keep up the good work.

Dartmouth Will Oppose Its Basketball Team Union
Hanover, N.H.
By Sian L. Beilock
You could be forgiven for mistaking March Madness, college
basketball’s celebrated tournament, for a professional sporting
event. Yet the performance obscures
two realities: First, not all college
sports are the same. There is a wide
disparity between Divisions I, II and
III, and even within Division I itself.
Second, athletics plays different
roles at different institutions. At
many, varsity athletics is a means to
a well-rounded education, not the
end itself.
That is Dartmouth’s model: We
organize teams not to sell tickets but
because athletics contribute to our
students’ educational experience.
Our men’s basketball team wishes to
change that and, on March 5, voted
to unionize. Dartmouth disagrees,
and we’ll go all the way to the Supreme Court if that’s what it takes to
prevent this misguided development
from taking hold.
Our resistance to the decision
isn’t because we oppose labor
unions. Dartmouth has more than
1,500 union employees across five
unions—including campus services
employees, library workers, and
teaching and research assistants—all
of whom we are proud to work with
through collective bargaining. Our
goal, instead, is to preserve nonprofessional collegiate athletics in the
Ivy League.
Many schools are built to optimize revenue in today’s billion-dollar
college sports industry. For these
schools, National Collegiate Athletic
Association President Charlie Baker’s
proposal that athletes receive direct
payments for their contribution may
make sense. Perhaps in these circumstances where college athletic
programs are run, managed and
monetized like a professional sports
league, unions do too. But that isn’t
Dartmouth, nor is it the Ivy League.
Dartmouth’s men’s basketball
program doesn’t sell out arenas,
make millions on television deals,
pay its coach a fortune, or run a
program that enables its players to
cash in on major name, image and
likeness endorsement deals facilitated by collectives and donors.
That’s OK, because we aren’t trying
to turn a profit with sports. Athletics are an important part of our students’ academic experience. Alongside courses in philosophy and
neuroscience, our athletes learn
about overcoming failure, developing as leaders and working toward
common objectives.
Professionalizing our sports programs would fundamentally alter
one of the tenets of our collegiate
arrangement. The Ivy League was
founded as an athletic conference
on the principle that academics is
the priority. Students don’t receive
athletic scholarships; they are
awarded financial aid based on
need alone. We announced last
month that starting next academic
year, it will cost no more than
$5,000 a year to attend Dartmouth
for all qualified undergraduate students from families with typical assets less than $125,000.
Whether students choose to enhance their collegiate experience
through varsity sports has no bearing on their financial aid, course of
study or ability to pursue a successful career. If we moved to a professionalized model by which we give
athletic scholarships or pay students
for their time playing, our focus on
their education and how we financially support those who need it
would become subsumed by their
role as employees.
Professionalizing our men’s basketball team would undermine Dartmouth’s academic mission of educating students to become influential
leaders. Only a handful of our tens of
thousands of graduates have gone on
to become professional athletes.
While we are proud of their achievements, our objective isn’t to become
a pipeline to the National Basketball
Association. Sports are a part of our
educational experience because they
help produce collaborative citizens
and future leaders. Employing students for something that should
complement their student life would
distort their educational experience
beyond recognition.
Such a change also ignores the
lessons we’ve learned about the benefits of athletics in education and
could potentially curtail athletic participation more broadly. I was a
competitive soccer player growing
up and brought my love of sports
into my career as a cognitive scientist. My research on athletics’ effects
on the brain has shown that sports
can be a powerful complement to a
rigorous classroom education, from
teaching us how to practice to perform at our best to learning how to
tune out distractions that would otherwise cause us to choke under pressure. Yet if our college were to turn
toward a professional-athlete model,
sports would become the outcome
rather than an element of the educational experience. Participation likewise may fall, as sports become simply one job among many and the
athlete-coach dynamic is displaced
by a boss-employee paradigm.
When our men’s basketball team
voted to unionize, we could have accepted the result. We could have begun the collective-bargaining process as Dartmouth has done in every
other instance of unionization on
campus. But a leader must always
ask: Is there a principle worth defending, even if doing so is difficult
or unpopular? To preserve the integrity of Ivy League athletics and for
students who are also athletes everywhere, the answer is a resounding yes.
Ms. Beilock is president of Dartmouth College.
WSJ 4-13-2024

With everyone else preparing for the road trip to DC this month I was lurking around facebook and found a familiar looking photo reminiscent of our past. Are we surprised that there is still a college group that is strictly male - the Dartmouth Aires https://www.facebook.com/DartmouthAires

(for those who have a WSJ subscription):
Dartmouth President Sian Bioleck lauded for keeping free speech dialogue tolerant. 2-20-2024 edition

Opinion | How Dartmouth Keeps Its Cool Its president has a commitment to free speech and dialogue.

Big wheel on campus

Did we all feel that those '68ers were from a different planet and maybe we wanted to be there too?

The Buckaroo Effect How a zany cult movie by director W.D. Richter ’68 reverberates 40 years later

Gregor McGregor '66 is highlighted in the current issue of the Concord MA newspaper 'The Bridge' as his law firm is taking on Massport's plans to expand Hansom AF Base in nearby Bedford MA.
https://theconcordbridge.org/index.php/2024/01/17/concord-presses-massport-for-documents-on-hanscom-expansion/
Gregor's environmental firm, McGregor Legere & Stevens is leading the fight against expansion of hangars that serve owners of private aircraft using the base.

Latest Dartmouth Alumni Magazine leads the letters section with a nice tribute and anecdote of Buddy Teevens by '66er Dave Tucker.
https://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/issue/20240101/table-of-contents
The DAM mag cover story highlights 'Mindfulness.' The New Yorker of October 23, 2023 reviewed the self-help book : ' How to Build the Life You Want: The Art of Getting Happier,' by Arthur Brooks:
"'Build' The imperative rules supreme. 'Start by working on your toughness.' no sweat. 'Take your grand vision of improvement and humble ambition to be part of it in a specific way and execute accordingly. Check. 'Rebel against your shame.' Done. 'Widen your conflict-resolution repertoire.' Ka-Pow! 'Treat your walks, prayer time and gym sessions as if they were meeting with the president.' Which President? 'Journal your experiences and feelings over the course of the day.' Since when did journal turn into a transitive verb? 'Dig into the extensive and growing technology and literature on mindfulness.' Sorry. I was miles away. What? Above all, 'Remember: You are your own CEO.' Holy moly. Do I have to wear a suit to brush my teeth?"
- review by Anthony Lane

Issue Table of Contents

Dartmouth College FY 2023 Endowment Results

Winning it for the Coach Buddy Teevans.
Dartmouth Football shares Ivy League Co-championship with Harvard & Yale

Great tailgating at Harvard Stadium 11-11-23, for the Dartmouth - Cornell - Harvard swimming & diving tri-meet. The D dolfins almost beat Harvard in a closely contested womens meet. It was great competition for the women to be on a par with the other Ivys. The men were in the stands heartily cheering along their female teammates.
The reunion 55th scarf kept me warm and was the highlight of the tailgate photo. Someone asked if I was in the class of '99.
- Ed Larner

Current alumni magazine lists 66 Reasons to love Dartmouth.
Of course, there needs a '66 grad to honor, our own Skip Battle:

A BIG BOOST FOR FIRST GENS
As the number of first-generation College students continues to grow (they make up 18% of the class of 2027), so has the effort to help them. A multi-million dollar gift from Skip Battle '66 funds a four-person office led by Jay Davis '90 that offers a range of assistance to first-gen students and alumni. Its latest offering a post-college transition program that launched last September."

Giving back is nothing new for Skip as his name is appropriately on the 'Battle Field' at the Rugby facilities. He also was a major donor for the endownment of the Class of 1967 Duncan Sleigh Fund for Veterans undergraduates. Duncan was a Skip's fraternity brother who earned a post-humous Navy Cross in Vietnam. Other Dartmouth projects have his name on them, too numerous to mention. His devotion Dartmouth is legend. As a First Gen member of our class Skip is rightly proud.

The new Dartmouth President was a psychology professor at the University of Chicago before becoming President of Columbia's Barnard College. A recent article in the June 19th New Yorker notes her role in the up and down baseball career of former Red Sox fireball pitcher Daniel Bard. Bard says, ' I thought of something the cognitive scientist Sian Beilock, who has written about the yips and performance anxiety, told me: “We have to get away from the idea that the goal is to feel comfortable.” We can be hopeful that leadership in Hanover won't be always looking at excuses for mistakes and missteps.

Daniel Bard Made an Improbable Comeback. Then He Had to Do It Again The Rockies pitcher overcame mysterious control problems to return to the major leagues, but the problems weren’t gone for good.

Ben Day and Jim Lustenader are supporting the following petition to cancel the dormitory being proposed 1.5 miles from the Green on the golf course that the College closed during COVID:

The Class of 1977 has launched a petition that asks incoming Dartmouth President Sian Beilock to abandon the golf course dorm project, about which you may have read in our last Along Route '66 newsletter. The link to the petition is:

/www.change.org/KeepDartmouthWalkable



To summarize the situation, the College has recently received permission from the Hanover Zoning Board to build a 400-bed residential complex on Lyme Rd., site of the former golf course that was closed during Covid for supposed “financial reasons” and about 1.5 miles from the Green. Despite opposition from many faculty members, homeowners and alums, the project is proceeding to move through the process of getting design approval from the Hanover Planning Board, after which it will be good to go with some anticipated refinements.



In a recent article in the Valley News, Phil Hanlon stated that he was looking forward to retirement and being just a Hanover resident who could help the new president and the community come to some kind of resolution on student housing. However, if the Lyme Rd. dorm project comes to fruition, there will be no going back, and little room for compromise. There are alternatives and now is the time to force their consideration.



President Beilock is in charge as of June 12, and has said that she is open to dialogue on any issue. Please look at this petition and sign it if you believe that the idea of Dartmouth’s becoming a commuter campus is totally out of line with the College’s historic character and will deny future students the casual teacher-scholar interactions and easy access to resources that make this place special.

The Class of 1977 has launched a petition that asks incoming Dartmouth President Sian Beilock to abandon the golf course dorm project, about which you may have read in our last Along Route '66 newsletter. The link to the petition is:

https://www.change.org/KeepDartmouthWalkable
To summarize the situation, the College has recently received permission from the Hanover Zoning Board to build a 400-bed residential complex on Lyme Rd., site of the former golf course that was closed during Covid for supposed “financial reasons” and about 1.5 miles from the Green. Despite opposition from many faculty members, homeowners and alums, the project is proceeding to move through the process of getting design approval from the Hanover Planning Board, after which it will be good to go with some anticipated refinements.

In a recent article in the Valley News, Phil Hanlon stated that he was looking forward to retirement and being just a Hanover resident who could help the new president and the community come to some kind of resolution on student housing. However, if the Lyme Rd. dorm project comes to fruition, there will be no going back, and little room for compromise. There are alternatives and now is the time to force their consideration.

President Beilock is in charge as of June 12, and has said that she is open to dialogue on any issue. Please look at this petition and sign it if you believe that the idea of Dartmouth’s becoming a commuter campus is totally out of line with the College’s historic character and will deny future students the casual teacher-scholar interactions and easy access to resources that make this place special.

The Class of 1977 has launched a petition that asks incoming Dartmouth President Sian Beilock to abandon the golf course dorm project, about which you may have read in our last Along Route '66 newsletter. The link to the petition is:



https://www.change.org/KeepDartmouthWalkable

Sign the Petition A Walk Across the Green or a Shuttle Bus?

The Legendary Breakfast Spot That Hasn’t Changed Since 1947 Breaking news and analysis from the U.S. and around the world at WSJ.com. Politics, Economics, Markets, Life & Arts, and in-depth reporting.

Cambridge natives Matt Damon and Casey Affleck took over City Hall Plaza today to shoot their newest cinematic adventure, 'The Instigators' 🎬🌟

📸: bit.ly/3KgRzhn

Kudos to Larry Geiger, our class newsletter editor for many years, for reprinting all the COVID era newsletters on the current online version of Class Notes

Anyone missing the old Dewey card system? How about the world being a simpler place?

2022's Homecoming attendees:
Inspired by mini-reunion chair Al Keiller, more than 20 classmates participated in Homecoming 2022 festivities in Hanover, including Sharon and Gary Broughton,Cynthia and Wally Buschman, Teresa and Robin Carpenter, Renuka and Steve Coles, Margo and Paul Doscher (who hosted brunch) Anne and Budge Gere, Penny and Jeff Gilbert, Rosie and Lewis Greenstein, Andrea and Gary Jefferson, Dave Johnston, Kathy and Wayne LoCurto, Elizabeth and Jim Lustenader, Augusta Pertrone and Rick MacMillan, Ken Meyercord, Myra and Hector Motroni, Anne and John Rollins, Karen and Bob Serenbetz, Mary and Brad Stein, and Steve Zegel.
While Dr. Peter Dorsen hiked the 39-mile Kekekabic Trail in Minnesota

President Emeritus Jim Wright's death recently is honored with an article he wrote for the DAM in 2012 about his visits to wounded veterans during the Irag and Afghanistan Wars. Jim was recently highly supportive of an endowment created for the benefit of current undergraduate veterans in 2020 in the name of Class of 1967 graduate Duncan Sleigh. Jim's devotion to Dartmouth veterans may give cause to the full restoration of ROTC at the College

Battle Scarred Wars are remarkably cruel things, and all participants on all sides deserve to have their stories told.

I wonder if he'll throw in a steel throne?

Game of Thrones Showrunner David Benioff ’92 Steps Up for Dartmouth’s Arts District Game of Thrones showrunner David Benioff talks about his inspiration for giving to the Hopkins Center expansion.

Time to think about attending Homecoming October 29th. Sign-up form will be forthcoming:
Al Keilor says:
We will once again hold a Homecoming Mini
Reunion October 28-29. The football opponent is
arch-rival Harvard. While final details remain to be
worked out, the mini reunion will include:
• Friday reception and supper at the Faculty
Lounge, Hopkins Center
• Friday Parade of Classes and Dartmouth Night on
the Green
• Saturday morning Class meeting at the home of
Paul and Margo Doscher, Norwich
• Saturday afternoon football game, other athletic
contests
• Saturday evening reception and dinner at the
Norwich Inn
While peak foliage season will be over, it is always
wise to book accommodations well in advance. The
following link is from Alumni Relations regarding
Upper Valley lodging:
https://alumni.dartmouth.edu/upper-valley-lodging.

Angus King, steady hand in the Senate during the Trump post-election resurrection, as reported in the New Yorker August 15, 2022 https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/15/inside-the-war-between-trump-and-his-generals
The story profiles Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, quoting "Senator Angus King, an Independent from Maine. “My conversations with him were about the danger of some attempt to use the military to declare martial law,” King said. He took it upon himself to reassure fellow-senators. “I can’t tell you why I know this,” but the military will absolutely do the right thing, he would tell them, citing Milley’s “character and honesty.”

Inside the War Between Trump and His Generals How Mark Milley and others in the Pentagon handled the national-security threat posed by their own Commander-in-Chief.

Time for a real College mascot?

Interesting current DAM article on Alan Ryan '66 about his career at Harvard. It touches on war and the law. https://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/articles/allan-ryan-66

Allan A. Ryan ’66 A legal expert on war crimes—and worse

Sian Leah Beilock will become president of Dartmouth on July 1, 2023.
A leading cognitive scientist and the current president of Barnard College, Sian will be the 19th president in the Wheelock Succession and is the first woman elected to the position. Her election by the trustees in our 50th anniversary year of coeducation at Dartmouth was enthusiastic and unanimous. Sian will succeed Philip J. Hanlon ’77, who announced in January that he will step down at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year after a decade in the role.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-21/dartmouth-names-barnard-s-sian-beilock-as-first-female-president

Dartmouth Names Barnard’s Sian Beilock as First Female President Dartmouth College named cognitive scientist Sian Beilock as president, making her the first woman to lead the Ivy League school.

Dartmouth eliminates student loans from financial aid packages for middle income families plus extends need-blind admissions to non-US citizens. This change is effective immediately. The additional funding comes from the Call to Lead campaign.
https://president.dartmouth.edu/news/2022/06/dartmouth-eliminates-student-loans-undergraduates