Hi. I'm a student athlete at Dartmouth. When I was making my decision on colleges, I mixed in a bunch of factors including academic reputation, athletic opportunities, diversity in student population, the campus, and one other thing which was most important- how I felt being at Dartmouth around the other students. When I came up for my recruiting trip, it was homecoming weekend 2000, and I got to do 104 laps with the class of 2004. I watched kids paint each others faces, decorate their 04 shirts and the entire campus sweep. After the bonfire I went out to frats with my host and met a lot of the kids and got to party with them. I came home after my 48 hour recruiting trip knowing that Dartmouth was the place for me. I had been to Harvard and Brown and even some of the smaller New England schools, like Amherst, but I knew that Dartmouth was the place I wanted to be for the next four years of my life. I knew that I wanted to make my best friends in the world here at Dartmouth. I wanted to play NCAA division 1 athletics and compete with Dartmouth on my jersey. I wanted to make an impact and be impacted by everything around me in Hanover, New Hampshire.

When I came home from my doc trip, I told my mother that I would never be able to explain to her the feeling of being a freshman and a trippie and seeing how much time was put into this 4 day adventure. People with dyed hair who stayed up for days on end to ensure our positive attitude towards Dartmouth- I could not believe how much I felt valued as an individual student. During my freshman year, everything about the school just kept getting better. I lived in the Choates and I had the best living experience in the dorm even though I ended up switching roommates halfway through the term. When it snowed, we had a snowball fight and saw the entire campus become this winter wonderland. We walked right behind our dorm and onto Occum pond where we could skate for fun or play pond hockey. Sometimes we would board the ten minute bus ride to ski on our own mountain. In the spring, the place became even more beautiful and it seemed like there was a smile on everyone's face. This place could not get any better- it was the perfect place for me and the best place on earth.

My friends and I talk about how crazy it is that we all love this place this much. It is nuts. But then this whole swim team thing happened. And forget my personal feelings on the matter. It's what some of my friends are saying and thinking that really truly scares me. I know that there are many things that could happen to me and I would still know that this is the place for me. But some of my friends who have been more personally affected by the news are saying things that I never thought would be possible. My friends, my fellow students, these fellow choatopians who walked through the golf course on Halloween for the walking haunted forest, who sat out on the green with me in the spring to enjoy the amazing weather, these people who shared my feelings in Hanover being the greatest place on earth, they now no longer love this place.

I can understand them feeling upset and hurt. But it's not that. These friends of mine who were blown away after their doc trips now don't think that Hanover is the place for them. I know that there are times when I might not love Dartmouth but I know for sure this is my home and I love it. I can't imagine how awful one thing must be for anyone to turn from where they were to now not wanting to be at Dartmouth. I don't know if the swim team will make a return and I hope with all my heart that something can be pulled off, but I know I will never get over the look in my friends' eyes who believe deep down that they could see themselves somewhere other than Dartmouth. This is appalling. I cant conceive what would make someone see Dartmouth as any place other than the most perfect on earth- but this is bad to see them doubt their decisions and it hurts me so badly that I just wish we could go back in time to the fall and go about it in a different way.

I will never leave Dartmouth, but anyone who saw things my way and now wants to leave must be truly disturbed by something, and this is what I will not get over. Please listen to the students in front of you who felt the feeling in their hearts, who made the decision that this is the greatest place on earth because of the feeling they received from stepping on the campus- do not allow anyone's heart to turn like this- its not healthy and its just not our style- we love this place because this place loves us and some of us now have broken hearts- do what you can to heal us because this campus thrives on the mutual love. Restore Dartmouth, and Dartmouth will once again be the top of the world for all those who once believed it. I believe it and I believe this can be done. Thank you for listening.
Sincerely,
Andrew Goldstein '05 - Lacrosse Goalie