1. USA swimming is the only perfectly balanced gender-neutral amateur sport in America.  Swimming has no Title IX inequities.  It is the most equally organized sport in the country from "mini" to Olympic level  for both genders.  The message sent by singling out this one program for the benefit of all other  betrays our sports' commitment to equality for all.
2. The lesson of equality of the genders goes beyond dry legalities. In competition, swimming is also the only sport which treats female athletes equally with men.  Though women compete on separate teams in high school and college, competition is usually conducted simultaneously.  Teams at all levels train together and usually swim summer competition on the same team to the age of eighteen.  Women are scored equally at these meets.  No other sport educates athletes on the equality of all as swimming.
3. The "swimmer" college applicant is often favored by admissions offices because of proven commitment to hard work.  By virtue of the thousands of hours of year-round training,  the discipline gained is not dependent on ability or swimming success.  All levels commit to train 20-30 hours or more each week.  Juggling training with top tier academic pursuits necessary for consideration at an IVY league school such as Dartmouth speaks volumes for the quality of the swimmer-student-athlete.
4. The physical fitness benefits of swimming and enjoyment of swimming facilities extend beyond varsity team members.  Many athletes now cross-train with swimming as an important component of their efforts.  All swimming enthusiasts regardless of ability can continue the health benefits for the rest of their lives. It must be assumed that many Dartmouth faculty members maintain some semblance of fitness and relieve daily stresses with a few laps of the pool.
5. Finally, the image of college athletes at your level forced to pursue fund-raising efforts to save their beloved program is heart-wrenching.  These fine young people have each literally swum over 10,000 miles in training by age 18 to be a part of the Big Green.  Reducing them to soup kitchen status to scrounge for donations is simply not right...not with an endowment in the billions. 
6. The notion of allocating a small portion of the endowment to athletics will be heavily scrutinized by the Board of Trustees who rightly seek to preserve the fund for academic pursuits.  Kindly remind them that at least some modest portion of that endowment was contributed by some dedicated and now successful athlete-alum.

Joseph P. Grimes, Esquire
Cherry Hill, NJ