I have no vested interest in Dartmouth Swimming; I'm not a swimmer, I wasn't really friends with any swimmers, I wasn't even a student athlete. But if someone so detached can be this shocked at recent actions, I can only imagine what many others are currently thinking.

I'm shocked not so much by what was done; I understand that there is no giant conspiracy out to ruin the lives of the Swim team, but I completely disagree with the manner in which this event unfolded. As much as the college likes to spout on about openness and community, why was this done completely behind closed doors without even a token amount of student input? I understand that for the swimming team to remain "competitive" more than the annual budget was needed in the form of upgrades to the pool. Instead of saying the matter was closed, why not say "Unless immediate and significant alumni financial support is found the swimming team will be eliminated," so that those involved can at least have some hope and something to rally around? While the odds are slim, when put to the test alumni might very well come up with the $20 million-ish figure quoted that renovations to the pool would cost, and even if they didn't there is no harm in trying. The sequence of events leading up to the announcement are simply insulting. Notifying the team less than an hour before the information was released to the public? Waiting until the moment students would leave for Thanksgiving? Conveniently delaying release of the college budget so as not to further inflame the situation? For as much as Dartmouth tries to project its image as one of the premier institutions in the country, this is simply bad policy.

What's more, I have serious concerns that the incident with the swimming team is indicative of a larger problem in Hanover. The current economic setbacks undoubtedly should have an impact on the operations at the college. From all that I've read, the endowment shrunk 5.7% last year. However isn't this coming on the heels of one of the largest endowment expansions in the history of the college? Even with another year of 5.7% decline (which is doubtful), wouldn't the endowment still be significantly higher than as recently as 1999 or 2000? Including the negligible impacts of inflation and cost of living wage increases, shouldn't the college still be able to function at least as well as it did then?

Budget cuts are painful and inevitably someone must bear the burden. However I find it incredibly difficult to justify cutting athletic programs and closing libraries, things at the very core of a college community, while adding new Deans, updating administration buildings, refurbishing social spaces that have and will continue to sit empty, and purchasing the latest and greatest technology only to have it go un-utilized in Collis. I understand that just as the Swim team needs a larger, more modern facility to "remain competitive", in today's environment of U.S. News Rankings and private Admissions Consultants, Dartmouth needs more than classrooms and professors to remain an elite institution. But I think an important lesson can be drawn from the technology bust at the root of the economic situation the College now faces: lots of glitter and hype on the outside do not compensate for problems at the core. Plasma Flat Screen TV's and a Dean of The Latest Trend might make for nice bragging rights in brochures, but is that worth being able to say "Dartmouth is in the process of closing libraries and eliminating varsity sports?"

Intelligent investors would not rush to put their money into such an enterprise.

While I understand that as a very recent graduate with no money I rate pretty low on the priority list, it would be greatly reassuring to get some sort of reply addressing my concerns. As much as I hate to say it, I've lost a great deal of faith in Dartmouth and the manner in which it pays lip service to ideals that it doesn't uphold, and I'm grasping at anything that would prevent me from having to totally consider the school a lost cause.

Sincerely,

David Tarr '02