Stephen Smith — Petition Candidate for Dartmouth Trustee

"Where is the outrage over the low position that academics seems to occupy in Dartmouth's current set of priorities?

"[S]even out of eleven non-senior government courses offered next spring will be at or above their cap, and economics is worse. Although [Professor] Sa'adah claims that 'many' classes exist that don't push their cap (four, doing the math), she declines to mention that her department's definition of a 'cap' is usually fifty students. Hardly a bragging matter. One would expect this of large universities--not Dartmouth."

"Administrative priorities are a big deal, and to many alumni, our current ones are all wrong.  Smith advocates a very critical revamp of the College budget.  Any candidate who does that is worth at least a second look.  Every dollar spent on construction, sustainability, or administrators to pester students about water pong is a dollar that could be spent on, say, reducing class sizes or making international admissions need-blind.  (Earmarked alumni gifts are a notable exception.)  Setting budget priorities straight is Smith's real platform, the part too often obscured by political fog.  If Smith will move to revamp the budget to 'keep Dartmouth a College' and 'invest in excellence, not bureaucracy,' well, you can't argue with that."

The Dartmouth, Mar. 27, 2007