The Daily Dartmouth‘s editorial this morning claims that Dartmouth has given up on its original mission of education Indians and “while Riner has the same freedoms as all students, his speech gave the misleading impression that Dartmouth today is closer to Wheelock’s vision than to its current ideals.”
The D’s claim, however, is misinformed — Dartmouth today isn’t substanially different than Wheelock’s vision. Eleazer Wheelock originally founded both a school for the education of Indians and a Latin school for English youth, and his 1763 proposal for founding Dartmouth College described it as “an Academy for all parts of useful Learning, part of it a College for the Education of Missonaries, School Masters, Interpreters &c., and part of it a School for reading and writing &c.” While Dartmouth has obviously changed over the years, few would argue that its mission today is substanially different than Wheelock’s proposal more than 200 years ago.
Even despite the efforts of administrators who might try to transform Dartmouth into a research university, it still remains at its core the same liberal arts college that first graduated students in 1771.
Be the first to comment on "The D’s Editorial"