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>>>>>>>>>>> FROM THE AUGUST HALLS OF HIGHER LEARNING <<<<<<<<<<<
(7/25)
If you have no college degree, or at least not one from an Ivy-
league college, you are really ignorant and uneducated. You have been
missing the lectures by such scholars as tenured Dartmouth professor
of music Bill Cole, who teaches "American Music in the Oral Tradi-
tion."
One of his handouts exhorts his students to "read little, think
deeply... and much." He tells his students to meditate deeply, to
become one with the universe and then write very important feelings in
their notebooks.
Meditate about music? No, about poverty, sexism, racism, nuclear
war, nuclear waste, and what a horrible place the US is. People are so
poor that they are forced to become criminals. Like the burglar whom
this scholar knew personally and whom he extols in a lecture on music.
Cole is black, which is probably unimportant to any of his stu-
dents, but appears to be the only thing important to him. The nearest
he came to music in a long "lecture" recorded and reprinted in the
DARTMOUTH REVIEW of 2/24/88 was his explanation of why there were
comparatively few women in music.
"You know," he expounded, "it makes it real difficult, you know,
because it gets down to, if you'll excuse the expression, pussy or no
play... You're talking about an art form that has a very small part of
the economic pie. Very small, man. People are gangsterin' to keep
people out all the time. People, like, physically hurting other peo-
ple, they don't like them to play."
But of course there are other things more subtly connected with
American Music in the Oral Tradition. For example,
"Why are we willing to put nuclear waste in the ground and say to
ourselves `It's cool, because it won't really contaminate things for a
thousand years.' Come one, is that cool? And, man, it's going to keep
on..."
DARTMOUTH REVIEW editor Christopher Baldwin was decent enough to
ask for Cole's comments before printing an article on his lectures
with long extracts taped in his class. Cole hung up. When Baldwin
phoned again, asking "Why did you hang up on me, sir?" the scholar had
a scholarly explanation.
"You're going to put your racist bullsh*t in the paper anyhow, it
doesn't make any difference what I say... I knew you motherf**kers
were going to do the same thing you always do...!"
"I am astounded," replied the DARTMOUTH REVIEW (the conversation
was taped), "that a professor at Dartmouth College, one who is
tenured, would use language like that..."
To which the august Dartmouth scholar replied,"You're all Goddamn
f*ck*n'-*ss white-boy-racists!"
- - -
Readers would probably expect me to say once again, "Stop giving
to the college of your choice," and I do.
However, there is more to it. For publishing the truth, backed up
by tapes of Cole's lectures, the Dartmouth administration staged a
kangaroo hearing, which was prejudged by Dartmouth President Freedman
and was severely restricted in attendance (not even an ACLU represen-
tative was allowed in). In an unusual candid display of what the con-
temporary professoriat understands by academic freedom, all involved
members of the Dartmouth Review were found guilty. Two were suspended
for six terms (including one who would have graduated in June), a
photographer (whose flash was knocked to the ground by Cole) was sus-
pended for two terms, and a freshman reporter was put on probation.
Friends and alumni have set up a fund for their vindication. Send
tax-deductible contributions to Dartmouth Review Fund, Box 343, Ha-
nover, NH 03755. A donation of $25 entitles you to a subscription to
the very readable DARTMOUTH REVIEW, one of the few campus papers that
are not a local edition of PRAVDA.
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