Net Gain
I was pleased to learn of the progress new athletic director Harry Sheehy is making [“It’s a Whole New Ballgame,” Nov/Dec]. One example of the proactive policies in the admissions department to identify and land first-class student-athletes is in women’s tennis: The defending Ivy championship team recruited two five-star freshmen ranked in the top 29 in the nation and a third in the top 100.

With Coach Sheehy in the saddle I am optimistic.

Philip K. Curtis ’67
Atlanta

The Posniak Tragedy
I started to read DAM a while back because of the story selection and writing. I remember one article (I have no idea why I read it) about a grad reminiscing about taking her first yoga class at the College. She was a creative writing buff and she really communicated a wonderful story that could have been deadly. The Nov/Dec issue and the Steve Posniak story [“Burned”] is a mind blower. No one else would have run that story: too depressing, doesn’t say anything about Dartmouth. Terrific job, particularly the editing. The story made it possible to understand Posniak’s guilt and shame for destroying something he loved, and then thinking he was probably destroying his family as well with huge legal bills.

Charlie Stuart ’66
New Rochelle, New York

Duly Noted
A great article on a wonderful musician and teacher, Hafiz Shabazz [“The Beat Goes On,” Nov/Dec]!

Jon Appleton
Hanover

Meeting of Minds
Your roundtable  [“How Safe Are We?” Nov/Dec] was a very enlightening piece dealing with an increasingly complex and awkward issue. It was interesting to see that all those interviewed felt that entering into Afghanistan was a necessary step, whereas going into Iraq was a step too far even if it is possible that eliminating Saddam’s regime contributed to the development of new democracies in the region.

Gary Portugal ’83
Leigh-On-Sea, England

Game Changer
Congratulations to whomever hired Janet Coles as the new women’s golf coach [“Campus,” Nov/Dec]. I had the pleasure of being one of her students at Atlantic Golf Club in the 1990s. She will bring a breath of fresh air to the program and a new spirit to the recruiting program.

Ellis Kern ’62
West Palm Beach, Florida

Picture Perfect
Kudos to DAM for the timely photo of Dave Gavitt ’59 and Rudy LaRusso ’59 [“Big Picture,” Nov/Dec]. It immediately recalled fond memories. This is the type of content that reflects the greatness of Dartmouth College.

Nick Procino ’59
Schenectady, New York

Debt of Gratitude
After reading about remarkable William Kamkwamba [“The Power of One,” Sept/Oct] I got his book. I’m so proud of my College for its vision to recruit him and then make sure he has the necessary support. As he will undoubtedly benefit from his Dartmouth education, so too will his classmates and the world benefit from him. We all owe Carol Harlow a huge debt of gratitude for her initiative in seeking him out.

I’ve met some extraordinary and inspiring people in my life, including several of the Apollo moon walkers. I hope I get to shake William’s hand one day and meet true greatness, as I hold him in this same awe and regard.

Roy Forbes ’84
Los Angeles

Pledge Class
Kudos for publishing the “Sobering Reality” student opinion piece in Sept/Oct. Here’s my remedy: Require all students to sign a “no binge-drinking pledge” with the College as part of the admissions process. Remove students who do not honor the pledge and replace them with applicants who will.

Ted “Scottie” Wills ’79
Houston

Recent History
My classmate Joe McHugh ’60 [“Letters,” Sept/Oct] traces the partisan divide in Washington back only as far as the 2000 election, which he said left Democrats “bitterly antagonistic” toward George W. Bush. Well, yes, I and many others were angry at how Florida election officials and the U.S. Supreme Court stole that election, but as to the origin of bitter partisanship, let’s look back to Bill Clinton’s election in 1992, which launched an unrelenting GOP campaign of investigations and other harassments in an effort to bring him down. The same tactics continue today as the GOP works not to build a better America, but to “make Obama a one-term president.”

Alexander Ingham ‘60
Morganville, New Jersey