Class Note 1957
Issue
January-February 2024
In a recent article, DAM wrote of the importance and significance of the DOC to Dartmouth and its relationship to the Appalachian Trail. You might remember Bob Mowbray named the Appalachian Trail as his class treasure in a previous column, and Bob Copeland offered personal accounts of the significance of this choice, claiming “The DOC separates Dartmouth from all other colleges.”
I contacted Copes again for more on the subject. He told me to consult our ’57 Aegis to better understand the size and complexity of the DOC organization and remember the ’57 expert on all matters DOC is Clarke Griffiths.
I am truly grateful for Copes’ guidance and understand his deferral to Clarke. The organization was so complicated, vast, and diverse it created a DOC directorate, a central coordinating body composed of professors and advisors and led by Clarke, its undergraduate president. Reporting to Clarke were the directors of the three principal divisions of the DOC—John Hobbie, Cabin & Trail; Tony Williamson, winter sports; Charles White, Winter Carnival—plus a large group of others managing what were called “affiliated clubs,” such as ski patrol, Bait & Bullet, Ledyard Canoe Club, and the Mountaineering Club. If it had anything to do with the out-of-doors, the DOC was involved and in control.
It remains so today. The DOC, with more than 1,500 student members, is the oldest and largest college outing club in the nation and continues to act as an umbrella organization for all clubs specializing in outdoor activities. The directorate remains, but has made administrations seasonal, i.e., different presidents are in charge for spring, summer, and fall activities, and significantly, two of the three presidents today are women. In addition to those major clubs listed above, it has added another eight organizations, including a separate diversity, inclusivity, justice, and equity division promoting those goals within the DOC and the College. Clearly, white guys with the granite of New Hampshire in their muscles and their brains have been joined and strengthened by many women and persons of color. The DOC continues to separate Dartmouth from all other colleges.
—John W. Cusick, 105 Island Plantation Terrace, Vero Beach FL 32963; (772) 231-1248; johnw cusick@aol.com
I contacted Copes again for more on the subject. He told me to consult our ’57 Aegis to better understand the size and complexity of the DOC organization and remember the ’57 expert on all matters DOC is Clarke Griffiths.
I am truly grateful for Copes’ guidance and understand his deferral to Clarke. The organization was so complicated, vast, and diverse it created a DOC directorate, a central coordinating body composed of professors and advisors and led by Clarke, its undergraduate president. Reporting to Clarke were the directors of the three principal divisions of the DOC—John Hobbie, Cabin & Trail; Tony Williamson, winter sports; Charles White, Winter Carnival—plus a large group of others managing what were called “affiliated clubs,” such as ski patrol, Bait & Bullet, Ledyard Canoe Club, and the Mountaineering Club. If it had anything to do with the out-of-doors, the DOC was involved and in control.
It remains so today. The DOC, with more than 1,500 student members, is the oldest and largest college outing club in the nation and continues to act as an umbrella organization for all clubs specializing in outdoor activities. The directorate remains, but has made administrations seasonal, i.e., different presidents are in charge for spring, summer, and fall activities, and significantly, two of the three presidents today are women. In addition to those major clubs listed above, it has added another eight organizations, including a separate diversity, inclusivity, justice, and equity division promoting those goals within the DOC and the College. Clearly, white guys with the granite of New Hampshire in their muscles and their brains have been joined and strengthened by many women and persons of color. The DOC continues to separate Dartmouth from all other colleges.
—John W. Cusick, 105 Island Plantation Terrace, Vero Beach FL 32963; (772) 231-1248; johnw cusick@aol.com