Class Note 1995
Issue
Jan-Feb 2020
The Dartmouth, our college’s daily paper, recently published The Dartmouth: Through the Ages, “a curated collection of the newspaper’s archives from 1900 to the present…that capturesthe monumental events both in the world and the College from the lens of The Dartmouth’s reporting and coverage.” I checked in with some of the members of our class’ editorial team to see what they’ve been up to and what they remember about the many hours they devoted to bringing us the news five days a week.
Managing editor Steve Hoffman writes: “Working for The D was definitely the highlight of my Dartmouth experience. It was really fun, had a meaningful impact, and connected me with the school and the community. It also taught me a ton about people skills, leadership, critical thinking, and time management, although I didn’t fully appreciate this at the time.
“My favorite memory is my first story freshman year, about Billy Joel coming to campus. Tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. on the day the story ran and were sold out by the time I got to the box office at 10:30 a.m. I was quite disappointed until I realized that my story was the only publicity about the show. Although it wasn’t a significant news event, it was an ‘aha moment’ that demonstrated the potential power of the press. I was hooked.
“I ultimately chose a career in law over journalism, but I might give journalism a try later in life. I recently joined Mintz in Boston after spending about 12 years as an in-house lawyer at Wellington Management. My biggest challenge right now, however, is teaching my daughter how to drive.”
Daisy (Alpert) Florin, “Gazette” editor, recalls writing an article in 1994 about this new-fangled thing called the Internet: “I remember sitting in Kiewit, stunned that you could actually see art from the Louvre online! The resulting article was, clearly, a thing of beauty.”
Daisy’s first job was as a reporter at the Utica, New York, Observer-Dispatch. “I quickly realized small town life was not for me, so I hightailed it back to New York City and worked in book publishing and teaching. Now I’m a writer, working on my first novel, so always writing; always words, always, always.” Daisy is also raising three kids, “fighting the good fight, in bed every night by 9.”
Joe Berger was the editorial page editor and recalls: “Some of my favorite memories of working for The Dartmouth include covering candidate visits during the Democratic primary campaign in 1991-92 and interviewing Dartmouth alumnus Robert Reich ’68 shortly after he was nominated for the position of U.S. secretary of labor. I also enjoyed reporting on scientific discoveries by Dartmouth professors and gained an appreciation for Dartmouth through the articles I wrote.
“When I started my position as editorial page editor for The D, I received encouragement from my dad, who was an editorial writer for The Baltimore Sun. As a lawyer today, I regularly write articles on subjects in my field of government contracts, which keeps me in touch with current developments.
“The field of journalism has changed profoundly since we went to Dartmouth and since my dad retired from The Sun, and I think that professional journalism is more important than ever. It is good that there are many Dartmouth graduates in the field.
“I recently visited the Newseum in Washington, D.C., which presents interesting reminders of the unique role of journalism in U.S. history and also that the press is less free in many parts of the world.
As Daisy put it: “Journalists are heroes. Please save us!”
Keep your news coming.
—Kaja (Schuppert) Fickes, 2 Bishops Lane, Hingham, MA 02043; kaja.k.fickes.95@dartmouth.edu
Managing editor Steve Hoffman writes: “Working for The D was definitely the highlight of my Dartmouth experience. It was really fun, had a meaningful impact, and connected me with the school and the community. It also taught me a ton about people skills, leadership, critical thinking, and time management, although I didn’t fully appreciate this at the time.
“My favorite memory is my first story freshman year, about Billy Joel coming to campus. Tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. on the day the story ran and were sold out by the time I got to the box office at 10:30 a.m. I was quite disappointed until I realized that my story was the only publicity about the show. Although it wasn’t a significant news event, it was an ‘aha moment’ that demonstrated the potential power of the press. I was hooked.
“I ultimately chose a career in law over journalism, but I might give journalism a try later in life. I recently joined Mintz in Boston after spending about 12 years as an in-house lawyer at Wellington Management. My biggest challenge right now, however, is teaching my daughter how to drive.”
Daisy (Alpert) Florin, “Gazette” editor, recalls writing an article in 1994 about this new-fangled thing called the Internet: “I remember sitting in Kiewit, stunned that you could actually see art from the Louvre online! The resulting article was, clearly, a thing of beauty.”
Daisy’s first job was as a reporter at the Utica, New York, Observer-Dispatch. “I quickly realized small town life was not for me, so I hightailed it back to New York City and worked in book publishing and teaching. Now I’m a writer, working on my first novel, so always writing; always words, always, always.” Daisy is also raising three kids, “fighting the good fight, in bed every night by 9.”
Joe Berger was the editorial page editor and recalls: “Some of my favorite memories of working for The Dartmouth include covering candidate visits during the Democratic primary campaign in 1991-92 and interviewing Dartmouth alumnus Robert Reich ’68 shortly after he was nominated for the position of U.S. secretary of labor. I also enjoyed reporting on scientific discoveries by Dartmouth professors and gained an appreciation for Dartmouth through the articles I wrote.
“When I started my position as editorial page editor for The D, I received encouragement from my dad, who was an editorial writer for The Baltimore Sun. As a lawyer today, I regularly write articles on subjects in my field of government contracts, which keeps me in touch with current developments.
“The field of journalism has changed profoundly since we went to Dartmouth and since my dad retired from The Sun, and I think that professional journalism is more important than ever. It is good that there are many Dartmouth graduates in the field.
“I recently visited the Newseum in Washington, D.C., which presents interesting reminders of the unique role of journalism in U.S. history and also that the press is less free in many parts of the world.
As Daisy put it: “Journalists are heroes. Please save us!”
Keep your news coming.
—Kaja (Schuppert) Fickes, 2 Bishops Lane, Hingham, MA 02043; kaja.k.fickes.95@dartmouth.edu