The Caisson Story Goes Rolling Along

10:50 UPDATE

The Boston Globe has a cannon story today. It includes these bits:"

(S)ome on campus have speculated the carriage may not be from Vermont, but could belong to a field gun France gave to Dartmouth in 1920, which also disappeared.

and while no criminal investigation/charges are in the offing ...

"If this occurred today, and the person was identified and tried to argue it was a prank, they would be charged with theft," (Hanover chief of police Nick Giaccone) said.
The cannon mystery continues to have legs (wheels?) as WCAX TV up in Burlington had something last night and our local paper ran something this morning. Nothing really new in either report. Several Green Alert blog readers have shared "comments" on the matter. In case you missed them ... one wrote one with tongue firmly in cheek:

Hmm... Another entrant in the never-ending Dartmouth nickname contest: The Cannoneers? Nah, not p.c. enough for the Ivies, let alone Hanover :-)

Another writer, Dartmouth's very own superfan Joshua Drake, wrote:

I agree this could have some impact on the mascot issue -- not the nickname.

I hope they find the cannon, and take the time to restore it. However, rather than return the relic to its possible old home, the College should reimburse the Veterans home for the item.

With the renovation of Memorial stands next year, the cannon (of WWI origin they've said) would be a perfect addition. Pres. Wright can highlight his work with veterans, draw attention to the only remaining WWI vet alive for the US, and bring about an iconic piece for the football team.

It doesn't need to fire, just have Susan Wright or some matriarch name the cannon the Big Green, and you'd got a ready made image--with a great back story, that has secretly haunted Memorial throughout the glory years of Dartmouth Ivy football.

I suspect that's pretty much the kind of scenario that years ago led to some college nicknames/mascots.

Elsewhere around the Ivy League, Columbia quarterback Craig Hormann continues to try to raise his stock in the eyes of NFL scouts. Among those who have stopped by to check him out, according to a story in the Columbia Spectator, are the Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts and the Green Bay Packers.

This next story in Lacrosse Magazine deserves national attention but I must admit I'm not quite sure what to make of it. A 1961 Princeton lacrosse goalie is angling for, and apparently will get a tryout with the New Jersey Major League Lacrosse team. The prominent gentleman in question is quoted this way:

"I got my first stick more than 60 years ago. I have been thrilled to see lacrosse grow, I would like to see the MLL prosper, and I would like to be a part of it. Naturally there has been a nagging question for me: could I still play at that level?"

Dartmouth isn't mentioned in this New York Times story about how improved food has become another weapon colleges uses in the arms race for students, but it could have been. From the story:

As recently as 10 years ago, a typical campus dining experience was a cafeteria offering overcooked meat, canned vegetables and instant mashed potatoes.

But as palates grow more sophisticated and admissions become more competitive, many top colleges are paying attention to dining rooms as well as classrooms.

I'm going to sound a little Andy Rooney here, but I sometimes wonder if it would be possible to go the other way. Completely. By that I mean, hire a small group of truly top professors, bivouac them in an old office building in some big city somewhere and start a college without athletics, dining halls, fitness centers, grassy lawns, lecture halls, theaters and the like, and simply concentrate on providing a truly world-class liberal arts education. In New York, Chicago or any metropolitan area the students could use the city library, make their own living arrangements and avail themselves of all the cultural offerings of a big city. All the college would provide would be the professors and rooms for them to meet with their classes.

Would students miss out on "the college experience?" Absolutely. But I'm also thinking a "four-year immersion" in that kind of environment would provide a remarkable education.