The excitement of the nation's first presidential primary is one of Dartmouth's major draws, according to Serrentino.

"The lure of being involved in the New Hampshire primary, making news, drew many people to Dartmouth," she says.

The school's daily newspaper, The Dartmouth, also features coverage of the primary and the issues involved, according to junior S. Siobhan Gorman, the paper's managing editor.

"We certainly cover when the candidates come here," she says. "We have a policy that we cover when they first come to New Hampshire this term, and after then, only when they come to Dartmouth."

In addition, Gorman says the paper tries to explain the relevance of the primary to the campus.

"We had a series on the campaign and how it affects Dartmouth students," she says.

Liberal-Conservative Split

One might expect somewhat more involvement from Dartmouth students in this year's Republican campaign than has actually occurred, given the Ivy League school's reputation of being a conservative campus.

New Hampshire itself is also generally considered a Republican state.

"It's a conservative state," says Davis, the Forbes supporter. "We have the lowest taxes of any state in the country."

But the characterization of Dartmouth as a conservative school is currently being debated on campus.

Some students say they feel that Dartmouth's conservative label is a part of the school's history that should be respected.

"Like the other Ivy League schools, there is a long and dignified tradition that lies behind the Dartmouth name," says sophomore David E. Mace, a registered Minnesota Republican.

The school's most vocal conservatives tend to gravitate toward the Dartmouth Review, an independently-funded newspaper which Mace calls "a bastion of not only conservative intellectual thought but also of dignity and tradition, the cloth that binds our society."

Moderate and liberal students, on the other hand, discount the Review's claim to represent the majority of Dartmouth students.

"There's been a lot of press about how Dartmouth is a more conservative institution, partially because the Dartmouth Review is a very, very conservative institution," Serrentino says. "They're a very small but vocal minority."

Serrentino, the radio producer, says Dartmouth offers "a very healthy split of opinion."

A recent visit by presidential candidate and Sen. Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.) illustrates the possibility of ideological balance on campus.

"We have a reputation for being mostly conservatives," says junior Cheryl L. Chua, the news director for the Dartmouth Election Network. "Dole came up here a few weeks ago. There was support for him but there were people outside who were holding signs for Clinton."

With Democrats now making their presence on campus felt, some wonder whether Dartmouth's conservative tradition is still vibrant or whether it is as much a dinosaur as the snow stegosaurus erected on the green for the Winter Carnival.