BASIC
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(→Dartmouth BASIC and Time-Sharing Minicomputers) | (→Dartmouth BASIC and Time-Sharing Minicomputers) | ||
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It's not surprising that Kemeny's liberal ideas about computers and education were mirrored by his achievements as the President of Dartmouth College, a position he served from 1970 to 1981. Kemeny presided over Dartmouth's conversion to a coeducational campus, removed the "Indian" as the college's mascot, and encouraged the recruitment of minority students. On his final day as president, he gave a commencement address that warned students, including those involved in the recently-founded conservative ''Dartmouth Review,'' against the impulse that "tries to divide us by setting whites against blacks, by setting Christians against Jews, by setting men against women. And if it succeeds in dividing us from our fellow beings, it will impose its evil will upon a fragmented society" (Faison). After leaving the presidency of Dartmouth, he returned to full-time teaching, passing away in 1992. Thomas Kurtz continued to teach at Dartmouth long after he worked on BASIC, directing the Computer and Information Systems program there from 1980 to 1988. | It's not surprising that Kemeny's liberal ideas about computers and education were mirrored by his achievements as the President of Dartmouth College, a position he served from 1970 to 1981. Kemeny presided over Dartmouth's conversion to a coeducational campus, removed the "Indian" as the college's mascot, and encouraged the recruitment of minority students. On his final day as president, he gave a commencement address that warned students, including those involved in the recently-founded conservative ''Dartmouth Review,'' against the impulse that "tries to divide us by setting whites against blacks, by setting Christians against Jews, by setting men against women. And if it succeeds in dividing us from our fellow beings, it will impose its evil will upon a fragmented society" (Faison). After leaving the presidency of Dartmouth, he returned to full-time teaching, passing away in 1992. Thomas Kurtz continued to teach at Dartmouth long after he worked on BASIC, directing the Computer and Information Systems program there from 1980 to 1988. | ||
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| − | So, while home computing provides a significant context for the program at the center of our discussion, the computer had already become more welcoming and available for a wider variety of uses -- even before it moved into the home -- thanks in part to BASIC. | ||
== CHR$ and the Dollar Sign in BASIC (Sidebar) == | == CHR$ and the Dollar Sign in BASIC (Sidebar) == | ||
