Remembering Joe Asch ’79, a Year Later
A Festschrift for Joe Asch ‘79
Precisely a year ago, on the morning of October 9, 2018, Joe Asch ’79 left Dartmouth and us for the last time. The next few weeks were marked by a generous outpouring of grief and memories from contributors of Dartblog, past and present, and the wide swathe of people he had touched. Everyone had a story to share about what Joe shared with them. Joe was generous, astute, and deeply analytical, and that guided his approach to the College. His wide net of friends and followers earnestly looked forward to his morning musings and supplied him with the privileged discussions that administrators fastidiously tried to hide from him.
Joe was no mere observer. His life came back in full circle, having done his time on the College on the Hill and then at Yale Law School with a stint at Bain afterwards as a consultant — hired by no other than Mitt Romney. These formative years reflected the extent to which he espoused the ethos of Dartmouth’s Alma Mater. Joe was a sentinel caught in an intense love affair with Dartmouth. He did not mince his words when it came to those who harmed Dartmouth, whether from deceit or from sincere incompetence.
As I write this, I too am at a loss for words. The first article we wrote for this redesigned Dartblog was a brief history of Dartblog. In the history, I recounted:
“While Dartblog has had other contributors, along with Joe Malchow, Joe Asch set the tone for much of Dartblog’s engagement with the administration and the community at large. From stunts like this one — Asch’s last April Fool’s Day prank before his unfortunate passing later in the year — to rightfully decrying the decline of artful and impactful writing even in the Humanities, echoing Cicero’s clarion call about the decline of the studia humanitatis, Joe Asch covered everything in a manner as prolific as Joe Malchow’s.
In 2010, Asch took a hiatus from Dartblog in the aftermath of a contentious race for petition trustee that pitted him against an administration and board that was rigorously and systematically trying to dismantle the Dartmouth he loved. In 2018, Asch laid bare the “product placement” programme that The Dartmouth continues to churn out for the College. In 2016, Asch called out then-Provost Carolyn Dever for her refusal to punish student protestors who “violently disrupt the studies of other students with racist speech.” Another piece of in-depth reportage and analysis took apart the College’s increased debt while pursuing a capital campaign. Asch also broke the story of N. Bruce Duthu ’80 and his authorship of an anti-Israel BDS petition when Duthu was nominated to become Dean of the Faculty.”
In writing my history of Dartblog, I was, in many ways, trying to craft an identity for Dartblog after Joe, when I realised that Joe’s spirit would never leave us. I realised that Dartblog and Dartmouth would not have been the same without Joe, and Joe would not have been who he was without Dartmouth and Dartblog. Over the next few weeks, in honour of Joe’s memory, we’re going to reproduce some of Joe’s most loved posts on Dartblog, accompanied with memories of Joe, some of which were published upon his unfortunate passing, and some recounted especially for this festschrift. Honouring Joe’s memory is essential to us at Dartblog, particularly as this new generation takes over. As every day passes without Joe clamouring at his keyboard, it becomes increasingly important for us to remember those values, customs, and traditions that crystallised and were defended in Joe’s labour of love.
Addendum: If you’d like to contribute a memory or nominate your favourite article written by Joe, e-mail us at dartblog.news@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you!
