River swim docks close indefinitely
By Conrad Scoville, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Friday, June 25, 2010
The College has indefinitely closed the Connecticut River swim docks following a safety review by the administration that raised concerns about dangers posed by the river, according to Associate Dean for Campus Life April Thompson. Students were informed of the decision in an e-mail sent by Thompson to campus Wednesday afternoon but were not consulted beforehand, she said.
The decision was made following “a pretty routine safety review” performed by multiple administrative departments, Thompson said, and was not prompted by a specific incident or change in river conditions.
“Safety is an ongoing conversation,” she said. “I don’t think we can point to a specific incident, and I don’t think we want to wait to point to a specific incident.”
The administrative departments were not motivated by liability issues and were only concerned about students’ safety, Thompson said.
Questions were raised regarding the depth of the river — which drops rapidly from 18 feet at the dock to 25 feet further in — as well as the river’s poor visibility and unpredictable current, according to the e-mail.
Additional safety measures such as an increased lifeguard presence would not improve student safety because of the nature of the river’s dangers, Thompson said.
The decision will not affect sections of the river beyond the College’s docks, Thompson said, and Hanover officials were not involved in the decision-making process.
“There certainly may be places on the Connecticut River that are safer to swim — I don’t know that,” she said. “There’s no safe place right here.”
Students should have been consulted during the decision-making process, 2012 Class Council president John Rutan ’12 said. Rutan said he believes the decision was made “too hastily” and also pointed out communication issues between students and campus administration.
“[The administration] handled it poorly,” Rutan said. “Not only is it a bummer that it’s sophomore Summer, but it also stings that the administration was so quick with it.”
Closing the docks may also prove counterproductive because students will likely continue to swim in the river despite the absence of lifeguards, Rutan said.
“We’re not contesting that the river is unsafe,” he said.
The College previously employed lifeguards to patrol the area during limited hours, Thompson said.
Safety and Security will enforce the new restrictions by regularly patrolling the area, Thompson said.
Officers will attempt to safely remove students swimming in the river, who will receive a warning from the College and additional penalties for subsequent offenses, she said.
The administration will work with student leaders to help provide alternative recreational activities, including free access to the Storrs Pond Recreational Area, a Hanover Improvement Society-operated space located near the College, Thompson said.
However, Rutan said he believes the pond’s relative inaccessibility may make students less likely to use the area.
The area will be accessible by the Advanced Transit bus service, Thompson said.
According to Rutan, no other transportation options will be offered, although it is possible that money previously used to employ lifeguards will be used to help fund student transportation in the future.
Members of Class Council will work with administrators to attempt to reopen the docks, Rutan said.
“Storrs Pond is not the river,” he said. “None of [the current alternative recreational options] are at the point where I’d be comfortable.”
Reopening the docks will be “an uphill battle,” Rutan said. “We need students to be proactive.”
Class Council will promote Storrs Pond as a recreational area if it remains the best option, he said.
That is…incredibly poorly handled. Why on Earth would a decision like this be made without consulting students? If the “routine safety review” involved “multiple departments”, it hardly seems like it would have burdensome to include students in the process.
What might have changed if students were involved? Perhaps nothing. Safety is safety. But involving students in the process instead of just issuing edicts from on high helps students understand the decisions. It also would have given students time to create an alternative, such as raising funds for a transportation option to Storrs Pond, or create a shared ride system for Storrs Pond. Blitzing out the first week of the term instead of involving students in the process from the get go doesn’t give students much time to find alternatives.
In 1999, a week before Winter Carnival was to be held, President Wright announced the Student Life Initiative that was intended to change Greek Life as we know it. The high-handed rhetoric and major impact that it would have initiated a near revolt by students, and all the turmoil could have been avoided had students been made part of the process.
Yes, the function of Dartmouth’s leadership is to lead, but it would nice if they didn’t constantly take the position that the role of the students is to blindly follow. It’s their college too.
By Anon ‘05 on Jun 25 | 9:38 am
Also included in this round of asinine recreational cuts: the fall 2010 Freshman Trips will no longer include kayaking, canoeing, climbing, hiking, mountain biking, or horseback riding; the section of the Appalachian trail maintained by Cabin+Trail has been closed to students due to tripping dangers posed by exposed roots and loose rocks; climbing at Rumney is henceforth limited to only non-Dartmouth students and alumni; Occom pond will no longer be cleared for skating due to the risk of slipping and falling.
This is a feeble, heavy handed, and short-sighted attempt at risk management that continues a tradition I saw delivered by President Wright’s administration; whittling away at the things that make Dartmouth great.
Dartmouth is unique in its outdoor character. Placing risk management at a higher priority than student recreation erodes that character and makes it no greater than any other four year institution.
By Daniel R. Philp 03 on Jun 25 | 11:04 am
This is nuts. Students need to put an end to this Dartmouth version of the “Nanny State.” Get in the river as much as you can. Swim. Do it naked. Enjoy.
By River User on Jun 25 | 5:31 pm
So the big plan is to stop having lifeguards at the river in order to INCREASE the safety of the students?
Maybe we could institute some sort of requirement among the student body to pass a swim test? Oh wait…
By Benjamin C. Hemani on Jun 25 | 6:34 pm
What happens when some helicopter parents sue (all those SAT tutors and lacrosse lessons down the drain) after their kid drowns (drunk)? Jim Wright left a lot of nervous people around.
By Anonymous on Jun 25 | 7:46 pm
If you want a subsidized activity to continue, why not pony up the cash? Dartmouth has been paying for insurance to cover swimming accidents. It doesn’t want to any more — maybe because it’s finally using good financial sense. If you want to swim, buy your own land on the river, or raise money to pay for Dartmouth’s insurance. Otherwise quit whining.
By cover farrow on Jun 26 | 3:48 pm
Good thing Joe Asch wasn’t elected trustee. This is the sort of thing he’d try to micromanage.
By Gilbert on Jun 27 | 11:54 am
Um. $55,000 a year should cover it I think.
By @cover farrow on Jun 28 | 10:53 pm
This is truly lame. What is the actual accident rate there? How does that compare to the accident rate at the Skiway?
The college should officially stop mentioning John Ledyard in any of its official materials and expurgate all mention of him from books in the library. His lifestyle was way too dangerous and the kids might get the wrong idea.
I think there needs to be a protest. This is a bridge too near.
Happy summer, kids!
By ts88 on Jun 29 | 7:26 am
This is the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard. What was actually going through the administrators' minds when they decided this? They actually thought they could close the docks during Sophomore Summer and not have an uproar?! ‘12s, go jump in the river, at now.
By d’10 on Jun 30 | 3:39 pm
I can here the cries of regret now from everyone who didn’t vote for Asch. There isn’t a single person in Dartmouth’s leadership bent on preserving that one, ever-so important tradition: Common sense.
By Mark ‘09 on Jul 1 | 9:33 pm
this is quite seriously, idiotic. if there is one sure way to ensure that the summer term is less special than any other term is to close the docks. how many alumni have swam there without incident. people should be able to use it at their own risk.
By d06 on Jul 2 | 10:18 am
If it is not safe to swim in the Connecticut river/lake off of the Hanover docks with a lifeguard present, it is not safe to swim in any body of natural water. The college should just declare that the activity of swimming itself is unsafe and cease the swim test. Hiking on freshman trips and skating on Occum pond are also probably unsafe. Instead of allowing students to take advantage of the fabulous natural recreational opportunities surrounding Dartmouth, we should recognize them all for the life-threatening activities they are. I wonder how generations of Dartmouth students have survived even this long?
By Anonymous on Jul 2 | 4:49 pm
Thompson is just full of shit.
If she tries to stop you swimming – sue her – for being an arsehole AND an idiot.
By Shane on Jul 2 | 6:34 pm
You don’t need a dock to swim in the river. If this becomes a big problem, the board should appoint Asch. By the way, is he coaching Brazil in the World Cup?
By Anonymous on Jul 2 | 8:24 pm