Concern about the relative lack of participation by Dartmouth males in community service prompted last night's discussion, titled "Where Are All the Good Men?"
Dean of the Tucker Foundation Scott Brown led the discussion in Rockefeller 1, which was attended by a small crowd of fewer than 10 people.
Brown cited statistics from the senior survey of the Class of 1994, which indicated an almost two-to-one ratio of females to males participating in community service at Dartmouth.
Although Dartmouth students volunteer at a rate above the national average for college students, the gender disparity at the College is much greater than the norm, Brown said.
According to the responses of the Class of 1994 in the survey, 51 percent of women spent more than one hour a month volunteering, as opposed to only 33 percent of men.
Brown hypothesized the disparity may stem partially from the fact that community service is traditionally done more by women.
Also, since Dartmouth has many men involved in sports and outdoor activities -- perhaps more so than at the average school -- these men may have little time left over for a volunteering commitment, Brown said.
Brown said "the lack of male role models" is one of the biggest problems facing society.
"We've got to get more men involved in being mentors," Brown said.
Tucker Foundation Volunteer Coordinator Sara Clash '96 said most of the Big Brother and Big Sister mentoring program volunteers are female.
Brown fielded suggestions from audience members on how to increase community service at Dartmouth, many of which centered around getting students involved with Tucker from the start.
Audience member Spencer Doyle '98 said it is important to get students involved with Tucker their freshman year, because then they are more likely to stay committed.
The undergraduate advising system "could be a good way of reaching freshmen right away," Doyle said. He suggested volunteer work be made a part of UGA group activities.
Brown said a future possibility is to allow incoming students the option of going on a "Tucker trip," which would mean spending a few days on a community service project instead of the traditional Dartmouth Outing Club freshman trip.
Also, a group volunteer event similar to the recent DarCORPS -- a single day of volunteering by hundreds of Dartmouth students -- is in the works for Freshman Orientation Week, Brown said.
Chair of Book Buddies Bill Tarr '98 said the Tucker Foundation should work more with Greek houses to obtain volunteers.
Clash agreed that Tucker should make more connections with campus groups. However, people need to remember that many volunteer activities are necessarily done individually, she said.
