Gail Zimmerman laughed when asked what she plans to accomplish as acting dean of first-year students this coming year.
"To survive," Zimmerman said. "The same goal as most first-year students -- let's get through the year."
Every year the First-Year Office provides resources -- from deans to pamphlets -- to help answer the myriad of questions and concerns first-year students bring with them to the College. Although many students obtain much of their information from peers and upperclassmen, the sole function of the office in the basement of Parkhurst Hall is to aid and educate first-year students.
Peter Goldsmith, who was the dean of first year-students since 1993, left the College at the end of the 1998-99 school year to become dean of the college at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. A search for a new first-year dean will begin in the upcoming Fall term, and Zimmerman will be the acting dean until a permanent dean is found.
Zimmerman is not new to the First-Year Office -- she has been a counselor in the Academic Skills Center and an assistant dean in the First-Year Office since 1993. Her appointment is not the First-Year Office's only change. Roland Davis was named a new assistant dean, and another staff member will also be named in the near future.
At the beginning of the school year, most students who come to the First-Year Office tend to ask "questions of immediacy," usually pertaining to course choices and scheduling, Zimmerman said. As the year progresses, students request help with such issues as roommate situations, choosing their majors, learning how to relate better with others and dealing with conflicts between themselves and their families about decisions regarding their courses and future plans at Dartmouth.
Zimmerman said one of the biggest challenges members of the Class of 2003 may face stems from the fact that, for many of them, this year will be their first chance to make a lot of decisions on their own, without as much influence from their parents or others. Those decisions range from academic ones to issues revolving around students social and lifestyle choices.
Many students say to first-year deans, "Just tell me what to do," she said. "Not doing that for the students can sometimes be a stress for them."
Zimmerman said one job of the First-Year Office "more unique to Dartmouth in particular" is "being able to help students find the right Dartmouth for them, not assume there's only one Dartmouth and they either fit or don't fit."
She said students often feel there is one stereotyped "Dartmouth experience," when in reality all students forge their own paths. Zimmerman would not elaborate on her vision of the stereotyped Dartmouth experience because she said she'd "rather leave the slate clean and let students create their own."
Zimmerman also said a challenge for first-year students is learning to cope with the "work hard, play hard" part of the Dartmouth culture. She said many students are not used to "compartmentalizing" their intellectual and social lives, and she hopes to find ways "to validate for students that you can be intellectual and still have fun at the same time."
Due to the departure of Goldsmith as well as the transition the College is undergoing as a result of the Social and Residential Life Initiative -- a program announced by the Board of Trustees to make changes in residential and social life at the College -- the First-Year Office is undergoing a period of transition, Zimmerman said.
She said the office plans to improve upon the social aspect of Freshman Orientation by including more programming events and activities in addition to the academic aspect of the week -- a focus that might not have occurred without the Trustees' controversial Initiative as a catalyst. The office will also be looking to increase its involvement with programs including academic advising and alcohol education during the regular school year.
