The Board of Trustees announced today the steering committee will not release its report of recommendations until the week of January 10, 2000.
In a letter sent to the Hinman Boxes of all students this morning, Chairman of the Board of Trustees William H. King, Jr. '63 announced the committee will be unable to meet the expected release date of the end of this fall term.
College President James Wright met with a group of student leaders at his house on Webster Ave. last night to inform them of the announcement delay and discuss ways the College might consider handling the announcement when the report is complete.
Executives from the Student Assembly, Class Councils, Coed Fraternity Sorority Council, and leaders of a number of campus groups including the Afro American Society and La Alianza Latina attended the two-hour discussion last night, as did Dean of the College James Larimore and steering committee member Kyle Roderick '99.
Discussion centered around two issues -- how the initial announcement of the recommendations should be made in January, and how discussion should be organized throughout Winter term.
Although the steering committee's Trustee co-chairs, Susan Dentzer '77 and Peter Fahey '68, told The Dartmouth throughout the summer and early Fall term they believed the committee would release its report by the end of this term, Dentzer hinted after the group's meetings this weekend it would not make that goal.
As a journalist, Dentzer told The Dartmouth Sunday night, she has learned it is "dangerous" to predict how long it will take to write anything, adding this lesson is especially relevant with "a document with as much substance in it" as the committee's report will have.
In his letter to the Dartmouth community, King said the Board is "very pleased with the committee's progress and [has] encouraged it to take the necessary time to refine its recommendations and prepare its report."
The steering committee -- which wrapped up the bulk of its discussions last weekend -- is in the process of preparing the recommendations which will represent six months of work by the group of 16 Trustees, administrators, faculty and students.
At Wright's house last night, the president asked for suggestions from students, and heard a wide range of comments regarding the delivery of the report and the groups which should be involved in facilitating Winter term discussion, since the steering committee will solely be providing a set of recommendations to the full Board, who will likely make a final decision regarding the Initiative during Spring term.
"Once the report has been distributed, there will be ample opportunity for discussion before the Board makes any decisions regarding the committee's recommendations," King wrote. "Everyone's ideas and suggestions will be welcome as we work together to ensure that the Dartmouth experience is a rich and rewarding one for every member of this community."
Several students criticized the College's use of Hinman Boxes for the release of announcements, with a public forum, a campus-wide BlitzMail and the use of Dartmouth Television all named as possible vehicles for the January announcement.
Debate surrounded talk of what group or organization, if any, should serve as a focal-point for student feedback on the recommendations.
Some students pointed to the Assembly, calling it the "representative body" of Dartmouth's students. Others, however, criticized the Assembly and argued it would not be able to gain the respect and confidence of College students necessary to make the group a valid forum for discussion.
Some members of Palaeopitus, a group of 20 seniors who serve as an advisory board to the president of the College, said they think their group would be more suited for the task.
Although the steering committee will release its recommendations later than was expected, the overall time table of the Initiative will not be affected, Wright said last night. The Board still expects to come to a decision in April.
The steering committee is formally known as the Committee on the Student Life Initiative.
