The Dartmouth sent reporters to eight of last night's campus discussions on the newly-released steering committee report on the Student Life Initiative.
While the majority of students who attended these meetings were affiliated with single-sex Greek organizations, the discussions also drew independents and freshmen who are not able to be affiliated. Most came armed with copies of the publicly distributed 40-page report.
Discussions of outlined Greek system changes dominated many sessions, although students also expressed opinions on the expanded cluster residence opportunities and centralized dining.
Sessions were held in campus public and academic buildings, residence halls and Greek houses, and most were facilitated by a representative of the College faculty, administration and student body.
Gamma Delta Chi fraternity
Approximately 20 members of Gamma Delta Chi fraternity and a few other students were present at the house's discussion.
The majority of the audience reflected a strongly pro-Greek sentiment. Many fraternity members were "disappointed" by the report recommendations which they viewed as a plan to gradually phase-out the Greek system.
An overwhelming negative response was given to the suggestion to put UGAs in the Greek houses. The group expressed confusion over the reasoning behind this proposal.
Other discussions outside the proposed changes in the Greek system included varying opinions on the benefits of freshman-only housing.
219 Collis
While students in 219 Collis were impressed by the committee's recognition of the needs for freshman housing options, continuity in residential life and continued centralized dining, suggestions for Greek system changes were largely criticized.
Students -- both affiliated and independent -- criticized the Dean of the College's ability to recommend the end of the entire Greek system, should he or she judge it to be a failure. Limits on organization numbers, the ambiguity of phrases like "selective social organization," and the lack of formal buildings for a multicultural center or expanded Women's Resource Center drew student ire.
While some thought the report gave CFS organizations goals to prove their campus worth, many found in the report the desire to eliminate eventually the single-sex Greek system.
East Wheelock cluster
Approximately 60 students attended a discussion session in East Wheelock's Brace Commons.
Although much of the discussion time was spent arguing specific aspects of the recommendations, there was almost unanimous agreement that there are definitely aspects of Dartmouth social life that need to change.
Some students cited the lack of social alternatives to the Greek system and praised the efforts of the East Wheelock cluster to provide other options and a more cohesive residential community by providing space like Brace Commons and alternate dining options like the Wheelock snack bar.
Pointing out the general happiness of the Dartmouth student body, other students argued that the Initiative is an unnecessary attack on a system that is working well for them.
Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority
In the beginning of the meeting -- attended by largely Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority members -- there was concern that the steering committee's report used language that was especially negative.
There was also a concern by students that there was a lack of attention paid by the report to positive information, such as Dartmouth's high student satisfaction rate.
The first major issue to be brought up regarded the committee's recommendations that pledge period be eliminated and unaffiliated UGA staff must reside in the house. The lack of mention of the D-Plan in the Initiative report caused concern as well.
Students also brought up that social space solely for women was not addressed in the report's recommendations.
There was fairly uniform agreement that cluster situations did not necessarily imply social activity. Students said an example of this phenomenon was their belief that the College's East Wheelock cluster is unsuccessful in gathering students in halls and common spaces.
104 Reed Hall
In 104 Reed Hall some students expressed reservations about restricting residence in CFS houses, and added that this would disrupt the sense of continuity the steering committee was trying to achieve.
Students said that through a restriction of personal choices of where and whom to live with, segregated superclusters controlled by the administration were a future product of the Initiative.
While some recognized the report encouraged students to find other groups to affiliate themselves with other than in the CFS system, others were turned off by the committee's seeming mistrust of students and the deliberately harsh criteria Greek houses will be subjected to, which was deemed as "micro-management."
A consensus supported greater student interaction with faculty and administrators in the evenings as a way for the two groups to interact outside the classroom.
Both students and faculty agreed that having administrators visit CFS basements to see the reality of the alcohol culture might change their perceptions for the better. Having adults occasionally mix with students would add a pleasant element to student life and would cause students to moderate their habits. The idea of student-faculty 'tails' was suggested.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity
Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity's forum attracted approximately 25 participants, many of whom were brothers in the house, as well as steering committee co-chair Trustee Peter Fahey '68.
The discussion was dedicated to the consideration of broad issues rather than specific details of the report.
Fahey attended the last 30 minutes of the forum and stayed to discuss the recommendations with many of the participants for more than 45 minutes afterwards.
Fahey assured the group that the Trustees would be receptive to undergraduate voices and especially to proposals for specific alternatives to suggestions contained in the report.
SAE members spent time describing the benefits affiliation had afforded them, as did several of the women present.
The students lauded the support and the sense of place that their fraternity or sorority offered them, referring to their respective CFS houses as their homes.
This theme was reflected in the criticism of several of the committee's specific recommendations regarding the CFS system. Proposals for a resident UGA in CFS houses and the elimination of pledge period were felt to threaten the ideals of the Greek system.
One suggestion several forum participants made was to abolish hazing but to retain the pledge period in some form as a valuable community building process.
Many of the participants also expressed concern over what they saw as a stereotypical and simplified portrayal of CFS organizations and affiliated students in which one organization's or individual's actions are taken as typical of the Greek system as a whole.
Thornton Hall
The two discussion groups scheduled for Thornton Hall combined into one group of mostly affiliated students that felt the steering committee's report on Initiative changes seemed to mostly subtract from campus social options without adding any substantial new ones.
Most participants were concerned about the future of the Greek system, some stating that the standards set by the report were so high that it would be impossible for the Greek houses to continue and that the report did not give a fair view of the positives of the CFS system.
Other discussions questioned the feasibility of the proposed cluster system and freshman-only housing.
Students stated that they loved Dartmouth and its "study hard, play hard" atmosphere and expressed the fear that the proposal would turn the campus into a "police state." Most students supported proposed campus additions such as new arts and sports spaces as well as larger residence hall rooms. The facilitators stressed that at this point in the process, the Initiative recommendations are still going to be the topic of ongoing discussion.
104 Dartmouth Hall
Approximately 20 mostly affiliated students were in 104A Dartmouth Hall where the majority of discussion focused on student feelings towards the CFS system and campus social life.
Most of the affiliated students said that their membership in a house had been a positive experience, providing a strong support network throughout their college years.
Students said that the intent of the steering committee report should have been to improve and add on to the current options, rather than a start with a clean slate.
However this report did not do this and was instead a threat to the future existence of the Greek system, they said.
While the majority of attendees who spoke were strongly opposed to the proposed changes, some participants said that they were in favor of change.
One female participant said the problem with the Greek system is that it was difficult for students to speak against it. This was echoed by other students.
Another student expressed concern about the financial implications of changes to Greek houses outlined in the steering committee recommendations.
Many students said that while they were pleased with the aspects of the report that did not focus on the CFS system, they also had several additional suggestions for the committee.
All participants said that they supported the expansion of centralized dining and that they were glad that the committee had not recommended cluster dining halls.
Several students expressed the need for more and improved social spaces on campus, stressing that new space should be student-controlled and attractively programmed.
The steering committee is formally known as the Committee on the Student Life Initiative.
