At the first of a weekly series of fireside chats, President of the College James Wright, Trustee and steering committee co-chair Peter Fahey '68 and Dean of the College James Larimore listened and briefly responded to student views and concerns about the committee's recommendations report.
Wright called the report a "comprehensive plan" with many interrelated aspects but "no hidden meaning." He emphasized that the importance of understanding the report only sets forth recommendations -- the task at hand is to determine of what type of community its members want to create for the future.
"Winter term we will be focusing on student input, and tonight is just one part of that effort," Larimore said, of what will be active and vibrant term in Hanover.
Larimore said more than 600 students participated in Monday night's campus-wide discussions.
About 100 students, faculty and administrators attended last night's discussion in the Top of the Hop where Fahey and Wright addressed the crowd during the initial part of the forum before comments were fielded from the audience.
Wright said he is never satisfied with the status quo and hoped others felt the same way.
He shared his vision of Dartmouth as a place of continuity, friendship and learning both inside and out of the classroom. Wright said the challenge is now to envision a stronger, more inclusive community with greater opportunities.
"I have no interest in managing your lives any more than I have an interest in you managing mine," Wright said.
Given the report's substantial recommendations for overhauling many facets of campus life, Wright said the report was bound to include recommendations relating to the Greek system.
According to Wright, the committee, however, was thinking in broader terms such as on a cluster level, and was not attempting to hone-in on the Greek system.
"We recognize the merits of the CFS system, but we also think there is room for another social source on campus," Fahey said.
Wright also said his vision of the cluster ideas contained in the report does not equate to erecting East Wheelock Clusters all over campus.
"I believe students should have choices, and this committee is trying to provide a full range of choices," Wright said.
Wright said he has not heard much disagreement with the physical plans for new buildings and facilities mentioned in the report, and quoted the figure of $100 million to be spent over the next several years to transform the recommendations into a reality.
The audience comment session was often disjointed, with little relation between consecutive comments. For most of this time, Wright and Fahey remained silent while Larimore helped facilitate the discussion.
One theme present in several comments was the problem of gender relations on campus, including sexual abuse.
Former Student Assembly President Josh Green '00 noted the lack of attention the report paid to issues of gender parity, which seemed a centerpoint of the Initiative when it was announced last February.
A sophomore expressed concern the report was trying to change the type of student who would enroll at the College by changing Dartmouth into a different, but not necessarily an improved place.
While some students felt the report intended to attract those students with higher SAT scores who applied to Dartmouth but matriculated elsewhere, Wright said he is proud of Dartmouth's exceptional students and their accomplishments and is not dissatisfied with current students.
Fahey did elaborate on the philosophy behind the report's recommendation of Undergraduate Advisors being associated with Greek houses.
According to Fahey, the report calls for an enhanced role for UGAs on floors of residence halls, and in a parallel way, UGAs would serve the entire membership of a Greek house, including those who physically live there.
Fahey opened with comments regarding the committee's intensive commitment to the report, whose formation was often an emotional process.
With the committee's composition a "microcosm" of the larger Dartmouth community, Fahey said each member had a different point of view, resulting in periods of disagreement and inter-committee deadlock.
The approximately 40-page product is, however, one that every member is willing to stand behind when viewed as a whole; the recommendations for the structure of campus are a product of the compromise of the thoughts and sensitivities of the committee members, Fahey said.
Wright began by contrasting the current conditions of Dartmouth with those when he first came to Hanover, and mentioned how the history of the College has influenced him while serving as its President.
He said roots of the Initiative extend 20 to 25 years ago with the recognition of the lack of adequate social and residential space, the discontinuity produced by the D-Plan, the predominate role of Greek houses in social life and the abuse of alcohol on campus.
"This is a far stronger place than when I [initially] came here, but it still has some problems," Wright said.
The fireside chats are designed as an informal, interactive public forums for Dartmouth community members to express their opinions and critique aspects of the report. Wright, Larimore and sometimes a Trustee will be present at subsequent chats, most of which will occur in Collis Commonground.
