Winter term was highlighted by events such as the release of the steering committee report, the Computer Science 4 cheating scandal, and Phi Delta Alpha fraternity's derecognition.
The long awaited steering committee report was released at the beginning of the term after a year of preparation, recommending drastic changes to the College's Greek system to bring it in line with the Board of Trustees' vision for student life.
While a single-sex Greek system would remain intact -- for the time being -- the steering committee's recommendations made good on College President James Wright's promise to end the Greek system "as we know it."
The steering committee recommended Coed Fraternity Sorority houses be held to stricter facility, organizational and membership requirements -- admitting that not all houses will be able to fulfill the requirements, and therefore will be derecognized by the College.
The report stated, "This reduction is desirable in order to eliminate the historical dominance by the CFS organizations of Dartmouth social life. The selective social organizations of the future will constitute a very different, higher quality but secondary component of the overall Dartmouth social system."
Broadening its scope, the report covered other facets of Dartmouth life including recommendations on residential life, graduate life, diversity and more. Some recommendations include the implementation of a common house residential system, an experimental freshmen-only housing option and much more stringent campus-wide alcohol regulations.
Following the systematic and rather smooth release of the report, reactions to the report were subdued compared to the campus protests of the previous winter. Students were not afraid to respond, nonetheless. Over 600 students attended the campus-wide discussions on the evening of the release.
Weekly "fireside chats" were held as informal, interactive public forums for Dartmouth community members to express their opinions and critique aspects of the report. Wright, Larimore and sometimes a Trustee were present to host these chats.
Students were given several opportunities to discuss and voice their opinions, particularly through several campus organizations. The 2003 Class Council held a discussion that gave freshmen a chance to discuss and contribute to a class response to the report. Clusters also provided discussions as well. The Coed Fraternity Sorority Council led by Eric Etu '01 met and presented their response to the recommendations, coming out against some key provisions in the report, but was still supportive of many of the committee's recommendations -- even those affecting the Greek system.
Ultimately, a Student Response Task Force was created by the Student Assembly to handle the bulk of a student response to the report.
"There are probably as many reactions among the faculty as among the students," Assistant Dean of the Faculty Jane Carroll said. Nonetheless, the varied opinions of the faculty eventually came to an 81-0 vote to urge the derecognition of the Greek system.
In response to the faculty vote, Melissa Mowat '03 cited a line from General George Patton in response: "If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking."
While the Initiative lingered throughout the term, several other headlines came rolling in. The cheating scandal in the computer science department erupted in the introductory CS4 class. Visiting professor Rex Dwyer reported mass cheating during a take home assignment, which eventually led to a large investigation.
After weeks of speculation and controversy, 78 students were implicated in the cheating scandal, in which 63 were to face COS investigations. Eventually, the scandal brought Dwyer's resignation and Dean Larimore's announcement at the end of the term that all charges would be dropped.
The scandal also captured national headlines as it was widely reported by the national media, particularly outlets located in the New England area.
The first of February captured the national political spotlight and the culmination of several campus campaigns for the presidential primaries. Senator John McCain and former Senator Bill Bradley won the support of the New Hampshire community, bringing McCain to a charging 18 point victory over Governor Bush and Bradley's close showing with Vice President Gore.
Among the Democrats, Gore eventually held on to his lead over Bradley to capture the delegates for the nomination.
For the Republicans, John McCain's strong showings in New Hampshire, Arizona and Michigan, captured the hearts of Americans nationwide. His strong campaign eventually fell to Bush, who finally clinched the needed number of delegates on Southern Super Tuesday. McCain had campaigned heavily at Dartmouth.
Bradley conceded and gave support to Gore and his candidacy, whereas McCain "suspended" his campaign and began to establish a national campaign for political reform and campaign finance reform--the cornerstone of his campaign. He did not endorse Bush, but came so close as to say "... he may very well be the President."
In more local contests, Winter Carnival brought the campus out of depression into festivity, with a weekend of snow-sculpture contests -- including the ski jump in the middle of the Green, the annual polar bear jump and keg jump, and not to forget, the lively social scene.
Making references to the Initiative controversy, Carnival Committee co-chair Ben Moor '00 jokingly said that this year's theme, "Lest the Cold Traditons Fail," was chosen to "capitalize on the political environment."
In sports, the Dartmouth women's basketball team captured their second straight Ivy League Title and a trip to the NCAA tournament. The 13th seed in the East, the Big Green fell four points short to fourth ranked Purdue in the first round.
Also in the spotlight, Sheryl Crow came to Dartmouth as a Montgomery Fellow. She answered questions and talked about the lyrics of the songs she performed in front of approximately 800 students in Spaulding Auditorium.
Headlines unrolled in the middle of the term. Phi Deltta Alpha fraternity was derecognized by the College on charges of violations of College and Coed Fraternity Sorority Council Regulations.
Two allegations led to Phi Delt's derecognition. First, the College received information in October of 1999 from a former brother accusing the house of allowing members of the Class of 2000 to rush during their first year at the College, serving alcohol to underage students, tolerating drug use, providing false information to the College and using techniques of peer pressure and coercion during pledge period.
In the second case, Phi Delt was charged with failing to take action when four of its members broke into Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity this past December.
The next step for the fraternity may be an appeal of the College decision.
