A reassessment of College alcohol policy, the introduction of dorm locks, budget cuts and Dartmouth Dining Service's attempt to satisfy students' late night hunger pains marked the summer term.
In August, College President James Wright announced budget cuts that will affect the campus throughout the year. Due to severe investment losses on the endowment, the College scaled back planned construction projects and announced that it would slow the hiring of new employees.
An additional $1.6 million from the $3.3 million announced in the spring will be cut from this year's budget. And $5.7 million will be slashed from next year's budget.
The College, Wright told the campus, is trying to protect all academic programs from the effects of the weak economy.
Although unusually hot, the months of August and July did not otherwise pass sleepily. The Student Assembly, in particular, brought attention to controversial College policies.
The Assembly drafted reforms to the door locking system-- which premiered this summer and goes active campus-wide today -- in August after an online survey revealed that 65 percent of students described their feelings on dormitory safety as unchanged and that students need to be better informed about the new system.
The report, which will be presented to Safety and Security and to Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman, suggests the deactivation of the security system during daylight hours to alleviate its inconvenience.
Others in the Assembly pushed for change in Dartmouth's still nascent alcohol policy that came out of the Student Life Initiative. Specifically, they criticized a new rule that would require students to register parties with the Office of Residential Life, as opposed to Safety and Security, and that potential "good Samaritans" might fear consequences for escorting inebriated friends to Dick's House.
Soon after Food Court began closing at 9 p.m. every night for the summer, Dartmouth Dining Services introduced an evening delivery service. Although the service's popularity faltered, students suggested that business might improve with colder weather and an increased number of students on campus.
On Sept. 11, students were encouraged to take part in a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the lives lost in the terrorist attacks. On the same day at 9 p.m., all participants in the Dartmouth Outing Club's freshmen trips joined in a moment of silence.
In celebration of the summer's relaxed atmosphere, students organized performances and explored the great outdoors. Often times, the Green was empty but the river busy. Participation in intramural sports exceeded past years, and this summer saw the first women's IM soccer league.
The three-year-old Sophomore Trips tradition continued in force, but this time was christened "Strips." The program sent 115 sophomores into the woods and onto the rivers of New Hampshire and Vermont. The Ledyard Canoe Club hosted the United States Canoe Association Marathon Canoe and Kayak National Championships, and Bradford Marden '04 led Sophomores-to-the-Source, a group of 16 students that paddled three canoes 95 miles from Lancaster, N.H., back to Hanover.
The Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth Program, in its second year, paired 30 rising high-school sophomores from under-funded public schools with Dartmouth sophomore mentors, who introduced them to the New Hampshire outdoors.
Another notable event was a performance by the Dog Day Players improvisational comedy group in front of Dartmouth Hall that lasted for 24 hours. The show's revenue went to Benefit for a Better Chance, a non-profit education organization.
In other news, Dartmouth welcomed Dr. Richard Crocker to campus as the new college chaplain.
And in a more serious development, one sophomore was diagnosed with meningitis, a potentially deadly disease that swells the spinal cord and brain. But Director of Health Services Jack Turco stressed that a single case of the bacterial disease should not serve as cause for alarm.
