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The College has clarified and expanded the disciplinary action for violations of the alcohol policies announced by College President Phil Hanlon in late January as part of his “Moving Dartmouth Forward” initiative. Punishments for hard alcohol violations will include college probation and suspension for first- and second-time offenders, respectively.
Student Assembly, Palaeopitus senior society and the Office of the President hosted a “Moving Dartmouth Forward” town meeting last night in Filene Auditorium, during which a panel composed of College President Phil Hanlon, Interim Dean of the College Inge-Lise Ameer, Provost Carolyn Dever and Dean of the Faculty Michael Mastanduno answered questions from facilitators and audience members about the plan’s five major initiatives.
Amidst the many proposals from the “Moving Dartmouth Forward” presidential steering committee on housing arrangements, choice of alcoholic beverage and fraternity parties, I was happy to finally see a heading — albeit far down the list — dealing with the College’s central mission of education. The report suggested increased rigor, deflated grades and early morning classes.
Course Changes: Wait, we were supposed to sign up for courses?
Dr. Seuss: A book, a book, a newly found book? On July 28 we can give it a look?
Regardless of whether you think the entirety of the “Moving Dartmouth Forward” plan is a treasure chest or a dung heap — and campus opinion has swung in both directions — there is at least one crown jewel in College President Phil Hanlon’s slew of proposals to improve student life. It’s what the presidential steering committee calls Dartmouth Thrive, a holistic program intended to promote student development and wellness. The committee’s vision for the program is lofty, targeting every dimension of students’ lives — mind, body and spirit — to create a more engaged and reflective student body. Like many of the other proposals in the committee’s report, however, the details have yet to be hashed out.
When students reference the Greek system, it includes more than two dozen organizations compromised of both fraternities and sororities. Yet, while Greek organizations encompass an array of students and interests, references to the “Greek system” often regard the system itself as a singular entity. This seems only fair since, for better or for worse, credit and blame for the actions of various houses are often attributed to all Greek houses, regardless of who is responsible. This essentialist view of the variety of Greek organizations as one body, however, is also the Achilles’ heel of the system. Sharing the blame for the actions of others can drive wedges between houses and aggravate tensions between those with existing disagreements or organizations that do not necessarily like each other. Now, more than ever never before, it could be the greatest undoing for affiliated students.
Panels: External or ICC sponsored, take your pick.
A campus hard alcohol ban was perhaps the most significant policy change that College President Phil Hanlon announced in his Jan. 29 “Moving Dartmouth Forward” address. Since then, colleges and national media outlets alike have debated the merits of the ban. Beyond the College’s talking points, there does not seem to be widespread agreement that this is indeed the way forward. The justification and arguments for the ban leave us unconvinced that this was the best possible tool at administrators’ disposal to ensure student safety and well-being.
I can see why banning hard alcohol would seem like a sound solution for binge drinking, but it seems unclear what makes administrators believe it is feasible. It is already against state law and Dartmouth policies for underage students to drink, yet this clearly does not stop them from accessing alcohol. It is absurd to expect older students not to consume hard alcohol in College-owned housing, when such a practice is very legal just a few hundred feet away in downtown Hanover. Enforcing this policy will undoubtedly be a challenge.
Over the past few weeks, it has become increasingly clear that the College’s attitudes toward alcohol and underage drinking are misinformed. I would like to believe that this institution — more focused on the undergraduate experience than many of its peers — would have taken the lead in putting students first. Alas, the tenor and rhetoric of administrators lead me to believe that those making policy decisions are either primarily concerned with public image or are shockingly unaware of the way that college-aged people interact with each other and alcohol.
An external review panel composed of five members will be tasked with evaluating the progress of the “Moving Dartmouth Forward” plan as it is implemented, the College announced on Monday. The panel — chaired by Tufts University President Emeritus Lawrence Bacow — is responsible for providing periodic evaluations of the advancement of “Moving Dartmouth Forward” to Hanlon and the College’s Board of Trustees.
An intense focus on a single issue once again dominates popular discussion on campus — this time “Moving Dartmouth Forward,” arguably the biggest announcement by a College President in recent memory. There are some, however, that question the characterization of College President Phil Hanlon’s new plan as groundbreaking. The proposed changes, hard alcohol ban aside, appear are unlikely to be the biggest changes to hit the College since coeducation. Instead, what I see is a campaign of smoke and mirrors.
As far as I have witnessed, most expressions of dissatisfaction with the status quo on campus coming from marginalized groups have been met with one swift rebuttal — “If you don’t like it here, leave.” This is a popular response, especially when the Greek system and the College’s culture are being questioned. Not only is this largely unfeasible, it is offensive to the notion of progress and equality.
College President Phil Hanlon’s “Moving Dartmouth Forward” plan fails to address sexism, racism and other forms of exclusivity. Rather, the hard alcohol ban exacerbates them, creating situations in which binge drinking and sexual assault are more likely to occur. The policy targets women and shifts the blame for sexual assault from misunderstandings about sex and consent to alcohol, essentially making this policy another form of victim blaming.
Winter Carnival: Villains or Heroes, we can all agree that campus looks beautiful this week.
The amount of student bed space available in the College’s living and learning communities, now around 20 percent of all housing, will remain unchanged after the implementation of a residential housing system next fall, senior assistant dean of residential life and director of residential education Mike Wooten said.
While there may be no scheduled classes today, on any given day it’s likely that at least a few students have pulled an all-nighter to finish an assignment or exam. Enter Baker-Berry Library at any time throughout the term and you will see hundreds of students studying for hours on end. While College President Phil Hanlon has asked faculty “to consider a number of ways to increase the rigor of our curriculum” through unilaterally curbing grade inflation or having earlier classes, he should instead look to increase rigor by fixing structural inadequacies in the academic resources Dartmouth offers its students.
In last Thursday’s “Moving Dartmouth Forward” speech, College President Phil Hanlon stated that the presidential steering committee had concluded that the Greek system itself is not the root of Dartmouth’s problem. The committee’s research compared schools with Greek systems to those without them, and their findings reported that both grapple with high levels of harmful behaviors, such as binge drinking and sexual assault. These findings evidently shaped the decision not to significantly reform the College’s Greek system.
Following a series of pilot programs slated to begin this fall, the College will require all students to participate in a four-year sexual assault education program. This initiative is part of the plan for Moving Dartmouth Forward, which College President Phil Hanlon announced in his speech last Thursday.