Despite perceptions that the Greek system lacks diversity, a study conducted by the Office of Residential Life shows that the coed, fraternity and sorority system is nearly as racially diverse as the Dartmouth community. Minority students make up 29 percent of the class of 2003 and 20 percent of the class of 2002, according to 1999 figures.
Cases of genital herpes diagnosed on campus spiked this month, with a total of eight new cases of the sexually transmitted disease already reported just over halfway through November.
Philosophy Professor Susan Brison discussed her experience as the victim of a brutal rape at a presentation yesterday of her recently published book, "Aftermath: Violence and the Remaking of a Self." While Brison dedicated much of the discussion to her own experience and recovery, she also addressed the larger issues of victims' rights and what she called the social "phenomenon" of misogyny. Brison was attacked while walking alone through a country field near Grenoble, France.
Improvements to facilities trumped budget cuts as the focus of this weekend's Board of Trustees meeting, while College finances remained a sensitive and relatively untouched subject. While the Finance Committee did present a report to the Trustees, no action was taken to reallocate the College's operating budget and further cuts are not anticipated, President of the College James Wright said. Wright did stress, however, the uncertainty of future budgeting issues, explaining that there is no way to ascertain future financial conditions. Wright functioned as the meeting's spokesperson, as Chair Susan Dentzer '77 and Trustee Russell Carson '65 avoided the subject of the College's proposed budget cuts. Dentzer would only comment that the Board had discussed next year's budget, and Carson declined to speak about College finances. Deferring most financial questions to Wright was an apparent effort by the Trustees to curb speculation in light of negative faculty and student reactions to the proposed cuts. The votes that were cast over the two days of meetings included approvals for renovations and additions to Dartmouth's Child Care Project, the Alumni Gym and the Thayer School of Engineering, Wright said. The Alumni Gym and Thayer renovations will be financed by gifts, while loans will subsidize the expansion of the Child Care Project, Wright said. Susan Lloyd, the Director of the Child Care Resource Office, appeared overjoyed at the Board's decision, explaining that no improvements have been made to the Child Care Project since its establishment in 1987 while there is "a huge child care need in the community that's just growing." Although the expansion of the center won't meet all of the program's needs, this weekend's nod to move forward was "a huge step in the right direction," Lloyd said.
The College's Board of Trustees will meet to discuss the hotly-debated budget cuts this weekend while in Hanover for their quarterly meeting. Vice President of Public Affairs Bill Walker cited new facilities and long-term academic matters as other expected discussion items. Meetings focusing on academic programs will be "broader in focus" and look at academic departments' growth and direction, Chair of the Board Susan Dentzer said. The most high-profile discussion this weekend, however, will center on the rash of proposed budget cuts that have concerned Dartmouth employees and students since September. Board members were noticeably reticent about any possible decisions or discussion items in the days leading up to the weekend.
A small but determined group of students gathered on the Collis Center porch yesterday afternoon in its second step toward raising campus awareness about genetically modified foods. Wednesday's event was the follow-up to a survey campaign conducted about two weeks ago at various Dartmouth dining establishments. The student organizers, Sue DuBois '05, Peter Rapp '03 and Chris Prentice '05, began the meeting with a series of short speeches outlining their current work on campus and the facts on genetically modified organisms in American food. Prentice revealed the results of the survey, stating that while many students questioned weren't previously aware of the issue, most agreed that they would like to see labels on GMO-based products. Rapp discussed various issues surrounding genetically modified foods, stressing their negative effects on the environment and irreparable damage they can wreak on organic farms. Adverse effects of genetically-altered substances include narrowing the diversity of plants and crops and killing off or stunting the growth of certain insects, such as the monarch butterfly, according to Rapp.
File sharing and connection glitches cause network congestion
What started out as an event to provide first-year students with a chance to hear upperclassmen talk about relationships and sex at Dartmouth turned into a forum for older students to voice their personal views on the subject, as groups gathered Monday and Tuesday night for a Sexual Abuse Awareness Program-sponsored event billed, "Sex, Relationships & the Social Scene at Dartmouth." Each night a small group of students gathered on the couches and floors of Delta Delta Delta and Epsilon Kappa Theta sororities amid soda and snacks in order to informally discuss the College's social arena. Both scheduled speakers and audience members spoke openly about their brushes with the so-called "hook-up scene" and the ups and downs of dating at Dartmouth. Monday night's event, held at EKT, attracted a total of five first-years -- all women. The conversation centered around self-respect and awareness when venturing into Dartmouth's social life. One speaker, LeVaur Livingstone '02, summed up the general message of the upperclassmen best, saying, "you need to be you and then everything will be good." During the discussion portion of the talks, several '03 audience members stressed to the first-years that they should respect themselves and not be pressured into unwanted activities. Many upperclass women also made sure to point out that "hooking up" was not a way to earn older guys' respect. While the upperclass students directed their comments toward the '06s in the room, the discussion was also an opportunity for the older students to voice their own feelings about the Dartmouth social scene. The first-year students themselves were noticeably quiet throughout the discussion. The first speaker of the night, Adam Salem '03, later commented that he was "glad it was very honest [because] that's the only way to get a real perspective." The event's organizers, SAAP Coordinator Abby Tassel and Sexual Abuse Peer Advisor Intern Kathleen Szilagyi '03, agreed that the discussion went extremely well, and said that the small turnout actually fostered a more intimate, honest conversation. However, several of the first-year women who attended agreed that while the older girls' perspectives were helpful and forced them to think, the talk was rather "bitter" and "depressing." The first-year turnout did not improve the second night at Tri-Delt, with only seven '06s present. However, while last night's event was similarly structured -- starting with a group of speakers, then opening up to a larger conversation -- the dynamic was quite different. The discussion that evolved was an interesting mix, touching on individuals' opinions of the Dartmouth "scene" as well as recitals of various personal experiences. Toward the end of the event, the mood became more somber as the conversation turned to the sensitive subject of sexual assault at Dartmouth. Several women cited friends' experiences with sexual assault as a turning point in their view of the campus social scene. Unfortunately for the event's organizers, all but one '06 had left directly after the speeches and did not hear the group conversation, a more honest peek into the Dartmouth social experience than most first-years will learn from booklets or their UGAs. The desire to share was clearly on the upperclassmen's side.
Almost two-and-a-half years after being mandated by the Board of Trustees, individual reports detailing required physical updates and improvements to coed, fraternity and sorority physical plants will finally be released later this term. Leaders of Greek organizations that occupy privately-owned houses said they expect the renovations to be costly, requiring extensive support from organization alumni and national corporations. Since the April 2000 release of the Student Life Initiative report, a private audit company has been working its way through all CFS physical plants in order to determine what short and long-term projects each organization will need to plan for. The College's goal is to create parity between College-owned housing and on-campus corporation-owned housing, said Cassie Barnhardt, the assistant dean of residential life for Greek affairs.
Imagine waking up at 4:15 a.m., going to bed at midnight and passing the hours in between running obstacle courses, attending academic classes, practicing drills and undergoing intense mental pressure -- all under the hot Virginia sun. This was the summer internship of an unusually large group of Dartmouth students at the Marine Corps Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Va. Two students described their weeks of training as a "blur," but most agreed that it was a worthwhile experience that would prove valuable in any future career or challenge. Each Dartmouth "candidate," as students are called in OCS, emphasized the life lessons they learned in leadership, confidence, discipline, attention to detail and personal pride as they described their experiences. "You really feel like you want to live your life by a different set of values," said Matthew McKnight '05, who finished the six-week Platoon Leaders Course at the top of his company. The OCS, which runs two summer programs for undergraduates, is designed to train future military leaders through intense physical, academic and mental training, according to participants. Capt.