The Student Assembly last night decided to donate $500 to help bring Lani Guinier to the College.
Guinier, who President Bill Clinton unsuccessfully nominated to the post of Solicitor General in charge of civil rights, will deliver a speech called "What I Would Have Said" in January.
The speech will be sponsored by the Women's Resource Center.
The center originally asked the Assembly for $2,500. But that amount was pared down to $1,250 in the Assembly's motion. That figure was cut again when representatives said they were concerned about the large amount.
"It would be the third largest expenditure in our budget. I don't think that this is what Dartmouth students voted for in the spring. In essence, we will be buying six minutes of her time," Matt Berry '94 said of the proposed $1,250 expenditure.
Assembly President Nicole Artzer '94 said she thought the Assembly should give $1,250 for Guinier's speech.
"There is nothing we can do about the price of Lani Guinier. What we're doing is [reaching out] to the Women's Resource Center," Artzer said. "The event will benefit the entire Dartmouth community and will be very well-attended."
A handful of Assembly members suggested that Guinier's speech would divide the student body.
"Her speech will be politically charged, divisive and embittered," said Bill Kartapoulos '97. "She is a flash in the pan, a token liberal."
Danielle Moore '95 challenged Kartapoulos.
"Isn't that the point?" Moore said. "As an institution of higher learning, aren't we supposed to encourage debate and diversity?"
Earlier in the meeting, the Assembly discussed the particulars of next week's referendum on the Greek system. Vice President Steve Costalas '94 presented the plans to the Assembly.
The referendum will be held on Thursday, Nov. 11 from 9:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. in Thayer Dining Hall's television lounge.
The Assembly decided to sponsor a poster campaign to educate students, Costalas said. The Green Key society will staff tables and count ballots, Costalas said.
Also at the meeting, the Assembly's Sexual Assault Task Force presented its plans for an affinity house next year. The task force plans to open a women's dormitory that would be open to men and women and would focus on women's issues.
"The dormitory will have two purposes: It will be educational and a safe place for both men and women," said Rukmini Sichitiu '95.
Sichitiu said she hopes to open the women's dormitory next fall. She said she is looking at either Wheeler or Richardson residence halls.
