Members of the Class of 1998 gathered Sunday night to watch the "Community at Dartmouth" presentation, a series of skits and narratives designed to introduce new students to some of the social issues present on the Dartmouth campus.
The program was presented simultaneously at Spaulding Auditorium and at the Collis Center.
A group of undergraduate advisors and other students presented skits dealing with issues of race, culture, eating disorders, rape, sexuality and diversity among Dartmouth students.
The show included a number of fictional situations that one might be expected to find in college, including rape, alcohol abuse and homosexuality.
Members of the Class of 1998 were required to attend the event.
In the summer, a committee formed by the Freshman Office planned and organized the content of the two-and-a-half-hour show.
One point of contention during the spring was how much time should be devoted to examining sexual assault on the Dartmouth campus. A group of members of the Class of 1996 met during the summer to plan the event.
The program, formerly called "Social Issues Night," was renamed "Community at Dartmouth" this year.
Freshmen Dean Peter Goldsmith said the committee "found nothing wrong with the [old] name, but it had attained a baggage they wished to jettison." In short, he said, "They wanted to start fresh."
In the past, Social Issues Night has been criticized for being overly concerned with political correctness.
Goldsmith began the program with a speech asserting the program was "not about indoctrination" but rather an exploration of "mutual respect" in the Dartmouth community.
Grace Chionuma '96, who served on the committee but was not involved in the name-change, said "I think it is more reflective of what we are trying to do."
The major difference in the content of this year's show was the elimination of a separate part of the program for sexual assault issues. Instead, this year sexual assault was integrated into the program.
"It's no one's place to say that one [issue] is more important than others," said Kishan Putta '96, one of the members of the committee that organized the event.
David Gonzalez '95, an area coordinator who delivered a monologue about his college experiences during the Spaulding presentation, said the main thrust of the event was to show students that "this stuff really happens."
"I thought it was very powerful and a lot of it was scary," Leah Fergenson '98 said.
After the presentation, the freshmen split in groups into residential clusters to discuss the program with a College administrator
In past years, discussions were held within individual UGA groups. Gonzalez said the change was made to provide a broader range of opinion within the discussions.
