The College is looking into the possibility of enlarging the stage in 105 Dartmouth Hall or building a new auditorium to create alternative programming space after Webster Hall closes.
"We're looking at all kinds of possibilities, but it's in the very early stages," Deputy Provost Bruce Pipes said.
Webster Hall is currently slated to be converted into a Special Collections library to make room for the expansion of Baker Library.
"We're going to be looking at some existing rooms on campus," said Gordie DeWitt, director of facilities planning. One of those rooms would be 105 Dartmouth, he said.
English Professor Lynda Boose said she currently uses Webster for her Shakespeare productions class. She said 105 Dartmouth used to be a theater, and it could be converted into a stage "without a whole lot of hassle."
Boose said "Webster's never been a great stage" for her purposes. She said she wants a smaller stage space and believes many groups on campus, like the Untamed Shrews, could benefit from such a space.
Although the creation of the stage would "satisfy some of the needs" previously fulfilled by Webster, Boose said it would "not fill the gap that Webster leaves."
Student Assembly President Rukmini Sichitiu '95 said the issues of 105 Dartmouth and Webster should not be associated with each other. The Assembly has been lobbying the administration for the past two months to create more programming space on campus.
Professors have been working for years to obtain stage space in 105 Dartmouth, Sichitiu said, so it "should not be linked to Webster." Pipes said last week he received an electronic mail message from Biology Professor Victor Ambros suggesting the College build an auditorium space that would be used for scientific conferences.
The College had previously hoped to create that kind of space in the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, but did not have enough money, Pipes said.
Pipes previously told The Dartmouth that the College would rather find alternative space on campus than construct a new building.
Sichitiu said the building of a large auditorium on campus could serve more than one purpose.
The auditorium could be used for scientific and academic purposes in the afternoon and social activities in the evenings, she said.
Sichitiu said she welcomes the idea as an ideal combination of social and academic concerns, where students could hear scientific lectures and also hold dances.
It is also easier to get funding from outside sources "if we have an auditorium dedicated to [the] sciences," she said.
According to Sichitiu, if such an auditorium is built, it would be the same size as Webster.
"I don't think there would be a need for anything else," she said.
Pipes said the College is just beginning to look at possible replacements to Webster. He said the process of surveying spaces on campus will be long and complicated.
DeWitt said some of the current "slope floor" facilities, such as Cook Auditorium or Kellogg Auditorium could be used for speaking engagements.
"Alumni Hall is another possible" option for housing some of Webster's functions, he said.
