An alleged sexual assault incident, an outbreak of spinal meningitis, an unidentified intruder in residence hall rooms over Winter Carnival, and a controversy following a homophobic flier were some of the hot stories this Winter at the College.
Overall, the College had a fairly quiet Winter term, as administrators tried to stay the course while College President James Freedman was on sabbatical. But the term was anything but ordinary.
Health problems
Two freshmen were taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center last term and placed in intensive care units after being diagnosed with spinal meningitis. Another freshman suffered from a blood infection of the bacteria, but did not develop spinal meningitis.
Spinal meningitis, a potentially fatal disease caused by the meningococcus bacteria, is an inflammation of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Five to 15 percent of spinal meningitis cases result in the death of the victim.
In another health scare last term, numerous sanitation problems discovered in Panda House restaurant last November were released in early January.
A New Hampshire Board of Health official recorded during a routine inspection that the restaurant had a severe cockroach problem, the sushi kitchen was unclean, raw meats were not being properly separated from other foods and floors needed cleaning.
"A food worker was observed killing cockroaches with his hand (squashing them) and then returning to food handling without washing his hands," the report stated.
But Panda House quickly cleaned up its act and a subsequent report in December noted "the overall cleanliness of this facility is exceptional at the time of inspection."
Hanover Police are also still investigating an incident that occurred on an otherwise quiet Carnival weekend.
On the Saturday night of Carnival, a woman reported alleged sexual assault in Morton residence hall. The incident was one of six complaints of unwanted entry made to Safety and Security by residents of Morton that weekend.
The police currently have not made any arrests in the case.
DaGLO discussion
Hanover Police are also continuing to investigate an incident in mid-February concerning a hate flier.
The Dartmouth-area Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Organization received an anonymous flier in its Hinman Box advertising a discussion titled "Let's talk about faggots." The flier said the discussion would include topics like "Is it OK to shoot gays?" and "Do we have to accept homosexuality?"
Though the discussion never took place, a subsequent community discussion organized by DaGLO to address issues raised by the flier deteriorated into a tense debate that prompted a few DaGLO members to walk out, one in tears.
Meanwhile, in response to student requests, the administration continued discussing the possibility of hiring a dean to advise and represent gay, lesbian and bisexual students on campus. Dean of the College Lee Pelton said yesterday that he has yet to reach a decision on the matter.
The administration has approved the hiring of a counselor at Dick's House who has experience working with gay, lesbian and bisexual affairs on a temporary basis. The Student Assembly passed a motion last term to support this position.
The Administration
The beginning of Winter term marked the start of College President James Freedman's six-month sabbatical. He is presently in Boston finishing a book about liberal arts education.
Dean of the Faculty James Wright has been filling Freedman's shoes in Parkhurst, while Chemistry Professor Karen Wetterhahn had been acting dean of the faculty. Freedman will return from sabbatical in June.
The administration announced in March that it could face a budget shortfall of between $3 million to $5 million in the 1996 fiscal year, due to the rising costs of need-blind admissions and the ending of the College's capital campaign in 1996.
At its Winter term meeting, the Board of Trustees decided to raise tuition 6.45 percent, up $1,260 to $20,805.
The total cost of attending Dartmouth for the academic year 1995-1996, including tuition, fees, room and board, will be $27,039, which is an increase of $1,319, or 5.13 percent.
The tuition increase represented a drop in the rate of increase from last year, when tuition rose by 6.94 percent from $18,270 to $19,650.
Academics
The Committee on Instruction and the Committee on Procedure approved a proposal that would allow students to drop courses without a professor's permission up until the last two weeks of a term. The faculty will consider the proposal this term.
The COP also conducted a survey of faculty and students during the term to assess the effectiveness of the College's Academic Honor Principle.
Eight-hundred random undergraduates received the questionnaire, which asked how thoroughly they had been informed of the honor principle in class, what they believe would violate the principle and whether they would report such violations.
The questionnaire sent to all faculty members was similar to the one sent to students. But it also asked faculty members for their views on the Committee on Standards and its penalties for honor principle violations.
French and Italian Professor Virginia Swain, who chairs the COP, said last term she is unsure what the committee will do with its findings.
At the beginning of January, a faculty panel approved Syracuse University Political Science Professor Linda Fowler's appointment as head of the Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences and as a tenured government professor.
Fowler will replace Geography Professor George Demko next fall as head of the Rockefeller Center. Demko has been the head of the Rockefeller Center since 1989.
The Thayer School of Engineering also announced its new head in January. Elsa Garmire of the University of Southern California will become the first female dean in the history of Thayer in September.
Garmire, who is currently the director of USC's Center for Laser Studies, will become the 11th dean of the Thayer School and replace interim dean Graham Wallis.
Alcohol policy
The College is once again working on revising its alcohol policy.
Near the end of the term, Pelton charged a task force to examine the role that alcohol plays on campus. The task force will be co-chaired by College Health Service Director Jack Turco and Emily Jones '95 and will examine the alcohol policy put in place two years ago.
Pelton said the task force will examine four aspects of alcohol on campus: underage drinking, the effect of alcohol on gender relations, the College's programs dealing with alcohol and the College Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs.
In March, a group of students and administrators charged with revising Greek social procedures released a report recommending adjustments that would reaffirm the responsibility of Greek houses at their own social events.
The "Committee to Revise CFS Social Procedures" approved 29 recommendations during its one-day retreat in February. None of the recommendations require dramatic changes to the College's current alcohol policy.
Dining and Housing
Changes to College meal plan and housing systems were also adopted during the Winter term.
The Office of Residential Life instituted a new housing assignment process that gives each student one random priority number. Seniors receive highest priority for on-campus housing, followed by juniors and then sophomores.
Under the new plan, students can only list roommates on their housing applications. Under the old system, students could pull friends into their cluster.
The new system was adopted to alleviate abuse of the previous system, said Bud Beatty, associate dean of residential life.
But many students, especially freshmen, were worried that the new plan would increase the size of the waiting list and force many sophomores to live off-campus.
The College also adopted a new meal plan system that abandoned the mandatory punch plan for freshmen. Students will pay a sliding scale of fees based on their class year to subsidize losses incurred by Dartmouth Dining Services.
The new plan, which goes into effect Summer term, gives all students the option to buy a five, 10 or 14 punch meal plan or a Declining Balance Account of $400, $600 or $800.
Members of the Class of 1996 with a DBA will pay $70 a term, members of the Class of 1997 will be charged $38 per term and the Class of 1998 will pay $25 per term.All subsequent classes will be charged $100 per term.
Also under the new plan, DDS will refund all unused DBA money to students.
Student Assembly
The Assembly elected John Honovich '97 as its vice president at the beginning of the term to fill the vacancy left by former Vice President Rukmini Sichitiu '95, who became president in the wake of the resignation of Danielle Moore '95.
In response to its continuing problems, however, the Assembly voted to create an external review committee to examine the Assembly in the Spring term. The external review committee will be chaired by Class of 1995 Vice President Hosea Harvey.
The committee will analyze the structure of the Assembly to find methods to decrease gridlock, promote leadership, reduce partisanship and better represent the student body, Harvey said last term.
The Student Assembly also organized a rally in January to convince the College to build a replacement for Webster Hall, which the College plans to convert to a Special Collections Library. The administration is currently looking for space for a replacement for the campus' only medium sized performance venue.
In March, Playboy magazine announced it will come to Dartmouth in May to interview women who would like to pose for the "Women of the Ivy League" pictorial in the magazine's October issue.
The announcement sparked plans for student protest against the shoot.
