James Hunter '95 stepped down as president of the Afro-American Society over the weekend, saying he wants to dedicate the rest of his time at Dartmouth to prepare for graduate school.
Hunter said he announced his resignation in an electronic-mail message to Taja-Nia Henderson '97, the AAm parliamentarian. Henderson will handle the presidential duties for the best of the term because AAm Vice President Lewis Berry '97 is off-campus.
The parliamentarian is next in the line of succession after the vice-president, according to the AAm constitution. The AAm is the College's black students association.
Hunter has come under fire within the AAm because of allegations printed several weeks ago in The Dartmouth Review, the off-campus conservative weekly. The Review alleged that Hunter was brought before the Committee on Standards to face charges of sexual assault and that Hunter was convicted of credit card fraud.
AAm members asked Hunter to address the issues raised by The Review, and Hunter sent an electronic-mail message to the membership of the AAm last week, denying the allegations made in The Review.
Hunter said he faced no pressure from members of the AAm to resign. "It's a decision of practicality versus a decision made under pressure," he said. "I just decided it was time for me to move on."
He said being the president of AAm was a big time commitment, and since he had "a lot of things to do to prepare for graduate school," he wanted to cut down on the number of activities he was actively involved in.
Hunter, the Area Coordinator for the Gold Coast cluster, is the intern in the Dean of the College office.
"I just needed some time off ... to take care of my personal business," Hunter said.
Henderson presided over yesterday's AAm Executive Committee meeting, which Hunter said he did not attend. Hunter said he is still a member of AAm, and said he is acting as an adviser to Henderson.
Advisers and members of the AAm said the resignation would not have a negative impact on the AAm.
"Being there are four weeks left in the term, I don't think it will have that much effect on the AAm," said Toshalyn Watson '97, the AAm culture education chair.
Class of 1996 Dean Sylvia Langford, who is the co-adviser to the AAm, said there would be a period of adjustment, but there would not be "an adverse effect on an organization that's been on campus for the past 25 years."
AAm co-adviser Anthony Tillman said Hunter's resignation will not have a negative effect on the organization. Tillman, the associate dean of freshmen, said AAm members tend to be assertive and conscientious students, "so the beat will go on."
