Claire Unis '95 has spent the majority of the past four years working to improve life at the College. While she has primarily focused her time on women's issues and improving the available social options, Unis has also found time to work as the intern in the Dean of the College's office and edit a newspaper.
Now, as she approaches graduation, many people on campus say Unis' mark will remain on Dartmouth long after she leaves Hanover.
Dean of the College Lee Pelton said whatever Unis' future holds, "she will have the happy distinction of leaving Dartmouth in a few weeks knowing full well that her presence here has made a real difference in the quality of student life."
Unis said she feels her main contributions to the College came as the editor of Spare Rib, a women's and gender issues publication, and as one of the founders of Amarna, the College's second undergraduate society.
"Amarna and Spare Rib are definitely the two most valuable things I feel I have left my mark on here at Dartmouth," Unis said in a recent interview."Even if they don't survive, we broke some ground."
Pelton, for whom Unis works in the Dean's office, describes her as a "wonderfully talented young woman of grace, poise and maturity." He added that Unis "has firmly established herself as a student leader whose social vision has helped to shape the Dartmouth student community for years to come."
"As the founding editor of Spare Rib and co-founder of Amarna, Claire has clearly sought ways in which to enhance relationships between men and women on campus," Pelton said.
Unis said she believes her Dartmouth experience, with its struggles, victories and defeats has made her grow up and become stronger.
Spare Rib
Though Unis knew little about feminism as a freshman, her interest in creative writing led her to join Spare Rib, she said.
Unis said her work in Spare Rib is important because the newspaper tries to find a vehicle for women's voices in an environment that is "not exactly conducive to women speaking out about their issues and themselves."
But Unis said she never imagined she would become the editor of Spare Rib in her freshman spring.
"I really had little choice in the matter," she said with a laugh. "The Dartmouth-Plan kicked in and Spare Rib was left to Diana Sabot ['95] and [me] to take care of in the spring."
As editor, Unis said she had to become more educated about women's issues.
"One of the ways I learned the most about women's issues and especially the issues concerning women at Dartmouth was through Mary Childers, the director of the Women's Resource Center, a truly incredible woman," Unis said.
"I learned quickly that women's issues are extremely different among women of different cultural backgrounds," Unis said. "This is something I didn't really understand and it helped explain why women of color didn't write for the Rib."
Unis stayed on as editor of Spare Rib for four more terms. "My best term was definitely the term where we published the famous 'Sex Issue'," Unis said. "I had a great group of editors and contributors willing to help."
Erika Meitner '96, the current editor of Spare Rib, said she still goes to Unis for advice on Spare Rib.
"Claire is one of the most amazing and together people I've ever met," Meitner said. "I'm definitely going to be sad when she leaves."
"She gets more accomplished in one day than most people do in a year, and what she does is always done meticulously," Meitner added. "I admire her chutzpah, her tact and the high standards she sets for everything she's involved in."
Changing the social system
Before Unis helped to found Amarna, she was a sister at Sigma Delta sorority.
"I rushed mainly because of Spare Rib," Unis said. "I knew sororities were a controversial issue for women at Dartmouth, and I felt I needed to see first-hand what they were all about and give them a try without prejudice."
Unis said she was at first impressed by Sigma Delt because it was presented to her as a very progressive group of women who were interested in many of the issues she felt were important for women at Dartmouth.
But Unis said she decided to depledge Sigma Delt because she eventually grew to dislike the organization and she felt that it was not receptive to all of its members.
"I also felt like it was too large, and some of the things it supported were anti-feminist, which I found difficult to reconcile," Unis said.
So in her junior fall, Unis joined up with Christine Carter '94, Auguste Goldman '94, Duncan Hodge '94, John Peoples '96, Rachel Perri '94 and Andrew Smith '94 to co-found Amarna.
"One thing about the Greek system is that it keeps women and men separate and their interaction superficial mainly on a group level," Unis said. "I was frustrated with the superficiality of inter-gender interactions at Dartmouth and that is the motivation behind my involvement with Amarna."
Amarna was founded to bridge the gaps and to uphold ideals of service and community, Unis explained.
"With its 45 members, Amarna has really taken off and it is a great time," Unis said. "Amarna is so exciting -- anytime you take an ideal and put it out there for people to deal with, it is difficult to keep the ideal alive, but so far the members of Amarna are so dedicated."
Intern in the Dean's Office
Unis also frequently works with the administration. This year she interned in the Dean of the College office and is a member of Palaeopitus, the senior advisory group to the College President and Dean of the College.
Unis said she chose to work in the Dean's Office because it provided a different avenue for her to be involved with the community.
Unis said she enjoyed working with Pelton and was impressed with the way he handled many situations. "I learned a lot about the way the College works, but I am dubious as to whether I made an impact on the community through this internship," Unis said.
Unis said she has no definite plans for the future. She said she will be taking a year off before hopefully applying to medical school, which she hopes to spend living in the mountains and skiing frequently.
Unis said she is also considering spending time in South America in a health-related volunteer position.
