Dean of Freshmen Peter Goldsmith said his office has already begun to implement many of the orientation recommendations made by the Committee on the First-Year Experience.
Inthe committee's final report, which was released in May, Dean of the College Lee Pelton recommended that Goldsmith, in consultation with others, put into practice the recommendations contained in the orientation sub-section of the report.
The committee's orientation proposals include restructuring the first and second class meetings, delineating the role of Undergraduate Advisors in academic advising and ensuring that the vital discussions initiated during orientation continue throughout the year.
Goldsmith said he will follow most of the committee's recommendations but he will not institute a common reading requirement for the freshman class as the committee recommended.
The reading requirement, which was brought back for the Class of 1998, will not be implemented as a part of this year's orientation.
Goldsmith said he decided not to continue the common reading requirement for freshmen because he said having a mandatory reading was not a constructive activity in some ways.
Instead, Goldsmith said the Class of 1999 will have the option of participating in a series of lectures during the orientation period.
Each lecture, he said, would be led by a faculty member and followed by a discussion.
In the final report, the committee recommended the name of the Freshman Office be changed to the Office of First-Year students and that the title of the dean be changed to Dean of First-Year students, but Goldsmith said he does not believe this change will happen in the near future.
Before such a change is made all interested parties must be consulted, Goldsmith said.
The committee recommended that the first and second class meetings be restructured to add more substance to the event.
In the past, Goldsmith said, the second meeting was formal and ritualized like the first.
"This year we are going to try and give it a topical focus," Goldsmith said. This focus, he added, could be changed each year.
Goldsmith said he invited Director of the Women's Resource Center Giavanna Munafo to "put together a presentation on the subject of gender relations at Dartmouth as we approach the 25th year of coeducation."
Goldsmith said the second class meeting would not be a program about women at the College but about coeducation.
Munafo could not be reached for comment.
In its report, the committee also recommended the "role of UGA's for academic advising be more carefully delineated" so that it would not compete with or eclipse faculty advising.
"As the recommendation suggests, there will be efforts to more clearly define the role of UGA's in academic advising," Goldsmith said. He said he hopes to better train UGA's to handle some advising matters.
But Goldsmith said the hardest recommendation to follow will be "to see that the vital discussions initiated during Orientation continue to take place through the first term and after."
Goldsmith said of all the recommendations, this is the one most in a conceptual stage and has yet to be addressed "head-on."
It is important, Goldsmith said, to realize that orientation for many students will continue throughout the year.
As recommended by the committee, Goldsmith said the Freshman Office will try to ensure that departmental open houses are not scheduled at conflicting times and will encourage student organizations to hold open houses that are inclusive for all freshmen.
