College President James Freedman spoke on the pleasures of taking a sabbatical and discussed the future of the Greek system and Dartmouth's social scene with about 25 students at Sigma Nu fraternity Wednesday night.
The speech and discussion, part of Greek Week activities, began with Freedman telling students about his six-month sabbatical in Cambridge, Mass.
The Boards of Trustees of many colleges are using the sabbaticals as tools to extend the terms of college presidents, which now average about five years, Freedman said.
"The notion of sabbaticals for college presidents is really very new," he said.
Freedman is now the senior president in the Ivy League. The turnover rate for college presidents hovers around 20 percent, he said.
Freedman said he wrote and finisheda book in the first three months of the six-month vacation.
Freedman's book, which will be published in January, is divided into three parts: an autobiographical section, a group of essays on issues in education and essays on people he thinks "led admirable lives."
Freedman said some of the highlights of his sabbatical were meeting often with Dartmouth alumni at Harvard Law School and doing a lot of reading.
During his vacation, Freedman took a solo trip to Oxford, Miss., to see William Faulkner's house and hometown.
After talking about his sabbatical, Freedman fielded questions from the audience.
When asked about his overall impression of Dartmouth, Freedman commented on the College's emphasis on non-academic activities and wondered if "we're really obligated to make it an exciting place for students."
"I believe we are heading in the right direction," Freedman said, pointing to the increasing academic strength of each incoming class. He said Dartmouth should improve its graduate programs, which do not yet have "the level of excellence they need to have."
While he professed his desire to improve the scope and diversity of the school, Freedman said "Dartmouth is not getting any bigger."
Freedman addressed the future of fraternities and sororities at the College.
"My guess is that in 10 years they'll at least be coed," Freedman said.
Still, he said students "will decide the future."
Freedman specifically mentioned alcohol abuse when talking about the fraternities. He said every year he is awakened by late-night phone calls about students in serious danger of dying due toheavy drinking.
At the end of the hour-long discussion, Freedman ruminated on budget cuts from the government and increased competition for entrance into graduate schools.
Students are afflicted with "premature seriousness" because of worry about their futures, Freedman said.
He also blamed Congressional budget cuts for the widespread financial difficulties in the education system.
"Need-blind [admission] is essential to the future of this place," he said.
The event was sponsored by Sigma Nu as well as Gamma Delta Chi fraternity, Kappa Chi Kappa fraternity, Phi Delta Chi fraternity, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
