Although several students support the goals Dean of the College Lee Pelton's Dartmouth Experience plan proposed, others expressed doubts about the plan's methods and its potential to meet its goals.
The College will implement Pelton's supercluster proposal in the East Wheelock cluster this fall and will require $600,000 in renovations and improvements. A residential faculty member will live near by and a cluster dean will be assigned to the residence halls.
The goal of the plan is to generate a "marriage of intellectual and social life at Dartmouth," Pelton previously told The Dartmouth.
While some students said they saw the potential for a successful marriage, other said they predicted a divorce.
Those who said they approved of the plan, said it has a lot of potential to improve the quality of student life.
Diane Varley '97 said she believes Pelton's plan "has a lot more potential than the first plan [to create freshmen dorms]." She said, "The all-freshman housing plan without upperclassmen would've been a nightmare."
Sachin Mehta '97 said she is also optimistic about the plan.
"[The plan] can work if it's done across the board," she said. "Right now, I don't think the cost is too exorbitant compared to other campus expenses, and, of course, it doesn't hurt to create other social options for the students."
Jeffrey Brabham '99 said he believes that Pelton's plan holds a great deal of potential. "The concept is good," he said. "It's a good idea and will work if executed properly."
Current residents of East Wheelock expressed conditional approval of Pelton's plan.
"If Pelton's plan allows me to stay in the new dorms for next year, then I'm all for it," said Andres resident Jeff Munsie '99.
Anil Doshi '98 expressed provisional approval of Pelton's plan. "As long as [the supercluster] is not an exclusive closed group," he said, "it's probably worth a shot."
But many students questioned the plan's feasibility.
Claudius Gayle '96 expressed skepticism about the plan. He said it "might sound good on paper, but it may not work in practice."
Brian Sung '97 said, "it sounds like [Pelton] has good intentions, but then again, you can't really force intellectualism, so I don't think [the plan] will work."
Katie Garrett '99 said she has her doubts about Pelton's plan because she does not think it is guaranteed to be effective.
"Even though the cluster might sponsor social events, no one can force the residents to attend them," Garrett said.
Looking at the economics of the plan, several students said they did not think the plan was worth the $600,000 price tag.
Jeremy Idjadi '96 said Pelton's plan sounds good, but believes there must be more fiscally sound ways to promote intellectualism on campus.
Doug Vandenberg '97 echoed Idjadi's concerns. "I could think of better ways to spend $600,000," he said.
Questioning the need to renovate the East Wheelock cluster, Adam Pierson '99 said, "it's absurd to pump $600,000 into such a plush residential environment."
Some students think the College should be spending the money on other student services.
"There are places like La Casa," Sonia Novoa '96 said, "which desperately need renovations and could offer more social alternatives for the students. The $600,000 being spent to renovate the new dorms could definitely be better spent."
Anne Behrens '98 said, "the new dorms don't need renovations," and the administration "should spend the money elsewhere on campus."
Some students shied away from the prospect of a nearly all-freshman residence hall. They said Pelton's plan to fill 50 percent of the cluster with freshmen would result in the creation of a "freshman dorm."
Recently, the administration abandoned plans to create a freshman student housing cluster amidst widespread student disapproval.
Kyle Teamey '98, who attended Pelton's preliminary meetings to discuss the plan, said he is opposed to having a freshman majority within the East Wheelock cluster.
"The freshmen would lose out on three-quarters of student life," he said. "Dorm life with upperclassmen can really be valuable, they can tell you what courses to take and stuff."
But Munsie said freshmen already constitute a majority within the East Wheelock cluster.
"My dorm is already full of freshmen," Munsie said, so Pelton's plan "wouldn't change much in this respect."
Still, some students oppose the whole plan.
Pierson characterized Pelton's plan as a "superficial attempt to promote intellectualism."
"Intellectualism doesn't come out of living arrangements," he added.
Zach Lewis '99 said he is opposed to the change because "the system works the way it is."
Lewis said he also disapproved of the concept of having a faculty member assigned to the residential community.
"I don't want a professor or a cluster dean organizing my social life," he said.
Although he supports the idea of building a snack bar in the cluster, Taurey Butler '96, said he opposes the idea of having a cluster dean. "You'd feel like you're being watched," he said.
"If the social habits of our community are going to change, that change has to be made by the students -- not imposed by the authorities," Butler added.
