In their four years at the College, students hoping to effect change must weigh the relative impacts of short-term outcomes versus long-term struggles.
The recent actions of the Student Assembly put in perspective the troubles faced by students trying to implement changes during their four years at a 228-year-old school that measures time on a much longer scale.
Three weeks ago, the Assembly voted to appropriate $8,500 -- almost one-third of its $26,550 budget -- toward the purchase of new equipment for the Kresge weight room in the Berry Sports Center.
The equipment will include both large-scale exercise equipment in the form of stationary bicycles and a stair-climbing machine, as well as smaller supplementary items needed to maintain the room.
And while the Assembly's contribution will produce tangible results for students by the end of this term, the solution is a short-term one. The larger problem of the need for a more expansive weight room area will still linger.
Concerns of overcrowding and scheduling will still face students, no matter how good the equipment in the current Kresge weight room is.
"Right now we have two huge needs related to fitness," Director of Athletics Dick Jaeger said. "One is more space and the other is the best possible collection of equipment to put in that space."
Jaeger called finding suitable space for a new or expanded weight room "the most difficult challenge." He said that even if sufficient space were found, it would cost anywhere from $50,000 to $70,000 to equip that space.
No time like the present
Assembly President Jon Heavey '97 said his organization is looking for ways students can address issues that are negotiated under longer time periods than they are used to dealing with.
He said the Assembly is trying to decrease the amount of time it takes the bureaucracy of the College to address problems, so that students can make effective contributions in their relatively short period of time in Hanover.
"We're trying to establish means to tackle big issues that have been around for years, that normally are only tackled by faculty or administration because they are around for more than four years," Heavey said.
Assembly Vice President Chris Swift '98 said that students think in terms of ten weeks whereas faculty and administration think along the lines of ten months or even longer.
Dean of the College Lee Pelton tried to put the issue in perspective: "The institution is over 200 years old and so those [groups] on campus where the membership changes yearly are disadvantaged in terms of being able to participate in the long term. They're just not able to have a long-term involvement in the institution."
Pelton said members of such groups hope to accomplish things quickly, while they are still enrolled as students
As a member of the 2000 Class Council, Brian Feldman is working with the Council and the Assembly on both the long- and short-range future of student exercise facilities.
He said the Freshman Council and the Assembly are trying to get newer equipment for the immediate future, but that they hoped in the long term to get a new area or new weight room. However, Feldman conceded, "It's not something that will probably be done in the next three years."
Pelton said there is a natural tension at all colleges and universities between its students and the faculty members who have more time invested in the institution.
He said students must therefore decide whether to work toward short term goals or whether to try to enact structural changes at the institution.
Facing challenges
Steve Salemi '97, chair of student life for the Assembly, said the new equipment will tide students over until a new weight room is developed and the equipment can be placed there. He called the contribution a "symbolic" gesture
Heavey said economic action always adds to the impact of Assembly resolutions
"We have the most leverage when we can put some sort of financial statement behind our ... calls for change," Heavey said.
He also said the solidarity of the Assembly's action adds to its credibility. The weight room resolution passed by a vote of 27-1.
Jaeger called the Assembly's gift a "contribution that will be immediately translated" into equipment.
The Assembly's resolution also asked the College to match its contribution of money. "I'm hoping that there will be some response to that challenge," Jaeger said. "So far, not much has happened."
The problem of differing timelines is an issue, given the Assembly's challenge, since departmental budget decisions are made yearly and the departments which could conceivably contribute toward new equipment currently lack sufficient funds.
"We have a lot of requests for the budget allocations we get," Jaeger said. "There are no excess dollars."
Jaeger said the Dartmouth College Athletics Department can hope for a good financial year with extra revenue to put towards something like the weight room. But, he said, DCAC also has to consider other contingencies, such as a Zamboni machine breaking down.
Jaeger said the Dean of the College's office, like DCAC, receives "zillions of demands on its funds" every year.
In addition to actual monetary contributions, Pelton said spacial concerns could be addressed.
"It seems to me that equipment doesn't all have to be in Kresge," Pelton said. "We might be able to find other places for it."
