Chairman of the Board of Trustees Stephen Bosworth turned down the Student Assembly's request asking all Dartmouth students be given the right to vote in the election of new Trustees.
Bosworth sent a response on Feb. 14 to the resolution, passed late last month, to the Student Assembly, but Assembly President Jon Heavey '97 said he has yet to receive the letter.
According to Secretary to the Board of Trustees Cheryl Reynolds, the letter includes a description, prepared by College Counsel Cary Clark, of the processes for Trustee nomination and election and the ways in which students are involved in the governance of the College.
Bosworth said the Assembly resolution would require the College Charter to be altered and "there is not much sentiment to go through the arduous process to change the Charter."
In an interview last week, Heavey said he would like seniors to have the vote in the nomination and election of Trustees because seniors are the students most knowledgeable about the College.
The executive directors of the College's affairs, the Board of Trustees consists of the President of the College, the Governor of New Hampshire and 14 others elected by the Board, seven of whom are nominated by alumni.
Because alumni are involved in the nomination of Trustees, Bosworth said "seniors just have to wait a year and then they can participate" in the election process.
Heavey said the response was disappointing and "it speaks for itself for how student input is considered." He said the administration often views student opinion as a hindrance.
Students are almost like "ball bearings" in the "machinery of the College," he said.
Heavey said he does not feel the Assembly could reverse the response this year. "To get some kind of change, it requires really going to bat."
But he still questions: "why don't we have a right to choose those who are governing our lives?"
Heavey said he would like to eventually see a student representative on the Board of Trustees to give the Board a balance. But he said having students, especially seniors, voting in Trustee elections is a "baby step" to that ideal.
Bosworth said the current system of student representation is adequate: the Trustees meet with students during their visits to the College and students sit on four of the six committees which serve and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees, but they may not vote.
"We're aware of student views and student opinions," Bosworth said.
Most Trustees serve between five- and 10-year terms and it takes some time before a Trustee learns how to become fully effective, so with only a four-year stay at the College students would be less effective Trustees, Bosworth said.
