With the recent completion of the Task Force on Social Life's report assessing the state of undergraduate social options, Dean of the College Lee Pelton has formed an implementation committee to ensure that its guidelines are carried out.
The six-member committee -- which includes Director of Health Resources Gabrielle Lucke, Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia, Collis Center Director Mark Hoffman, and three undergraduates -- will meet for the first time later this term.
Lucke, a co-chair of the Task Force as well as a member of the implementation committee, said she hopes that all of the recommendations in the summary can be implemented, but admits that financial limits could be a problem.
Various administrators and deans of the departments mentioned in the report will have the final say on whether an idea can be turned into reality. When the implementation committee meets for the first time, the financial details, role of undergraduates, and feasibility of the recommendations will be determined.
The Task Force, co-chaired by Lucke and Kristin Canavan '97, was created at Pelton's request to "make recommendations to the deans on ways to enhance social options and activities currently available to undergraduates."
The group made 17 major recommendations in the report that covered three major themes -- space, programs, and finances.
Under the category of programs, the report suggests the College diversify social options by encouraging "student ideas on a personal student level rather than an institutionally programmed one."
Other program suggestions involve the creation of a community calendar listing all campus events, increased support by the College for socializing between varying groups, and extending hours at Collis and Food Court until 3:00 a.m on Friday and Saturday nights.
One space-related proposal is the creation of a Common House designed to "provide a student-run programming space ... for all of the many organizations who do not have house-oriented spaces at their disposal" and would "exist for and by students."
The committee felt that more "social space as opposed to study space, where people can just sit and talk" is necessary, Lucke said.
Finance recommendations include the investigation of the Collis finance system, changing the distribution of surplus money raised in the Student Telethon, and the altering of Council on Student Organizations guidelines for annual start-up budgets.
In an appendix about alcohol, more alcohol-free and low-risk drinking events are stressed. The serving of alcohol to those of legal age at Programming Board events, making beer available in 101 Collis, and the return of "beer garden" to Friday Night Dance Club are all suggested by the report.
The report included not only recommendations regarding the enhancement of social options but interesting survey information about student life.
According to the report, approximately 70 percent of Dartmouth students are awake at 2 a.m. on weekend nights.
Almost three-fourths of first-year students consider their social lives to be "excellent" or "good," but by senior year, this number drops to 65 percent.
Only 42 percent of African American students are satisfied with their social lives and students who grew up in an urban setting are much less likely to be satisfied than those raised in a rural setting.
The Task Force attempted to obtain input from every undergraduate by administering a social life survey during the 1997 Winter registration, allowing various student groups to speak at Task Force meetings, holding an open Task Force Community meeting last January, creating a BlitzMail drop box for students to express concerns, and conducting interviews of students and faculty.
