This year's College Commencement, scheduled for June 14, will be held on the Green for the third straight year, despite the area's proximity to the Webster Hall construction site.
College spokesperson Nancy Serrell said the College does not see many viable alternatives to the Green for the Commencement exercises, but the Facilities Planning office will attempt to conceal all the construction sites.
Assistant Director of Facilities Planning Jack Wilson said workers will cover the fencing around Webster with dark green fabric -- the type of material used on walls surrounding tennis courts.
The fabric will be about 12 feet high in order to hide the construction trailers that project above the fence, Wilson said.
According to Wilson, the crew will try to "screen the site" as much as possible.
"It will definitely look like there's something going on at Webster, but it will be as tidy as we can make it," he said.
He said the concrete barriers surrounding the construction site will remain, but the sidewalks will be cleaned, and some areas will be repaved.
"There's only so much you can do," Serrell said. "We did have assurances that they will do the very best they can to spruce it up."
In 1995, Commencement was held at Memorial Field in order to accommodate the unusually large crowd expected to attend for President Bill Clinton's keynote address.
Before then, the College held Commencement on the Baker Library lawn -- but that area holds only 8,700 people compared to the 10,000 to 12,000 the Green can seat, so the Green is now the site of the exercises.
Kevin Walsh '98, president of the Senior Executive Committee, said "there hasn't really been much discussion" this year about Commencement's site.
"It's kind of right in the middle of the College, and from what I understand, there are also better sight lines on the Green," he said.
He said the football field "is just too big and impersonal," and not much can be done about the construction on Webster.
Erin Walsh '98 said she attended the 1995 Commencement at Memorial Field, and she prefers the Green as the site for the event.
"It's surrounded on all sides by Dartmouth buildings and Baker Library," she said. "It just seems Dartmouth-esque."
She said she does not think the construction on Webster Hall will be a problem, because the College places a stage at the end of the Green in front of the library where administrators, faculty members, award recipients and speakers sit.
As a result, she said she does not think Webster will not as visible to the audience.
With all the construction occurring around the campus, Serrell said the College is bound to face some difficulties with events.
"There's always some pain in birthing, I guess," she said.
