At the same time as the campus debates the Board of Trustees' landmark social and residential life initiative, thousands of high school students are deciding whether to matriculate this year or apply next year to Dartmouth -- a college on the brink of change unmatched in this quarter century.
While the announcement and the controversy which has followed have captured national media attention and been the focus of much analysis, questions still remain: will the monumental changes to the Greek system impact the number of admitted students who matriculate next fall or the number of students who apply for admission to the Dartmouth Class of 2004?
There is little worry in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, as Dean of Admissions Karl Furstenberg told The Dartmouth yesterday he does not feel the changes will have a negative effect on these numbers in the short term, and predicts they will have a positive effect in years to come.
He said he does not feel the "surprising" lack of questions and concerns from the 395 admitted early decision students necessarily indicates there will be similarly little concern among this year's regular applicants or those in future years, Furstenberg added he generally thinks the five principles will "increase Dartmouth's attractiveness and broaden the applicant pool."
While Furstenberg said he always advises administrators not to make decisions based on possible effects on admissions and that the initiatives "might play differently with different groups of students" he said "surveys and other anecdotal evidence" indicate many prospective students are concerned about the dominance of the Greek system when they apply and this could alleviate some of those worries.
"This might not be as big a deal in the minds of prospective students as it is to those who are already here," Furstenberg said, adding he believes the changes might lead to more minority and female applications, as it did at Bowdoin College following its recent Greek reform.
The vagueness of the principles and the lack of a currently-defined replacement social system causes some problems when explaining the situation to inquiring prospective students, but Furstenberg said he is encouraging students to come to the College so they can take part in the reconstruction of the social system.
"One of the things we're trying to suggest to prospectives is that this is a great time to come to Dartmouth. You can come and shape the process that will affect what this place looks like," Furstenberg said, but added, "For people who want a very definitive and concrete answer of what its going to be like ... there's going to be some ambiguity."
One element of the recent developments Furstenberg said could be problematic is the nationally covered controversy surrounding the issues.
"There's also the possibility that to the extent that students and parents think there is turmoil and controversy at Dartmouth they may shy away."
He said he does not think the recurring "Animal House" imagery used in many media accounts of the Trustees' announcement will reignite drunken stereotypes of the College, however, as he said he feels the popular movie's references are clearly linked only with the College's past.
Furstenberg also said he is not concerned about potentially negative effects on the College's U.S. News and World Report rankings, descriptions in College guidebooks, or even on the oft-quoted student happiness scores -- on which Dartmouth currently ranks among the highest in the country.
"I think the fundamental aspect of our uniqueness has to do with the size of our institution, the commitment to teaching and the location," not to the College's Greek system, Furstenberg said. "These are things that will not change."
Although he said it may be hard to increase Dartmouth's already high happiness scores, he said there are "some intrinsic qualities to this community that go well beyond the stuff we're talking about that could expand the satisfaction rating."
