A dozen people participated in each of two working groups last night in the Collis Center -- groups established to address the College Board of Trustee's five principles to overhaul Dartmouth's social and residential life systems.
The topics discussed included principle four -- the reduction of students living off campus, and principle five -- which mandates the College "eliminate the abuse and unsafe use of alcohol."
The final two of five working groups were meeting for the first time last night, so more time was devoted in both meetings to deciding fundamental issues concerning the organization, goals and questions than was spent reaching conclusions.
"I realize now that it's very difficult to start from scratch, but as we generate ideas and proposals, we shouldn't overlook discussing them with the public," Student Assembly President Josh Green '00 said.
Discussion of principle four was initially geared towards detailing the overlap between principle four and principle one -- which called for improved residential options, and debating whether or not to combine the two.
Green noted that in terms of combining the two principles, even as over time similarities develop, "the more access points we have, the better off we are, and some people seem to think there is a difference between the two."
After debating the prospect of group four functioning as a subcommittee of one, the group decided to delay the decision on working in tandem until future meetings.
"Number four is narrow, and number one is so broad, and I wish we could divide them up more equally," Green said.
The foremost challenge for next week, however, is recruitment, facilitator Margaret Kuecker '01 said.
After 50 students attended Sunday's working group on highly controversial principle three, calling for co-ed Greek organizations, attendance was decidedly low last night. Dorkey suggested involving more off-campus residents and students occupying Greek houses to enhance the scope of viewpoints.
Reasons motivating students to opt for off-campus living became a central theme.
Dorkey said that for people living off campus because of the housing crunch, the solution is simply to build more dorms. Meanwhile, by featuring off-campus attractions on campus, dorm housing might entice otherwise off-campus residents.
Off-campus perks mentioned included cheaper living arrangements, cable TV and greater parking availability.
"There is a big difference between a dorm and an apartment. If residential hall spaces were more like apartments, such as Maxwell and Channing Cox, they might be more popular because of the atmosphere," Dorkey said.
A similarly low number of students turned out to discuss alcohol education and elimination of its abuse.
Several ideas were proposed for this working group, such as fostering greater participation, especially among Greek organizations, hosting meetings in a Greek house, dividing the principle into education and policy topics and consulting College Coordinatior of Alcohol Margaret Smith and Safety and Security officers.
"While it's dangerous to target groups, I think some student groups we can target are Undergraduate Advisors, Area Coordinators, Program Assistants, DAPAS, and Greek house presidents to specifically encourage them [to attend]," Green said.
Discussion also focused on the importance of drinking within the College's culture, and whether or not it can be combated or worth combating.
Facilitator Brian Sleet '00 said, "If we change the [drinking] culture, we need to sit down and see why people binge drink and why people continue to do so as upperclassmen after they've seen and done it all already."
Since the principle involved "social spaces that facilitate responsible drinking," Green noted that if group five worked more quickly, it would be more practical for this group to consult other groups regarding its effects relating to the other principles, such as one and two that involve social spaces.
Task Force member Eric Buchman '00 and Melissa Maggio '99 were selected as interim co-chairs for the fifth working group.
