While the Board of Trustee's announcement to end the Greek system "as we know it" thrust the College into the national spotlight, a significant number of non-related events shaped this past term for members of the Dartmouth community.
Race issues, following in the wake of Fall term's "ghetto party" debate that set campus race relations on edge and received national coverage, were prevalent all term.
In December, the College announced that only three African-American students were accepted under the early admissions plan, reflecting the small number of African-American applicants.
The three students accounted for less than one percent of the total 397 students admitted early. Conversely, the number of Native American and Latino students almost doubled from last year to 41 total.
In the January issue of Black Enterprise magazine, Dartmouth was the only Ivy League school missing from a ranking of the 64 colleges best-suited for African-Americans.
The College also saw a 19 percent decline in overall African-American regular decision applications, while the total number of applicants remained consistent with recent years at 10, 239.
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl Furstenberg cited the negative press the College received for Fall term's "ghetto party" incident as well as a national trend as factors for the decline of African-American applicants in the regular admissions pool.
Debate on the controversial proposal to lock the College's dorms -- which has occupied student attention since last Spring -- continued throughout Winter term.
Acting Dean of the College Dan Nelson decided to delay the decision on door locks, which was originally scheduled to be made last term, because of the controversy spawned by the Trustee's five principles. The publication of the Residential Security Report in January -- researched by a team of students and administrators -- found that Dartmouth is the only Ivy League school without a campus-wide dormitory locking system.
Controversy reached to the religious front as well with the protest of the distribution of C. S. Lewis's book "Mere Christianity" to all first-year students by the Campus Crusade for Christ. The distribution was originally cancelled because of the dispute. But the decision was subsequently reversed by Dean of the Tucker Foundation Scott Brown, and the books were sent out on January 14.
James Wright began his second term as president of the College by returning to the classroom after almost 10 years to co-teach History 19 -- a course on 20th century American politics.
Other minor issues were overshadowed by the more controversial topics. In January, the College revoked its heavily criticized exclusive contract with E&R Cleaners, allowing students to choose their own laundry delivery service.
The exclusivity, awarded last Spring to the large, out-of-town E&R Cleaners, had allegedly caused Lyme Road Laundry, a local business, to have to lay off workers.
Throughout the term, the Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Endowment at Dartmouth brought a series of six presidential scholars to Dartmouth. The series concludes this term. The format was different from the traditional Montgomery fellowship in which visiting speakers stay at the College for an entire team, teaching undergraduates and pursuing intellectual endeavors.
Noted presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, a Pulitzer Prize-winner for her book "No Ordinary Time" about former president Franklin D. Roosevelt, spoke in February about her book as part of the Montgomery series. Goodwin was the speaker at Dartmouth's 1998 Commencement ceremony last June.
The first chairman of the Montgomery Endowment, Leonard M. Rieser -- also a former Dean of the Faculty and Provost of the College as well as a participant in the Manhattan Project -- died of cancer at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center at the age of 76 in late December. He spent 46 years as a faculty member and administrator at Dartmouth.
In legal news, Hanover residents continued to protest the College's proposal of a new sports complex at Chase Field in a dispute that has lasted over a year. The debate has caused the Town Planning Board to block construction. Dartmouth has threatened legal action if the block was not removed. The proposal is still pending.
In addition, Robert McKelvey, a former Dartmouth Medical School student, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.
Also, Jeffrey Sudikoff '77, the former owner of the Los Angeles Kings hockey team who donated more than $3 million for the construction of the College's computer science laboratory, plead guilty to insider-trading charges in connection with his Los Angeles-based communications firm. He was fined $3 million and faces 12 to 18 months in jail.
