The fall term saw several important developments in the now year-long process of evaluating social and residential life as the steering committee completed its deliberations and the campus moved closer to the release of its final report.
Virtually unchanged were students' attitudes towards the Greek system, according to a mid-November poll conducted by The Dartmouth in which the vast majority of students said they believe single-sex fraternities and sororities should remain on campus -- but with substantial changes.
Eighty percent of the 2,836 students who responded to the poll said they support the continuation of the single-sex Greek system, closely mirroring polls conducted last winter, soon after the announcement of the Board of Trustee's controversial Social and Residential Life Initiative.
This Fall term began with several community forums on the Initiative. The first was led by steering committee co-chairs Trustees Susan Dentzer '77 and Peter Fahey '68, and was intended to be a summary of the committee's progress throughout the Summer term.
In the two-and-a-half hour open meeting, the steering committee announced they had reached a "decision-making mode" and discussed possible recommendations for the future of residential and social life including the idea of common houses.
In an interview with The Dartmouth following the forum, Fahey said the two most likely alternative options or replacements to the Greek system would be social organizations based around residence halls -- which might or might not include common houses -- or a common house system unrelated to residence halls.
Following that forum, some faculty members at the College announced their criticism of the steering committee, saying there was a lack of debate on the different proposals about the future of social and residential life at the College.
Some faculty members said that while they agreed with the spirit of the Principles set forth by the Board of Trustees, they were wary of the "secrecy" of the committee process.
On his Oct. 18 address to the faculty, College President James Wright promised "comprehensive and bold" recommendations from the steering committee at an annual general meeting of the faculty in Alumni Hall.
"I do not wish to repeat the history of previous attempts to change" the College, Wright said, referring to the fact that efforts to alter Dartmouth's social and residential systems have historically been diluted rather than resulting in significant change.
Later that month, the steering committee met in Hanover with representatives of the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council at the CFSC's request, while continuing to move toward a final set of recommendations to the Board of Trustees.
CFSC President Jaimie Paul '00 said the CFSC requested the session for several reasons, including the fact that a group of unaffiliated students had spoken to the committee at a meeting two weeks earlier.
Indeed, the fact that those five unaffiliated students -- seniors Ben Berk, Josh Green, Teresa Knoedler, Noah Phillips and Janelle Ruley -- had spoken with the committee sparked a campus-wide controversy over the legitimacy of their claims. This controversy was most tangibly played out in the Op-Ed pages of The Dartmouth, as both affiliated and unaffiliated students rallied to support and criticize those five students.
The five seniors' public opposition to the Greek System was the first such organized opinion since the announcement of the Initiative, as earlier public response to the Trustees' decision had been limited to rallies and protests that emphasized the strengths of the single-sex system.
In the beginning of November, the steering committee wrapped up the bulk of its discussions on what to recommend to the Board of Trustees. Bound by confidentiality, the committee would not reveal the details of the discussions or the meetings.
Aside from news events surrounding the Trustee Initiative, the campus saw several other important developments.
In the first of a series of presidential primary debates, Democratic and Republican candidates, with the notable absence of Texas Governor and Republican front-runner George W. Bush, engaged in town meeting-style forums in the College's Moore Theater.
No clear victor emerged from the Oct. 27 Democratic forum, as stylistic distinctions between Vice President Al Gore and former Senator Bill Bradley were more apparent than substantive ones. The following day, however, Senator John McCain appeared as the most successful candidate in the Republican Town Meeting.
McCain's debate visit was his second to the campus Fall term, as he spoke at Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity during Homecoming weekend.
In September, the College dedicated Moore Hall, the new psychology building.
Community members packed Rollin's Chapel for an emotional Oct. 17 memorial service for Jenica Rosekrans '00. Wright, Jenica's mother and friends recalled the psychology major who died during senior week of a blood infection caused by meningococcus bacteria.
At the end of the term, Hanover Police arrested Peter Cataldo '00 for trespassing on College property. Cataldo was evicted from his first-floor Topliff residence and banned from College property after allegedly writing the threat "KKK, Kill Kosher Kikes" on the message board of the undergraduate advisor on his floor.
The threat classified as "criminally threatening behavior" and can be prosecuted under state law.
