I am running for Student Assembly President because I want to improve every student's Dartmouth experience. I think most students view the Student Assembly as more of a club than a representative body. The majority of Dartmouth students probably have no idea when or where the Student Assembly meets, or what they talk about. I want to focus the Student Assembly on implementing real changes that will affect the quality of life on this campus, rather than just talking about change.
Serving on the Trustee's Committee on the Student Life Initiative (the Steering Committee), I fought for the survival of fraternities and sororities, among other things. As a member of a sorority, I think that the Greek system has some great qualities, and contributes a lot to this campus. But rather than getting bogged down and focusing only on changing the Greek System, let me focus your attention on some other important issues that also need to be addressed.
The College should allocate more money to social life. Currently Greek houses spend more money on social events that the College. Students have to rely on other students to finance their social activities. The College should spend more money on everything from the seemingly non-existent music scene to films to funding student planned events. There need to be more large concerts with well known bands where students are admitted for free. Every Friday and Saturday night the College should have a free midnight screening of one of the American Film Institute's Top 100 films in Loew, Spalding or the Nugget. Why should students be able to attend Greek System's parties for free but have to pay to see a college sponsored concert or movie, or to plan an event that is outside the Programming Board's currently limited budget? It does not make sense.
Another overdue change is that we need to move Dartmouth into the 21st century. Dartmouth thinks of itself as a leader in computing -- it was the place where Basic was invented and it was one of the first colleges to require incoming freshman to have a computer. The Student Assembly should take an active role in making Dartmouth a technology leader again through the following projects:
First, Dartmouth should build an on-line auction and barter exchange, similar to EBAY, to facilitate more efficient exchange of everything from textbooks to electronics, bicycles, furniture and anything else people want to trade.
Second, Dartmouth should assign incoming students one phone number that follows them for their entire Dartmouth career. Each student should have a voice mailbox that can be accessed through a toll free number.
Third, Dartmouth should expand the focus of Career Services to include high technology companies and start-ups. The Internet and technology industries are the fastest growing portions of the economy, yet banking and consulting still have the strongest presence in on-campus recruiting.
Additional areas that the Student Assembly should focus on are improving the dining system, women's resources and sports programs. DDS should have a 24 hour venue, should improve the selection at Topside and should eliminate the three drink limit at Lone Pine to make it a realistic alternative to restaurants in town. The Women's Resource Center should be moved from an office near the Choates to a more central location at the currently vacant Hovey Grill in the basement of the Thayer Dining Hall. The College should provide transportation to and from all sporting events including varsity, club and intramural games to improve student attendance. In addition, the Pine Park running trails should be lighted and remulched to provide a safer place to hike and run.
The above recommendations are all easy to implement and will significantly improve the quality of life on campus. If elected, I will lead the Student Assembly to actively pursue changes like these and set tangible goals based on suggestions provided by the student body. In changing the Assembly's focus to action, not rhetoric, the Assembly will become a more inclusive student representative body and the Dartmouth experience will be enhanced.
