The College plans to finalize its house monitoring policy in the next few days and the policy will likely go into effect next week, administrators from the Office of Residential Life said last night.
The remarks from Assistant Deans of Residential Life Cassie Barnhardt and Deborah Carney came at an open Student Assembly meeting. This marked the first time since the house monitoring policy was introduced at the beginning of Summer term that ORL administrators addressed students publicly.
Many students said they were distrustful of the administration's objectives in introducing more frequent Safety and Security walk-throughs of Greek and undergraduate society houses. But Barnhardt and Carney stressed that they only wanted to ensure that all Dartmouth students live in a "healthy and safe" environment.
Barnhardt and Carney indicated that they were open to the compromise walk-through proposal put forward by the Greek Leaders Committee, a temporary organization of Greek house presidents and other Greek officeholders.
"We're definitely moving forward with their suggestions and trying to create the compromise. That's the direction I feel the tide is turning," Barnhardt said.
The GLC plan proposed that the S and S walk-throughs occur only twice a week and within a scheduled six-hour time window. The group also requested that the monitoring not take place during Wednesday night meetings and that College officers be escorted by a resident.
The audience, most of whom were either Student Assembly or Greek members, suggested that the administration's rationale for the house monitoring policy -- to create "safe and healthy" spaces -- was inconsistent. Some said that if the College wanted to ensure safe buildings, then Facilities Operations and Management staffers would participate in the walk-throughs.
Barnhardt responded that her office is working to achieve consistency and that the College defines health and safety broadly.
"We want our physical plants to be places that are healthy and safe environments. We want Safety and Security officers to have the same presence as they do in residence halls, while recognizing that Greek houses are distinct entities," she said. "Safety is comprehensive. It's alcohol safety. It's risk-free safety."
Carney added: "Safety and Security are College officers, FO&M are not. S and S officers are trained to deal with emergencies with students and they have much different responsibilities from the FO&M folks." Carney said the process of finalizing the house monitoring policy is fluid and interactive.
"This really is on-going and we'll see where it takes us," she said.
One student asked why ORL introduced the most sweeping Greek policies of the last two years during the Summer term, referring to this year's house monitoring policy and last summer's announcement that beer taps and permanent bars in houses would be removed.
"We tried to find the time that would be the easiest time," Carney responded. "The summer is the easiest time. Less membership is on. Most of you are underage."