In a bid to save the Ivy Council, Student Assembly last night unanimously voted to have Dartmouth host the spring conference of the organization, which brings together student representatives from Ivy League schools.
The resolution allocated $2,500 toward the hosting of the event, and it followed last week's strong affirmation of support for the troubled Council, which recently witnessed the resignation of much of its executive board.
Joshua Marcuse '04, who succeeded resigned Ivy Council President Michael Brown of Cornell, felt the decision to host the conference was a necessary step after last week's decision to maintain ties to the Council.
"It's a stopgap measure with long-term goals," Marcuse explained. "The goal now is to supply a fresh slate of candidates to create a new executive board, but we couldn't have those elections without having a conference."
Although the spring meeting of the Council was originally slated to take place at Cornell University, the resignation of Brown and other Council members meant that the college was unready to host the conference, according to Marcuse.
"We essentially have an emergency," Marcuse said. "Cornell had only replaced their head delegate this past week ... it's much easier for the president to plan a conference when he can be in touch with the head delegate face to face."
The resolution to move the conference was sponsored by Julia Hildreth '05, Jonathan Lazarow '05, Marcuse and Stella Treas '05, who will serve as Dartmouth's head delegate at the event.
Already an ad hoc committee has been formed to plan the summit, which will occur on campus the weekend of April 5. Collaborating with Student Body President Molly Stutzman '02 and other Assembly members, the Ivy Council Working Group, will assist Marcuse and Treas in the planning of conference activities.
Founded in 1993, the Ivy Council is intended to serve as a forum where Ivy League student representatives can meet to share information and ideas.
The Council typically meets twice per year, under a rotating hosting schedule. Although the last conference, held at Brown University, was a success, new developments have cast serious doubt on the future of Ivy Council.
Harvard's decision to formally secede from the organization last spring, combined with the recent resignations of Michael Brown and executive board member Stephanie Long '04, left the Council perilously close to dissolution.
"It's not as much a crisis of lack of interest as a crisis of leadership," Marcuse said, noting that despite setbacks, overall student interest in the Ivy Council remains high.
