After almost a year of intensive treatment following a serious ski class injury, Christina Porter '06 passed away last night amid renewed efforts by the Dartmouth athletic department to step up safety endeavors for winter PE classes.
The athletic department first made ski helmets mandatory for all ski and snowboarding classes this past November after Porter's parents called for a helmet requirement in light of her Feb. 2004 accident.
The latest reform involves limiting the sizes of ski and snowboard classes this term.
An enrollment limit of 250 students in last year's classes was cut to 214 this year for downhill ski lessons.
Beginner snowboarding lessons were previously limited to 170 students in six sections and have since been restricted to 142 students in seven sections.
Porter's accident at the Dartmouth Skiway last February first brought to light the necessity of new safety measures.
Porter shattered her left skull and fell into a six-month-long coma after she collided with a tree while in a beginner's skiing physical education course.
Porter had since been recuperating at the JFK Johnson Hartwyck Rehabilitation Center in New Jersey before complications with the cranial plasty that replaced her left skull required further surgery last November, Porter's mother said.
According to Roger Demment, the director of physical education and recreation, safety has always been a key concern for the P.E. classes run through the College.
"We periodically look at all our P.E. classes and evaluate them to make sure they're up to new standards," Demment said.
Convenience was also a major factor in the revamped ski classes.
"We changed the bus schedules so that there would be more days available, and more classes offered overall," Demment said.
Buses to the Dartmouth Skiway now leave the Hopkins Center four times daily, Tuesday through Friday.
The newest bus trips are offered on Saturdays, leaving from the Hopkins Center seven times throughout the day, on the hour, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The ski helmet requirement mandated last year will go into effect today for the first day of ski and snowboarding P.E. classes.
In order to allow student access to helmets, the athletics department partnered with the Golf and Ski Warehouse in West Lebanon to provide a 40-percent discount for brand-name ski helmets during the Jan. 10 ski fit and rental sale.
Students who did not attend the rental night can still purchase discounted helmets directly from the vendor by presenting a valid Dartmouth College identification card, according to Ken McClintock, the coordinator of the Dartmouth Ski School.
Many students were fazed by Porter's accident at the Dartmouth Skiway last winter but have been optimistic and reassured by the new safety measures taken by the P.E. department.
"I felt like it was kind of scary, but I was reassured because of the requirement to wear helmets this year," said Vanessa Cruz '07, who is currently enrolled in a beginner snowboarding physical education class. "There's always that risk -- things like that happen with any sport."
Other students are being more cautious, despite increased safety at the Dartmouth Skiway.
"I've heard that [skiing's] a sport that is easiest if you've done it as a kid. Since I have no experience, I feel like I'm too old to learn," Angela Fang '07 said. "[Porter's accident] made me very cautious of ever going skiing after, and I'm scared that it could have been me in that class."
