Fewer than 430 disciplinary cases were recorded last year, over 200 less than in 2004 -- 2005 and the lowest number in the last six years, according to the recently released Annual Report to the Community of the Dartmouth Undergraduate Disciplinary System. The report also indicates a large decrease in the number of alcohol and drug related cases over previous years.
"We think the community needs to be informed about disciplinary matters that go on at Dartmouth," Director of Undergraduate Judicial Affairs April Thompson said. "The hope is that an informed community can make better decisions for themselves and their friends."
During the 2005-2006 year, the Office of Judicial Affairs recorded 427 cases, not all of which resulted in disciplinary action by the College. This compares with 666 cases for 2004-2005, 588 for 2003-2004 and 2002-2003, 490 for 2001-2002 and 526 for 2000-2001.
"I don't know [why there is a decrease this year]," Thompson said. "I can tell you that there were fewer alcohol cases, significantly fewer alcohol cases. My hope is that a lot of those are from people calling Good Samaritans, people getting help for their friends earlier, people taking keys away or telling people that they've had too much to drink."
Specifically, the College recorded 307 major and minor alcohol and drug related cases last year. Cases of this nature peaked in 2004-2005 with 498, while only 269 occurred in 2000-2001. The low number of alcohol and drug cases coincided last year with a high number of Good Samaritan calls, at 71.
"People call for help before the violation becomes significant. If people call early before someone is so intoxicated that they're damaging property or hurting other people or involving other people, I think that's helpful for the community and I think it decreases the risk of other disciplinary issues," Thompson said.
Cases involving academic integrity remained fairly constant last year, with 28 students accused of violating College policy, compared to 29 in 2001-2002 and 20 in 2003-2004.
Thompson said that the College is actively involved in educating the community about Dartmouth policies and regulations regarding academic integrity.
"I think the College has a tremendous role in not only educating students about the policy itself, but also about some of the health risks," Thompson said. "I think it's important that we do that and that we continue to do that; I have to hope that there's an impact. The ethical part of me says that we have an obligation to let people know about policies if we are going to hold them accountable for those policies."
While noting the number of programs sponsored by the College, Thompson questioned to what extent they are more effective than student directed activities.
"Administrators are certainly not the experts on how to get information into student culture," she said.
"[These programs] are much more effective when they are planned and organized by students. You can see the things that go on in Greek Houses or in the Collis center -- those aren't usually meetings about what the policy means, but about the real story of social life at Dartmouth."
Despite these programs, some freshmen are uncomfortable with their knowledge of Dartmouth's policy towards plagiarism.
"I think the problem is that I'm in a class with upperclassmen, so they're already expected to know [about College policies], so the teachers don't really want to repeat things because they assume that the freshmen are just going to pick it up," Nick Lomanto '10 said. "I don't really know how things work around here."
Many students, however, believe this nervousness declines with time.
"I feel like they tell you a lot freshmen year and then after that it kind of fades. If you don't have a problem with it there's no need to really think about it," Zach Nass '08 said. "You figure out what's right and wrong freshman year."