Members of Dartmouth's Ivy Council, a Student Assembly committee that works with counterparts at other Ivy League schools, attended the Spring Symposium at Cornell University, expecting to discuss the issues of gender in Greek organizations that are so prominent at the College. But the students learned that other Ivy League students did not have the same concerns.
"We mentioned gender issues and they were like, 'What's that?'" James Cart '10, who attended the symposium, said.
Instead, the Council found that the College can benefit from adopting some of the best practices of other Ivy League schools and the five members who attended the symposium presented suggested improvements at the Assembly's Tuesday night meeting
Dartmouth is the only college in the Ivy League, the students said, that automatically shows the median grades for classes on a student's transcript. The Assembly's Committee on Academic Affairs is already setting up meetings to review why the administration believes median grades on transcripts benefits students and to negotiate with them about the continuance of that practice.
Another issue brought up by the Ivy Council was the lack of an ambulance service independent from the police. Other schools have their own ambulance service or an Emergency Medical Technicians-sponsored ambulance and as a result students that use the other schools' equivalent of a "Good Samaritan" policy face no chance of being reprimanded for drinking alcohol illegally, according to Cart. At the College, students picked up by Hanover's ambulance service have a chance getting in legal trouble, he said.
"It improves safety and the College looks better because the arrest rate will drop," Cart said, explaining that students would be more likely to Good Sam someone if they were sure there would be no chance of legal ramifications.
The Assembly has examined the option before, but efforts to implement a change were hampered by the need for a special license in order to drive an ambulance, according to Assembly president Molly Bode '09.
Princeton University and Columbia University have also taken measures to change habits of library occupation, but in very different ways. Princeton designates specific spaces for each senior writing a thesis. Thesis writers can leave their materials in the same place throughout the year without having to constantly transport them in and out of the library. On the other hand, an "anti-camping campaign" at Columbia discouraged students from leaving their belongings behind when they leave their study space for an extended period of time.
Members of Ivy Council suggested that the Assembly explore both options.
"I hate it when I go to the library and there's crap everywhere but no people," Katy Whisenhunt '09, who attended the Symposium, said.
Another concern discussed was the distance between the gym and dining establishments, since many other schools have vending machines or small dining areas directly inside their gyms. Dartmouth's gym contains one snack bar, but it is only open during athletic events, and one vending machine in the basement. Council members suggested starting small, with something as simple as a vending machine upstairs. Conrad Whitaker '11, who attended the Symposium, pointed out that, at other schools with more substantial eateries in their gyms, it would be "like The Blend in the gym," Whitaker said.
The Ivy Council also said that Dartmouth is the only Ivy League school that does not separate academic and non-academic disciplinary cases. Bode said that the Committee on Standards is currently revising this policy.
The rest of the meeting dealt with the Assembly's role in representing various student groups when they come to the Assembly for support. Discussion specifically focused on Assembly-supported advertisements in The Dartmouth criticizing the BarFlex comic and the Mirror's "insensitive" comment about commencement speaker Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia.
Bode opened the meeting by addressing issues surrounding the Barflex comic.
"I want to remind students to be respectful in their actions and their words because what we say does affect other people," Bode said.
Raymond Rodriguez '09, head of the Diversity and Community Committee gave a presentation to the Assembly to educate members about the various resources available for students, especially minority students, in case other issues, such as those prompted by last week's cartoon, should arise again. He opened the floor to the Assembly which led to a long debate that encompassed many issues surrounding both the comic, the Sirleaf comment and the responses to both. Students discussed the Assembly's roles in such affairs and The Dartmouth's right to freedom of speech.
Rodriguez closed the meeting by encouraging students to take the problems that had been discussed to heart.
"Forget about [the Assembly] and think about what we can do as student leaders," he said.
