The Class of 2008 witnessed racial controversy, transformations in Greek life and clashes among the College Board of Trustees during its first three years on campus.
Freshman Year 2004-2005
The Class of 2008's time on campus began with a controversy. Theta Delta Chi fraternity and Delta Delta Delta sorority were put on probation after a Fall term incident when Tri-Delt pledges said they been pressured into performing sexually suggestive dances for Theta Delt members during a pledge event at the fraternity house.
At the end of Fall term, the College fired football coach John Lyons after a 1-9 losing season and replaced him with Buddy Teevens '79 in Winter term. Simultaneously, a letter that commended Swarthmore's president for cutting its football program by then Dean of Admissions Karl Furstenberg surfaced. Furstenberg said Swarthmore's team was a "sacrifice to the academic quality and diversity of entering first-year classes." Teevens assured his players that he had spoken with Furstenberg and that Dartmouth's football program was in no danger.
In the Spring, administrators launched the "Party Pack" program, which delivers pizza and water to registered parties at midnight, and accepted the proposals of the Social Event Management Procedures Review Committee to give Greek organizations more responsibility to manage themselves. Then Dean of the College James Larimore organized the committee to examine the College's party registration policy, which has historically created conflict between students and administrators.
Spring term was also marked by several campus resignations. Sexual Abuse Awareness Coordinator Abby Tassel left the College after claiming that her supervisors and coworkers had acted antagonistically towards her. Jim Kuypers, the sole administrator of Dartmouth's speech program, resigned after writing a letter criticizing what he saw as a lack of administrative support and comparing then Dean of Faculty and Associate Dean of Humanities Lenore Grenoble to monsters in Greek mythology. His resignation ended the College's speech program until the 2008 creation of the Institute of Writing and Rhetoric.
Peter Robinson '79 and Todd Zywicki '88, two petition candidates, were elected to the Board of Trustees in the spring, defeating four candidates nominated by the Alumni Council. The election heightened tensions between petition and Council-nominated candidates.
In the Student Assembly elections, Noah Riner '06 was elected student body president over Paul Heintz '06 in an even more competitive election that came down to 29 votes.
Over the summer, Meleia Willis-Starbuck '07 was shot and killed in Berkeley, Calif. In May 2008, Christopher Wilson was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the Willis-Starbuck's shooting and sentenced to five years of probation.
Sophomore Year 2005-2006
When the class of 2008 returned to Dartmouth for its sophomore year, it was greeted by a new controversy, this one generated by Riner. During his September 2005 convocation speech, Riner used Jesus as a "good example of character" and said Jesus was the solution to "corrupt Dartmouth alums, looters and me."
In March, the Greek Leadership Council announced that it would cancel the annual Tubestock celebration -- Summer term's traditional celebratory weekend featuring students floating in innertubes on the Connecticut River -- because it could not afford the $2 million required to obtain the insurance for a permit. In previous years, Hanover had not required students to obtain permits, but in June 2006 new town legislation forbidding congregation on local waterways ended the tradition.
Around the same time, national sorority Alpha Phi became the seventh College-recognized sorority and the first new Greek organization at the College since the Board of Trustees lifted its 1999 moratorium on the formation of additional Greek organizations at Dartmouth in 2005. The sorority's inception helped to reduce the size of sorority pledge classes and to correct the imbalance of fraternities and sororities on campus.
Alpha Epsilon Pi, a traditionally Jewish fraternity, was conversely denied College recognition. Many believed that the advent of a Jewish fraternity would have made Dartmouth more welcoming to Jewish students. The Interfraternity Council president, however, cited an inability to sustain a 14th fraternity as motivating the decision. Some claimed that the IFC voted to reject the fraternity because it feared that the new organization would attract potential new members away from already existing Greek organizations.
Dartmouth's first openly gay student body president, Tim Andreadis '07, was elected in the spring by a margin of 356 votes over David Zubricki '07. Andreadis pledged to take steps towards decreasing sexual assault on campus and promoting diversity.
Larimore resigned at the year's close. During his seven years at Dartmouth, Larimore attempted to improve Dartmouth's Greek organizations and enhance the relationship between the administration, alumni and students. He accepted a position as dean of students at Swarthmore College.
Junior Year 2006-2007
After arriving back on campus for their junior fall, members of the Class of 2008 were met with the additions of the Fahey-McLane and McLaughlin Residential Clusters, Kemeny Hall and the Haldeman Center, which opened in September.
Additionally, Alpha Phi participated in Fall term rush for the first time. The new sorority held its rush events at sites around Hanover, including the Hanover Inn, as the organization had yet to obtain a physical plant. Alpha Phi entered Fall term with 20 members before rush began and extended 35 additional bids throughout the year.
Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority came under fire not long after rush after a new-member bid-night event resulted in the arrest of 11 students for alcohol violations. The College did not charge the sorority with alcohol or hazing infractions, but found the organization guilty of violations of the College's Standard of Conduct. The College placed the sorority on social probation until late March and required it to participate in alcohol education events.
At the beginning of Fall term, the role of Dartmouth's historic Native American mascot beame the center of campus debate. The Native American Council published a November advertisement in The Dartmouth titled: "A Chronology of Racism, Fall 2006." Among the breaches listed were the sale of Homecoming shirts featuring Holy Cross's mascot performing sexual acts on the "Dartmouth Indian," the interruption of a Columbus Day drum circle by intoxicated students and a formal hosted by the crew team that some students attended in stereotypically Native American clothing.
A week later, an issue of The Dartmouth Review printed a cover portraying a Native American holding a scalp accompanied by the title "The Natives are Getting Restless!" The cover incited several hundred students and staff to gather for a "Solidarity Against Hatred" rally to address incidents of prejudice on campus. The rally featured speeches by administrators, including College President James Wright. He did not address The Review by name, but referenced the publication in his comments when he said Dartmouth College "condemns the deliberate mean spiritedness that was demonstrated in the publication released yesterday."
The College formed the Stam Committee -- named for former Dartmouth government professor Alan Stam -- after Dartmouth's Athletic Director Josie Harper issued an apology for scheduling a hockey tournament against the University of North Dakota, the "Fighting Sioux." The Committee, formed to address the College's athletic scheduling policy regarding schools with Native American mascots, held an open meeting to discuss the issue in February of that year.
Winter term began with the attempted impeachment of Student Body President Tim Andreadis '07 by a group of students who said they wanted to reform the Assembly. While some students questioned the reform group's motives, citing a personal conflict between Andreadis and the group's leader, Adam Shpeen '07, the group's efforts led to the creation of a Student Governance Review Task Force to examine the role and efficiency of student governance at Dartmouth. The Task Force's report called for the formation of a Special Programs and Events Committee, which would fund events requesting over $5,000.
Around the same time, members of Zeta Psi fraternity witnessed the official closing of their physical plant as part of a re-recognition plan. The fraternity, which has been derecognized by the College for six years, will not accept any new members until the fall of 2009, when it will be eligible to start the re-recognition process.
The 2007 Board race for the position vacated by trustee Nancy Jeton '76, was marked by open campaigning -- a first in trustee elections -- and controversy about campaign funding. Petition candidate and eventual winner Stephen Smith '88 drew criticism for not disclosing the sources of his financial support. Smith, who established himself as an anti-administration candidate, criticized what he saw as the administration's tendency to see Dartmouth as a university, rather than a college. Wright issued a letter to the Dartmouth community in which he sought to "correct the record" on campus issues by refuting accusations of increased class sizes and free speech restrictions at the College, some of Smith's key criticisms. Wright denied any connection between the letter and Smith's claims, but many of his comments directly contradicted Smith's allegations. Smith's campaign was supported by members of the Phrygian Society, a secret organization of senior men which counts several campus political conservatives as members. In March, The Dartmouth revealed that the organization was working to further an anti-administration agenda and had met with several trustees. The society briefly established a corporation to take alumni donations in 2006.
Travis Green '08 was elected student body president in May along with Student Body Vice President Ian Tapu '08.
