Back to Hanover. Our current athletic director, Josie Harper, recently announced her plans to retire in June. There will be an interim AD appointed for the 2009-10 academic year as the College searches for a permanent replacement. Knapp and I won't be around as students by then, so we decided to come up with short wish lists of things we'd like to see changed at Dartmouth under the newest AD. I like Knapp's suggestions, especially the emphasis on a fan-friendly environment, but there's some other things that need to be addressed as well. Here's my three picks -- agree or disagree.
- Continue the consolidation and improvement of athletic facilities
A lot has changed in terms of appearances for Dartmouth's athletic facilities in the last few years, but there is still more to do. Take softball, which plays its home contests off-campus without any kind of permanent support facility.
I'm not necessarily saying that the actual playing surface at Sachem is bad, but why can't Big Green softball get a piece of real estate alongside the rest of the other permanent varsity sports venues? It would certainly make it easier for fans to attend the team's games, and it would give the players and coaches greater access to locker rooms and medical facilities. I think the new AD needs to make a survey of the space near Thompson Arena and the Boss Tennis Center and figure out a way to reconfigure some of the land for a softball field, and perhaps add areas in Boss for softball locker rooms and training rooms.
Also, I'm going to speak for many of my friends on this request -- can we get some more pickup basketball courts? Right now, there are only two full courts in West Gym, and that space is also used by various club sports like badminton and table tennis. That's two courts for more than four thousand undergrads, or one court for every two thousand students. Sounds like a crowded game to me. Why can't we use Leede during the basketball and volleyball off-season, or just get a few more courts somewhere else?
- Rethink the value of the athletics web site
I've probably been on the athletics web site, both the old version and this new one, more times than is healthy for an undergrad. But I've felt for a long time that the site can be confusing and basic information can be a bit too hard to find. Did you know that there is entire results scoreboard on the home page?
But I think the web site can be a big asset to hyping up Dartmouth sports for both students and alumni. Right now, you have to sign up for a premium service, Big Green Insider, to get multimedia content and access to live streaming video of certain varsity contests. Why not make these services free to students by instituting a log-in, similar to Blackboard? Also, the web site could have more interactive features, like polls, contests and an 'Ask a Player/Coach' section, where Big Green sports followers could send in questions and have the responses posted. Perhaps we could even have promotions that require fans to enter information or complete a quiz online, and then announce the winners at home games, thus increasing attendance. Winning helps, but some shrewd marketing wouldn't hurt the profile of Dartmouth sports.
- Get rid of the physical education requirement
Right off the bat, I am not supporting eliminating physical education classes. There is a lot of good stuff being offered that gives students an opportunity to try out some activities that they previously would not have tried. But why should we force people to take three credits of physical education classes? Shouldn't it be a personal choice whether or not someone wants to learn how to ski or take tumbling?
Specifically, I think it's a bit crazy how we still have to pass a swimming test in order to graduate. What is the point? Yes, swimming is a great skill to have and is potentially live-saving in certain situations, but how does one's ability to doggy-paddle factor into earning a degree from an Ivy League institution? If people who don't know how to swim want to learn, let them. But don't make it mandatory to finish your Dartmouth education.
