Frances Vernon '10 and Cory Cunningham '10 were officially inaugurated as student body president and vice president, respectively, during Tuesday's Student Assembly meeting.
The outgoing and incoming leaders discussed their accomplishments and plans for the future.
Vernon touched on goals for the coming year, saying she will make collaborating with College President-elect Jim Yong Kim one of her first major priorities. Vernon said she hopes the Assembly's "Visions Report," a compilation of student-submitted suggestions on the direction the College should take, will help Kim gain an understanding of students' goals for the institution.
Vernon said she also hopes to reform the College's disciplinary system for organizations. A newly formed committee will evaluate the system, and plans on putting a proposal on Dean of the College Tom Crady's desk by the end of the term, Vernon said.
Outgoing Student Body President Molly Bode '09 said in an interview with The Dartmouth that she was most proud of her service as the student representative on the presidential search committee.
Bode reviewed the Assembly's accomplishments over the past year at the Tuesday meeting, highlighting a wide range of achievements,
Dartmouth was the only school in the Ivy League to compile a comprehensive survey of students' opinions on budget cuts, Bode said.
The Assembly's budget recommendations, which drew from the survey, were given to College officials and were also released to the student body, a decision that Bode said helped increase the transparency of the process.
Bode also discussed the Assembly's defense of housing for seniors. A proposal to allow seniors to remain on campus through Spring term was written by Assembly member Neil Kandler '09 after the College announced in February 2008 that it would reduce the number of seniors who could live on campus. Dartmouth officials reversed their decision in April.
The Assembly also played a role in the creation of the new Alcohol Management Policy -- which has yet to be released -- and worked to change Hanover Police policies on ambulance escorts, which often result in the arrest of underage students who require transportation to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center because of overconsumption of alcohol, Bode said.
The outgoing administration also saw the creation of a task force on sexual and physical assault on campus, she said.
The Assembly worked to increase the number of alternative social spaces on campus by sponsoring parties in non-Greek spaces and organizing focus groups to discuss Dartmouth's drinking culture, Bode said. The Assembly's Inter-community Development Fund and PANGEA, both dedicated to bringing together different groups and organizations across campus that might otherwise not interact, also worked to increase social opportunities by hosting a variety of alternative events, Bode said.
"I think they've been very successful providing a supplement to the Greek system," Bode said of the development fund.
Raymond Rodriguez '09, co-chair of the diversity and community affairs committee, said in an interview that the fund has "come a long way" since it was implemented in the fall.
"I'm really happy that [the Assembly] is going to try and make that bigger and better next year," he said.
