Since arriving on campus, the Class of 2009 has witnessed an expansion of Greek life, controversy within the College's alumni community and visits by national politicians.
Freshman Year 2005-2006
The Class of 2009's freshman year began with controversy, after then-Student Body President Noah Riner '06 drew fire for his religious-themed Convocation speech during freshman orientation, sparking editorials in both campus and national newspapers.
In his speech, Riner said Jesus was "the solution to flawed people like corrupt Dartmouth alums, looters and me."
In March, the College announced that Tubestock, the annual sophomore summer celebration on the Connecticut River, would be cancelled if students could not obtain the proper state permits for the event. These permits which would cost $2 million had become necessary because of new state legislation that prohibited congregation on New Hampshire waterways.
Although students protested the event's demise, posting "Save Tubestock" posters during the spring elections for student body president and vice president, the Greek Leadership Council said they would be unable to afford the permits.
In March, the administration announced that the national sorority Alpha Phi would come to the College, making it the first new Greek organization to join campus since the 1999 moratorium on new Greek organizations was lifted in June 2005. Students had requested an additional sorority, citing frustration at the presence of only six sororities on campus versus 13 fraternities. Students argued that the small number of sororities had led to large pledge classes for each sorority.
The Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi, meanwhile, was denied recognition by the Interfraternity Council, which asserted that "the Greek community can simply not sustain another fraternity at this time."
The IFC decided to place a moratorium on applications for new fraternities until January 2007 in order to "re-examine and reflect on its criteria for expansion."
Later that spring, Tim Andreadis '07 was elected Student Body President by a wide margin of 356 votes. Andreadis, the first victorious write-in candidate in Dartmouth history, presented himself as an alternative candidate who pledged to decrease sexual assault on campus and protect student and faculty diversity. The election was covered by the Boston Globe, in part because Andreadis was openly homosexual. The Globe reported that his election marked a break from Dartmouth's traditionally "conservative streak."
At the end of the academic year, Dean of the College Jim Larimore announced that he was leaving Dartmouth to become the dean of students at Swarthmore College.
Sophomore Year 2006-2007
Students returning to campus in the fall were greeted with brand new residential buildings, the McLaughlin Cluster and Fahey-McLane, as well as new academic buildings, Kemeny Hall and the Haldeman Center.
Alpha Phi participated in Fall term rush for the first time. Because the sorority did not yet have a physical plant, it held its rush events at various sites, including the Hanover Inn.
Following rush, Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority garnered attention when a new-member bid-night event held off campus resulted in 11 alcohol-related arrests. The College disciplinary committees did not charge the sorority with alcohol or hazing infractions, but the organization was found to have violated the College's Standard of Conduct. Kappa was placed on social probation through March and was required to partake in alcohol education events.
In late fall, the Native American Council published an ad in The Dartmouth entitled, "A Chronology of Racism, Fall 2006," outlining a series of incidents that had occurred over the course of Fall term. The enumerated incidents included the disruption of a drum circle by intoxicated students, the sale of Homecoming shirts featuring the College of the Holy Cross mascot performing sexual acts on the "Dartmouth Indian," and a formal hosted by members of the Dartmouth crew team at which several students wore stereotypical Native American costumes.
A week after the ad's publication, The Dartmouth Review published an issue with a cover bearing the title, "The Natives are Getting Restless" that included a picture of a Native American holding a scalp.
In response, several hundred students and staff members joined in a "Solidarity Against Hatred" rally on the Green. The gathering garnered national media attention and included a speech by College President James Wright.
The controversy continued when Athletic Director Josie Harper publicly apologized for scheduling a men's hockey tournament against the University of North Dakota "Fighting Sioux," saying she believed it would cause "pain" among Native American students.
The College then formed the Stam Committee, College of the Holy Cross, to assess the scheduling of athletic events with schools with Native American mascots.
During Winter term a group of students who said they wanted to reform Student Assembly attempted to impeach Andreadis. Critics questioned the students' motives as there was a known personal conflict between Andreadis and the reform group's leader, Adam Shpeen '07. The group's efforts led to the formation of a Student Governance Review Task Force to evaluate the efficiency of Dartmouth's student governance body.
Spring term saw the race to fill the Board of Trustees seat vacated by Trustee Nancy Jeton '76. The race featured open campaigning for the first time in a trustee election, and was characterized by controversy over campaign financing.
Petition candidate Stephen Smith '88 triumphed in the election. Smith, a critic of the Wright administration, argued that the College as shifting from its commitment to undergraduate education and becoming a research university, citing what he believed were increasing class sizes and free speech restrictions. His campaign was publicly supported by members of the Phrygian Society, a conservative secret organization of senior men, and drew criticism because Smith did not disclose his funding sources.
In March, The Dartmouth revealed that the Phrygian Society had met with several trustees that were elected as petition candidates and was working to promote an anti-administration agenda. In 2006, The Dartmouth reported, the society had briefly established a corporation to accept alumni donations.
Wright later issued a letter to the Dartmouth community refuting several of Smith's campaign claims, but denied that the letter specifically targeted Smith.
In a quieter contest than those of previous years, Travis Green '08 was elected student body president in May 2007.
Junior year 2007-2008
In September, the College announced that it would add eight Board-selected Trustees to the Board, disrupting the parity between alumni-elected and Board-selected trustees that had been maintained since 1891. At the same time the College proposed changes to the Alumni Council's constitution that some said would make it more difficult for petition candidates to be elected as trustees.
The proposed changes followed the election of four petition candidates to the Board, all of whom were seen as more critical of College policies.
In October, the Association of Alumni announced that it would sue the College for breaking parity on the Board, which members said was contractually bound by the 1891 agreement.
The College filed to a motion with the Grafton County Superior Court to dismiss the suit, but the court ruled in favor of the Association and denied the motion. The case was scheduled for November 2008.
In the spring elections for the Association's executive board, one slate of candidates promised to dismiss the lawsuit, while the other vowed to continue fighting for parity. Alumni and student groups campaigned heavily on each side.
After over a month of voting, the anti-lawsuit "Unity slate" swept all 11 of the Association's executive committee seats. Later in June, the Association, under its new leadership, officially ended its lawsuit against the College when the Grafton County Court Superior Court approved a joint dismissal of the case.
In January, the Board voted to reprimand Trustee Todd Zywicki '88 for a controversial speech he had made at the John William Pope Center, a conservative education think tank, in October. In the speech, Zywicki called former College President James Freedman a "truly evil man" and argued that higher education is dominated by an "orthodoxy" of political correctness.
Zywicki's critics also accused him of asking audience members to donate to George Mason University, where he is a professor of law, instead of the College. Zywicki, who was also reprimanded by the Alumni Council for the speech, issued a formal apology for his comments, particularly those regarding Freedman.
On Feb. 4, 2008, Wright announced that he would step down from his position at the College in June 2009. In April, the search committee for a 17th president, lead by Trustee Al Mulley '70 began to gather input from the Dartmouth community regarding Wright's replacement.
During Winter term. Tom Crady took office as the new Dean of the College, replacing acting Dean of the College Dan Nelson, who had held that position since August 2006, following former Dean Jim Larimore's departure.
On the first day of classes in September 2008, Dartmouth hosted a Democratic presidential primary debate for all eight Democratic candidates, moderated by NBC's Tim Russert. Two hundred Dartmouth students received tickets to the event and others attended a watch party in Leede Arena.
Throughout the Winter, the College saw visits from many high-profile politicians, including former President Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea, former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
On Jan. 8, 2008, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and McCain emerged victorious in the New Hampshire presidential primary.
During Winter term, the College announced that Beta Theta Pi fraternity, which the College had permanently derecognized in 1996 following a series of disciplinary breaches, would reclaim their physical plant on campus and work towards rerecognition. Alpha Xi Delta sorority, which had leased Beta's physical plant for approximately a decade, would be left without a physical plant following Beta's return.
The prospect of the fraternity's return stirred concerns from students regarding the disparity of male- and female-dominated social spaces on campus. The debate climaxed when 200 students marched to Parkhurst to deliver to Wright 800 signed copies of a petition demanding that the College create more female-dominated and gender-neutral social spaces.
Crady, who addressed the crowd in lieu of the absent Wright, promised to find more spaces for sororities. Student Assembly's Social Life Committee was also established to further address the issue.
Hitchcock residence hall's $10.8-million renovation was completed during Winter term. Construction then began on New Hampshire residence hall.
In Spring 2008, Molly Bode '09 was elected student body president. The election was held almost a month earlier than usual in order to facilitate a more productive spring term for the Assembly.
