Sophomore Summer. Who knew a term at college could evoke such anticipation, such hype, such excitement. I spent the interim between Spring and Summer pitying my internship-enslaved friends, sleeping and day-dreaming of soon-to-be days spent sunning on the Green, barbecuing and swimming in the Connecticut River on sultry afternoons. And then I received a blitz.
Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life April Thompson's (euphemistically titled "Summer Updates") blitz, sent out to campus on Wednesday, would have been more aptly titled, "Killing Sophomore Summer." Thompson began by informing sophomores of the limited dining options this summer (no surprise) and then dropped a bombshell: the swimming docks on the Connecticut will be closed out of concern for student safety ("River swim docks close indefinitely," June 25). In previous summers, docks and lifeguards were present near the Crew boathouse to provide an area for Dartmouth students to safely enjoy the waterfront and its offerings. This summer, apparently, the cool refuge from the Hanover heat is off limits.
This sudden policy shift subscribes to a fallacy with which College President Jim Yong Kim and the deans should be all too familiar. Creating a rule from on high, informing campus and assuming that student behavior will change accordingly behavior steeped in Dartmouth tradition and integral to the sophomore Summer experience is a blunt and ineffective way to govern the student body. Taking away the docks and lifeguards will not stop overheated Dartmouth students from diving into the icy Connecticut. Swimming in the river has been a beloved summer activity for decades, and it's clear that a blitz from Thompson will do little in the way of ending this tradition. This policy, in fact, only removes what safety precautions were previously put in place to keep swimmers safe.
I do not deny that there are dangers attached to swimming in the river. Yes, the water is murky, and the current in the river may indeed fluctuate at unscheduled times. But there are other ways to handle this problem rather than a sudden, top-down policy change. The College could adopt a swim-at-your-own-risk policy to free the College from liability, or only allow swimming during days when the dam upriver will not be opened. These are the changes that students will tolerate, rather than an outright removal of the swimming docks.
The alternative swimming options Thompson offered were really not alternatives at all. Getting to Storr's Pond either requires a car or reliance on Advance Transit, and few will take the time to decipher Advanced Transit routes when there is a far more accessible swimming option a stone's throw away. The convenience of the Connecticut is why students swim there, and offering us free access to an inconvenient and inaccessible pond is not a viable alternative.
Questions over the arbitrariness of this decision abound. What was the catalyst for this decision? Why is this policy being put in place at the inception of our sophomore Summer, when so many classes before us have been allowed to enjoy the river during their Summer terms? What happened to the transparency and collaborative decision-making the administration promised under President Kim? We're eagerly awaiting the answers to these questions Thompson failed to address in her blitz.
We're not going to back down until we receive adequate answers. Student leaders are currently pursuing diplomatic measures for resolving this situation, but if those fail and it seems like the administration is inflexible on this issue I think a great act of civil disobedience is in order. President Kim encouraged us, at least metaphorically, to storm Parkhurst what better time than now, when the administration has taken away our river, during our sophomore Summer, for flimsy and unexplained reasons. If the administration remains uncompromising, then they shall see what the ire of 1,000 overheated students looks like.
