The Board of Trustees considered plans for new Greek organization physical plants, approved the budget for fiscal year 2012 and discussed social life at the College with panels of students at the Board's termly meeting this weekend.
The Board addressed the future of local Greek organizations at the College during its two-day meeting on Friday and Saturday, College President Jim Yong Kim said in an interview with The Dartmouth. There is a "general openness" to local fraternities and sororities colonizing at the College in the future, as long as they are "set up to succeed" with a strong financial and alumni base, Kim said.
"If you don't have the support of a national office, then you really have to have strong alumni support," Kim said.
Kim said there are strong models for such support networks among current fraternities.
"There are ones that have very strong support from their local advisors," he said. "Once all those pieces are put into place, everybody on the Board and myself are open to the idea."
The alumni base for new local Greek organizations does not necessarily have to stem from College alumni, Chairman of the Board Stephen Mandel '78 said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Students advocated for new local sororities that could create additional social spaces and improve overall campus social life, according to Kim. College officials are working on plans to attract and foster a new local sorority, which will likely be developed by the permanent dean of the College, Kim said.
The Board lifted its ban on national Greek organizations in 2005, and the Inter-Fraternity Council recently approved the re-recognition of Beta Alpha Omega as a local fraternity, The Dartmouth previously reported.
During the meeting, the Board also held an official vote to approve the proposed construction plan for the new Alpha Phi sorority house, Kim said.
Construction at the physical plant at 2 North Park St. will begin next fall and will be completed by August, according to Justin Anderson, director of media relations at the College. After the Alpha Phi house, the College will prioritize a physical plant for Kappa Delta sorority, Kim said. The College still needs to find a house that meets the zoning requirements of a residence hall and ensure that the neighbors do not object, Kim said.
"It's a complicated process," he said. "You think, Wow, there's a lot of land around here,' but the houses want to be close, of course, so they're within the circle where people go in the evenings."
The Board also approved the College's budget for the 2012 fiscal year, marking the completion of the Strategic Budget Reduction and Investment initiative designed to narrow the College's projected $100 million budget shortfall, according to a College press release. The 2012 budget includes an $876 million operating budget for the College and graduate schools, and a $45 million capital budget for construction projects like the Alpha Phi house and the planned renovations at Thompson Arena, the release said.
"Between faculty, staff and students on the budget committee, there's been a tremendous amount of really difficult hard work that has happened over the last 18 months or so," Kim said. "It's great news we're declaring that the [Reduction and Investment initiative] is over and now we have to look forward."
The Board hosted three panels to discuss the College's social life, Kim said. One panel consisted of Greek organization leaders, the second included advisors to the Greek system and the third comprised a mix of independent and affiliated students, Kim said. While panelists discussed many different aspects of social life, two primary issues raised by several participants were binge drinking and sexual assault, he said.
"I thought it was remarkable to see both affiliated and unaffiliated students speaking frankly with our Board of Trustees about the issue of sexual assault on campus," Kim said. "It is important to note that it wasn't linked to the Greek system or linked to anything."
Kim labeled the conversation a "great discussion" and emphasized that sexual assault is an important issue that he discussed with the trustees.
Mandel praised the input received from the student panels.
"It was really impressive how engaged and aware the students were about all these issues, and how they viewed it as their responsibility to make improvements," Mandel said.
The Board typically chooses one or two aspects of life at the College to discuss with students at its meeting. The November 2011 meeting may focus on the issues of advising and diversity, Mandel said.