And so it ends. After seven books and eight movies, after all the midnight release parties and standing in front of Borders with our nerdy glasses and fake wands, the magical journey that has captivated our generation like none other comes to a sad end today with the theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. As a tribute to this great series, below are a few aspects of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that we muggles can incorporate into Dartmouth College.
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The house system. Whether vying for the Quidditch Cup or trying to rack up house points during Charms, the four houses of Hogwarts created an ideal community dynamic through bonding, peer support and friendly (or sometimes not-so-friendly) competition both inside and outside the classroom. Any young wizard can attest that belonging to Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin is a defining aspect of the Hogwarts experience. Few Dartmouth students can say the same about Wheeler or Topliff. Granted, the D-plan and the dominance of the Greek system makes establishing a strong residential college system difficult, but the dusty intramural league tables in the dorms show that better residential life was once and can still be possible. Overhauling the residential system to promote intramural competition and encourage upperclassmen to bond with their dorm will allow the Dartmouth experience to be more enriching for all students.
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The dining service. Hogwarts Dining Services provided healthy, tasty meals every day without any pricey and complicated meal plans. How was it done? It's not like the food popped out of thin air (Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration prohibits that). Of course, Hogwarts kept costs low by employing house elves that worked like slaves. Although Dartmouth Dining Services employees should never work like house elves (I'm all for S.P.E.W), we can find a middle ground so that food at Dartmouth can be more reasonably priced. One of the reasons why DDS is able to be so expensive is because it essentially has a monopoly on on-campus dining. You don't need magic to make dining more cost effective opening up to some competition from outside food providers will do the job.
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The hospital wing. At Hogwarts, the hospital wing was open to students day and night, rain or shine, during basilisk attacks and Death Eater invasions. No matter how many petrified bodies or curse victims came in, Madam Pomfrey was able to promptly provide quality service. Never was a student forced to go to St. Mungo's because the hospital wing was closed down for the night, like what sophomores at Dartmouth are faced with over the Summer term. But even during regular operation, Dick's House has recently received complaints about poor service and long waits, which were largely due to staffing reductions ("Students face long wait times at appointments," May 31). The Hogwarts hospital wing may have been able to manage with a single nurse, but unless we find a way to gain Madam Pomfrey's healing powers, Dick's House needs be better staffed to provide the health services that students deserve.
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The (lack of) dementors. There was a time, before Voldemort started wrecking havoc, when the greatest threat that faced Hogwarts was Sirius Black. Concerned that the school could not effectively provide for its own safety and security, government officials at the Ministry of Magic decided to take matters into their own hands and have the Ministry's premier policing agents the dementors keep an eye on things. We know how that turned out: people started falling out of the sky during Quidditch matches and nearly got their souls eaten.
Here in Hanover, we are faced with a similar predicament, as the local government takes a very keen interest in the safety and security of our college. I am not equating a certain law enforcement agency to dementors, but an undesired encounter with Hanover Police can lead to similar feelings of depression and despair. Just as dementors brought nothing but trouble to Hogwarts, interfering with Dartmouth's effective Good Sam policy likely leads to students engaging in more risky behavior. Dumbledore eventually was able to make the dementors' intervention with Hogwarts safety and security a short one. President Kim, take a lesson from the greatest leader of the most amazing wizarding school we have ever known.
