Alumni Association president John Daukas '84 said he thought student panels throughout the weekend gave clear examples of student viewpoints regarding recent events.
One panel discussed whether Dartmouth was on its way toward becoming a more socially inclusive institution.
"Dartmouth really bends over backwards to be inclusive," Daukas said. "A lot of the social systems are extremely open. Unlike other schools, most of the social events on campus are open to everyone, which is unusual."
He added that both affiliated and unaffiliated students present said they feel welcome at parties held in Greek houses.
Daukas said his experiences talking with students confirm that only a "very small subset" of students is dissatisfied with the College.
Although he said these concerns are important and should be addressed, Daukas maintained that it is important to look at the "big picture," which points to high rates of student satisfaction. Daukas cited a survey indicating that 98 percent of seniors last year were "very satisfied," and the high number of current seniors who have already made financial donations to the College. As of last week, 31 percent of the Class of 2013 had given over $10,000 to the senior class gift.
"We shouldn't make 98 percent of the students unhappy in order to make a couple of students happy," Daukas said.
Alumni attended a presentation on how the College handles sexual assault allegations. Presenters said the process is "victim-driven" and designed to provide support to survivors, as they choose to press criminal charges or talk to a counselor.
Some alumni present were skeptical of how Dartmouth's sexual assault response procedures work in practice. Yet Daukas said he believed student protesters recently cited exaggerated figures about sexual assault. Daukas said neither he nor the students he talked to believe that 95 percent of sexual assaults on campus are not reported.
"That sounds like a preposterous number," Daukas said. "That's like if a third of the women on campus were being sexually assaulted."
Alumni Council vice president Mark Davis '81 said the session intended to address campus safety and students' happiness. At the end of the weekend, he said he was pleased with the time and energy that administrators are putting into making Dartmouth a safer place.
"There have been a number of specific improvements made by administrators, but that doesn't mean that the job is done and that things can't be improved further," Davis said. "From my perspective, even one sexual assault on any campus is horrible, but sometimes they do happen on college campuses. As alumni councilors, we play an active role in prodding the College to focus on these issues and we listen to and react to the things administrators are doing."
Matthew Hoffman '82, incoming vice-chair for the student affairs committee, said he and other alumni lauded recent administrative decisions.
"We thought the cancellation of classes was a wonderful idea," he said. "It showed that the College was taking the issue very seriously."
Some alumni were keen to ask administrators and other prominent figures about recent events on campus, in particular the Dimensions protest. Trustee Annette Gordon-Reed '81 was asked whether the protesters would be punished, to which she responded that the College was following normal disciplinary procedures and could not discuss individual cases.
Daukas said Dartmouth remains "a very good place."
"Dartmouth's community is very strong despite the recent disruptions that have gone on that upset the community," he said.
Recent events have forced Dartmouth to defuse several public relations issues, Daukas said, referring to the recent cancellation of classes and hazing allegations made by Andrew Lohse '12 in an op-ed in The Dartmouth and later in a Rolling Stone article.
"I think that Andrew Lohse unfairly made Dartmouth a poster child for hazing, and I think canceling class made Dartmouth synonymous with sexual assault," he said. "That's the way it came across in magazines and national media. I don't think that's the case."
Daukas also referenced a recent incident in which CNN mistakenly showed a picture of Dartmouth Hall for their coverage of the Boston Marathon bombers, who attended the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.
Davis said media coverage surrounding Dartmouth tends to be negative.
"Dartmouth is very caring about its students, but you never seem to get that in the press about Dartmouth," he said.
Laskaris' presentation did not indicate that the protest or recent events had a detrimental effect on the number of students who accepted admissions offers or on the quality of the incoming freshman class, although the Admissions Office is still processing information for the Class of 2017.
While the Alumni Council meeting shed light on recent controversies, alumni said they are heartened by the administration's progress.
"The issues we talked about are sadly not unique to Dartmouth," Hoffman said. "Dartmouth seems to be taking a proactive role in respect to alcohol abuse and sexual assault, and, overall, students are engaged and happy."
Daukas said the Dartmouth community is "holding its breath" to see what President-elect Phil Hanlon will do when he takes office.
"His academic passion is enormous," Davis said. "His passion for Dartmouth is enormous."
