Heightened security, less crowding and no freshmen posing as prospective students will mark this year’s Dimensions of Dartmouth weekends. Students admitted to the Class of 2018 will arrive on campus for the first of three Dimensions of Dartmouth dates on Friday, and as of last weekend, close to 1,000 students and family members had signed up for the April programs, dean of admissions and financial aid Maria Laskaris said.
An abridged version of the two-night Dimensions programs of past years will begin Friday, when programming will emphasize the school’s academic caliber. The schedule also includes a panel discussion on undergraduate research opportunities, a Global Dartmouth open house and a range of campus tours focusing on the arts, sciences and residential life.
Safety and Security and the conferences and events office assisted the admissions office in devising safety measures. Safety and Security will stop by several events and may station some officers at those with large crowds, Safety and Security Director Harry Kinne said.
“We’re very cognizant of wanting to ensure everything goes well and that everyone has a safe and secure time,” Kinne said.
In the event of a disruption, Safety and Security officers will approach the people engaged in the activity and ask them to leave if they are violating College policy, Kinne said.
Last year’s Dimensions protest did not cause the heightened security measures, Laskaris said, adding that the admissions office has always been concerned about visitor safety. At a performance last year, members of Real Talk Dartmouth walked onstage shouting “Dartmouth has a problem.” They held signs that highlighted discriminatory acts at the College.
Of four prospective students interviewed, two said they had not heard of last year’s protest and two said that it would not impact their decision.
Kyle Tarantino ’18, who was accepted through the early decision program, said that demonstrations at the College like the Dimensions protest and the “Freedom Budget” sit-in showed him that Dartmouth students hold diverse opinions.
“I chose Dartmouth based on what it was, not something I could change it to be,” Tarantino said, adding that he has sought out current students’ opinions on campus life issues.
Ross Bower, who will attend the Dimensions program on Friday, said that he looks forward to “getting a feel” for the campus and learning more about the D-Plan. Though he followed recent news about the College, he said he believed any prestigious school would receive media attention when unusual events occurred.
So as not to exceed building capacity limits, there will be two “Experience Dartmouth” presentations, held in Collis Common Ground, during the two-day Dimensions event. Half of the guests will watch the show while the other half will participate in an after-dark campus tour, and then the groups will swap. For the first time this year, current students will no longer pose as prospective students before the presentation.
Members of the Class of 2017 expressed disapproval with this decision.
After learning about the changes to this year’s program, the Class of 2017 Class Council surveyed first-year students, receiving over 260 responses.
Students, on average, rated their overall Dimensions experiences as an 8.94 out of 10. Asked to consider how they would have enjoyed the program without “undercover upperclassmen,” survey participants, on average, rated their experience a 5.03 out of 10, and rated the degree to which the presence of these upperclassmen influenced their decision to attend Dartmouth a 7.67.
“While we are well aware that there are numerous motivations for wanting to change the way Dimensions is run, we believe that getting rid of the ‘undercover students’ may have been the result of miscalculation of the prospective students’ opinions and may negatively impact the Dimensions experience for the incoming Class of 2018,” the report by the 2017 Class Council read.
As a result of its findings, the 2017 Class Council proposed keeping the undercover students for at least another year.
Other students, however, said they do not think the change would have a significant impact.
“I thought it was really funny, but I don’t think it’ll take anything away from the show,” Selome Ejigu ’17 said. “It was an added bit of fun, and an element of surprise, but overall if they have everything intact and they do it well, it’s going to be as good as it was last year.”
Laskaris said that allowing current students to act like prospective students does not align with the admissions office’s aspirations for Dimensions.
“It’s really very important as we welcome new students into our community, particularly at the time when students are making choices about where they will attend, that all the interactions that students have while on campus are based in an honest and genuine communication about who we are, what we offer and why we think students should choose Dartmouth,” Laskaris said.
In the past, Dartmouth offered a two-night, three-day Dimensions program to students considering matriculating in the fall. This year, two one-day programs will take place April 11 and 16, while a two-day program will begin April 24.
Asha Wills ’17 and Caroline Resor ’17, who will host prospective students, said they volunteered because they wanted to make personal connections through the program.
Resor said that although she didn’t attend Dimensions last year, she decided to volunteer after a friend described the program’s effect on her decision.
“After befriending three current students at Dimensions that were generous with their time, wildly enthusiastic about Dartmouth and caring she decided to go here,” Resor said. “She remains really close friends with all of them and that connection really impresses me and makes me want to have that experience as a host.”
Logan Henderson ’17 said that while separating the Dimensions program across three dates may be necessary for accommodations, it will prevent prospective students from meeting as many potential classmates.
Stephin Littleshield ’18, who said he participated in last fall’s Native American fly-in program, said that he hopes to have a more holistic experience when he attends Dimensions.
“I’m looking forward to meeting classmates, making friends, maybe even getting in on some classes and just finding out what it’s like being a student there,” Littleshield said.
