From Jan. 15-17, the Student Wellness Center sponsored my attendance at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Strategies Conference, the principal higher education professionals conference for sharing harm-prevention and risk-reduction strategies. I spent three days attending presentation after presentation discussing risk mitigation, engaging Greek life students and reimagining big weekends to integrate safety measures.
I traveled to Chicago hoping to find ways for Dartmouth to continue improving our prevention strategies. Instead, I realized that we have already checked all the boxes. Dartmouth has successfully integrated all the strategies presented by the higher education professionals.
I don’t think that’s an accident.
When I first started at Dartmouth in the fall of 2022, I heard a stereotype that the College does not adequately address mental health. Throughout my time at Dartmouth, however, I’ve seen a paradigm shift — I’ve seen health and wellness become a lens for solving campus issues by infusing them into everyday campus life. Now, as a senior, I’ve seen how Dartmouth has become a leader in these initiatives during my time in Hanover.
Dartmouth is now termed a “model institution,” according to the Jed Foundation, for the gains we’ve made — something I thought unimaginable my freshman fall.
As my time at Dartmouth comes to a close and as chief health and wellness officer Dr. Estevan Garcia leaves Dartmouth later this month, this experiment in focusing on well-being on Dartmouth’s campus reaches an inflection point.
From conversations I’ve had, I’m concerned about the consolidation of the Health and Wellness office under the division of Campus and Community Life. Dartmouth must continue holistic well-being by continuing the current Health and Wellness structure, ensuring that the chief health and wellness officer has their own seat at the table in Parkhurst.
As Senior Class President, I’ve been reflecting on what makes the class of 2026’s experience distinct, and I believe it’s the harm-reduction focus on prevention strategies during our time as students. In the inaugural address of College President Sian Leah Beilock — an adopted member of our sister class, the ’76s — she committed to a “holistic approach to wellness.” In fact, it was her number one priority in the speech. Throughout both of our times at Dartmouth, President Beilock and the ’26s have partnered to successfully improve well-being through a prevention-based mindset.
I’ve seen this partnership firsthand. I first saw it when I proposed institutionalizing the Seltzer Project — the project that I presented to NASPA. We presented the impact: 50% alcohol substitution, zero Good Samaritan calls at Masters Weekend — a pong tournament organized by Dartmouth students — and over 1,000 student survey responses showing measurable harm reduction. Tellingly, the administration called it a “no-brainer” to provide stable support for the Seltzer Project.
Projects like these are how Dartmouth changes stereotypes — ones propagated by former Dean of the College James Larimore, who preached that pong is “an indication that students sometimes drink just to get drunk.” Now, students may play pong with Polar Seltzers during an on-night.
I’ve seen this partnership when 24X IFC President Andrew Maguire presented an alternative to calls to cancel Masters by registering games events and providing Polar Seltzers to houses. Students said that it was “one of the most important events for the sophomore class to build a sense of community that goes beyond the boundaries of their respective Greek affiliations,” while simultaneously saying it was “one of the safest Big Weekends” they’d experienced at Dartmouth. Through prevention, we changed cultural norms that have caused negative characterizations of Masters by alumni.
I’ve seen this partnership as Maguire and I produced the Building Constructive Communities report, helping to shape new Alcohol Management Policies. Policies like these will now align student behavior with administrative support, granting them greater resources for harm reduction to host safe events while reducing organizational risk.
I’ve seen this partnership as DSG pushed to install walking treadmills on FFB. This small change in study space allows students to simultaneously work their mind and body while studying in the library.
I’ve seen this partnership with the expansion of wellness resources that Dartmouth provides, such as expanding sun lamps, free therapy, massage chairs, therapy dogs, mindfulness trainings and more. These resources allow students the opportunity to engage with wellness in their own spaces, and on their own time.
Throughout this work, President Beilock and her team have been strong proponents of these initiatives, working with students to implement holistic health and well-being and strengthen our Big Green community.
At this moment, we must remember the mission of this shared work between the ’76s and ’26s: harm-prevention and risk-reduction. That means the Chief Health and Wellness position must continue its harm-reduction focus and continue its successful structure as a direct report and partner to the President. The division of health and wellness must remain to continue Dartmouth’s harm prevention focus.
Initiatives like the Seltzer Project must continue to be supported by the health and wellness division, and a Chief Health and Wellness Officer must continue to implement student-focused feedback. I know personally that Dr. Garcia’s meetings with students have been transformational among wellness leaders — updates from one of them even made it to my fraternity’s Weekly Wellness email!
Thus, at this inflection point for Dartmouth’s administration, we must remember that health and wellness is a vehicle to improve campus life. As President Beilock has stated, “I know we still have more work to do, but it’s incredible to see the progress.”
That work ranges from integrating health data systems to addressing structural academic factors that cause stress to upgrading our health facilities.
That work should continue by building on the successes of the past two years.
In fact, continuing our current, effective administrative structure with a Chief Health and Wellness Officer keeping a seat at the President’s table in Parkhurst — rather than reorganize the position under a different department — will strengthen our campus community and allow Dartmouth to maintain our leadership status in health and wellness initiatives. This existing structure will allow Campus and Community Life to continue devoting resources toward strengthening programs such as Dartmouth Dialogues that have also helped Dartmouth gain national praise.
As the ’26s look to set a watch, and as I reflect on our partnership with the ‘76s, this is what I hope will endure: Dartmouth students having the still North in their soul, the hill winds in their breath and a Polar Seltzer in their hand.
JJ Dega is a member of the Class of 2026 and Senior Class President. Guest columns represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
