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The Dartmouth
December 20, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth
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News

Racism conference to bring together students, faculty

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Hundreds of students and faculty from 24 northeastern colleges and universities will converge at Dartmouth this weekend to discuss racism at a two-day conference. The annual conference, this year titled "The Challenges of Diversity: From Talkin' the Talk to Walkin' the Walk," is sponsored by the Society Organized Against Racism in New England Higher Education. The organization "was founded 15 years ago to help member institutions fight racism and to provide networks and other resources to do so," said Candace Crawford '98, co-chair of the Interracial Concerns Committee -- Dartmouth's SOAR chapter. Approximately 240 students and 60 administrators will participate in the conference, which starts at noon on Friday and will end on Saturday afternoon.



News

New curriculum is a 'work in progress'

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It will be two or three more years before the College can fully assess the new curriculum and in the meantime students and faculty are continuing to adjust to the College's new distributive requirements -- two years after their implementation. With 10 specific distributive requirements, the new curriculum, which began with the Class of 1998, asks students to take a broader range of classes than did the previous requirements. Evaluating the curriculum Dean of the Faculty James Wright said the new curriculum is still a work in progress. "It's still a little early to assess what changes need to be made," Wright said.


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Preferences for fraternities fluctuate from year to year

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While the number of men who rush fraternities each year remains about constant, the numbers at each individual house can fluctuate greatly from year to year. Houses compete against each other to gain large pledge classes, and those who do not fare well face problems filling their houses and with meeting financial burdens because there are so many fraternities to fill. Assistant Dean of Residential Life Deb Reinders said the number of men who join fraternities each fall is somewhere just above 200, while individual pledge classes this year are as large as 31 at Alpha Delta and Chi Heorot fraternities, and as small as zero, as Gamma Delta Chi fraternity has no new member contracts on file with ORL. About 30 students joined the coed Greek houses -- Alpha Theta, Phi Tau and Tabard. Uneven numbers, financial burdens With about 200 men pledging each fall and only 15 houses, it is not possible for all houses to have large pledge classes.


News

Panelists describe advent of coeducation

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Former and present administrators spoke about the College's decision to coeducate and the early years of coeducation during a panel discussion yesterday afternoon titled "Women and Men of Dartmouth: How and Why the College Went Coed." The panel, which is one of several events scheduled this term to mark the 25th anniversary of coeducation, included Nels Armstrong '71, the director of Alumni Relations; Marilyn Austin, a former vice-provost and associate dean of the College; Fred Berthold, professor of religion emeritus; Michael McGean '45, secretary of the College emeritus and Holly Sateia, dean of student life. The discussion was moderated by Director of the Women's Resource Center Giavanna Munafo. Campus atmosphere Armstrong, a student at the time the decision to coeducate was made, drew a picture of what campus life was like at that time the coeducation decision. Armstrong said the fact that the College was all-male played a small part in his decision to attend Dartmouth. Once he arrived in 1967, Armstrong said the single-sex campus had a profound effect on how he viewed social life. Armstrong said some students realized hurdles were going to be there for women, while others may not have. "Some of us had our own hurdles to go through," he said.


News

Students must change residency to vote in NH

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Out-of-state students can register to vote in New Hampshire for the upcoming presidential elections but they will have to change their permanent residency. Manchester Deputy City Clerk Paul Bergeron said "campaigns out there saying you can vote and register at the polls aren't telling the whole ramifications." Bergeron said there was no way for students to register to vote in New Hampshire without changing their residence. "Once you have filed the [registration] card here, you've changed your residence," he said ."You can de-register but there are requirements.


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Michigan Regents to meet Tues.

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The Board of Regents of the University of Michigan may choose the its new President in less than a week. College Provost Lee Bollinger was named one of four finalists in the presidential search two weeks ago . The Regents met privately on Tuesday and decided to begin the final stage of deliberations next Tuesday. Michigan Law School Dean Jeffrey Lehman, who was the chairman of the presidential search advisory committee and who moderated the town meetings, said there is no way of knowing how long the deliberations will take. "The meetings could last a day or they could go on for weeks," Lehman said.


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Campus heads explore space and community

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About 20 students attended an informal panel discussion titled "Issues of Space on Campus" following the coeducation panel yesterday evening in the basement of Mid Fayerweather. Representatives from Amarna undergraduate society, Bones Gate fraternity, Milan, the Panhellenic Council, Phi Tau coed fraternity and the Student Assembly discussed issues of space on campus as well as issues concerning the Greek system and student voice on campus. Danielle Benware '97, an Amarna member, began the discussion by asking what issues concern students about space on campus. Panhell President Jess Russo '97 said, "The number of students hasn't increased, why does [space] seem to be such an issue now?" "There are a million different groups sprouting up all over the place" that are wanting space on campus, Russo said. She said La Alianza Latina and the College's new sorority are applying for space in addition to among other groups. Assembly Vice President of Student Life Meredith Epstein '97 said she thinks one important space issue on campus is that "a lot of social events happen at fraternities" where women might not feel comfortable. "Is there the right amount of social space where everyone can feel comfortable?" Epstein asked. Russo said the Women's Resource Center often shares its space with other groups. "It is good they share their space," Russo said.


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College decides to keep Ed. Dept.

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The beleaguered education department will remain a part of the College for at least three more years, as a result of the efforts of new Education Chair Andrew Garrod and Dean of the Social Sciences George Wolford.



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Feds expose national GRE cheating scandal

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Most students stare intently at their exam booklets when taking the Graduate Record Exam. But some students who took the test last month in Los Angeles were concentrating on something else -- their pencils. On Saturday, federal agents broke up a cheating ring in which students allegedly paid $6,000 each to have answers to the GRE and other tests coded onto their pencils. The scheme used time-zone differences to defeat the test. Prosecutors allege a team of experts took exams in New York using assumed names, then telephoned the answers to Los Angeles George Kobayshi, of Arcadia, Calif., was arrested Saturday on fraud charges for providing test-takers with answers to the GRE, the Graduate Management Admissions Test and the Test of English as a Foreign Language. To identify the test-takers involved in the scheme, ETS will review confiscated records from Kobayshi's American Test Center and will investigate the center's clients, Kevin Gonzales, spokesman for the Educational Testing Service, the Princeton, N.J.


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Gould takes time to chat and sign books

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Following his hour-and-a half-lecture, Harvard Zoology and Geology Professor Stephen J. Gould lounged in his chair and answered questions, told jokes and signed copies of his books. Several dozen students and members of the Upper Valley crowded around the podium last night at the end of the Class of 1930 Fellow's visit to meet the renowned scientist and science writer. Gould spent time fielding questions and talking privately with audience members while signing books with a jovial grin and avoiding the flash of a photographer's camera. "When I'm chatting with people I want to talk to them, not have a flashbulb going off in my face," Gould said. Gould answered questions ranging from his definition of evolutionary progress to the differences between species complexity and specialization. After the crowd of people dispersed, Gould spoke with The Dartmouth. He acknowledged that while the topics discussed last night -- human arrogance regarding evolution and species complexity -- are topics that should be of interest both the public and the scientific community, the theories are not well-known to the public. "It is not a radical theory among professionals ... although they may not take it as far as I do," Gould said.


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Gould discusses evolutionary bias

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Renowned scientist and writer Stephen J. Gould last night condemned human arrogance about evolution before a packed audience in Cook Auditorium. A zoology and geology professor at Harvard University, Gould has received numerous honorary degrees as well as literary and academic medals and awards for his books, which number more than 15. Gould spoke about the public's bias toward a linear view of evolution -- one whose changes favor more complex beings.


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Assembly names new community service chair

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The Student Assembly last night named a new community service chair and approved a letter pledging the current Assembly's support for the Committee on Standards reforms recommended by the Assembly last spring. As the new vice president of the community service committee, Nancy Bloomfield '99 will help to define the role of that committee within the Assembly, said Assembly Vice President Chris Swift '98. Assembly President Jon Heavey '97 said Bloomfield will also serve as a liaison between the Tucker Foundation and the Student Assembly. "She's the kind of person that gets people together and gets people doing things," Swift said. The Assembly also passed a resolution sponsored by Case Dorkey '99 and Meredith Epstein '97 to send the COS a letter offering support and assistance in enacting the changes within the COS suggested by the Assembly last spring. The previous Assembly's resolutions called for an information session for prospective COS candidates, sophomore eligibility for COS positions, increased student participation in the COS and the inclusion of freshman voting privileges in electing COS members. The College has already begun to take action on these reforms, according to the letter. The letter states the Assembly wishes "to strongly urge that all its resolutions in regard to COS indeed be acted on in full, and to offer its assistance, wherever it may be needed." In addition, Swift announced that the Membership and Internal Affairs Committee will review and clarify the division of labor among Assembly executives. Swift said the new attendance policy requires the Membership and Internal Affairs Committee to notify members who have two absences, which they did.


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Ledyard Canoe clubhouse is home, meeting place and hangout

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At the end of Tuck Drive is a wooden staircase that winds down the hill to the Ledyard Canoe clubhouse -- a place juniors Jamie Shandro and John Magyar call home. The clubhouse was built in the 1930s and an annex was later added to store canoes, kayaks and equipment. Each term, students are able to live in the remote home.


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Freedman reports on state of College

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In his annual address to the faculty yesterday, College President James Freedman reported on the successful completion of the Will to Excel capital campaign and the state of Dartmouth's student admissions. "I can't remember a happier time reporting on the state of the College," Freedman said.


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United way kicks off fundraising campaign

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The United Way at Dartmouth College has officially kicked off its annual fundraising campaign, aimed to benefit 24 human and social service agencies in the Upper Valley. This year the UWDC aims to raise $140,000, roughly one-fifth of the United Way of the Upper Valley's total goal of $750,050. UWDC Campaign Co-Chair Kathie Savage said the goal is "extremely realistic and not outrageous." But only five percent of the UWDC's goal has been raised in the first two weeks, Savage said.


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Cameron speaks to new fraternity men

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Nonnie Cameron, "house mom" of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at Purdue University in Indiana, spoke about gender relations and dating to about 100 new fraternity members last night. Cameron is one of a series speakers invited to campus by the Interfraternity Council for new member education this term. The IFC invited Cameron to Dartmouth to teach fraternity members ways to improve their relationships and apply what they learn from the fraternity system to their lives. Cameron began the session by stating her goal for the evening. She said, "My primary objective is to have fun." She expressed this before the meeting began as she handed out Tic-Tacs and said to members walking in, "We're going to have fun!


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Medic Downing is not just another '99

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Danielle Downing '99 is not the typical sophomore for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that she is 26 years old and has received five marriage proposals from men in Kenya. After three years of active service in the army, stints as a Mary Kay skin care consultant and an Emergency Medical Technician and a summer in Kenya, Downing ended up at the College. "I'm here at Dartmouth and it still shocks the hell out of me," Downing said, smiling. But however unexpected, a four-year stay at Dartmouth is hardly the most exotic stop on this adventurous sophomore's journey. Her path to Dartmouth took many twists and turns. After graduating from high school in Plymouth, Mass.


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Ed. department decision delayed

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The final decision regarding the future of Dartmouth's embattled education department has been delayed until later this week. Originally scheduled to be resolved by last Friday, the negotiations still need to sort out a few last- minute details and should be complete by Wednesday, Dean of Social Sciences George Wolford said Friday. He said there had been a "tiny glitch" but "things are on a fairly good course and there are no problems." For the past couple of weeks, Wolford has been negotiating with Education Chair Andrew Garrod about what will happen to the department. Over the past several years the education department has periodically come under fierce criticism -- most recently last March when the Council of Social Sciences recommended eliminating the department. Last week, both Garrod and Wolford said the department will most likely not be abolished, but will probably be changed. "Students will be relieved, but not ecstatic, if things go as planned," Wolford previously told The Dartmouth. Last March, the council recommended the department's abolition but did not fully divulge the reasons behind the proposal. Some members of the council -- composed of the eight chairs of the social sciences departments -- cited administrative problems, interpersonal conflicts, the department's low production of scholarly work and its pre-professional slant as reasons for their recommendations. In response, many students rallied behind the besieged department.