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The Dartmouth
June 26, 2026
The Dartmouth
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Programming Assistants provide students with something to do

By Maggie Fritz | August 2, 1995

While Dartmouth can seem lonely and quiet with only one class on-campus in the summer, Programming Assistants do their best to make sure there is always something to do on-campus. Dean of Residential Life Mary Turco said PAs are "the student staff members in the residence hall who provide the programming opportunities for students in residence in the summer." "They're really a student leader in residence," she said. There are three programming assistants this term in addition to three programming liaison's who represent College affinity programs like Cutter-Shabazz Hall, the International Students residence hall and the Native American House, Turco said. She said the two positions differ because programming liaisons are responsible for communication between the affinity house and the Office of Residential Life. Kathy Domingo '96, PA in the Gold Coast Cluster, said her job is a cross between an Undergraduate Advisor and an Area Coordinator. "You have to be able not only to program but also do administrative stuff," she said. Domingo, who has been a UGA for the past two years, said it is much harder to program events in the summer because she is not dealing with freshmen. "It's '97s who have already established their niche," she explained. In the summer, Domingo judged, programming activities need to be more social. Domingo said 30 students attended her most successful programming event when she invited History Professor Jere Daniell to speak about the history of Dartmouth. Domingo said she was very surprised by the enthusiastic student response the event received and said one student even told her it was the best event he had ever gone to. The hardest thing about being a PA is not having a support staff, which would be available to UGAs or ACs, Domingo said. Domingo said she meets with other PAs and programming liaisons to discuss feedback about programs they have run. "It's not nearly comparable because you're not nearly as close to the people -- you're not living with them," she said. Domingo said she decided to work as a PA this summer because "basically I couldn't imagine being on-campus and not being involved in ORL." On campus for her second summer, Domingo said she wanted to do something besides work on her thesis this term. Domingo said the position also provides her with the opportunity to meet more people. "If I wasn't a UGA or a PA, I wouldn't be able to say, 'Hi.

News

Asbestos removed from Robinson Hall

By Maggie Fritz | August 2, 1995

Before beginning renovations on Robinson Hall, the College employed a private company last week to remove asbestos from a number of its first-floor rooms. Assistant Director of Facilities Planning Jack Wilson said the asbestos removed from the rooms was contained in the floor tiles, for which asbestos fibers were used as a binding agent. The rooms were formerly the offices of Outdoor Programs. "Asbestos in this form is a very low level of hazard unless the fiber is broken up," Wilson said. He added that before removal, the asbestos presented "no danger at all" because it was not flaking off into the atmosphere. In the rooms, Wilson said, the asbestos containing tiles were covered by carpet, but by moving the carpet, some of the tiles were disturbed. This proceedure created a health hazard. "This is a pretty standard type of procedure," Wilson said. Kathy Decato, a full-time administrative assistant in the Outdoor Programs offices said she was at first worried by the idea she had been working around asbestos. But Decato said she now realizes that in a stable form, asbestos presents almost no danger. Wilson said asbestos fibers "can be found around campus in many locations." Between the early 1950s and the early 1970s, Wilson said asbestos fibers were often used as a binding agent. Wilson said it has been College policy over the last 10 years to remove the asbestos on a systematic basis. Now, he said, few buildings remain with a lot of asbestos in them, but it does still exist in "a few pockets" on campus. "Much of the tile throughout Robinson Hall does have asbestos fibers in it," he said. Wilson said in many instances the College has removed asbestos from Robinson Hall. Remaining areas like overhead piping joints insulated with asbestos fibers will need to be removed during the building's renovations, he said. New Hampshire has quite stringent laws about asbestos, Wilson said. "If the asbestos itself is in a stable condition it doesn't have to be removed, but any time you need to disturb asbestos ... then the asbestos needs to be removed in an approved manner," Wilson explained. Removing the asbestos last week was "fairly expensive," Wilson said.

News

Government department reviewed

By Aran Toshav | August 2, 1995

An external review committee, commissioned by the College, recommended government professors focus on a specific academic area in their research and made several other suggestions to improve the department. The external review is part of an on-going, four-year-old review process to evaluate each College department. The results of the Spring review were released to the College earlier this term and the recommendations may be made public once all departments have been reviewed, former Dean of the Faculty Karen Wetterhahn previously told The Dartmouth. Government department chair Nelson Kasfir said the review committee gave the department compliments as well as criticism and recommendations. "Basically teaching was good, but they thought we should focus independent work on trying to build a group within the department," Kasfir said. Kasfir said the department must write a response to the committee's recommendations but because many department members are vacationing during the summer the department will not respond until October. Government Professor Richard Winters said he did not feel the committee's suggestion that the department build a group within itself was well thought out. Winters added it is hard for the department to "devote scarce resources to build one specific, fairly fuzzy area of study." Assistant Dean of Faculty in the Humanities Mary Jean Green told The Dartmouth previously that occasionally the reviewers do not realize some of Dartmouth's constraints. Winters said he does not know if the suggestion will be implemented and added that if it does happen it will happen over many years. But government majors should not worry about their ability to study the topic effectively. "I don't think it is a student hostile or student friendly recommendation, it would not have a whole lot of impact on students," Winters said. Wetterhahn said external reviews are useful because they make departments take stock of where they are. "In terms of the future, it is a chance for the department to validate their ideas by an external review committee," she said. The committees that review the departments are comprised of outside scholars suggested by the individual departments and two faculty members from related fields.

News

SA focusing on projects, not issues

By Abigail Klingbeil | August 2, 1995

Now holding its meetings at barbeques instead of in Rockefeller Hall, the Summer Student Assembly avoids making decisions with long-term effects and focuses on providing student services. Summer Assembly President Matt Shafer '97 said the Assembly has left in-fighting by the roadside this summer and is moving toward accomplishing its goals. Less policy-making Summer Assembly Vice President Scott Rowekamp '97 said the Summer Assembly does not take up "policy-type issues" because those issues usually do not arise in the summer.

News

Humanities seminar status revoked

By Amy Semet | July 31, 1995

Director of the Humanities 1 and 2 program Walter Stephens said he will appeal the Committee on Instruction's recent decision to end Humanities 1 and 2's freshman seminar equivalency. "For a committee to decide that Humanities 1 and 2 is an inadequate substitute for a first-year seminar is incomprehensible to me," Stephens said.

News

WFRD rated number one radio station for past two years

By Rini Ghosh | July 31, 1995

It was love at first sound -- for her at least. She was depressed, broken-hearted and alone and the late-night disc jockey at WFRD-FM 99 Rock agreed to play her song request. Though DJ Jim Donnelly '97 thought he would never hear from her again, he was completely mistaken. The woman called back and managed to find out Donnelly was over 18.

News

'Snapshots' denied recognition

By Colin Grey | July 31, 1995

The Council on Student Organizations recently denied official recognition to the new student magazine "Snapshots of Color" based on the magazine's policy of only allowing membership to students of color. Devoted mainly to issues of color and to publishing works by students of color, the magazine stated that anyone can submit a piece to be published.

News

Storm hits Dartmouth

By Maggie Fritz | July 27, 1995

Damage wreaked by yesterday's storm will cost the College somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 to repair, Associate Director of Facilities Operations and Management John Gratiot estimated yesterday. During the storm, several trees and branches fell and some water damage was sustained, but "nothing horribly severe" occurred, Gratiot said. Parked cars were hit by fallen trees and branches at a number of locations on campus, Gratiot said.

News

Lamm speaks on age- old challenges

By Jason Casell | July 27, 1995

With his sleeves rolled up and sweat glistening from his brow, Montgomery Fellow Richard Lamm looked ready to start work on solving the problems facing an aging American society. Lamm delivered a speech titled "The Challenge of an Aging Society: Infinite Needs, Finite Resources" to a capacity crowd of over 130 people in the Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences Tuesday night. "Two demographic patterns endlessly haunt me -- the changing ethnic composition ... and the absolutely staggering change in the average age in the United States," Lamm said. According to Lamm, who serves as the director of the Center for Public Policy and Contemporary Issues at the University of Denver, the average American's life expectancy has increased by 29 years since 1900, at the rate of three months per year. Only Sweden and Norway have elderly populations proportionally as great as the United States, Lamm said. Referring to himself as a "reformed politician," the former three-term governor of Colorado addressed his topic with a sense of humor that kept the crowd laughing intermittently throughout his speech. Lamm said the fastest growing population in the United States is people more than 100 years old. "Willard Scott gets 400 letters a week," Lamm said, referring to the Today show weatherman who announces birthdays of people turning 100 on the television program. Citing statistics on transparency slides, Lamm said the United States spends 11 times more on people over the age of 65 than on children. "Leona Helmsley is on Medicare, and 30 percent of children have never seen a dentist," Lamm said. Lamm said ethical considerations make choosing what to do with the elderly a difficult process. "What do you do with a 90-year-old with a heart condition dying in a nursing home?" he asked.

News

Today's marijuana puts users in greater danger

By Rebecca Siegel | July 27, 1995

Many health-conscious Dartmouth students will be concerned to hear new studies have proven marijuana to be more dangerous than previously believed. Director of College Health Services Dr. Jack Turco said today's marijuana is much stronger than it once was and is often laced with crack and cocaine. "People form opinions about marijuana based on their experience with it 20 years ago," he said.

News

Sophomore parents come to campus

By Amy Semet | July 27, 1995

It's time to clean your room and do your dirty laundry. Your parents are coming to town. This weekend, the 1997 class council will sponsor Sophomore Family Weekend.

News

Pelton appoints new budget director

By Maggie Fritz | July 27, 1995

Richard Heck will replace Matthew McManness as executive officer in the Dean of the College's office in mid-August. Heck has worked as the director of the budget at Colgate University for the past 16 years. As executive officer, Heck will oversee "budget and financial matters that pertain specifically to the Dean of the College's office,"Assistant Dean of the College Janet Terp said. These areas include residential life, student life and athletics, Terp said.

News

Jim Rich '96 calls for unity in SA

By Abigail Klingbeil | July 26, 1995

Most freshmen students will get their first glimpse of Student Assembly President Jim Rich '96 as he delivers a speech at convocation. Rich said he hopes to"give a perspective of Dartmouth from an upperclassmen who has maybe seen and experienced some of the things they are about to experience." But he already has some advice for incoming first-year students: "Be involved actively in making Dartmouth a better place because it's small enough that every student can make a difference." This is advice Rich himself seems to have followed. Rich's experiences at the College range from being captain of the men's tennis team to a member of the Committee on Standards. And then Rich, a government major from Bedford, N.H., ran in the spring for Assembly President, using the slogan, "Not for the right, not for the left -- for Dartmouth." He won with 32% of the vote. "Be open to participate in all sorts of different activities at Dartmouth -- both academic and extra-curricular."Rich added. "Get to meet as many people as you can and to really engross yourself in this place because you only have four years to experience it," he added. He said although he would never have chosen another college, he recognizes there are things at Dartmouth that need changing.

News

Hooked on silicone: Computers dominate students' lives

By Mary Ellen Moore | July 26, 1995

After arriving on campus, freshmen will have their eyes opened to a whole new world: BlitzMail. During orientation, freshmen will get their computers, lug them back to their rooms and figure out how to plug them in, and then forget about their telephones as soon as they log on to the College's electronic-mail network. Over the ensuing weeks, first year students will constantly battle the urge to sign on to a computer every five minutes to see if they have received any "blitzes." Because computers are everywhere on campus, students will not suffer from BlitzMail withdrawal.

News

The Class of 1999: Not all birds of a feather

By Rini Ghosh | July 26, 1995

Wearing spotless Dartmouth caps and smelling of home-laundered clothes, members of the Class of 1999 may look very similar as they arrive for their freshmen trips, but this seeming uniformity is just a thin disguise, covering up a wild array of pre-college experiences. According to information compiled by Senior Associate Director of Admissions Maria Laskaris, incoming students have accomplished many extraordinary feats. People who are worried about how incoming students will make it around the bonfire 99 times for the annual Homecoming tradition can breathe a sigh of relief when they learn of the exceptional athletic accomplishments of some students. One freshman was a discus thrower in the first Junior Olympics, while another won a gold medal for skiing in the 1994 Parolympics for the handicapped. Another member of the Class of 1999 participated on the Junior Olympic volleyball team, while someone else showed a talent for freestyle skiing by receiving a national rank. A gold medal graced the neck of a student who competed in the biathlon event of the Empire State Games and someone flexed his or her muscles the right way to become a state champion for power-lifting. A student has also been a national team captain for soccer. The rhythmic talents of the class also stand out, as students can perform Galician dance, Greek dance, Indian dance and Irish dance.

News

Opulauoho sees bright future for Student Assembly

By Jack Vaitayanonta | July 26, 1995

Students on campus always have something good to say about Kelii Opulauoho '96, proven by his landslide victory in the student assembly vice presidential election this spring. Opulauoho was elected vice-president of the Student Assembly by 44 percent of the vote.

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