News - The Dartmouth

News

Sewing seeds for permanent garden

By Caroline Kerner | November 7, 1994

Within the next two weeks, Jim Hourdequin '97 will present the College with a proposal that could elevate the Dartmouth Organic Garden from a marginally successful club to a self-sufficient, permanent program. The Garden will require $50,000 of initial College funding to hire a farm manager, purchase necessary materials and build two greenhouses. "If students are behind this, it's going to happen for sure.

News

Woman reports uninvited dorm entry

By Jeffrey Beyer | November 7, 1994

A woman living in French Hall woke up early Tuesday morning to find an uninvited male stranger in her room, the Department of Safety and Security said last night. The unidentified man apparently entered the wrong room, apologized to the sleeping woman and quickly left her room, Lauren Cummings '72, a Safety and Security investigator, said in a BlitzMail message. Cummings stated in his electronic mail message that the man entered the woman's unlocked dorm room at about 2:30 in the morning of Nov.

News

Bachelors, bachelorettes pair up

By Micheal Posey | November 7, 1994

The Programming Board sponsored its version of the Dating Game this weekend, pairing eight lucky Dartmouth men and women together for an all-expense night-out in the Upper Valley. The Programming Board's Dating Game, a take-off of the long-running television contestant show of the same name, consisted of four episodes.

News

Rassias & Co.: Play on love and women hits N.Y.

By Micheal Posey | November 7, 1994

French and Italian Professor John Rassias has taken his classroom theatrics to the real stage with a self-written play that debuted in Irvington, N.Y.

News

Recruiting: not just suits

By Rebecca Siegel | November 4, 1994

As the cold descends upon Hanover, many seniors are trying to balance their time between classes, enjoying their last fall as undergraduates, applying to graduate schools and -- for some -- the corporate recruiting process. Seeing upperclassmen walk across the green with samples of toothpaste or shampoo will not be uncommon during the next few months as national corporations come to Dartmouth looking for students to fill full-time and internship positions in such areas as banking, sales management and advertising. This past week, seniors have crammed into Career Services, pouring through company descriptions to finalize their resumes and cover letters to meet today's deadline for certain corporations and firms that offer on-campus interviews. The Career Center extended its hours until 8 p.m.

News

Alcohol forum draws few students

By Nathaniel Leclery | November 4, 1994

Despite all the recent controversy surrounding Hanover Police's "internal possession" policy, only 30 people attended last night's alcohol forum organized by the Substance Abuse Advisory Committee. Many of the audience members were College administrators and town officials.

News

Policy causes legal debate

By Keith Lavigne | November 4, 1994

Last night community leaders held a public form to defend the Hanover Police Department's "internal possession" policy, while earlier in the day the New Hampshire branch of the American Civil Liberties Union announced it will challenge it. Although it is ultimately up to the courts to untangle the complex legal issues, both sides maintain their interpretations of the law are correct. Under New Hampshire law "any person under the age of 21 years who has in his possession anyt liquor or alcoholic beverage shall be guilty of a violation," according to New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated179:10. Under the "internal possession" policy, police can use the presence of alcohol in the bloodstream as circumstantial evidence in cases where an underage drinker is charged with "unlawful possession." But opponents of "internal possession" interpret NH RSA179:10 as restricting the definition of possession to only mean the external possession of alcoholic beverages. In 1992, a motion in the New Hampshire legislature attempted to amend the statute so that alcohol in a person's system would be considered possession of alcohol, but on urging from the N.H.

News

NHCLU takes case

By Michael Ross | November 4, 1994

The New Hampshire branch of the American Civil Liberties Union decided yesterday to challenge the Hanover Police Department's "internal possession" policy. "A decision was made that the ACLU should become involved on behalf of the people who have been harmed by the policy.

News

COCO sets agenda

By Heather Bell | November 4, 1994

With the hopes of being a more efficient and non-political student governing body, the Coalition of Class Officers formed Spring term has set out to tackle the eight student issues it outlined at its formation. The coalition was created through the combined efforts of the vice president and president of the Classes of 1995, 1996 and 1997.

News

Local legend lends a hand on busy football game weekends

By Amanda Lawrence | November 4, 1994

For the past 41 years, Hanover Traffic Director Ben Thompson has played a hand in controlling the mad rush of visitors who flood the roads -- particularly the intersection of Main and Wheelock Streets -- on home football game weekends. Thompson is always standing in the intersection outside the Hanover Inn, adorned in a traditional uniform complete with brass buttons and white gloves.

News

Cortines faces challenges as NYC school chancellor

By James M> Hunnicutt | November 3, 1994

Ramon Cortines spoke last night about the problems he has encountered and the goals he maintains as chancellor of the New York City school district, which is the largest in the nation. After shifting from Dartmouth Hall to Silsby Hall and waiting a half hour due to technical problems, the more-than-60-person audience heard Cortines discuss educational and social issues in the schools. "New York City has the very best schools in the nation ... and the worst," he said.

News

'98s collide in biking accident

By Colin Grey | November 3, 1994

Last night at about 8:10 p.m., Tiffany Battle '98 was thrown from her bicycle after colliding with pedestrian Julie McGuire '98, who was stepping off the sidewalk by Thayer School of Engineering next to Cummings lot. Hanover Police Officer Michael Evans said McGuire did not see the bicycle approaching. Battle was riding home to her dorm in 102 McClane Hall.

News

Forum highlights meal plan changes

By Jason Casell | November 3, 1994

The Meal Plan Task Force's proposed dining plan was met with both anger and enthusiasm by students and College employees at an open forum last night. The plan would require all students who want only a declining balance to pay a $70 fee each term and would offer freshman the option of choosing a declining balance or "punch" system. About 10 students attended the forum in Room 3 of the Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences. "This committee is committed to work on this to find a user profile -- what is the right thing for the right person," said Dartmouth Dining Services Associate Director Tucker Rossiter, a member of the task force. Several of the students in the audience expressed anger with the proposed plan. "I think it is inherently unfair for the three classes to pay twice.

News

Alumni explore changes on campus

By Charles Davant | November 3, 1994

"You can get a good education somewhere else, but you can't get a better experience," Fritz Hier '44 said last night at a panel meeting of local alumni who discussed their Dartmouth years. The panel, which consisted of alumni who graduated between 1929 and 1953, was moderated by Fred Berthold '45, who jokingly called the participants "eight old codgers." Green Key Public Programs Chair Mary Tatman '96, who coordinated the event titled "An Oral History of Dartmouth College," said the panel's purpose was to "foster student contact with local alumni." The sweeping changes that have taken place at Dartmouth during the last half century were a major topic of discussion. Hier said he feels that the increase in student diversity is one of the greatest changes.

News

NHCLU discusses legal action

By Michael Ross | November 3, 1994

The New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union has received at least 12 written complaints against the Hanover Police Department's "internal possession" policy and will meet today to discuss taking legal action. Claire Ebel, the NHCLU's executive director, said she has been "inundated" with complaints from individuals claiming police violated their civil rights but she would not discuss specifics about the letters. She would only say that the letters were not all from Dartmouth students and added that some were from individuals younger than 18 years old and others were from local residents older than 21. Following the "internal possession" policy, police can use the presence of alcohol in the blood stream as circumstantial evidence in cases where an underage drinker is charged with "unlawful possession." Police often determine blood alcohol levels by administering a breathalyzer test, which Hanover Police Chief Nick Giaccone said is normally done after an arrest.

News

Phi Beta Kappas inducted

By Rebecca Siegel | November 2, 1994

The 20 seniors with the highest grade point averages were inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society in a ceremony yesterday afternoon at College President James Freedman's house. Phi Beta Kappa is a national honorary society consisting of students whose grades place them within the top 10 percent of their class. The 20 seniors inducted yesterday on the basis of their grades at the end of last spring, are known as "Junior Phi Beta Kappas." Other students who meet the requirements will be inducted between the end of this spring and graduation. "Most chapters elect students at two different times, once in the fall and once in the spring," said Margot de l'Etoile, secretary-treasurer of the Dartmouth chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. This year, the cut-off cumulative GPA for membership is a 3.70, calculated from the GPAs of the top 10 percent of students in the prior two classes, according to the Organization, Regulations and Courses book. All students who achieve at least a 3.7 GPA are invited to become members of the society, even if the number of students exceeds 10 percent, de l'Etoile said. She said students must complete eight terms at Dartmouth in order to receive membership into the Phi Beta Kappa Society. "I was very proud of those 20 students.

News

Need-blind: how long can Dartmouth close its eyes?

By Siobhan Gorman | November 2, 1994

At a time when colleges and universities across the country are scaling back or eliminating their need-blind admissions policies, administrators say the College can maintain its policy in the near future despite the increasing burden it places on the College's budget. During the last fiscal year, the College spent about $27 million on financial aid, representing 17.4 percent of its total budget, according to statistics from the Vice President and Treasurer's Office. In 1990, the College spent 14.9 percent of its budget on financial aid and the percentage has increased steadily since then as more students have required more aid. The College is projecting that financial aid will cost $40 million by the year 2000, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl Furstenberg said. "Financial aid is the fastest growing category in the budget," College Trustee Dick Page said in an interview earlier this month. But the extra burden of financial aid is not unique to Dartmouth and other schools have been forced to modify their policies. Furstenberg said the College is one of about only 12 that maintain a true need-blind policy, in which the Admissions Office evaluates candidates without looking at their financial aid information and guarantees to meet all of an accepted student's demonstrated need. A high priority Maintaining need-blind admissions has been the College's top budgetary priority, Vice President and Treasurer Lyn Hutton said, leaving the College committed to the policy despite the increased burden.

News

Lyons: protect resources

By Jack Vaitayanonta | November 2, 1994

Environmental activist and acoustic artist Dana Lyons yesterday urged an alliance between members of the environmental movement and indigenous peoples in order to combat the current destruction of the earth's resources. Lyons delivered his speech, titled "The Ethics and Philosophy of the Radical Environmental Movement," to about 30 students in 13 Carpenter Hall. He pointed out that the land upon which Dartmouth lies was seized by white colonists from the Abenaki Native American tribe without a proper treaty and joked that tuition might go up if the College were to pay the rightful owners of the land to use it. Lyons said a common misconception of the modern environmental movement is that it is solely composed of middle-class whites.

News

SA mandates attendance

By Siobhan Gorman | November 2, 1994

The Student Assembly passed both a bylaw to enforce meeting attendance and a resolution to co-sponsor a forum on the Hanover Police Department's policy on "internal possession" of alcohol at its meeting last night. The new bylaw states that a student who misses three Assembly or Standing Committee meetings in one term without being excused will be removed from the Assembly. The Assembly president will determine whether an absence is excusable. Assembly President Danielle Moore '95 spoke out strongly in favor of the bylaw, which is an attempt by the Assembly to solve its attendance problems. "I think we need something instituted and I think we need it instituted now," she said. Assembly Vice President Rukmini Sichitiu '95 said she thinks the new bylaw will prevent members from just coming to a meeting to vote on one important issue. "The passage of this created some accountability.

News

Dining plan proposed

By Siobhan Gorman | November 2, 1994

A task force charged with evaluating campus meal plans has recommended replacing the mandatory freshman meal plan with a system that gives students the option of paying a $70 fee to have only a declining balance account. If the plan is approved, beginning next Fall term, all students would be required to purchase a minimum dining plan of $400, only $330 of which would be usable as a declining balance account, said Michael Anderson '96, a member of the task force. The other $70 would help subsidize Dartmouth Dining Services and make up for income currently raised by the freshman meal plan, which requires first-year students to pay $938 each term for a combination of meal "punches" and declining balance. The Meal Plan Task Force, created last winter, will present its proposal at a public forum at 7 p.m.