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The Dartmouth
May 27, 2026
The Dartmouth
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News

Community mourns Schimke's death

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The death of Hanover Police Chief Kurt Schimke Tuesday shocked and saddened College administrators and town residents, who praised him as a dedicated worker and protector of the community. Schimke died of a heart attack while playing pick-up basketball at the Marion Cross School in Norwich, Vt.


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Colleges opposes speech law

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The College is opposing a proposed New Hampshire law that would prevent colleges and universities from enforcing speech codes on students and professors. "It's a totally unnecessary attempt to interfere with the operations of Dartmouth College," College Counsel Cary Clark said. Senate Bill 623, supported by both Republican and Democratic state senators, seeks to protect freedom of speech on college campuses and could come to a vote within the next month. The bill raises questions about whether speech should be regulated on campuses, and if so, who should have the authority to control speech. Dartmouth currently does not have an official speech code for students, professors, administrators or its other employees. Clark said the bill would create additional unwanted regulations and would result in increased litigation and legal costs for all New Hampshire colleges. Ann McLane Kuster '78, an attorney and lobbyist hired by Dartmouth, said, "Senate Bill 623 invites every student, professor, teacher, administrator and employee to litigate in federal court." "If approved, Senate Bill 623 will become a full employment act for lawyers, ultimately increasing the expense of higher education for all New Hampshire students," Kuster said. The bill was proposed after J.


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Campus political groups gather for Union address

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President Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address last night drew mixed responses across campus as Democratic and Republican student groups met to watch the speech on television. The Conservative Union at Dartmouth met in the basement of Streeter Hall while the Young Democrats met in Rockefeller Center to view the speech.


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Hanover Police Chief dies

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Hanover Police Chief Kurt Schimke suffered a heart attack at approximately 8:50 p.m. last night while playing basketball at Marion Cross Elementary School in Norwich, Vt.



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Greek leaders act

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The heads of the four major governing bodies of the College's Greek System and a representative of the co-ed houses announced yesterday their intentions to form a committee to investigate the Greek system's role at the College. The formation of the Greek Life Evaluation Committee comes in response to recent reports by the Committee on Diversity and Community at Dartmouth and the Sexual Assault/Sexual Harassment committee that call for a complete review of the Greek system. Chris Donley '95, president of the Co-ed, Fraternity and Sorority Council, organized the group to address the relationship between the Greek system and intellectualism, diversity, gender relations, race relations, sexual orientation and alcohol abuse. The other students who suggested the Greek Life committee are Hosea Harvey '95, president of the National Pan Hellenic Council; Interfraternity Council President Scott Swenson '95; Panhellenic Council president Lissa Trumbull '95; and Liz Shor '95, a representative from the co-ed houses. The issues the students said they would focus on were all listed as topics of concern expressed in the CDCD report, which was presented to College President James Freedman earlier this month. The report recommended that the College immediately undertake an investigation of the CFS system. Harvey, who heads the self-governing body of the College's historically black Greek organizations, and a member of the new committee, said its aim is to start an independent investigation of the issues rather than to wait for the administration to dictate its solutions. "What I want to see done is a report saying here is where we fail, here are ten things we can do, and then take that back to the different sub-councils and organizations," Harvey said. The students who released the statement will be on the Greek Life Evaluation Committee but Donley said they are still unsure about the rest of its composition. "I do not have to join a committee to see that there is sexism in fraternities," Shor said.


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Lyczak '67, UNH prof, killed

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Richard Lyczak '67, a computer science professor at the University of New Hampshire, died Saturday at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, 10 days after being shot in Portsmouth. Lyczak, who was 48, was a Fullbright scholar who spent last winter teaching in Thailand.


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College considers CDCD suggestions

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In a report released earlier this month, a committee charged with examining diversity on campus found the Greek system to be detrimental to the College's academic mission and recommended an immediate and formal evaluation. But the College has not yet determined how it will respond to the report or how it will affect the future of the Co-ed, Fraternity and Sorority system. The findings of the Committee on Diversity and Community at Dartmouth confirms the findings of other reports during the past 22 years.


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UFC allocates funds

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A committee that divides the $35 per-term student activities fee between nine campus organizations decided to triple the money given to the Class Councils and cut the Student Assembly's budget by almost a third. Yesterday the Undergraduate Finance Committee made recommendations to Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia about how to allocate the $430,000 raised annually by the student activities fee. Sateia said she will honor the committee's recommendations.


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Palaeopitus members help with senior stress

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Issues raised by the death of Dan Boyer '94 last term prompted a group of senior class leaders to plan a series of events for the Class of 1994 to discuss common post-graduation worries. The group, called Palaeopitus, will hold a night of activities in February to help seniors deal with the stresses caused by corporate recruiting interviews, medical and law school applications and other after-Dartmouth issues. Palaeopitus, whose members include delegates from a variety of student organizations, serves in an advisory capacity to Dean of the College Lee Pelton and College President James Freedman. "The freshmen have an introductory program with their orientation and freshmen trips.



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Debators place first and second

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Despite the recent retirement of last year's national debate champions, Steven Sklaver '94 and Ara Lovitt '94, Dartmouth's debate teams won one tournament last weekend and finished second in another. Bill Hinsdale '97 and Jacob Waldman '97 won first place at the George Mason University debate tournament, eliminating the College's other team of Lara Swensen '96 and Bryan Diederich '97 in the semi-finals. Hinsdale finished eighth in the individual speaker competition. At Dartmouth's annual round robin tournament, Marc Wilson '96 and John O'Shea '95 placed second to Emory University. The tournament is the only one Dartmouth hosts and features the top seven teams in the country. Dartmouth had a successful weekend without the help of its top two debaters. Though Lovitt did not want to comment on the specific reasons for his retirement, he did say that "Steven and I have retired because we have accomplished everything from debate that we wanted to." The last time the duo competed was in October when they won first place at a tournament at the University of Kentucky. Despite Lovitt and Sklaver's retirements, assistant coach Bill Russell said Dartmouth still has one of the strongest teams in the country. "Even given the loss of the country's best team, Dartmouth still has two teams that promise to be in the top 15," he said. Dartmouth's debate teams have traditionally been among the best in the country.


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College moves on CDCD

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College President James Freedman is soliciting input from the community to decide how the College will implement recommendations made by a committee formed to evaluate diversity at Dartmouth. The Committee on Diversity and Community at Dartmouth, formed by Freedman in the fall of 1992, presented its "Managing Diversity," report to Freedman last week. College Trustee Stanford Roman chaired the committee. Freedman will determine where the recommendations will go from here.


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Few request health care benefits

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Only eight people signed up for a new College policy that gives health care benefits to domestic partners of homosexual employees. The policy, which went into effect this year, gives same-sex domestic partners the same benefits as legally married spouses. Acting Provost Bruce Pipes said administrators originally pegged the cost of the program at $50,000, but the low participation is costing the College only $9,200, according to Director of Human Resources Roger Brock . History Professor Annelise Orleck said there are several possible reasons for the low turnout. "This is a small community where many gay couples are both employed by the College and therefore already have health care," she said.


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Freedman remembers Marshall

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College President James Freedman gave a sentimental remembrance of former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in a speech yesterday in Rockefeller Center. About 70 people listened as Freedman delivered a complete history of Marshall's life, lauding his untiring defense of Americans' civil liberties and the "extraordinary power" of his character. Freedman, who clerked for Marshall while the Justice served as judge on the U.S.


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Women's task force convenes

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The newly formed Task Force on the Status of Women started meeting this term to discuss what life is like for women on campus and how it can be improved. During their weekly meetings, members of the task force formed four subcommittees: academic, social, health/safety and extracurricular.


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Skiway committee forms

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A committee formed last term by Dean of the College Lee Pelton to evaluate the financial operation of the Dartmouth Skiway does not indicate its future is in jeopardy, Don Cutter '73, a committee member and Skiway manager, said. In fact, this year's large snowfall has given the Skiway an increase in business, Cutter said.


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River may become wildlife refuge

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Representatives from the National Fish and Wildlife Service visited Dartmouth earlier this month to present their proposal for a new comprehensive fish and wildlife refuge on the Connecticut River and to seek help from students in environmental studies classes. Larry Bandelin, a biologist; Norman Olson, a landscape architect; and Beth Goettel, a wildlife biologist, presented the Connecticut River Planning Project to students in Environmental Studies 50 and 73. Students taking Environmental Studies 50, "Environmental Policy Formation," may be able to help in the establishment of the proposed refuge by collecting data, said Environmental Studies Professor Doug Bolger, who teaches the class this term. The general topic for the course is defined by the professor, but the agenda is shaped by the interests of the enrolled students, Bolger said. The Fish and Wildlife Service has been conducting an extensive public outreach project to share its plan with inhabitants of the Connecticut River basin and involve them in the process.


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Campus thefts increase this term

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An increase in campus thefts prompted Safety and Security to post a BlitzMail bulletin earlier this month, warning students about the danger of leaving unattended items in College residence halls. Safety and Security Officer Rebel Roberts said her office has not yet totaled the amount of stolen property in January but said the number of thefts is "uncommon for this time of the year." Roberts said this year more students than usual have reported bicycles and ice skates stolen from outside their dorms and around Occom Pond. But there is no widespread pattern to the increased number of thefts, which occurred in hallways, students' rooms and outdoors, at all times of the day, Roberts said. "Items from boots to barbells have been reported stolen and it's not just limited to hallways," Roberts said.