Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism.
The Dartmouth
June 8, 2026
The Dartmouth
News
News

Sorority welcomes displaced students

|

The living room at Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority came alive Wednesday evening as smiling sorority members mingled with temporary students from Gulf Coast-region colleges and universities over cider and Bundt cake. "What's the deal with this?" one transplanted student wanted to know. While events like the one at Kappa are commonplace for matriculated Dartmouth students -- especially freshmen -- displaced students who found themselves at the College in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have not had the same type of welcome that matriculated students receive. "I got so many RSVPs that were so enthusiastic and so appreciative," said Jessica Magidson '06, who helped organize the event Visiting students attending Dartmouth this fall noted their appreciation that the College accepted them, waived tuition and assisted in finding them housing in the Hanover area.


News

Nobel laureate discusses development in Africa

|

Wangari Muta Maathai, who received the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, spoke to Dartmouth students Thursday evening about her initiatives to protect the environment and support women's rights in Africa. In her speech, Maathai examined Africa's ability to evolve and modernize through environmental action. The environmental activist is most noted for founding the Green Belt Movement, an environmental organization that promotes sustainable development, the empowerment of women and the spread of basic human rights such as clean water and food.



News

Seniors move off-campus, encounter different social life

|

For Ryan Counter '06, living off campus is a welcome change of pace for his social life. "As a senior it is nice to have the independence of living off campus and the opportunity to gather outside of dorms or frat houses," Counter said. Although they are not shirking Greek houses entirely, many seniors like Counter have chosen to live off campus this year in an effort to expand their social horizons. "Don't get me wrong, I still spend my fair share of time in dirty basements," Counter said.



News

Long-time music prof leaves for Stanford

|

Leveling severe criticism of what he called the College administration's lack of "intellectual leadership," veteran music professor Jon Appleton will leave the College for a full-time position at Stanford University next year. Appleton, currently the Arthur R.


News

Some female students plan for stay-at-home motherhood, not career

|

While many women hope to balance a career and child rearing, Lindsay Deane '08 hopes to be a stay-at-home mother, although she remains realistic that she may need to work for financial reasons. "My goal is to be wealthy enough that I don't have to work, but smart enough or educated enough that I am able to have a job that I would desire" Deane said.


News

College, SA aim to improve freshman advising system

|

The College and the Student Assembly revamped their advising systems this year to better connect with members of the Class of 2009 who are exploring academics at Dartmouth for the first time this fall. Both students and faculty had criticized the College's old faculty advising system.


News

De Soto addresses democracy, economy

|

Renowned Latin-American author and innovator Hernando de Soto discussed applications of Western-style economics for developing countries Wednesday night before a mixed audience of students, professors and local residents in Filene Auditorium. De Soto's speech, entitled "Liberty and Democracy in the Developing World," focused on bringing prosperity and democracy to developing countries through property rights, business organizations and documentation and identification of business transactions and residents. "Trust in the U.S.


News

Students lament interim gym facilities

|

Agitation among the student body is mounting as construction on Dartmouth's new fitness center continues and conditions in the interim center prove to be unsatisfactory for many students, an inconvenience that is expected to persist until at least April, according to Sarah Berger, a fitness center staff member. The interim fitness center includes an enclosed area of free weights on a former basketball court, one remaining basketball court and a space for physical education classes.



News

Microrobots show promise in IT, security

|

Dartmouth computer science graduate student Igor Paprotny dons his surgical scrubs, latex gloves and safety goggles and steps boldly into a class-100 cleanroom. It's just business as usual for Paprotny, a member of a team of Dartmouth researchers that have spent the past seven years working on the world's smallest mobile, untethered robot, a machine that is only one tenth the thickness of a single human hair. The team, a collaboration between the engineering and computer science departments, recently created the microrobot, which is one to two orders of magnitude smaller than previous micro-robotic systems, researchers said.


News

Career fair attracts over 100 employers

|

Sporting pressed oxford shirts and cuffed khaki pants, students shuffled up the stairs of the Hopkins Center Tuesday to browse jobs and collect free samples at this year's Employer Connections Fair. The two-day fair, which Career Services organizes each year to give students an opportunity to explore career options, features display booths for more than a hundred employers, including Goldman, Sachs and Co.; McKinsey and Abercrombie and Fitch. Susanne Delaney, a representative of the Peace Corps who has attended the fair for the past three years, said she was floored again by the turnout. "Dartmouth's career fair is one of the best organized fairs, and it is the [best] not-for-profit fair in the region," Delaney said. Liz Acord '05, who represented Cancer Treatment Centers of America, learned about her organization while attending Dartmouth's career fair as a student in 2004. "After dealing with career services at other schools, I'm impressed with Dartmouth," Acord said. Many students shared a positive impression of the fair, which was not as overcrowded as last year's event. "I found it well organized, professional and very helpful," Abigail Adams '06 said. Career Services made a concerted effort this year to attract a wide range of employers, Monica Wilson, assistant director of employer relations, said. Wilson proudly recalled her successful pursuit of three private healthcare consulting firms, as well as a near-miss with major television network ESPN. "When ESPN showed interest, I followed up eight to 10 times, but they declined in the end," Wilson said. Despite Career Services' efforts, some students expressed frustration at what they saw as a lack of variety among the fields represented at the fair. Chris Thomas '06, a mathematics major, said he went to the fair looking for computer-oriented companies but instead found most of the employers were from consulting and investment banking firms. "I don't think computer-oriented companies were present at all.


News

Fund-raising drive on track to meet goal

|

Almost a year after its public launch, the College's ambitious five-year, $1.3-billion Campaign for the Dartmouth Experience is proceeding precisely as planned, according to Vice President of Development Carrie Pelzel. "The campaign, at the end of August, hit $601 million, which is exactly on track," Pelzel said.


News

SA names chair, draws fire from ex-VP

|

Student Body President Noah Riner '06 tried to put the tension surrounding his Convocation remarks last week behind him at the term's first Student Assembly meeting Tuesday night. Riner began the meeting with a 30-minute, closed-door session during which the Assembly confirmed his choice of Elisa Donnelly '07 to lead the Assembly's student life committee.


News

Changes in store for College Greens

|

The Dartmouth College Greens, a nonpartisan student activism organization, is undergoing several changes this term beginning with a new name. The group voted in a meeting Sunday night to change its name to the Dartmouth College Progressives now that they are no longer affiliated with the national Green Party. Progressives members said the new name will allow the organization to better disseminate its messages. "We are looking to recruit, expand and become generally more effective.



News

College adds eight endowed chairs

|

Dartmouth recently rewarded eight professors at the College with appointments to endowed chair positions. The endowed chairs, which range in their origins from the 19th century to the past year, are intended to recognize excellent and active professors and to provide money for their further research. "[Endowed chair positions] allow us to honor the individual accomplishments of our faculty and to publicly celebrate the creativity and innovation their life's work brings to our students, our curriculum and to broader public," Dean of the Faculty Carol Folt said. The recent appointments include the creation of a new endowed chair, the Charles Hansen Professorship, which was given to history professor David Lagomarsino to acknowledge teaching and the advancement of liberal education. Lagomarsino said he uses his research to inform his teaching. "Not only does research keep teaching alive, but I've found teaching helps research," Lagomarsino said. The Charles Hansen professorship is one of 25 endowed chairs that will be funded by the Campaign for the Dartmouth Experience. The capital campaign, which is designed to preserve and improve a Dartmouth education, is focusing on the creation of endowed chairs as a way to distribute professors among popular and new fields, said Carrie Pelzel, the College's vice president of development. "A reason we have endowed chairs is so that we can address new and emerging disciplines and make sure that a Dartmouth education is one that is always a response to emerging fields," Pelzel said. Among the appointments, the College promoted a creative writing professor to an endowed chair for the first time in the College's history. Cleopatra Mathis is the new Frederick Sessions Beebe '35 professorship in the art of writing, which was created in 1989. Mathis, the author of five books of poetry, recognized the appointment as a boost of confidence in her writing and a position that will give her money and opportunities to write in the future. "The funding will allow me to go to places where I would like to go to write," Mathis said.


News

Alcohol use, smoking linked to parents

|

Children may form their perceptions about alcohol and tobacco use before they ever encounter peer pressure at school, a new Dartmouth Medical School study suggests. According to the study, conducted by Dartmouth Medical School pediatrics professor Madeline Dalton, childhood attitudes toward alcohol and tobacco are directly correlated with parental use of these substances. Dalton, who has been involved in tobacco prevention for ten years, oversaw the structured observation of 120 children, ages two to six, whom she asked to purchase items for a simulated dinner party from a mock grocery store.


News

Police charge second man with murder of '07

|

Police arrested Christopher Hollis, the second man charged in the murder of Dartmouth student Meleia Willis-Starbuck '07, after a Friday night traffic stop in Fresno, Calif. According to Fresno Police reports, Hollis initially gave officers a false name when his car was pulled over under suspicion of a hit and run.