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The Dartmouth
December 5, 2025 | Latest Issue
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Assault rumors cause stir

By Alison Schmauch | October 7, 2002

Widespread rumors of a spike in on-campus sexual assaults have put Dartmouth administrators on alert, although few facts have been established amid a flurry of allegations. Several Dartmouth administrators expressed concern about the assault rumors, but they also said that they were not aware of any specific cases of sexual assault at this point. Although some of the email messages forwarded about the sexual assault cases have forged a link with members of a specific social organization at Dartmouth, no administrator interviewed by The Dartmouth said that any evidence for these allegations currently exists. Abby Tassel, coordinator of Dartmouth's sexual abuse awareness program, was away at the end of the last week and said she was surprised to return home to an inbox full of BlitzMail messages about possible sexual assault cases. Tassel said in a BlitzMail message to The Dartmouth that it seemed that there has been "a tremendous amount of misinformation flying about in my absence." Tassel said that she was not aware of any specific cases of sexual assault over the past two weeks. Sergeant Rebel Roberts of the Department of Safety and Security also said that no cases of sexual assault have been reported to Safety and Security either in the past two weeks, although one student did call to ask for information about sexual abuse. Roberts said, however, that due to the way systems for reporting sexual abuse at Dartmouth work, Safety and Security might well be unaware of any recent sexual assaults. While some students who are sexually assaulted might choose to report the incident to Safety and Security or to the Hanover Police, others might choose to report the incident only to Tassel or only to their Undergraduate Advisors, she said. No complaints of sexual assault have been filed with the Hanover Police either, according to Hanover Police Department Chief Nick Giaccone. Elizabeth Hirsh, director of women's health at Dick's House, said that Dick's House has not treated any women for sexual assault.

News

West rails agains 'new McCarthyism'

Controversial Princeton African-American Studies professor Cornel West argued that the "corporatization" of the American university is obstructing freedom of thought last Friday in a conference which addressed concerns that too many colleges are giving mere lip service to issues of diversity. Peppering his speech with humor and speaking in forceful oratory style, the animated West chronicled the public debacle between himself and Harvard President Larry Summers to a crowd spilling out of Collis Commonground.

News

Event combats eating disorders with humor

By Anna Cates | October 4, 2002

Using sketches about their own battles with eating disorders in an aim to entertain while giving information about this serious topic, Dani Klein '84 and comedian Marcy Ettlinger displayed energy and passion during a funny, informative and personal presentation last night. The two spoke to an audience of about 40 people, mostly female students, starting with a series of diverse statements detailing the symptoms of eating disorders.

News

Sports Illustrated ranks College 108th

By Jong Lee | October 4, 2002

Although Dartmouth's athletic program is currently ranked among the top-20 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, this week's edition of Sports Illustrated places Dartmouth athletics in the middle of the heap -- 108th in the nation among the 324 Division I athletic programs and seventh in the Ivy League. Sports Illustrated based their rankings on factors such as the school's performance in the "big five" sports (baseball, football, hockey and men's and women's basketball); the number of varsity, club and intramural sports; range of recreational facilities; position in the 2001-'02 Sears Cup NCAA all-sports standings; and whether or not spirit boosting events were held. Dartmouth Athletic Director Josie Harper, however, defended the College's athletic program. "It depends on how and what you're measuring," she argued, pointing to the disparity between the Sports Illustrated and U.S.

News

Ricciardone: Iraq needs democracy

By Griffin Gordon | October 4, 2002

Advocating a change to democracy for Iraq, current U.S. Ambassador to the Phillipines Francis Ricciardone '73 delivered a lecture last night about the current situation in the Middle East, entitled "Influencing the Morning After in Iraq." Although refraining from giving specific recommendation for military and political actions with regards to the Middle Eastern nation, Riccardone said he strongly supports the current U.S.

News

Two Ivies violate early admit rules

By Zachary Goldstein | October 4, 2002

In violation of a national policy set forth by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, Princeton and Brown are refusing to alter their early admissions policies. At last year's annual convention, NACAC decided to change its policy to uniformly allow students who apply early decision to one school to also submit non-binding "early action" applications to other schools.

News

Steinberg '88 examines the admissions process

By Alison Schmauch | October 3, 2002

Although the college admissions process has frequently been criticized as being unfair or overly subjective, Jacques Steinberg '88 takes a sympathetic view of this difficult rite of passage in his new book, "The Gatekeepers." Steinberg, who is also a member of The Dartmouth's Board of Proprietors, spent the 1999-2000 school year shadowing the work of Ralph Figueroa, an admissions officer at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. He drew on his observations to produce a series of articles for the New York Times, where he is currently an education correspondent. Steinberg said he was surprised by "how human the college admissions process is" and by the extent of the efforts admissions officers made to get to know each applicant. Every application submitted to Wesleyan is read by two different people, and if there is any uncertainty about whether or not to admit someone, the entire admissions committee convenes to discuss the case, he said. Still, Steinberg acknowledged that the admissions process can often be "personal" and "idiosyncratic," even "arbitrary." Steinberg's account of Figueroa's reactions to the applications of Tiffany Wang and Aggie Ramirez nicely demonstrates this idiosyncratic aspect of admissions. Wang scored a 1470 on the SAT I, well above Wesleyan's average, and has taken six Advanced Placement courses to date.

News

Many '06 athletes skip trips

By Sowmya Kypa | October 3, 2002

One of the first experiences most students have with Dartmouth is a Dartmouth Outing Club trip. Of the 12 percent of the incoming freshmen this year who did not participate in first year trips, the most frequent reason for opting out was athletics, according to DOC trips leader Emily Lesher '02.

News

College hires 17 new professors

By Albert Satija | October 3, 2002

Dartmouth's search for young and talented professors to bolster its faculty has yielded high results this year, with the recent hiring of 17 assistant professors from around the country and across the globe. The history department gained the most from this year's round of hiring, with three newly hired assistant professors filling in gaps created by attrition.

News

Students fight for the spotlight

By Jessica Spradling | October 2, 2002

They rock Collis, they shake The Hop, but before they find their place in the spotlight, the superstars of Dartmouth's many performing groups go through a rigorous audition process that few of the less artistically inclined members of campus know about. During the first week of classes while most students were settling in, over 100 Dartmouth students auditioned for a few extremely competitive spots in student-run performing groups. Always a campus favorite, the six a cappella groups had over 90 students vying for membership, but most of the groups were only seeking between two and four new members. The same was true for the campus sketch-comedy troupes, Casual Thursday and The Dog Day Players, who each chose three or four recruits out of over 40 total applicants. Each group was looking for different talents during the 16 hours of a capella auditions, but Decibelles president Meredith McGowan '04 said that most groups looked for performers in certain vocal ranges, voices they believed were teachable and voices that would blend well with their group. Despite a decrease in the quantity of male auditions -- about 40 this year compared to 60 in 2001 -- Paul "Bub" Cathcart '03 of The Aires claimed that the decisions were not any easier, as the quality of the men was unusually high. Casual Thursday chose members who fit well with their fast-paced shorter skits and games, and who blended with their existing members to create a group that could act well with each other on stage. Colin Murray '04, business manager of The Dog Day Players, said that his troupe looked for talented actors who could rise to the challenge of their longer skits.

News

College set to unite neuroscience efforts

By Vassilia Binensztok | October 2, 2002

In an effort to strengthen Dartmouth's neuroscience program, Nov. 21 will mark the official inauguration of the new Neuroscience Center at Dartmouth. The center will coalesce the areas of cognitive neuroscience, clinical neuroscience and molecular/cellular/systems neuroscience.

News

Campus cell phone use rises

By Zachary Goldstein | October 2, 2002

They ring, annoy and embarrass at the most inopportune times. But even on the remote Dartmouth campus, cell phones are rapidly becoming more prevalent. A recent trend nationwide has shown that students are now more frequently using their cellular companions as their primary telephone, leaving campus telephone services searching for new ways to draw in student customers. At Dartmouth these trends are present but slightly mitigated, in part due to the lack of solid cell phone reception around campus.

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