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The Dartmouth
April 5, 2026
The Dartmouth
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Chat focuses on multiculturalism

By Omer Ismail | February 29, 2000

Last night's fireside chat mainly focused on multiculturalism at Dartmouth and the D-Plan -- two issues that many students and administrators felt had been ignored by the steering committee recommendations. The event, which was attended by College Provost Susan Prager and Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia along with approximately 25 students and administrators, saw Dartmouth community members criticize the lack of continuity at the College and the need for greater interaction among diverse students on campus. Multiculturalism and gender Members of the Dartmouth community criticized the lack of interaction at the College among students of different races, color, gender and sexual orientation. "I feel that if people want to come to an Ivy League school and not learn about people different from them, then this is a perfect place to come," one student said. Students expressed disappointment at the lack of a multicultural center at Dartmouth and felt the steering committee report had not sufficiently dealt with the World Cultures Initiative. One student cited the multicultural center at Williams College as "physically representing that more people care." Referring to Dartmouth as "backward," some students criticized the College's obsession with traditions. "The main question of the CSLI is whether we are willing to change the fundamental basis of Dartmouth," one student said. Students also argued for greater institutional support for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual community including a full-time staff and the need for greater interaction among students of diverse communities. "There are so many people in this campus that feel like outsiders," one student remarked. D-Plan The D-Plan and the lack of continuity at Dartmouth also dominated yesterday's fireside chat. Some students said the D-Plan made it difficult to form meaningful and lasting relationships with friends and faculty members. "I think the D-Plan is horrible," one student said, adding that the steering committee report largely ignored the topic. While students said they appreciated being able to participate in Dartmouth's off-campus programs and being able to find internships during the year because of the D-Plan, others said the plan makes the working of student organizations extremely difficult. "In solving the D-Plan, you need to eliminate the reasons why it was created in the first place -- the housing crunch," one student said. The Dartmouth community members stressed the need for guaranteed housing and student-choice in deciding which terms they want to remain on-campus and which room they can live in. One student also mentioned how some people are also feeling threatened by the College's decisions to buy many off-campus houses and strongly encouraging people to live on-campus without giving them a valid reason. Students and administrators also discussed the need for greater faculty involvement in the Student Life Initiative, with many arguing for social events with an academic dimension.

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Task Force begins compiling responses

By Omer Ismail | February 28, 2000

The Student Life Initiative process has entered its next phase as the Task Force begins compiling student responses to the steering committee recommendations and drafting its report for the Board of Trustees. The Task Force, which plans to deliver student responses to the Trustees without passing its own judgment, has set March 7 as a deadline for writing a draft report, Task Force co-chair and Student Assembly President Dean Krishna '00 said. "There definitely isn't a lack of reading material," Krishna said.

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College Honor Code violations on the rise

By Maggie Shnayerson | February 28, 2000

Violations of Dartmouth's Academic Honor Principle have been on the rise over the last three years, despite the fact that students tend to take the Honor Code seriously, said Marcia Kelly, Undergraduate Judicial Affairs Officer. Last year 20 students underwent COS hearings for violations of the Honor Code, and 17 were found guilty.

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National Greek orgs. support local struggles

By Omer Ismail | February 28, 2000

While its clear that Dartmouth Coed Fraternity and Sorority organizations have their own stakes in keeping Greek life at the College, national Greek headquarters with Dartmouth chapters have an interest in the continuation of the system as well. The national organizations have been in constant contact with their undergraduate members on campus and local alumni since last February when the controversial Dartmouth Greek issue first began with the Five Principles announcement. Defending the Greek system as a positive influence on the Dartmouth campus, the nationals expressed a desire to work with the administration in the future to further improve the system. Survival is the key Although largely appreciative of Dartmouth's efforts to improve the social and residential life on campus, most of the nationals that spoke with The Dartmouth said they were primarily concerned with their continued existence at the College, adding that they will consider all possible options toward this end. "We've been very concerned," Sigma Alpha Epsilon's national Manager of Media and Alumni Relations Brian Ott said.

News

Education dept review results to come out in spring

By Nathan B. Anderson | February 28, 2000

This month saw the completion of the external review of the Education department, though no official report will be expected until the beginning of Spring term, Dean of the Faculty Ed Berger told The Dartmouth yesterday. Berger said the review committee -- which consists of five reviewers, including Dartmouth professors and outside education experts -- still has to write the report." Once written, the report will first be sent to the department itself so that they may review the contents. After that it will be discussed at a meeting with the College deans and President James Wright, Berger said. Education Department Chair Andrew Garrod declined to comment on what content may be included in the report, and said "the deans have asked me not to discuss anything, but my feeling is that it went well." In all likelihood, Berger said, the report will not be made public matter. "To my knowledge none of the [previous 39] external department reviews have been released publicly." This is due to the nature of the reports that tend mostly to recommend improvements within the departments that are of little concern to the general public.

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CFSC says Greeks can work with College

By Omer Ismail | February 25, 2000

The Coed Fraternity Sorority Council came out against some key provisions in the steering committee report last night, including allowing only non-student bartenders to serve alcohol at parties and allowing only seniors to live in Greek houses, and once again sought long-term assurance that a modified system will continue to exist at the College. But the long-awaited CFSC response -- released at a dinner at Alpha Xi Delta sorority last night attended by many senior College administrators and campus leaders -- was supportive of many of the steering committee proposals, even some affecting the Greek system. "I am impressed they looked at the campus as a whole," Dean of the College James Larimore said of the report, which also deals with a number of campus issues including residential life, alcohol policy and social space in addition to the Greek system. Greek changes The CFSC called for a rolling-back of some of the stringent regulations called for in the Recommendation Four of the steering committee report. Asserting that the proposed changes to Greek physical plants will require a high level of effort and investment, the CFSC asked for an "explicit guarantee" that houses that meet the new standards will continue to exist. The CFSC also recommended that only members be allowed to live in a Greek house and advocated the maintenance of sophomore summer housing.

News

This year's snow still falling short

By Jennifer Thomas | February 25, 2000

Despite the additional inches of recent storms, we may never reach the average expected levels of snowfall this season due to warm temperatures early in the season. "We were breaking record after record," meteorologist Chris Ewing of WMUR-TV in Manchester said of this year's abnormally warm early winter months.

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Biographers talk politics, history with The Dartmouth

By Jeffrey Tanenhaus | February 25, 2000

Before the four presidential Montgomery Fellows delivered their "Power and the Presidency" panel discussion yesterday, The Dartmouth caught up with them to discuss issues surrounding the 2000 Presidential campaign. Michael Beschloss, Edmund Morris, David Maraniss and Ben Bradlee, who all visited campus last year as Montgomery Fellows, returned to the College for a panel presentation focusing on the politics of the Oval Office. In the interview, the Fellows primarily discussed the Republican candidates, who have drawn more attention than the Democrats with the recent Arizona, Michigan and South Carolina primaries. "One of the features of the Republican party is that it always coronates the next in line, and the most fascinating event in the election so far is the possibility that won't happen," Maraniss said. Bradlee told The Dartmouth that for the first time in quite a while, the outcome of the Republican race is still up in the air -- and who will receive the party nomination is seriously in doubt. "This is a great election because of the real rump race going on, and nobody knows if the establishment figure is going to be kicked over in both parties," Bradlee said. Morris drew parallels between the current Republican race and the nomination of 1976, noting that McCain is in a similar position as was Ronald Reagan, challenging the favorite, Gerald Ford. Reagan had a surprise win in South Carolina and overnight transformed himself into a serious possibility for the nomination, according to Morris.

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'Power and the Presidency' concludes

By Mike A. Hamilton | February 25, 2000

Last night concluded the Montgomery Fellowship Endowment series "Power and the Presidency," a set of lectures by prominent presidential historians, as four of the six Montgomery Fellows recounted their experiences with past United States presidents and gave their insight into the politics of the Oval Office. Speaking to a near-capacity crowd in Cook Auditorium were Ben Bradlee, David Maraniss, and Edmund Morris in a discussion moderated by Michael Beschloss.

News

Trends show cheating on the rise in U.S.

By Julia Levy | February 24, 2000

Dartmouth students implicated in the College's recent computer science cheating scandal are not alone -- cheating has been on the rise nationally since about 1960, and the problem has only intensified as computers have been integrated into curriculums. Although cheating and the issues that surround it come up at schools across the country every term, none of the schools -- both inside and outside of the Ivy League -- that talked to The Dartmouth reported a cheating scandal on par with the one Dartmouth is currently facing. Even oversees universities have been touched by incidents.

News

Asian Council creates assault comm.

By Ritika Nandkeolyar | February 24, 2000

Last week self-identified Asian and Asian-American undergraduate women received a letter from the chairs of the new Pan Asian Council Sexual Assault Committee with information about the organization and disturbing statistics about sexual assault on campus. Last year, Asian and Asian American women reported 30 percent of cases to the Sexual Abuse Awareness Program coordinator Susan Marine, despite the fact that this group composes only 12.3 percent of undergraduate women at the College. According to the letter, the PAC committee was founded to deal with the fact that demographic statistics "reflect that a disproportionately large percentage of alleged sexual abuse cases at Dartmouth have been reported by Asian or Asian-American women." Marine said she started tracking statistics three years ago after she had noticed that there were a disproportionate number of Asian and Asian-American women who reported incidents of alleged sexual abuse. The statistics reflect that there is something about the dynamics, how Asian women are viewed or not viewed on campus, Marine said. "With other major ethnic groups -- Euro-American, African-American and Native Americans -- the reporting was roughly proportionate," Marine said, adding that Hispanic students tended to have a proportionately low reporting rate. Marine and others contacted for this article said that they were unsure as to what this dynamic is, and hope that the discussion facilitated by the committee will explore the meaning and interpretation of the statistics. In 1996-1997 students reported 20 cases of sexual assault or rape, six cases of attempted sexual assault or rape, 14 cases of unwanted of sexual contact and six cases of relationship domestic abuse to Marine. Asian and Asian-American women reported 40 percent of those cases, Marine said. In 1997-1998 Asian and Asian-American women reported 37 percent of 27 cases of sexual assault or rape, one case of attempted assault or rape, 17 cases unwanted sexual contact and five cases of relationship domestic abuse. In the earlier years, Marine only defined Asian students as those who were East Asian -- members of the Korean, Japanese and Chinese communities.

News

Groups release report responses

By Ithan Peltan | February 24, 2000

As Friday's deadline for the submission of responses to last month's steering committee report approaches, a wide variety of campus organizations are preparing to present their views and opinions to the Student Response Task Force. Panhell The Panhellenic Council issued its response to the Student Life Initiative Recommendations yesterday, focusing on the proposals that, if implemented, would most affect sororities. Panhell President Alex Kremer '01 said the committee that wrote the group's response agreed for the most part with the Trustee's ideas and wanted to find a way to achieve them effectively within the sorority system. The group's report supported requiring a Sexual and Drug Abuse Peer Advisor and a UGA to live in each house, but that the UGA be a member of the house and that an Eating Disorders Advisor also be required. The organization also approved of the idea for an integrated rush period, but felt that it should continue to occur during Fall term and be followed by a term-long "new member period." "The new member period is not about a sorority testing its new members but rather about the new members testing the sorority," Panhell's report said. Other modifications to the steering committee's proposals Panhell recommended include reviewing of the Coed Fraternity Sorority organizations individually rather than as a group, the continuation of summer residence in Greek houses and the creation of a seventh sorority to meet demand. Zeta Psi Zeta Psi fraternity's response, released earlier this week, examined much of the Initiative report point by point. Zete's nearly 40-page response "tried to highlight student choice and really improving continuity," President Matt Kuhn '01 said. "I would say that we agreed a lot with the ideas and with the spirit of the original report," Kuhn said. Echoing an idea found in the Panhell response, Zete recommended the creation of social ties between Greek and affinity houses, administrators and faculty. Zete's response suggested that house members rather than community members be trained as College certified bartenders citing liability issues and a lack of non-students willing to do the job. Also put forth was an alternative housing assignment system that was discussed during conversations the Zete committee had with the Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman. In the proposed system, students would receive housing lottery numbers as they do now, but would have a chance to choose a room in their assigned cluster first if they wanted to remain.

News

DOC poll shows support for Robo home

By Rebecca Holub | February 24, 2000

In a recent survey sent to the nearly 1,200 members of the Dartmouth Outing Club, a large majority of respondents said they believe the DOC should continue to occupy its current location in Robinson Hall, despite plans by the Centerbrook architects to relocate their offices. Two-hundred students responded to the survey questions. Centerbrook proposed the movement after evaluating current and spatial needs of the DOC and the Outdoor Programs Office.

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Housing crunch may leave 26 homeless

By Jeffrey Tanenhaus | February 23, 2000

For the first time in the College's modern history, it is becoming increasingly likely that not all enrolled students will be given Spring term housing this year. Currently, the Office of Residential Life will not be able to accommodate 26 enrolled students on-campus for the Spring term, Director of Housing Services Lynn Rosenblum said.

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