Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism.
SUPPORT THE DARTMOUTH
The Dartmouth
August 18, 2026
The Dartmouth
News
News

Task Force report reveals Greek support

By Omer Ismail | April 4, 2000

The much-awaited Student Response Task Force report was released yesterday -- with most students and organizations opposing some of the major Greek changes recommended by the steering committee report such as non-student-bartenders, the living of a non-member Undergraduate Advisor in a Greek house, the moratorium on new Greek houses, winter rush and end of summer-term residency. The Task Force report -- that compiled student opinion on each of the seven steering committee recommendations and had another section for topics omitted by the report -- was also supportive of some of its recommendations. According to the report, students and organizations were largely accepting of making structural improvements to Coed Fraternity Sorority physical plants, of having a Sexual Abuse and Drug Abuse Peer Advisor and Tucker Liaison in residence, and the maintenance of centralized dining. In congruity with the CFS and Student Assembly proposals to the Task Force, many students, according to the report, stressed the need for more education to improve alcohol-related problems on campus. The Greeks According to the Task Force, many students and group proposals expressed concern over the steering committee's recommendation to conduct a CFS review after five years -- primarily due to the possible pressure put on the Greek houses to achieve the new standards, in the absence of any long-term assurances. Many proposals that were submitted to the Task Force also opposed some of the major changes to the Coed Fraternity Sorority organizations recommended by the steering committee report. Students opposed the steering committee recommendation that no new selective social organization should be recognized, with many expressing the need for creating a seventh sorority to accommodate all interested women. The report says that many group proposals raised concern that the presence of a non-member UGA would be uncomfortable for all -- possibly compromising the UGA's effectiveness. According to the report, responses to the steering committee recommendation that pledge periods be eliminated stressed the difference between a pledge period and hazing.

News

CCAOD supports Greek tap removal

By Nathan B. Anderson | April 3, 2000

On March 10 the College Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs completed their review of the Student Life Initiative's recommendations, publishing a report detailing the Committee's suggestions that includes support for the removal of taps from Greek houses. The CCAOD also parallels the rules and regulations from the steering committee report involving all parties being registered directly with Safety and Security, but the proposed date of removal of in-house tap systems by June 1, 2001 rather than the earlier deadline of September 2000. For it's greatest departure from the original Initiative report, the CCAOD report calls for the establishment of a professionally trained, College-certified, pool of servers to dispense alcohol at all registered events. Such servers would be accompanied by an "associated certified non-undergraduate" assigned the task of checking student ID's and distributing wrist bands to students of legal drinking age. The professional bar-tender pool has been employed successfully at Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania, CCAOD Chair Robert Binswanger said, but requires enormous effort on part of the sponsoring university. "If the College wants to affect change they'll need to go more than half-way on the bartenders," Binswanger said. This is especially true given the task of finding people to serve, committee member Teddy Rice '00 said.

News

Students question Psi U probation

By Wendy Yu | April 3, 2000

Most students are dissatisfied and some have questioned the motives behind the Judical Committee's decision to place Psi Upsilon fraternity on probation for violations of College rules during last term's keg jump. Students said they felt the committee's punishment of Psi U was part of an attempt to weaken the influence of the Greek system and not necessarily based on violations of College policy, although most have not disputed the allegations of underage drinking and unsafe activity taking place during the event. "The College has needed an excuse to take out the keg jump for some time," Connor Smith '00 said. Smith said that the connection of the keg with alcohol made the keg jump an especially important target for the Trustees to eradicate in order to improve its image in the media. Coed Fraternity Sorority Council president Eric Etu '01, did not comment on the fairness of the probation, but mentioned the fact that Dartmouth is going through some changes which may have affected the outcome of the Another problem that students mentioned was the way in which the College remained silent about its problems with the keg jump for 18 years and then announced the violations. "They should have said something before [the keg jump decision. "Most people understand that we're members of a changing campus," Etu said.

News

Former NYC mayor urges race dialogue

By Kathleen McDermott | March 31, 2000

Former New York city mayor David Dinkins stressed the importance of opening up the dialogue against hatred and urged young people to think about issues of race in his speech yesterday afternoon at the Rockefeller Center on "Public Responsibility: Breaking the Silence of Good People." "The most powerful weapons we have against hatred are words," Dinkins said to the audience of about 140 people. Good people often remain silent when an atrocity occurs, Dinkins said. According to him, people wonder what they can do when hate crimes, such as genocide in Kosovo or police brutality in New York City occur. "There is no simple answer ... I'm not here today to give you the answer [but] ... to simply open a conversation," he said. Dinkins asserted that college campuses have always been at the forefront of creating a more just America, adding, "I'm here because I choose to be ... I love young people." He pointed out the challenge students will be facing in the future.

News

EPA awards College $15M grant

By Mike A. Hamilton | March 31, 2000

A group of Dartmouth scientists has received $15 million from the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to study the effects of toxic metals on human health -- one of the largest research grants in the College's history. The project will be directed by Joshua Hamilton, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Dartmouth Medical School, while Carol Folt, a biology professor at the College of Arts and Sciences, will serve as associate director. Chosen from over 50 institutions which applied for the grant, Dartmouth will receive the funding along with 16 other colleges and universities across the country. "We are pleased and proud to have Dartmouth recognized as one of the country's centers of excellence in metals research," Dartmouth Provost Susan Prager said.

News

College mails 1,782 acceptances to '04s

By Regis Ahern | March 31, 2000

Anxious high school seniors can start watching their mailboxes for fat envelopes tomorrow -- that's when Dartmouth will send out 1,782 acceptances to the future Class of 2004, with the number of admissions holding steady from last year. "This group is one of the strongest around, with incredible quality and depth," Dean of Admissions Karl Furstenberg said. Thirty-two percent of the admitted students are ranked number one in their high school class.

News

Race for SA president begins to get crowded

By Ithan Peltan | March 30, 2000

As the application process for spring elections draws to a close, a number of students have signified their intent to run for the Student Assembly presidency -- setting up one of the most crowded fields in some time. The Dartmouth spoke with five students who are planning to put their names on the ballot as candidates for Assembly president -- Meg Smoot, Alex Grishman, Jorge Miranda, Alex Wilson and Chance Hill, all of whom are members of the class of 2001. Miranda has been a member of the Assembly since his freshman year, and served as president last summer.

News

Court allows mandatory activity fees

By Rachel Osterman | March 30, 2000

Affirming the importance of free discourse and serving a blow to opponents, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously last week that public universities can continue to collect mandatory student activity fees that can be used to support controversial student organizations. While the case has no immediate impact on nongovernmental private institutions, administrators at Dartmouth say the ruling's impact was felt at the College. "In actuality, we watched the case with great interest because even though Dartmouth is private, we thought it might be relevant," Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia said.

News

Israel 2000 will send students to Holy Land

By Omer Ismail | March 30, 2000

This summer, 20 Dartmouth students will be participating in "Israel 2000" -- a program that enables Jewish college students who have never been to Israel to visit the Jewish Holy Land for free. The program, which was started earlier this year in January and is funded by Hillel International, is aimed at providing students who are not particularly engaged in the Jewish community, with a meaningful and spiritual Jewish experience. President of Hillel at Dartmouth, Nicole Leiser '02, expressed excitement that Dartmouth students will be able to participate in the program. "It's just an incredible opportunity," Leiser said about the trip, that would ordinarily cost approximately 3,000 dollars. On their ten day tour from June 12 to 22, Dartmouth students will tour the country, explore the ancient city of Jerusalem, go hiking, learn Israeli dancing and meet other Israeli students. According to Jesse Cook-Dubin '01, vice-chair of Hillel International Board of Directors, however, the crux of the program -- that was initiated by two Jewish philanthropists -- is for the students to stay in Jerusalem and connect with their Jewish heritage. "The significance of the trip to Dartmouth students is immeasurable," Cook-Dubin said, adding it will help "in creating a sense of peoplehood" among the Jews. The Dartmouth Hillel has formed a six people selection committee comprising of Ethan Levine '03, Rebecca Kurzweil '03, Rabbi Edward Boraz, Ehud Benor, associate professor of religion, Leiser and Cook-Dubin to review student applications to participate in the trip. They have already received approximately 45 applications and expect to receive a few more by tomorrow. Encouraging more Jewish students to apply, Leiser said, "We want every student to know that they have a chance to go." The selection committee plans to review all applications, interview the candidates and make their final decisions by April 10.

News

Students to receive census at dorm rooms

By Amit Anand | March 30, 2000

College students concerned about whether they will be counted when this year's census is conducted need not worry, according to Arthur Dukakis, regional director of the Census Bureau. Students living away from home should not be included in the Census form filled out by their parents -- instead, questionnaires will be delivered to every room at all of the dormitory buildings at colleges and universities nationwide, including Dartmouth, according to Dukakis. "There will be one questionnaire for each room, regardless of the number of residents," he said.

News

Pacific Islands trip enriches students

By Carl Burnett | March 29, 2000

Six Dartmouth students and one Hanover High School student returned March 18 from the underdeveloped Pacific nation of the Marshall Islands, where they spent 11 weeks teaching middle school and high school students.

News

SA endorses draft of SLI response

By Mike A. Hamilton | March 29, 2000

After moderate debate, the Student Assembly passed a resolution last night that endorses a primary draft of the "Student Response to the Recommendations of the Committee on the Student Life Initiative," drafted by an Assembly subcommittee. The document, which addresses every part of the steering committee's recommendations and includes a section for problems not addressed, has been in the works during all of Winter term. During discussion, several members raised concerns that the Assembly was not prepared to vote on the resolution because people had not had enough time to read the newly-finished report. Other members voiced worries that if the draft was not endorsed at the meeting, the efforts of the student life committee would be wasted. The resolution passed when it was pointed out that the most of the time between now and the Trustees' weekend on April 14 and 15 would be needed for the general student body to read and become familiar with the report. The document is not finalized, however, and will now be distributed to students and campus organizations to gauge support for the document and discover which parts may require revision. Possible changes will depend on the amount and specific nature of student feedback to be collected this week and reworked into the Assembly's report by next Tuesday's meeting, when the Assembly will vote to endorse the final edition. When collecting feedback, the Assembly will ask about specific parts of the document rather than the report as a whole in order to make changes only to those parts which need it. It is expected that the Assembly will make revisions before endorsing a final version of their report. Casey Sixkiller '00, who served as chairman of the student life committee during the formulation of the response but resigned from his post last night, said that he is "very confident" about the report, adding that it, "stands out from other reports in that it truly captures student opinion." The Assembly also passed a second resolution that calls for gatherings resembling "fireside chats" to be held at least three times a term, and will focus on pertinent topics chosen by the Assembly. The resolution, sponsored by Amit Anand '03, met with some objections from various Assembly members on the grounds that sustained interest in the conversations would be difficult to keep, but these concerns did not impede its passage. The resolution was later amended to name the proposed meetings something other than "fireside chats," which some members felt wrongly implied discussion on the Student Life Initiative.

News

January computer theft suspects indicted

By Jennifer Thomas | March 29, 2000

Two suspects in the January thefts of computers from Robinson Hall were indicted by the Grafton County Superior Court last week. Thirty-year-old Andrew James Gravina of North Haverville, New Hampshire, has been charged with breaking into Robinson on both Jan.

News

ORL manages to ease spring housing crunch

By Deborah Bernstein | March 28, 2000

While the conclusion of Winter term brought the possibility that for the first time ever the College would not be able to accommodate all students who sought on-campus housing, Director of Housing Services Lynn Rosenblum said yesterday she hopes to have settled housing arrangements for all registered students who applied by today. ORL was not able to accommodate students who are not registered for classes, however. Rosenblum said that every student who applied by the housing deadline received housing by the last day of Winter term finals and that she then moved on to housing students who were late in completing on-campus housing applications. Currently only four students with Residence terms for their D-Plans are without housing, and Rosenblum said she hopes they will be accommodated by today. Those students are registering for classes, she said, even without housing. The original waitlist for housing Spring term peaked at 100, and was whittled down to 26 by February 23. Rosenblum told The Dartmouth in February that the only way rooms open up is when students already given Spring term housing cancel their contracts, and that she monitored students' D-Plans daily for changes. Rosenblum said students not taking classes -- including seniors who were up until Spring term employed by ORL -- were not given housing in residence halls. Some College-owned undergraduate societies, like Amarna, and Greek organizations, like Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority, added extra residents to accommodate members who were off and needed housing. Similar housing crunches will probably arise again next fall and spring terms, she said. Rosenblum said she hopes that while new residence halls are being constructed, the College will look into finding ways to encourage residence in Winter term to alleviate Fall and Spring term enrollments.

News

SA unveils critical SLI response

By Omer Ismail | March 28, 2000

The Student Assembly's proposed response to the steering committee's recommendations -- to be voted on at tonight's meeting -- came out against some key provisions of last term's report, calling for the establishment of a seventh sorority, for allowing all juniors and seniors to live in a Greek house and for the maintenance of rush during sophomore fall. However, the Student Assembly response is in many other accounts supportive of the controversial recommendations, agreeing with some much-criticized parts of the report including the elimination of pledge period. "I don't think there are many places where we disagree with the spirit of the CSLI," Vice-President of the Student Assembly Margaret Kuecker '01 said, adding that the response disagrees with some of the details of the steering committee report. The still-unendorsed draft of the Assembly report, that is already included in the appendix of the Student Response Task Force Report, is expected to be finalized by the Assembly members by their April 4 meeting, after which the Assembly plans to conduct a campus-wide poll on its response -- the exact details of which have not been worked out. Defending their long-awaited report, senior Assembly leaders said it is different from other proposals in that it does not represent the opinions of one organization, but that of the majority of the student body. Apart from the Greek issue, the Assembly report deals with other campus issues including alcohol, social space and issue omitted in the steering committee report. The Assembly also used a student poll of 1,157 randomly-chosen students to draft the report.

Trending
The Dartmouth