Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism.
The Dartmouth
July 26, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth
News
News

Loebner competition to test computers

|

Can computers think like humans? An upcoming contest to be hosted at Dartmouth in January will test that question, posed 50 years ago by British mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing. The Loebner Prize Competition -- part of a three-day conference focusing on the future of the Turing Test -- will likely see four or five computers competing against four of five humans in a contest to determine the ability of computers to think and act like human beings, Philosophy Professor Dr. James Moor said. The conference will discuss the "merits and problems of the Turing Test philosophically and scientifically," according to the contest's web site. The year 2000 is especially significant because Turing predicted that by the end of the century computers would have developed far enough that an interrogator would only have a 30 percent chance of correctly differentiating between a computer and a human. "What really interested me about the Loebner Prize was the prediction that was made for this year," Moor said.



News

DarTalk rates are comparatively high

|

While many other universities offer students competitive corporate rates for long distance telephone calls, DarTalk, the College's telephone service, charges several cents higher than average corporate rates, much to the continuing complaints of many students. Higher prices have led some students to cancel their DarTalk accounts or find other ways, such as using calling cards or making collect calls, to get in touch with their family and friends.


News

Alums of the College fill admissions office

|

As applications for the Class of 2004 begin to filter into the admissions office, three members of the Class of 1999 -- in keeping with a long history of alumni serving as admissions officers -- will play a role in selecting Dartmouth's newest students. Out of the 13 alumni officers based in McNutt Hall, nine -- including new additions Stacey Morris '99, Landis Fryer '99 and Shauna Brown '99 -- are graduates of the College. According to the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl Furstenberg, the majority of admissions officers have always been Dartmouth graduates. In fact, four current officers began their careers as senior interviewers, a program Furstenberg established that enables Dartmouth seniors to interview and assess prospective students on campus. Though senior interviewers often have an edge in the application process to become an officer, it is not the only factor, Director of Admissions Maria Laskaris '84 said. When vacancies open up, the admissions office sends a notification to all graduating seniors. Fryer, who served as a senior interviewer last year, said he was excited when he received the notification. "I thought 'I know a lot about this, I could do a good job,'" he said. Laskaris also noted that precedence is not given to Dartmouth alumni in general. "In order for us to do a good job we need an admissions staff that represents a good deal of diversity," she said. However, most applications do come from Dartmouth alumni, Laskaris said.



News

New safety phones installed on campus

|

Nine new free-standing "Code Blue" emergency phones are being installed throughout campus this term, with plans to install up to 40 more over the next several years. According to Sergeant Rebel Roberts of Safety and Security, the recent installation of these new phones is not in response to any growth of crime at the school, but rather, a follow-up to a 1991 plan to increase the availability of safety phones on campus. The phones are housed in easily identifiable, slim black towers crowned with blue lights that glow at night and flash when the phone is in use.


News

Proposal relocates DOC, baseball field

|

Debates over relocating the traditional sites of both the Dartmouth Outing Club headquarters and the baseball field dominated much of yesterday's presentation by Centerbrook Architects of their plans for the College's new recreational and athletic facilities. Centerbrook architect Chad Floyd presented the proposed plan for a 200,000 square foot recreational facility -- housing among other elements the DOC, pools, basketball courts and fitness machines -- located where Memorial Field presently stands.




News

Power failure darkens campus

|

The majority of students were left in darkness and confusion last night as the power went out across most of the campus for about half an hour. The power, which went out at approximately 10:30 last night, affected such buildings as the Hopkins Center, Dartmouth Row, Alumni Gymnasium and residence clusters East Wheelock, the Gold Coast, Topliff-New Hampshire, the River, the Choates, Ripley Woodward Smith, and Russell Sage. Massachusetts Row and Wheeler-Richardson were unaffected, as well as Baker Library and Collis Center. Different areas of campus experienced varying durations of outage.


News

Asbestos halts Silsby renovations

|

Renovations on Silsby Hall were halted last week to remove asbestos from the building's upper levels, according to Dartmouth's Environmental Health and Safety Director Michael Blayney. The dust from the construction raised concerns about dispersal of the cancer-causing substance into the air.


News

Composting soon to be underway

|

Although the composting program at Dartmouth has been in place for more than a year, the Courtyard Caf and Collis Caf have not been composting due to space and transportation problems, according to Campus Engineer and Civil Waste Manager Elizabeth Ashworth. While both dining halls have separately marked trash bins for compostable and non-compostable items, the lack of workers and space to store the separated trash have led to mixing the compostables with regular garbage, Ashworth said.


News

Students react to Taiwan quake

|

The earthquake that shook Taiwan occurred halfway around the world, but its effects have reached as far as the Green of Hanover. As Taiwan tried to dig itself out of rubble, students at Dartmouth scrambled to hear word from family members and friends who lived there. Brian Ni '03, an international student from Taiwan, was checking BlitzMail at the Kiewit Computation Center when he received a message from a friend saying, "Big earthquake in Taiwan.


News

New fees and fines policy to be announced

|

A statement explaining the College's policy on administrative fees and fines will be issued within the next several weeks, according to Dean of the College James Larimore. This will be the first time the College has clarified its fining system, and it will mark the end of a yearlong process that began when the Student Assembly compiled a list of student complaints and sent them to Treasurer Win Johnson and former Acting Dean of the College Dan Nelson last winter. While members of the Fees and Fines committee, a group that addressed student discontent with the current fining system at the College, would not disclose details of the new system, many expected the new policy would include some positive changes. Larimore told The Dartmouth he has not yet decided when any changes would be implemented. "There's definitely going to be change because we're going to have a new policy," Shelley Sandell '01, a member of the fees and fines committee, said.


News

Students plan for 2000 New Year's

|

With only three months remaining until the year 2000, students interviewed by The Dartmouth seem to be abandoning bold plans for their New Year's celebration, opting instead to simply hang out with their friends. Kapil Jain '02 simply wants to get together with his friends from home. "It will be very low key," he said. This attitude is widespread at the College -- many students are avoiding any far-reaching, extravagant plans. Miles Harrigan '03 thought of doing something crazy with all of his high school buddies but has since abandoned those plans, pointing out that "it would take too much planning." There are a handful of students, however, who have slightly more extravagant plans. Resembling a nationwide freshmen sweep, Ryan Higgins '03 is planning a week long caravan along the east coast, picking up friends on the way.


News

College could expand dorm cable

|

An announcement about the plan to expand cable options in residence halls should be made soon, according to Dean of the College James Larimore and Treasurer Win Johnson. The Campus Cable Television Committee submitted its proposal for expanded cable to Larimore and Johnson last week.




News

Centerbrook architects to unveil plans this week

|

The architectural firm charged with redesigning the College's dining, social, athletic and recreational facilities will present its proposals to the College community tomorrow and Wednesday afternoon in public meetings in Tindle Lounge. The Centerbrook Architects will present their visions of dining and social areas on Tuesday and address athletic and recreational facilities the following day. "They think they have some pretty good ideas about what they are hearing from the public, and they want to present them to the campus," Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia said. While workshops were initially geared toward input from undergraduate and graduate students, Sateia said the architects are beginning to focus on certain proposals and will be presenting their impressions: although, their ears will remain open to further suggestions. "The architects' study is preliminary, so in all likelihood [it] will lead to a construction project, but this phase is more program driven and diagrammatic than an architectural design," College Architect and Associate Director of Facilities Planning George Hathorn said. According to Hathorn, the student feedback has been recorded since late spring.


News

Candidates prepare for visit to College

|

Candidates for the two major parties' presidential nominations are beginning to prepare for the October 27 and 28 town meetings at Dartmouth, emphasizing their commitment to campaigning in New Hampshire, the first primary state, and to the youth vote. Mo Elleithee, a spokesman for the former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley's campaign, said Bradley is excited to do a joint appearance with Vice President Al Gore, the other candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. The two are currently running neck-and-neck in New Hampshire, with the most recent CNN/Time poll putting Bradley ahead by three percentage points. "Senator Bradley will get up there and tell people what he thinks, which is what he's been doing throughout his entire career, especially since January when he declared," Elleithee said. Elleithee said he thinks Bradley will be well prepared for October 27's town forum with Gore. Elleithee stressed that Bradley has been to the Granite State 10 times, with an 11th visit scheduled for next week, because Bradley "believes the people are interested in the choice they're facing." Visiting the state and speaking to its citizens "shows respect to voters," Elleithee said. Elleithee did not want to predict what topics could be discussed, but he said he thought Bradley would be talking about the issues he feels strongly about, including improving health care, getting more people on the "prosperity train," campaign finance reform, and achieving racial unity. In a letter released by Gore Campaign Chairman Tony Coelho Friday to the Bradley camp, the Gore campaign called for a series of debates. Dartmouth Government Professor Linda Fowler called this an attempt by the Gore campaign to "stem the tide" of Bradley momentum. The October town meeting will be the first time Bradley and Gore share a podium, so there will be a great deal of scrutiny of the challenger, Fowler said. Fowler said Gore has been successful in televised debates in the past. However, she said the challenging candidate is always advantaged by any pairing with a front-runner.