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The Dartmouth
April 4, 2026
The Dartmouth
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Elsewhere, effects of removing frats unclear

By Heather Kofke-Egger | November 22, 1999

While administrators at colleges that have changed or eliminated their Greek systems say such changes have resulted in lower risk and well-monitored alcohol consumption, some students claim the changes have simply moved alcohol use into the dorms and off-campus. Administrators at three schools that have eliminated or modified their Greek systems on campus said that attitudes and awareness surrounding alcohol consumption have improved since new policies were instituted.

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DUI problems at College small by comparison

By Mark Bubriski | November 22, 1999

Students driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs does not seem to be a major problem at Dartmouth compared to some other rural schools, such as Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. At Dartmouth, an average of less than 1 percent have been arrested for driving under the influence during that past four years.

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Berk plans Initiative panel for alumni

By Jeffrey Tanenhaus | November 22, 1999

Office of Student Life Intern and outspoken opponent of the Greek system Ben Berk '00 is organizing and moderating a panel of six undergraduates that will present views on the Trustee Initiative to an Alumni Council sub-committee on December 2. Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia said she asked Berk to select a cross-section of students who have varying opinions on the Initiative.

News

Carnival theme to stress traditions

By Ithan Peltan | November 19, 1999

The Winter Carnival Council is already planning for this winter's big weekend and has selected the theme "Lest the Cold Traditions Fail" for the event set to begin February 10. Co-chair of the council Andy Louis '00 said the theme is intended to be a look back at past Winter Carnivals.

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Tuck School integrates Internet, e-commerce

By Regis Ahern | November 19, 1999

In an age where e-commerce is rapidly replacing many traditional methods of conducting business, the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration has incorporated this trend into their curriculum through the introduction of classes, projects and examples that revolve around the relatively new field. These changes, which began approximately seven years ago, are only the beginning, according to Dean of the Tuck School Paul Danos.

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$300K grant to fund new program

By Jennifer Thomas | November 19, 1999

Dartmouth Medical School medicine and biochemistry Professor Dr. Lee Witters recently received a $300,000 grant from the Hewlett Foundation for his new Humanitataes Vitae program, a series of undergraduate courses that will seek to integrate the humanities and the sciences. "There is no place a Dartmouth undergraduate can go to escape biology," Witters said.

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College guides portray Initiative inaccurately

By Maggie Shnayerson | November 19, 1999

As a result of the ongoing Social and Residential Life Initiative at Dartmouth, some recent editions of college guidebooks have been publishing misleading, even erroneous, information about the College. While most guidebooks have mentioned aspects of the Initiative in their profile of Dartmouth, some make conclusive predictions about what may happen to the College's Greek system, while others have declared that the system no longer exists. For example, the Greek system at Dartmouth will "eventually be abolished altogether," according to the 1999 edition of the Insider's Guide to Colleges, published by the Yale Daily News. Even more drastic, the Princeton Review's Pocket Guide to Colleges reports fraternities and sororities have already been prohibited at the College. In Barron's Guide to the Most Competitive Colleges, the Initiative is not mentioned at all. Although such prospects have been anticipated by many Dartmouth students, no concrete decisions regarding the future of the College's social life have yet been announced by the Steering Committee, let alone enacted. Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl Furstenberg criticized the publishers of the guidebooks for not updating the profiles of the schools enough. Because of this, important developments at the College can go unnoticed and unreported from one edition to the next, Furstenberg said. "For any college guidebook to be unaware of this development would suggest that editors who you would think should be following the news closely" are not following it as closely as they should be, Director of Public Affairs Roland Adams said. However, guidebook representatives said it is not their responsibility to actively seek out information about colleges. "If there is a dramatic change on campus, I would hope that [the college] would contact us," said Director of Guidebook Publications at The Princeton Review Robert Frannek. The Princeton Review has not been sent any information from the Public Affairs Office regarding the Initiative, he said. Adams said, however, that one press release has been issued, along with a brochure on the Initiative.

News

Magazine: Dartmouth one of worst schools for gays

By Wendy Yu | November 18, 1999

Dartmouth College was printed in a list of ten "Questionable Schools for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Students" in the Fall issue of Metrosource magazine, to mixed reactions among the College's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. Metrosource, a New York based national magazine with a growing circulation of 85,000, promotes itself as "A Celebration and Exploration of Urban Gay Life." This issue was the first one to be distributed nationally. "To be on that list, doesn't mean that Dartmouth is a bad place to go to school, it means there are better choices for GLBT youth," said Evan Forster, New York freelance journalist and specialist in the field of college gay youth, who compiled the list. The unranked list appears alongside an article called "Out on Campus" that was not authored by Forster and does not mention Dartmouth College. The other nine schools that accompany the College on the list are Baylor University, Emporia State University, the entire Florida State University system, Hope College, United States Naval Academy, University of Missouri, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Vanderbilt University and Yeshiva University. Two other lists -- Gay-positive Private Colleges/Universities and Gay-positive State Schools -- also written by Forster are printed in the issue.

News

Wealthy alums unfazed by Trustee Initiative

By Andrew Marnell | November 18, 1999

Major donations to the College may not be affected by the Trustee's Initiative on Social and Residential Life as three of the largest donors said their decisions to make future donations will not be influenced by the report of the steering committee to be released in January. The individuals interviewed by The Dartmouth have funded some of the College's largest construction projects and said they are waiting to see the long term effects of the initiative but do not believe it will have a major impact on alumni giving to the college. Fred Whittemore '53, who recently provided most of the funds for the new Whittemore residence hall at the Tuck School of Business, said he did not believe the overall level of alumni donations will necessarily decline as a result of the initiative. "I hope we can come up with a program that will keep people donating," he said. Bruce Rauner '78, who funded part of the renovation of Webster Hall into the Rauner Special Collections Library, said the Initiative will not really impact his future donations, although he thinks certain members of the Board of Trustees are using the Initiative to promote agendas he does not support. "I think there are a few folks who are using [the Initiative] as a cover to eliminate fraternities and sororities," he said, stressing that he is a strong supporter of fraternities and sororities at Dartmouth. Charles Collis '37 disagreed with Rauner's criticism and said he supports the Initiative. "They're trying to help the students," he said.

News

Ivy League grade inflation continues

By Jenny Thomas | November 18, 1999

According to campus registrars at Dartmouth and throughout the Ivy League, grade inflation has been an increasing phenomenon over the past two decades. "I don't know a school in the world where the grades have not gone up," said Thurston Smith, registrar of Harvard University.

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Effect of CFS meetings on class attendance unclear

By Omer Ismail | November 17, 1999

In the months following the Social and Residential Life Initiative, some faculty members, as well as steering committee co-chair Trustee Susan Dentzer '77, have vocally blamed Greek house meetings for damaging attendance and attention levels at Thursday morning classes. At the same time, an alcohol perceptions survey conducted by Dartmouth's Office of Evaluation and Research this year found that the majority of Dartmouth students are responsible around alcohol and do not let their drinking habits interfere with their work. Similarly, according to Dean of the Faculty Edward Berger, there is no clear faculty consensus on how responsible students are about drinking or whether their habits actually contribute to their classroom performance. "The early morning class problem is a common buzz among faculty," Berger said, while noting that the seriousness of the problem with Thursday mornings is difficult to assess because it is largely "anecdotal." Despite what this "anecdotal" evidence and the alcohol perceptions survey findings that show most Dartmouth students to value their work over drinking, during a trustee forum held this Fall in Alumni Hall Dentzer raised a concern that irresponsible drinking has led to lower class attendance on Thursdays. "You can't get people to get up on Thursday morning to go to class for the reason they're ostensibly here in the first place," she said at the forum.

News

Controversy over MP3s hits colleges

By Ithan Peltan | November 17, 1999

After officials at Carnegie Mellon University disconnected 71 students from the school's intranet for distributing copyright-protected material, including MP3 files, over the school network, College officials said that no such action is planned at Dartmouth. The Carnegie Mellon students were disciplined after an October 18 random search of public files on 250 students' computers discovered illegal MP3 music files available for access over the school's intranet. Although the distribution of MP3 files or other copyright-protected material is illegal under federal law, Kiewit officials indicated that they have no plans to execute a similar search. "One approach is to go looking for violators, but that's not usually what we do.

News

Alums prepare for Initiative announcement

By Rachel Osterman | November 16, 1999

As the Steering Committee on the Student Life Initiative finalizes its recommendations of the full Board of Trustees, College alumni clubs are preparing to disseminate the news quickly and thoroughly as possible, in an effort to avoid some of the miscommunications that occurred last year shortly after the announcement of the Initiative. Hoping to avoid alumni uproar after the Steering Committee recommendations are released, the council is working on how to receive feedback from as many alumni as possible and pass on the information to the Trustees, according to President of the Alumni Council Kelly Fead '78. "A lot of the strong initial alumni reaction came from what people thought the Initiative was about," Fead said. The Council is considering communication methods including satellite broadcasts, e-mail bulletins, presentations by Trustees and mass mailings, Fead said, adding individual clubs have also coordinated their own efforts. "I think that right now everyone's waiting to see what's going to happen, but it's difficult to track the issue moment to moment," Fead said. However, some clubs are trying to do just that. The Los Angeles Alumni Club, for example, has placed a poll on its website to monitor member opinion.

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