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June 24, 1999
Note: Due to the length of the full report from the Residential and Social Life Task Force, we are only providing the Executive Summary on this page. If you wish to view the full report, we are making it available for download, in Adobe's Acrobat PDF format. You will need to have the PDF Reader installed to view it.
Executive Summary
The report of the Task Force on the Residential and Social Life Initiative summarizes for the Trustee Committee on the Student Life Initiative and for the senior administration of Dartmouth College the various proposals submitted by students, parents, and College employees in response to the five principles for enhancing residential and social life articulated by the Board of Trustees in February, 1999. The report also summarizes other feedback regarding the perceived substance of the Trustee initiative and the perceived process by which it was determined and announced. An appendix to the report contains each of the 30 formal proposals submitted to the Task Force. The wide variety of creative and thoughtful responses to the principles put forward by the Trustees cannot be fully captured in our report on the proposals, and certainly not in this brief executive summary. We encourage readers who have an interest in particular proposals or issues to refer to the original proposals themselves. Nonetheless, it may be useful, for purposes of general orientation to this report, to provide this "summary of a summary" of some of the significant themes and suggestions conveyed in the proposals. This is not to suggest that the majority of these themes appeared in any particular proposal, or that the majority of individuals or groups who submitted proposals would agree with all of these themes. Some of them may indeed be in tension with others. Rather, these are some of the significant suggestions and ideas that emerged through this process.
Principle 1: "There should be greater choice and continuity in residential living and improved residential space" and Principle 4: "The number of students living off campus should be reduced."
The primary issues expressed in proposals responding to the two principles concerned with student housing are: a) Dartmouth needs more variety and options in the configuration of housing and any new residential construction should be something other than traditional dormitories with bedrooms off a central hallway. Proposals made a variety of suggestions for what those configurations or options should be. Apartments and town houses are a prominent theme. b) Many more beds are needed to accomplish important goals of "decompressing" rooms that have one too many students assigned to them, providing on-campus housing opportunities for students living off campus by necessity rather than choice, reducing uncertainty and anxiety about the availability of campus housing, replacing some unpopular and arguably unsuccessful existing residence halls, and providing for continuity as an antidote to the disruptions of the D-Plan.
Other comments/suggestions regarding student housing are:
- Existing residence halls need improvement by adding amenities, especially more social space, kitchens, activity rooms, fitness rooms, study and seminar rooms, etc.
- Graduate housing on or near campus is a high priority and significantly unmet need for graduate students.
- Students should have the option of single-sex housing (by floor or by residence hall).
- Cluster or concentrate first-year students in housing which would have significant advantages for creating community, building class unity, and providing social and educational opportunities.
- Cluster or concentrate first-year students in housing would cut them off from valuable contact with upperclass students.
- Opportunities for special-interest, academic affinity, or theme housing should be expanded.
- Dartmouth should do more to incorporate older adults in the residential experience of undergraduates because of the benefits of contact with the College's professional staff, graduate students, and faculty members.
- The residential program requires more resources and staffing.
- The role of the undergraduate residential staff should be redefined, clarified, and/or supported more fully with compensation and additional professional resources.
- Some advising and support services could be productively decentralized and offered through residential settings.
- Some residential policies and procedures should be re-evaluated and changed.
In general, people seem to value the sense of belonging associated with small communities defined on the basis of common interest, but they also value the sense of belonging to a class and to the larger Dartmouth community. There appears to be some concern about stressing one kind of belonging at the expense of another. People also value choice, yet at the same time there is recognition that limiting choices, where appropriate, can serve community interests. Finally, there is a strong recognition that the residential experience is a central and important contributor to the quality of the overall educational experience at Dartmouth. The additional needed beds should be provided in residential environments that support community, a vibrant social life, and the educational mission of the College.
Principle 2: "There should be additional and improved social spaces controlled by students."
- A recurring theme in the proposals for creating new and improved socials spaces is the need to create a replacement for Webster Hall as a programming space to accommodate 800-1000 people for concerts, performances, dances, cultural events, and other activities.
- A number of proposals also advocate the creation of additional, smaller spaces devoted to student use, accessible late at night, and adaptable to the needs and interests of various groups of students.
- Food is an important feature of social life, and students value access to kitchens where they can prepare meals for a variety of events and for different sizes of groups.
- More venues for showing films is valued.
- Good, well-appointed social space with the appropriate ambiance, is a necessary ingredient for creating and sustaining community in residence halls. Existing social space in many halls is perceived to be inadequate; new construction should attend carefully to this issue.
- A sports facility geared toward fitness and recreation, rather than intercollegiate athletics, with a health-club atmosphere and amenities, would enhance social life for many students.
- Students would welcome more social spaces, including spaces in new kinds of residence facilities, that they "control," as opposed to spaces they compete for with other College constituencies. The "common house" proposals are a frequent example of an idea to meet this need.
- On the other hand, some proposals also express a desire for more spaces managed by professionals, so that students do not feel so much burden for programming. The College should be more proactive in creating activities and social alternatives.
- Dartmouth could take better advantage of its natural environment and outdoor spaces to enhance social life, making better use of the riverfront, the Green, and the Bema.
- Providing space to academic and other affinity groups would not only enhance social life for students with particular interests but would also create more opportunities for interactions between groups and for building community.
- On the other hand, spaces assigned to affinity groups or the policies for their use should not promote exclusivity.
- Women need and value a sense of ownership of social space, and the relocation and expansion of the Women's Resource Center would help to address that need.
- Graduate students perceive a pressing need for space devoted to their experience and interests.
- A number of proposals express frustration about lack of access to spaces managed by the Hopkins Center and the Athletic Department. Other proposals call attention to the need to make better use of or to improve existing spaces, in addition to creating new spaces.
Principle 3: "The system should be substantially coeducational and provide opportunities for greater interaction among all Dartmouth students."
Most of the reaction to the Trustee initiative focuses on various interpretations of this principle, especially the perception that this reflected plans to eliminate the Greek system. Most of the proposals received also responded to this principle in one way or another, yet only a few directly discussed the implications of this principle for the CFS system. Most of the proposals addressing this principle explain how other changes to residential and social life would support the principle of coeducation and greater interaction. The most common themes among the proposals are recommendations to expand thematic activities and facilities that would create more social and residential options for all students and increase interactions between various groups of students. This is an example of the considerable overlap between proposals concerned with social and residential space.
The proposals responding to this principle include suggestions for:
- Facilities where students can dance
- More pubs and night clubs
- Replacement of Webster Hall
- Academic and special interest theme facilities, providing residential and social space
- A studio for a student-run TV station
- A "common house"
- Venues for viewing films
- More financial support for more co-sponsored and community-building activities
- More amenities in residence halls
- More faculty involvement in residential life
- More integration between academic and residential life
- More businesses to serve students of color
- Upgrading athletic facilities to support fitness, recreation, and socializing
- More space for students interested in outdoor activities
- More dining options, including partially-decentralized dining
- More programming and activity space in residence halls
- More space for legal, safe consumption of alcohol
- A new, residential community service center
- A graduate student center
- More variety in housing options
There are also suggestions for changes in policies and priorities to address coeducation and interaction:
- Ease restrictions on access to space (Hop, Athletics)
- Require more cooperative programming
- More community-education programs
- Less emphasis on alcohol
- Expand opportunities for experiential education
- Subsidize cultural and athletic tickets
- Expand the role and visibility of the Women's Resource Center
- Make changes to first-year orientation
- Create additional social options, especially for first-year students
- Implement a required "Community at Dartmouth" course
- Group students in residential spaces according to class
- Expand the Graduate-in-Residence Program
The proposals that specifically addressed coeducation and interaction in the CFS system called for:
- A new "Social House" system
- Recognition that the CFS system is already "substantially coeducational"
- Creation of more social and residential options rather than the removal or restriction of options
- Pairing of CFS and affinity organizations for social programming purposes
- Expansion of the number of women's and coeducational organizations in the CFS system
- Restructuring the different Greek councils
- Creation of "Brownstones" as a supplementary alternative to CFS houses
Principle 5: "The abuse and unsafe use of alcohol should be eliminated."
- There are fewer proposals dealing specifically with alcohol abuse than with any of the other principles, however there is more consistency among the proposals. They called for:
- Greater recognition that heavy drinking is an inescapable part of college life
- A greater emphasis on education as opposed to sanctions
- More support for alcohol-free programming
- The use of professional bartenders at large events where alcohol is served
- More opportunities for legal, safe drinking
- An emphasis on prevention, through the social norms approach
- Increased staffing in Health Resources and Counseling to address alcohol abuse on campus
- Increased substance-free living spaces in the residential system
Other Themes
A number of proposals address issues beyond those articulated in the five principles. Those include the importance of:
- Enhancing academic life, especially via smaller classes and further enhancement of Dartmouth's academic stature
- Enhancements of language instruction through a Japan/Korea academic theme house
- Addressing the disruptions and challenges created by the D-Plan
- Providing more support for including faculty and staff in the community, especially people perceived to be outside of the mainstream in terms of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.
- Improving health services and counseling
- More student mentoring by older adults
- More environmental responsibility in facilities and programs
- More computing facilities for students
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