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The Student Life Initiative marks the culmination of more than a quarter-century of profound growth and transition at the College, dating back to the advent of coeducation in 1972.
Since 1972 the transition toward a more fully inclusive campus has been marked by milestones such as the establishment of Dartmouth's first coeducational residence hall in 1979, the setting of Minimum Standards for the College's CFS houses in 1983, the creation of the cluster system in 1983, the designation of the first substance-free residence hall in 1992, the expansion and renovation of Collis Center in 1994, the achievement of substantial parity in the numbers of women and men undergraduates in 1995, the creation of the East Wheelock Cluster Program in 1996, and, in 1998, the expansion of facility hours and the creation of new spaces where students can casually gather.
There have been three major reports on student life in the past 20 years examining year-round education (1980), the residential experience on campus (1987), and the role of alcohol in the social environment of the campus (1995).
Following the announcement of the Student Life Initiative in February 1999 President Wright encouraged the entire Dartmouth community to participate in the process of articulating the College's social and residential future. The responses to the initiative since then have been numerous, varied, and, at times, animated.
In April 1999 the Board of Trustees established the Committee on the Student Life Initiative, co-chaired by Trustees Susan A. Dentzer '77 and Peter M. Fahey '68. This group, made up of undergraduate and graduate students, administrators, faculty and alumni, issued a comprehensive report in January 2000, which was then discussed by the community during the winter term 2000.
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