<p>“I went to Wellesley. A school that the PR classifies as one of the “Got Milk?” campuses. AA meetings are part of the alumni reunion weekend there, too.”</p>
<p>Well, it is great that people struggling with alcohol issues try to overcome them, but it is also too bad that it comes to this. As has been well documented, binge drinking on college campuses in America is epidemic. Nonetheless, I think it would be naive to not draw a direct line from Dartmouth’s alcoholic fraternity rituals to the class reunion AA meetings. It certainly doesn’t hurt to explore the issue.</p>
<p>‘Not only that, but the Greek houses at a given school can vary widely also.’</p>
<p>Agreed, but the general characteristics are undeniable.</p>
<p>The faculty critique of Greek Life was from approx. 100-150 members in a signed letter. Dartmouth’s faculty exceeds 1,000. Sounds to me as if the faculty has not really been heard from on this.</p>
<p>As I’ve said to other commenters, if someone can find more than one Dartmouth professor who opines that the fraternity should remain in its present form, then we’ll all have a discussion about it.</p>
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<p>Only about 400 tenured/tenure-track faculty members teach undergraduates. I would not imagine this subject being as big an issue for students in the business or medical schools, and lecturers/adjuncts don’t typically have as much of a voice in campus issues anyway.</p>
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<p>I have never stated that women and minorities universally hate Dartmouth. And besides, plenty of people “love” things or people that are not good for them.</p>
<p>Finally, this thread is sending a message of hope, DartmouthAlum I am truly sorry you had a terrible experience at school. Raging anger at the school to an audience of prospective applicants and students accomplishes what? I hope when you attend your reunion you will roll up your sleeves and help your fellow alums and trustees make Dartmouth a better place. My S and his friends love the school and they look forward to meeting the incoming class who will also help make the school a better place. Let’s move on together as alums and parents to help, not hurt.</p>
<p>I said I had terrible experiences, not a terrible experience.</p>
<p>And, if I didn’t care about the school, I wouldn’t be here.</p>
<p>But I think that after so many decades, the best way to help Dartmouth now is honesty.</p>
<p>95% of what I’ve posted is not my opinion but material from third party sources; let’s evaluate Dartmouth’s documented record and move forward from there. The Internet obviously permits us all to be better informed about schools than two or three decades ago. We don’t have to rely just on college guides and the propaganda that a school puts out. Parents and applicants would be foolish not to use the new sources of information.</p>
<p>As for sally305’s contributions, they’ve been illuminating and helpful in moving the thread forward. Countless people interested in higher education find Dartmouth to be an interesting subject.</p>
<p>LakeClouds:</p>
<p>Regarding the Trustees, I’m starting to think you are right.</p>
<p>I’m not sure there’s a single one with a background in education.</p>
<p>For an informed discussion of the shortcomings of the Board and the lack of representation of education folks (not zero, but not much more), please visit dartblog. Joe has commented on and lamented this for years. He’s right. Maybe pigs can fly: I may actually agree with DartmouthAlum on something.</p>
<p>I agree with lots of what I take to be the perspective of Dartblog: The Dartmouth administration’s main focus is on PR, not actually administering and educating; Dartmouth’s administration is not respnsible or accountable to stakeholders; Dartmouth runs the risk of straying from a rigorous academic program focused on the essentials of a liberal arts education, such as a familiarity with classic texts and modes of thought, and the ability to analyze, research, and communicate as an independent scholar and citizen. I think Darblog also laments the College’s alcohol-soaked social scene. You can let me know if I have any of the preceding wrong.</p>
<p>Regarding dartblog, I was initially put off by what appeared to be its implacable opposition to Jim Kim, which appeared to me to be akin to the obsessive–and IMHO irrational-- attacks on Barack Obama by the far right. Asch seemed to me to be politically motivated. Is that incorrect? (Of course, it is perfectly possible that it is true but that he has some good points, also.) I’ve had the impression that it supports a version of Dartmouth that is “traditional”: overwhelmingly white, male, and right wing. The kind of thinking that rejects any broadening of the Western Canon as suspicious, and puts great stock in religious orthodoxy, along the lines of Thomas Sowell. </p>
<p>I have not perceived Dartmouth as being in particular danger of straying from the essence of a liberal arts education, except perhaps for a tendency towards excessive pre-professionalism. Unfortunately that is shared by virtually all schools nowadays. Could you explain why you think this is so?</p>
<p>‘I’ve had the impression that it supports a version of Dartmouth that is “traditional”: overwhelmingly white, male, and right wing. The kind of thinking that rejects any broadening of the Western Canon as suspicious, and puts great stock in religious orthodoxy, along the lines of Thomas Sowell.’</p>
<p>Again, I’m not an expert on that blog, but that seems right. The vision probably is to take Dartmouth back to some imagined idyll from the 1950’s. But we can share with those we don’t generally agree with certain points of coincidence, right?</p>
<p>As for the liberal arts losing focus at Dartmouth, I could be wrong, but sometimes I think I see signs of “fuzziness” in what I hear about academics up there. Stories about kids dong metal shop-type activities for credit, that kind of stuff.</p>
<p>As the deans always say, “It doesn’t matter what your major is here.” Sometimes I think that unintentionally sends the message, “None of what you do here matters.” </p>
<p>In any case, this discussion has become a pleasure. It’s good to get a sense that one is a having a constructive discussion with others who care about these issues at Dartmouth!</p>
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<p>A comment on yesterday’s edition of “The Dartmouth”:</p>
<p>‘I didn’t enjoy my time here. I’m sorry, but I just didn’t, I was sexually and physically assaulted and I was all but destroyed by the place before surpassing it. I became a stronger person by overcoming the obstacles Dartmouth hurled at me, not a better person out of extreme enjoyment of campus life. I’m not a #RealTalk person at all, but I speak for hundreds upon hundreds of students each year who will carry scars from this place for the rest of their life, not cherished memories of hikes and picnics and tails.’</p>
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<p>I don’t doubt that this happens at D, it happened at my college (urban university) and still does, and at my law school. However, let’s do something to remedy the situation. It calls for constructive action, perhaps joining/forming a committee at the school to make recommendations for change. Burning the institution online may seem gratifying but leading the discussion in a group that can make change would be more effective.</p>
<p>OK, MagnumPI. I agree and I would love to lead/participate. Anyone else interested in such an effort, please send me a private message. Thank you.</p>
<p>BTW, here is another comment coming from Dartmouth that I just read online:</p>
<p>‘Was being driven home from a dinner with the family of a South Indian biochemistry researcher living in Hanover (he’s like a father to me), when a drunk white male student and his girlfriend racially insulted us. “Hey Cabbie! Cabbie!” and other offensive stuff was hurled at my family-friend, who laughed it off, but my friend and I sitting in the backseat were beyond angry. This hasn’t happened often to me at Dartmouth, and it was somewhat surprising.’</p>
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<p>I’ll play, although I have no idea how “realistic” my ideas are.</p>
<p>Counter-programming:</p>
<p>For every big event, such as Winter Carnival, bring in a named-band and hold a dance/concert starting at 9/10 pm or so. (The cookies and warm milk served in Collis during Winter Carnival is joke.) Free tix to anyone/any house not on probation. Hefty ticket prices for anyone on probation. </p>
<p>Reduce the young 'ens:</p>
<p>Move pledge to end of Sophomore year. </p>
<p>Make the drunks (or their parents) pay:</p>
<p>First night in Dick’s House sleeping it off is a $150 fine on your Tuition bill. Second night is a $250 fine. Third night is transport to DMC. Fourth time is automatic Parkhursted. Do not pass go, do not receive tuition refund. Re-apply after completing an approved alcohol program.</p>
<p>I like “make the drunks pay” as a concept.</p>
<p>I am glad people are starting to offer concrete suggestions on how to improve the situation at Dartmouth. Hopefully prospective students who read this and decide to enroll will arrive at the college with their eyes open and with a sense that they can change things for the better. No college is perfect but Dartmouth has a rich history, an idyllic setting, and an outstanding reputation for undergraduate teaching. Maybe if the school can attract more “agents of change”–unconventional kids who are not afraid to step up and speak out–the social climate will improve as well.</p>
<p>Sally305: That is a nice sentiment, but the onus for change can’t be on eighteen-year-olds; it’s on the Dartmouth adults.</p>
<p>Agreed. But perhaps part of what the “adults” can do is seek out a student body that has different attributes than what the college is currently getting each year. It would be interesting to know the backgrounds of the students who are setting the current social climate in the fraternities. My guess is that they are not as diverse a group as the college attracts overall. Maybe they need to admit fewer of those students who are predisposed to the misogynistic culture and more who disdain the conventional old-boys-networks and traditions based on excessive drinking. Not sure how, though…</p>