Daniel Bryant '91 (Co-Chair)  •  Erik Fanning '90 (Co-Chair)  •  Axel Grabowsky  '60  (Co-Vice Chair)
Susan Hess '81 (Co-Vice Chair)  •  Stephen Bates '69, '74Tu  •  Abigail Berniker '03  •  Pete Bleyler '61
Veree Brown '93  •  Lorraine Buhannic '07  •  Thomas Callahan '84  •  Zachary Chestnut '08
Chris Cundey '59  •  Martha Gerhan '83  •  Martha Gillon '11 •  Regina Glocker ' 88  •   Louisa Guthrie '79
Amy Henry '97  •  Sarah Johansen '90  •  Susanne Kandel '00   •  Andrew Lane '09  •  Wayne LoCurto '66
Linda Cooper Marshall '85  •  Derek McDowell '88  •  Marisol Negron '93  • Thomas Oppenheim '83
Peter Roby '79  •  Norm Sylvester '58  Simon Trabelsi '08 •  David Wagner '99  •  Henry Yan '11

The Committee on Student Affairs monitors and reports on all aspects of student life at Dartmouth College to both the Alumni Council and, through the councilors, to the alumni body. At each of its meetings, the committee has the unique opportunity to meet with, and have extensive dialogue with, several student leaders from both the undergraduate and the graduate student bodies regarding current “hot topic” campus issues.  Recent issues explored have included: fostering and maintaining alumni–student connections  (Guide to Student–Alumni Connections); social spaces on campus, and athletics. Leaders from the Student Assembly also report out and join the discussion at each meeting. The committee consists of a representative from the Dartmouth College administration (committee secretary), and members of the Alumni Council.

Report from the 198th Alumni Council, May 14–16, 2009: 

The first session consisted of comments by Dean Tom Crady. We next had presentations from representatives of the Undergraduate Student Assembly and the Graduate Student Council, followed by question-and-answer sessions. Next was an athletics update from outgoing Athletic Director Josie Harper and incoming interim Athletic Director Bob Ceplikas '78. Following Josie's and Bob's remarks, a framed certificate of appreciation was presented to Josie by the committee on behalf of the Alumni Council.  We then heard from a panel of students, all members of the Hill Winds Society, on a variety of topics.   

The last 20 minutes of the meeting were devoted to committee business. The committee decided that we should continue the past practice of selecting as vice chairs two first-year committee members, who will become co-chairs in their third year on the council. The committee then elected Axel Grabowsky '60 and Susan Hess '81 as co-vice chairs.

Report from the 197th Alumni Council, December 4–6, 2008:

The committee meeting focused on the topics of alcohol use and policies on campus; a report on the fall athletics results and student-athlete anecdotes; and current affairs on campus. This session featured presentations from dean of the College Tom Crady, director of Athletics Josie Harper and senior associate director of Intercollegiate Athletics Brian Austin, the Graduate Student Council, and the Undergraduate Student Assembly. Additionally, we had student panels on the topics of alcohol, social spaces, and athletics.

Tom Crady shared his observations from his first year at Dartmouth and reconciled them with his experience at and interactions with other institutions. He has found that Dartmouth has drinking rates and alcohol use similar to peer institutions; the current alcohol policy is confusing and not well understood; the Committee on Standards (COS) is seen as draconian; and fraternities control most of the student social spaces, with very different rules than national sororities, causing gender inequity. His recommendations to deal with these issues include (1) a revised COS policy, including that first-time alcohol offenses are treated educationally, not judicially; (2) an updated alcohol policy that lifts many restrictions and pushes more responsibility to the organizations hosting parties; and (3) removing the restriction that sororities must be associated with a national house.

Members of the student panel (Rem Browne '09, Miesha Smith '09, Ann Rittgers '09, Frances Vernon '10, Jeremy Seidling '09) spoke about their experiences on campus and took questions from the committee. Through this discussion we found that college alcohol policy and New Hampshire alcohol law were not well understood by most undergraduates, though student leaders tend to know these rules and laws much better than the general student body. Students find their own scene on campus, and non-drinkers find social lives outside of Greek life, which does overshadow the rest of campus life. The Good Samaritan policy is widely used and students do not fear repercussions when seeking help for a student who has had too much to drink.

Josie Harper and Brian Austin spoke about campus athletics. Some important points included that 80 to 85 percent of the student body participates in athletics or outdoors programs, we have great new facilities with the Biondi baseball complex and Floren Varsity House, and there are 34 varsity and 34 club sports. Dartmouth athletics are stronger than ever, though some programs are in a building phase, such as the Dartmouth football team (0-10).

Members of the student panel (Andrew Dete '09, football captain; Shannon Bowman '09, women's ice hockey captain; Kate Schmidt '09, figure skating captain) spoke about life as a student-athlete, their interactions with their teams, and how athletics enhanced their Dartmouth experience. Andrew spoke passionately about sharing the disappointment with the 2008 football season on the field, but highlighted his strong bonds to the College and his teammates. Shannon talked about her excitement for the upcoming winter campaign and how amazing it is to share the ice with national and international stars. Kate spoke about the legacy of women's figure skating at Dartmouth (five straight national titles!) and how that helped seal her decision to come to Hanover.

Brad Demay '10Adv spoke as president of the Graduate Student Council (GSC), which represents 700 arts and sciences graduate students. The GSC addresses concerns of the graduate student body, including housing, social events, and transitions to the Upper Valley. The primary focus of the GSC this year is to obtain better health care for students. Specifically, the group would like to obtain dental and vision coverage, which many peer institutions provide in some form.

Molly Bode '09, Student Assembly president, and Nafeesa Remtilla '09, Student Assembly vice president, reported on SA, which provides services to and advocates for undergraduate students. This year SA is primarily concerned about President Wright's announcement that the College would reduce its operating budget by $40 million. SA wants to ensure that student voices are heard in the process. To this end, SA is collaborating with Palaeopitus and class councils to gather student input on what undergraduates feel is essential to their Dartmouth experience. Two examples of services that the SA introduced this year are Bruno Books (used textbook online search engine) and Zimride (online carpooling board).

Report from the 196th Alumni Council, May 15–17, 2008:

Discussion with Tom Crady, Dean of the College:  Dean Crady, new to the College this past fall, noted that his top priorities include assessing student needs regarding life outside of the classroom in a way that complements the liberal arts education, and making sure that Dartmouth provides a safe environment.(Generally, unless there is a real issue of safety, Dean Crady does not contact parents about students. This approach creates greater trust between his office and the students.He noted that, compared with the past, there is generally much more parental involvement initiated by the parents when a typical student interacts with the College administration.)Dean Crady also noted that a periodic evaluation of various programs and regulations is crucial since the student body and student behavior changes quickly.This includes a review of the Committee on Standards, which handles violations of student behavior and cheating.The standard of evidence for concluding that a violation has occurred has been changed from “preponderance of the evidence” to “clear and convincing.”Dean Crady's PhD dissertation was on fraternity culture and its impact so he is quite knowledgeable regarding Greek letter organizations and their issues.There is a Good Samaritan policy in effect, whereby students can contact the Safety and Security personnel if a student has had too much to drink without anyone facing punitive measures.Sexual assault is underreported.Dean Crady would like to establish a good relationship between the College's Safety and Security personnel and the Hanover Police and work out a “bill of rights” that students would have when interacting with the Hanover Police.There is a need to build gender-neutral social spaces on campus.These should be spaces that the students control.Currently, the College's policy on student social events requires advance notice and imposes other restrictions.In Dean Crady's view, the key is not to overregulate, so some of these policies might be changed soon. There are also plans to make the sophomore summer term even more unique and interesting from an academic viewpoint.Thayer Dining Hall is going to be renovated and possibly reconfigured.

Student Presentations:  Representatives from the undergraduate and graduate programs provided their very interesting perspectives and related their experiences. As noted above, the issue of gender equity in social spaces is a high priority. There need to be more spaces and opportunities to diffuse tensions on campus.Part of that is increasing awareness of others and doing things like having diversity training. The graduate students are a diverse group and have issues that are different than those of the undergrads, such as housing opportunities, which are quite limited after their first year, and dental insurance. They would also like to have representation on the search committee for the new president of the College.

Presentation by Josie Harper, Director of Athletics and Recreation:  Participation in club sports continues to grow and is a great outlet for athletes not competing at the varsity level. Director Harper wants to make Dartmouth teams on the road more available to alumni and to encourage alumni attendance at away games/competitions. There is a need at the College for flat floor space since athletic/recreational activities still get displaced because of other use of available floor space.It was noted that half of the athletics budget is covered by the College, with the other half raised from alumni and other supporters.Alumni wishing to support either the various “Friends of ” groups (created for both club sports and varsity sports), the Athletic Director's Discretionary Fund, or the Athletic Sponsors Program (funds travel to and from Dartmouth by athletes who are considering Dartmouth) can do so online by going to https://giving.dartmouth.edu.

Improvements in athletic-related facilities during President Wright's presidency include: Scully-Fahey Field, Boss Tennis Center and Gordon Pavilion, Blackman Football Practice Fields, Leverone Fieldhouse renovation, McLane Family Skiway Lodge improvements, Hanover Country Club renovation, Berry Squash Court renovations, Corey Ford Rugby Clubhouse and Fields (money raised by the Corey Ford Foundation and the Rugby Team foundation), Alumni Gymnasium renovation (this project included, among other things, the installation of exercise equipment at the top of the gym for all students to use, which had more than 250,000 users in the first year), resurfacing of the Memorial Field and Track, resurfacing of Leede Arena, and construction of the Floren Varsity House (10,000-square foot strength training center, 130-seat “smart classroom,” meeting rooms and study lounges for the varsity teams, football locker facilities, and offices for the football, baseball, softball, and women's lacrosse teams.The facility is the finest of its type in the Ivy League.)Other projects quite recently completed include the Burnham Soccer Field and Sports Pavilion ($8 million), and installation of FieldTurf on the Scully-Fahey Field ($80,000).The baseball field will be renovated in the near future, and renovation of the west stands of the football field is scheduled for 2009.

Report from the 195th Alumni Council, November 29–December 1, 2007: 

Members introduced themselves with their class year and indicated which group they represented.An agenda was distributed.Associate Dean of Student Life and Director of the Office of Pluralism and Leadership Sylvia Spears spoke about her work at the College and introduced three students who talked about diverse communities on campus.Issues discussed included: 1) self-segregation, 2) the effect of the D-plan on continuing momentum for projects/issues, 3) the need for better communications and coordination among student groups, 4) overlapping events and cosponsorships, 5) the perception of too many events and an “over-programmed” campus (approximately 200 student organizations with about 120 receiving funds from COSO).

Next we received a presentation from members of the Student Assembly on the projects that they are currently working on.Topics included: 1) socioeconomic class on campus, 2) gender relations and female social spaces, 3) helping students navigate the Dartmouth bureaucracy, 4) the search for a new mascot (gauging support for the Moose), 5) expanding student programming space (i.e. replacing Webster Hall) and 6) the InCircle student-alumni network.

Graduate Student Representative Sara Walker then briefed the committee on issues important to graduate students, including: 1) affordable housing, 2) special challenges of international students, 3) obtaining dental and vision insurance and 4) teaching opportunities and training.

Anyone interested in receiving a more detailed list of current student issues should please email Lynne Gaudet at lynne.gaudet@dartmouth.edu.

Report from the 194th Alumni Council, May 17–19, 2007:

The Student Life Committee focused on two main topics in its May meeting.The first centered on an exploration of freedom of speech and expression on campus.Using case studies based on recent events, committee members were joined by College administrators to discuss what free speech and expression on campus means, how it intersects with the college's Principle of Community, and the range of options for responding to speech or expression that may be perceived as offensive.The discussion highlighted how complex these issues can be, and the many ways in which the College community deals with them.

The second topic involved a summary of the student-alumni discussion groups that were sponsored by Student Life and had occurred the night before.The discussions were successful, with each group focusing on a different pre-determined set of issues, including: Student Leadership, Student Living, Membership in a Diverse Community, and Balance in Students' Lives.All four of these discussion groups (each attended by more than twenty students and councilors) focused on students' experiences around these issues, and explored both the challenges they face, and the many highlights of their Dartmouth experience.For a feel for the nature of these discussion groups, please see coverage of the “Diverse Community” discussion in "194th Council: On a Mission."

In addition, the committee was briefed on the agenda that the new officers of the Student Assembly are shaping for the coming year, reviewed committee achievements of “purposeful acts” accomplished over the past year, and began to plan its focus for the coming year.At the end of the meeting, the chair was passed to David Eichman '82, and Matt Nelson '00 was elected vice chair of the committee.Outgoing chair Jeff Weiss '86, formally thanked the committee members, and in particular, Holly Sateia '82AS, dean of student life, and Rex Morey '99, associate director of class activities, for their tremendous work and support over the past year.