STUDENT LIFE Dorm Project Halted
notebook
CAMPUS
notes from around the green
Unusual faculty vote prompts delay through May.
Hopes to renovate much of student housing during the next 12 years won’t come without some fits and starts. Early this year, plans to build temporary apartmentstyle facilities near Lyme Road—across from the former Hanover Country Club and a little more than a mile from the Green—were met with the usual uproar from nearby residents. But surprisingly, Dartmouth professors played the biggest role in putting the project on hold.
During its winter meeting, faculty voted 89-4 to pause the development. Professors tell DAM that housing students so far from the center of campus runs contrary to the idea of a residential college. “There was also concern that this was moving really fast with no real discussion of other sites,” said one prof. “There was also concern that there had been no mention of how this would fit in with the house system that has been deemed so important.” Others noted that the recently released master plan made no mention of the Lyme Road project at Garipay Field.
“In light of the faculty’s concerns,” said executive VP Rick Mills, “we have made the decision to take some time and broaden our evaluation of the project.” Any update will not come before June.
According to surveys, most students would not consider the Lyme Road location their first choice for housing. They did respond positively to the fact that the units would include kitchens, dishwashers, and additional “apartmentstyle amenities.”
Natalie Dokken’23 ripped the faculty in The Dartmouth, calling its vote “selectively paternalistic.” Faculty input matters, she noted, but “where was the outrage when the College was sued for allegedly colluding with peer institutions to price-fix students’ financial aid?” she wrote. “Where was it when students were crying out for more mental health support last year? Where was it when the College initially denied hundreds of students housing last fall?”
Stay tuned.
Sean Plottner
NEW PREZ 18 Members of the search committee led by Susie Huang ’84 and Chris Lord ’86
CARNIVAL 1,200 Estimated polar bear plunge participants, beating the old record of 800
PRICE HIKE 2.9% Increase in tuition, fees, room, and board for the 202223 academic year
VISITING VOICES
“Revolutionary change, where it has occurred in the world, has always involved students. Students have always been at the forefront.”
-ACTIVIST, EDUCATOR, AND AUTHOR ANGELA DAVIS, AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER FOR BLACK LEGACY MONTH
TRIP THE LIGHT FANTASTIC During Winter Carnival, the Bema became a bright forest of neon, illuminated trees, candlelit pathways, and psychedelic audio and visual elements. Students reclined in floating frames for photos and tuned into live and DJ music—headphones optional.
