If you haven’t already, take a second to check this out, and if you’re interested in signing on, please blitz me or the Palaeopitus account! Begin forwarded message: On 11/7/14, 11:05 AM, "Student Assembly" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: Dear Students: Last night, the 2015 Palaeopitus Delegation released a letter to the Dartmouth Community outlining their thoughts on the process of the Steering Committee. This letter, written in consultation with a diverse set of student leaders, is attached and included below. Palaeopitus is continuing to gather signatures in support of their letter. If you are interested in signing, please blitz [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> with your name and, if you wish, an identifying title. All names will be included later on in the publicly viewable google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x2xGK5xp-3TeJnc5H0tNt5r_HK6Wk5UkB2QWPqVEcyM/edit ------------------------- To the Moving Dartmouth Forward Steering Committee and the Dartmouth Community: The Palaeopitus Senior Society*, along with student leaders across campus, would like to highlight areas of meaningful reform that the student body has raised regarding the Steering Committee process. We would first like to thank the Steering Committee for championing the Moving Dartmouth Forward (MDF) initiative. The Steering Committee has put an immense amount of time and effort into conducting research and collecting feedback from students in order to address the issues of binge drinking, exclusivity, and sexual violence on Dartmouth’s campus, and we appreciate this data-driven approach to problem solving. However, we believe there are two areas where the Steering Committee can engage more meaningfully with the student body, which will ultimately result in a set of recommendations tailored to the specific challenges faced by the Dartmouth community. First, the Steering Committee should be substantially more transparent in the recommendation development process. 1. In discussions with students across Dartmouth, representatives from the Steering Committee have only shared a small subset of their research. Publicly releasing the comprehensive dataset collected on Dartmouth and other peer institutions will enable more productive student dialogue with the Committee. 2. While MDF’s website makes the process more transparent, information about the feedback shared from student groups is limited and outdated. Keeping this information updated and readily accessible would only improve the website as a resource for students. 3. The Committee’s timeline has repeatedly changed with little notice to the students. In the future, the Committee should publicize a clear timeline and notify the student body directly when it is altered so feedback can be contributed in a timely manner. 4. The lack of transparency in the selection process of the four student representatives created distrust of how the student body’s voice is being directly represented to the Steering Committee. The Committee can mitigate this problem by engaging more substantially with students as recommendations are formulated. 5. Finally, the Board of Trustees and the faculty have received detailed updates on the Committee’s findings. The Committee should release the contents of these presentations to the student body in order to facilitate a more open relationship. Second, we believe the student body should be provided an opportunity to engage with preliminary recommendations and provide constructive feedback prior to their implementation. 1. This is common practice outside of Dartmouth: regulations in federal and state governments require a lengthy comment period to allow stakeholders the opportunity to voice their opinions. 2. There exist structural and cultural challenges unique to Dartmouth, making it difficult to simply import successful practices from peer institutions. The student body best understands the lived experiences of students at Dartmouth, and is well equipped to provide cogent feedback on the potential success or failure of proposed recommendations. Releasing preliminary recommendations to students, and giving students the opportunity to provide feedback, would ensure that the final recommendations are tailored to successful implementation. 3. A topdown implementation of recommendations without increased student engagement will create a more distrustful campus climate, ultimately undermining what we hope to be a seamless implementation process. By releasing preliminary recommendations, the Steering Committee can build trust and credibility within the student body and increase its likelihood for success. We understand that in the past, the Steering Committee has tried to meet with students and has not always received strong responses. However, we believe that this is a direct result of the lack of transparency of the process. We have asked leaders from across campus to sign on to this letter to illustrate the range of student communities that have felt that the process has not incorporated or represented their perspectives or opinions. We urge the Steering Committee and the Administration to consider our suggestions as they move forward with the final steps of this process. Sincerely, The 2015 Palaeopitus Delegation Dario Aharpour • Murylo Batista • Janelle Bullock • Casey Dennis • Lindsay Ellis • Rachel Funk • Ashneil Jain • Jamie Mercado • Chase Mertz • Lily Michelson • Sam Parker • Matt Ross • Shoshana Silverstein • Noah Smith • Rianna Starheim • Monica Stretten • Aylin Woodward • Ian Woon • Carla Yoon • Valerie Zhao The following is a list of student leaders in support of this letter: Abby Fucigna, Captain of Women’s Alpine Ski Team Aditi Kirtikar, President of Alpha Xi Delta Sorority Adria Brown, Co-President of Native Americans at Dartmouth (NAD) and President of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) Alexa Dixon, Captain of Varsity Equestrian Team Allison Brouckman and Diana Wise, Co-Captains of Women’s Rugby Anabelle Ferguson, Manager of the Jonathan Belden Daniels Climbing Gym Andrew Li, Editor-in-Chief of the Dartmouth Law Journal Anka Tezcan, President of TriKappa Fraternity Annie Gardner, President of Sigma Delta Sorority and Co- Captain of Women’s Crew Aylin Woodward, President of Phi Tau coeducational fraternity Bay ByrneSim, President of Kappa Delta Sorority Bazille Owen Reese, President of Alpha Pi Omega Sorority, Inc. Bennie Niles, President of the Afro-American Society Camila Vigdor, President of Delta Delta Delta Sorority Carly Carlin, Co-Director of Fusion Dance Ensemble Chiara Santiago, President of Panarchy Connie Gong, President of Tabard Courtney Wong, President of Alpha Phi Sorority Cristy Altamirano, President of Alpha Theta Delia O’Shea, Co-Director of First Year Peer Mentors Elana Folbe, President of Dartmouth College Hillel Eli Derrow, President of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity and Chair of the Undergraduate Finance Committee Emily Reeves, President of Epsilon Kappa Theta Sorority Emily Uniman, President of Kappa Delta Epsilon Sorority Emma Orme, Glee Club President and Director of the Dartmouth Rockapellas Gabrielius Maldunas, Co-captain of Men’s Basketball Hersh Trivedi, Director of Ujima Dance Troupe Hunter Black, Co-Captain of Men’s Alpine Ski Team Hunter van Adelsberg, Dartmouth Outing Club President Inviolata Chami, President of Dartmouth African Student Association Joshua Rivers, President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated Julia Kannam, President of Students Fighting Hunger Kelsey Stimson, President of LinkUp Kendall Kraus, Cocaptain of Women's Soccer Kevin Francfort, President of Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering Kevin Gillespie, President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Kishan Ughreja, Co-President of Milan and CoCoordinator of Nathan Smith Society Konrad von Moltke, Co-captain of Men's Swimming and Diving Margo Cox, Co-Captain of Women’s Crew Mary Peng, Co-President of The Dandelion Project Max Gottschall, Director of the Dartmouth Aires Meredith Shaw, President of the Dartmouth Rockapellas Myrel Iturrey, President of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority Natasha Maldi, Director of Dartmouth on Purpose Nicole Castillo, Member of the Latin@ Community Noah Cramer, President of Gender Inclusive Greek Council Noah Reichblum, President of Alpha Chi Alpha Fraternity Perla Sibaja, Member of the Latin@ Community Robert Osgood, Co-Captain of Men’s Lacrosse Team Sheya Jabouin, Director of SHEBA Dance Troupe Siobhan Hengemuhle, Co-captain of Women's Swimming and Diving Steve Dazzo, Co-Captain of Football Steven Chen, Editor-in-Chief of The Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science Taylor Cathcart, President of Phi Delta Alpha Fraternity Wilson Chockley, IFC President Zachary Queen, President of Chi Gamma Epsilon Fraternity *Founded in 1899, Palaeopitus is a senior society comprised of individuals selected based on their demonstrated dedication and commitment to building a better future for Dartmouth. <PalaeopitusLettertoMDFSteeringCommittee_11062014.pdf>