Millman: A Further Consideration

This article is paired with another article, entitled Plans for the Presidency: An Interview with David Millman.

Legend says that in times of great crisis, a hero will rise to save us all. Be it Cincinnatus when Rome was invaded by the Aequi, George Washington when the Brits wouldn’t leave us alone, or Joan of Arc when the French needed someone who could actually fight, history is full of heroes who answer the call of their people. And so, as Dartmouth faces crises of housing and mental health, the huddled masses cry out for a leader, and their calls have not gone unanswered. Out of the class of 2023 has risen a leader, the newly elected President of the Student Assembly David Millman. Hailing from Virginia and a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity, Millman hopes to solve the crises that beset Dartmouth and move the College forward into a new and better age. Whether he will be the leader we need, or the mediocrity that we deserve, remains to be seen. Last Monday, I sat down with David Millman to talk with him about how he intends to move Dartmouth forward.

At this point most every current Dartmouth student will be familiar with David Millman, but for those of you who live under rocks or have long since left the shining lights of Dartmouth’s campus, I will give a brief overview. Millman has been a Student Assembly senator since the spring term of his freshman year, reemerging after losing the fall term elections. Last year, he also ran for a position on Hanover town council and garnered a great deal of support from the student body and a great deal of rabid hatred from the townies who rely on us for their very existence. After his defeat at the hands of the townies, Millman turned his efforts to working within Dartmouth’s own government. Millman built support with ever-present Instagram posts recounting the latest Registrar email and thinly veiled attempts to buy votes with pizza, an effort reminiscent of a Tammany Hall-type scheme. For future reference, David, if you’re going to bribe us, at least use Ramunto’s.

For all of his efforts, though, Millman failed to actually make Dartmouth Students care about the Student Assembly. To give you a little idea of the general apathy regarding the Assembly, I confess that I thought David Millman was already its president. After winning an unopposed election by an overwhelming margin, Millman began campaigning for a proposed amendment to the Hanover zoning code that would allow for more student housing. The amendment passed a town referendum with significant votes from College students. In my recent interview with Millman, I focused on his plans moving forward as President of the Student Council.

We sat down in Novak, as far from the hustle and bustle of Novak as possible. I began the interview with a simple question about his goals for his tenure? Millman gave a straightforward, if somewhat rambling, answer. The initial goal was of course the housing amendment, which he considers key to solving the housing crisis on Dartmouth’s campus. Millman believes that the amendment’s passing should result in increasing renovations in the next few months and the first expansion of housing capacity within one or two years. He commended the student body’s turnout in support of the housing bill, and his question-and-answer events and his numerous, perhaps over numerous, emails and posts certainly contributed to student knowledge of the bill. Moving forward, Millman plans to address the mental health crisis on campus as well. He wants the College to focus on universal telehealth to increase ease of access to counseling. The College’s busy schedule and overburdened medical system certainly underserved Dartmouth’s overstressed students, and quite frankly Doechii didn’t do much to lift spirits around here. However, the most important long-term objective are his proposed reforms to student and College government.

Currently, Dartmouth’s Trustees have the real power when it comes to funding programs. Without their approval, no major projects can go through. Further, much of the Board consists of alumni who haven’t been Dartmouth students for decades and who have little understanding of the problems facing the student body. To fix that, Millman proposes placing a student on the Board of Trustees. Even if said student lacked a vote, he or she would still be able to voice the concerns of the student body to the collection of ’80s and ’90s who decide the quality of life of the ’20s. While Millman will certainly face opposition from the old guard, he does not seem deterred. He put his position on action quite concisely: “When it comes to something you very much believe in I think you shouldn’t try to take a both-sides approach.” For too long, gridlock and bureaucratic inertia have stood in the way of improving Dartmouth, and leaders who have little regard for the sanctity of the process itself are the only ones who can end the stupor. Rather than simply be a bridge between admin and the student body, Millman believes that “Student Assembly should be for students.” 

Of course, admin is not the only source of obstruction. To be quite frank, even much of student government has little regard for its responsibilities. Some would say that much of student government is only in it to build their resume, but this writer would never make such an accusation. Millman proposes the creation of a unified government with representatives of every branch, from Assembly to COSO to every one of the endless sub-bodies that divide the powers of student government against each other. Although he may just be too much of a libertarian, this writer worries that creating another layer of government will simply add to the obstruction. And even if Millman is able to spearhead the efficient running of such a supercouncil, he will only be here for one more year. Will it continue to run without him?

And finally the townies will always oppose anything that makes life better for Dartmouth students. Many seem to derive a sick sort of pleasure at the thought of students wasting away in the slums and tenements of Hanover. Millman seems to share this writer’s total disregard for the wishes of the enlightened population of Hanover, which should be reason enough to be optimistic about his term. 

While Millman has much to recommend him, the short term of an undergraduate’s career may end up scuttling his ambitions as president. There is only so much one can do in two years in Dartmouht’s administration; Millman’s successor may not be so motivated. To my knowledge Millman is uncommon in the history of Student Assembly Presidents in his popularity and popular mandate. Whoever succeeds him, however, may be yet another resume builder.