It’s my 21st and I’m still posting?

This whole Blogger thing must be addictive.

>Date: 08 Jan 2003 17:45:35 EST

>From: Student Assembly

>Subject: SUCCESS!!

>To: (Recipient list suppressed)

Dear Fellow Students-

This is a great day for Dartmouth! Today, for the first time in recent memory, we have seen the powerful impact of unified student voice. This is a victory for every student who marched to the President’s lawn, who rallied on the steps of Parkhurst, and who participated in the sit-in that filled Parkhurst to its walls, forcing the administration to confront this issue. This is a victory for everyone who blitzed in their support, who wrote to the D, who drafted letters to President Wright and administrators, and for organizations that gave their unrelenting support. And of course, this is a victory for the Swimming and Diving Teams; their passionate persistence made this new decision possible, and every member of the Dartmouth community can celebrate the return of these Varsity programs together.

When we first began working on this issue, conversations with administrators were at times disheartening. However, there were significant breakthroughs on December 9th when administrators became receptive to the ideas put forth by the swim team captains and members of the Student Assembly. Over the winter break, significant leg work was done by parents of the swim team and faithful alumni. All these efforts were validated by today’s announcement.

While this process was extremely arduous for all involved, we commend the administrations ultimate decision to agree upon the preservation of the Dartmouth Swimming and Diving Programs. Handling budget cuts is never easy, and we appreciate that the administration recognized the overwhelming student consensus on this issue and responded appropriately. Hopefully this experience will set a precedent for truly open communication between students and administrators on issues of great importance, and will forever strengthen student voice within our community. We look forward to the formation of the Budget Advisory Committee, which will ensure student input in upcoming budget decisions.

There are many other issues that unite us today, and the administration’s willingness to compromise in the face of a mobilized student body illustrates our ability to fight for what we know is right. Thanks again to everyone for all their help!

Sincerely,

Janos Marton ’04

Student Body President

Julia Hildreth ’05

Student Body Vice President