Dartmouth Student Government senators opened the winter term by debating whether to expand the organization’s free shuttle service to West Lebanon, alongside discussions of an upcoming American Civil Liberties Union seminar on immigration enforcement and a planned emergency preparedness training for students.
At the Jan. 11 weekly DSG meeting, student body president Sabik Jawad ’26 proposed adding a stop at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital to the West Lebanon shuttle route. Jawad said the goal would be to pilot the added stop during the winter term, collect data on student usage and then determine whether to make the change permanent.
The proposal matters for students who rely on off-campus transportation, particularly for medical care, and comes as DSG evaluates the costs and usage of its pilot transportation programs.
Jawad said the hospital stop would connect students to urgent care and medical specialists. “We can pilot a program with our shuttle service this term, where we add a stop to Alice Peck Day Hospital, which has urgent care and some specialists, and we can gather data on whether it’s actually being used or not, and to make a permanent program,” Jawad said.
According to Jawad, DSG has discussed with College administrators the possibility of the College contributing funding to the pilot program.
Some senators questioned whether the shuttle expansion would see enough use to justify its cost. General senator Daniel Sparks ’29 argued that “no one’s going to use” the program and cited low participation in the fall term’s shuttle service. Sparks said the fall service was used by 35 students across two days and cost DSG around $4,000.
West House senator Aiden Cole ’28 agreed with Sparks’ concerns and suggested an alternative approach: paying a College-certified student driver, rather than using an outside private service, in an effort to reduce expenses.
In addition to transportation, senators discussed an upcoming event focused on immigration enforcement. School House senator Oscar Rempe-Hiam ’29 said DSG will host a seminar with ACLU of New Hampshire regional campaign manager Taylor Maine on Jan. 26 to inform students about rights and resources related to immigration enforcement.
“Given the recent murder in Minneapolis, the shootings in Portland and the encroaching nature of the Trump administration, it is crucial that our student body knows what to do in the event that they encounter Border Patrol agents,” Rempe-Hiam wrote in a statement to The Dartmouth.
The seminar will include “know-your-rights cards and resources,” according to Rempe-Hiam.
Cole also said DSG is drafting a “student recovery” and “emergency preparedness” plan for emergency situations. Cole said DSG plans to host a training to prepare students in the event that there is a “hostile intruder on campus.” DSG did not confirm a date for the training during the meeting.
Senators also reviewed changes to the student-run book bank initiative launched during the fall term. The program encouraged students to donate used textbooks by offering a $5 Still North Books and Bar gift card.
South House senator Jason Zhu ’28 said turnout “wasn’t ideal,” which he attributed to the program being initiated late in the term. Zhu proposed using remaining funds from the book bank to provide students with gift cards to purchase textbooks at Still North, depending on what books the store carries.
“We’re gonna see what catalog of textbooks that Still North has and directly provide students with the gift cards if Still North has those textbooks and we could also order [books] in advance,” Zhu said.
During a closed session, DSG confirmed executive representatives for the winter term. General senator Reece Sharp ’28 was appointed communications director, Zhu was appointed chief of staff, and School House senator Hanna Bilgin ’28 was appointed project director. East Wheelock senator Sud Paul ’27 was appointed student life chair, West House senator Luca Nacimiento ’29 was appointed deputy communications director, East Wheelock senator Honiely Aviles ’28 was appointed first year coordinator and North Park senator Issa Allison ’29 was appointed deputy finance director.
DSG Senate meetings are held weekly on Sundays at 7 p.m. in Collis 101 and are open to all students. Next steps on the shuttle proposal, including whether a pilot stop at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital will move forward and whether the College will contribute funding, were not finalized at the meeting.
