The incoming students at Dartmouth College — and all over the nation — are arriving with profound expectations, shaped by momentous technological changes, global turbulence and ensuing uncertainties. How are universities responding?
First and foremost, academic administrators argue, it’s important to understand the socio-cultural and racial diversity of the incoming cohort, and set up orientation programs, seminars, dialogues, and practical activities to prepare students to engage thoughtfully and responsibly in this contentious era. Pull down the walls. But keep watch.
The Dartmouth Class of 2028 is described by the school as “energetic, values‑driven, and curious in a broadly defined way.” Nearly half the class identifies as Black, indigenous, and people of color, 17% are first‑generation college students, and on the whole the class comes from a wide socioeconomic and cultural spectrum. Many applicants devoted themselves to justice‑oriented service during the pandemic and beyond — indicative of a desire to understand global problems and structural inequities.
Students are bringing to their classrooms a keen awareness of modern challenges such as the humanitarian catastrophe in a godforsaken Gaza, climate injustice, racial inequities and rising international volatility. Their altruistic aspirations revolve around harnessing education to advance peace, equity, technology for doing good, and sustainable systems.
Entering a world where AI is transforming everything from health care to employment, students are eager to understand the repercussions. For example, can AI be biased? Can AI decision‑making be more rational? Is there some ethical frameworks governing powerful technologies? A recent UNESCO brief describes how universities could embed critical thinking and social justice considerations into AI curricula, ensuring inclusion and transparency in AI development and its governance. Academic leaders are admonished to develop ethical policy frameworks, integrate AI literacy and promote gender and racial equity in AI disciplines.
At the University of Texas, Austin, for example, a course called “The Essentials of AI for Life and Society” offers a model to increase AI literacy broadly across campus, addressing such issues as disinformation, employment and societal trust. UT-Austin’s AI literacy course seems to be a fascinating model. Open to students from diverse disciplines, it combines seminars on technical fundamentals with real-world ethical case studies.
This broad approach empowers students from the humanities, social sciences and STEM to engage with the technology critically. Many schools offer or require interdisciplinary courses on AI and society, embedding them across departments, not just computer science. Learning to design, critique and deploy AI in socially responsible ways is crucial, including the ability to uncover algorithmic bias and ensure equitable access.
But beyond AI, it is important to keep in mind that the class of 2028 is not apolitical. Many universities, including Dartmouth, now prioritize structured civic dialogue as part of freshman orientation, cognizant that students enter campuses and classrooms divided along geopolitical lines. After tense protests over Israel and Palestine and the escalating spiral of antisemitism and islamophobia, academic leaders have been developing innovative programs and opening up platforms where civil discourse, mutual listening and conflict-sensitive dialogue could occur. Some universities, such as the University of Chicago, have experimented with immersive orientation programs such as alternate reality games to connect diverse students, promote togetherness and encourage intellectual curiosity around complex themes, including race, gender, power and marginalized identity.
In a similar vein, Dartmouth could, perhaps, partner with institutions globally to connect students; invite unheard voices from impacted regions, such as displaced scholars and women’s health advocates, to share lived experiences; move beyond media headlines; and make students a part of a global learning community. Freshmen benefit from creative programming that builds intercultural awareness and solidarity.
Near home, it might be worthwhile considering that Dartmouth freshmen should be encouraged to engage with real-world projects: partnering with NGOs such as the Upper Valley Haven, Listen and others; aiding the homeless and the other left behind; participating in policy advocacy for educational access, and supporting mental health initiatives in the neighborhood. After all, poverty and hunger zones are everywhere.
Today, students seek not only academic excellence, but also civic leadership and moral responsibility. Dartmouth can channel such aspirations by integrating experiential learning, global internships, remote collaborations, civic projects on AI ethics and peacebuilding seminars so that freshmen’s ambitions aren’t just idealistic but doable.
But where does the buck stop? Creating a learning, challenging and safe campus environment for an incoming freshman class is an absolute necessity, but is it enough? In today’s polarized climate, university presidents must be as skilled in academia as in diplomacy, balancing academic freedom with the awareness of political pressures that have embroiled the mighty, once untouchable, institutions like Harvard, Columbia and many others.
At Dartmouth, President Sian Leah Beilock has navigated these challenges with aplomb; with quiet effectiveness, protecting the school’s reputation while advancing its mission as a major global research university that attracts the best. By addressing sensitive issues — such as debates over free speech — through inclusive forums rather than polarizing public statements, she has preserved campus cohesion and avoided reputational crises. By and large, her ability to maintain trust with students, faculty, donors, and policymakers has also had tangible benefits. Through careful relationship-building with federal agencies and research partners, she has helped secure and protect millions of dollars in research grants that might otherwise have been jeopardized in a more contentious climate.
In doing so, Beilock has demonstrated that diplomatic, proactive leadership not only shields an institution from political storms but also strengthens its academic mission and financial foundation. Dartmouth’s stability in unsettled times is, in large part, a result of Beilock’s strategic vision and diplomacy. Why wouldn’t parents send their children to a school that the New Yorker called “the Ivy League’s Switzerland”, even though the cost is exorbitant?
Narain Batra lives in Hartford.