A month after Dartmouth College released a proposals that would radically reform its residential life, the Hanover, N.H. campus is still searching for a new sense of social identity.

In informal fireside chats with administrators, students have expressed a fear that the school's lively spirit will be lost.

The 50-page Committee of the Student Life Initiative report released on Jan. 10 marked the culmination of an effort that began in February last year, when the College's trustees identified five major areas of concern surrounding social and residential life.

Top issues were the Greek system, the need for more social space and the need for new residential life options. Currently, a large minority of Dartmouth students live in fraternities, sororities or co-ed homes.

"There's a perception of Dartmouth as a male-dominated school that is not a place for all women, just for really strong women who can take it," said Margaret W. Smoot, a junior who was one of five student members of the Committee.

Parties are held at fraternity houses only, so "there is still a sense that we come to them," Smoot said.

So far, suggestions for housing changes at Dartmouth propose models similar to Harvard's residential houses.

Students and administrators want to know "whether or not Dartmouth can become a school where clusters are the focus of social life," Smoot said.