In news that will surprise absolutely no one, “the Dartmouth Experience™” is extremely expensive. Students pony up an average of over $18,500 per term to enjoy Dartmouth’s world-class educational opportunities, high quality dining facilities, diverse residential options and yes, the intangible mystique, charm and culture of a campus steeped in over two and a half centuries of tradition. For the semi-required sophomore Summer term, students must still pay this exorbitant sum despite being offered fewer classes, dorms and dining facilities than during the regular year. This practice is both nonsensical and unfair. Dartmouth should either offer a price break for this “JV” term, or revive the proposals put forth under the previous administration to revamp sophomore Summer and give it a unique, worthwhile value.

There is no need for sophomore Summer to serve merely as everyone’s designated “distrib-killing” term. Back in October 2007, then-College President James Wright proposed sweeping reforms to the sophomore Summer schedule to transform it into an unparalleled educational opportunity. Under the proposed system, sophomores would have had the option to take several intensive three-week “block courses” in subjects unavailable during the regular year or take undergraduate courses taught by graduate school professors.

These proposals would have provided sophomores with the kind of exciting and innovating learning experiences worth giving up the traditional relaxation and internship opportunities usually afforded to undergrads during the summer. Unfortunately, these reforms were shelved due to subsequent financial turmoil and administrative turnover. Now that College President Jim Yong Kim has had a full year to acclimate to his position and tackle Dartmouth’s most pressing concerns, the issue of reforming sophomore Summer deserves to be re-opened.

If such changes prove impractical or the administration insists upon nostalgically clinging to the sophomore Summer “tradition,” (which, it should be noted, was created in 1976 during the coed transition to help ease a housing shortage, rather than for sentimental reasons) then students should receive a price break commensurate with the diminished services and opportunities available to us during the Summer.

Course offerings are necessarily scaled back due to the large number of professors on vacation or exploring other academic pursuits, as well as the need to preserve the lion’s share of courses for the rest of the year when freshmen, juniors, and seniors might also have access to them. The sparse slate of classes, however, poses a tremendous inconvenience to students, who face daunting waiting lists to get into their preferred courses. Considering that Dartmouth is, first and foremost, an institution of higher learning, any tradition that in any way burdens our educational opportunities without just recompense is a violation of the College’s fundamental mission.

In addition, the dining facilities, gymnasium and other offices all have reduced or eliminated hours during the summer, giving students fewer food options and generally reducing the quality of the campus experience.

Students don’t pay Dartmouth’s steep student fees and take on large debts for giggles. They do so in the hopes that Dartmouth’s world-class education and facilities will give them opportunities to meaningfully better their lives and the lives of those around them. It is insulting to our collective intelligence to charge full price for half the experience. If sophomore Summer is to remain as it is, our D-Pay statements should reflect its diminished state. It is dishonest robbery to basically require sophomores to attend this term and then dramatically scale-back services.

As it stands right now, sophomore Summer is half-academic term, half-summer camp. There are attendant advantages to such a situation ­­— Summer can be an extremely fun and refreshing term to recharge sophomores’ collective batteries halfway through their college careers, as well as foster class unity­ ­— but no amount of psychic benefits can make up for what’s lost in the aforementioned inconveniences. There’s no reason why sophomores can’t enjoy the benefits of having the campus to themselves as well as legitimate and stimulating academic programs. Such innovations would better the Dartmouth experience and add a fascinating dimension to our already proud and robust academic tradition.