Approximately 40 students gathered at the Center for Gender and Student Engagement on Monday evening to discuss the decision of five Panhellenic Council executives to abstain from this week’s sorority recruitment.
Last Thursday, the five Panhell executives sent a “call to action” to campus via email, explaining their decision to abstain. Monday’s discussion began with a brief overview of the email’s contents.
“We feel that there are clear flaws in our Greek system and we acknowledge our role in re-creating these flaws, through processes such as recruitment and on a daily basis,” the email read.
Panhell president Eliana Piper ’14, vice president of public relations Jennifer Gargano ’14 and programming chairs Kate Shelton ’14 and Alex Leach ’14 then began to answer attendees’ questions.
In response to several comments on the timing of the executives’ decision, Shelton explained that the executives did not want recruitment and the introduction of new members to distract from greater issues in the Greek system.
Piper added that the high turnover rate within Panhell necessitated bold, immediate action. The executives also stressed the importance of recognizing the structural flaws present in the current Greek system.
“I heard some people saying that it wasn’t fair to take away the right to rush,” Shelton said. “To me, rushing is not a right, it’s a privilege. The real right is to not to be discriminated against.”
On Monday night, the eight Panhellenic sorority presidents affirmed their intent to move forward with recruitment, despite their appreciation for the concerns of the five abstaining executives.
“Our own abstention would deny interested women the opportunity to participate in such conversations from within the Panhellenic community,” the presidents’ statement to The Dartmouth read. “We look forward to working together to continue combating the issues that most profoundly impact women at Dartmouth.”
The discussion was organized by CGSE student coordinators, CGSE acting director Kyle Ashlee said. The center reached out to sorority presidents and Panhell members to begin planning the event immediately after receiving the “call to action” email last Thursday.
Piper said that she appreciated the opportunity to clarify misconceptions about her and the other abstaining Panhell executives’ intentions and to encourage women on campus to share their different experiences.
During the discussion, several students called for increased transparency within the Greek system, including clarification on whether race impacts recruitment deliberation decisions.
Gargano stressed the importance of accountability, both from Greek leaders and members.
“I also hope that people realize that although these problems exist in other universities and in the ‘real world,’ that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be critical in order to make progress and change a school and system that we know can do and be better,” Gargano said.
Many students encouraged others to look more critically at what sororities represent, while others attempted to envision a non-divisive Greek system.
“Everybody needs to hold a personal criteria,” Sandi Caalim ’13, a CSGE student coordinator, said. “Meet it, exceed it, set it up high. It’s not just about Panhell. It’s beyond this room, beyond the Greek system. I want fellow self-identifying women to be charged, to be more angry at themselves for not doing more than what they’ve been doing.”
Though Gus Llopiz ’14 said he first found the “call to action” statement inconsequential because it was not released during fall recruitment, he left the conversation with a better understanding of the timing of the decision.
“Now I get it,” he said. “You’re in leadership position, trying to figure this all out. You have time running against you.”
