Last weekend, the Class of 2018 ran around the Homecoming bonfire, taking part in a beloved tradition that symbolizes Dartmouth’s excitement to welcome the newest class into our tight-knit school. Despite the ceremony’s aura of community and inclusivity, the freshmen still remained excluded from Dartmouth’s predominant social scene after finishing their laps. Next year, the Greek Leadership Council should avoid this glaring irony by overturning the policy that prohibits freshmen from attending alcoholic Greek events during their first six weeks at the College.
This year’s ban expired Monday, so this week, freshmen will experience the predominant social life at Dartmouth with their older classmates for the first time. While I commend the GLC for making a stronger effort to put on exciting, alternative social events than they did for my class last year, I believe that the freshmen would be better off had they been welcomed into Greek houses when alcohol was present upon arriving in Hanover.
With freshmen banned from Greek houses, the primary social alternative becomes “dorm-hopping,” attending small, spontaneous parties in dorm rooms each night. This social structure contributes to riskier drinking, and it provides a less fun, inclusive and productive way for freshmen to socialize.
Without access to the free-flowing light beer served in Greek houses, freshmen tend to rely on hard alcohol for dorm parties. As hard alcohol is much more compact than beer, freshmen can more easily transport the liquor after purchasing it with a fake ID or attaining it from an older friend. A small container of hard alcohol is also easier to hide than large quantities of beer from a UGA or other authority figure. Most importantly, however, hard alcohol induces drunkenness much quicker than beer, which makes it a more appealing option for dorm parties while increasing the risk of alcohol-related danger.
Freshmen may be less likely to make “Good Samaritan” calls to Safety and Security for an excessively drunk friend, as they are less familiar with the policy’s intricacies or may fear social backlash from new classmates. Both hesitations are perfectly reasonable, which is why freshmen would be safer socializing at Greek houses than alone in dorms. At Greek houses, there are upperclassmen — often including some who are sober — who are completely willing to make Good Samaritan calls when necessary. Upon joining a Greek house, new members generally learn from both their house’s risk managers and in mandatory Social Events and Management Procedure training to protect students from making unwise choices with alcohol. The drinking that occurs in Greek houses, while still high-risk, comes with significantly more supervision and regulation by experienced older students than is possible in freshman dorm parties.
Meanwhile, dorm parties amplify the sense of exclusivity that many criticize within Dartmouth’s social scene. Only freshmen who have met “the right people” will find out about, or be welcome at, these dorm parties. Students with fake IDs, or those who know older students through a team or pre-Dartmouth friendship, will enjoy increased social capital as the providers of alcohol. This marks a stark contrast with Greek parties — anyone, regardless of who you are or who you know, can attend. Dartmouth prides itself on its abnormally inclusive Greek system, and this policy undermines that.
The policy stratifies freshmen from the rest of the student body, isolating them from upperclassmen and limiting their social horizons during a very formative period. The policy also hurts student organizations that want to hold informal social events at a member’s Greek house, which can create community within a club or activity and provide freshmen with a more laid-back, comfortable introduction to the Greek system and college drinking.
When freshmen finally are able to enter Greek houses, they remain behind the learning curve regarding how to behave and drink at parties, and they have lost opportunities to meet and learn from older students who are now in the thick of a busy term and less focused on welcoming freshmen to their houses. The GLC’s new first-year policy was a worthwhile experiment, but it ultimately harmed the student body and should not remain in effect when we welcome the Class of 2019.
Spencer Blair is a contributing columnist.
