Last night at a discussion on Greek life at Dartmouth, six female panel members struggled to define the current role of sororities on campus and reminded students that rushing a sorority is not for everyone.
Members of the panel discussed their personal experiences within and outside of the Greek system. Speakers said sororities should serve an important role as educators on women's issues. The panelists said the organizations do not adequately perform that role now.
About 70 students, mostly women, attended the discussion in 105 Dartmouth Hall. Many of the students in the audience were seniors.
The women three sorority members, two non-affiliated women and one undergraduate society member provided a range of opinions on the merits of the sorority system. None of the panel members told audience members which organization they were associated with.
The panel was comprised of seniors Jessica Andre, Hally Burak, Amy Palmer, Rachel Perri, Jill Porter and S.T. Shimi.
Palmer, a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority, said she felt that her Greek experience had been generally positive. She said sororities allow women "to have a place to call their own" and said her experiences made her feel more confident.
Burak, a member of Sigma Delta sorority , also said she is pro-Greek. She said she rushed "because everyone else rushed." Burak said she was glad that she rushed because it allowed her to meet women who were in different classes.
Both women emphasized the support networks they found in their sororities and reminded the audience that sororities are also involved in community activities.
Burak said there are problems with the system. She said she wished there was "more support between different sororities" and that they could be more involved in the community and not just in social activities.
Perri, the president of the Panhellenic Council, which governs the College's sororities, said she also rushed because her friends did, but said her experience was more negative once she joined her sorority.
But she decided to remain a part of the organization and joined Panhell because she said she wanted to try to change the system.
Perri told the audience that people in houses need to examine what they want to do with their sorority experience and she said sororities "should be honest if they only want it to be a social thing."
Porter, who is unaffiliated, depledged from Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority. She said she was dissatisfied with the social aspect of rush and the system. She said she felt deprived of her privacy during rush.
Sororities "did not enhance my existence at Dartmouth," she said, but instead exposed her to "just a lot of beer and boys."
Andre, also not a sorority member, told students it was fine not to rush. But if a woman does rush, Andre said the woman is "going to get out what she puts into it."
Shimi, a member of Panarchy, the College's only undergraduate society, said joining was one way to avoid the pressure of rush. She said she preferred the "live and let live" philosophy of her house, which broke away from the Greek system last year.
At the beginning of the discussion, Jen Suhie '94, who moderated the panel, noted that the panel lacked a representative from the Afro-American Society, but that people interested in that perspective could contact Zola Mashariki '94.
After the panel members spoke, many people in the audience said they were concerned about the relationship between sororities and fraternities.
Burak said she feels the relationship is primarily social and Palmer said she thinks the connection is minimal. People in the audience continued to press the panelists on the issue.
Diana Sabot '95 said she wanted more discussion of the politics of sororities rather than personal experience and thought that political discussion had been "squelched."
Beth McFadden '94, one of the panel's organizers, agreed with Waack. McFadden said it was "unfortunate that there wasn't enough discussion" between audience members and the panel.
But she said she felt the panel did begin to address some of the issues. She said she wished that more sophomores had been there because rush starts this week.
