This Thursday, at the request of the Student Assembly, students will vote in a referendum on the future of single-sex Greek organizations.
It is important to gauge popular opinion on a widely-debated issue that directly affects students' lives.
But the referendum proposed by Student Assembly Vice President Steve Costalas '94 is not designed for to get an accurate measure of what students think about the Greek system.
The survey reveals much more about Dartmouth student government than it could ever reveal about student opinion.
Costalas, a member of Kappa Chi Kappa fraternity, is pro-Greek. And the referendum question, "Do you support the continued existence of single-sex fraternities and sororities at Dartmouth? Yes or no?" is biased.
Costalas and the Assembly have done a disservice to students by proposing a popular opinion poll instead of examining the real issues regarding the future of the Greek system.
Set right before the fall meeting of the Board of Trustees, the referendum is intended to allow Costalas and company to put on a grand show in support of single-sex organizations.
But the Trustees will rightly dismiss the results as inconsequential.
The Committee on Student Life has asked the Assembly to answer some questions about the Greek system and how it relates to the College's equal opportunity policy. But most Assembly members aren't interested in those questions because they indicate that the current Greek system will probably have to change, soon.
Eventually, the Trustees will make a decision on the future of the Greek system based on the principals for which Dartmouth, as an institution of higher learning, stands.
Whether students like or dislike single-sex organizations is not important. Students should have the right to shape their own social lives. But they are not entitled to demand a social system that divides the College community and undermines the College's basic principles.
And the Assembly will continue to be as useless as Thursday's referendum until President Nicole Artzer '94 develops an agenda and puts a stop to the selfish maneuvering of her underlings.
