In a report released earlier this month, a committee charged with examining diversity on campus found the Greek system to be detrimental to the College's academic mission and recommended an immediate and formal evaluation.
But the College has not yet determined how it will respond to the report or how it will affect the future of the Co-ed, Fraternity and Sorority system.
The findings of the Committee on Diversity and Community at Dartmouth confirms the findings of other reports during the past 22 years. The CDCD report reprints the conclusion reached in 1989 by the Committee on Diversity.
"The CFS system tends to encourage excessive drinking, anti-intellectualism, sexism, racism and homophobia ... The CFS system fosters a climate that is detrimental to the academic mission of the College," both reports stated.
The new report stopped short of providing alternatives to the current Greek system because such specific recommendations were beyond the committee's scope, Andrew Beebe '93, a committee member and former Student Assembly president, said.
"We were more to address racial and ethnic issues, not gender issues," Beebe said. "The mention of the CFS system was tagged on. It was not an afterthought, but it was not something we hashed out. We gave a directive to it."
Although the CDCD report criticized the Greek system from the perspective of diversity and community, it encouraged a broader examination of the system's role at the College.
"The institution's decision with regard to the future of the CFS system must be predicated not on a consideration of racial and gender issues alone but rather on an analysis of the effect of the system on the academic mission of the College as a whole, today, and in the future," the report stated.
College President James Freedman said the charges concerning the Greek system were very strong and warranted action.
"It's an important recommendation, and I'm not quite sure how to carry it out," he said.
Dean of the College Lee Pelton said it is too early to discuss how the College will respond to the CDCD report.
"What I can say at this point is that those of us who are responsible for responding to the report are beginning to do that," Pelton said. "There are a number of conversations going on and planned. It is probably too early to even say if there will be a study."
Beebe said he feared the College would ignore the issue due to its complexity and controversial nature.
"I am not without sympathy, but the bottom line is that you have the Trustees and the President making a decision not to address it," Beebe said.
"Presumably the College is going to follow up on our recommendations with a certain amount of prodding from reasonable people," he said.
Pelton said the CFS system has been and will continue to be a constant area of attention and concern for the administration.
"It is not as if changes have not occurred over the years," he said. "Much has been done with minimum standards and the way in which the system is organized and the degree of accountability."
The committee also expressed concern that the Greek system's problems affect the public's perception of the College and consequently the make-up of the applicant pool.
"Despite Dartmouth's success in increasing numerical diversity, its recruitment of minority students remains extremely sensitive to the interpretation of the outside world, particularly to those who view Dartmouth as less tolerant than its peer institutions," the report stated.
Dean of Admissions Karl Furstenberg said he agreed with the report's general characterization of the Greek system as failing "to promote tolerance, diversity and intellectual activity."
But he said he thinks the public's perception of diversity at the College does not take into account the advances of recent years. "With regard to prospective students, the image of Dartmouth ... is rooted in what it was like 10 to 15 years ago," Furstenberg said.
College Spokesman Alex Huppe said one of the biggest hurdles he has to overcome when talking about Dartmouth is the negative image of the College's social system.
"In terms of public perception, the fraternity image looms very large," Huppe said. "Whenever [a journalist] has a negative fraternity story to do they want to come to Dartmouth. But Dartmouth is not alone in this. There are certain schools that are always linked with their fraternity system."
Chris Donley '95, president of the Coed, Fraternity and Sorority Council, said he does not think the CFS system is an obstacle to diversity and a sense of community at the College.
"From my experience I would have to say there is not a lack of diversity," Donley, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, said. "My house is incredibly diverse. And every house has rush the same way. Anyone can rush regardless of racial differences."
"I think the only way you can improve the system is through publicity - let people know that houses are open to all regardless of differences," Donley said. "Abolishing the Greek system will not solve any problems. Greek houses are just a place for friends to go. Take away the house and they'll just find some other place to gather."
Danielle Moore '95 depledged Delta Delta Delta sorority at the end of last summer because she said she felt there was no place in the Greek system for her as a Native American. But she said the problem is not so much intolerance as ignorance.
"I do not think it is time to give up hope," Moore said. "Sororities need to incorporate these issues into their programming rather than just talking about the next party they're going to have and with whom."
Both students and administrators have expressed interest in decreasing the role of the CFS system on campus or dramatically revamping the system beyond programming and issue-awareness efforts.
While at the College, Beebe advocated a change to a completely co-ed Greek system to improve gender and race relations on campus.
"It is like you break down barriers one step at a time. Gender barriers and racial barriers are by no means separate," Beebe said. "The College has a long way to go in terms of racial, religious and ethnic diversity but I think it is light years behind in terms of male-female relations."
