The Dartmouth Alliance for Social Change has submitted an open letter to the administration issuing an ultimatum to abolish the Coed Fraternity Sorority system in Fall term 1994. This won't work.
The group cannot issue an ultimatum and expect the administration to just comply. For the administration to comply with everything said in the letter is for them to admit to the rest of the world that Dartmouth's Greek system is a problem - that is, to say "don't apply here or send money."
While the Greek system is not something to uphold in its current status, there is another option. If you dislike the problems that are occurring, don't go. No one gets "sucked in." You have to choose to go. No one gets drunk "accidentally." You have to choose to do so. If students are choosing to get drunk and lose control of their bodies, then this is what needs to be addressed.
While this lack of control occurs at Greek parties, it happens outside the Greek system also. And the same results occur. Here at Dartmouth, the problem of people out of control is easy to pin on the Greek houses, where alcohol seems to flow freely without limit. But taking the alcohol away will cause students to create their own system to seek it elsewhere, as has happened at Dartmouth over the past three years. This is not a viable option.
There are students who don't go to Greek parties (myself included) in order to avoid the problems associated with them. However, it seems that many students continue to choose poorly and go to the parties while expecting that these problems will not happen to them.
If women are being harassed at a certain fraternity, female and male students should avoid it and not go. If brothers or guests are over-drinking at a certain fraternity, students should avoid it and not go. By going to a fraternity that has shown poor behavior in the past, students are in effect encouraging that behavior.
The Greek system would get a very strong message if no one went to the parties. It is no fun to party by yourself. The rules for Greek parties, as they stand now, do not address the problems. Thus the students, not the administration, need to change the rules. Students cannot be on both sides of the fence: out of control but at the same time blaming the house that hosted the party.
We need to stand up for other students, be responsible for each other and show restraint. If students enjoy drinking, they should sacrifice it until the higher purpose has been achieved.
Martin Luther King, Jr. did not like the system he lived under. He gave up his "freedom" to an unjust system in order to achieve a government that was more just. This took all of his efforts and is still not complete, even 30 years later. Students must give up their "freedom" to look the other way. They must show the Greek system they are adults who can control themselves and who will no longer adhere to the old rules, even if it requires giving up partying at Greek houses.
This would slowly change the system. As the administration has implied, students must be patient, but persistent. While students only have four short years to address any problems they find, in the course of ten years, thought processes can be drastically modified. This change in behavior and thought must be passed down from class to class until the problem is fixed.
