The Coed Fraternity Sorority Council is working on several programs and projects this summer to try to improve the Greek system's reputation on campus.
CFSC Summer President Matt McGill '96, a brother in Chi Heorot fraternity, said the Greek system wants to show administrators, faculty and students that there are positive aspects to the system, and that the CFSC plans to work to fix some of the system's problems.
McGill said the CFSC will sponsor "Greek Week" the first five days in August. Each day, a group of houses will put together a charity function or fundraising event.
"Part of the reason we're putting it together is to [show] that the Greek system at Dartmouth does do a lot of good at Dartmouth and is capable of doing more," he said.
On Aug. 10, the CFSC will sponsor a faculty barbecue at Alpha Delta fraternity to improve relations between students and faculty members.
"Many faculty here are surprised to learn that some of their favorite students are members of the Greek system," McGill said.
To improve relations with the administration, McGill said the CFSC is hoping to have a discussion with Provost Lee Bollinger, Dean of the College Lee Pelton, Dean of Residential Life Mary Turco and Dean of the Faculty James Wright.
But the CFSC is also looking for long-term solutions to some of the system's bigger problems.
"One of our major goals is trying to get past the vague and general notion of internal reform ... and to really identify specific concerns so the Greek system can either adapt to those concerns or ameliorate them," McGill said.
Right now is a prime time to work on change in the system, because administrators and students seem willing to talk, he said.
"If the administration comes down with what are perceived to be unilateral decrees, students will almost by reflex put themselves in an adversarial role," he explained.
One of the biggest concerns with the Greek system is gender equity, McGill said. People seem concerned with the disparity between the number of fraternities and sororities, he said. There are currently 17 fraternities and seven sororities, including the historically black organizations.
Although McGill said ideally there would be more sororities, he said changing the number of houses is very "tricky."
He said there are three things preventing the addition of new sororities: the College's Board of Trustees cap of 30 on the number of Greek organizations, the lack of physical plants on campus and the need for unanimous approval by the Panhellenic Council.
Several administrators have said publicly they will back the formation of a new undergraduate society. But McGill said he thinks there is more demand on campus for a new sorority.
"Right now, on campus today, within the Greek system there's not a lot of demand for coed houses," he said.
He said the CFSC is also talking with the administration to try and determine other areas of concern so they can work on those areas.
