To many outsiders, Dartmouth College has the reputation of being a drinking school where the only recreational activity is going to fraternity parties and consuming large quantities of alcohol. Any of us on this campus know that this is an unfair and over simplified portrayal of life at Dartmouth. However, no one can deny that fraternity parties serve as the major social outlet for students. With Hanover not exactly being a major cosmopolitan area, students are forced to look to social activities on campus, and these activities are often fraternity parties.
I am certainly not condemning the Greek system nor its role in the social life at Dartmouth. For many it serves as a valuable source of weekend entertainment. Yet it would be unfair to say that fraternity parties are every Dartmouth student's preferred social path.
There are many students who look for alternatives when deciding how to spend their weekends. The College clearly recognized this when it renovated the Collis Center more than a year ago. When I inquired as to what the rationale for building the center was, Dean of the College Lee Pelton told me, "Collis was designed to enhance social opportunities for students."
WhilePelton did not specifically offer the activities in Collis as an alternative to the fraternity scene, it would seem this is a fair assumption to make. Essentially what Collis should be is a place where students who do not want to frequent the Greek houses can go on weekends and enjoy themselves.
While Collis does provide various social opportunities to students, such as pool tables, an arcade and the Lone Pine Tavern, it would be fallacious to dub it a true equal social alternative to fraternities. The reason for this lies strictly in economics.
For a student to go to a fraternity party and participate in whatever activity he chooses, be it dancing or drinking, costs him nothing. All of the costs are assumed by whatever groups are sponsoring the event.
Contrary to the Greek system, enjoying oneself at Collis requires some financial expenditure. Granted we are not talking about a heavy monetary outlay, but it is money -- something college students are notoriously short of. Whether it is paying to play pool for a few hours or attending the Lone Pine Tavern where one will no doubt purchase some sort of beverage, it is difficult to spend an evening in Collis without spending some amount of money.
Obviously I recognize that the funds to run Collis have to come from somewhere and the easiest way to raise them is to charge fees for use of the center. Yet the administration needs to realize that, by charging money to enjoy the many benefits of Collis, it is defeating its original goal.
If the administration is trying to provide a social alternative for those who are uncomfortable with the fraternity scene it needs to make sure that the alternatives are truly equal. This means doing whatever is necessary to make Collis free to the students and thus truly make it an equal social alternative.
