Brokenwindows and grimy exteriors contribute to an impression of barely suppressed ugliness creeping out of the walls while randomly strewn trash highlights the surrounding grounds. Is this a scene of a dark and narrow alley out of some inner-city landscape? Not in this case.
Has anyone out there ever taken a look at Dartmouth's very own "fraternity row" on any particular Sunday morning? We can become ignorant of our everyday surroundings as we pass by them everyday and grow accustomed to their appearance, but there are certain occasions when we are able to step out of our everyday routine and develop a different perspective on Dartmouth.
For myself and many other fellow '98s, such an occasion took place this past weekend with Freshman Parents' Weekend. As our parents and other family members visited, we had a chance to take another look at particular aspects of Dartmouth through their fresh perspectives as we answered their questions, showed them around and spent time with them.
Taking advantage of this perspective, applying it to the fraternity houses here and combining it with the firsthand knowledge we have of frat houses on other campuses, we rapidly realize that the physical appearances of the frats here at Dartmouth are quite inferior in comparison to just about anywhere else -- which is nothing to be proud of. Even worse, this is just the exterior, the part that any casual visitor to the College is bound to take in on a leisurely jaunt down Webster Avenue.
Maybe this weekend was just a bad weekend, a dirty little spot on the otherwise immaculate record of frat house aesthetic appeal, but this does not appear to be the case. Lest the case be exaggerated, let's realize that this is not a problem that takes much brain power to solve although the solution may be problematic for some houses. In the grand scheme of worldwide events, this particular complaint is not even that big of a deal.
Viewed in a slightly different context though, there are many implications involved. Perhaps the most important is the message that fraternities that do not clean up their lawns and fail to maintain their physical plant are sending. Do broken windows and dirty exteriors tell visitors that the members of that house have pride in what they have and have been given? The impression that one got this past weekend was one of slovenly disdain. While there may be something to say for that carefree fratboy contempt for "proper" appearances, there is no excuse for garbage littering the front lawns of the houses up and down Webster Avenue.
This is not the type of issue that can be addressed with more stringent and enforceable minimum standards or any administrative meddling of the sort. Instead, it is a problem from the inside, and one that can be solved only by a commitment at the core. A commitment to show pride in the wonderful houses that they are, or were, at one point or another and can be again with a little more care. A commitment to restore some sense of dignity to these organizations. A commitment to constantly improve.
To some degree, these commitments are already in place and are already being acted upon by many Greek organizations. At the same time, there is a great deal of evidence that would lead one to believe that members of many of these same organizations could care less for upkeep and appearances as long as the free beer and party space remains available.
Are they to be faulted for this? Of course they are. These are their houses and their responsibility. As students, we should face this problem realistically and deal with it honestly. Or, would you rather the administration tried to impose a solution of its own design?
