Mouth agape and stomach churning, my ears were assaulted with the racism and sexism that unfolded in the tale of Beta Theta Pi "Brother X."
I listened to a brother follow a Native American woman down the Trail of Tears, pausing only to wonder about the consumption of his three beers. I heard the enactment of a potential rape scene, then breathed a sigh of relief for the woman who "got away with only a kiss."
With each passing set of rhymes, my outrage grew exponentially.
How much time and energy had been spent creating this rather lengthy model of hatred, designed to be laughed at over a game of social pong?
One week later, the College is investigating the incident and "might wish to take some action," according to Dean of the College Lee Pelton.
However, many on this campus are of the opinion that this should have been a closed issue. Indeed, in the words of one Beta brother, those who spoke to The Dartmouth this past weekend "misused" Beta's trust by doing so.
Ironically, what is not being considered here is Beta's misuse of the trust of the Dartmouth community by not even officially recognizing the existence of the poem. More than a private apology to the group of women who called their bluff this past Sunday evening, Beta owes a public apology to the entire community.
For when the president of Beta, outraged by the first few lines, did not halt the poem's reading at the outset, Beta became responsible; when the other Beta brothers did not jump at the chance to express their indignation, Beta Theta Pi immediately became complicit.
Beta's officers had an inherent responsibilityto put a stop to this behavior at meetings of which they were in charge.
However, there is no indication from anyone, including Beta brothers, that this immediate response occurred. In fact, they admit to having passed around copies of the poem following meetings, even though the poem allegedly was not read in its entirety.
A Greek issue?
No. A Greek issue, a gender issue, a race issue: a campus issue.
Nothing drives home more strongly the point that we, as a community, are in dire need of a discussion of gender and race than the discussion following Untamed Shrews performance Wednesday evening.
The debate arose of whether or not victim-blaming occurs in cases of violence against women. A few people brought up the enlightening points that rarely can, for example, a car thief, be acquitted because the victim did not use The Club.
On the other hand, a victim of rape is all too frequently blamed for the clothes she was wearing or what she looked like, acted liked, smelled like or how she did cartwheels.
Point well taken, but the mere existence of such a debate shows that we have a long way to go (as a society and as a campus) in understanding gender issues.
Which is precisely why musings of an intra-Greek discussion panel, mixed with declarations of handling the incident on a small scale within the Greek system are futile. Arguments overheard range from avoiding the alienation of Beta to 'this would not look good for the Greek system.'
To preserve the integrity of the Greek system at status quo, if this sort of racist and sexist display is "inevitable" according to the President of the Panhellenic Council, is more inherently harmful for this system than complete exposure of the poem and the ensuing possibility for change.
In keeping this issue a secret, the potential lessons learned could have amounted to, in the words of a male friend in another fraternity, "keeping it a better secret the next time."
The only answer is full exposure of the incident, including a public apology from Beta, the publication and/or distribution of the poem and a campus wide set of panels, discussions and evaluations of gender and race relations in the Greek system and beyond.
Only from complete exposure can the campus ever get a clear picture of the problems within our community and within the Greek system.
Likewise, only from this clear picture can we attempt to find solutions and change the attitudes that result in the racism and sexism evident in the poem which reach into the depths of our society.
