To The Editor:
I read with great interest John Strayer's recent editorial on the supposed shortcomings of the Greek system at Dartmouth, specifically relating to an incident which occurred at Beta Theta Pi fraternity ("Greeks Must Put Action Behind Words," Sept. 26, 1995). Strayer makes a valid argument that the Greek system "needs to prove to the community that it encourages positive behavior in its members," and his suggestion that there be "some minimum level of behavior that is expected of each and every member of the system" certainly sounds reasonable. Unfortunately, he overlooks the fact that the very standards which he so vehemently desires already exist within certain subdivisions of the system. Therefore, as a member of an organization which does in fact maintain minimum expectations for member behavior, I feel compelled to assure the Dartmouth community that measures are being taken within the Greek system to encourage the positive behavior of its members.
On May 10, 1995, the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity unanimously passed the New Hampshire Alpha Chapter Basic Expectations for Brotherhood. Our national headquarters requires all chapters who have adopted the innovative brother development program known as the Balanced Man Project to incorporate a system of standards which will provide guidelines for the brotherhood in areas ranging from academics to drugs and alcohol. As chairman of the committee which prepared these standards for presentation to the brotherhood, I can attest to the enormous amount of cooperation, dedication, and hard work it took to make our rules fair, but at the same time firm. Eventually, as members of an organization which is dedicated to improving itself as well as its surrounding community, my brothers and I decided that our code of standards should reflect our continuing commitment to accomplishing these goals. As a result, Sigma Phi Epsilon's basic expectations for its members include standards regarding: Attendance at house events; the successful completion of one's Balanced Man program; the abuse of drugs and alcohol; and the behavior of brothers toward other members of the Dartmouth community. For each of these categories, we outlined specific guidelines for brothers, as well as the sanctions that would be imposed for each infraction. It should be noted that these sanctions include expulsion from the brotherhood as a possible penalty for certain infractions.
I would welcome any requests from members of the Dartmouth community for copies of these basic expectations for our brotherhood. I believe that I am speaking for every member of my fraternity when I say that we are proud of Sig Ep's quest for excellence within the Dartmouth community, and we would hope that our unique code of standards might serve as a template for other Greek organizations which desire to do the same. Overall, I am confident that the potential exists for the development of behavior standards for the Greek system as a whole. But until that day arrives, let's not forget the organizations which are currently striving to lead by example.
