Kappa Chi Kappa fraternity made a poor and insensitive decision last week when it voted to change its name back to Kappa Kappa Kappa. The decision came more than three years after the house rid itself of the initials "KKK," which are commonly associated with the hatred and bigotry of the Ku Klux Klan.
Despite assurances that the house will avoid using the symbol "KKK" and the fact that Tri-Kap's founding predates the establishment of the white supremacist organization, it is unrealistic to think the fraternity can ever escape the perceived connection.
Because it is impossible for the house to dictate campus perceptions or determine what people will call the fraternity, Tri-Kap's decision will offend some Dartmouth students and negatively affect the College community.
No one is accusing Tri-Kap of being racist, or even associating itself with the Klan, but the house's actions are clearly insensitive. While the fraternity has the right to call itself whatever it chooses, it should have taken into account the name's effect on the community. The Kappa Kappa Kappa name is sorely out of place on a campus that prides itself on a sense of community and mutual respect.
Tri-Kap made the right decision in 1992 when it voted to change the name of the then 150-year-old fraternity because of the name's negative connotations and the stigma of the house's letters.
Tri-Kap President Andrew Koh '96 said the house's recent decision was a response to declining financial support from its alumni following the original name change.
But Tri-Kap alumnus Ham Chase '47 said Monday the decline in alumni funding to the fraternity was only partially due to the fraternity's new name. Chase said the three main reasons for the drop were disciplinary problems, lack of leadership by alumni officers and lack of contact between current members and alumni.
Koh also said historical and traditional reasons were behind the decision to change the name back to Tri-Kap. But history and traditions do not justify renaming the house, especially when the name will offend other members of the community.
In light of the house's 1992 decision, the house's action last Wednesday highlights its lack of sensitivity toward the community and those who find any association with the Klan offensive and derisive.
No matter how vociferously people argue that having the same initials as the Klan should not have stopped the fraternity from reclaiming its traditional name, the brothers should have realized their role within the community and will now have to live with their actions.
If the fraternity really desires to be a positive, sensitive member of the Dartmouth community, it should change its name back to Kappa Chi Kappa and free itself of a symbol associated with a national hate group.