Kirsten Doolittle '96, a sexual abuse peer adviser, called for the elimination of the Greek system and the expulsion of rapists from the College at a panel discussion last night.
These two changes in the College's social system would help alleviate problems involving sexual assault and rape on the campus, Doolittle said.
Seven students took part in a panel discussion, titled "Dartmouth: A Culture of Violence?" before an audience of approximately 70 people in 105 Dartmouth Hall as part of the events recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Week.
Some panel members pointed to the Greek system, in particular fraternity basements, as a major factor in many incidents of sexual assault.
"You have lots of alcohol in one place and men and women interacting," said Mike Fahey '97, president of Theta Delta Chi fraternity.
Jennifer Herbst '96, a rape survivor, said she avoids Greek houses and basements. "They scare the living shit out of me, quite frankly," Herbst said.
"Responsibility has to fall on the organization," Herbst said regarding sexual abuse problems within Greek organizations.
"I get really frustrated," Herbst said of Greek members who say fraternities do not usually address sexual assault because it is "'difficult to talk about.'"
"Why are you in an organization where you're afraid to speak up?" Herbst asked one fraternity member in the audience.
Doolittle cited the predominance of alcohol on campus and within the Greek system as a large problem.
Alcohol is involved in 87 percent of sexual assault and rape cases nationally, Doolittle said. She said the figures were probably closer to 90-95 percent at Dartmouth, given the College's social scene.
Other panelists did not agree that sexual assault is linked to an alcohol-based social scene.
"It's really upsetting that a lot of times the social scene of Dartmouth gets relegated to alcohol," said Tiffany West '97, president of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, a historically black sorority.
"I don't think it's fair to everyone at Dartmouth" to call alcohol the biggest part of social scene, West said.
She said doing so marginalizes social groups and events on campus which do not involve alcohol, including all programming in Cutter-Shabazz Hall.
Other panel members pointed out a lack of awareness of incidents of assault as a problem.
"I don't really think that students recognize the number of assaults, especially of unwanted attention and harassment," Maryam Kia '96, a sexual assault peer adviser, said.
West pointed out that people's perceptions of the frequency of sexual assault "really does depend on who you talk to."
President of Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority Joanna Whitley '97 noted sexual assault's definitional problem.
"I think people don't have a clear definition of what sexual assault is." she said. "I think sexual assault occurs all the time."
Rex Morey, Class of 1999 vice president, cited the adjustments of incoming students as a factor in many sexual assault incidents.
"I think that a lot of freshmen when they come into a new environment like this are naive," Morey said.
Whitley said many freshmen go to Greek houses to make friends.
"When you go to a fraternity you don't make friends," Whitley said. "You're looked at as someone to hook up with."
For many upperclassmen, Morey said, freshman women are seen as entertainment at parties.
Panel members also pointed to the College's dating scene as a cause of many sexual assault problems and misunderstandings.
"At Dartmouth, going on a date is rare," Whitley said, "and it means something more." She said problems arise from a seeming protocol that dictates what occurs in relationships.
The Dartmouth Plan is also responsible for many misunderstandings involving sexual assault, Morey said.
The D-Plan causes students to say things such as, "'I don't want a commitment, I just want to hook up tonight,'" he said.
West also pointed to the lack of disciplinary measures as a reason sexual assault continues to be a problem at the College.
"It's easy to get away with things," West said.
"If your friends aren't going to check you and your parents aren't here to check you ... where does the checking come from?" West asked.
The panel also addressed support within the student body.
"It used to be bad," Whitley said of the relationships between female students on campus. But "I really think it's getting better. Women are supporting each other."
"I see a want to support," Herbst said. "But I see a tendency to pretend [the sexual assault problem] doesn't exist.".
Support does not occur often enough on its own, Kia said.
"In terms of people just hanging out with people, if you're not dealing with the issues [of sexual assault], support just doesn't come up," she said.
Women should not be forced to carry the burden of dealing with sexual assault at the College, Kia said.
"Why aren't men taking responsibility when they see something wrong?" she asked.
Fahey said it is difficult for fraternities, as groups, to deal with sexual assault.
"It's hard to educate, and it's hard to motivate large groups of people," he said.
Whitley said the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council is trying to empower leaders of fraternities to act against what panel moderator John Strayer '96 termed a "huge institutional inertia not to do anything."
"Right now," Whitley said, "I don't feel that people are held accountable for their actions."
