When you applied to Dartmouth, did you know what the social life here was all about? I bet you didn't find anywhere in the brochures the statement: "Students at the College rely on The Greek Scene for any and all social activities." So maybe this is a slight exaggeration of the truth, but it is based in the fact that for many Dartmouth students, the only conceivable option for some Friday-night fun is "fratting." Yet Parkhurst claims to be making a concerted effort to make students happier and provide alternatives. Parkhurst's evidence: the East Wheelock Cluster.
We hear all about the new initiative to provide more options for student social life. Our East Wheelock Cluster discriminates by where you live, contrary to the campus unity that should be an obvious goal of social activities sponsored by the College. That is not equality of access and opportunity. But this column is not about equality of access and opportunity; that is a whole new can of worms.
This column is about the fact that I find it quite intriguing that the College claims to promote more student-organized social alternatives to The Greek Scene. Funny, in fact. Because we never even think about two of the most influential policies on our social life -- cars and the drinking age.
Yes, I said CARS. First of all, no 'shmen are even allowed to bring them to school. Now, this is not a personal gripe for not being allowed to have a car here last year -- I am from California, so bringing a car is not as simple as taking a spontaneous weekend drive into the countryside.
It really is a problem with many implications. First-year students are forced to rely on the social life that resides here in the middle of nowhere. They are effectively denied the option of road-tripping: they cannot easily reach nearby Boston for a club, play, musical, concert, whatever; they cannot swing up to Montreal to experience a little French-Canadian culture or any of the aforementioned benefits of a real city. First-years are confined to Hanover social life, a.k.a. the Hanover social option (note the lack of the plural form), a.k.a. The Greek Scene.
Then, you become a sophomore. You CAN bring your car to campus. So those Dartmouth students from the Northeast have the "privilege" of parking, (drumroll, please) in A-lot! What a deal! Next time you want to escape Hanover for a nice weekend away with some of the buddies, all you have to do is trudge through the frozen tundra ten miles down to where the cars resides. And don't even think about trying to pull off a quick parking job on one of the streets on campus, because that fifty dollar fine you will incur is enough to make the weekend too expensive to be worth it anyway.
Remind me where the administration support of alternative social options is. The College and many of the students agree on the fact that there needs to be more social options for students, and yet the policy with regards to parking and cars prohibits the exploration of alternative social activities.
Speaking of prohibitive College policies, let's discuss a very current issue: alcohol. Do you know that you pay $35 to an account called the "Student Activities Fee"? Do you know that it is increasing this year? Do you know where it goes? Well, let's see, multiply $35 by about 4000 and you have $140,000. That is a lot of money that should be generating "College-sponsored" activities, no? The Dartmouth Programming Board gets well over two-hundred grand every year to do just that: organize social events. Don't look for a big diss on the PB here; they do a great job with what they've got. We all enjoy having big name concerts, such as Dave Matthews and Rusted Root, in a not-so-big market and having Friday Night Dance Club as an alternative to The Greek Scene every Friday night this year. But The Greek Scene has something that PB doesn't: beer. Hence the reason that Chi Gam and AD will always have better attendance than any FNDC or Collis House Party. It's not that the DJ's and bands are superior at the frats -- in fact PB spends more money than the frats to attract better quality entertainment most of the time. But frats have beer. Students want beer. Hmm, easy logic here.
Quick suggestion to Parkhurst: change the drinking age. I know this is somewhat radical, but if you want social alternatives to The Greek Scene, to promote healthier environments in which drinking occurs, let there be alcohol. Of course alcohol-free events can and should be maintained. But it seems that the Parkhurst policy conflicts with its goals again. Underage drinking happens here anyway. If we let it happen in environments more conducive to safety and all that good stuff, we might even increase the number of happy people here. What a concept.
Happier students: isn't that something whose merit cannot even debated? The students of Dartmouth College need to think about these things. The students of Dartmouth College need to get Parkhurst thinking about these things.