To the Editor:
Countless times over the past three and a half years, I have seen people complain about the lack of social options at Dartmouth in these pages. Over and over they lament the fact that we are left with no choice but to head on down to yet another Greek party. Scott E. Jacob's article, ["College's Policies Defeat Their Goals," Feb. 5, 1997, The Dartmouth] was no exception. In it, he wrote that "first years are confined to Hanover social life, a.k.a. the Hanover social option ... a.k.a., The Greek Scene." I am continually amazed at how often I have heard this same complaint, and quite frankly, I am sick of hearing about it.
Students feel confined to the activities on Webster avenue because they are too lazy to make any effort to think of an alternative. Sure it's a lot easier to hit the same fraternity and sorority parties term after term. The members do all the setting up, heck they even buy the beer. And Randall Poulin is nice enough to write out the party schedule for us. So all we need to do is walk on down there.
I don't mean to say that people shouldn't go to Greek parties. They can be fun, and if people go because they truly enjoy it, then that's their choice. I am addressing all of those students, and there are many of them, who go simply because they feel that there isn't anything else to do up here in the "middle of nowhere." Quite simply, that's pathetic. We all got into this school because we had done something special prior to applying; something that set us apart from all of the other bright students who applied. I would imagine that something special took a good amount of time and effort. Maybe it even involved some thought, and (gasp) a little creativity. What I don't understand is why so many people are unwilling to put this same amount of energy and thought into finding ways to amuse themselves on the weekends.
The answer is not for the College to spend more money on programming; much of what they do isn't that well attended as it is. Instead, people need to open their eyes and look around them. They need to make an effort and to risk doing something different.
I could make a list of all of the ways that I enjoy myself, from the Dartmouth Outing Club to the great shows at the Hop to just hanging out with one of the hundreds of fascinating people at this college. But if you need me to tell you what to do, then I guess you might as well head on down to frat row again. If you're too lazy to do anything about your "lack" of social options, at least quite whining. I'm tired of hearing about it.
