Just when you thought it was no longer possible, it seems that another article about the Greek system has made it into The Dartmouth. But before your eyes roll back in your head in fear that yet another issue is about to be drawn out for all eternity, you should know that there's a twist to this article. The focus will not be on the consequences of actions in that evil hell known as "the basement," but on the positive activities going on in the other two to three stories that makes up a house. Believe it or not, there's actually more to the system than weekly gatherings around a pong table.
As the Spring term approaches and the system's blitz on the 2000s to inform them about Greek life beyond Friday, Saturday, and maybe Wednesday nights is about to begin, it's time for the Greek houses to start getting some positive publicity. This may come as a shock to some, but most constitutions share the terms "philanthropy," "intellectual development," "excellence of scholarship" and "leadership" as goals of the organization. Nowhere in my house's constitution, or in any other I imagine, does it list the aims of the house as "To provide weekend social activities and subsidize the alcohol consumption of Dartmouth undergraduates." While minimum requirements of GPA and community service participation are established, there is no minimum partying requirement. Given these facts, is it possibly safe to assume that there might be some good in these organizations?
It was the hope of the Panhellenic Council, the joint council composed of representatives from Delta Pi Omega, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Delta Delta, Sigma Delta, Delta Gamma, Kappa Delta Epsilon and Epsilon Kappa Theta sororities, that this negative image of the Greek system could be battled this term through positive programs sponsored and run by the Greek houses.
Of course, while the probation sentences of certain houses received ample coverage, our events went unnoticed by the campus media. For instance, at last week's women's hockey game, a reception was held to honor the female athletes and draw sisters from the houses to Thompson to support female athletics. Also last week, Panhell hosted a tea reception to honor faculty members nominated by sisters for their outstanding dedication to Dartmouth students and the Dartmouth community. Ivy Schweitzer, the recipient of the first Annual Panhell Faculty Award, blitzed me with suggestions to have The Dartmouth and other media cover the event. Well, quite frankly, we tried. And when The Dartmouth failed to show up to cover the event, I offered to write an article myself. Even that was not enough.
Similarly, while the parties offered by each house on Winter Carnival weekend received an entire article of coverage, the joint sorority effort to provide programming for the big sibling mentor program was hardly mentioned, if at all. An afternoon of valentine and cookie decorating as well as sledding and skating out at Occom for underprivileged children, where sisters worked along with the many affiliated students involved in the Tucker based program, was ignored while the provision of alcohol was glorified.
Just for the record, how many unaffiliated students out there know of the faculty dinners Sigma Delt hosts or the upcoming community service day at Sigma Alpha Epsilon? And what is the ratio of number of parties you've attended versus number of a cappella groups you've gone to see? Ever been to one of the several discussions organized by Panhell, the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council or coalitions of houses? Before you run off and trash the system, consider what aspects of it you are putting in the effort to take advantage of first.
I'm not arguing that the system is perfect. I think the hand stamps that still brand us on Thursday from last weekend's activities are evidence of that. But it seems at Dartmouth, beer goggles have taken on another meaning. When people walk into a house, they see only the resulting trash from a party (another issue that needs to be tackled is respect for these people's homes, but that is a whole other issue unto itself).
Believing in a stereotype that all a Greek house offers comes in a bottle, many on this campus are blind to the support network, community service opportunities and other social opportunities that the system offers. Personally, as a founding member of Delta Pi, I saw the good in this system's endeavors and was inspired to both join it and expand the opportunities for membership in it. I hope some of you have been encouraged to seek the good in the system, too, because few on this campus seem willing to advertise it.
