Metal-spikeed, black leather boots loomed in the corner. An interesting first impression of my twenty-year-old freshman roommate. In a booming voice, incredibly deep and callused from smoking, he incessantly spoke German on the phone, intermingled with fits of laughter -- all at a volume most people consider yelling. Meaningless phrases were drummed into my psyche: "bitta," "el eek" and "ah kvutch." Invariably he would put off his calls until I went to bed, quite oblivious to the pillow I pinned over my head. He stayed out to drink many nights, then would sleep till two in the afternoon on weekdays, turning an alarming shade of purple. He was popular, however, and brought me to an off-campus party. At the door, he greeted the people with handshakes, smiles and high-fives, then proceeded to lumber in the door, I right on his heels. Just as he passed, two monumentally large senior bouncers sidestepped together to block the entrance like giant boulders. "But I know Daniel Schmitz," I offered. No response.
I transferred. This did not happen at Dartmouth. The parties are mostly open. I've heard of someone else transferring from a Midwestern school. Why? She, like a fair number of quality people on this campus, has decided not to affiliate herself with a Greek house. There, the houses are exclusive, and people are stripped of their friends as these friends drift to be swallowed by the various houses. Here, we have rights to visitation of these friends. Unaffiliated does not equal isolated. The open-door policy is about to change.
I had the opportunity to join three houses here. I didn't for reasons of time, and reservations about alcohol. I have had some beer, but since I am academically hanging on by my fingernails to the granite of Dartmouth, I figure I don't have one spare brain cell. I was told I did not have to drink, but I imagined this crumbling sink night as things turned ugly and I broke for the entrance, between colossal guards, and freedom from the dungeon along with the rituals that transpire there. I would rather hang out where I want on a whim.
In the Greek system, almost everyone can find a place. In the shifting mosaic of alliances and takeovers, opportunities and spaces open for friendships. Houses rise and fall. Don't like it? Wait a minute. This is due to the unregulated nature of the houses. College control of the houses horrifies me. We need safe havens to escape the stifling College -- space free from chaperones, where we can dance without piercing eyes at our backs. I got five parking tickets this past weekend even though I told Parking Operations I lost my keys and could not move my car from the "core area." When I did move it, they ticketed it by my dorm at seven in the morning on Saturday. I also got a ticket for a minor traffic violation, something I do habitually that is harmless. Seven tickets in seven days.
When someone first invited me to a fraternity, the best I could muster was a glimpse at 500 yards before I turned and went home. The throngs of people on the lawn were utterly foreign. Back home, Saturday night was traveling to the basketball game and hanging out afterwards with five wannabe comedians at Pizza Hut. (Although I would not touch a math riddle with a ten-foot pole, I have constructed projects of PVC pipe for my own edification. I really scare people in my dorm when I take over study lounges with piles of parts suggested from my buddy Scott at Dulac's Hardware store.)
I relish the opportunity I have to wander fraternities at will, even if I don't run into anyone I know. I am a more balanced person for having attended Dartmouth, more at ease in crowds, and I have fraternities to thank for this. Fraternities are better than the Dale Carnegie class which was "strongly encouraged" by my parents. In many ways, it is as much of a gift as the learning I have taken from this place.
Now, there is a move to close fraternities. How do these houses imagine that the administration will allow this? They are searching for any excuse to dissolve the Greek system and broaden their monopoly of power over student lives. The buzzword for a long time has been diversity. Exclusive clubs lead a tenuous existence. They will be stamped out if AD does not admit people with long-hair. I can envision the college tour now... "On your left, that bomb shelter there on the hill, that is Sphinx secret society, and there is Dragon. Now we are approaching what was, in the happy-go-lucky frat days of open parties, Frat Row. Now, we just call it the Corridor of Darkness, on your left, is the remains of a frat, the closed, secret society, Demon's Lair..." I write this with impunity, because people in secret societies can't complain or they wouldn't be secret.
As to the argument that damages are incurred to the houses if parties are open, two things. Who are the rowdier people on campus, affiliated or non? Second, is it Animal House or Pansy Palace? I come from a school where the glass of the vending machine was routinely kicked in. Fraternities should be a bit worn. With parties comes character. It is like the doorknob in your dorm that has been grabbed so many times it has a collective thumbprint an inch deep imbedded in it. They shouldn't be as preserved as a special collections library. Maybe the Special Collections Library should be in Sphinx. That seems more appropriate. That way the books would be safe from bomb raids too. We are relatively isolated up here. If there is a party, there will be some damage, but buildings can be repaired. People isolated too long against their will, on the other hand, are harder to fix.
