Last week a red flyer was sent to the Hinman Box of every '01 woman at Dartmouth. The flier looked like an invitation, with a picture of one of Dartmouth's fraternity houses on top, along with the words "You are invited to Frat Culture Night." The rest of the flier presented a timetable of occurrences for the fictitious event, including items like: "10 p.m. -- tight shirt required for entry," "1 a.m. -- unwanted hands on your body and beer-breath on your neck" and "3:01 a.m. -- rape." Missing from the flier was any mention of who sent it (the outside did not even have a return Hinman Box address).
The arrival of the red flier has prompted the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council to respond for three reasons. First, the flier presents an unfair and unfounded stereotype about Greek houses at Dartmouth. Thousands of Dartmouth women have attended hundreds of fraternity and sorority parties in the past few years, and many of these women would question the accuracy of this depiction.
Furthermore, no one has the right to indict all Greek houses by suggesting that these events are so common that they can be presented as fact. Isn't the proliferation of such untenable statements the reason other stereotypes are so loathed in our society?
Second, to attempt to deceive a large number of people by anonymously circulating a document with content that has no basis on fact is an illegitimate way to voice opinions. Actions like the ones taken by the people who sent the flier are not helpful; they are cowardly. After all, the accused are afforded no opportunity to respond.
The most productive way to deal with serious and real problems, like rape and sexual assault, is through open discourse. Only then can we all expect to grow and learn. Cheap shots like the ones taken by the flier's authors are of no help to freshmen women or survivors of rape. In addition, to link a specific house to a collection of unsubstantiated claims comes dangerously close to criminal libel.
Third, the CFSC recognizes that sexual assault is a serious issue which needs to be addressed appropriately. The Dartmouth Greek organizations continuously work to raise campus awareness of issues surrounding sexual assault. This past year these organizations actively participated in Sexual Assault Awareness Week. Several CFS members served on the planning committee, and a number of houses took part in the Take Back the Night March, either by marching or cosponsoring a reception that evening. In addition to the week last spring, other programming events are offered each term that address the presence of sexual assault on campus and consider ways to combat it as well as support survivors.
In fact, one such programming event is planned for Tuesday at Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority. Susan Marine will speak on the topic of "Women Supporting Women: Preventing and Reacting to Sexual Assault and Abuse Issues at Dartmouth." All women, regardless of affiliation, are encouraged to attend this event which Panhell and other CFS houses are cosponsoring. Marine will talk about (among other things) Dartmouth policies and procedures on sexual assault claims, as well as New Hampshire State Law.
In addition to programming events, houses discuss these issues with their respective memberships. New member education this past fall included two sessions that addressed the widespread concern of sexual assault. In one, discussions and role-playing were led by campus SAPAs and coordinated in conjunction with Marine. The other was a co-educational lecture on sexual assault, where the Panhellenic and the IFC sponsored a renowned speaker on the subject, Robin Sawyer. CFS houses also have trained SAPAs. Despite all these methods to raise awareness and address the issues, the CFS organizations recognize that our efforts need to be under regular evaluation.
In closing, the CFSC felt that it must respond to last week's events swiftly and strongly. We embrace any opportunity to discuss the concerns and accusations of the flier's authors.
However, we resoundingly condemn the manner in which the accusations were made, and we hold firm in our belief that the situation presented in the flier is by no means an accurate representation of social interaction at fraternity, sorority and coed parties.
