Upon reading David Gacioch's opinion piece "Culture of Drinking Should Change," (The Dartmouth, January 26) I don't have a lot to say. I'm not going to argue about whether alcohol is good or bad or whether I have some legal right to drink my fill in the privacy of my fraternity or any of that. Unfortunately, those issues are not the issues that his column inspires discussion of. The issue that I am inspired to write about, as a member of a fraternity and a human being, is the issue of respect.
David Gacioch's diatribe was a phenomenon all-too-familiar to the Dartmouth community. Everyone is ready to judge, very few are ready to solve problems. As a freshman I attended a "town meeting" in which a fraternity (not mine) had agreed to present a document to the public that had been discovered. Needless to say, the material involved was of an ethically questionable nature.
I felt the brothers and the then acting president were a class-act: apologetic, dignified, constructive, etc. No one had forced them to engage in this embarrassing presentation, they recognized the problem and were attempting to rectify its source.
The crowd of people present, however, had other intentions. Without ever making any substantive claims, they managed to accuse the brothers of being sexist, racist rapists. My problem was that I knew those people were making more severe, generalized, unfounded judgments of the brothers than they had come even close to making of them. The room was filled with self-righteous, hypocritical people.
What had happened was that the crowd was so fired up to condemn these people that they forgot exactly what the accused men were: real people. Real people who, regardless of what terrible, horrible things they are doing behind the closed doors of their fraternity, deserve a minimal amount of respect and understanding, if for no other reason than for the sake of the integrity of the discussion.
So Gacioch has an issue that he is fired up about. He takes the utmost moral ground in which to root his essay, saying he just wants to make sure no one gets hurt or killed. That is a very noble and decent intention and is the strongest argument I can think of in favor of the new alcohol policy. His language, however, does not confirm his compassion for my well-being. After reading the essay, I feel he is more annoyed by the horseplay that some engage in when a little or a lot under the influence of alcohol, than he is on a crusade for the safety of the Dartmouth community. He uses holier-than-thou semantics (i.e. telling fraternity members to "Grow up!" and saying anyone who opposes the alcohol policy is merely throwing "glorified temper tantrums") that I find to be defacing to me, my brothers and to the dialogue about the new policy.
I have to confess I am not genuinely offended by Gacioch's comments, but it is that condescending mindset many maintain and vocalize toward the Greek community that detracts from its credibility and degenerates its relationship with the College. I am perfectly aware of what goes on in a fraternity, the good and the bad, and I am willing to share with you, the hopefully unbiased reader, that my experience in the Greek system has taught me as much as any class, and it seems to have done the same for those around me, and we're not bothering anyone else in the process.
But I'm not here to advertise for pledges, I'm here to stand up for my friends and a system that is as dear to me as any other aspect of my Dartmouth experience. It is a system that is constituted by individuals who are not children, are not irresponsible about their drinking habits and do not need to be told to grow up. Some are going to like what goes on at fraternities and some are not. I have friends who visit and want to stay at the house all night, and others who don't enjoy its atmosphere and would rather spend time doing other things.
But it's only the friend from Harvard who comes over and looks down his nose and tells me that what I consider to be diverting and friendship-strengthening activities are nothing but "juvenile" and "stupid" because they involve the consumption of alcohol and take place in a "hot, smelly" basement.
So this is just a plea that has been festering in my brain since that town meeting almost two years ago. A plea for people to engage in a healthy, constructive debate that is not intended to crucify the subjects of that debate. All I want is the common courtesy I deserve as a member of this community who cares just as much about it and all of its members as anyone else. I want the respect I know Gacioch would extend to me if he actually knew me and was not able to label me with his generalities that I see no use or basis for.
If people want to engage in a debate about the new alcohol policy I'm more than willing, but only if I'm sure my opinion will not be cast aside as baby-talk.
