Eighty-three percent of students responding to a poll by The Dartmouth on February 11 said they support the continuation of single-sex fraternities and sororities at Dartmouth. Others, however, are voicing support for the controversial initiative announced by the College's Board of Trustees and President James Wright which includes creating a new system structure Wright said will not be "built on single-sex houses."
A few dozen students have even coalesced to form Students for a Free Dartmouth -- a group which communicates mostly over BlitzMail and was founded by Bill Kartalopoulos '97 and Phil Rutherford '02. The concept was a counter-reaction to the overwhelming protests against the Trustees' announcement by members of the Greek community.
"Following the decision, the campus environment seemed unwelcoming to anyone with a different view, so I decided to create an alternative presence on campus to say it's okay to have a different view," Kartalopoulos said. "Our goal is not to create an organization with a specific agenda and to get students to support that agenda."
Rutherford said life at Dartmouth could be drastically better in coming years, depending on what students decide to do with the money the Trustees have pledged to devote to building a new social system. The Trustees have said they will spend "tens of millions of dollars" on the initiative if need be.
"If we use that money wisely, it will improve our only weekend option now, which is getting drunk. Hopefully other options will exist," Rutherford said.
But the members of SFFD are not the only students at Dartmouth who support an overhaul of the College's social system. A significant minority of students are looking at the Trustees' announcement as an unparalleled opportunity for improvement, rather than a threat to the Greek system.
"This [decision] is a great thing. People would be crazy to pass up an opportunity to change [Dartmouth]," Shauna Brown '99, said. Brown, president of the Afro-American Society, is one of nine students on the task force that serves as a receptacle to collect and organize information and opinions.
Like Rutherford, Brown emphasized student responsibility for reshaping social and residential life.
"I'm someone who has accepted that responsibility," Brown said.
Significant alterations to the social structure, primarily those involving Greek life, are seen by some students as a welcome change.
"The Greek system is a relic of a bygone age that was created to nurture individuals to be leaders of an exclusive society and to unify an elite class, but the world has moved on and [this decision] is long overdue," Kartalopoulos said.
"The College upholds ideals of creativity, free and open intellectual exchange of ideas and tolerance, and the social system in place runs counter to those ideals," Kartalopoulos said. "People tend to see these principles as only existing in the classroom and not in leading their day to day lives."
Nonetheless, he said, he has encountered largely negative reactions. He said when he has put up pro-initiative posters in campus dormitories they have been quickly torn down, and said he got a strongly negative response when he attended the pro-Greek rally at Psi Upsilon fraternity on February 13 carrying a sign saying "Thank you President Wright."
"I've gotten harassing e-mail, and I was made to feel unwelcome at the rally, and I continue to get the response that I represent a destructive force that needs to be shut down, but I don't have a problem with it," Kartalopoulos said.
Jennifer Dziura '00 also attended to rally at Psi U in support of the Trustees' initiative. She carried a sign which read, "HEY FRATBOYS -- If your house can't still have: respect, understanding, togetherness, 'family' ... with women in it, then what are you going to do in the REAL WORLD? END MISOGYNY!"
Neelu Jain '99, who said she supports the Trustees' initiative, foresees a reduction in the current disparity between members of Greek organizations and those who remain unaffiliated in the face of a new social structure.
The decision will "open up options for people who haven't had them in the past. People will be forced to find other means to socialize, and a lot more people will be put in the same boat," Jain said.
Some students expressed concern over the controversy the issue has raised and the debate which has engulfed the campus for the past two weeks. "It's frustrating to see students pitted against each other," Brown said. "People are making this a for or against issue when it's not necessarily a dichotomy. We're all a community working to make that community better."
Another common student criticism attacks the Greek system's exclusive nature that they claim harms relationships of both affiliated and unaffiliated students. Jain echoed that view.
"It's harder on people who are not involved because affiliated people are not making an effort to meet the unaffiliated," Jain said. While she said she recognizes her generalizations, she attributes the blame for this situation to the Greek system.
"[The Greek system] is not the most supportive environment. The dark dirty basements are not conducive to social interaction, Jain said. "I would like to see a different, more personal and friendly atmosphere."
Rutherford said he disagrees that exclusivity is the most significant problem with single-sex fraternities, citing drinking as his main concern.
"Exclusiveness is not the main issue. The Greek system fosters drinking on weekends, and that's it," he said. "As a predominate influence on campus, it encourages drinking. Curbing the single-sex Greek system will improve that condition."
Rutherford said he believes the decision will create an environment inclusive of both learning and having fun.
"It's important to integrate the two, and I think a coed system would definitely help that," Rutherford said. He added that he does not support single-sex Greek houses, but believes single-sex residences should be an option.
"I don't agree having 90 percent of social life revolving around single-sex Greek houses," Rutherford said.
Rutherford also said the he thinks the decision will affect admissions to Dartmouth, as the College may attract a new applicant pool.
Emphasizing relationships that she believes the Greek system may leave unexplored, Jain said, "When you align yourself with a house, you become sidetracked to meeting a certain kind of person. Even though houses provide a way to meet people, you still limit yourself. Diversity exists within a house, but there is also diversity on campus that you miss."
While most students supporting the initiative focused on what they see as faults with the all-male houses on campus, Kartalopoulos did not limit his criticism to fraternities. In regard to sororities, he said "[The College] is preparing students for a coed world, so I think the women of this campus deserve something better than a pale imitation of the fraternity system."